Merem, who practiced playing musical instruments on his own to not forget what I taught him, became proficient enough to play clumsily.

Sitting together by the fireplace, I felt an indescribable sense of tranquility when I heard him play the harmonica or turn on the violin.

It was the same that day.

Greeting him in the morning, exchanging glances, having a conversation, and having a meal.

On ordinary days that repeated when Merem didn’t go on an expedition, I happened to see a picture that he had completed for the first time.

“…”

Inside it was me.
Certainly not a splendid work of art, but a portrait delicately painted with care in every brushstroke.

A single painting that reveals numerous corrections, done over and over.

He captured my smiling face on the canvas.

And from that moment, I decided to keep Merem at a distance.

Nevertheless, he presented me with magic cores.

Watching me eat, he silently observed, then armed himself and went out again.

He never revealed his true feelings to me. I, too, never mentioned his paintings.

With a bomb that could explode at any moment, we quietly spent our time.

Unknowingly, three years discussed with Phaibel had passed.

Over the past few years, the empress’s influence steadily grew.

Now, no one could tell the empress to ‘step back.’

As the empress’s power expanded, the Temple faction hurriedly tried to align itself with the imperial faction.

But it wasn’t easy, and the emperor’s reaction became peculiar.

The emperor’s appearances with the empress, not the saint, at events increased.

Although the two fought whenever they met, those around seemed to think the emperor strangely enjoyed it.

As evidence, the emperor’s gaze lingered on the empress more frequently and for a longer duration.

If there was a nobleman circling around the empress at a banquet, it meant that something had gone wrong with that family within a fortnight.

It could be minor, such as corruption being exposed, a business failing, or funds being cut off, or major, such as being accused of colluding with foreign countries or evidence of harboring resentment being discovered.

When this happened more than five times, all the nobles realized.

The emperor’s heart had moved to the empress.

The only person in the world who didn’t know was the empress herself.

As the situation unfolded, Baihwa Palace became extremely dull. Invitations and footsteps were cut off.

Instead, the empress’s palace became just as busy.

No one tried to impress the saint anymore.

Once the clothes worn by the saint were the next trend, but now everyone tried to emulate the empress, who was endlessly glamorous.

The empress’s hairstyle, the empress’s way of speaking, the empress’s fan, the empress’s stride. Everything the empress wore, used, and enjoyed became a constant topic.

With the situation like this, the emperor’s advisors and even the substitutes all had the same thought.

‘Now is the chance!’

The emperor and empress had briefly shared a bed early in their reign.

But afterward, the emperor had too many matters to attend to, and the empress often fell ill.

The emperor also unilaterally disliked the empress, and with the strong influence of Saint Helene, no one dared to suggest bed-sharing lightly.

However, now that things had turned out like this, wouldn’t it be right for both their majesties to regularly share a bed?

After all, conceiving a healthy heir was also the duty of the empress.
However, the empress’s palace rejected the request for bed-sharing with a long, circuitous sentence.

In interpretation, it was, ‘No, go away.’

Of course, after enjoying the government’s support and having a good time so far, suddenly suggesting bed-sharing might not make one look refined.

Still, having an heir is an opportunity to prevent such incidents in the future, isn’t it? What will you do if the emperor’s heart turns toward the saint again?

Moreover, even after 10 years of marriage, if there were no children, the position of the empress itself could be jeopardized.

The nobles under Marquis Ahillo also made a fuss.

“Honestly, wasn’t the emperor’s behavior changed too abruptly? Now is the chance! We must seize this opportunity. Who knows when such an opportunity will come again?”

“Hehe, it’s only natural for a man to be drawn to a different taste.”

“But rejecting it once or twice is normal. If he continues like this and turns his gaze back to the dignified saint, what will happen, huh?”

However, the empress remained firm and did not break down the walls of her heart.

Even when Marquis Ahillo himself stepped forward to persuade, time passed without any gain.

The child was born around the same time.

In late summer, the nobles, unable to endure any longer, collectively decided to lodge a complaint.

One hot day, the empress’s palace unexpectedly made a public announcement throughout the country.

The content of the announcement that would stir the whole world was .

It stated the selection of a man who would become the empress’s concubine.