Arriving at the cabin in the herb garden with quick steps, Nian immediately let down her elaborately styled hair. Removing the ornaments made her head feel much lighter. She shook her head slightly, and her jet-black hair cascaded down to her waist.

She skillfully gathered her hair into a loose braid and tied the end with an old hair tie hanging on the coat rack. Then she removed the dress that tightly cinched her waist and changed into lighter clothes.

Although she was actually quite tired from handling inner palace affairs in the morning followed by the tea party, she had no time to delay since she had finally obtained the precious herb seeds she had been searching for so long.

When she opened the cabin door after finishing her preparations, a fairly spacious herb garden spread out before her. A breeze that felt closer to spring than summer blew gently through the densely planted herbs, which looked filling just to see. The refreshing herbal scent carried by the wind tickled her nose.

“Ah…… I feel alive.”

She stretched fully and leisurely began to walk. Then she started planting the seeds in a space she had previously cleared in one corner of the herb garden.

I wonder when they’ll bloom. I’ll have to stay in this palace until these herb flowers bloom.

A desolate thought crossed her mind. A sudden surge of sad emotion ached in her tender heart, but she continued moving her hands without paying it any mind. The feelings of disappointment and emptiness were already too familiar to her.

When she was first selected as Empress, though it was sudden, she wasn’t particularly surprised. Although she had never seen the Crown Prince, she believed that feelings of respect could easily turn into love.

In fact, during the three years after their engagement, while she was receiving Empress lessons at the imperial palace, she hadn’t felt lonely. Rather, she had been quite excited.

Suddenly, she recalled their first meeting. It happened about a year after she entered the imperial palace. It was very unexpected.

Until the wedding, which would be held simultaneously with the coronation ceremony, meetings between the Crown Prince and his future Empress were not common. The words he spoke when he visited her alone late at night, without even a knight escort, were quite shocking.

‘What do you mean by breaking off the engagement…… Your Highness?’

As she asked with a slight tremor, he opened his mouth hesitantly with an unusually apologetic expression.

‘I have fallen in love with another woman. You won’t be harmed. Almost no one knows that you are my bride yet.’

In truth, Nian had intended to refuse. If only for the year she had spent taking Empress lessons in the imperial palace. However, seeing the Crown Prince’s face filled with excitement as he spoke of the woman he loved, she found herself agreeing before she knew it.

He expressed his gratitude again to her for accepting the broken engagement and left the room. At the time, though it was somewhat disappointing, she also felt strangely relieved. After all, the imperial palace was as difficult as it was noble for her.

However, for some reason, the marriage proceeded without any problems and was finally held along with his coronation ceremony. Sometimes she wondered if that night’s conversation had been a dream, as both he and she faced each other at the wedding as if nothing had happened. Only, his face beside her was so cold that Nian didn’t dare ask about the incident.

Nian shook her head as old thoughts returned with renewed questions. For the first year after marriage, she had simply cried. Occasionally, overcome by sudden anxiety, she had rushed to the main palace and requested to see him.

Despite sounds of movement inside, the servant would announce his absence, and she had to return each time, faced with such blatant rejection.

At the first ball after their marriage, she had gathered her courage and approached him when they finally met. However, after seeing the Emperor’s eyes as he looked at her, she no longer attended official events where she had to be with him, except for women-only social gatherings. She was too afraid to face his eyes again, filled with pure hatred.

Although organizing the imperial social events held at regular intervals was the Empress’s duty, and she personally prepared everything from the venue to the interior and event concept, she herself did not attend, citing various reasons.

She no longer looked for reasons. Perhaps she feared that the cause of his hatred might be too justified.

As she dug the ground with her flower trowel and buried the seeds without pause, she shook her head again to clear away her distracting thoughts. It was now a meaningless matter. If it had been a problem that could be solved, she would have solved it long ago. Her empty heart was already a matter of indifference even to herself.

“Your Majesty!!”

Just as Nian was about to finish her work, she slowly rose from her position at the sound of a bright voice behind her. It seemed Azel had come with dinner. Imagining Azel who would chatter and scold her for being covered in dirt, she quickly brushed off her clothes.

“No, what is that! Your Majesty! Good heavens!”

As expected, the hastily brushed-off dirt was far from enough, and Azel shouted as she ran over with a loud voice. By now, the sun that had been at the top of the sky was slowly setting.

* * *

Azel’s scolding of her dirt-covered mistress continued with unusual persistence. Eventually, Nian surrendered and headed to the East Palace earlier than planned. Even on the way back to the East Palace, Azel’s nagging continued.

“Your Majesty. If you keep doing this, I really won’t just……”

As the two hurried along and were passing by the main palace, Azel suddenly stopped as if surprised and closed her chattering mouth. Seeing this, Nian raised her head curiously to look ahead.

“……!”

She saw a man with blonde hair and blue eyes talking with a woman at the entrance of the main palace. The tall, well-built man was quite handsome even from a distance.

The cold-looking man smiled lightly as he conversed, then lowered his head and lightly kissed her cheek. The woman burst into a flirtatious laugh at his kiss.

Dade. It was him. Nian’s husband and the master of the imperial palace.

She already knew there were too many women coming and going from the main palace to count, but this was the first time she had seen it directly.

‘He should just officially take concubines.’

He enjoyed secret meetings with numerous women but never maintained relationships for long. Most were just one-night stands.

The woman, who had been saying a rather lengthy goodbye to Dade, continued to watch him regretfully until he entered the main palace before starting to leave through the palace gates. Nian, who had been painfully watching this scene, finally spoke calmly.

“Let’s go.”

At her words, Azel, who had been standing dejectedly, finally began to follow her reluctantly.

That’s when it happened.

“Oh my, isn’t this the Empress?”

The woman, having somehow spotted Nian’s party, called out in a high-pitched voice. Nian closed her eyes briefly as if annoyed, then opened them and turned around with an expressionless face. The woman, visibly adorned with lavish ornaments, approached while emitting a strong scent of powder.

“I wonder where you’ve been at this late hour?”

“Yes. Young lady, please take care as the night grows deep.”

At Nian’s words, the woman curled her red lips into a smile and replied.

“You don’t seem curious about why I came to the palace. Or perhaps you already know?”

Azel, who had been glaring at the woman with obvious hostility, flared up at this blatant sarcasm, but Nian held her back.

“Well, I didn’t ask out of consideration for you, thinking you might be ashamed…… Could it be that you’re proud of it?”

The implication was whether she was proud of being a one-night stand rather than a concubine. Understanding Nian’s meaning, the woman finally blushed. After daring to glare at the Empress, she pushed past Azel and walked away irritably.

“Hmph. Some Empress she is.”

“That, that insolent!”

“That’s enough, Azel.”

“But.”

Nian stopped Azel with a resolute look. Azel, who had been flaring up, quickly checked Nian’s expression and followed her.

The life of an Empress who didn’t receive the Emperor’s love was extremely shabby and arduous, unlike her noble title. Not only the nobles but even the servants, except for a few including Azel, often disrespected her.

Azel looked pitifully at Nian’s back as she returned to the East Palace.

* * *

“Emperor…… Do you really want to see your mother die?”

“Haha. From the sound of your voice, you’re still in your prime, Mother.”

“Ah……”

The Empress Dowager’s head throbbed at her son’s playful answer. After feeling indignant since the tea party ended, she had finally rushed to her son, who was still in the main palace study, after suffering for several days.

Starting with her desire to see her grandchild’s antics, she had expressed various complaints, but her son merely brushed them off lightly. She too knew that the heir issue wasn’t the Empress’s problem.

“That’s enough, please go back, Mother.”

As she drew in breath to shout again, her callous son firmly cut her off. The words she hadn’t yet spoken burst out as a sigh. Why wouldn’t she know that this was all futile? She glared at him resentfully as he stood up and turned his back on her completely, then finally left the main palace irritably. It seemed she would have to use ‘other methods.’

When the Empress Dowager left, the playful smile in Dade’s eyes disappeared and instantly turned cold. He stared meaninglessly at the pile of documents on his desk, then frowned and slumped into his seat.

The Empress, whose face he could no longer remember. Just the thought of her existence made him extremely displeased.

‘Looks like I won’t be able to sleep tonight either.’

His handsome forehead wrinkled heavily, having suffered from insomnia for quite some time. Even after downing several glasses of strong whiskey, his displeasure still hadn’t subsided, so Dade finally got up and left the main palace.

He intended to take a walk. If he walked mindlessly, perhaps she, who had risen in his thoughts again, would sink deep into his heart as usual. He waved off the guard knight who tried to follow and walked out of the main palace alone.

How long had he been walking?