Chapter 4

“If that’s the case, I really shouldn’t be sitting here at all.”  

Nadia spoke with an awkward expression.  

“I don’t know what His Majesty was thinking when he made me Queen, but I doubt he’ll ever seek me out.”  

…She’s surprisingly aware of her place. Albina raised one eyebrow.  

“So even if I learn about His Majesty, it won’t mean much. Please take good care of him in my stead.”  

At the end of her words, Nadia even bowed politely to Albina. Albina’s face showed her confusion at that consistently calm attitude.  

‘…She’s not ordinary.’  

She’d underestimated Agnesa’s daughter just because she was young.  

To remain so composed after several provocations—Albina furrowed her brow. In some ways, Nadia seemed even more cunning than Agnesa herself.  

‘I can’t afford to be complacent either.’  

It seemed ordinary bullying wouldn’t faze her at all. Albina twisted her lips as she looked at Nadia and finally spoke.  

“Of course, as always, I will serve His Majesty with all my heart. Hearing that from the future Queen herself puts me at ease.”  

“……”  

“It wouldn’t do to keep someone as busy as you for too long. I’ll take my leave for today, and we can meet again next time.”  

Nadia stood up following Albina. The two left the parlor and walked into the corridor. Albina slowed her steps, glancing around as if searching for someone.  

“Well then, I’ll be…”  

“Albina.”  

Just as she bowed her head in farewell, a voice brushed past Albina’s ear, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.  

As if she’d been waiting, she turned her head—Lev was standing there.  

“Your Majesty!”  

He’d appeared at the perfect moment. Albina called out to him joyfully and embraced him, and he smiled softly as he returned her hug.  

“Did you come to pick me up?”  

“Yes.”  

“Oh, how sweet you are.”  

She tilted her head flirtatiously as she spoke. Nadia’s expression remained calm, but her eyes looked more uncomfortable than before.  

Seeing this change, Albina’s smile grew even brighter.  

“You saw me earlier, too, but did you miss me so much you came all the way here?”  

The way Albina naturally nestled into the King’s arms and gazed at him lovingly was unmistakably that of lovers.  

Lev, too, seemed used to it, patting her gently and smiling. Then he whispered something in her ear, and Albina giggled, lightly hitting his chest.  

“Oh, Your Majesty! How could you say such things here?”  

“That’s why I whispered.”  

“Behave yourself. We’re not alone, you know.”  

Albina openly turned her gaze to Nadia. As Lev also looked at Nadia, she faltered, her eyes trembling, then hastily smiled and bowed her head.  

“I greet the great sun of Arbat.”  

“……”  

Lev glanced at Nadia as she greeted him, then turned his head away without a word. A brief silence fell.  

Nadia felt increasingly uncomfortable. More than being openly ignored by the King, it was this whole situation that bothered her.  

‘…This is awkward.’  

For the first time since coming to the capital, she wanted to escape. She’d been calm even facing Albina, but—  

‘Countess Vellevin has been with His Majesty for a long time. Of course she would resent me.’  

She understood Albina’s hostility for that reason, but the hatred the King had for her was on another level.  

No one feels at ease standing as a criminal before someone else. Nadia kept her eyes fixed on her toes.  

“Let’s go.”  

Perhaps it was fortunate—Lev left only those words and walked past Nadia, his arm around Albina’s shoulders.  

Nadia slowly lifted her head and watched the two of them walk away, looking every bit the affectionate couple.  

How absurd it was that she occupied the Queen’s palace. She quickly turned and left the corridor.  

“……”  

Lev glanced back to check Nadia’s retreating figure. Albina tugged his sleeve and asked in a sulky tone,  

“Your Majesty? I’m right here—what are you looking at?”  

“She’s gone, so stop.”  

“Oh, she’s gone?”  

As soon as she heard that, Albina withdrew her hand from Lev and let out a short breath.  

“It’s a bit warm.”  

“Bear with it. We’re still outside.”  

“We could just link arms.”  

“It’s still hot either way.”  

Lev replied indifferently, then asked,  

“So, did you get what you wanted by calling me here?”  

“What do you think, Your Majesty?”  

“Who knows.”  

Lev recalled Nadia’s reaction, flustered by his and Albina’s open display of affection.  

There was certainly no jealousy in her eyes. Only discomfort—a foreigner, or a criminal, out of place.  

“She doesn’t seem interested in this side of things.”  

“Exactly. Agnesa’s daughter is scarier than I thought. I let my guard down because she’s so young.”  

Albina complained, frowning.  

“No matter how much I provoke her, she doesn’t react. She knows her place so well that she calmly asks me to take care of you for her.”  

“As you said, she’s either very cunning…”  

Lev finished his thought, recalling Nadia’s clear, luminous emerald eyes as she tried to avoid him.  

“Or she simply isn’t interested in me at all.”  

“Well, maybe it’s both?”  

Yes, maybe both. 

Lev gave a small, agreeing smile.  

“If you want to torment her, you’ll have a hard time.”  

“Well, I’ll have to see how long she keeps up that attitude.”  

Albina muttered coldly,  

“Until then, you’ll have to help me a lot.”  

“And what if people start saying I am following in my royal father’s footsteps?”

Albina laughed as if it was nothing new.  

“At this point? You had to accept that risk the moment you made me your mistress.”  

“Those rumors aren’t so bad.”  

If people compared him to his father, whom everyone hated, how could he ever become foolish? Everything was going just as he wanted. Only…  

‘I didn’t expect Agnesa’s daughter to be so aware of her place.’  

Of course, as Albina said, she could be a very cunning woman hiding her claws for now. That would actually be preferable.  

If she didn’t resemble her mother’s personality and had no interest in him, if she continued not to care about him, it would be quite troublesome.  

If he kept tormenting prey that didn’t react, there would be no satisfaction. Agnesa’s daughter should wither away as miserably as her mother did.  

Humans are at their ugliest when entangled in affairs of passion. He briefly thought that seeing those calm, noble eyes shattered by desire might be entertaining—but the thought quickly faded.

***

The wedding approached quickly.  

Having just ascended the throne, Lev had many matters to attend to, so marriage was the least of his concerns. For someone who chose a Queen for the sake of uninterrupted hatred, the wedding itself held no importance.  

He only occasionally received reports about Nadia from Madame Ryabova. But there was nothing special to report—just that she was quietly attending Queen’s lessons.  

It seemed her true nature would only be revealed after she became Queen. With that thought, Lev attended his own wedding.  

“The bride, Nadia Turik, will now enter.”  

At the officiant’s announcement, the sound of shoes echoed, but Lev did not turn around. He simply stared forward with indifferent eyes.  

Then his eyes met the officiant’s, who motioned for him to turn. Feeling annoyed, he slowly turned around.  

At that moment, pure white light poured into the cathedral. Lev instinctively frowned.  

A moment passed, and as he opened his eyes, the bride in a snow-white dress walked toward him. He couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh.  

The wedding dress, with its large ballooned sleeves, was anything but fashionable—old-fashioned and even a little ridiculous.  

It was probably Albina’s doing: making the bride look foolish without undermining the King’s dignity.  

Ironically, the bride did not look ridiculous at all in that dress.  

In fact, Nadia in that dress somehow radiated elegance and chastity.  

It was strange. She looked like a single lily of the valley in full bloom.  

When the bride, whose face was as white as her dress, met his gaze with tense green eyes, Lev finally blinked for the first time in a long while.  

He blinked once more and completely turned his gaze away from Nadia. While he was pretending indifference like that, Nadia came all the way to his side.

Strangely, she even seemed to give off the scent of lilies of the valley.