Rockfort confirmed the procession that had stopped behind the grand chamberlain and moved with leisurely steps. Of course, he couldn’t prevent Jayden from following him.

“It’s been seven years since I ascended to the throne.”

Rockfort’s low voice resonated.

“Since then, I can’t even remember when I was last alone.”

No matter how stubborn Rockfort was, he couldn’t escape the principle that an emperor couldn’t be alone. It was exceptionally permitted for only Jayden, the Knight Commander, to accompany him, on the condition that he was healthy and stronger than anyone else.

“Glaring at me won’t change anything, Your Majesty.”

Jayden responded stolidly. He was a man destined to be Rockfort’s shadow from the moment he was born.

“The former emperor’s departure procession will leave soon. Will you go see it?”

“No. Report to me once his departure is properly completed. He might change his mind again.”

“Understood.”

The presence of the former emperor in the Imperial Palace made Rockfort uncomfortable, no matter how remote and quiet the place was.

It was tolerable when he was alone, but now that Elia had entered the palace with the ambiguous status of fiancée rather than empress, he wanted to avoid unnecessary conflicts.

“Is the news that the empress dowager left for the Grand Duchy certain?”

“Yes. I heard she left urgently at Princess Leticia’s direct request.”

“My sister personally……”

Rockfort trailed off ambiguously. Recalling his younger sister Leticia, who was still crying when she boarded the wedding procession, still made him feel bad in a corner of his heart.

“I hated seeing my sister sad…… but I couldn’t understand her feelings either.”

It was a marriage appropriate to their status and rank, and despite having met the Grand Duke only once, she refused until the end, saying she hated it, and left the palace as if she was forced to.

“The young Grand Duke of Ern was the best match a princess of the Empire could choose.”

Unlike other political marriages, the Grand Duke was only two years older than her, and he had no other wife or children.

Although they were far from the center of the Empire, the customs and language weren’t much different, so it was quite a good political marriage.

—I hate it, I hate it. That man…… will surely not make me happy. Would a man with such cold eyes cherish me? Is that sincere?

Leticia begged Rockfort with tears soaking her sleeves, but he, who was about to ascend the throne at the time, could do nothing for his young sister.

But even now, he didn’t think a better match could be found.

“Could the marriage between my sister, the Princess, and the young Grand Duke of Ern be called unfortunate?”

“It was a match appropriate to their status.”

Jayden gave the most appropriate answer. Rockfort gazed at the garden pond, lost in thought for a long time.

Now, the woman staying in the place Leticia had left also said she hated this marriage. She even said she hated it more than death.

—Do not expect me to fulfill conjugal duties.

Those words he heard just before the engagement ceremony still echoed in his ears, making him frown involuntarily.

And the more he dwelled on those words, the more they provoked his strong pride and anger.

Elia had dared to reject Rockfort. She had rejected the emperor, the most noble person in this world who possessed the most.

Not only that, even setting aside the emperor’s crown, there was no man as outstanding as Rockfort anywhere.

He had eyes, so he knew his own handsomeness well, and he knew how special his abilities were, having inherited only the strong points of the former emperor and empress dowager.

“I simply cannot understand.”

His voice, chillingly low, murmured.

At first, he thought Elia might have a hidden lover, but there was no trace of such a thing.

Moreover, she was as intelligent as her sparkling eyes suggested. This meant that her rejection wasn’t a foolish impulse or needless provocation.

—As long as they are Your Majesty’s heirs, isn’t that enough? You may take a consort as in the old customs, or keep a concubine.

Everyone wanted to bear the emperor’s successor. His mother had achieved this after seeing countless bloodshed and spending her life in terrible power struggles.

Yet Elia was acting as if all of that had no value whatsoever.

—Do you hate me that much?

—That was included in my reasons for hating you.

Blink, he slowly closed his eyes and opened them again. The more he thought about it, one fact became clear.

Elia hated Rockfort.

Before becoming empress, before bearing the emperor’s heir, she hated him as a man.

“……This is absurd.”

The emperor muttered through gritted teeth, while Jayden pretended not to hear and gazed into the distance.

Nobles might not have noticed due to Rockfort’s cold face, but Jayden knew.

After the series of events, the emperor’s emotions were turbulent when facing Elia. He had been more peaceful even on the battlefield.

“I’m going to the Inner Palace.”

“If you’re going to see Lady Elia, perhaps sending a message in advance would be……”

Swoosh, Rockfort’s purple cape fluttered in the wind as he turned around.

“I don’t need permission.”

His face, frozen coldly, looked straight ahead.

“From anyone.”

Elia could not be an exception either. If she hated him, he would make her submit. No, he simply wouldn’t allow her to hate him at all. That was the emperor’s way.

* * *

Elia’s cheeks glowed pink after finishing her bath and getting newly dressed.

Soaking in hot water and washing with fragrant bubbles for the first time in a long while made her feel like she could fly with happiness.

“Your complexion improved in just a few days. Your face returned to its fair color……”

Hannah carefully brushed out Elia’s abundant platinum blonde hair.

Wearing the white dress she usually favored and opening the window, the spring breeze pleasantly fluttered the sleeves as it passed.

“I thought I might never leave that bed again……”

Elia spoke while looking at the bandages and splint that now simply wrapped from her shin down.

“To think I can enjoy such a pleasant bath and eventually walk again.”

“It’s all thanks to you enduring so well, my lady.”

At one point, she wanted to give up everything, but even that wasn’t her freedom.

Yet somehow time passed, and when Elia survived, a new path opened.

“Father always said there’s a path. Even if it doesn’t look like a path, it’s still a way to your destination.”

The strict Beriat didn’t spend much time with his daughter, but whenever possible, he tried to teach her what he knew.

When she was young, she only thought her father was strict and frightening, but looking back, there were some tender moments too.

“I wonder how they’re doing.”

Elia spoke heavily. Escaping Daniel’s suffocating presence gave her some peace of mind, and thoughts of her parents naturally surfaced.

“My lady……”

Hannah trailed off sympathetically. Having first noticed Daniel’s suspicious behavior and heard all the circumstances from Elia, she couldn’t help but feel heartbroken.

“I heard the Theon territory is far from the capital, and the castle is small. They must be uncomfortable.”

Most powerful nobles left their territories to stay in the capital and enjoy wealth and glory.

The Theon ducal family was no exception. Even Elia only heard about the Theon territory from her father and never visited it.

“Uncle…… that man won’t help Father either.”

Elia’s gaze hardened coldly. Daniel awakened a feeling of hatred she never knew before.

“I cannot forgive that man.”

Resentment and hatred were completely different emotions. Elia realized what true hatred meant after learning about her uncle’s shameless deeds.

The image of his face approaching her with a greasy smile remained vivid.

“My lady, how could I not understand your feelings? When I learned everything, I felt my teeth chatter with anger…… But, my lady. The most important thing now is your safety.”

“I know. I also know I don’t have the power to do anything about him yet. But that doesn’t ease my feelings.”

Just days ago, he handed her poison to kill her, yet in front of others, he saw her off as if she were a beloved niece. It was disgusting.

“Cecilia committed a crime for sure. My parents too. But…… if not for that man, their crimes wouldn’t run so deep.”

Once, Elia suspected and resented her mother Lorelaine. She felt that way until she learned that even her mother fell victim to Daniel’s deception.

“I didn’t get along well with Mother. She was too strict, and I thought I couldn’t bear her ambition.”

Certainly, Lorelaine overflowed with ambition. Born as a lady of the Belest ducal family and becoming the Duchess of Theon, she must have wanted and desired many things.

“The Duchess cared for you in her own way. Though she was spare with her expressions, you were her only child.”

“I know…… that Mother strained herself giving birth to me and couldn’t have more children, which meant she couldn’t produce an heir.”

Elia fell into thought for a moment. Her parents, who once seemed so imposing, now felt not so different from herself.

Her strict and demanding mother was once Elia’s age too. She lived a sheltered life as a lady of the Belest ducal family before becoming the wife of Duke Theon, who already had an illegitimate child. It was a common political marriage.

“Thinking about it now, Mother seems amazing. She never complained to me even once. I only learned why I didn’t have siblings when I grew up…… She simply accepted what she was given and lived diligently.”