“Bring in the Empress.”

About thirty minutes after Katrine had left, Cedric finally instructed his attendant to summon Anita.

Assuming that the Emperor thought the Empress was still waiting, the attendant hesitated before answering.

“Her Majesty the Empress has already returned to her chambers.”

Cedric’s gaze, fixed firmly on the papers before him, lifted. The pen in his hand dropped with a sharp tap, and the attendant swallowed hard.

“When?”

“About an hour ago, Your Majesty.”

Silence filled the study. Sensing something ominous in his master’s demeanor, the attendant fumbled to explain.

“I heard… it was upon hearing news of Her Highness the Princess.”

“Is the princess unwell?”

“No, Your Majesty. There has been no news about Her Highness.”

The attendant had meant to cheer up the emperor with this news, but Cedric’s expression only darkened further. Slowly rising from his seat, he turned towards the door. The attendants hurried after him, startled by his unexpected movement, as he made his way to the Crown Prince’s palace.

··· ✦ ···

“Lady Colbert has been appointed Deputy Chief of Court Etiquette for the Imperial Palace. When His Majesty moves to the Palace of Radiance, she will take up residence there. Given the rank of the position, it seems she’ll even be given private quarters.”

The report that Renee had delivered quietly weighed heavily on Anita’s heart. So that’s what she meant when she said they would meet again soon.

“To think he would make Lady Colbert an officer of the Imperial Household instead of a mere court maid… And that position, of all things, used to belong to—”

The thought trailed off bitterly. Anita had never been fond of the idea of Katrine living in the palace. But as Deputy Chief of Court Etiquette, overseeing everything from royal ceremonies to attire and jewelry, how often would their paths cross?

Even worse, the position that Katrine had claimed was once occupied by Cedric’s late mother, Empress Ines. It was inevitable that gossip would spread like wildfire about his appointment of a high-born lady, who was already rumored to be close to the Emperor, to that same role.

“Ah…”

“Félicité?”

Lost in thought, Anita hadn’t realized that she had stopped patting her daughter. The baby gave a small whimper of protest, scrunching up her tiny face. Anita looked down, smiled warmly, and began to soothe her again.

“Your Majesty, shall I take the princess now?”

One of the nurses asked gently. She had grown deeply fond of both the infant and the Empress, who was still frail and clearly tired after today’s outing.

“It’s all right. It’s no trouble at all.”

Her gaze fell tenderly upon her daughter, who was nestled in the soft cradle. Every time she looked at her, warmth filled her heart anew. Perhaps sensing her mother’s affection, the little girl, who was still too young to lift her head, blinked and stared up at her with wide eyes.

Anita marveled at how gentle Cedric’s eye color looked on their child. For a brief moment, all her worries faded away as she met her daughter’s gaze.

“Could we practice the position you showed me last time? I still feel awkward holding Félicité.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

Before long, the room was filled with a gentle warmth. Despite having several nurses, Anita took an active role in her daughter’s care and was eager to learn everything there was to know. Only Renee and a few of the closest attendants knew, but Anita had even breastfed Félicité herself a few times.

In the Laxion Empire and among its noble houses, such an act was considered improper, an unspoken taboo as it was thought to diminish the dignity of women of high birth.

Yet every time Anita breastfed her child, she felt a strange joy well up inside her. She felt fulfilled by being able to give something of herself, however small, and she felt an indescribable bond with her daughter.

“Félicité, are you hungry?”

As the baby, wrapped in soft cloth, began to purse her lips, Anita gave Renee a discreet look. Understanding at once, Renee dismissed everyone from the room except the nurse they could trust with their secret.

Following the nurse’s instructions, Anita carefully lifted Félicité into her arms and adjusted her hold while seated. The nurse gently corrected her where needed.

It was a tranquil afternoon. The unpleasant encounter at the Central Palace earlier seemed to fade completely from Anita’s mind.

Who could have known that this peace would be shattered in an instant?

Anita had just started to undo her blouse with Renee’s help when there was a knock at the door. It burst open immediately afterwards.

The Empress was seated deep within the chamber, out of sight of the doorway, holding her infant daughter. However, Renee moved swiftly to step in front of her and shield her from view.

The nurse dared not make a sound. Startled, Anita clutched Félicité tightly to her chest, her blouse still undone, and turned her head to see who had entered so brazenly.

Who would dare storm into the Empress’s private quarters like this? Not even the Emperor himself would be permitted to do so under normal circumstances. But who in the palace could stop a ruler so far gone from reason?

The intruder who had violated the sanctity of Anita’s chamber was none other than Emperor Cedric himself.

“We greet His Majesty the Emperor.”

Renee said, bowing while shielding Anita from view.

Sensing the situation, the nurse quickly stepped forward and discreetly took Félicité from Anita’s arms.

Despite her hands trembling slightly, Anita tried to adjust her loose clothing. However, the undone knot prevented her from getting fully composed. Pressing her hand against her chest, she rose from her seat.

“Your Majesty, please give me a moment. I am not in a state to receive you right now.”

“Take the princess and leave us.”

Anita did her best to keep her composure, speaking to Cedric in a quiet, restrained manner.

Cedric’s gaze swept swiftly over the three women and the infant before he cut her off mid-sentence. His tone was calm, no sharper or louder than usual yet the nurse turned as white as a sheet and Renee hesitated, glancing anxiously towards her mistress.

Anita nodded slightly, signaling to Rene to go. She looked torn for a moment, but then quickly bowed her head and guided the nurse, who was carrying Félicité, towards the door.

Anita’s eyes lingered on her daughter. She worried that the sudden disturbance might startle the baby into crying. Thankfully, however, Félicité only yawned slightly before dozing off again in the nurse’s arms.

A faint smile touched Anita’s lips at the sight. For that brief moment of tenderness, sparks flickered in Cédric’s eyes. Unlike his wife, however, he did not spare the child so much as a glance.

When Renee and the nurse left, silence fell heavily over the room. Anita looked at Cédric’s stern expression, not out of curiosity about why he had come, but out of fear. By now, she had been conditioned to shrink whenever she faced him.

‘Why…?’

But as a few moments passed, her fear slowly gave way to hurt and simmering anger.

Was it because of what had happened at the Central Palace earlier? No, that had unsettled her, but not broken her patience.

The real reason lay deeper: Cedric’s complete indifference towards their child. Anita could not fathom how a father could go more than a month without once looking at his daughter’s face. Even worse, when the child was right before his eyes, he ordered her to be taken away.

Seeing the coldness she had only heard about the Emperor’s apathy towards Félicité firsthand was almost unbearable.

“Did you come to see Félicité?”

“…”

“You’ve never really looked at her, have you? Then why did you send her away? It must have been the first time she’d ever seen her father.”

Cedric froze, caught off guard by his wife’s words. But only for a moment. His patience, already stretched thin before he arrived, snapped completely.

He was angry, not just with her, but with himself too. Why was he so furious? Was it because his wife had dared to leave without waiting for him? The excuse was absurd, and he knew it. After all, it was he who had deliberately brought another woman, a noble’s daughter into the palace, despite already having an empress.

Following the birth of the princess and Anita’s formal installation as empress, Cedric convinced himself that his decisions were sound. Yet beneath that conviction festered an unshakable irritation. It felt as if everything was unfolding according to Shisha Yullenté’s plans and he despised it.

Then came the daily reports that his ailing wife smiled every day as she looked at their child. How could she look so content after giving birth to a useless princess? Did she truly believe that she had won, that by sitting on the throne she had gained everything?

‘She forgets that everything she possesses exists only because I allow it.’

Despite knowing that Anita had been waiting for him, he summoned Katrine first, purely out of spite. Katrine probably thought he did so to please her father, the Duke, but she was mistaken.

The truth was simpler and crueler: he wanted to remind his wife of her place. ‘You need to be reminded of who you are. Without me, you are nothing.’

Rather than waiting like a dutiful wife and accepting her place beneath even a mere noble’s daughter, she had left. Not for any grave reason, but simply to see her child.

A child who could never be an heir. A helpless newborn who could offer her nothing. And when he came after her, unable to suppress his anger, what did she do?

She dared to reproach him. To blame him.

Cedric’s thoughts stemmed from a deep, unspoken belief that Anita was far beneath him, a being meant to exist within the bounds of his will, a possession to be commanded.

Even her most natural, innocent actions therefore struck him as insolent.

Unforgivably defiant.

“Do you truly think I would concern myself with a useless infant princess?”

Cedric knew exactly which words would hurt her most. He spoke them without hesitation, calling his month-old daughter ‘useless’, and drove the blade deep into his wife’s heart.

As expected, Anita’s face betrayed her feelings.

Shock, fury, and disbelief registered on her face; her lips trembled silently, and her complexion drained of color. For a moment, she looked as if she could not breathe.

But Cedric took satisfaction only in her reaction, his voice rising with cold authority.

“Listen carefully. I have no interest in a princess who cannot be considered an heir and who is of no use to Laxion. She’s not worth my time.”