“The atmosphere seems nice. Is it going well?”
Anais awkwardly smiled and showed her the flowers.
Holding a small bouquet of pearllike Shinjimae flowers, they suited Anais well.
“Mother… Look at this. Isn’t it beautiful…?”
It was unfortunate that Anais didn’t know that those were the flowers from the deceased former Empress’s bouquet.
The forced smile on Milia’s face vanished.
She strode over and slapped Anais hard across the cheek.
With a loud smack, the room fell into silence.
Anais, never having been struck when others were present, burst into tears.
“Are you mocking me now?”
“Mo… Mother.”
She grabbed Anais’s hair and shook it, screaming.
“Who brought this flower…!”
At that moment, the door creaked, and an inconsiderate voice echoed.
“Mother! I came to help since you seemed tired!”
The Empress was so startled that she didn’t even drop the hair she was holding, and she looked at the door.
Jaina, covering her mouth in surprise, and Nathaniel with a grim face.
And…
“Empress! What on earth are you doing to Anais!”
The Emperor was standing there, his face red with rage.
[This is the time separator]On our way back to the Prince’s palace, we encountered the Emperor.
The slowly progressing Emperor, heading to the Empress’s palace, noticed us and smiled.
“What are you two doing here?”
“We were just leaving after seeing Her Majesty, the Empress,” I replied.
The Emperor looked quite pleased, especially knowing that the grumpy Nathaniel had met the Empress.
“Really? I am heading there now to have dinner with my hardworking Empress. Will you join us?”
“Annoy… Ugh.”
I jabbed Nathaniel in the ribs as he was about to say he was annoyed.
“It would be an honor, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor led the way with a broad smile.
When we arrived back at the Empress’s palace, we were guided to the preparation room.
It seemed genuinely busy with preparations for the upcoming banquet.
Nathaniel suddenly scowled and stopped in his place.
“What’s wrong?”
When I asked, Nathaniel bent down and whispered in my ear.
“The Empress’s energy is unstable; she must be angry again. I can feel Anais’s energy around too.”
I looked at him, surprised.
His expression remained indifferent, but his eyes were saying that we must not miss this opportunity.
“Your Majesty, I’ll go ahead and let you know when you’ve arrived! Empress Lenisha will probably be surprised.”
And without waiting for an answer, she dashed off towards the preparation room.
Just as she was about to open the door to the preparation room, a commotion was heard from inside.
I hurriedly flung the door open and shouted out loud.
“Mother! I thought you were tired, so I came to help you!”
At times like this, the cheerful voice of Jaina, who was usually clueless, was pleasing.
Everyone in the preparation room looked at me.
The empress, her face red with anger, was gripping Anaïs’s long hair.
Anaïs was bowing her head, her cheek covered with her hand.
Good heavens, had she just struck Anaïs in front of the merchants?
That will surely start rumors.
At that thought, I sensed Nathaniel and the emperor arrive behind me.
“Empress! What are you doing to Anaïs!”
The emperor’s shout filled the room.
The flustered empress let go of Anaïs’s hair.
“Aah, no. That, well, this is……”
The emperor, stomping over, asked Anaïs as if to comfort her.
“You, you haven’t been hit like this every time, have you? Is that it?”
“Ah. I…… I am……”
Anaïs, struggling, glanced at the empress.
I quickly intervened between them.
“Your Majesty, it seems that the treatment of the princess is the priority now.”
I grabbed Anaïs’s hand and pulled her behind me.
Her trembling appearance was pitiful, her cheeks swollen as if she had been hit hard.
“Call the doctor immediately.”
The emperor spoke in a subdued voice, calling for his attendants.
After confirming they hurried out, the emperor looked at Millia and yelled,
“Empress, you are to confine yourself to your room for the time being!”
And then, he abruptly turned and left.
I let go of Anaïs’s hand and followed him out.
“I’m sorry that I can’t dine with you tonight.”
“It’s alright, Your Majesty. You don’t have to worry about us.”
“Yes. Jaina, can you attend to the treatment?”
Unmarried women’s treatment had to proceed only in the presence of someone of the same sex.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I will do so.”
The emperor granted us a room in the palace.
Anaïs and I said nothing while waiting for the doctor to arrive.
A heavy silence filled the room.
A little later, a female doctor arrived.
“The wound on the cheek has been treated.”
Alchemybased treatment was incredibly fascinating. Like magic, the wound disappeared quickly.
I quietly watched and then asked the doctor,
“Can you treat scars that were made a little while ago?”
“As long as they’re not very old, it’s possible.”
I looked at Anaïs.
I thought that if the marks on her arm were removed, she might become more confident.
“Princess, please show your scars to the doctor.”
But Anaïs shook her head.
“It’s fine. It’s not a big deal.”
“Princess!”
I tried several times to persuade her to show them, but the princess remained silent.
In the end, we promised to do it later, and the doctor left the room.
“You should go rest now, Princess. If you feel uneasy, shall I take you to the palace?”
“Why should I go with you?”
Anaïs’s sharperthanexpected response took me aback.
On one hand, I understood. Her lifelong shame had been discovered even by the emperor, so it was natural for her to be sensitive.
I spoke in a tone no different from usual.
“Well, I’m worried about you, Princess.”
With her head bowed, Anaïs muttered,
“It’s not for me.”
“What?”
“You did this to drive a wedge between Mother and His Majesty!”
Anaïs’s rising voice left me blinking in surprise.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
