6.

In the early evening just after sunset, Nian, who had barely managed to stop Dade from following her to the herb garden, entered the cottage alone. Azel seemed to have stopped by occasionally to check on things, but seeing the poor condition, Nian frowned.

The herbs that hadn’t been collected and had dried for too long crumbled at the slightest touch. She clicked her tongue briefly and moved her hands busily. Until just recently, she had spent most of her free time here.

Sometimes on troubling days, she would even stay up all night smelling the herbs. This place had been her breathing space and sanctuary.

It certainly had been, but the love that suddenly came, more fragrant than herbs, kept making her forget this place. So even though the herbs she had cultivated with care were ruined, somehow she didn’t feel as sorry as before.

As she examined the herbs with a faint smile, thinking of him, there was a sound from the door.

‘Sigh…… Your Majesty. You couldn’t even wait that long.’

Nian turned around shyly with an expression that suggested he was incorrigible. However, fortunately or unfortunately, the visitor was not Dade but Cain.

Nian was visibly flustered.

“Brother Cain, what…… brings you here?”

“You weren’t at the East Palace, so I thought you might be here.”

“Don’t tell me……”

Seeing her turn deathly pale, Cain sighed.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I found Rachel. And the mastermind behind all this.”

As Cain carefully approached while speaking, Nian unconsciously stepped back. Seeing Nian like this, Cain immediately stopped.

“Your Majesty.”

“……”

“If you don’t want to know, I’ll just leave. My heart is heavy as what I meant to help you with seems to have become a burden instead.”

“I……”

Tears of fear welled up in Nian’s eyes. When Nian couldn’t continue, the two stood in silence for a long time.

“It’s alright, please send word when you’re ready.”

As Cain spoke soothingly in a gentle voice, Nian lowered her head.

What kind of preparation did she need?

What had changed to make her postpone the news she had been waiting for?

Clearly, at first, she wanted to know the truth and set things right. She wanted to remove his hatred and come down from this suffocating position.

But Nian no longer found her position suffocating. Rather, it was as sweet as rain during a drought, and so love had sprouted and finally blossomed.

Even knowing that the harsh winter would soon come and mercilessly wither and drop the flower, she had bloomed a shy pink blossom.

Cain looked at Nian who was quietly sobbing, then approached a little closer and patted her shoulder, carefully pulling her in.

‘Yes, Ilena. If you want to hide from this truth by his side for a while, then do so.’

Nian leaned her face on his shoulder and cried sorrowfully.

Just then—

The cottage door opened roughly.

It was Dade. He had come to the cottage unable to wait, just as Nian had said.

“I suppose my words were amusing.”

Dade spoke coldly to the two people who were surprised to see him.

“Ah, so this is why you told me to stay at the Main Palace today?”

“No…… Your Majesty, that’s not it.”

“Shut up.”

Nian tried to explain in confusion, but Dade cut her off before she could finish. Shocked, Nian hadn’t even wiped away her tears.

Seeing this, Dade clenched his fist. The two people who looked disgustingly good together were standing very close, as they had been embracing. He felt a filthy feeling, as if he were the intruder.

Moreover, her tears, which had already soaked her cheeks for whatever reason, made Dade even angrier.

Was this what it felt like to have blood rushing backward?

“Is this how you always treat the Empress?”

“How I treat her is none of your business. So shut up. I’ll deal with your punishment for making the Empress cry shortly.”

“……”

At the Emperor’s words, Cain finally closed his mouth. Dade glared at Cain as if he could kill him, then turned his gaze to Nian.

“You’ll need to explain well why you called that guy to the herb garden, Ilena.”

“Please calm down.”

At Nian’s words, Dade was about to shout but swallowed it and took a breath.

“Fine, tell me.”

“He just came to check on me. Since I wasn’t at the East Palace, he came here.”

“Is asking after your well-being so moving that it brings you to tears?”

Dade sneered at her clumsy lie.

“……”

Nian was at a loss for words and closed her mouth.

“Is Azel outside?”

When Dade shouted, Azel entered with a pale face.

“Y-You called?”

“Go and call the knights. We need to behead the bastard who dared to trifle with the Empress right now.”

“What?”

Azel froze in place and asked again.

“Despite my warning, he doesn’t listen, so he must think I’m a joke. Seeing how a mere count has invaded the private place of the Emperor and Empress.”

“B-But—”

“So what can I do? I must punish him severely for the sake of imperial authority. Don’t you agree?”

Nian was startled and grabbed Dade’s sleeve.

“Your Majesty, please. It’s not like that.”

“Shh. It’s too late. You shouldn’t have provoked me with such a feeble lie.”

Nian met Dade’s eyes burning blue and let go of his sleeve.

He wasn’t just trying to scare her clumsily; he was serious.

“You have quite a temper.”

“We’ll see how long you can wag that light three-inch tongue of yours.”

“The Empress is right. I came to check on her and we were just naturally talking about old times.”

“What?”

“She seems to miss her mother quite a lot. Seeing how sadly she cried.”

“……”

“You didn’t even attend her deathbed, Your Majesty.”

At Cain’s reproachful words, Dade’s expression hardened.

Suddenly, an old memory came to mind.

‘Your Majesty. The Empress has visited several times.’

A servant told Dade, who had entered the bedroom late after being in his study. Dade’s brow furrowed unmistakably.

‘There’s no need to report about that woman every time.’

‘But……’

‘Just say I’m not here or handle it yourself. Just don’t let her appear before my eyes.’

‘Yes.’

The servant finally answered reluctantly at Dade’s sharp tone.

He had wanted to tell him that the Empress, who had been coming for several days with an urgent look, had even cried today, but he seemed uninterested.

Since she was so desperate, one would think he might at least listen to her, but his master was so heartless that even that was out of the question. The awkward refusal was once again left to him, a subordinate.

Dade saw the servant’s expression darken but didn’t care.

‘After being silent for three years, what scheme is she up to now?’

Three years had passed since their wedding. He was extremely displeased that the woman who had silently, no, greedily held onto her position despite his neglect all this time had been coming for several weeks.

Meanwhile, Nian had been anxious ever since hearing that her mother was ill. Her mother, who had always been weak, became even more frail after giving birth to her and spent more than half of each year bedridden.

Although her illness was rather routine, the fact that the news had reached even her suggested it was serious this time. Though her mind had already arrived at her family home out of worry, her body remained in this cold palace.

After their marriage, the Empress could not visit her family home without the Emperor’s permission. This law came into being when the power of the Empress’s relatives grew and disrupted imperial authority.

The indiscriminate and frequent exchanges between the Empress and her relatives eventually allowed the private political ambitions of the Empress’s family to flow into the imperial palace.

Sometimes, conversations held in bedrooms rather than council chambers could shake the nation.

Because of this evil law, Nian was bound to the imperial palace. She had visited the Main Palace countless times, but Dade never met her.

It was fine if he hated her without reason. His inexplicable hatred was familiar to Nian. Her heart ached, but it didn’t matter. She no longer desired his love either. She had given up on that long ago.

‘No matter what, couldn’t you at least do this much? At least this……’

Feeling resentful, Nian finally sobbed quietly.

‘Are you going to say he’s not here today as well?’

‘Well, Your Majesty.’

Late at night, Dade, lying in his darkened bedroom, opened his eyes at the commotion outside.

‘She must be crazy.’

It seemed that woman had finally come to his bedroom. And at this late hour.

‘Please. Just tell him I request to see him just once.’

‘Your Majesty. His Majesty seems to be in deep sleep, so perhaps next time……’

Nian looked at the troubled servant and finally grabbed the doorknob of the Main Palace bedroom out of desperation. The servant tried to stop her and grabbed her.

‘Your Majesty, please. Don’t do this……’

Nian shouted uncharacteristically with a surge of hurt feelings.

‘Your Majesty! I know you can hear me! My mother is very ill! Please let me go home briefly……’

Perhaps her desperate cry reached him. Dade answered from inside the door.

‘I’ll think about it, so stop making a scene and go back, Empress.’

‘What? Yes, Your Majesty. Yes. Yes.’

At his unexpected response, Nian was momentarily dazed before answering urgently. Although it wasn’t a definite answer, he would surely grant permission.

He must have ignored her all this time because he didn’t know the reason, but now that he knew, he would soon allow her to go home.

Nian finally let go of the doorknob she had been gripping tightly and returned to the East Palace.

Meanwhile, Dade, who had answered halfheartedly while still lying in bed, smiled cruelly. The Empress seemed to be in quite a lot of pain. Sadly, her pain was irrelevant to him.

‘So the Empress is finally being punished.’

The Empress’s suffering was rather pleasing to him.

And so, two days later. While Dade was carefully considering, the Empress’s mother breathed her last without seeing her only daughter.

The Empress’s heart-wrenching cries leaked from the East Palace, but Dade didn’t care. He too had been unable to be with his loved one at the end, after all.

Rather, compared to the numerous sufferings he had endured, she had only received a very small portion in return.

The conversation from that day was still vivid.

‘If she hadn’t existed, would we have married like this?’