“Your Majesty, I think there’s been some misunderstanding. I…”

“There’s no need to make excuses. I understand the Empress’s intentions well, so I’ll remove your workload as you wished.”

“What? Your Majesty. That’s not what…”

Aris, who had hurriedly opened her mouth, had to stop speaking when she saw Kalaian’s eyes. His cold gaze made her mouth feel frozen, unable to utter another word.

Kalaian, who had always been polite, spoke sarcastically with his arms crossed.

“From now on, someone else will take over the Empress’s duties. I’ll also revoke all your authority, so you can rest easy now. Don’t worry, the person taking over will be Lady Frencia, who will soon become the Empress Consort.”

Aris grasped the edge of the blanket with trembling hands. Her eyes wavered and soon filled with transparent moisture. Kalaian looked at those tears as if they were disgusting and opened his mouth.

“Let me give you one piece of advice. It seems this kind of approach works in the East, but…”

Kalaian twisted his eyes fiercely.

“This is not the East. In the West, follow the Western ways.”

With those final words, Kalaian turned around. Aris couldn’t stop him as he left the bedroom.

The door to the bedroom closed roughly. At the same time, tears fell from Aris’s eyes.

‘…Why?’

What on earth went wrong?

Unable to believe this situation, she even pinched her cheek and bit her lip until it almost bled. But everything was too vivid, a cruel reality.

Aris buried her face in her hands and burst into tears.

She just wanted to do well. She just wanted to be acknowledged.

I was just anxious…

Somehow, all those efforts came back not as achievements, but as despair.

There’s a saying in the world that ‘those who are meant to fail will fail.’ And unfortunately, Aris was in exactly that situation.

From the next day, Aris really couldn’t handle any work.

She insisted on working, saying that His Majesty must have misunderstood something, but she only received the response from the aides that “Your Majesty the Empress has no authority over this matter.”

In the end, Aris had no choice but to return to the Empress’s palace and spend her days in a daze.

‘It was the only way I could meet His Majesty…’

When the work she had always clung to for that reason alone disappeared, Aris suddenly became an idle person.

“How nobly must she have been raised in the East to get bored with her assigned duties?”

The nobles and palace servants whispered as they watched Aris. Even the Eastern nobles she met at official events looked down on her. Even Aris’s father and mother…

‘…No one tries to understand my situation. I was really just a means for reconciliation.’

It was also for this reason that Aris, who now had nothing to do, could still keep her position as Empress. Just that reason made Aris’s heart grow colder.

‘Don’t be disheartened. Everything will be fine. If I do my job well, someday…’

Suddenly, she stopped arranging flowers. Her job now consisted of merely flower arranging, diary writing, and embroidery.

Aris sighed. She really hated it. Her powerless and utterly stupid self.

At that moment, a servant came and announced to her.

“A letter has arrived for Your Majesty the Empress.”

“Ah… thank you.”

Putting aside her gloom, Aris received the letter.

‘It’s from the Frencia family.’

The sender of the letter was Serena Frencia.

‘Come to think of it, I gifted her the marigold flower tea I made as a hobby recently.’

The marigolds that Aris had carefully dried and roasted in her newly abundant free time were placed in pretty glass bottles and given to people around her. Among them were Aris’s hometown family and friends, and Serena as well.

It was true that she couldn’t feel entirely good about Serena, who would soon become her husband’s other wife.

But Serena Frencia was one of the people she’s grateful for protecting the empire from threatening monsters. Knowing this, Aris had put aside her desire to reject and sent a token of affection.

‘It seems she received the gift well.’

Aris smiled faintly as she read the letter expressing gratitude. At the end of the letter, it was also written that if she had a chance to visit the imperial palace soon, she would like to have tea with Aris using this flower tea.

Aris asked a servant for writing paper and sent a reply gladly accepting.

‘We’ll be seeing each other often from now on, so it wouldn’t hurt to be on friendly terms.’

It was just that Aris’s heart ached a little. But isn’t there a saying that time heals all wounds?

This pain will disappear after several years pass. Anyway, hating her won’t improve the situation at all.

She repeated this to herself alone and handed the completed letter to the servant. A faint, forced melancholic smile shone weakly.

“Please send this to the Frencia family.”

The tea time with Serena came earlier than Aris had expected. It was because Serena visited two days after Aris sent her reply.

Aris adamantly refused the servant’s help and brewed the tea herself with care.

“Your Majesty the Empress seems to be capable of everything.”

“You flatter me. It’s Lady Frencia who receives all of my respect.”

Aris calmly replied as she poured tea for Serena. The fragrant yellow tea blended with the rising steam.

Serena thanked her and took a few sips of the tea.

“The aroma and taste are really good. To think you made the tea leaves yourself, it’s amazing.”

Serena, with her eyes wide open, poured out sincere praise. Aris felt a little satisfied.

In her perspective, Serena Frencia was a truly good person, except for the fact that she would become her husband’s other wife. Kind, strong, and beautiful.

She was originally considered as a candidate for the future Crown Princess, but even after losing that position, she had never shown any hostility towards Aris.

It was just as Aris was about to take a sip of the fragrant tea she had brewed herself.

“Cough.”

Suddenly, Serena coughed and spat out blood.

“…Lady Frencia?!”

Aris, her mind frozen by the sudden incident, opened her eyes wide. Meanwhile, Serena lost consciousness and collapsed onto the table.

The tea table instantly became a mess as Serena’s dropped teacup overturned. Screams erupted from the servants standing guard nearby, and knights waiting outside rushed in upon hearing the commotion.

There, Aris stood pale, covering her mouth.

“What is this… Quickly, move Lady Frencia to a room and call a doctor!”

Aris managed to command in the midst of the chaotic situation. Her head was spinning, and her heart was pounding. Serena, who had been smiling and conversing well with her until just now, had coughed up blood and collapsed right before her eyes.

‘Why on earth? Was there a problem with the teacup?’

Was there someone who harbored resentment?

Aris anxiously thought as Serena was being examined by the doctor. Soon, the doctor reported Serena’s condition to Aris, who was standing nearby.

“After examination, it appears she has ingested a large amount of herbs that prevent pregnancy. It seems such ingredients were in the tea.”

“What? Ingredients that prevent pregnancy, why would such things…”

Just as Aris was about to voice her doubts,

“What’s this about?”

Kalaian arrived. Aris forgot what she was about to say at his appearance. He was in splendid formal attire, perhaps having rushed over from a meeting with important figures.

Kalaian’s gaze first fell on the unconscious Serena before moving to Aris. His expression hardened fiercely.

“Ingredients that prevent pregnancy… Care to explain, Empress?”

His tone was dry and sharp.

But why was he asking her? Realizing that some misunderstanding had occurred, Aris hurriedly opened her mouth.

“I also don’t know what happened…”

“Are you trying to deceive me with such a flimsy excuse now? If you’re going to make excuses, at least put some effort into it.”

“Your Majesty, I, I think there’s a misunderstanding. You know well that I couldn’t do such a thing…!”

“How would I know that, Empress?”

Aris froze at his irritated voice. For a moment, she even seemed to stop breathing and blinking.

Kalaian shot a cold glance at her, who was trembling like broken glass, and said,

“The one who benefits most from Lady Frencia’s infertility here is the Empress, isn’t it?”

“But, I was holding the same tea that Lady Frencia drank…! Hey, didn’t everyone see…!”

Aris looked around urgently. But the servants, who had been whispering among themselves, quickly shut their mouths when their eyes met Aris’s.

What brought even greater despair to the already despairing Aris was the doctor.

“Out of caution, I also checked Your Majesty the Empress’s tea, but no such ingredients were found in Your Majesty’s tea. Moreover, according to the servants nearby, Your Majesty the Empress never took a sip of the tea.”