This time it wasn’t a command. Nor was it a request. Her blue eyes lingered for a long time on the word “believe.”

〈I will decide what status to bestow upon the princess’s child after I return. The child’s name is Kaya, and I heard she turns three in June. But I will never give her the surname of the Grand Duke of Ern.〉

For him to write such a long letter from the battlefield showed his special affection for his sister.

Even in cases of divorce, children often took their father’s surname, but Rockfort’s hostility toward the Grand Duke of Ern was clearly conveyed.

〈Since there are already palace people who served the princess, I hope you will not worry.

Do not forget that what I wish for you is peace and recovery.〉

Suddenly, she had a realization. It was strange that she hadn’t noticed until now.

Elia remained blank for a moment, then took out Rockfort’s previous letters from the box where she kept them.

It was clear that in all his letters since his departure for the battlefield, he had referred to himself as “I” rather than the royal “we.” It almost seemed like a letter written by a man, not an emperor.

Elia already knew how special this was.

In this imperial palace where propriety and protocol were most important, for the most noble emperor to call himself “I” instead of “we,” like an ordinary man, was an extremely rare exception.

“Am I…… special?”

A thought she had never dared to have before escaped between her pink lips.

“Am I……?”

She still wasn’t confident. Did she qualify to be considered special by a powerful man like Rockfort who had everything?

Elia couldn’t be certain, but his words and actions were consistent.

“But, I……”

Elia sighed as she looked down at her bandaged ankle.

“The human heart is so fickle.”

She thought her only regret was not dying with Cecilia. She had been nearly driven mad with frustration at not even being able to take her own life.

But what about now? This comfortable, peaceful life felt so warm and cozy.

She was no longer afraid when closing her eyes at night, and she welcomed the morning when it came. This feeling grew stronger whenever news from the outside world arrived.

“Once, I wished time would stop flowing. Forever.”

It seemed that as long as one lived, there were no eternal promises. Now, Elia didn’t want to die.

No, she wanted to stand up and walk properly, and she wanted time to hurry so she could embrace the youth of twenty that she hadn’t been able to enjoy before.

“Why do I keep getting greedy?”

After deciding she wanted to live, she began dreaming of standing up and walking again.

When she first bathed after removing the bandages and splints, she felt as if she were flying through the sky. The relief she felt when the imperial physician said she would eventually be able to stand and walk was still vivid.

“I’m alive, and they said I might walk on my own someday……”

When Rockfort pushed for the engagement ceremony, given her circumstances, she felt little emotion even while sitting in her chair.

But if she were to have a wedding ceremony…… especially a royal wedding that included her investiture as empress……

— In one year, we will hold the wedding.

Rockfort’s resolute voice was still clear in her mind. Knowing him as she did, he would definitely keep his word.

That was the pride and innate nature of the man named Rockfort.

“Not limping at the wedding…… is that too much to ask?”

Whether it was fate or God’s arrangement, she couldn’t know.

But some inexplicable force had given Elia a second chance, and already, more than her fair share of luck had followed.

That luck had protected her when she was in despair, and guided her until she firmly decided to live again and could look at this world straight on.

“He proposed to me after my legs became like this, knowing everything.”

If that could be called a proposal…… then yes.

And it was still unclear whether Elia would ever walk again. Since even the imperial physician said they needed to wait and see, it meant Rockfort was fine with an empress who might never walk again.

“It’s because I’m not okay with it……”

The mockery and contempt she had received from the nobles in her past life was impossible to forget.

They had left as deep a wound in her heart as Rockfort’s cold gaze. From powerful nobles down to palace servants, everyone had looked at Elia with pitiful eyes and whispered about her.

“Everyone will laugh at me as the limping empress.”

Thinking about it made her quite angry. Neither in her past life nor now did Elia deserve their ridicule. Apart from Rockfort himself, what right did they have over Elia’s life?

“Fine, let them laugh.”

Elia’s face hardened with determination.

“Whether they laugh, mock, or make fun of me……”

It was her ankle that was weak, not her heart. Even if she had to limp for the rest of her life, she would walk a straight path.

“I will not forgive them.”

Through her trials, Elia had instinctively realized that she didn’t have to simply accept everything the world threw at her.

When faced with injustice, she needed to reject it, and when lines were crossed, she shouldn’t forgive. Unfortunately, most humans had a habit of being more cruel to those who quietly accepted pain.

Elia, too, had merely been their easy prey. The mockery and ridicule were just forms of amusement, without any special meaning.

“My life is too precious to be swayed by such things.”

Once you let the world cross a line, that line disappears. Then you become someone no one respects, playing the role of a toy until completely broken, only to be forgotten in a pitiful way.

Though she still didn’t know why her life that had once ended had been extended, one thing was clear: she wasn’t given this life just to repeat that horrible and disgusting process.

“There is no justice or divine punishment in this world.”

When Elia was withering away under unjust suspicion, no one saved her.

Not even she herself, as she had given up on her own fate.

In the end, everything in the world had to be fought for and earned by oneself.

If there was an injustice, one had to struggle to reveal the truth, and if someone tried to trample on you, you had to make them your enemy and ensure they paid the price.

〈I〉

Elia picked up her pen again.

〈am determined to live with a strong heart.〉

She wanted to tell this man before anyone else.

〈Even if I cannot walk properly…… I intend to walk a straight path.〉

It was okay to stumble. It was fine to be called a cripple.

One step at a time—even if making progress was hard, as long as the path was straight, that was enough.

〈I will await Your Majesty’s return.〉

Elia signed the short letter and sealed it.

Could she send it like this? She kept hesitating, but felt that if she rewrote it, she wouldn’t be able to convey her true feelings.

“So what if it’s clumsy.”

Elia placed the sealed letter on the silver tray and spoke with a lightened heart.

“This is my first time being twenty.”

Everything was different from before. The upcoming twentieth birthday would wash away the regrets of her past life.

This way, she had to find meaning in continuing her life again.

* * *

Two days later, Rockfort burst into laughter while reading the letter, his face full of smiles.

“Indeed, this is befitting of my empress.”

His eyes had not been wrong. This fact made him not just satisfied but proud.

From the start, even in a situation as desperate as darkness, Elia’s blue eyes had looked straight at him. Without fear, she spoke the truth—and more bravely than any knight, she had willingly risked her life.

“I must quickly return.”

Rockfort closed his eyes and thought of Elia.

The elegant face he had seen under the blooming lilac branches, the pink lips he had deeply indulged in, her subtle scent……

All that passion and attraction.

* * *

Time flowed steadily. The sweltering summer had passed, and the autumn breeze was cool.

Exchanging letters with Rockfort twice a week had become routine. The strange cohabitation with the princess had also become quite familiar.

“My lady, your complexion looks bright.”

Marienne, whenever she had free time from caring for the princess, never failed to check on Elia.

“Yes. How is the princess?”

“The imperial physician’s sedative seems to be working, as she now sleeps a little at night.”

At first, the princess couldn’t sleep at night, which worried Marienne deeply.

She would fall asleep from exhaustion when the sun rose, only to wake from nightmares, which concerned Elia as well, but fortunately, time was a healer.

“Lady Kaya…… remains the same, though.”

The princess’s child still hadn’t begun speaking, they said. Normal communication was impossible, and her development was slow.

“Marienne, take good care of her. You’ll be a great help.”

“I’m so grateful for your consideration……”

Before Marienne could finish her sentence, a loud trumpet sound rang out.

For a moment, Elia almost jumped up, even though she knew she couldn’t stand on her own.

“My goodness……!”

Marienne spoke faster than Elia, who was too surprised to say anything.

“His Majesty…… has returned……”

Elia murmured a beat later.

Could it be an auditory hallucination? Or some other commotion? All sorts of thoughts raced through her wide-open eyes.

“His Majesty the Emperor has returned!”

“Glorious is His Majesty’s return!”

“His Majesty the Emperor returns victorious!”

The sounds resounding outside the palace were clear.

It wasn’t a dream.

On a clear autumn day, with Elia’s twentieth birthday approaching, Emperor Rockfort Petrion had returned to keep his promise. The loud announcement of the emperor’s return continued to echo in her ears, reverberating.

“His Majesty…… has returned……”

What expression should she make, what words should she say……

No, she didn’t even know how to contain this turbulent heart.