Chapter 2
The husband had many wives. Even to the concubines he brought from Dalpo, he was the master and lord, so to them too, he would be a husband.
Only the position of Empress in the palace was absolute and noble. While she lived in perpetual disgrace, overflowing with dignity, the other two lived grandly in the palace. The children born between him and those two empresses were well-behaved and beautiful, so there was nothing to envy. The two empresses, who had nothing to complain about, had a formidable family to boast of as their in-laws.
Froza feared being overshadowed among them, so she chose to distance herself from them. It was natural that she would feel diminished and resentful compared to them. Moreover, those were things that couldn’t be changed, so she had no choice but to give up her husband.
“I have a baby.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Valerie was cruel. As cruel as she was, she felt no shame and had no mercy. The hole in her heart only deepened without ever being filled. Even the advantage of being a commoner-turned-empress was condemned by Valerie.
“Please. Like this….”
“What exactly are you asking for?”
“I’ll try. I may not be perfect, but I’ll try to be a good empress.”
“An empress is perfect, Frosa.”
“But….”
“Besides, no matter how hard you try, you can’t change your humble birth.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks. Valerie’s face was that of a woman facing a worthless concubine. That was the situation. And so, at some point, the husband she once loved ceased to be a husband. When did she ever love such a man? The days were not far off, yet they seemed as distant as memories of a past life.
“I wish you had left on the day you remembered our love.”
The second woman to be struck by the husband. Valerie, of the Offrege family, was a confident and dignified woman. She didn’t care about the fact that the emperor was married and even pregnant with another woman. Whether Aphrosa stayed or left, she didn’t care. After all, she would have everything.
“Love? How ridiculous….”
She was a woman who ruled with authority. She said there was no difficulty in repeating and continuing what she had done over and over again.
She had married the emperor and become empress because someone had to manage the affairs of the state.
“I understand. If your background is humble, at least you should have a broad mind.”
Yes. She had to understand. She had to understand him and become a support for him. Lara cried every time she remembered Valerie’s words. It wasn’t something that could be overcome with love, as she said.
It was pitiful to climb to a position unsuitable for her humble and insignificant background. It was true that she enjoyed a position overflowing with dignity, no matter what she did to justify it.
“He needs me.”
Valerie whispered like a nail being driven in. Each time Lara recalled her words and repeated them to Ailek, tears flowed. She tried to force herself to look calm, but her face resembled a crumbling wall. She looked at the man who was staring at her with a collapsed face. The swelling moisture in his steel-gray eyes shook her. She tentatively denied the trace as nothing. Alek interrogated her in a stiff voice.
“Tell me. Rose. On a day like today, you wouldn’t give a meaningless gift.”
“…Embroidery.”
Was there such a thing? Afrosa looked at him with a puzzled face as he held the gift in his hand. Alek showed her the gift, feeling uncomfortable.
“Embroidery. This. The gift you gave me just now.”
His voice was stern. Afrosa looked at him with swollen eyes, as if she had wounds on her corneas. The faintly reddened eyes that resembled past youth brought back memories of the boy. But it was nothing. She lightly denied the trace. Ailek interrogated her with a firm voice.
“Tell me. Rose. On a day like today, you wouldn’t give a meaningless gift.”
“That’s…”
Unable to say it’s nothing, her lips were sealed shut. She examined the ribbon tied around the present carefully. It was the handiwork of Lady Rosyan, the seamstress of the First Empress’s palace.
“There’s a windflower embroidered on the ribbon. Did you stitch it yourself?”
“No. That’s…”
What should she say? With a perplexed expression, she groped for words. The present was chosen personally by Lady Rosyan. Afrosa had only heard about what she prepared, never seen its contents. Just knowing that seemed like enough for Aphrosa to have fulfilled her duties.
But to think there would be embroidery on the ribbon wrapping the gift. She didn’t expect Lady Rosyan, who always prepared only the essentials for the Emperor and the palace affairs, to have put so much effort into choosing just a ribbon to tie a box.
“She couldn’t have stitched windflowers on the ribbon intentionally, could she? Right?”
Aliek wore a face lightly tinged with anticipation. His expression was unexpectedly soft and innocent. Lara wanted to wipe that expression off his face.
“Rose. I…”
Her cruel heart kept hesitating, avoiding eye contact.
“There were windflowers on the ribbon. I…”
Afrosa had to say something, anything, but before she could complete her sentence, Alek gave her a faint smile.
“It’s lovely. Whatever is inside.”
Lara forced a smile. She felt suffocated. The Emperor’s face, flushed like a boy’s, nauseated her.
“I apologize, but to be honest, I leave matters regarding the banquet to Lady Rosyan, the seamstress. I am rather inadequate… ”
Alek’s expression stiffened. Lara remained indifferent. It was the truth. Yet, she was the Empress, the first consort, but she had once been diligent to not become a mere ornament. However, since everything became subject to ridicule, she didn’t dare to step forward anymore. Even without her involvement, the Second Empress had prepared everything for the banquet.
“Then, I’ll take my leave.”
“Rose.”
Her wrist was caught. The Emperor called her name firmly. Afrosa couldn’t bear it any longer, she quickly brushed him off, like brushing away an insect. She clasped her wrist against her chest and looked at the Emperor, or rather, ‘Alek’.
‘Ailek.’
She chewed on her lip. The Emperor, no, Ailek should have loved Valerie, not her. That would have been more helpful for his grand ambitions. He had mentioned marrying Valerie and bringing in the Third Empress to control her.
If they had genuinely loved each other and trusted one another, they wouldn’t have needed to resort to such troublesome measures. If Valerie had truly loved her husband, she could have been independent from her family and faithful to her .
Afrosa… was an obstacle in his life.
“Tell me the truth. What’s going on?”
“…”
“Don’t make me feel like a fool again.”
“Your Majesty.”
“I don’t want to be a puppet anymore.”
“No. No, Your Majesty. I’m just…”
She looked at the windflower embroidered on the ribbon. She furrowed her brows. It was inexplicable.
“I don’t do this kind of thing. Never again, never again’’….” Afrosa replied cautiously. As she spoke, Ailek’s face gradually became tinted with the light of anger at the misunderstanding. Nevertheless, she asserted firmly. She was afraid that Alek misunderstood the situation.
“You misunderstand.”
“Then who would play such a prank with a gift?”
“…?”
“Who dares to present such a joke to the Emperor?”
The Emperor lowered his voice at Afrosa’s reaction. There was no possible response.
“We will find out what happened.”
She replied resolutely. She sincerely wondered who it could be.
Was it Lady Rosyen’s deliberate sewing? Afrosa wasn’t brave enough to intentionally sew such a whimsical floral pattern onto a ribbon. Besides, the windflower pattern was a trauma for her. She couldn’t forgive herself for presenting such a crude thing as a gift to her newly crowned Emperor husband on his birthday.
“Very well. Find out and let me know. Who dares to play such a joke on me.”
Ailek growled. Afrosa averted her gaze, looking at the Kravat around his neck. Regardless of how she felt, Ailek was wearing the silk embroidery he received that day as a Kravat.
Her eyes trembled.
She knew every time she glanced at him, he would wear the Kravat embroidered with silk from that day. It was ridiculous. There were noblewomen who made dense lace at the hem of their skirts, but there were no others like Ailek who wore Kravats with tiny floral patterns embroidered. But he… the man who softened the grimness around his eyes asked softly, rolling his lips. She shook him off and turned away. 2nd Empress.
Valerie was watching them. It was a strange face. A soft face that seemed to smile was faintly stiffened.
Beside her stood the tall Crown Prince, guarding his mother’s side with a dignified posture. She turned her gaze to find Loras. Unlike Valerie’s son, Loras was sitting in a corner of the banquet hall, watching a card magic show performed by a court jester. Laughter burst from his lips, and his face was filled with mischief.
“Wow!”
The blood ran cold. Even when her son was laughing, there was a mother whose heart froze. Yet, despite seeing her son smile, Afrosa’s blood surged backward. Could there be a mother whose heart freezes even when she sees her son smile? Yet Afrosa’s tears flowed even when her son ran to her shouting, “Mother!”
“Mother!”
Laras, who was admiring the quick movements of the court jester, looked up, perhaps sensing his gaze, and lifted his head. Afrosa, who read his expression from him, stiffened her complexion. Laras got up from his seat with an incautious movement and knocked over the table.
“Huh?”
“It’s alright, Your Highness. Come this way. I’ll take care of it.”
The court jester, who was organizing the cards, stood up and pushed Loras aside, wiping his stained attire. Loras looked at the court jester’s expression with a puzzled face, then made a sulky expression.
“Sorry. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I forgive you.”
“Laras.”
Afrosa called out to her son. Laras, who had been sulking over spilled wine, looked up at his mother and smiled sheepishly. Afrosa gestured towards her son, and hesitantly, Loras ran to her.
“Are you okay, darling?”
Afrosa, wiping the red wine staining his white attire with her bare hands, gently stroked the white skin around his eyes. Laras’s wife, Julina, who had changed into a dress, looked at him and turned away, pretending not to notice. Aphrosa didn’t acknowledge her, even though she knew she was there.
“Yes, I’m okay. I like the smell of apples from my knees.”
It seemed the spilled wine was apple wine. Afrosa raised an eyebrow slightly as she wiped the wine splattered on his cheek. Upon closer inspection, it seemed like his nose was slightly reddened. Even if it was apple wine made in the palace kitchen, it wouldn’t have been too strong, yet Loras had no tolerance for alcohol.
If she had been there, she would have prevented him from drinking. Perhaps Laras, wanting to mimic adults, insisted on having alcohol. He was accompanied by a guard, yet he still dared to drink. No one would have let a seven-year-old drink.
“Brother, did you drink alcohol?”
Aristide, the daughter who had been out on the balcony with the Countess of Linde, approached with her fan fluttering. Laras blinked at his sister’s sharp question.
“J-just a little… Not much.”
Laras scratched the back of his head as he replied. His sister narrowed her eyebrows.
They hadn’t observed proper etiquette in front of people, especially on such occasions… When the dignified children of the 2nd Empress Valerie and the 3rd Empress Gladys would be holding their heads up high.
“Lower your hand. Straighten your posture.”
Aristide, looking at Laras with disdainful eyes, spoke firmly. Laras, weary of his sister’s nagging, lowered his hand and blushed. Looking around, his sister loosened her lips.
“Don’t do anything foolish here.”
“Yes, Ari.”
Listening to his daughter’s murmuring breath, Afrosa raised her gaze at the words “foolish act.” Aristide. Her only daughter. Like her older brother, she had long sandy hair like her mother’s and rosy cheeks. Incredibly beautiful and kind, she was Afrosa’s pride and joy.
If there was anything to rely on, it was her daughter. There was nothing but her daughter for Afrosa. Wasn’t her husband and son practically nonexistent? Her son wasn’t a pillar she needed to support. So if she had someone to rely on, it was only her daughter. Her daughter knew that too. She was the only one for her mother. Even though…
“Those women are watching.”
Aristide’s gaze fell on Valerie and Gladys.
“Stop it.”
Afrosa warned her daughter quietly. Her daughter only pursed her lips. Her heart was pounding. Aristide’s gaze swept over Laras’s attire. His messed-up outfit was haphazardly soaked. He would have to return to the palace to change. But he was originally supposed to return to the palace. He would have presented gifts and smiled.
There was nothing left to do here.
“I’ll take Laras with me…”
“Your Majesty.”
