“No matter how I think about it, His Majesty the Emperor is going too far.”

The bedroom was moderately dark. It was bright enough to distinguish whether someone nearby was a stranger or a maid.

Ilarid was receiving assistance from the busily moving Lynette under the appropriate lighting.

The soft touch of the nightgown flowed down Ilarid’s body.

Although this was something that maids could normally do, it seemed Lynette’s feelings were truly hurt by what happened today. Whenever such incidents occurred, Lynette deliberately attended to Ilarid’s evening care.

Understanding her feelings, Ilarid chose to silently listen to Lynette’s complaints. But shouldn’t one always be careful with their words in the palace? She quietly cautioned:

“Lynette. There are many ears listening.”

“It’s just Your Majesty the Empress and me here. I’ll speak frankly. Strictly speaking, shouldn’t Selina live like a mouse in the imperial palace? This is the Empress’s palace, no less. If she’s a ‘shadow’, she should behave like one… I don’t understand what gives her the audacity to act so rudely.”

The head maid Lynette was so angry that her brow, visible in the light, was seriously furrowed. Ilarid confirmed her deeply furrowed brow and gave a bitter smile.

In fact, there were probably more complaints about Cledius than Selina, but as the head maid, she couldn’t openly criticize the Emperor.

A heavily suppressed sigh escaped Lynette’s lips.

Naturally, as she oversaw the entire Empress’s palace, she couldn’t help but be sensitive to such issues.

In the imperial palace, there are separate people who make messes and those who clean them up.

And most of those who make messes never consider the effort and trouble of those who clean.

Even today, the Emperor and Selina unnecessarily came to the Empress’s palace, occupied a room, and caused a great disturbance. As a result, Lynette had to waste unnecessary manpower and time.

It was an empty room that had already been organized and cleaned in the morning!

She scolded those guarding the entrance to the Empress’s palace, but what fault did they have? How could they dare stop His Majesty the Emperor when he came with his beloved mistress?

One way or another, it was Lynette who was bursting with frustration. If she couldn’t manage the Empress’s palace, it would be like smearing mud on Ilarid’s face.

As it was, the gaze towards Ilarid was already full of pity and subtle disregard, so if the Empress’s palace looked messy on top of that?

The rumor that the Empress’s authority was gradually declining because the Emperor only cared about Selina was enough to make Lynette tense. If possible, she wanted to find the source of the rumors right away and shake them out like dust on a rainy day.

Lynette was about to sigh deeply but only moistened her lips quietly. In this situation, the one who must be most frustrated and hurt was the Empress.

Including the Melpiram mansion and the imperial palace, it had been close to twenty years since she had been with Ilarid. Now she could guess what Ilarid wanted or wanted to say just by catching a fleeting expression.

How much must she be seething inside? Unable to sigh in front of her, Lynette gathered herself and spoke in a bright voice.

“Your Majesty. I’ll brush your hair.”

The brush moved repeatedly from bottom to top without tangling. Ilarid’s bright silver hair shone in the dim light.

Lynette remembered Ilarid and Cledius at the coronation ceremony. Ilarid’s silver naturally complementing the brilliant golden hair beside her. If you put just the two of them together, they truly were a well-matched pair.

Although it seemed clearly strategic to anyone who saw it, the marital relationship was maintained fairly well.

Until that day…

Lynette’s careful brushing had already stopped. She stared blankly at the brush resting on Ilarid’s silver waves.

Puzzled by Lynette’s suddenly halted touch, Ilarid called her name questioningly.

“Lynette?”

“Ah, I, I’m sorry. I was just lost in thought for a moment…”

Ilarid gently laughed and patted Lynette’s hand as she busily resumed brushing.

“Thank you, Lynette.”

“It’s just what I always do.”

“Didn’t a room that had been cleaned since this morning get all messed up? Thanks to that, you probably had to redo everything from changing the bed sheets to cleaning the floor.”

So you knew everything. Lynette’s nose suddenly stung with emotion.

Ilarid was thoroughly aware of the hardships of everyone from the maids to the servants doing menial work. She always received reports without fail, saying that managing the maids was also part of the Empress’s duties.

As a result, there was a rumor that the Empress’s palace was the most demanding yet comfortable place to work in the imperial palace. They said that even with the same salary, it was easier on both body and mind to work under the gentler Empress.

“We can just endure and move on, but… lately that one’s arrogance has become so high and mighty, it’s just despicable. If that’s the case, why not make her an official empress? I don’t understand why she’s kept as a ‘shadow’.”

“Ah.”

Ilarid had forgotten something very important. Why doesn’t Cledius formally appoint Selina as an empress?

The Diobe family wasn’t particularly overflowing with wealth. She had only heard that they were on the verge of ruin due to debts, but things had improved a bit after Selina became a ‘shadow’.

If he truly liked her, wouldn’t it be better to appoint her as an empress rather than keep her as a ‘shadow’? Was Cledius hesitating, or did he have some other thoughts?

“These days, even the children attending to Selina don’t know how to bow their heads. If she becomes an empress, Your Majesty would have to manage even those children…”

“Do I look like I would eat Selina alive?”

“Of course not! Well… thanks to her, the Viscount Diobe has moved to a new mansion. I heard the front gate is bustling with people trying to offer bribes.”

“I’ve heard about it. They say servants from well-known noble families are lingering with all sorts of packages and boxes?”

“They think money can do anything. Since Viscount Diobe is said to be the type to prostrate himself before gold and jewels, I suppose that’s how it is. Selina must have inherited that blood…”

“No matter how much you dislike her, don’t call her just by name. She’s still someone who serves His Majesty.”

“…Your Majesty. I just made a serious face. Can you see my expression?”

“It’s too dark to see well.”

“Then shall I brighten the lights… That’s not the point, is it? If her actions were at least tolerable, I would treat her with proper courtesy. I understand everything. Is palace life easy for a first-timer? I learned everything by stumbling and breaking at first too. But when she doesn’t even try to maintain etiquette as much as the dirt under her nails, how can I look at her kindly? She acts like the palace is her own bedroom. She has to have the best of everything first, doesn’t even greet properly. She should be a person before being a noble, not even bothering to bow her head to Your Majesty the Empress first…”

It seemed like everything that had built up exploded, as Lynette’s complaints burst out like machine gun fire. How many full stops had she been holding back? The busy brushing had long since stopped.

Ilarid gently patted Lynette’s hand, quietly soothing her.

“I’ll make sure to admonish her.”

“As if she would listen. If she were the type to understand, she wouldn’t be strutting around the palace so rudely…”

In the end, a faint sigh escaped from Lynette’s lips. Ilarid spoke in a seemingly calm and peaceful voice.

“I’m really fine. It’s easier if I think of them as people who have nothing to do with me.”

Lynette silently bit her lips. Nothing to do with her? Their insults towards the Empress had already gone far beyond the limit. Every time Ilarid said she was fine, Lynette felt like her heart was burning up.

“So Lynette, it’s really time for me to sleep now.”

“…I understand. Before that, I’ll give you today’s final report.”

Lynette’s voice dropped dramatically. She bent down and began whispering in Ilarid’s ear.

“I heard rumors that His Majesty the Emperor is preparing for another war. They say some troops have already moved to the western region.”

“The west, you mean Rosen? That place has avoided war by claiming neutrality until now…”

Cledius’s greed was endless. Despite numerous city-states and small countries becoming part of the empire through conquest wars since the previous emperor’s time, Cledius wanted even more.

‘He’ll be looking for mercenaries this time too.’

Ilarid clenched her fists, causing deep wrinkles in her white nightgown.

For the past few hundred years, the Western Continent had maintained peace by reducing each country’s military through a peace treaty. However, it was merely a promise that relied on the conscience and goodwill of each country’s leaders.

The Astrid Empire was the first to break the agreement. The empire began to devour surrounding small countries under the pretext of protection.

However, it was impossible to instantly increase the reduced military, so they turned their eyes to the mercenary groups roaming the northern regions of the empire.

You can contract them if you pay, and they leave cleanly when the job is done. There were no lingering attachments as it was a relationship based on money. How convenient.

From the previous emperor to Cledius, it had become almost routine to seek out and contract skilled mercenary groups.

Ilarid decided to exploit this gap. Recruiting mercenary groups contracted with the imperial family. It had to happen as naturally as water flowing.

She quietly lay down on the bed. Lynette, confirming that Ilarid had lain down, further dimmed the room’s lights. So that even if she suddenly woke up, she wouldn’t be startled, leaving the room’s appearance faintly visible.

And she placed headache medicine and a glass of water on the small bedside table.

“Sweet dreams, Your Majesty.”

Though unsure if it would be heard, Lynette murmured quietly as she closed the bedroom door.

She walked slowly down the corridor. Lights illuminating the dark Empress’s palace appeared one by one. Guards were patrolling outside the windows.

Would those be people who could live for Her Majesty the Empress? Right now, even one person by Ilarid’s side was desperately needed.

All the maids in the Empress’s palace now were those who had been with Ilarid since she was the Crown Princess. She hoped these people would not leave the Empress’s palace, that they would swear loyalty to Ilarid until the end.

Lynette slowly leaned against the corridor wall. The cold, hard sensation made her body stiffen automatically.

It was around when she was ten years old. Her family’s fortunes had declined to the point of collapse. It was because her father had recklessly expanded the business.

On the day Lynette’s father sold his last noble title and they were about to be thrown out on the streets, the first person to rush over and extend a hand was Ilarid’s mother.

‘Welcome. Ilarid, you should greet Lynette?’

The first awkward greetings they exchanged were still vivid. It was the moment when both Ilarid and Lynette gained someone they could call a ‘friend’ for the first time.

Although their social status was different, Ilarid’s mother, the Countess Melpiram, did not treat Lynette as a maid or servant. Lynette officially grew up as Ilarid’s companion and sister.

It was because of the dying wish left by Lynette’s mother, they said. If she were to die, she asked for Lynette’s future to be taken care of. When talking about this, the Countess’s expression looked sadly sunken.

However, due to Count Melpiram, Ilarid’s father, scolding them, Lynette had to consistently call Ilarid ‘young lady’ in official settings. Of course, when they were alone, they unfailingly transformed into friends whispering secrets while calling each other by name.

Having been together from the Melpiram mansion until now when she became Empress, Lynette was like a friend and the most reliable family-like existence to Ilarid.

But now, she was the only ‘Melpiram’ left for Ilarid.

Everyone in the empire knew about the massacre of Ilarid’s natal family, the entire Melpiram Count family, on charges of plotting treason.

Centered on the Emperor, the nobles supporting him presented evidence of treason. Upon closer inspection, it was full of fabrications and forced accusations, but Cledius didn’t even seem to think about verifying the truth.

He simply drove them to their deaths without doing anything, like someone who just wanted Melpiram to disappear forever from the empire.

Only Ilarid was able to avoid the charges. Nowhere in the fabricated evidence was there any content implicating Ilarid.

As if she wasn’t targeted from the beginning.

Even the nobles who raised their voices did not object to this point.

They only shouted to depose Ilarid from her position as Empress and banish her. However, Cledius neither killed nor exiled Ilarid.

The guilt of being the sole survivor gradually grew inside Ilarid.

Among the people of the Melpiram mansion, only Ilarid and Lynette remained.

It was unknown when the Emperor might change his mind and turn his blade towards the two of them. To survive, they must bow their heads, prostrate themselves, and not upset his mood.

But how long must Ilarid endure this humiliation? Sometimes it’s said that one chooses an honorable death rather than enduring disgrace, but…

There is no honorable death.

Did Melpiram, who raised his voice for the people, shine even more after death?

The days of being thankful for survival were as precarious as walking on a glass ceiling.

But they couldn’t just stop because it was dangerous.

Ilarid slowly blinked in the darkness, unable to fall asleep. As the sleepless nights grew longer, she imagined a future of revenge against Cledius.

The throne and power. She would shatter the things he valued most.

‘It’s you who will crumble.’

Each time she muttered inwardly, the back of her hand on her forehead grew hot. Ilarid barely closed her eyes and forced herself to try to sleep.

Hoping that, at least tonight, she wouldn’t have a nightmare.