Chapter 7

At the unexpected encounter, Nadia’s gaze wavered rapidly.  

Frozen like a statue, she saw Lev approaching and quickly bowed her head.  

Even as she stared at the ground, her heart pounded as if she were running.  

“Madame Ryabova.”  

Lev, who had come right up to Nadia, looked at Olga with an annoyed expression.  

“You should have stopped the Queen.”  

“I apologize, Your Majesty. If I had known you were here, I certainly would have.”  

Hearing Olga’s quiet reply, Nadia swallowed dryly without realizing it.  

She finally realized she had stepped into a place she shouldn’t be.  

“Ah…”  

Then her chin was lifted. Nadia looked straight at Lev.  

He was glaring at her sharply. Nadia felt suffocated by his fierce presence.  

“As the lady of this palace, I don’t mind if you wander anywhere.”  

“……”  

“But not here, Nadia Turik.”  

Even after the wedding, she was still ‘Turik’ to the King. Nadia swallowed dryly.  

“Do you understand?”  

At Lev’s warning, Nadia parted her lips, then slowly nodded.  

“…I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”  

She truly hadn’t known. The King seemed furious that she was there. It must have been because the woman he hated had entered a space precious to him.  

How foolish, Nadia. If it was so well maintained, of course it was important to him. 

She should have just admired its beauty and moved on. Why did she linger?  

“I won’t let this happen again.”  

As she quickly lowered her tearful eyes, Lev released her chin. A brief silence followed. Nadia felt she should leave quickly.  

She fled the garden, walking slowly away, dazed by the unexpected situation. Then she suddenly asked Olga,  

“What is that place?”  

“It’s the garden the late Queen cherished.”  

As soon as she heard the answer, a small laugh escaped her lips. She instantly understood the King’s reaction.  

“After the Queen passed, it became Countess Turik’s domain. She coveted it greatly during her life.”  

Upon hearing more, Nadia closed her eyes tightly. Yes, it was a miracle she got away unharmed.  

“Of course, now it’s back to His Majesty’s possession.”  

“…Please warn me about things like this in the future.”  

Nadia requested in a weak voice.  

“You may want me to suffer, but this situation isn’t good for His Majesty either.”  

“Yes, I didn’t think it through. I never imagined His Majesty would be there in the morning after the wedding.”  

“……”  

Nadia said nothing more. Blaming Madame Ryabova or asserting the Queen’s authority would do her no good. Olga was the only person she could rely on here.  

‘Mother, why did you covet even this place?’  

She couldn’t shake the memory of the King’s contemptuous gaze. Asking her now-dead mother was pointless, but Nadia suddenly resented her mother’s greed.

***

The King, who had gone out for some air, returned in an even worse mood.  

Anton watched Lev, sitting at his desk in the office, with concern.  

‘Well, who wouldn’t feel unsettled knowing they’re terminally ill?’  

Dr. Chekhov from the Kennen Border Province had visited earlier that morning. Only three people—the King, Dr. Chekhov, and Anton—knew the King was terminally ill.

‘I’ll do my best to find a way, but as far as I know, there’s no special treatment.’

Dr. Chekhov had delivered his diagnosis with regret and realism.  

Lev had seemed calm upon hearing it, but his mood soured after returning, so he must have been hiding his feelings.  

Anton brought a cup of lavender tea, believed to be good for calming nerves, into Lev’s office. Lev looked up as if to ask what it was.  

“To cheer you up, Your Majesty. Dr. Chekhov said he’d keep searching for a solution.”  

“Yes.”  

Lev’s reaction was very indifferent. 

Oh, Your Majesty—so shy.  

Still, Anton felt proud to look after his lord’s mood. He wiped under his nose and left the office.  

Lev quietly stared at the lavender tea Anton had left and took a sip. The lingering scent of lavender reminded him of the garden incident.

‘Of all things, lavender tea.’

His mother loved that garden, which was full of lavender and called the Lavender Garden.  

It was a place where he could recall brief memories with his mother, just like the Queen’s palace garden.  

Now that Agnesa’s daughter occupied the Queen’s palace, it was the only place he could visit freely.  

Those who knew avoided entering the Lavender Garden.  

So when he found a stranger—Agnesa’s daughter—in that place, he was truly shocked.  

Seeing her smiling brightly among the newly blooming flowers made his heart drop.  

The discomfort of seeing Agnesa’s daughter covet his mother’s space.  

She didn’t seem so foolish, so she probably wouldn’t enter again, but Lev decided to post guards.  

He didn’t want to see her there again.

***

Afterward, Nadia’s life flowed much as it had before marriage. She rarely left the Queen’s palace, except for its garden.  

The King said she was the ‘lady of the house’ of the palace and could wander anywhere, but she didn’t want to risk running into him.  

She never wanted to receive his contemptuous gaze twice.  

‘There’s nowhere else to go, anyway.’  

More importantly, there was a lot to do. From the day after becoming Queen, tasks piled up, and her first tea gathering was just ahead.  

Fortunately, Madame Ryabova sent invitations, and everyone replied they would attend.  

‘Is that really fortunate?’  

She felt uneasy. Everything seemed to be going too smoothly. She honestly thought no one would come.  

Hadn’t it been that way at the reception? Who would want to befriend a Queen whose power was gone?  

Still, Nadia did her best to prepare for her first tea gathering.  

She consulted Olga for advice and arranged the menu with desserts popular in the capital, and secured premium tea leaves. This should keep her from any gossip.  

Finally, the day of the tea gathering arrived. After much deliberation, Nadia chose a sleeveless rose-pink dress.  

The dress was elegant, with petal-shaped embroidery from the shoulders to the waist and rose-shaped lace at the hem.  

Wearing a rose-gold tiara, Nadia headed to the parlor where the tea gathering would be held.  

But as she approached, she sensed a dead silence. Nadia grew increasingly anxious.  

“…Ah.”  

Her fears were realized. The parlor was empty. Nadia stood there, dazed, as if she couldn’t comprehend reality.  

Behind her, she heard the maids quietly snickering.  

That sound brought her back to reality. Nadia calmly turned her head and met Olga’s expressionless face.  

“What happened?”  

“Those who received your invitation are all in the Vellevin Palace right now, Your Majesty.”  

“……”  

“It’s news that just came in.”  

Olga added, as if to say not to blame her.  

Nadia was speechless. So that was the trick behind everyone saying they’d attend.  

“What should I do?”  

The empty parlor, with its large table covered in teacups and plates of sweets, looked even more pathetic.  

What now? Was she supposed to storm into Vellevin Palace and grab the Countess’s collar?  

She was the Queen, so she could do it without trouble. But she knew she didn’t have the nerve.  

Countess Vellevin must have had her reasons for pulling such a trick. Nadia sighed briefly and spoke.  

“Clear everything away. Distribute the desserts to the Queen’s palace staff…”  

“Your Majesty.”  

Just then, a woman entered the parlor. It was the maid who had previously delivered Albina’s message that she wanted to meet Nadia.  

“The Countess Vellevin has invited you to her tea gathering, Your Majesty.”