Although it was difficult to even breathe due to the too tight corset, Catherine was quite satisfied when she saw her figure in the mirror.

No man would be unmoved by such a perfect appearance.

But Rinel wasn’t very affectionate to Catherine even before he became emperor, that is, when the two were engaged.

He always maintained courtesy, and always treated her formally.

Catherine found even his personality attractive.

After all, shining jewels are usually hard to obtain.

Still, Rinel wasn’t as cold back then as he is now.

Rinel began to completely ignore Catherine when their engagement was broken… that is, when her secret relationship with Count Ethan Bennett was discovered.

“Count Ethan was just meant to comfort my lonely body.”

When Rinel heard about Catherine and Count Ethan’s inappropriate relationship, he didn’t get angry or interrogate, but just quietly broke off the engagement.

If Rinel had made that incident public at the time, not only Catherine but also her family, the Calios duchy, would have become a big laughingstock in noble society.

After being dumped by Rinel, Catherine also ended her relationship with Count Ethan afterwards.

Count Ethan was only good in bed, but as it turned out, he was a man without dreams or ambition.

“I was blind. I didn’t know he was a stupid noble bastard who spent all day obsessing over making swords in the blacksmith shop.”

Catherine deeply regretted having an affair with Count Ethan while being with Rinel, who was soon to become emperor.

But another opportunity came to her.

“Anyway, since Rinel also took an empress, this makes us even, right?”

Considering her past mistake, even the position of concubine wasn’t really unfair.

“Hah? That mere empress position.”

All she had to do was give birth to a prince before the empress.

“Once I give birth to a prince, everyone will kneel before me.”

Catherine was determined to show Zelda the empress.

The fact that it’s power, not position, that receives respect.

“Empress, you’ll be the first to bow your head before me. Just wait and see.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Rinel stared blankly at me drinking water, then took back the quickly emptied glass from my hand.

“I’ll shower first and come out.”

I said to him, glancing down at the towel that had fallen on the floor.

“I’m sorry, but I need to wash up first.”

He said, grabbing my hand as I turned towards the bathroom.

“You don’t need to get ready. Let’s have breakfast like this.”

“But…”

I look terrible right now, don’t I?

“It doesn’t matter.”

He said he needed to use the bathroom first and didn’t mind my messy appearance at all, telling me to stay as I was.

I couldn’t keep insisting against his order that came with force in his voice.

As it turned out, he had a state council meeting scheduled early this morning and didn’t have much time to spare.

“My schedule today is a bit tight to leisurely enjoy breakfast.”

“Still…”

“If you really want to wash up, we could shower together. That would save time.”

Rinel suddenly got up from the bed without warning.

“Huh.”

His mischievous blue eyes stared at me.

My gaze clung to his face, trying not to fall downwards.

His long arm reached for the marble floor.

He swiftly picked up the discarded towel on the floor and wrapped it around his waist.

I didn’t even have time to turn my head at his provocative action.

Unless it was flying swords or arrows, my actions weren’t usually very quick.

He seemed slightly surprised to see me still looking him in the eye, as if he thought I would turn away or squeeze my eyes shut.

“…”

“…”

Fortunately, my gaze didn’t fall downwards until the end.

My more flustered face was reflected in his surprised blue eyes.

“My wife has amazing patience. And she’s bold too.”

Please leave out the ‘bold’ part since I didn’t see anything.

He praised my calmly frozen attitude from a moment ago.

Chu-.

He gave an incomprehensible kiss on the cheek and leisurely walked into the bathroom.

“Haah… breathe, breathe.”

Click. Only after the bathroom door closed did I collapse onto the bed, clutching my heart.

[This is the timeline separator]

When he finished showering and put on his uniform, servants entered the bedroom pulling trays.

The servants opened the terrace doors wide and moved a table in front of it.

Breakfast started to be modestly set on the table.

After completing all preparations, the servants left the bedroom all at once, just as they had entered.

The breakfast table set in the blink of an eye was prepared with foods that weren’t excessive but stimulated the appetite.

We sat facing each other at the small table.

The bright morning sunlight settled on his dazzling face through the open terrace doors.

Compared to the perfect Rinel, I wasn’t wearing makeup, hadn’t done my hair, and wasn’t even wearing a dress.

It felt like dining with a god while just wearing a slip and a robe.

“I should have properly dressed to meet you. It’s so embarrassing.”

“After bathing together, what’s the big deal.”

“Kek, kekek…”

I choked inelegantly while taking a spoonful of soup.

“Zelda, try this pie. It’s one of my favorites and tastes good.”

Rinel pushed the plate on his right in front of me.

“It’s a pie made with apples, lemons, and blueberries mixed together.”

I cut a piece of the pie and put it in my mouth while listening to his explanation.

“Mmm!”

It tasted so good that I wasn’t sure if I ate the pie or the pie ate me.

He said that on days when his body is particularly tired, eating a bite of this pie with coffee makes half of the day’s fatigue and stress fly away.

Somehow I had a feeling I would come to enjoy this pie from now on too.

“If you had to describe the taste of that pie in one word?”

He asked me while spreading butter on bread.

He looked curious about my thoughts on the food he usually likes.

“It’s a taste I don’t want to share with anyone.”

“Hahaha, I had the exact same thought the first time I put that pie in my mouth.”

Actually, I exaggerated a bit, but it was that delicious – enough to want to keep it all to myself.

“Even one favorite pie, you don’t want to share with others…”

Rinel lowered his voice as he took a sip of coffee, as if he wanted to say something.

“Yes?”

“I’m curious how Zelda, no, the empress feels.”

“About what?”

“There’s the ceremony to welcome the concubines next week. After the ceremony, you’ll have to officially share me with them.”

It didn’t seem like he was asking because he really thought that way, but rather like he was testing me somehow.

“…Your Majesty is not a pie.”

That formal answer was all I could manage to say.

“Right, I’m not as tasty as pie, am I?”

Rinel smiled bitterly.

As he put it, in a short while I’ll have to share him with other concubines.

The time we can face each other like this will probably decrease because of them.

As that thought occurred to me, the sweet pie I had just put in my mouth suddenly tasted bitter.

A different taste from when I first ate the pie tormented my tongue.

I moistened my mouth again with soup, but the soup taste had subtly changed too.

It was strange.

“You’ll be quite busy from now on, won’t you?”

I asked while just poking at the pie with my fork, not really feeling like eating anything else.

“It’s not me who’ll be busy, is it? It’ll be the concubines.”

Now that I think about it, that’s right.

He just has to choose one of the concubines and visit her bedroom.

Other than deciding which chambers to sleep in that night, there wasn’t much for the emperor to be busy with because of the concubines.

Of course, he might get busy late at night…

Contrary to his position, the situation was different for the concubines.

They’ll be quite busy with things to do to try to look good to him.

I wonder if I’ll become the most idle person in this imperial palace?

Suddenly I recalled myself praying every night in the carriage heading to the Raphion Empire.

For me to be allowed to stay quietly in the empress’s palace until Princess Resilia arrived at the Raphion Imperial Palace.

Surprisingly, my wish seemed about to come true because of the concubines, but I don’t know why I feel so uneasy.

It was as if the damn god had granted the wish I made in the past without checking the changed current circumstances.

“Zelda, I have a meeting shortly so I need to get up first.”

The cheerful breakfast atmosphere had changed to a funeral-like mood at some point, and finally he stood up from his chair.

Rinel looked down at the half-eaten pie that was my portion.

“Does the empress’s pie not taste good?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“The taste might be a bit different, so eat mine instead of that one. I left it on purpose.”

He placed the plate with the pie he said he enjoys eating in front of me again, and pushed my plate to the side.

I quietly looked down at the pie he had deliberately left.

It felt strange.

My mouth was already starting to water even though I hadn’t eaten the pie he handed over yet.

I looked up at him and asked.

“I thought you didn’t want to share your favorite pie with others?”

“That’s right, I don’t.”

“Then why… are you giving it to me?”

As if entranced, I couldn’t take my eyes off him as I pointed at the pie with my finger and asked.

“I’m the emperor.”

“Yes, and you’re also rich, I hear.”

Rinel raised one corner of his mouth and smiled at my retort.

Then he said affectionately yet matter-of-factly.

“You’re the empress. We’re not strangers, are we?”

It felt like an invisible string was wrapping around him and me.

He gently caressed my cheek with the back of his hand.

Then he mouthed ‘eat it all’ before turning away.

“Ah, right.”

He was about to go out, opening the bedroom doorknob carved in the shape of a wyvern, when he turned back towards me again.

“Why? What is it?”

“Zelda, you’re the first.”

“The first what?”

“The first person I’ve given that pie to.”

“…Oh.”

“So eat it all.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Ten days later.

Originally, weddings in the Raphion Empire are held in the banquet hall inside the main palace, while ceremonies with concubines are conducted simply in the prayer room of the temple building.

However, this concubine ceremony was held on quite a large scale at the shrine’s chapel.

The ministers pushed their opinions aggressively, but it was an unavoidable choice for Emperor Rinel as it was a matter agreed upon with the Raphion ministers in advance of the state marriage with the Chatonille Kingdom.

In fact, the reason the ministers were able to move up the timing of bringing in concubines so quickly was partly due to the active cooperation of Grand Duke Martins, who was staying at the imperial palace as the foreign minister of the Chatonille Kingdom.

The Grand Duke mingled with the ministers like a loyal subject of the Raphion Empire. He even publicly announced at the meeting that the Chatonille royal family’s message agreed that the ministers’ opinions were reasonable.

It was a matter that would be very upsetting from the empress’s standpoint, but the ministers judged that Empress Zelda would have given tacit consent to Grand Duke Martins’ opinion.

No one noticed the fact that the Chatonille Kingdom had a plan to put forward a new empress in the future.

[This is the timeline separator]

Before the ceremony, the four concubines gathered in the bridal waiting room prepared inside the shrine building and were busy with their grooming.

They all waited for the ceremony with excited expressions while receiving the hands of the attendants they had brought.

Among the concubines, the woman who boasted the most splendid appearance was undoubtedly Catherine Calios.

As befitting the First Concubine, she differentiated herself from the Second Concubines even in wedding dresses.

The other concubines kept being conscious of Catherine.

They glanced at Catherine, who had become the First Concubine alone, with unfavorable eyes.

Among them, Melanie Hetzros, who had entered as the empress’s maid but was fired after just one day, had the most vicious expression.

“What’s so great about her that she alone became the First Concubine? And she’s a duke’s daughter just like me.”

Melanie, who was glaring at Catherine through the mirror as she received grooming from attendants while occupying the largest and best seat in the bridal waiting room, muttered in a displeased tone.

“Shh, she’ll hear you.”

Pecilini, who was sitting next to Melanie and was also a Second Concubine, whispered softly.

“Catherine was also His Majesty’s lover. That’s probably why she became the First Concubine.”

“Oh please, Pecilini. Don’t you know that a broken gold coin is worth less than a whole silver coin? Even if you glue it back together, what’s broken is broken!”

Melanie sneered, deliberately raising her voice.

“I told you to lower your voice.”

Pecilini frowned and tried to stop her.

“It’s not like I’m saying anything wrong. Ah, not this earring. I need the one from earlier with diamond clusters hanging like grape bunches.”

Ignoring Pecilini’s advice, Melanie gestured for her attendant to open a different jewelry box.

“Who here can raise their voice higher than me?”

At that moment, Catherine slowly rose from her chair and spoke.

All eyes in the bridal waiting room turned to Melanie and Catherine, who was walking towards her.

Catherine stood in front of Melanie with a haughty expression.

Catherine’s aura was no less than that of the empress.

Melanie also stood up from her chair and deliberately held her head high.

Sparks flew between the sharp gazes of the two women.

“Melanie?”

“Ugh! W-What are you doing!”

“You know what?”

Catherine asked, grabbing Melanie’s chin tightly with a fierce gaze.