The moment he saw the lake in this place he had consciously avoided, Dade realized he was dreaming. He somehow understood why she, who had sadly disappeared and whom he had never seen since, had finally come to him.

Dade looked at her with a sorrowful heart. When he raised his hand and cupped her cheek, she tilted her head toward his hand and gently closed her eyes.

“Have you been well……?”

The question he had always wanted to ask but couldn’t convey.

“Yes. And you, Your Majesty?”

“Well.”

After she left, had he really been well? Ilena suddenly came to mind.

“I think I’ve been doing well recently, at least.”

Rachel smiled, looking a bit disappointed.

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes.”

Rachel shed tears as if she had known. Dade approached her, whom he would never see again. He kissed her forehead and embraced her slightly.

“Thank you. For allowing me to say goodbye.”

“……”

She couldn’t bring herself to hold him back and just quietly shed tears.

“You can resent me.”

“Do you love her?”

At her tearful words, he unusually took his time.

‘What exactly is it?’

‘It’s love.’

The answer to the question he had been asking himself for a long time finally came.

As he was lost in thought for a moment, black hair fluttered in his mind, and beneath it, moist and melancholic dark eyes that always looked up at him appeared. And the cheeks that blushed shyly when he couldn’t resist stealing her lips.

Ah, if not love, what else could I call it for her? To think I pondered such a simple question for so long.

He smiled brightly.

“Yes.”

At his words filled with happiness, Rachel wiped away her tears. After stroking Dade’s cheek once, Rachel whispered softly.

“Goodbye, Your Majesty.”

“Goodbye.”

Dade answered. With his final reply, Rachel became blurry and then disappeared like smoke.

Dade and Rachel had finally said farewell.

Tossing in his sleep, Dade felt the empty space beside him and opened his eyes. Nian was nowhere to be seen. Despite the early hour, it seemed the usually late-rising Nian had already gotten up and left.

He stroked her empty, cold spot with regret before sitting up. Rachel from his dream came to mind.

It was pitiful and sad, but now, that was all. He was just sorry for his clumsy love.

He soon shook off his thoughts.

When Nian heard the unfamiliar woman’s name from his lips, she froze. Seeing his utterly peaceful expression as if the dream of that woman was quite sweet, Nian felt as if her heart was collapsing.

Leaving him there, muttering his former lover’s name in his dream, she fled, and on her way back to the East Palace, she ended up crying like a child.

When she was finally confronted with his true feelings that she had been trying to ignore, tears she had been holding back flowed endlessly.

She thought she had given up on his heart. Since it was never hers to begin with, she tried not to be greedy. No…… Maybe she had been deluding herself.

It seems she had harbored futile hopes despite her resolution, because of his affectionate behavior. Perhaps he might think of me a little. Perhaps with more time, I could replace her. Of course, they were all empty dreams.

The glass floor of her ‘house,’ which she had built quite high, finally began to crack under the weight.

‘It will soon shatter into pieces.’

Nian, lying in bed, wiped away her tears and called for Azel.

She needed to…… meet Cain.

* * *

“Did you have a good trip to Rund?”

Cain asked brightly, seemingly quite pleased to see Nian after a while, but Nian avoided his gaze to hide her bloodshot eyes and spoke.

“Yes. Thanks to you. I’m sorry for the late message; I was busy handling work that has accumulated.”

Noticing Nian’s visibly sad face, Cain was about to ask something but stopped. Somehow, he felt he knew the reason for her hesitation, why she looked so haggard.

As he hesitated, Nian asked first.

“It seems you’ve discovered something.”

Cain answered with a sigh.

“I’ve at least confirmed who that woman is.”

At Cain’s words, Nian felt dizzy and finally squeezed her eyes shut. If she could, she would rather cover her ears than her eyes. Trying to hide her true feelings, Nian answered.

“You must have worked hard.”

Cain hesitated a bit more before finally speaking.

“As you said, Empress, she was a daughter of a small baronial family. Seven years ago, when His Majesty was still Crown Prince, he seems to have met her when he briefly went down to visit Princess Kaylee in the border region.”

Kaylee Belton. Nian knew her as well. The sister of the late Emperor and Dade’s aunt, she was naturally weak and couldn’t have children, so she couldn’t even marry and had left the palace early to live in the border region for recuperation.

She cherished Dade like her own son, and she had heard that he had followed her well since childhood. Since managing the imperial family’s household was also the Empress’s duty, it was Nian who had sent her living expenses and necessities.

“So, instead of usually calling her to the palace, His Majesty frequently visited under the pretext of visiting his aunt.”

In Nian’s mind, she pictured Dade meeting her for the first time.

‘He must have fallen in love at first sight.’

With emotions rising to her throat, Nian was too choked up to speak. The unkind Cain continued.

“Around that time, you had just been selected as Empress, so His Majesty met her very secretly. So it was a bit difficult, but……”

He trailed off. After much hesitation, he asked with difficulty.

“Do you, perhaps, love His Majesty?”

Finally, a tear dropped from Nian’s eyes. Quickly wiping away her tears, she forced a smile and asked.

“It’s alright, please tell me the truth.”

“Seven years ago, there was a big fire at her home. So big that the building was completely burned down. Yet they couldn’t find a clear cause. And, they say a ‘ring of the imperial family’ was found there.”

Nian visibly trembled as she spoke.

“Perhaps…… is that woman’s name Rachel?”

“How did you know?”

Nian bit her lip to suppress her bursting tears.

“Somehow I knew…… Anyway, thank you, Brother. I’m sorry, but could you leave me alone?”

Despite her request, Cain didn’t move from his spot.

He finally spoke after much deliberation.

“There is something strange.”

“……?”

“Though the building was completely burned, fortunately, they could recover the bodies…… but Rachel’s body was never found.”

Nian froze.

The body…… wasn’t found. Could it be.

“It was a small mansion where four people lived: two servants, the Baron, and Rachel. But only three bodies were found.”

The teacup in Nian’s hand was shaking severely, but as if unaware of this fact, she asked urgently.

“The bodies would have been damaged by fire, so how could they confirm their identities?”

“By their build, Empress. Rachel’s father, the Baron, was known for his large, robust frame, so they could identify him at a glance, and the male servant was naturally taller than Rachel, so they recognized him immediately. Conversely, the female servant was very short.”

Nian finally put down the cup she was holding with a thud.

No matter how she thought about it…… there was only one conclusion.

Rachel, she was alive.

* * *

Nian didn’t have the strength to move a finger. Floundering in despair like being stuck in a swamp, she gradually sank and finally was submerged to the top of her head.

His lover was alive.

No matter how painfully she examined the case records Cain had brought, nothing changed. They said it was a fire of unknown cause, but in fact, anyone could see it was arson.

The fire didn’t start in one place but rose simultaneously from multiple points at once, making it obvious even to a layman.

In the burned-out mansion, only three bodies were found, and there were traces of efforts to secure Rachel’s whereabouts at the time, but when they finally couldn’t find her, the case was closed inconclusively.

In fact, the last page recorded, ‘Due to severe damage to the crime scene, not all bodies could be recovered, but Lady Rachel is presumed dead.’

Her head ached. No, in truth, her heart ached. The place beside him that she could have only because it was without an owner. She had been content with just that, barely suppressing the greed that kept emerging. But it seems even that would no longer be possible.

Nian was afraid of herself. She was terrified of her own disappointment at the fact that Rachel was alive. If he met her again, how would Dade react?

He would be happy. He would regain the love he had longed for all this time……

If she still shamelessly held onto the position of Empress until then, he might come to hate her again.

‘Don’t worry, Your Majesty.’

Nian whispered softly. The ‘house’ she had built with care collapsed with a crash.

That night, Dade, who had gone to the cottage thinking she would be there doing the work she couldn’t finish yesterday, returned empty-handed and went to the East Palace. Azel spotted him at the entrance and approached, looking somewhat surprised.

“What?”

“She’s been skipping meals and lying down all day. She seems unwell, but she won’t say anything……”

Azel answered anxiously.

His face hardened.

‘I told her to rest.’

It seemed the stubborn Nian had overexerted herself after all. Well, with her excessive diligence, there was no way she would put off the mountain of work. Moreover, at night, he had whined incessantly……

His steps entering the room looked urgent.