“My daughter Isabella Rudo has been eager to meet Miss Robepon.”

Would it be alright if we visited you together in the near future?

Duchess Rudo asked for permission with utmost courtesy, yet with a subtly pressuring tone.

Perhaps it was because her demeanor, unaccustomed to dealing with superiors, had solidified into a long-standing habit.

Kasallin lightly pursed her lips.

The answer she had to give was already decided.

“Is there any reason it wouldn’t be? Let’s have tea together soon. I’ll host.”

“I’m delighted by your gracious acceptance. I look forward to meeting you with my daughter.”

Duchess Rudo gave a polite bow and retraced her steps back the way she came.

Kasallin detached her gaze from the duchess’s retreating figure and briskly headed toward the main gate of the Empress’s Palace.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Dawson, the head housekeeper and overseer of the Empress’s Palace facilities. I’ll guide you from here.”

Dawson, the head housekeeper who had come to greet her, approached and offered a bow only after seeing Duchess Rudo disappear into the distance.

She appeared to be of a similar age to Duchess Rudo, and it was clear at a glance that she hadn’t worked in the palace for just a day or two.

Knowing that befriending someone so familiar with the inner workings would be advantageous, Kasallin offered a handshake with a friendly demeanor.

“Nice to meet you. We’ll likely see each other often. I’m still unfamiliar with life here and may have shortcomings, but I hope for your guidance, Mrs. Dawson.”

It was rare for nobles to offer handshakes to those in the servant class.

This was partly because they didn’t see them as equals and partly because they considered laboring hands lowly and unclean.

But Kasallin didn’t care about such things in the slightest.

She needed someone experienced and savvy, someone who could provide useful information and practical advice.

“Oh… I’m the one who should be asking for your favor, Miss Robepon.”

“Please, just call me Kasallin.”

Dawson seemed quite surprised by Kasallin’s warm greeting, devoid of the typical aristocratic haughtiness or coldness.

She bent her knees slightly, cautiously accepting the handshake.

To think that such a small gesture of kindness could elicit such surprise—how rarely must she have been treated with humanity?

“Everything from here to beyond is part of the Empress’s Palace. It’s a sacred and historic place where empresses have resided since the founding of the Renel Empire.”

Dawson explained as she guided Kasallin inside.

Kasallin looked around the Empress’s Palace, soon to be her home, with an unfamiliar expression.

It had a distinctly different atmosphere from the Emperor’s Palace.

While the Emperor’s Palace showcased absolute imperial power with its gleaming marble gardens and towering pillars, the Empress’s Palace felt more nature-friendly and cozy.

“The tulip garden and the pond with koi fish are particularly charming. The previous empress… I mean, the Dowager Empress, must have had an exceptionally refined taste.”

“No. The garden you see now was newly created under His Majesty’s orders. Until a month ago, this place was quite desolate, having been without an owner for so long.”

“His Majesty ordered this?”

“I wasn’t supposed to tell you this, but…”

Dawson, her wariness toward Kasallin somewhat eased, continued with a slight smile.

“His Majesty instructed that since the new mistress of this place loves flowers and fish, it should be decorated as beautifully and comfortably as possible. He also specially permitted it to be styled in the manner of the Kan Kingdom, as you might miss your homeland.”

“I never would’ve imagined. To think His Majesty put in such care.”

Kasallin, slightly dazed, touched her cheek.

For some reason, the spot where he had roughly stroked her earlier seemed to tingle.

“It’s quite something to live and see. Even Duke Ludwig, his close aide, wouldn’t have guessed that His Majesty, who knew only work and training since his days as Crown Prince, had such a delicate side.”

“Have you been with the imperial household for long, Mrs. Dawson?”

“Yes. I came here around twelve or thirteen, so it’s been about forty years now.”

“What kind of person do you think Emperor Parnes is?”

Dawson adopted a cautious expression, hesitating to respond easily.

“Well… I’m not part of the Emperor’s Palace, so I don’t know much, but he always seemed somehow lonely.”

“Lonely, when His Majesty has everything?”

“His Majesty may have everything, but he’s also lost much. His father’s life, his mother’s health, his family’s peace, the trust of friends, and countless vassals who died in battle. That void in his heart won’t be easily filled.”

At the entrance to the bedchamber, Dawson turned to Kasallin and said,

“But somehow, I feel you might be different, Miss Kasallin.”

“Different how?”

“To His Majesty, you seem like a special and unique presence. I think you might be able to fill that void in his heart.”

With that, Dawson bowed respectfully.

“I sincerely hope you’ll become a splendid empress.”

[This is the timeline separator]

As Kasallin had not yet been officially appointed as empress, by rule, she was supposed to reside temporarily in a distant annex palace.

But she later heard that Parnes had specifically ordered that Kasallin be allowed to use the Empress’s Palace bedchamber immediately.

Kasallin wanted to visit Parnes to express her gratitude.

But things didn’t go as smoothly as she hoped.

Kasallin was busy obtaining a new identity in the Renel Empire and preparing items and clothing for her future use.

Moreover, the Emperor’s Palace and the Empress’s Palace were separated by a vast forest, requiring significant resolve to make the journey, and she heard Parnes was extremely busy catching up on delayed state affairs.

She hesitated to visit, worried she might disturb him.

“Why are the Emperor’s Palace and the Empress’s Palace so far apart? It feels like they’re in completely different cities with this forest as a boundary.”

While signing the final documents for her new identity, Kasallin muttered in confusion.

Logia, who had adapted to the place even faster than Kasallin, overheard and looked out the window.

“I heard from the maids that it’s to respect the privacy of the emperor and empress.”

“Privacy? As partners ruling the country together, wouldn’t it be better to meet face-to-face as often as possible?”

“Well… most emperors in history had mistresses, didn’t they? Besides, it’s said that empresses rarely interfered actively in state affairs.”

With a rather serious expression, Kasallin gazed at the barely visible roof of the Emperor’s Palace in the distance.

Would such a day come for her too?

A day when she’d awkwardly encounter Emperor Parnes strolling with a young, charming mistress.

A day when she’d casually overlook his private life and refrain from stepping into each other’s domains unless absolutely necessary.

‘It’ll come someday. Nothing in this world is unchanging.’

Kasallin handed the signed documents to the official and moved to a small room styled like a study.

This study, too, was said to have been personally prepared by Parnes.

How he knew her reading preferences and filled it with such fascinating books was beyond her.

Kasallin picked up the Renel Empire Noble Family Registry.

She flipped through the pages to the section about the Rudo family.

[On August 21, 820, Miss Margarita Rudo was officially appointed empress, receiving the title ‘Her Majesty Empress Margarita Rudo Escalo,’ and her brother, Marcelo Rudo, the eldest son of the Rudo family, was granted the title of duke.] [On May 1, 821, Duke Marcelo Rudo, who became the lord of the Midland territory, married Miss Katarina Norris, a member of a collateral branch of the Ram Kingdom’s royal family.]

From those brief lines, Kasallin learned a few things she hadn’t known.

First, that Duchess Rudo was from a collateral branch of the Ram Kingdom’s royal family.

‘A nobly raised princess wouldn’t have fallen for a merchant who ran an inn, so she must have married to gain connections to the Renel imperial family.’

But one lingering question remained unanswered even after reading the registry.

It was about Isabella Rudo, the duke’s daughter.

“That’s strange. Why isn’t there a single line about the duchess’s children?”

“What are you reading so intently?”

Lost in her thoughts, Kasallin was startled by a voice from behind.

Parnes, who had apparently been there for some time, was leaning casually on the desk, peering at the registry.

Before she knew it, Kasallin found herself trapped between his arms as he leaned forward.

“Your Majesty!”

“Hello.”

His lips curved into a gentle arc.

Perhaps because it had been a while, his greeting felt oddly more cheerful and intimate, making Kasallin’s heart flutter strangely.

“I was passing by and thought I’d stop in. I hope I’m not interrupting…”

“I was waiting for you.”

Parnes paused, as if deciphering a foreign language, then slowly tilted his head, as if asking her to repeat herself.

“I was wondering when you’d come by. You’re so busy, and I didn’t want to disturb you by visiting first.”

Kasallin tried not to sound foolish, but she increasingly lost track of what she was saying.

Why was she making a big deal out of seeing him after a few days when they were in the same palace?

She scolded herself for not just saying, “Welcome.”

“Me too.”

Gazing softly at her face with lowered eyes, he murmured briefly.

He slowly wrapped a strand of Kasallin’s hair around his hand, brushing his lips against its ends.

“That I just happened to stop by? That was a lie.”