1.

It was just past noon, a time when the sun was blazing down from the top of the sky.

The dazzling sunlight shone through the ornate windows of the party hall, which were mosaicked in various colors. The pure white light soon sparkled and seeped through in multiple colors.

The high ceiling inside the imperial palace featured a massive chandelier decorated with crystals that, as if it were the sun itself, brightly illuminated the spacious hall.

Below it, ladies who had dressed up extravagantly sat around several round tables, drinking tea and chatting. It was a typical tea party, a social gathering of noblewomen.

Among them, a middle-aged blonde woman seated in the center remained silent despite the incessant chatter of the ladies, and eventually placed her tea down on the saucer.

She was the Empress Dowager, the hostess of this tea party.

She examined the women attending the party one by one. Then, as her gaze fell upon a woman who, like herself, had been sitting silently throughout the tea time, she slightly furrowed her brow and asked in a somewhat stiff voice.

“By the way, do you still have no news of an heir?”

When the Empress Dowager mentioned an heir, the previously warm atmosphere instantly froze. As if by agreement, everyone’s gaze turned toward Empress Nian, who had her black hair tied up.

Nian, who hadn’t spoken a word throughout the tea party, seemed to have anticipated this question. She put down her tea and lowered her head. This was already familiar to her—the scolding question that had never failed to come up at various social gatherings.

So this time too, Nian chose to remain silent without answering. Seeing this, the Empress Dowager frowned and clicked her tongue lightly.

“Tsk, I’m worried about you, being in the prime of your life.”

“……”

“You two have been married for five years now, and seeing that there’s still no news, I wonder if we should try other methods. I’m concerned, Empress.”

‘Other methods, huh. She must mean concubines.’

Nian actually wished the Emperor would bring in concubines if it would free her from this issue of heirs that had been tormenting her constantly since becoming Empress. If it would solve this problem that had been relentlessly plaguing her, she would welcome not just concubines but anything with open arms.

After staring at Nian’s stubbornly sealed lips for a long time, the Empress Dowager eventually shook her head as if giving up and changed the subject. Seeing this, Nian thought it fortunate that the topic had passed quickly this time.

On any other day, the Empress Dowager would have repeatedly mentioned how she had given birth to an heir when she was the Empress’s age, and that men are what women make of them.

Today, though she still looked displeased, she seemed too tired to continue her nagging.

Only then did Nian quietly exhale the breath she had been holding. Her role in this gathering was now over. She just needed to spend a little more time here, and then, at the prearranged call of her maid Azel, she could excuse herself and leave. The thought of finally being liberated from this suffocating space made her sunken heart lift slightly.

For her, the position of Empress had always been like this. Even at this moment, it was like the corset around her waist—always painfully constricting, yet a suffocating position she could never remove by her own power.

If she had known what this position entailed beforehand, would she have made a different choice?

Choice? Nian laughed bitterly.

There had been no choice to make. Becoming Empress, being forced to remain by the side of a man who didn’t want her—none of it had anything to do with her own choices.

Being born as a noble lady and entering into a political marriage for the benefit of her family had been inevitable for her, and she had become Empress because she had been selected. Even if time were turned back, she, without any choice, would only be permitted to ascend to this terrible position again.

That’s why she decided to resign herself to it. It was something she couldn’t turn back, and even if she could, nothing would change. Despite her resolution, emotions would occasionally well up, but she had become quite accustomed to suppressing them and rarely showed it.

This time too, as emotions unexpectedly surged, Nian quickly picked up her teacup.

Taking a sip of the strongly brewed black tea, she swallowed her feelings as always. Though the aftertaste was unbearably bitter, whether from the tea or not.

A moment later, as if the appointed time had arrived, the doors to the hall finally opened. Azel, a youthful-looking maid with reddish-blonde hair and light freckles, entered. Azel approached Nian with an apologetic expression and called out to her loudly enough for the nearby Empress Dowager to hear.

Like a well-rehearsed play, Nian responded to Azel’s call by putting on a slightly flustered expression, asking the Empress Dowager to excuse her, and rising from her seat. Though she could feel piercing gazes on her back as she left the hall, Nian pretended not to notice and continued walking.

* * *

The short breaths she had been taking throughout the tea party turned into deep sighs as she walked down the long corridor after leaving the hall. Azel, following behind, scurried up to her and asked in a carefree voice,

“Are you alright, Your Majesty?”

“……”

Nian responded with a small smile but no words. Though she clearly looked quite exhausted, Azel paid no mind and pouted while grumbling.

“I don’t understand why they keep criticizing Your Majesty.”

“……”

“You have to look at the sky to catch a star—His Majesty the Emperor hasn’t visited you even once in five years.”

“……”

“Why don’t you say something, Your Majesty? Tell His Majesty instead of letting them blame you all the time. Why do they always unfairly blame Your Majesty……”

“Enough.”

Nian, who hadn’t spoken a word until now, firmly cut off Azel’s words. Realizing her mistake, Azel gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Though Azel was naturally cheerful and honest by nature, her excessive frankness occasionally led her to be disrespectful.

The Emperor. The man who was Nian’s husband. A terribly indifferent person who hadn’t visited her even once in five years, including their wedding night. As the cold face she had only seen during their wedding ceremony came to mind again, she tightly closed her eyes.

Rumors of homosexuality had spread throughout society because he had never once sought her out. Seeing that he occasionally spent the night with noble ladies when balls were held, these were probably all groundless rumors, but still.

Familiar with Azel’s gesture of covering her mouth, Nian chuckled and spoke.

“How did your trip to the village go?”

“Ah! Here, Your Majesty. It was hard to find. How did you even know to ask for something like this?”

Azel whined slightly as she rummaged through her pocket and handed over a paper bundle. Nian gladly accepted it. When she carefully opened it, several elongated seeds were inside.

She was extremely pleased to find what she had been searching for so long. With an unusually bright smile, Nian quickened her pace and said to Azel.

“Thank you. I’ll be at the herb garden until nightfall today, so go ahead to the East Palace first.”

After speaking to Azel in an excited voice, Nian hurried out of the main palace. Watching her retreating figure, Azel muttered in a voice tinged with a sigh.

“Such…… a beautiful lady like Her Majesty…… How could he be so cruel……”

Then she shook her head regretfully.

The primary condition for becoming Empress was to come from a family that would benefit the imperial family. Also, since she would live as the Emperor’s woman for life, appearance was carefully scrutinized during selection.

Due to the indifferent Emperor, rumors circulated in society that the Empress must be terribly ugly, but in reality, Nian’s appearance was far from the rumors.

Her rich, lustrous black hair flowed down to her waist, and her deep black eyes sparkled like onyx. With her delicate, lovely features, skin as transparent as it was white, and a gracefully curved figure, she was actually beautiful enough to make any man turn his head.

Even Azel, a woman, occasionally felt her heart flutter when looking at her. Yet for some reason, the Emperor had never once visited such an empress.

If they at least knew the reason, it would be less frustrating, but no one in the imperial family knew why, which drove everyone to the brink of madness with frustration.

In this bleak palace life, the only moment when Nian appeared happy was when she was in the small herb garden located on the outskirts of the palace. It was a secret hobby known only to a few of Nian’s attendants, including Azel, as the elders of the imperial family, especially the Empress Dowager, would be appalled if they knew.

Azel had persistently tried to dissuade her, saying it was inappropriate for the noble Empress to soil her hands with dirt, but to no avail.

A few years ago, seeing how much more at ease she looked in the herb garden, Azel could no longer bring herself to stop her. If she were denied even that, it seemed she might wither away completely.

The herb garden was like an oasis in her parched, dry heart. After muttering complaints for quite some time, Azel turned her steps back toward the East Palace.

The mistress of the East Palace would likely spend another night in her herb garden. Azel quickened her pace, needing to hurry to prepare dinner for her.