The Empress Palace, just like its owner, exuded a very gentle and pleasant fragrance. All the palace maids were also calm and elegant, befitting the place where the Empress of the Empire resided.

“Please come in.”

Serena expressed her gratitude with a nod and entered the drawing room. Adeline, who was sitting on the sofa, looked at Serena with a delighted expression.

“Greetings to Your Majesty the Empress. I apologize for the late greeting.”

“No, you just had your wedding… Please have a seat.”

“You are too kind.”

Tea was soon brought to Serena, who sat diagonally across from Adeline. Adeline’s face was full of smiles, pleased with the newly married Crown Princess.

“So, how is life in the Imperial Palace?”

“Yes. Thanks to everyone’s attentive care, I am living very comfortably.”

As the Empress nodded her pretty head, Serena suddenly thought her lip line slightly resembled Lucas’.

“Seeing your composed demeanor puts me at ease, but still, I hope you won’t overexert yourself. When I first came to the palace, it was difficult for me to adapt in many ways.”

In fact, about 80% of the reason Adeline had a hard time as a newlywed was due to her husband, who was overflowing with passion at the time, so it couldn’t really be applied to Serena.

“Anyway, men are like that.”

Serena nodded her head without even knowing what Adeline was talking about. Adeline was inwardly surprised by the bride’s bold attitude.

This, too, was a case of misunderstanding.

“Still, I’m very happy that our Lucas has finally settled down and stabilized thanks to the Crown Princess.”

“Not at all.”

Seeing the Empress so pleased made Serena’s conscience prick her.

“Actually, I invited the young lady from the Sherwood Marquis family, whom I was indebted to before the royal wedding, to come tomorrow.”

“Hmm… It’s important to build friendships with noble ladies. I have nothing more to teach you.”

When Lucas said he would proceed with the engagement that had been delayed for six years, the Emperor opposed it, worrying that he might not see an heir soon due to Serena’s age.

At that time, Adeline took Lucas’ side, saying his feelings were important, but she had her own concerns about Serena.

“The Crown Princess originally lived as the acting duchess in the Astel territory, right?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

Although Serena’s status was noble, directly cultivating a territory from the age of twenty was too different from the usual path of a young lady, and there was a concern that she might not have received proper education due to the Duke’s wanderlust.

Moreover, her mother passed away immediately after giving birth due to puerperal fever, so that worry was inevitable.

“Is it true that you directly cared for the people and managed the territory?”

“Yes. Astel is a prosperous place, but I wanted to make it a better place for everyone to live… I tried many things, albeit insufficient.”

Serena’s calm and composed attitude instantly dispelled the worries so far, and seeing her unexpectedly polite demeanor and respectful expression, Adeline liked her even more.

“Seeing the Crown Princess up close today, I realize all my previous concerns were unnecessary.”

Serena also naturally didn’t expect to become the Crown Princess, and she knew that people would worry about her.

“You’re not surprised.”

Adeline’s eyes were warm as she looked at Serena, who simply nodded her head.

“I also had foolish worries, so I can’t blame others.”

Adeline thought that even if Serena lacked some education, it would improve as she lived in the palace.

It was a problem that could be solved in this secret place where the palace ladies stayed, as long as they could somehow get through the wedding.

“I am still lacking, so I have nothing to say.”

“No. I wasn’t worried about that. I…”

Serena maintained a very polite attitude, but there was no hesitation or pause in her answers. So it was easy for Adeline to be honest as well.

“I was worried that the Crown Princess would be excessively favored by Lucas.”

For a moment, Serena barely suppressed a cough that threatened to come out from the absurdity. It seemed that the world could view that one-sided marriage demand as excessive favoritism.

“The history of the empire is long, and there have been frequent cases where women who received too much favoritism have caused trouble.”

Indeed, aside from Serena, if the Crown Prince had courted and pushed for marriage to this extent, the possibility of Lora becoming arrogant was high.

What would a young lady, raised only in beauty, see if she gained the Crown Prince’s favoritism on top of that?

“Lucas was sincere, and given his personality, he would have expressed his heart fully. That’s why I was worried that the Crown Princess might become too arrogant.”

“That will not happen.”

“Yes. Now that I see with my own eyes, it was a truly unnecessary worry.”

Adeline showed a friendly smile. Serena liked that Adeline honestly expressed her feelings, even though it might be a difficult thing to say.

“It’s still too early and hasty, but you will gradually learn about the Tern Imperial family.”

A brief, complex emotion flashed in Adeline’s eyes.

“Our Imperial family has a somewhat special point. It’s a secret shared only by the Imperial family.”

The Tern Imperial family had passed down the blood succession to the heir for generations, and when that ceremony was over, the previous generation would be exhausted and unable to get up easily.

However, the Emperor was still healthy, and there was no need to tell Serena about the difficult story yet. It was also Adeline’s personal wish that the Emperor would hold on for at least another 10 years.

“When the time comes, I will personally let you know.”

“Yes.”

There was no excessive curiosity in Serena’s eyes. Sometimes, even if you speak straightforwardly, many people twist what they hear, but Serena had the advantage of taking people’s words at face value.

“Although His Majesty the Emperor doesn’t show it, he already cherishes the Crown Princess very much.”

Serena nodded her head again at the somewhat unexpected fact.

“Actually, all the attention in the palace should be on the Crown Princess now… But please understand that the Imperial Princess is young.”

“I am content with how things are now. And I briefly met the Imperial Princess, but she is a very lovely person in my eyes too.”

No parent would dislike hearing that their child is lovely.

“I also didn’t expect to have another child at such a late age.”

If you calculate it, the age difference between Lucas and Luana was a whopping 17 years. It was rare, whether here or in modern times.

“Someday, when the Crown Princess has a child, you will understand my feelings.”

“Yes…”

Such a day might never come. At least that was Serena’s thought for now.

“Mother…”

While Serena was lost in thought for a moment, a whining voice was heard. And soon, from the small room attached to the drawing room, Luana appeared, dragging a doll.

This was the first time seeing her up close, and she was so cute, toddling and even rubbing her eyes sleepily, that it was maddening.

“Oh my. I was just putting her down for a nap.”

“It’s alright. I also wanted to meet the Imperial Princess.”

Adeline didn’t even call the maid and lifted Luana, who was clinging to her leg, and sat her on her lap. Even without saying a word, love flowed from the way she brushed her hair.

“Luana, didn’t you say you wanted to see your new sister?”

Luana, who had been dozing off, opened her eyes wide and looked at Serena. Her jet-black eyes, like Lucas’, seemed very deep and mysterious for a child.

“Sister…”

“Not sister, but Her Highness the Crown Princess.”

Adeline smiled and sought Serena’s understanding with her eyes. She didn’t expect a proper title from a mere 3-year-old princess, so Serena didn’t mind at all.

“Yes, nice to meet you. Your Highness.”

Luana nodded her head twice, as if understanding the words, and examined Serena with her bright eyes for a while.

“Came from far away.”

Luana’s gaze somehow felt like it was piercing through Serena.

“Very… very… far away.”

“Oh my, she’s doing it again.”

“Mother… Sister came from far away. Very far. From a place… Luana doesn’t know…”

Could it be that she just wanted to say that Serena came from Astel? But there was no way a 3-year-old princess would know geography.

And above all, her jet-black eyes shone mysteriously, as if looking into all of Serena.

“Sorry, Luana’s speech is a bit slow. Sometimes she says things we don’t understand.”

Adeline scolded Luana, but Luana’s gaze hardly left Serena.

“Far, bright… noisy place… Luana doesn’t know, doesn’t know the place…”

Could it be that this young princess’s eyes could see where Serena’s soul came from? Otherwise, it was unbelievable that a child could make such accurate expressions.

Perhaps because Serena was startled, but the child’s words seemed to point exactly to the modern times she came from.

“That’s enough, Luana.”

When the Empress rang the bell on the table, the nanny maid came and skillfully carried Luana out.

“It’s strange for a child to say such things, right? I’m sometimes surprised too.”

Had this happened before? Adeline didn’t seem surprised at all.

“Her speech is slower than her peers, but sometimes she says things we don’t understand. But later, when you look at it, her words strangely make sense.”

“Yes…?”

“It must be because of the Tern bloodline.”

Serena just blinked at the incomprehensible words.

“I’m telling you this because you’re family now, but there is a mysterious power flowing in the bloodline of the Tern Imperial family. Luana is still at the level of being good at predicting the weather.”

No, if what the Empress said was true, then Luana must have seen something incredible just now.

“I know it sounds strange.”

“N-no…”

“In the secret records of the Imperial family, there are stories of girls making various prophecies when they were young. I didn’t believe it either until I gave birth to Luana.”

Serena could believe those words right away. Even Anna thought Serena had some adaptation disorder after being in a high fever, so how could a child she met for the first time say such accurate things?

“Well, they say most of the symptoms disappear as they grow up. But she really is good at predicting the weather. Thanks to that, there’s no worry when deciding on a picnic date.”

As she watched the Empress speak calmly with a smile, Serena also tried hard to maintain her own smile. It must never be found out that Luana was doing more than just predicting the weather. Absolutely not.