The day of the New Year’s festival dawned. The schedule proceeded as planned.

The central banquet hall opened for the first time in five years, with all the old candelabras and tables replaced.

The imperial palace was also lively.

“All the envoys have taken their seats in the central banquet hall.”

“How is it inside the banquet hall?”

“It’s calm. The recent demon beast incident has been adequately buried.”

The maids spoke as they helped put on the banquet dress.

It was the imperial family that had completely buried the recent commotion. Charlotte straightened her back as she spoke.

“Having invited foreign envoys, we must not be swayed by small disturbances.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Are the preparations complete?”

“They are finished. I will now escort you to the banquet hall.”

Her red hair was particularly deep. Eyes lingered on her straight back. Her long hair was braided and put up, revealing her pale neckline. The maids bowed their heads deeply.

“Where has the spirit beast gone?”

“Well. It seems to be alone again. Perhaps it’s still shy as a cub… It dislikes crowded places.”

That child seemed to dislike being around people.

When Charlotte was alone, it would cautiously approach and linger, but when there were many people, it would disappear on its own.

‘Is it alone somewhere again?’

Charlotte pushed her thoughts aside.

The red banquet dress resembled Charlotte herself. This red hue originally symbolized the empress. It was an incomparably deep and splendid color, like a sunset dyed blood-red.

Charlotte slowly passed through the corridor. Her steps towards the banquet hall gradually slowed. Eventually, her steps halted, and Benjamin, coming down from the imperial office, asked:

“Why are you standing there?”

“It’s nothing. I was just lost in thought for a moment.”

Benjamin touched his neck. Dressed in the imperial banquet attire, he exuded a stiffer atmosphere than usual. As if his neck felt uncomfortable, he fiddled with the seam of his collar with his gloved hand. In the tense atmosphere, even the attendants swallowed dry saliva.

“Let’s go to the banquet hall now.”

The imperial couple headed to the banquet hall together. The doorkeeper announced the emperor’s entrance and hurriedly opened the doors.

The heavy doors of the banquet hall opened. Their vision, blurred by the lighting, gradually brightened, and the imperial couple stepped in.

The foreign envoys all stopped their conversations.

“May the light of healing touch the empire.”

The nobles all bowed their heads in unison.

“We greet His Imperial Majesty.”

“We greet Her Imperial Majesty.”

The music that had stopped resumed.

The imperial couple signaled the start of the banquet. The court musicians continued with lively music, and the atmosphere in the banquet hall ripened.

Becoming more and more distant.

Everything sinks deeper.

The central nobles and envoys blend into the banquet hall, and their laughter thickly spreads.

“It’s been five years since the last New Year’s festival. The first since Your Majesty’s ascension…”

“From each teacup to each plate, a delicate touch is evident. The meticulous arrangement of the banquet hall, that delicacy can be felt.”

All sorts of noises intertwined.

Charlotte alone sank into a profound distance.

Deeper and deeper.

Her breathing becomes stifled, as if struggling underwater.

Charlotte maintained a composed expression, peeling away her emotions layer by layer. Somehow, her ears felt muffled.

It was just as she was gradually becoming immersed in this distance.

“Charlotte.”

Charlotte finally took a breath.

Benjamin paused his conversation with the person next to him. He gestured with his eyes, asking ‘Are you alright?’, while a group of aides surrounded him.

“Ah, did you call me?”

“You seemed lost in thought. My conversation with the aides might be lengthy, will you be alright alone?”

“Are you being overprotective even at an occasion like this?”

Charlotte brushed the nape of her neck with her hand.

“Go ahead.”

“Then I’ll be back.”

Benjamin left, leading the aides.

Uncle Aster and Grandfather Leandro were in conversation with other groups, and the central nobles and envoys were also engaged in their own discussions.

‘Is this enough?’

By now, she had maintained her presence sufficiently.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”

“…Did you call me?”

The attendant spoke, flustered.

“You’ve been losing focus more frequently lately.”

“Somehow, crowded places tend to be tiring.”

“My apologies. It must be stiff with even the envoys invited.”

Charlotte raised her hand to stop the attendant’s next words.

“Bring me a glass of whiskey.”

“Will that be alright?”

“I need to wet my throat, it feels dry.”

Amber-colored liquor was poured into a glass. As she moistened her throat with it, the muscles that had tensed with nervousness gradually relaxed.

Her ears, which had been muffled with tinnitus, also became clearer.

Charlotte held the glass in her hand. As she tapped the glass with her fingertips, someone approached.

“The empire flourishes more with each visit. On the way through the imperial city, I saw the faces of the imperial citizens full of leisure.”

It was Tatante from Taran. A group of envoys in exotic attire followed.

“It’s little Taran.”

“I greet Your Imperial Majesty. Um, that child… I don’t see it nearby.”

Charlotte quickly understood his meaning.

“If you mean the spirit beast, it’s shy and not here. It doesn’t particularly like being around people.”

“That’s how spirit beasts are by nature. They’re proud and rough creatures. Also, the younger the spirit beast, the more it’s influenced by its imprinted subject’s inner nature, often following the owner’s tendencies.”

Tatante cleared his throat with a ‘hmm’.

“It’s said that before spirit beasts went extinct, they lived among people, but that’s all ancient history now.”

The extinction of spirit beasts happened in ancient times.

Long ago, when the ancient gods sent black magic and demon beasts underground and declared this land sacred. Declaring that evil things should not encroach upon this land.

Around that time, spirit beasts also went extinct.

There are now very few spirit beasts left in this land.

The ancient founding stories have been forgotten, and the ancient covenant is also regarded as an old tale. There are few who remember these stories in detail.

“It seems we’ve formed a meaningful connection through this exchange. I hope that child becomes a meaningful bond for Your Majesty.”

“Thank you.”

“I must take my leave now.”

Tatante left, leading his delegation.

The New Year’s festival was nearing its end.

“I’ll be alone for a moment.”

“…Alone?”

“No need to follow.”

Charlotte quietly slipped out of the banquet hall.

“Why are you out here alone?”

As Charlotte stood alone in a corner of the corridor, Catarina, dressed in the imperial guard uniform, stepped out from the shadows.

“I think I’ve maintained my presence well enough by now. Give me some space for a moment.”

“Your Majesty…”

“Just keep a moderate distance. I’m not so insensitive to my safety as to dismiss guards after inviting foreign envoys.”

Catarina retreated back into the shadows. The immediate vicinity fell silent.

“You seemed to be waiting for me to be alone, come out.”

Charlotte stood in a corner of the corridor and whispered.

“Oh, am I interrupting?”

Her stepsister peeked her head out from the far end of the corridor.

“Even though I have nothing to offer you, you still hover around me.”

“Ah, no! Your Majesty! That’s not what I’m after at all!”

“Then there must be another reason you’re circling me like a lost puppy.”

Henrietta blinked her eyes.

“Isn’t it more difficult to pretend not to notice when you’re so obviously seeking attention?”

“I’m, I’m sorry. I had no intention of bothering you.”

“Did you come with your father?”

“Father is ill and couldn’t attend today. Instead, I came with mother.”

“Then go back. Your mother will be looking for you.”

Charlotte turned her back first. The presence behind her was trivial and small. As she was about to leave, her feet felt heavy.

“…You said he’s ill.”

“Yes! Father is unwell.”

“He shouldn’t have any reason to be particularly ill at this time, so why?”

“I don’t know the reason. Even the doctor doesn’t know why. The symptoms are especially severe at night. During the day, he’s mostly lucid, but at night he sweats and groans, wandering around the house in a daze, frightening the servants.”

“Since when has this been happening?”

“It’s been a few days. The house feels like it’s walking on thin ice.”

Charlotte felt a hand grasping the hem of her dress. Henrietta clutched the red formal dress with her small hand.

This child knows this violates palace etiquette. She knows it’s disrespectful.

‘It’s just that the child’s heart wasn’t composed enough.’

Charlotte covered the child’s hand with her own.

“Father is acting strange. I don’t know who to talk to about it. I, I don’t know what to do at all.”

“…Henri.”

Henrietta flinched at her nickname. It was the pet name her mother used to call her in childhood.

“What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then what would you like me to do?”

“I don’t know that either.”

“Then why did you come to me?”

Henrietta’s eyes turned red.

“Ah, please forgive father. It’s all my fault, so please forgive him. Then, father will change too.”

“No.”

“…”

“I’ve already severed that connection. That’s the end of it.”

Charlotte offered a final piece of advice.

“Your father has already forgotten his manners and lost his bearings. He’s lost his dignity and grace. In forgetting the respect due to the imperial family, he’s also forgotten the hierarchy. The answer doesn’t lie there.”

“…You’re so cold.”

“It’s too late to talk about forgiveness. How many years do you think I spent by my mother’s sickbed?”

It was over a decade that she attended her mother’s sickbed. And it was Charlotte who personally closed her mother’s eyes, broken before death.

“Even I can’t clearly recall my mother’s appearance when she was alive. That old image is becoming hazy.”

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize. It’s all in the past now, just an old story.”

You bear no sin. It’s only the adults’ sin.

It was the adults who desecrated that grave, and you merely inherited their blood.

“Just hate me. That would be easier on your heart. Don’t earn your father’s resentment because of me. I have nothing to offer you. I’m sorry this is all I can say to you.”

She can’t blame this child. That fact constricts her chest oppressively.

“Your Majesty. Are you alright?”

“Not to the extent that you need to worry.”

“But, but still…”

“Catarina, escort this child back to her guardian.”

Only then did Catarina step out from the shadows.

“I, I’ll go back by myself. I’m sorry for causing trouble. Pl-please forget about today.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I won’t come looking for you again. I shouldn’t have told Your Majesty about this, I was hasty and committed an impropriety.”

The steps of the sobbing child are unsteady.

“Follow her back. I’ll wait here.”

“Then please wait here for a moment.”

Henrietta gradually moved away. Her presence departed.

Charlotte looked out beyond the corridor.

In the distance, the night sky had darkened.

“Where were you alone before coming here?”

A white ball of fur nuzzled her feet.

As it scratched its chin with its small front paw, tilting its head with a ‘kyung’ sound, it looked utterly innocent.

Outside was infinitely quiet and still. It felt as if everything was disconnected, leaving her alone and isolated.

Still, she liked the characteristically tranquil atmosphere of the night.

I’m alright now. Probably.