“Episode 24”
Despite the difficulty of breathing due to the tightly laced corset, Catherine felt quite satisfied when she saw her body in the mirror. No man would resist such a perfect figure. However, Lynel, before becoming Emperor, or rather during the time they were engaged, was not particularly affectionate towards Catherine. He always maintained his manners and treated her formally. Catherine found even his such demeanor charming. After all, rare jewels are hard to obtain. Yet, back then, Lynel wasn’t as cold as he is now. The moment Lynel began to ignore Catherine was when their engagement was broken… or rather, when she was caught in an inappropriate relationship with Lord Ethan Bennett.
“Ethan Bennett was just a means to soothe my lonely body.”
Although the inappropriate relationship between Catherine and Lord Ethan Bennett reached Lynel’s ears, he didn’t get angry or inquire, but quietly broke off the engagement. If Lynel had made the incident public at the time, Catherine, as well as the Calios family, would have become a subject of ridicule in noble society. After being dumped by Lynel, Catherine ended her relationship with Lord Ethan Bennett. He turned out to be nothing more than a good man in bed, with no dreams or ambitions.
“I was blind. I didn’t even know he was just a stupid nobleman who spent all day in the forge making swords.”
Catherine deeply regretted cheating on Lynel with Lord Ethan Bennett, who was soon to become Emperor. However, another chance came to her.
“Anyway, since Lynel has accepted the Empress, let’s just reconcile, shall we?”
Considering her past mistakes, Catherine didn’t have much reason to feel unfairly treated in the position of a concubine.
“Huh? That Empress position.”
It’s only important to give birth to a prince before the Empress.
“Once I give birth to a prince, everyone will kneel before me.”
Catherine vowed to show Queen Zelda that it’s not about the position, but about power.
“The Queen, that woman, will bow before me first. Just watch.”
Lynel stared at the water for a moment before swiftly taking the empty glass from my hand.
“I’ll take a shower first.”
I glanced down at the towel on the floor and said to him, “Sorry, but I need to shower first.”
He grabbed my hand as I headed towards the bathroom.
“You don’t need to dress up. Just have breakfast like this.”
“But…”
Am I really in a position to argue right now?
“It’s okay.”
He insisted that I stay in my current state as he needed to use the bathroom first. With his commanding tone, I couldn’t continue to insist. I soon realized he had a tight schedule today, as he had an early council meeting.
“I don’t have much time to enjoy breakfast leisurely today.”
“Still…”
“If you want to shower, we can do it together. It’ll save time.”
Without warning, Lynel rose from the bed.
“Oops.”
His mischievous blue eyes stared at me, and to avoid looking below, I stared fixedly at his face. His long arms reached down to quickly pick up the discarded towel from the floor and wrap it around his waist. I had no chance to turn away or close my eyes. Unlike flying swords or arrows, my usual reactions were not so fast. He seemed slightly surprised to see me looking at him, with a puzzled expression in his eyes.
“…”
“…”
Still, thankfully, my gaze didn’t stray downward. My slightly startled expression was reflected in his bewildered blue eyes.
“My wife is very patient. And bold.”
Please refrain from making assumptions. He praised my calm and collected demeanor just moments ago. He planted a kiss on my cheek, then walked gracefully into the bathroom.
“Phew…”
With a click, I collapsed onto the bed, clutching my heart after the bathroom door closed.
After finishing his shower and getting dressed, Lynel’s attendants entered the bedroom with a tray. They opened the terrace door wide and moved the table in front of it. Breakfast was modestly laid out on the table. Once the preparations were complete, the attendants left the bedroom all at once, just as they had entered. In the blink of an eye, the breakfast table was set with appetizing dishes, not too extravagant but enough to stimulate the appetite. We sat facing each other at the modest table. In contrast to the perfect Lynel, I was in a state of undress, without makeup, hair, or even a dress. I felt as if I were sitting in a gown, wearing only a slip and a robe, having breakfast with a prince.
“It’s embarrassing not to be dressed properly to meet you.”
“But we showered together.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk…”
As I took a sip of soup, a clumsy sound escaped.
“Zelda, try this pie. It’s one of my favorites, and it tastes great.”
Lynel pushed the plate in front of him towards me.
“It’s made with apples, lemons, and blueberries.”
I took a piece of pie while listening to his explanation.
“Mmm!”
I couldn’t tell if I was eating the pie or if the pie was eating me. He said that on days when he feels particularly tired, having a bite of this pie with coffee would alleviate half of the day’s fatigue and stress. Somehow, I had a premonition that I would enjoy this pie in the future.
“If you were to describe the taste of this pie in one word?”
He asked me as he spread butter on his bread, with a curious expression about my thoughts on his favorite food.
“It’s a taste that I don’t want to share with anyone.”
“Hahaha, I had the same thought the first time I tasted that pie.”
It was a bit of an overstatement, but it was so delicious that I wanted to keep it all to myself.
“I don’t want to share even a single favorite pie…”
Lynel sipped his coffee and lowered his voice as if he wanted to talk about something.
“What?”
“I’m curious about what kind of Empress Zelda is.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s a reception for the concubines next week. After the ceremony, I have to formally share myself with them.”
It didn’t seem like he was genuinely asking, but rather, he seemed to be testing me.
“…”
“The Empress is not a pie.”
My only response was a formal one like this.
“Yeah, she’s tasteless like a pie, right?”
Lynel smiled bitterly. As his expression indicated, it wouldn’t be long before he would be shared with the other concubines. The time we could spend facing each other would also diminish because of them. With that thought, the sweet pie I had just eaten suddenly tasted bitter. A different taste from when I first tried the pie tormented my tongue. Even when I tried the soup again, its taste subtly changed. It was strange.
“You’ll be busy from now on?”
I poked at the pie with my fork, not particularly interested in other foods.
“Shouldn’t it be me who’s busy? It’ll be the concubines.”
Now that I think about it, that’s true. He just needed to choose one of the concubines to visit his bedroom. Apart from deciding which room to sleep in, there wouldn’t be much for the emperor to do because of the concubines. Of course, he might be busy late at night… On the contrary, the concubines would have different circumstances. They would have a lot to worry about to please him, so they would be quite busy. Maybe I’ll be the least busy person in this palace? Suddenly, the image of myself praying in the carriage heading towards the Rafion Palace every night came to mind. Before Princess Lysilia arrived at the Rafion Palace, I had prayed to quietly stay in the empress’s quarters. It’s surprising that my wish came true because of the concubines, but I don’t know why I feel so uncomfortable. Damn it, it seemed as if the current situation had been granted without even recognizing it, and the wish I had prayed for in the past had been fulfilled out of the blue.
“Zelda, I have a meeting later, so I have to leave first.”
The cheerful breakfast atmosphere gradually turned into a funeral-like mood, and he finally got up from his chair. Lynel glanced down at the half-eaten pie on my plate.
“Doesn’t the empress like the pie?”
“No.”
“The taste might be a little different, so besides that, let’s have you eat mine. I deliberately left it.”
He put the plate containing the pie he liked in front of me again and pushed my plate aside. I quietly stared at the pie he left behind. It felt strange. Even though I hadn’t eaten the pie he handed me yet, saliva started to pool in my mouth. I raised my head and looked at him, then asked,
“If you don’t want to share your favorite pie, why are you giving it to me?”
“I’m the emperor.”
“Yes, and you’re rich.”
Lynel lifted the corner of his mouth in response to my question. Then, he said affectionately and naturally,
“You’re the empress. We’re not just anyone.”
It felt like there was an invisible thread wrapping around him and me. He gently stroked my cheek with the back of his hand, as if comforting me. Then, he gestured with his mouth to finish eating and turned away.
“Oh, by the way.”
As he was about to turn the Wyvern-shaped bedroom doorknob and leave, he turned back towards me.
“Why?”
“It’s your first time, Zelda.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve given that pie to someone for the first time.”
“…Ah.”
“So eat it all.”
Ten days later. Originally, the wedding ceremony at the Rafion Palace was held in the banquet hall within the main palace, and the ceremonies with the concubines were conducted simply in the prayer room of the temple building. However, this time, the concubine ceremony was held in the temple sanctuary on a fairly large scale. Although the regents pushed for it actively, it was also an unavoidable choice for Emperor Lynel, as it had been agreed upon with the Rafion regents before the engagement with the Kingdom of Sha’tonil. In fact, the active cooperation of Duke Martens, who resided in the imperial palace as the foreign minister of the Sha’tonil Kingdom, played a significant role in advancing the time for admitting concubines. The duke mingled with the regents as if he were a loyal subject of the Rafion Empire. And his opinion was even publicly announced at the meeting, with testimony from the Sha’tonil royal court stating that their opinions were valid. From the empress’s perspective, it was a matter that could be very frustrating, but the regents assumed that Empress Zelda would implicitly agree with Duke Martens’ opinion. No one noticed the fact that the Sha’tonil Kingdom had a strategy to introduce a new empress in the future.
Before the ceremony, four concubines gathered in the bridal waiting room located inside the temple building, where they were attended to by their maids. Each of them waited for the ceremony with a dignified expression, receiving the final touches from their maids. Among the concubines, the most splendid figure was undoubtedly Catherine Callios. As the first concubine, she differentiated herself even in wedding dresses from the second concubines. The other concubines continued to be conscious of Catherine’s presence. They glanced at Catherine, who had become the first concubine alone, with envious eyes. Among them, Melanie Hearts, who had entered as the empress’s maid and was dismissed after just one day, had the most stern expression.
“What’s so special about her that she gets to be the first concubine alone? Especially when she’s just like me, a common lady-in-waiting?”
Melanie muttered discontentedly as she glared at Catherine through the mirror, who was sitting in the best spot in the bridal waiting room and being adorned by her maids.
“Shh, someone might hear you.”
Seated next to Melanie, another second concubine, Persilini, whispered softly.
“Catherine was also Peja’s favorite. That’s probably why she became the first concubine.”
“I swear, Persilini. Don’t you know that a broken coin is worth less than a whole silver coin? Even if you put it back together, it’s still broken!”
Melanie deliberately spoke louder to mock Persilini.
“Lower your voice, please.”
Persilini frowned and reprimanded her.
“It’s not untrue though. Oh, instead of these earrings, I should wear the ones with diamonds dangling like grapes.”
Ignoring Persilini’s advice, Melanie gestured to her maid to open another jewelry box.
“Who else here can raise their voice louder than me?”
At that moment, Catherine slowly rose from her chair and spoke. All the gazes in the bridal waiting room turned to Melanie and Catherine. Catherine stood in front of Melanie with a haughty expression. Catherine’s demeanor was no less than that of the empress. Melanie also stood up from her chair and deliberately raised her chin. Sparks flew between the two as they locked eyes.
“Melanie?”
“Wha-what are you doing?”
“Are you, or aren’t you?”
With a fierce gaze, Catherine grabbed Melanie’s chin tightly and asked.
