The crepe suzette he left behind had already lost its appetizing sheen and was drying out, shriveling unattractively.

“I’ll take care of eating it myself. You must be busy, so please go.”

It wasn’t supposed to come out like that.

For the sole reason that an unusual atmosphere lingered between Parnes and Olivia, she had acted in a way unbefitting an empress.

Feeling deep disappointment in herself, Kasallin took a plate and picked up a fork.

But her stomach felt uneasy, and she couldn’t bring herself to take a single bite.

The fork, which had been slowly wandering through the orange sauce, finally slipped from Kasallin’s hand.

He might think she’s an annoying woman.

Once, when she was Rose’s maid, Shallen had casually said something like that.

That she was particularly hard to handle, impossibly difficult to please, and shamelessly demanding ten things when given one.

That her true nature was masked by her beautiful face, causing poor men to be deceived.

Recalling those words in front of the cold dish, a surge of sorrow welled up inside her, and her eyes grew hot.

“Why am I like this lately? No matter how complicated my feelings were, I never used to cry.”

It felt as though some element that made up Kasallin as a person was undergoing a rapid change.

Kasallin set the plate down and stood up.

She wanted to apologize to him.

That she was sorry for acting selfishly, for behaving unlike an empress these past few days.

That he must have chosen her expecting a perfect empress, but as the days passed, she seemed to show only disappointing sides, far from meeting his expectations.

And finally, with a calm face, she would conclude by saying such things wouldn’t happen again.

With her resolve firm, Kasallin checked her appearance in the mirror, tidied herself up, and left the room.

As she walked down the dimly darkening corridor, wondering where he might be, she faintly heard the voices of Parnes and Olivia again.

It was the same place as last night.

“I won’t hide anymore.”

Trying not to listen while still hearing their conversation, Kasallin took a bold step forward.

But that step couldn’t fully land and froze midair.

“Anyway, I’m glad to be Your Majesty’s important partner. It’s been a while since I’ll set foot on land.”

Olivia’s words, tinged with excitement and determination, echoed endlessly in Kasallin’s ears.

Kasallin instantly understood what her words meant.

Her resolve not to hide anymore turned to ashes, as if she had never made it.

Kasallin turned around and walked out into the garden, where raindrops were beginning to fall.

Standing under the eaves as cold rainwater poured in, she tried to catch her breath, but her heart only beat more fiercely instead of calming.

“That’s strange. Her Majesty the Empress is nowhere to be found!”

From the second floor, Loren Logia’s panicked cry rang out.

The sound of someone hurriedly running up and down the stairs followed, and soon a familiar voice pierced through the rain.

“Kasallin!”

It was a voice like the roar of a startled beast.

He strode toward her, soaked in the now torrential rain, and grabbed her shoulders with hands trembling slightly at the tips.

Despite his rough breathing, his face was filled with relief.

“Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?”

“…”

“Why are you out here alone in a place like this? You’re already frail—what if you catch a cold…!”

“Your Majesty.”

There were things she wanted to say when she saw his face.

That she was sorry, that she’d try harder, that she’d be a proper empress.

But just moments ago, witnessing him seemingly accepting Olivia as his mistress had wiped all those planned words clean from her mind.

If Parnes was willing to take Olivia as his mistress, she could easily imagine how much he cherished her.

The joy of reuniting after so long turning into excitement, laughing and chatting together during inspections—she could vividly picture it.

When she thought about it, it wasn’t that strange.

Back when they promised to marry, she had thought that even if Parnes came to love someone else, it wouldn’t be too disappointing.

After all, this was just a political marriage, so she wouldn’t be hurt like she was with Shallen.

Having been abandoned by Shallen once, she had thought countless times that she’d never fall for someone again, not even if the sky fell.

“What I need to say here is clear.”

As they had agreed beforehand, like an empress.

Within the boundaries of not invading each other’s space.

“If Olivia enters the palace, which palace will you assign to her?”

After a long silence, Kasallin spoke first, unable to look at Parnes’ face and continuing with her head bowed.

“If there’s anything you want me to uphold, please tell me. I’m not familiar with this situation, so I’ll try my best to comply…”

“What are you talking about?”

His rain-soaked hands cupped her face.

His golden eyes, shimmering intensely, seemed to say he didn’t understand a single thing.

With a terrifyingly low, growling voice, he said,

“Who’s taking whom as a mistress?”

“I heard everything. You don’t have to hide it.”

“What…?”

“An emperor taking a mistress is historically natural. And the empress has no right to interfere deeply in the emperor’s private life…”

“There’s no way I’d do that when I have you.”

Though his tone was low and calm, it felt like he was shouting loud enough to bring the sky down.

Blinking as if dust had gotten into her confused eyes, Kasallin slowly looked up and finally faced him directly.

Noticing that what was silently streaming from her eyes wasn’t rainwater, Parnes widened his eyes, his hands trembling faintly.

“Why? Isn’t our marriage just a political arrangement?”

“…”

“Didn’t you say just a few days ago that we don’t need complicated emotions between us? You left me alone in that dark room. Past emperors lived like that too, so why wouldn’t you?”

“Because the one I love is…!”

He shouted something without hesitation.

At that moment, a blinding flash of lightning tore through the sky, striking the earth as if to split it in two.

As the lightning faded and darkness settled again, only the sound of rain steadily soaking the ground remained.

“Ugh…”

Perhaps because the lightning struck so close, Kasallin, who had tightly shut her eyes against the deafening sensation, slowly raised her head.

For some reason, Parnes stood alone, his face steeped in shock.

Why?

“Your Majesty the Empress! Your Majesty the Emperor! You’re here!”

From a distance, Ludwig, Loren Logia, Olivia, and others came running, as if they had finally found them.

At that moment, Ludwig narrowed his eyes, assessing the atmosphere between the two, and firmly stopped Olivia, who was about to approach Parnes without knowing the situation.

A bewildered Olivia glanced at Ludwig.

Loren Logia and Sir Vincent stood quietly, holding umbrellas.

“Ludwig.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Your command?”

“Take care of the Empress.”

“And Your Majesty…?”

Parnes, still with a confused expression as if unable to shake off some shock, turned away.

“I’ll be alone for a while.”

“Ta-da.”

Olivia proudly held up an old ring on her fourth finger.

It was unmistakably an aged wedding ring, and Kasallin, unable to look at it directly, buried her face in her arms.

Letting out a long, heavy sigh, Olivia playfully checked the floor as if it might have caved in.

“So, it was all my misunderstanding.”

“Don’t make that face, Your Majesty. Anyone could have misunderstood the situation.”

Having learned the truth, Olivia came to Kasallin’s room and explained everything step by step.

She had been married for over five years, had a daughter traveling with her husband on land, and even brought a portrait from the next room to proudly show off.

“My conversation with His Majesty was about helping him with a task this time. It’s sort of a military secret, so we had to talk in private where no one else was around.”

With Olivia’s single explanation, all the misunderstandings that had plagued her unraveled so easily it left her feeling deflated.

Misunderstanding, feeling disappointed, and giving up on her own.

She had cried in front of Parnes, who had only been focused on his work—how bewildered he must have been.

He must have been so stunned that he went outside with that shocked expression and still hadn’t returned.

By now, he might be cooling off in the breeze, belatedly questioning his decision to take her as his empress.

“By the way, when I heard His Majesty personally chose you as empress, I couldn’t believe it. I was sure he’d live alone forever. But His Majesty in love? My husband, who sent word from the mainland, thought he must have eaten something bad.”

“No, it wasn’t love or anything. It was just like any other imperial marriage. Still, we cooperate and help each other like friends. We’re not an ordinary couple, so that’s… enough, isn’t it?”

Of course, she liked him and didn’t find it enough, but at least he probably thought so.

Swallowing the bitter aftertaste silently, she noticed Olivia’s wide-eyed glance toward the slightly open door.

Kasallin, who had her back to the door, turned around, but there was nothing particularly noteworthy there.

“What’s wrong, Olivia? Is something there?”

“Oh, no. Nothing.”

Taking her eyes off the door, Olivia pursed her lips, lost in thought for a while, then suddenly spoke as if something occurred to her.

“I know it’s terribly presumptuous, but have you ever seen His Majesty Parnes sleeping at night?”

Surprised by her question, Kasallin expertly hid her expression and shook her head.

His cold words, that he didn’t want to show her his nightmares and wished she’d never know, still lingered vividly.

“As expected. Even I, who was his close guard, have never seen it. According to Duke Ludwig, on days when his medicine doesn’t work well, his nightmares are quite severe.”

“Medicine?”

“What… He didn’t even tell you about that?”

When Kasallin asked in surprise, Olivia looked flustered in return.

Suddenly, she recalled the day she first met him.

A massive flowering tree stood tall, as if peering over the earth, with peach-colored petals fluttering in the silken breeze.

Beneath it, his handsome face contorted in agony from nightmares, vivid in her mind.

And the mysterious scratches scattered across his body.

Kasallin asked Olivia,

“What exactly happened to His Majesty in the past?”