“You can use this palace from now on. His Majesty the King has specially bestowed it upon Miss Katharine.”

Katharine looked up at the beautiful palace nestled cozily between an artificial pond and a garden.

She knew well the history of this palace, with no escape route, located to the south of the royal palace and to the north of the knights’ headquarters.

It was where the mistresses of the previous kings had stayed.

A place where they would wait, prettily adorned with blindingly gorgeous flowers, and obediently offer smiles when the king desired.

“It’s all yours.”

Charlen approached from behind.

He pointed out various parts of the palace grounds, saying:

“Dozens of bedrooms and party halls, gardens and greenhouses. This is a welcome gift given to the official mistress of the King of Kan Kingdom.”

A hollow laugh escaped from between Katharine’s teeth.

“… Official mistress? When did I ever agree to become your mistress?”

“When I call you that, you should just meekly accept it and say yes. And.”

Charlen’s gaze swept over Katharine’s dress.

“I distinctly remember filling your wardrobe with new dresses, so why are you wearing the plain clothes from your days as a maid?”

“I’m sorry, but you’ve wasted your effort and money. I will not accept anything given by Your Majesty.”

“Still stubborn? I told you. You just need to regularly receive the allowance I give you, go shopping, dress up prettily and enjoy parties. Don’t touch anything else. What an easy and happy life, isn’t it?”

Charlen approached with slightly excited steps and grasped Katharine’s chin.

His lips curled up with a sense of superiority.

“I even mercifully forgave a criminal who dared to assault the king by merely banishing her from the capital, so why are you being so cynical? Above all, I’m not even demanding your duties as a mistress.”

“Duties as a mistress?”

Charlen’s thumb parted Katharine’s lips and invaded.

It felt like a sinister snake crawling in.

“You know well. What I mean.”

Her facial muscles twitched finely as if she had been stripped naked and left standing on a snow-capped mountain in a blizzard.

Feeling a chilling unpleasantness crawling down her spine, Katharine shoved Charlen’s chest hard.

With the sudden movement, something small and shiny fell from inside Katharine’s clothes.

Both their gazes turned to the floor almost simultaneously.

It was a butterfly hair ornament decorated with deep blue lapis lazuli that looked cold to the touch.

Until then, Charlen had been looking at Katharine as if she were just a disobedient, feisty puppy, but suddenly his eyes turned white.

“Huh.”

Charlen let out a laugh of disbelief.

“You won’t even look at the gifts I spent millions on, but you still carry around the hair ornament you received from Emperor Farnese like a charm?”

“… It’s none of your business.”

Katharine bent down to pick up the fallen object.

At that moment, Charlen moved his foot forward and mercilessly stepped on the hair ornament.

With a cracking sound, the small, delicate jewels shattered like snowflakes and scattered in all directions.

“I take back everything I said about you being a smart and clever woman.”

Charlen said, grinding the already broken hair ornament even more conspicuously.

As the beautiful and ephemeral butterfly was crushed under his merciless foot, Katharine’s heart was torn to shreds with indescribable sorrow.

It was like watching an immature child throwing a tantrum for no reason other than being in a bad mood.

“I’ve been mistaken all this time. Katharine. You are foolish.”

Even Katharine, who rarely lost her composure, was startled by how angry Charlen’s voice was.

Who was the one who should truly be holding a grudge, when he was the one getting more indignant?

Katharine could not follow the flow of his emotions at all.

“Think as you like. I don’t care at all what Your Majesty thinks of me. There’s no reason for me to listen to your assessment.”

“It’s no use pretending not to be affected. I know you’re in shock from being spurned by the Emperor. Did you really think an Emperor who wants for nothing would truly love you? What arrogant delusion.”

Katharine glared at Charlen, who was under a grand delusion himself, with narrowed eyes that looked like they might burst into tears at any moment.

However, she never actually shed tears.

It was her conviction that she would rather bite her tongue and die than show tears in front of Charlen.

“We’re talking about the Emperor of the Renel Empire. He must have countless hidden lovers. To still be hung up on receiving some jewels and having your pretty face doted on. No wonder Emperor Farnese lost interest in you.”

“Stop. Please stop. I don’t want to talk anymore.”

At his continued verbal abuse, Katharine felt her not fully recovered body stagger again.

But there was nothing more shameful than collapsing in front of him, so she exerted all her strength to stand on her two legs.

As Katharine turned her back, Charlen persistently followed and continued speaking.

“But Katharine. I’m different.”

Charlen’s hand grabbed Katharine’s arm.

“Let go!”

“I mean I will never abandon you!”

Charlen shouted with his eyes flashing.

Katharine helplessly dropped her arm that was seized by him.

Her lips were pale white, and a hollow laugh even escaped them.

“You won’t abandon me…?”

What nonsense is this man spouting now.

He went so far as to take an innocent person hostage by inciting them with such a petty and cowardly method just to keep one woman.

At his words, devoid of even a shred of conscience, hardly befitting a human being, Katharine felt her mind growing distant.

“Even if all other men abandon you, I alone can embrace you forever. Your deception and impulsive actions all this time? Though unspeakably shocking and vexing, I’ll forgive you. Because you’ve returned home safely like this. That’s all I need. Katharine.”

Charlen exercised cruel violence disguised as forgiveness and mercy in a gentle voice, and slipped a ring onto Katharine’s finger.

“So stop being stubborn now and think carefully about what path leads to happiness. We can start over.”

“… What did you just say, Duke Aster?”

The red tea in Rose’s cup trembled lightly before reaching her lips.

Rose stared blankly at Aster’s face, as if wanting to confirm again whether what she had just heard was truly real.

“What did His Majesty Charlen do to my sister Katharine?”

“He has bestowed the Jasmine Palace right behind the royal palace, along with estates, and even some gold bullion as a bonus. Viscount Calman Roberfon was merely exiled from the capital with his limbs intact.”

The teacup finally rolled on the floor after slipping from Rose’s fingers.

As the white porcelain shattered and the tea soaked the carpet, maids entered and silently cleaned up the mess.

After they left the room, Aster continued speaking.

“Although there has been no official announcement, judging from various circumstances, it’s as good as His Majesty the King publicly acknowledging Miss Katharine as his mistress.”

Rose’s lips quivered with a suspicious expression for a long while before she finally squeezed out a word.

“His Majesty… really made such a decision about me?”

Rose remembered all the romantic whispers she had heard from Charlen since the day they first met under the hot southern sun until today.

Every time they made love, he would swear in a voice like a devout shepherd.

That she was the only woman who truly occupied his heart, and that his noble sincerity would never change.

“Your Majesty the Queen. His Majesty the King has arrived.”

Rose snapped out of her reverie at the voice of the servant from outside the door.

As the heavy footsteps drew closer, she struggled to soften her hardened face.

“Queen. What were you doing?”

Charlen, who hadn’t been in a good mood lately, seemed strangely intoxicated with a sense of victory today, as if something satisfactory had happened.

Rose smiled faintly and playfully snuggled into his arms.

She buried her face naturally in his collar and took a deep breath.

There was no scent of Katharine’s perfume.

“Why don’t you guess what I was doing?”

“Hmm, let’s see. Were you drinking tea?”

“That’s right, but. I was spending all day thinking about you. Wondering when you would come to see Rose.”

“You know how to say cute things too.”

Charlen comfortably lay down on the thickly layered carpet while hugging Rose.

The servants, sensing that an intimate time between the two was about to begin, tactfully withdrew.

“By the way, haven’t you been too negligent of Rose lately? I was almost about to get upset.”

“There were urgent matters in the administration.”

Lies.

“I see. You must have had a hard day today too. Shall I massage your shoulders?”

“Well, that would be nice, but…”

Charlen gently grasped Rose’s fragrant hair with one hand and rolled leisurely on the carpet.

The afternoon hours flowed languidly, but sometimes intensely.

By the time the clock’s hour hand had made one and a half rotations, the last sunlight of the day was quietly slanting into the room.

Having somewhat released his tightly knotted desires, Charlen moistened his throat with cool water.

He stood up, tidying his disheveled appearance.

Rose’s gaze followed his feet.

“Are you leaving already?”

“I have to receive the evening report.”

“Can’t you stay a little longer?”

Rose couldn’t hide her lingering regret.

When they had just gotten married, he spent most of his time with her to the point where his advisors were desperately pleading for him to attend to state affairs.

But lately, it seemed like all he did was make love as if taking care of an urgent matter and then return to his duties. Was it just her imagination?

“I’m sorry. Instead, let’s have a relaxed cup of tea in the greenhouse tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“Yes. We haven’t had such a time recently, have we? Katharine will come at the right time too.”

“What? Sister Katharine?”

“Yes. Katharine said she wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with her sister after a long time. It seems she wants to make up…”

Rose’s face froze with a smile still on it.

“Our queen, who loves her sister more than anyone, will gladly accept, I believe. She’s now like family living under the same roof with us.”