Episode 7
Flint was deep within the Empress’s Palace, waiting inside the greenhouse where pink cherry blossoms were in full bloom. He was waiting for one person, endlessly.
“Your Grace, we must go. It’s almost patrol time.”
“This is the perfect time to slip out of the palace.”
“I don’t think Empress Eliano will come.”
His attendants urged him to leave, but Flint stood firm. As if answering his hope, a woman in a black veil appeared, carefully checking her surroundings.
“…Her Majesty will not be coming.”
It wasn’t Empress Eliano. She had rejected Flint’s offer. The deal had failed, and the peace he promised vanished. Flint lowered his head in silence.
“As of yesterday, the patrol schedule has changed. I’ve cleared the hallway used by the maids. Go that way.”
The head maid of the Empress’s Palace quietly handed him a small box. It was full of identification tags.
“Her Majesty told me to ask you to cross the border quickly. Use different tags in each region, and make sure to pass through Lynxgen.”
“How can we trust this? It could be a trap.”
One of his men said sharply, but Flint raised his hand, signalling him to stop. If they wanted him dead, they would’ve sent soldiers, not gone to all this trouble.
“Lastly, Her Majesty said to tell you: ‘The small sun of Bianteca has lost its light.’”
Flint and his men were struck with shock.
“I thank you for your sincerity. Go back and become Emperor. Don’t let the fear of shame stop you from accepting the fortune before you.’”
“These are Her Majesty’s final words.”
The head maid turned and walked away. Flint called out, asking why. After hearing the answer, he turned away without hesitation.
“Congratulations, Your Majesty. You are with child.”
Eliano had finally conceived the child she had long wished for.
“Truly, congratulations.”
More than the joy of carrying her beloved husband’s child, what brought her peace was the relief that she could now live.
She had finally fulfilled her duty as Empress. The rumors about deposing her for being barren would stop. Her position was no longer in danger. That fact made her truly happy. But her joy was short-lived. The baby never saw the light of the world. Eliano had a miscarriage and stayed locked in her palace, crying for days.
The Emperor came to comfort her, his face full of sorrow. His gentle care shook her heart. She wanted to lean on him again, just like in Lynxgen.
“You’ll have another child. So don’t be sad, Lia. My heart still belongs to you.”
The Emperor whispered words of love. Even though she lost the baby, he said he still loved her. That very night, the Emperor slept with one of her maids. In the Empress’s Palace.
Eliano received the news while lying sick in bed. The shock made her faint.
“How could a maid of the Empress’s Palace be a commoner? Why would you keep such a lowborn girl so close to you?”
The Emperor scolded her, clicking his tongue.
“You’re really without prejudice. Is that because you’re from Bianteca? She may be lowborn, but she’s carrying my child. I’ve decided to grant her a palace. Lia, handle it properly according to the law.”
Marcel spoke as if dealing with a troublesome issue. Then came another blow—this time from the head maid. She told Eliano that the Emperor had mistaken the maid for the Empress because he was drunk.
— “His Majesty truly loves Your Majesty. I thought my name was ‘Lia’ that night. He thought I was you the whole time. He hasn’t called for me since.”
What the new concubine said was passed on to Eliano. Noblewomen shared it hoping to comfort her, but it only added to her pain. Still, Eliano dealt with the matter with a calm and elegant face.
“Your Majesty, you don’t need to grant her a palace…”
“His Majesty wants it. Besides, she used to be my maid. Don’t treat her too harshly.”
“But…”
“She came to me crying, full of guilt for betraying me.”
Many thought Eliano had fallen for the maid’s fake tears, but she knew the truth. Living as Empress, she’d grown sensitive to others’ emotions.
— “I’m sorry, Your Majesty… I was wrong…”
— “The one who touched you was His Majesty. Why are you the one apologizing?”
— “I didn’t want this… but His Majesty… sob… I betrayed you, Your Majesty. I can’t live like this. Please, kill me…”
The maid came to Eliano, begging in tears. She said she couldn’t go on living like this—not out of simple guilt, but something deeper. Eliano could see that.
— “I never wanted to be His Majesty’s woman. I had someone I loved… we were going to marry…”
— “If His Majesty forgets you, I’ll let you go. You can return to him then.”
— “He’s already left. He said he couldn’t accept me after I’d been with another man. Sob… Please kill me, Your Majesty. I don’t want to live trapped in the palace as a concubine. I don’t want to bear that beast’s child!”
Eliano couldn’t grant her wish.
— “Vivian, even I—an Empress—can’t die. How could I kill you?”
Every time the topic of dethronement came up, it made Eliano feel miserable and hopeless. Her noble charm that once won the Emperor’s heart no longer worked.
“I still enjoy nights with Lia, but what’s the point if she can’t keep a child? And she’s not even good in bed. It’s all your fault, Lia. That’s why you can’t get pregnant. Was it too much to ask for a child? I even said a daughter was fine. Just give me a child!”
Her heart was so broken that instead of feeling ashamed, she blamed herself. She believed it really was her fault—that her body kept miscarrying because she was lacking.
She thought things couldn’t get any worse, but reality proved otherwise. Her secret birth dragged her into a deeper pit.
“How can the Empress of Zacador bring such shame upon the empire?”
“She’s a lowborn bastard! Even if she’s from an enemy nation, we accepted her because of her noble blood. But now, Your Majesty, it’s time to decide!”
“A lowborn bastard cannot sit on the Empress’s throne! This is against the law!”
Zacador despised and looked down on bastards. They were never fully accepted. A woman of such birth could never sit on the throne as Empress. She didn’t even have time to be shocked by the truth of her birth. The news came at the worst time and in the worst way.
Eliano had no strength left to endure.
“This is not Bianteca, Your Majesty. Step down with honor, and no one will hold it against you.”
“This title is all I have left. How can I let go of it?”
So she couldn’t let it go. They told her not to tarnish her honor. But did she still have any honor left to tarnish? Even the noblewomen who once supported her turned away. Most looked at her with scorn now that they knew her secret. But a few cried out in sorrow.
“Your Majesty! We will help you! You’ve shown us so much kindness—how could we turn away now…”
Eliano knew their promises weren’t sincere. Who would help someone who’d lost all power and honor? But she was grateful for their genuine sadness.
“Even a woman like me is lucky to have good people. I thought you’d all abandon me.”
“Your Majesty, life is more important than honor. Please… find a way to live…”
“If I were truly from Zacador, I might listen to you. But I guess my Biantecan roots are too strong. I was born to live and die for honor.”
She could feel it—everything was about to end. The same instincts that had helped her survive told her it was time.
“Don’t come to the Empress’s Palace again. It won’t be good for you either.”
Eliano locked herself inside. As the noblewomen left, a few concubines—usually backstabbing in secret—came to her in private. Their actions made Eliano sigh in disbelief.
She mocked herself. She felt pathetic.
“If you support me, I can help you live comfortably. Maybe not like now, but still peaceful.”
“Where would be peaceful for me? I haven’t had one peaceful day even in this palace.”
Eliano smiled faintly. She had spent so long wondering how to escape this life—but never found an answer. She’d just wandered in misery.
“Your Majesty, I swear on my family’s name. We’ve prepared a home for you in Lynxgen.”
“How could I live peacefully in Lynxgen? Being trapped there is no different from being trapped here. It’s just another cage.”
There was no way she could live peacefully. Not in the place where she once knew love and happiness. Not now, with everything lost. All that would be left were memories of a love that had ended.
She didn’t want to be used anymore. That’s why she had rejected Duke Howard’s offer. Looking back, that had been her last chance.
“Elisabeth, I know you don’t need my support. I hope the fairy of fortune stays with you.”
She truly wanted it all to end. It felt like even the gods were whispering for her to finish it now. As if they were saying she had enjoyed enough luck already. Then came news that signaled the final curtain.
“Your Majesty… The Rosana family in Bianteca… has been destroyed…”
Even her family was gone. The once-powerful Rosana house had fallen, erased from the world.
“The new Emperor of Bianteca—Duke Howard—ordered their complete destruction. All the direct bloodline was executed, and even distant relatives were not spared.”
It no longer felt like bad news. Her family had long since stopped being a source of protection—they had been suffocating her. Everything she suffered now was because of them. So Eliano laughed.
“What should we do now? How could a founding family end so pitifully…”
Eliano raised her hand to silence the maid.
“The new Emperor probably wants to honor a dead friend with this. That’s all.”
“Your Majesty… what do we do now…”
“The Rosana family is the reason I ended up like this. Don’t cry for them. Your tears aren’t worth it.”
Eliano gave a faint smile.
“It looks like the new Emperor of my country wants to kill me too. I turned down his offer, remember?”
She had once said she was a citizen of Zacador. But now, she called Bianteca “my country”. The maids froze at her words, their faces turning pale.
“He couldn’t have returned safely without your help!”
The head maid screamed.
“If he could sneak into the Empress’s Palace, returning home was no problem. That man… he’s someone who survived even Lynxgen.”
“Your Majesty!”
“Sob… Your Majesty…”
“What a perfect way to wipe out the last of Rosana’s blood.”
Eliano laughed long and loud. Tears fell from her green eyes.
“I just want to rest now.”
She was sick of things happening outside of her will. The frustration that had been with her since childhood was choking her. Every day had been suffering. But the only way out was death.
Now, she finally thought she had the courage to die. But even her death didn’t happen by her will.
The Emperor visited her before her dethronement, gentle and kind—just like during their honeymoon in Lynxgen. Eliano opened the palace doors and welcomed him.
They shared sweet memories and spoke softly. He even brewed tea for her himself. He wasn’t the Emperor of Zacador then—he felt like her husband from Lynxgen. But the moment she drank the tea, everything shattered. It was poisoned.
“I’ll be the one to send you off. That’s my final courtesy. You’ll die as the Empress of Zacador.”
Eliano’s eyes burnt with betrayal. He was truly a man worthy of hatred. Even as pain wracked her body, that feeling stayed sharp.
“You’ve lived a life of riches and glory—so you have no regrets, right?”
“…You…”
