The sun that had been hanging in the sky had already disappeared behind the mountain ridge,and a crescent moon casting a cold light now hung in a corner of the night sky.

After a whirlwind of a day filled with the wedding and the empress coronation,Kasallin now faced only her final task.

“Good heavens, Lady Dawson. Her Majesty the Empress’s face has gone pale as a sheet. What should we do?”

Logia, who was dressing Kasallin in thin bedclothes, spoke with a worried tone.

Kasallin, with a face clearly tense to anyone who saw her, said she was fine, but it wasn’t convincing at all.

This was because she now had to perform the sacred duty and ritual of the first night with the emperor.

And in front of many onlookers, no less.

“I thought I could act composed, but that was my arrogance.”

Kasallin, gazing at her own face in the mirror, which seemed on the verge of suffocating,barely moistened her throat with a sip of wine.

At that moment, Ludwig’s voice came from beyond the wall.

“His Majesty the Emperor has arrived.”

Everyone rose from their seats.

Kasallin hid her uncontrollably trembling hands under her sleeves as she prepared to greet him.

Parnes, exuding a different aura from the refined appearance at the wedding, slowly walked into the bridal chamber.

He wore loosely undone bedclothes, casually draped over him, with slightly damp hair at the front.

“I greet Your Majesty the Emperor. This way…”

“Everyone except the empress, leave.”

At his first words, everyone was dumbfounded.

As was customary with imperial etiquette, there were complex procedures and formalitieseven for the moment when the emperor and empress spent their first night together.

According to tradition, Parnes and Kasallin were to wash their hands with holy water from the priests,listen to blessings, share a sip of wine and a bite of bread, and then untie each other’s waistbands.

But as soon as Parnes entered the chamber, he scanned the people in the roomand abruptly issued his command.

In the Lernel Empire, the emperor’s orders were absolute.

Given his temperament, it was wisest not to defy him,but neither could they simply say “Yes” and withdraw gracefully.

A cardinal, holding a scripture among the priests, stepped forward with a bewildered expression.

“Your Majesty, I humbly beg your pardon for speaking out,but we have a duty to devotedly assist and bless the prosperous union of Your Majesties.”

“Are you saying that your outdated duties are more important than my command?”

“No, how could that be?”

“She is my bride. Clear the room.”

Parnes spoke as if no further discussion was necessary,and Ludwig quietly gestured for everyone to leave quickly.

They bowed low to Parnes and Kasallin before hurriedly exiting the chamber.

Thus, only the quietly burning fireplace, the still-warm appetizing dishes,and the two of them remained in the room.

Kasallin, who usually preferred to follow protocol,couldn’t help but feel grateful to Parnes in her heart today.

The absence of watching eyes alone eased her tension considerably,at least sparing her from feeling like she might vomit.

But if asked whether her heart was at ease, the answer was absolutely not.

How could she remain calm when Parnes stood before her,cloaked in an enigmatic aura she had never seen before?

“My lady.”

He called softly, taking a step closer.

He moved cautiously, as if aware that his presence might seem threatening to Kasallin.

She realized she shouldn’t keep showing such foolishly nervous behavior.

It would be rude to him, and dawdling like this would make it impossible to fulfill her duties before dawn.

Above all, she didn’t like that he was so composed while she was trembling like a coward.

“Your face is pale.”

Parnes slowly raised his hand into the air, as if asking for permission,and gently caressed Kasallin’s cold cheek.

The moment his fingertips touched her skin, an indescribable sensation ran up her spine.

Kasallin tried to smile as naturally as possible.

“It must be because I’m still tense. I’ll be fine soon.”

“There’s plenty of time. Let’s take it slowly.”

Kasallin nodded and looked up at him with unfamiliar eyes.

His formal politeness toward her felt like something she’d never get used to, no matter how many times she heard it.

Even though he was the emperor, his resolve to show respect and courtesy only to the empressfelt pleasant, though not unwelcome.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Will you keep speaking like this even when we’re alone?”

“My manner of speaking?”

“Yes.”

“Does it bother you that I address you so formally?”

Kasallin shook her head.

“No, I like it. But I also quite liked how Your Majesty used to speak before.Calling me ‘this one’ or ‘that one,’ teasing me playfully as if I were silly.I think I’ll miss that a bit, knowing I won’t hear it anymore.”

“…”

He fell silent.

In the past, he might have teased her, saying his tongue was itching for it,but now he wore a calm expression, as if such frivolous jokes were no longer needed between them.

“It’s probably because I’m not yet used to being treated as an empress.”

“You’ll have to get used to it from now on.”

“I suppose so. I’ll try.”

In the solemn atmosphere, Kasallin quietly nodded,and soon after, a soft sigh came from above her head.

When she looked up, there was Parnes, his expression softened,like a beast unwilling to scare a frightened fledgling.

“…I didn’t mean we should grow distant.”

“Pardon?”

He gazed at the neatly made bed and the lamp dimly lighting the nearby table,before finally returning his eyes to Kasallin’s face.

“I, to you…”

As he parted his lips to say something, Kasallin’s stomach, unable to bear the intense hunger any longer,growled loudly, demanding food.

She hadn’t touched any food since morning, caught up in the whirlwind of the day’s schedule.

But it wasn’t as if the empress could loosen her waistband and start eating meat and bread on her first night.

Kasallin, clutching her tactless stomach, quietly blushed.

Parnes, who had been staring intently at her flushed skin through her loosely falling hair,turned toward the table as if trying to think of something else.

“We should probably eat something first.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“I’m the one who’s hungry.”

Parnes, sitting down, patted the seat next to him.

When Kasallin looked at him with wide eyes, he gave her that characteristic crooked smile she hadn’t seen in a while.

“I’m human too, after all.”

“…Then, if you’ll excuse me for a moment.”

Kasallin sat beside him, leaving enough space for another person to fit between them.

She picked a grape, easy to eat, and popped it into her mouth,but she felt a heavy gaze from the side.

Despite saying he was hungry, Parnes hadn’t touched the foodand was quietly watching Kasallin.

“Your Majesty, you said you were hungry. Please eat something.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“But just now…”

“It was an excuse. You seemed so tense, I thought this might help you relax.”

It had always been a question.

Every time he showed kindness and care, Kasallin wondered if he truly saw her only as suitable for the role of empress.

If she had previously questioned only her own feelings, now she was curious about his heart as well.

What exactly do you define me as?

What is the nature of this thing that keeps shaking me so?

Amid such confusion, one thing was certain: she didn’t want to let this moment pass meaninglessly.

“Why are you so good to me?”

She could feel him quietly holding his breath.

“I… I don’t understand Your Majesty’s heart.”

“Does our relationship require understanding emotions or hearts?”

“…”

“You’ve become the empress of our empire, a partner and ally to face many challenges together.I’m merely doing my best to do what I can for you.”

Despite his cold, wall-like words, Parnes wore the most human expression she had ever seen.

Slightly flushed cheeks.

Eyes filled with swirling thoughts.

Straight lips that seemed to hold many unspoken words.

And, faintly visible between them, a trace of self-loathing.

Looking back, whenever he expressed gratitude or praise,he always reacted as if such words didn’t suit him at all.

“Then I, too, want to do what I can as an empress.”

Kasallin slid her hand over the soft velvet sofa,gently grasping Parnes’s hand at the end.

As her hand moved past his thick-boned wrist and up his arm,a suppressed breath, as if at its limit, escaped from between his lips.

“…My lady.”

“Do you dislike it?”

If she got this close, what emotions would rise on that sculpted face, unreadable like a frozen winter lake?

If she touched him this deeply, could she find even a hint of how he defined her?

Her fingertips, slowly moving as if crossing a desert, finally reached his shoulder.

At that moment, his iron-hard forearm tightly encircled her waist,and her steady view flipped sideways in an instant.

Kasallin’s eyes trembled with shock.

“…How could I dislike it? This, too, is a noble duty of husband and wife.”

Parnes looked down at her with a wickedly twisted yet restrained expression,as if holding onto his last thread of patience.

Before she knew it, Kasallin was lying on the sofa, trapped in his arms.

“See, even me touching you like this.”

His faintly trembling fingers cautiously traced the inside of her neck.

As he leaned down, his lips brushed against her defenseless ear.

“Even kissing you like this—it’s all a sacred duty for the empire, isn’t it?”

“…”

“If you dislike it even a little, you’d better push me away now.I might not be able to act like a gentleman tonight.”

He was always a contradiction.

He spoke of it as merely a duty for the empire’s traditions and stability,yet his tone was the most emotional she had ever heard.

He told her to push him away if she disliked it,yet he held her waist so tightly, as if he never wanted to let go.

He said he might not act like a gentleman tonight,yet he patted her back when her breathing quickened and gently tucked her damp hair behind her ear.

As if to render meaningless any claim that he would never treat her as Kasallin again,he called her “Kasallin” all through the night until the dawn moon tilted.