The wedding ceremony of Emperor Josef Restec and Empress Amelia Przhemysl was celebrated magnificently.

As it was the celebration of the continent’s only imperial dynasty, such splendor was expected. All manner of flowers and trees, as if every plant in Olstein had been mobilized, decorated the castle. According to the testimony of nobles invited to the wedding, the lace veil adorning Empress Amelia’s dress was so long that, with slight exaggeration, it extended all the way to outside the castle gates.

However, the reason nobles continued to talk about the wedding for over a month after the banquet ended, and why it was even mentioned in the lyrics of wandering minstrels across the continent, was not merely because their ceremony was luxurious.

Emperor Josef declared immediately after placing the crown on his head during his coronation ceremony.

The Restec dynasty would end with him, and Crown Prince Louis Ian Przhemysl and Crown Princess Julia Yuz Przhemysl would rule Olstein as heirs of the first Przhemysl dynasty.

Since the Archbishop who had just handed over the crown was present, the declaration naturally became a vow hardened with a witness before God.

The Emperor of the continent’s strongest empire. The Empress, too beautiful to have come from an unknown duchy. The blue-eyed twins who inherited the position of imperial heirs.

It was a picture so fitting to describe an empire opening a new era that Olstein’s nobles were intoxicated with joy and self-congratulation, as if they had received something like a blessing.

Because of this, no one questioned the House of Przhemysl becoming Olstein’s new imperial dynasty, and no one remembered the previous Emperor who had taken his own life.

* * *

Marika was sitting in her bedroom.

The mansion of Duke Mieschko, once called “a founding contributor to the Olstein Empire,” was surrounded by heavy silence, leaving behind the commotion of the capital where loud and enchanting banquets continued for days.

Marika looked at her reflection in the mirror. The luxurious furniture matching the latest fashion, and the curtains and wallpaper exuding a strong seasonal feeling, served as a beautiful background that made her stand out even more.

When Josef staged his rebellion, the House of Mieschko supported the Emperor. More precisely, the enormous funds of the House of Mieschko had been the foundation that fueled Josef’s rebellion.

But the war ended with Josef’s victory.

The Emperor became the loser. The Emperor’s private soldiers and imperial knights became traitors. Moreover, the Archbishop testified that Josef’s cavalry had protected the temple even during the turmoil. Thanks to this, even nobles who had been hostile to Josef did not add objections to his becoming Emperor.

What happened to the House of Mieschko?

After the Emperor jumped from the tower and took his own life, the imperial knights, having lost their focal point, fell into confusion. Facing the crisis of execution by Josef, they inexplicably turned their spears toward Duke Mieschko.

“Duke Mieschko encouraged us to attack Josef. If it weren’t for the Duke, we wouldn’t have lost our comrades. They put forward such unreasonable logic and tried to invade the House of Mieschko.”

“It’s not worth it.”

The person who pretended to stop them, restraining the knights, was Josef. It was more for public opinion than out of concern for Duke Mieschko and Marika. If Duke Mieschko were to suffer harsh treatment, Josef would naturally assume the image of a tyrant as he ascended the throne.

Thus, not only Duke and Duchess Mieschko and Marika, but also the countless plants in the vast mansion and greenhouse, down to the maids helping in the kitchen, were all able to remain safe without a single injury.

And a few days later, Duke Mieschko slipped on the stairs, broke his neck, and died.

It was instantaneous.

Marika looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her image in an old-fashioned black dress with a black veil over her head.

“…”

Throughout the funeral, she was too empty to shed tears. The same was true for her mother, the Duchess Mieschko. If he had been stabbed by a crazed soldier’s spear, or if he had died engulfed in flames from a peasant revolt, he might have at least received sympathy.

The mansion of the House of Mieschko was still flawless today. The storehouse is filled with gold coins. If one were to ride a carriage past the main gate toward the imperial palace, the sound of festive trumpets would soon echo.

Her father had died amidst all this. Too miserably to even call it divine punishment.

Marika couldn’t find words to express this. Her empty pupils stared at the mirror.

A loss that came like a curse covered the mansion. From now on, only weathering with time would remain here with vitality. Marika experienced the feeling of a prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment.

* * *

It was the height of summer. The trees stretching as if to pierce the sun and the deep green leaves told of this.

Josef gazed at Amelia, who had her hand resting on his arm, as he walked slowly through the garden.

“…Would this place be good?”

Amelia looked around the garden, occasionally mumbling such words that seemed like talking to herself yet not quite. But then she would immediately be distracted by an unfamiliar flower or a squirrel poking its head out from a birdcage installed inconspicuously.

The Emperor and Empress’s bedroom was inside the main castle. Josef had demolished the now-useless Crown Prince’s residence and turned the entire eastern part of the castle into a forest-like area. He had drawn in river water to create a small lake and constructed a maze with rose-covered hedges.

Amelia was amazed at the scale of the completed garden. Also, unaware that Josef had secretly instructed the garden’s structure to be slightly changed periodically, she marveled that she would never tire of coming here every day.

Even now, Amelia seemed somewhat confused. Originally, they had come out for a walk to find a good place to paint their portrait, but she had already forgotten the purpose and was just walking.

That was, conversely, Josef’s purpose as well. For Amelia to remain leaning on his arm without worrying about anything else. For her to wander forever in this place with no way out and look only at him.

“Shall we rest a bit?”

At Josef’s words, Amelia turned around with an apologetic expression.

“Have I wandered too much? Let’s go back inside.”

“Isn’t the weather too nice for that?”

“What?”

Amelia tilted her head and placed her hand on Josef’s face to check for fever.

“Was the sun too hot for you?”

Josef grabbed her hand and led Amelia deeper into the garden.

“There’s shade over here.”

“Your Majesty, wait…”

He seated the startled Amelia under a pergola draped with wisteria vines.

“…It really is.”

To Amelia’s eyes, which had been obscured by trees, the flower shade must have appeared suddenly. She observed the small white flower clusters swaying in the wind like a child watching something fascinating.

“Tell me if it pleases Your Majesty the Empress.”

Josef said, looking down at Amelia.

“I like it. It’s as if snow had stopped falling midway.”

Amelia smiled brightly. Josef was satisfied. He had created this solely to hear that one sentence.

“But the shade makes it impossible to paint a portrait.”

“We can paint in the reception room.”

Then why had he brought her out here? Instead of answering the question in Amelia’s eyes, Josef sat down close beside her.

“Because the Empress rarely grants me an audience.”

“An audience? We were together all morning…”

Josef wrapped his arm around Amelia’s waist, who was asking with puzzlement, and replied indifferently.

“There were too many eyes watching.”

There’s no one here. Amelia, who had hesitated and tried to push Josef away, stopped moving when he whispered.

The garden filled with summer sunshine became quiet. Amelia’s hair smelled of lavender. Josef praised his own self-control inwardly as he ended the kiss that felt too brief.

“…About the portrait.”

Amelia, who had been in his embrace, raised her head and asked.

“What kind of dress should I wear? If there’s protocol to follow…”

“Wear whatever you like. It doesn’t matter how many dresses.”

“How many?”

Amelia smiled with a troubled expression upon hearing Josef’s words.

“If I do that, I might be criticized by the nobles for being extravagant. I’d like to be as similar as possible to the previous dynasty.”

“Well… I don’t know about the previous Emperor, but I’ve never seen my mother’s portrait.”

“What?”

Amelia looked surprised. Josef waited, thinking she would immediately ask why, but Amelia remained frozen for a while.

Only after a long time did she open her mouth very carefully, with a slightly clouded face.

“…May I ask the reason?”

“It’s nothing extraordinary.”

Josef chuckled. Did Amelia think some terrible secret was hidden in the portrait?

“The previous Emperor simply didn’t show it to me. He said I had no right to see it since the previous Empress died because of me.”

His mother had passed away less than a year after giving birth to him. Throughout Josef’s upbringing, the previous Emperor blamed him for it. That was how the previous Emperor’s thinking worked. Any complaint would eventually conclude that it was the sprouting of the seed of misfortune brought by Josef.

“…Your Majesty.”

Amelia said softly, covering Josef’s hand with hers.

“That wasn’t your fault.”

“I don’t mind if it was my fault.”

Josef said honestly.

“It would be greedy to want to control things that happened before I was born.”

“…”

“Even regret is wasteful when I think of the time I should spend with you.”

Josef looked into Amelia’s blue eyes.

He lives for today. He lives to protect this moment with Amelia.

He simply looks forward and moves ahead. Gritting his teeth to avoid being caught by fate or curses, and continuing on.

The only person who made that possible was Amelia.

“…You speak such wise words.”

Josef removed a flower petal that the wind had left in Amelia’s hair.

“It’s thanks to Your Majesty the Empress.”

As his hand slid down past her ear, Amelia slightly shrank her shoulders.

“Your Majesty, please stop now… We need to go back.”

“What do you mean?”

When Josef asked innocently without stopping his movement, she blushed slightly.

“…”

Amelia rolled her eyes lightly and then rose from her seat, avoiding Josef’s hand.

“Don’t be so cold, Amelia.”

“Who is?”

She began walking without looking back at Josef. Her profile looking ahead was prim. A smile appeared on Josef’s face as he watched her.

Josef was happy being by her side. And that happiness was more complex and fulfilling than he had thought. The joy he felt with Amelia was sometimes as quiet as snow, as gentle as water, and sometimes shook him like the wind.

‘Would you know this feeling?’

‘How could I make you understand?’

Josef felt frustrated that he couldn’t fully show this to Amelia. He also became anxious about his own inadequacy, feeling that no matter how he expressed it, it seemed to fade once it reached her. Sometimes, his own words of love seemed too common and light, appearing as something unworthy of the existence that was Amelia.

‘Amelia. My empire. My love. My salvation. My…’

‘Amelia.’

‘My Amelia.’