Anyone could see that the spider meant the emperor, and the red ant meant Empress Pamila.

It was slander.

“The last sentence was not in Patrick’s letter, and I did not write the last reply either.”

Patricia spoke in a firm voice, but no one paid heed to her words.

“The rebellion was attributed solely to the princess, but it could not have happened without the cooperation of His Highness the Crown Prince. We should hold the Crown Prince accountable as well, but due to his illness and difficulty in movement, we have postponed it. The situation is so dire that it wouldn’t be strange if the Karsic Empire invaded right now.”

As soon as the head of the guard finished speaking, Duke Parse, the chairman of the Imperial Council, continued.

“Various opinions have been raised to overcome the crisis of the empire during the war. There was a proposal to revoke Crown Prince Patrick’s appointment as commander and appoint Second Prince Chris as commander to face the Karsic Empire.”

Duke Parse paused to catch his breath, looked around the audience, and then continued.

“It is predicted that the Karsic Empire’s current mobilizable troops will be five times that of Tane. Even a child can predict the outcome of the war.”

After Emperor Harchen’s ascension, the Karsic Empire accepted mercenaries and workers from minor kingdoms, ethnic minorities, and mixed races within the Arkan continent as imperial citizens.

Even before they had begun full-scale mining of gold and diamond mines, people from the Arkan continent flocked to Karsic, shouting, “To Karsic, the new Golden Age Golden Empire!”

Duke Parse stood up and walked towards Patricia. Standing right in front of her, he said,

“Fortunately, His Majesty the Emperor has prepared an alternative to overcome the urgent imperial crisis.”

Duke Parse paused briefly and scanned the audience. The air in the conference room was tense.

As curious gazes from the audience gathered on him, Duke Parse cleared his throat, clenching his fist.

“His Majesty the Emperor has proposed a state marriage between Princess Patricia and the Emperor of the Karsic Empire as a negotiation offer, and the Karsic Empire has accepted the negotiation. Thus, His Majesty the Emperor has ordered the princess to enter into this state marriage.”

‘What, what did he say? State marriage? With the Karsic Emperor? Moreover, Karsic has already accepted the negotiation offer? When?’

Patricia glared at Empress Pamila.

Pamila, sitting on the edge of the emperor’s bed, opened the emperor’s robe and fanned him.

Behind the red fan adorned with red feathers and garnet pyrop the same color as her hair, her mouth, swallowing ambition, was smiling.

‘If I refuse? It means I’ll pay the price for treason along with Patrick.’

If they had already accepted the negotiation offer, there wasn’t even a chance to refuse.

Pamila had deployed a strategy that was clearly aimed at removing the possibility of becoming crown princess and eventually deposing Patrick as crown prince to enthrone Chris as crown prince.

‘Pretend not to know that strategy? Well, if I stay here, I’ll either have to offer my neck or end up in an underground prison. Let’s go outside Tane and look for a solution.’

Patricia suppressed her rising anger and held her head high. Keeping her gaze on Pamila, she spoke with such force that the veins in her neck stood out.

“I will accept His Majesty the Emperor’s command and enter into the state marriage.”

The scribe recording the imperial council meeting gave a note with important news to the attendant standing inside the meeting hall. The attendant opened the door, went out, and gave it to the horn player standing outside.

The horn player copied the most crucial content from the note onto small pieces of paper, put them in a basket, and went out to the square.

Piriririri, piriririri.

After blowing his horn, he grabbed a handful of papers from the basket and threw them towards the square.

“State marriage! It’s a marriage between the Karsic Emperor and the Tane Princess!”

“Hey! You silly horn player, where is there a princess in Tane?”

Piriririri, piriririri.

People gathered in the square at the sound of the horn. Those crossing the street turned their heads towards the sound of the horn.

“Princess Patricia is the twin sister of Crown Prince Patrick and has been in seclusion as a shadow princess in the West Tower for 25 years.”

“It’s a state marriage, they say the Karsic Empire’s Emperor and the Tane Princess are getting married.”

During a round table meeting in the Emperor’s office, an attendant knocked and entered.

He said that the Empress Dowager was outside and had expressed her intention to participate in the meeting. Judging that it couldn’t be avoided, the Emperor ordered Calip to prepare a chair.

As the Empress Dowager entered, guided by Calip, the ministers of foreign and domestic affairs, administrators, Duke Leak representing the noble council, and other officials, aides, and scribes all stood up and greeted the Empress Dowager with proper respect.

“I apologize for interrupting the meeting. To cut to the chase, the reason I’ve come abruptly is to make a suggestion as a mother regarding the state marriage. Does the subject of the state marriage for the peace treaty between empires have to be the Emperor? Though from a collateral line, I believe Duke Pessoa from the Roche Mountains is also unmarried.”

In response to the Empress Dowager’s suggestion, Duke Leak stood up, leaning on the table with a pleased expression.

“It’s an excellent suggestion. I strongly agree with Your Majesty’s proposal.”

“That’s right. It was the Tane Empire that broke the peace treaty in the first place. Moreover, to think it’s the leader who commanded the war. We predict that there will be strong opposition from the imperial citizens.”

“Yes, I think we should just show basic sincerity to the marriage proposal that came from Tane.”

The ministers added their comments to the Empress Dowager’s suggestion, forming a consensus in favor.

Tok tok tok.

The Emperor, who had been wearing a cold expression, tapped the table with his left index finger.

“Enough.”

A chilly silence fell over the round table as if by agreement.

Harchen felt a chill down his spine as he imagined Patricia marrying Duke Pessoa from the north. He alone should be the one to punish the princess, to make her cry.

“Emperor Kazan of Tane proposed the state marriage, and the Karsic Empire accepted. In the past, Tane promised peace, but war eventually broke out. A collateral nobleman is not enough for someone who might change their mind again at any time. Moreover, this state marriage is also what I, Harchen Eint Carl Berk, personally desire.”

The Empress Dowager, Duke Leak, and the other ministers froze with their mouths open, their eyes wide.

“Each minister and administrator should prepare in their respective positions. Aide, announce the state marriage.”

“Yes, I receive Your Majesty’s will.”

News of the state marriage between the two empires for the peace of the Arkan continent spread from the northern Roche Mountains to the southernmost Pana Lake in half a day.

At first, the imperial citizens rebelled and were shocked, but like a larger stream covering small ripples, the grand cause of continental peace rather than war covered up the minor rumors.

The delegation that had initially inspected the situation at Tane Palace and received the state marriage schedule arrived fifteen days after departing from the Pana Lake military camp.

In the meantime, Tane’s prisoners and wounded soldiers were treated and sent back to Tane.

The Emperor expected the princess and Lean, whom he had ordered to escort her, to arrive for the state marriage preparations, but only the delegation came.

“What about Lean? Is he on his way escorting the princess?”

“No, Your Majesty. Only we came first.”

“Then why?”

“Following Tane’s custom of making a bed for newlyweds, they said they would depart after receiving Amir’s blessing on a bed made from palm trees from Mount Hesperos.”

A bed for newlyweds… What a sensual custom.

I like that.

Harchen deliberately distorted his lips to hold back a smile as he unfolded the paper from the horn that the knight commander handed him and read it.

“Shadow Princess Patricia, who secluded herself in the West Tower! Twin of Crown Prince Patrick! State marriage confirmed with the Emperor of the Karsic Golden Empire!!!”

Certainly, Tane had developed unique cultures unlike Karsic.

Not only were trains that moved faster than carriages and horses amazing, but it was also interesting that horn players delivered royal news.

The custom of the bride bringing the couple’s bed, and even the sky on Tane’s side, was quite pleasing.

Harchen wondered how Patricia had reacted when the Tane Emperor ordered the state marriage.

Probably not bad, or maybe she even accepted it willingly. With me…

He rubbed his lips with his index and middle fingers. It was a habit he had developed whenever he thought of Patricia.

Lovemaking. It was very good, wasn’t it?

“Sir Lean said he would send Conrad ahead as they departed.”

“Then why haven’t they departed yet?”

Harchen found it strange that Patricia’s party hadn’t departed yet, with just over a month left until the state marriage date sent by the Tane Emperor.

The knight commander said that according to what he had learned just before leaving Tane Palace, the princess had insisted on moving together after nursing Patrick’s body.

Feeling like he was losing to Patrick even before getting married, he felt a surge of annoyance.

He thought they would arrive in ten days, but even after twelve days, Lean’s letter arrived saying that the princess’s party had just boarded the train in Tane’s capital.

He added that Patrick could not accompany them as his illness had not improved.

The head chamberlain and head maid Anna were excited to have more time to decorate the White Palace, the Empress’s space, and the garden. They dug up the soil in the garden, laid new grass, and planted trees with budding flowers.

The east side of the second floor of the Karsic main palace was Emperor Harchen’s private space. From the terrace of his office, one could see the garden of the White Palace. Using the outdoor stairs of the terrace, it was directly connected to the garden.

Harchen would go to the White Palace via the outdoor stairs whenever he had a little free time from his office.

When the servants decorating the ceiling and walls asked for his opinion, Harchen pondered carefully. He couldn’t answer easily as he didn’t know Patricia’s tastes, but he enjoyed the time thinking about her preferences.

He silently sat in one place after looking around the reception room, study, rest room, dressing room, bath, bedroom, and terrace connected to the reception room.

Imagining Patricia staying in this space spread a warm feeling like sunshine touching the crown of his head on a winter morning.

A day of waiting felt like ten days, and three or four days felt like a month.

*

Will today just pass by too?

The shadows of the garden trees lengthened due to the sun leaning westward. Harchen brushed back the black hair that had fallen onto his forehead and looked up at the sky towards Tane.

A deep blue sky with no Conrad bringing letters, no clouds, and no wind.

While sitting on the outdoor terrace of the White Palace’s reception room with Calip, the head chamberlain reported that Lean had arrived.

“Lean alone?”

“Yes.”

Soon after, Lean came. Lean knelt on his left knee, took the Emperor’s outstretched hand, and pressed his lips to the back of it.

“I greet Your Majesty, the golden sun of the blazing empire.”

After rising, Lean greeted Calip with a wrist bump. It had been almost a month. It was the first time they had been apart for so long since joining the knighthood in their teens.

“Lean, why are you so late? The princess… where did you leave her and come alone?”

“Your Majesty. Things didn’t go exactly as planned. It took days just to pack… They said they needed to bless the palm tree bed…”

Lean explained how they departed from Tane Palace, took the train for two days, stayed overnight in the border city of Luken, and crossed the Karsic border.

“Enough.”

The Emperor frowned.

“So where is the princess now?”

“I rode ahead at full speed as we entered the capital, so generously speaking, she should arrive in about two hours, before dinner time.”

Harchen’s mouth opened involuntarily.

“Calip. Inform the head chamberlain and head maid.”

Harchen asked Lean about Patrick’s condition. Lean replied that when he paid a visit before departing from Tane Palace, judging by Patrick’s face that had turned green, it didn’t seem like he would recover easily.

“Go and rest for now.”

After Lean paid his respects, he walked along the corridor connected to the terrace.

“Lean.”

Lean turned around.

“What about the princess?”

“Pardon?”

Lean didn’t understand the intent of the question.

“How is the princess?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. The princess is fine.”

What does he mean by fine? Her twin Patrick’s illness has worsened. Can’t he speak in more detail?

“Alright, you may go.”

Harchen rose from the terrace chair. As he walked out of the reception room, he stood in front of an oval mirror on the console.

He raised the collar of his black uniform elaborately embroidered with gold thread and brushed his shoulder epaulettes. He calmly inspected his tall and handsome appearance, made even more striking by the uniform.

“…Patricia.”

She’ll fall for me.

Harchen walked down the corridor with his hands in his black trouser pockets, tilting his head to the side.

He tried to recall Patricia’s appearance.

Her in the Tane Academy male student uniform, in armor, in his loose shirt, in a purple dress.

He tried to recall her in the purple dress, but it was impossible. All he could remember was her waist wrapped in one hand, her white and soft nape, and her lips.

He had no interest in ladies’ dresses themselves. Even when his three raven sisters wore dresses, he only looked at their backs to loosen the tight corsets, never paying much attention to the front of the dresses.

He crossed over to the Emperor’s quarters, passing through the garden where the grass had been re-laid after being dug up to plant flowering trees. Even the scent of soil diffusing into the air made his heart flutter.

Calip, who was coming up the central staircase, followed behind the Emperor.

“Your Majesty. Aren’t you going to welcome the princess?”

“She’ll come.”

The Emperor answered, feigning indifference.

“But she’s coming from far away.”

“Calip, bring me the Kaoshan diamond mining proposal.”

“Why that suddenly…? No, wouldn’t it be better to finish your work for today and go out to welcome her at least at the palace entrance? After waiting so anxiously.”

“Who said I was waiting?”

“Oh my.”

‘Goodness, to show it so openly and then suddenly deny it.’