Of course, that doesn’t mean Enrique and I were living together.

I wanted to, but whenever I expressed my intentions, Enrique would smile shyly and say, “Please wait a little longer.”

And I, foolishly enough, thought that as a human, premarital cohabitation would be difficult for him, so I understood and waited.

‘Well… I guess he was with me during the day and with that woman at night.’

My lips twisted.

I chuckled and twirled my hair as I recalled that woman’s name.

‘It was Helene, wasn’t it?’

I don’t know her surname, but with such vivid pink eyes and hair, she must be famous in high society. It’s not a common color, after all.

‘I want to go find her right now and turn everything upside down, but I don’t have the strength or energy for that.’

I need to be able to at least walk without fainting to get my revenge.

I sighed deeply and closed my diary.

‘I need to go out to wash away this stuffy feeling.’

Don’t misunderstand. In my current physical state, going out means leaving the bedroom.

I was living each day as if walking on thin ice.

Just yesterday, I had a hard time with another unexplained fever.

“Charlotte, I’d like to go to the Imperial Library. Would you take me there?”

“Ah! If there’s a book you want, I can bring it to you…!”

“No, I want to choose for myself.”

“Then… um, we should wrap you up warmly before going out. Please wait a moment! The library can’t have the heaters on, so it’s very cold.”

Charlotte, the daughter of Viscount Everitt, was one of the people who had followed me from the Achilo duchy, just like Mrs. Berthold. She was quick to act and didn’t speak unnecessarily, so I had grown close to her recently.

As Charlotte bustled about, gathering winter gear like scarves and fur gloves, I casually asked her.

“Did I often go to the library?”

“Um… honestly, no. Your Majesty didn’t particularly like books.”

“Then what did I usually do?”

“Mostly, you were ill… When you felt better, you’d take walks. On days when you had more energy, you’d have meals with His Majesty the Emperor!”

In short, it means I was a seriously ill patient who didn’t do anything.

‘You poor thing, Leonarda.’

Born with everything, yet lacking in health, unable to be happy despite ascending to the highest position in the human world.

Since I’ve ended up in this body, I should change the surroundings to suit me better, as well as get revenge on Leonarda’s behalf.

At least, that’s what I was thinking at the time.

* * *

“Oh my, my eyes must be getting dim with age… Why am I seeing things?”

Indeed, it seemed true that I had never set foot in the Imperial Library before, as the librarian outright denied reality when I appeared.

He was in the middle of oiling his impressive white beard, which made him even more inclined to dismiss my visit as an illusion.

“Carry on with your work. Your beard looks splendid.”

I waved my hand, indicating to the old librarian that he needn’t follow me. A few seconds later, the librarian jumped up as if he’d grown horns on his bottom.

Honestly, I was worried about the health of his joints.

“Ahem, ahem, it really is Her Majesty the Empress! Um… is there a book you’re looking for?”

“The Imperial Registry.”

“I’ll bring it right away.”

The kindly-faced old librarian, being quite advanced in age for a human, seemed to have some sense of discretion. He looked curious about why I was searching for the registry, but he never voiced such thoughts.

‘Enrique. Enrique…’

About a minute later. With the desired book in hand, I strained my eyes to confirm the name.

About 200 years ago, my fourth elder sister, who lived among humans as a great mage, had told me about the Imperial Registry.

The Imperial Registry was a magical item commissioned by the Nix Empire from the Magic Tower, recording the entire lineage starting from the first Emperor.

I remember my fourth sister telling me that blood magic was cast on it so that anyone with even a drop of the first Emperor’s blood would be recorded in this book as soon as they were born.

Of course, deaths were also recorded.

However, there was one flaw—the spouses who married into the imperial bloodline had to be manually written in by the registrar.

I briefly scanned the name “Leonarda” and then rolled my eyes searching for the name I wanted.

‘The current Emperor’s name is Yert Lu Nix… I wonder if there’s an Enrique among his brothers.’

There were no living brothers, for a start.

I thoroughly searched even among the deceased, and after a while.

I tilted my head.

‘He’s not here? Is it not this country?’

After checking up to the end of the records, I carefully went through again from back to front, looking for the name “Enrique.”

But my eyes hadn’t been mistaken.

‘Then there are two possibilities.’

The first is that he’s not from the Nix Empire, and the second is that while he is from the Nix Empire, even the name he gave me was a lie.

If it’s the latter, this wouldn’t just end with hurt feelings, but something deep inside me might crumble…

“You there. What’s your name?”

“Ho ho, my name is Charles, Your Majesty.”

“Right, Charles. Do you happen to have any books recording the names of royalty from other countries?”

I asked calmly for now.

There was no need to jump to conclusions and get hurt prematurely.

He could be royalty from another country, couldn’t he?

“I apologize. To my knowledge, there are no such books.”

If a librarian nearing seventy doesn’t know of it, it really doesn’t exist.

‘Should I call a foreign affairs official to ask separately?’

Well, it would be strange to have a book with the names of foreign royalty anyway.

Accepting this, I voiced my next request.

“Bring me a world map.”

“A world map… Ah! Is this about the upcoming summit between heads of state?”

“The summit is… scheduled to happen, yes.”

I had no idea about this, but I skillfully pretended to know.

“I’ll bring it right away.”

However, as soon as the old librarian disappeared behind the bookshelves, I let out a held breath and pressed my forehead. I felt a headache coming on.

‘A summit between heads of state is about to be held, and no one reported it to me?’

Even if I was a demon with a different ecology from humans, I was still a monarch. I was the ruler of the 7th circle of Hell, for crying out loud.

I wasn’t unfamiliar with how major palace events unfolded.

‘Something this big isn’t decided in a day or two. They start coordinating at least a year in advance and put all efforts into preparation from half a year before.’

I barely managed to suppress a sigh.

What were the people in the Empress’s Palace thinking, not giving any information to an Empress who had lost her memories?

This level of overprotectiveness was a disease.

‘Even if the Empress is just a figurehead, she’s still the Empress. A summit is not a place where a concubine has any role.’

Isn’t it a meeting between the Emperor and Empress of one country and the Emperor and Empress of another?

‘Surely… they’re not planning to exclude the Empress and seat the Saint instead.’

It’s not like they’re advertising “Our country is in complete disarray” or anything.

‘Moreover, what about the banquet preparations? That’s rightfully the job of this country’s hostess, the Empress.’

Right now, the Empress’s Palace wasn’t preparing for a banquet, let alone a tea party. They were just leisurely and peaceful.

With a stiff neck, I frowned and pondered deeply.

‘This is not something to be happy about just because it’s peaceful.’

The Emperor must bring the Empress with him. He had no choice. Duke Achilo and the noble faction wouldn’t stand for it otherwise.

If so, there’s only one answer.

They intend to prepare everything themselves and use the Empress as mere table decoration.

That might have been fine for the original Leonarda… but not for me.

I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to elevate the Empress’s prestige.

Besides, the Emperor of the country that’s coming might be Enrique.

‘When I get back, I’ll have to scold the people in the Empress’s Palace first. And then find out what else they haven’t told me.’

There was no news about the summit in the gazette yet, so there should be about a month’s leeway. Even if the Saint was already preparing a banquet concept, I had enough time to revise it.

‘It’s getting cold. Is the map not ready yet?’

I didn’t think the librarian would appreciate a crowd of people rushing into the library.

I had already left an unfavorable impression, so I didn’t want to make it worse by having Derek stand guard at the door.

I shivered and cupped my hands together, blowing hot breath into them.

‘Would it be warmer if I stood by the window to catch some sunlight? Or would it be colder from the draft?’

Having never lived in such a weak body before, I suddenly felt irritated.

How on earth was I supposed to keep this doomed body alive and functioning, really.

I blamed this useless body and rested my head against the glass window with a thud.

How long had I been like that?

My eyes grew wider and wider.

I couldn’t help it.

“Oh my. Your Majesty!”

Pink hair, as soft and fluffy as a newly bloomed flower, fluttered in the breeze. A woman in a cute dress adorned with fluffy fur laughed happily.

Just then, the clouds parted, and sunlight poured down on her.

The library was located in the western corner where sunlight rarely reached, to protect the books, so I was surrounded by nothing but murky shadows.

But “Helene” walked down the sparkling path as if she were the protagonist of this world.

Proudly, in the most brilliant manner possible.

And beside her was…

“!”

Thump.

My heart sank heavily. My stomach twisted, and at the same time, my whole body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Platinum blonde hair that seemed to melt. An elegant and harmless appearance like a lost deer. Those amethyst eyes I loved so much pierced my vision like shards of broken glass.

Ah, his name, piercing my raw insides again like the tip of a merciless sword—

Enrique. It was Enrique.