“Young Lady Melanie, what kind of rudeness is this in front of Her Majesty the Empress!”

Young Lady Catherine scolded Young Lady Melanie while being conscious of me.

“Oh my, it’s not a secret, is it? It’s a fact that those who should know already do, and anyway, Her Majesty the Empress will soon find out, so I just told her in advance.”

Young Lady Melanie retorted to Young Lady Catherine with a prim expression.

“I heard it for the first time!”

At that moment, an oblivious young lady chimed in with her eyes wide open.

“Me too! Young Lady Catherine, is it true that you were engaged to His Majesty since childhood?”

Curiosity exploded here and there at the interesting story.

Contrary to Young Lady Melanie’s words that those who should know already did, it seemed that the fact that the two were engaged was information known only to a very few among the nobles.

Under pressure from the other young ladies, Young Lady Melanie reluctantly opened her mouth again.

“Young Lady Catherine, how old were you when you became engaged to His Majesty? I heard it from my father, but I have a bad memory so I forgot.”

“It’s just the past. What use is it to bring up old stories now?”

Young Lady Catherine glanced at me as she replied to Young Lady Melanie.

“Even if being engaged is in the past, it’s a different story if the feelings are still ongoing. Isn’t that right?”

Young Lady Melanie pointed out rather sharply while snorting.

“Oh my, goodness! Then, Young Lady Catherine could have originally become the Empress… Oh, I’m sorry. Your Majesty the Empress.”

Young Lady Pecilini of the Viscount Asto family, sitting next to Young Lady Melanie, belatedly covered her mouth and put on an awkward act.

I didn’t react to Young Lady Pecilini’s slip of the tongue and just took a sip of tea.

“Such an astonishing fact made me blurt out nonsense. Please forgive me, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Young Lady Pecilini bowed her head to me again in an annoying voice that I didn’t want to forgive at all.

I made a gesture to her that it was alright.

I almost let my middle finger slip out.

Now all eyes were focused on Young Lady Catherine, who would have had the highest probability of becoming the Empress of the Rapion Empire if things had gone as originally planned.

She deliberately pretended not to notice while being aware that everyone was looking at her, and crunched on a cookie.

To eat such a small, one-bite cookie in tiny bird-like nibbles. Good heavens!

Young Lady Catherine had already put the remaining cookie on her saucer with a satisfied expression.

Then she acted as if this unsettled atmosphere had nothing to do with her.

What thoughts must have gone through her mind as she watched the wedding ceremony of the Emperor who had been her fiancé since childhood?

I now understood the particularly cold, piercing gaze of Young Lady Catherine when I entered the reception room.

I’m just a substitute Empress anyway, so I’ll step down from this position, but what will become of Princess Resilia’s fate, who is to become the remarried Empress in the future, once Young Lady Catherine becomes a concubine?

‘Zelda, please be honest. There’s something else you’re more curious about, isn’t there?’

The avatar inside me asked sarcastically.

‘Aren’t you more curious about whether that damnably handsome Emperor will keep coming to the Empress’s chambers? Even if his former fiancée becomes a concubine.’

Shut up.

I shouted inwardly at the avatar.

After the fact that Emperor Rinel and Young Lady Catherine had been engaged was revealed, the noble young ladies began to comfort me, the Empress.

Their comforting words continued tirelessly like a round song.

In fact, I was confused whether it was a round song or a mocking song.

“Your Majesty the Empress. You must be upset, but we have to follow His Majesty’s will.”

“Yes, traditionally, the Rapion Imperial Family has always had many concubines.”

“That’s right! Even the current Emperor is the son of the third concubine, isn’t he?”

What? Rinel is the son of a concubine?

“Your Majesty the Empress, could it be that you didn’t know this fact?”

Young Lady Melanie asked as if wondering how I could have gone through with the national marriage without knowing such a thing, seeing my surprised expression.

Yes, I didn’t know. What are you going to do about it?

Is that the only thing I didn’t know?

“There’s no way she wouldn’t have known.”

But a lie came out in an elegant voice without me even realizing it.

“Is that really true, Your Majesty the Empress?”

Young Lady Catherine asked, glaring at me with her golden eyes.

“Of course.”

I was so nonchalant while lying, but it was Young Lady Catherine who seemed flustered instead.

Ah, I’m tired.

Making eye contact with each noble young lady and sending them smiles was more physically demanding than I had thought.

The only place where I could hide my exhausted expression in this spacious reception room was when I brought the small teacup to my mouth.

I examined the faces of each noble young lady one by one.

All fifteen young ladies had beautiful appearances, but they were no match for Princess Resilia.

If Princess Resilia were sitting in this Empress’s seat instead of me, those confident gazes of the young ladies would have lost their luster in the face of the princess’s beauty.

The tea time, which held no meaning or value to me, slowly passed with the feigned laughter of the pretentious young ladies.

When I glanced slightly at Sharon, she approached me as if she had read my mood.

“Your Majesty the Empress, it’s time for you to go to His Majesty’s office now.”

Sharon’s words sounded like salvation.

“Is that so? Time has already passed like that.”

In fact, the meeting with Rinel was after lunch.

Sharon, who had been observing my mood, had tactfully moved up the time to go to the main palace a bit earlier.

“I’m afraid I must end today’s tea time here. Ah, and I don’t know which of you young ladies will become concubines, but please serve His Majesty with all your heart in the future.”

Pretending to be this benevolent must also be a virtue of the Empress.

If I were really Rinel’s wife, it would have been a terrible feeling.

Even now, as a substitute Empress, my mood is in shambles.

“Are you going to meet His Majesty?”

Young Lady Catherine, who had been eating a small cookie in six bites, asked me while dusting off her mouth.

“It seems he wants to discuss the matter of bringing in concubines.”

I replied plainly to Young Lady Catherine’s question without showing any signs of being upset, and stood up from the sofa.

“The young ladies may remain here and continue your conversation. If I leave first, you’ll all be able to enjoy your chat more comfortably, right?”

As I stood up from the sofa, the young ladies also stood up in unison and bowed to me.

I wanted to run to the reception room door, but I put dignity into each step without rushing.

“Your Majesty the Empress?”

It was just as I was about to exit the reception room.

A languid voice, as if calling a subordinate, was heard.

The owner of that voice was Young Lady Catherine.

I tried not to frown as I turned back around.

“What is it?”

Four young ladies walked forward at the same time and bowed to me again.

“It’s us.”

“Pardon?”

“We are the concubines who will serve His Majesty. Your Majesty the Empress.”

…What?

The concubines were already decided?

I was dumbfounded.

After the dumbfoundedness came a feeling of insult, but I suppressed my emotions and looked at their faces one by one.

Indeed, they were the concubine candidates I had been predicting in my mind throughout the tea time.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Haah…!”

It was only after I left the Empress’s palace and entered the garden path leading to the main palace that my tense body finally relaxed.

“Your Majesty the Empress.”

Sharon approached me closely with a worried expression.

“I feel worse than I thought. I tried to act like it didn’t bother me, but did it work? Sharon, how did it look to you?”

I asked Sharon while pounding my chest with my fist.

“Your Majesty is always dignified. If only you wouldn’t do this…”

Sharon said as she unfolded my clenched fists with both hands.

“I’m glad if I looked dignified.”

“Yes, if it were me, I would have been trembling and red-faced, and left that place long ago.”

Though it was meant to comfort me, Sharon’s words made me feel a little better.

“It doesn’t seem to be time to go to His Majesty’s office yet, let’s take a walk in the garden a bit more before going.”

“Then what about lunch…”

“I don’t feel like it. I’d like to eat something light in the afternoon.”

“Yes, then I’ll guide you to a path where you can take a quiet walk.”

“Alright.”

Guided by Sharon, I strolled along a more secluded walking path.

I substituted lunch with deeply inhaling the clear air and fresh flower fragrance.

My sunken mood also improved considerably.

As I walked along various branches of the path from the Empress’s palace to the main palace, it was soon time to go to his office.

“Your Majesty the Empress, it seems we should turn towards the main palace now.”

“Yes, we should go. I need to go and hear what he has to say.”

I was curious about his excuse.

[This is the timeline separator]

I am just a substitute Empress.

I steeled my heart as I entered the lobby of the main palace.

I repeated those words to myself as I climbed the central staircase.

Although the concubine issue seems a bit too early timing-wise, there has never been a king in the Kingdom of Shateonil who didn’t have concubines.

I know well that the Emperor’s power doesn’t come from one person alone.

For a stronger imperial authority, the Emperor needs to maintain close relationships with various powerful noble families.

The easiest way to gain that power without using force is to take young ladies from each family as concubines.

The number of concubines brought in from prominent noble families also symbolized the strength of imperial authority.

However, the avatar inside me seemed to have a different opinion.

‘Still, taking concubines this quickly makes him seem like such a libertine!’

It had been grumbling with displeasure ever since meeting the young ladies in the reception room.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Her Majesty the Empress has arrived.”

As I arrived in front of the office, Secretary Raphael greeted me.

After greeting me, Raphael looked around and then leaned in close to whisper:

“His Majesty has been waiting for a while now.”

“Is that so? Thank you.”

When I gave Raphael a brief smile, he nodded and opened the office door himself.

I slightly lifted my dress and bowed without properly checking which direction Rinel was in.

“I have come to see His Majesty the Emperor.”

As the office door closed carefully, I raised my head again.

At that moment, my eyes met Rinel’s as he walked towards me from the front.

He was smiling.

“Zelda, people who share a bed don’t need to be so formal. It makes us look unfamiliar.”

He seemed quite pleased to see me.

I deliberately countered his kind gaze with an even more indifferent expression.

But I forgot the fact that looking at his handsome face for more than 10 seconds results in a loss of fighting power.

Damn it. It was so frustrating that the expressionless face I was trying hard to maintain kept crumbling.

I stared at him with sleepy eyes like someone reading a history book of a vanished country.

I must look quite disinterested, right?

“You’re beautiful. Zelda…”

However, Rinel’s reaction was completely different from what I expected.

Those short two words that came out of his mouth left a strong impression on me.

Unlike his body temperature that seemed cold enough to freeze a person to death, his sweet baritone voice that seemed like it could melt a person to death is too harmful to my heart.

But I tried not to be swayed by his compliment.

“That’s nothing new.”

For some reason, my indifferent response only deepened his smile.

His smile so easily crumbles my stiff expression like a biscuit.

He suddenly took a step back and looked at me as if admiring, with moved eyes, and asked:

“Is today a special day?”

Rinel held out his hand to me.

Enchanted by his perfect features, I quickly placed my hand on his palm.

He led me to the sofa with sophisticated and gentle steps.

“I just got some help from skilled maids.”

“Excellent. I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Is my appearance today that different?

“Don’t misunderstand. I don’t mean your previous appearance was bad.”

“…I wasn’t misunderstanding at all until Your Majesty just said that?”

“Ah, was that so?”

“Yes, did you deliberately bring it up?”

“Hahaha, how could that be?”

Rinel laughed louder than ever as he denied my words.

However, his head was nodding forward.

Oh my.

“Your Majesty seems to be in an especially good mood today?”

‘Of course he’d be happy, getting not just one but several concubines. Wouldn’t you be if you were him?’

The avatar butted in again to provoke me.

He led me to a sofa near the window and sat me down.

“Zelda, didn’t we agree to call each other by name when we’re alone?”

“Ah, that’s right. Rinel.”

When his name came out of my mouth immediately, he sat down next to me with a satisfied expression.

“I am in a good mood. Isn’t it enjoyable to see my wife’s beautiful appearance?”

He crossed his long, elegantly stretched legs and turned his body towards me.

“I’m glad.”

I replied steadfastly looking straight ahead.

“If you had added that you put in effort to look good for me, I would have been even happier.”

He said as he stealthily pulled up the hem of my dress.

“I wish Rinel had told me in advance too.”

Contrary to my intention to speak with a smile, both corners of my mouth kept twisting as if sneering.

I had meant to bring up the concubine issue calmly and coolly, but it seems I was wrong from the start.

“What do you mean? Judging by your expression, it seems I’ve done something wrong?”

Rinel asked with an air that suggested it was unlikely he had done anything wrong.

There was no need for a long explanation to him, so I went straight to the point.

“It’s not wrong for you to take concubines.”

This one sentence should let him know what I’m talking about.

“…What did you say?”

He looked surprised, but not like someone who had heard something completely absurd.

“Zelda, where did you hear that?”

Rinel asked with furrowed brows.

Yet the hem of my dress continued to rise by his hand.