Chapter 3 – Part 7

The former fiancée of the emperor, Alaina Salvatore, sat next to her father. The eyes that always met everything directly were now lowered, gazing at the floor, and her lively face looked pale and drained of vitality.

Her hands were roughened, and her skin bore the signs of hardships.

“As the Emperor’s betrothed, I have failed to fulfill my responsibilities, and I beg you to give me the punishment I deserve for the trouble I have caused you.”

Her voice seemed as if her soul had left her. Alaina still did not meet Leoard’s eyes.

The Marquis Salvatore just let out a hearty laugh, brushing off the words, seemingly caring-free.

“Punishment? I don’t think such a thing is necessary. The empress has stepped down, and the empress’s seat is vacant now. You can take responsibility from that position.”

It meant to place Alaina back on the empress’s throne as planned. However, Leonard’s face remained cold and indifferent.

“The empress’s seat is not for Alaina Salvatore.”

Alaina’s shoulders shivered at the unexpected reply, confusion evident on her frightened face. However, the Marquis, her father, did not pay any attention to his changed daughter.

“It’s not yours, I’m afraid.”

Leonard couldn’t understand why the Marquis didn’t care about his daughter’s changed appearance, or whether he was still in pain for Tenere’s dethronement. The only clear thing was how unpleasant his appearance was.

“You still seem to have interest in the former empress.”

Leonard frowned at the words. He covered the slip, feeling it was not appropriate to say “empress” in this context.

“Why not appoint Alaina as the empress? If you want to concern yourself with the former empress, make her your concubine.”

It was at that moment that they heard a knock at the door. A servant entered with a glance and quickly bowed.

“What is the matter?”

“I apologize, Your Majesty. Lady Evan requested an audience today.”

“Emp…”

Out of habit, Leonard was about to say, “Empress,” but quickly shut his mouth.

The Marquis Salvatore’s gaze was felt. Leonard tried not to look at him and gave an order.

“Tell her I have urgent business today and I will just send someone later.”

The knight bowed and quickly left the room.

The Marquis Salvatore let out a dry laugh as soon as the door closed. Leonard glared at him.

Lingering feelings, what nonsense. The feelings he had for Tener were closer to a deep friendship and familial love that had been built up over the past four years. 

“No matter what you say, I will not have your daughter as my new empress. You also…….”

“What if Alaina agrees?”

The Marquis Salvatore cut him off. Leonard’s gaze briefly shifted toward Alaina.

Her eyes, which were once confident and fearless in front of the emperor, now looked shaky, frightened, and lost.

“…Alaina.”

What on earth had happened? Leonard still remembered Alaina, who always held her head high.  

“Please accept me as the empress, Your Majesty.”

The hesitant voice was full of sincerity. Leonard doubted his ears. He turned to look at Marquis Salvatore.

“What did you do to her?”

“Are you worried about your fiancé?”

Marquis Salvatore asked with a teasing smile. His hand gently rested on his daughter’s shoulder, showing a truly affectionate father.

“Or… are you worried as her husband?”

Leonard’s face twisted again. The hand holding the teacup tightened.

“I told you not to spout nonsense.”

It was a rough tone that was unprecedented, but the Marquis paid no attention.

“I’m not saying nonsense either. If you believe my words are false, you can execute me for insulting Your Majesty.”

He was shameless, as if confident that Leonard would never punish him.

“Since Your Majesty considers me a father, even if I act impurely, wouldn’t you forgive me graciously?”

“Who…!”

“I’m giving His Majesty a chance.”

Marquis Salvatore cut him off.

“If I reveal myself as Your Majesty’s biological father, I will bring disgrace to the late Empress or cause harm to Your Majesty. So, if Your Majesty accepts my daughter as the empress, I would cease to be greedy.”

His voice carried a sense of bitter sincerity, but it was undoubtedly a threat.

If Emperor Leonard didn’t welcome Alaina Salvatore as the empress, the Marquis would expose that the emperor’s biological father wasn’t the late emperor, but someone else.

He knew he must not be swayed. That such nonsense should be ignored from the start.

But he can’t ignore it, because even he can’t be sure. He can’t get the image of his mother with her head bowed out of his mind.

“I was lonely”

Her voice sounded dry as if her tears had dried up. Her voice, overly calm, occasionally spat out tears.

“You said you were drugged, so I believed you were..”

He couldn’t help but notice the tears streaming down the face that looked so much like his own.

She had thought that he might not be the Emperor’s child, that he might have the same father as her longtime fiancé, and that he could simply ask the question and move on as if nothing had happened.

But Marquis Salvatore would not allow them to bury it.

He would not let them bury it, not even two months after Tenere’s abdication. Bringing with him a daughter who had been gone for five years.

“I do not wish to hear more.”

Leonard rose from his seat, but he knew the Marquis would return.

And he knew he would see him again if he asked to see him.

“Today, Your Majesty seems tired, so we will withdraw. But please remember, Your Majesty, that blood cannot be deceived.”

Perhaps judging that pressing the matter further would only fuel anger, Marquis Salvatore rose obediently.

Alaina still stood up with a vacant expression.

Her gaze followed Leonard’s retreating figure, but neither Leonard nor Lord Salvatore knew that.

* * *

Leaving the imperial chamber, Leonard quickly walked away. The attendants trailed behind, but he didn’t want to pay them any attention.

His insides felt suffocated, and anger was boiling, but he couldn’t find a place to vent it.

Should he lash out at innocent attendants? Should he lament to his deceased mother? Or should he punish Marquis Salvatore, who held a bomb at the tip of his tongue?

Leonard’s steps halted in front of the vacant empress’s chamber.

Finding the door closed, he stiffened as he realized where he was.

“…”

“Your Majesty, shall I open the door?”

The chamberlain lowered his head. Leonard was on the verge of sighing. Rumors were circulating that the emperor couldn’t forget the empress, evidenced by his steps resembling a dog that lost its owner in the empty room.

“Yes”

However, the fatigue was overwhelming for him to protest. As the door opened, familiar air wafted in.

The empress’s chamber remained peaceful and unchanged.

Nothing in the room, from furniture to bedding, had changed. Naturally, no orders were given to tidy up the room.

“I loved you.”

He heard those words in this room. And he spent their last night here.

I pitied her for wanting a love that could not be given, even though she knew it was no longer necessary.

“I was out of my mind”

If he were in his right mind, he wouldn’t have acted like that. However, even if he returned to that day, he knew he would behave the same way.

Leonhardt slowly made it to the bed. On the bedside table lay the sachet that Teneur had personally made.

The faint fragrance that used to linger was long gone, and one had to bring their nose close to barely sense it.

This kind of item should have been discarded, but it seemed her maids couldn’t bring themselves to do so.

As calm as her demeanor was, she was kind to those beneath her.

It was said that when her abdication was decided, several maids who served her shed tears.

Yet, on the day of her departure, she calmly comforted the maids herself.

“…”

His large hands slowly cradled the sachet. The herbs encased within the embroidered cloth seemed to crumble.

The chamberlain who had been observing him spoke.

“Your Majesty.”

“…”

“Earlier, Her Majesty, the former Empress, requested an audience…”

At those words, Leonard’s hands paused. There was no way he could forget.

But he also knew that rushing to the empress’s call with a visibly upset demeanor wasn’t suitable.

“If it’s urgent, we will send someone from the marquisate again. If she doesn’t request another audience, it must not be important. If there’s no message from her after three days, send someone.”

Leonard spoke firmly. However, his hand continued to toy with the sachet, now devoid of its fragrance.

It wasn’t just a longing for the former empress. It was a longing for a peaceful daily life.

After finishing his official duties, he would visit the empress’s palace. The empress would always welcome him with a smile, sitting across from him, or lying side by side, exchanging important or trivial stories in a cozy manner.

Sometimes they comfort each other, being comforted, laughing together.

If someone were to ask if they were happy, he wouldn’t deny it. But the past peace was just a thing of the past, and his life was in the present.

‘I should forget.’

Leonard told himself. It was a resolution he made whenever he thought of the empress, whenever her voice, her way of speaking, her touch, her expression, her little habits, all of them suddenly came back to him.

He turned away, placing the sachet on the bed.

The familiar scent had long disappeared, and the lingering aroma, barely perceptible when brought close to the nose, held no significance.

He tried not to recall her face that used to smile gently at him, the small embrace she would give him.