"It is said that a wizard capable of casting preservation spells entered Your Majesty's bedroom."
In the depths of night, the Empress—recalling the servant's whispered words—slowly opened her eyes.
After confirming that heavy, regular breathing came from beside her, she raised herself carefully.
It must be over there.
The Empress surveyed one corner of the bedroom with alert eyes, then smiled bitterly.
She knew precisely what lay hidden in the deepest alcove of this chamber.
"Never... Don't come here again."
The Emperor's voice, still trembling with rage, echoed in her memory.
When she had been newly crowned Empress, she had entered that space unknowingly—and found it filled with the Emperor's obsession. A blonde woman behind a veil, whose face she could not properly discern.
Later, when news of Grand Duke Vikander's death had blanketed the entire empire—when his widow, the Grand Duchess, had come to the palace to assume guardianship—only then had the Empress realized the woman in that portrait was the Grand Duchess herself.
The Empress looked down at the Emperor with cold eyes.
It was fortunate that the Prince and Princess had inherited her blood. At least they would not do something so foolish as cling to the past like this.
She thought of her two children. A Princess who utilized every resource at her disposal to become the flower of society. A proud Prince who set aside a thousand considerations for the prosperity of the empire.
She smiled with satisfaction and lay back down.
Tomorrow, she would meet with the Princess. Her proud bloodline would surely bring entertaining stories.
Cold moonlight cut through the darkness and illuminated the Empress's face.
And then clouds enveloped the moon—as though determined to prevent even a single point of light from reaching her.
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