***
The head servant calmly guided her despite the sudden appearance of the Empress. However, he couldn’t help but keep stealing glances at her.
She tidied up the loose strands of her brown hair, which had fallen from her loosely tied bun, and tucked them behind her ear as she looked at the head servant.
“Is this really the room I’ll be using from now on?”
“Yes. This is Your Majesty’s bedroom.”
It had been vacant for some time, but no one had touched it, so it remained in its original state.
The Empress’s bedroom, equal in grandeur to the Emperor’s, still emanated an air of magnificence, despite the time it had remained unused.
Blueny turned around, hesitant to step into the room.
“I don’t need such a big room. Please find me a smaller guest room in a corner somewhere.”
“This is a room intended for your comfort, Your Majesty.”
“It’s really fine. I’ll wait here. Please find another room for me.”
“But…”
The head servant was struggling to respond to Blueny’s sudden request when a low, commanding voice echoed from behind him.
“There is no other room for you.”
Delight spoke coldly, his words cutting through the air and directed at Blueny with unyielding firmness.
Naturally, an uneasy silence fell over the room after his words. Blueny flinched, her body tensing. There was nothing she could do about it.
Delight’s words carried an undeniable weight, an authority that couldn’t be opposed. Everyone expected her to obediently follow his orders without question.
“Don’t frown like that. It’s scary.”
Even though her shoulders were tense, she raised her head firmly and spoke boldly to Delight.
“…What?”
Delight’s rigid expression loosened for a moment, contorting into something almost comical.
“Why are you speaking as if you’re angry? Are you really mad?”
“…No.”
“Right? I figured you weren’t mad at me. Then could you please speak a little more gently?”
“…I’ll try.”
He had been completely disarmed. Delight gave in to her demand and nodded quietly. When she openly made a request like that, he couldn’t help but comply.
“It just seemed like this room is too much for me.”
Blueny calmly explained her reasoning.
“It’s best for everyone if you use the Empress’s room. You are the Empress, and if you stay in this room, no one will think it’s strange. It will also be easier for us to serve you.”
“Is that so.”
She slowly nodded, seeming to understand Delight’s explanation.
“The items in this room are also things you used in the past. It might feel unfamiliar now, but you’ll get used to them again soon enough.”
“My belongings? How are they still here?”
“We never threw them away, so of course, they’re still here.”
“…I see.”
She nodded as she gathered her thoughts, then suddenly lifted her head and nodded vigorously, much more energetically than before.
“Yes. I’ll do my best!”
She had heard that quite some time had passed since she left. Yet, the fact that her belongings were still intact carried a lot of significance.
He must have treasured me all this time!
Even on her way to the palace, she had some hopes, but since no one had openly expressed anything, she hesitated. However, coming to the palace was indeed the right decision!
At that moment, the confidence she had gradually lost came back all at once.
I have to adapt and work hard here. Just as she was making a renewed resolution, Delight spoke in a serious tone.
“You’ll meet Violyana soon.”
The one he had missed most while they were apart.
Aside from that, she was also the one who had weighed most heavily on his mind during the entire journey back with Blueny.
Can I really allow these two to meet? He still wasn’t certain.
“Really?”
“If you’re not ready, you don’t have to force yourself.”
He had intentionally given her an opportunity to choose. But Blueny responded without hesitation, as if the question didn’t even warrant consideration.
“No! I’d like to meet her right now.”
Blueny held tightly onto Delight’s arm, showing no intention of letting go. She wanted to go with him immediately.
***
As I waited in the dining room, my foot started tapping nervously without me even realizing it.
I was filled with suspicion.
A person everyone thought was dead suddenly reappears, claiming to have amnesia?
And I’m supposed to just believe that?
Ridiculous!
Do you know how long I’ve lived? The number of things I’ve seen and experienced firsthand during all that time?
I wasn’t naïve enough to accept this situation at face value.
Especially when I knew better than anyone how often coincidence leads to suspicion.
There were two possibilities.
One, that her face itself was fake.
But Delight strongly denied that.
‘If he’s that certain, there must be a reason.’
Then the other possibility was that she truly was the Empress.
If that was the case, then she must have some ulterior motive.
Unless it was an absurd chain of unlikely events that miraculously led to this outcome.
Ultimately, I had no choice but to meet her myself and figure out what her true intentions were.
At that moment, the door to the dining room finally opened, and the two of them walked in.
The moment she spotted me, she headed straight toward me.
“Nice to meet you, Princess Violyana.”
Her voice was warm and gentle as she called my name.
Her eyes crinkled softly into a smile as she looked at me.
Her hair was a bit damaged, but her light brown locks still gave off a warm impression.
Though the features are not bold, they are delicately and finely arranged.
She was quite different from the image I had in mind.
I once saw a painting of the Empress by chance while being carried around the palace in Delight’s arms.
A painting only captures a moment, but sometimes, it can reveal the essence of a person.
The Empress in the painting seemed sharp and precise. Nothing about her gaze or posture was careless.
But the woman standing in front of me now exuded a completely different aura—so much so that it was hard to believe she was the same person.
She gave off the impression of someone who might live in a countryside vineyard, free of worries. The kind of person who wouldn’t mind her hair being messily tied up, with stray locks falling here and there.
Her laid-back, unpretentious demeanor made her seem simple and honest, and her gaze had already reached me.
She bent down on one knee to meet my eye level and cautiously spoke.
“You must have heard, but I’m your mother.”
There wasn’t the slightest hint of certainty in her voice. Her careful words carried an unfamiliar awkwardness.
She was simply relying on the information she’d been told by others. She didn’t remember anything herself.
Could she possibly know how strange and unnatural those words sounded?
After staring at me for a moment, she gave an embarrassed smile and, feeling slightly deflated, spoke again.
“I didn’t know I had such a beautiful daughter.”
She gently patted my head, as if marveling to herself.
Well, of course, it’s true that I’m beautiful. Everyone always says I’m adorable and lovable. Ahem.
I couldn’t let myself be swayed just because of a single compliment.
When I regained my composure, she spoke again.
“Hmm. To be honest, I don’t have any memories, so I’m not sure what to say. I don’t want to disappoint you… I’m sorry.”
As I stood there silently, just watching her, she seemed to find the situation awkward as well.
After a brief moment of thought, she moved a little closer to me and spoke again.
Her voice was low but calm.
“I guess I must seem pretty strange, showing up so suddenly, right?”
“….…”
“You don’t have to pretend to be okay with this if you’re not. If you feel uncomfortable, it’s fine to show it. It’s really okay.”
Hearing her words, I suddenly grabbed the Empress’s hand.
“I’m still a little awkward, but I want to get along with you. Empress!”
“…What?”
“I look forward to getting to know you. Hehe.”
She was undoubtedly kind to me, but at the same time, I could sense that she was wary of me.
‘That won’t do.’
If she wasn’t going to approach me first, then I had no choice but to take the initiative!
In order to figure out her true identity, I was determined to stay close to Empress Blueny and act as friendly as possible.
***
That night.
“Phew. My arms are trembling.”
The window rattled open as Hiel climbed inside.
“I worked so hard that I ended up like this.”
Hiel exaggerated his exhaustion, coming back looking gaunt and frail.
“You arrived just as I was thinking about you.”
“Oh? You missed me?”
“Yeah, a lot.”
“Wow. You’re greeting me this warmly… Don’t tell me Delight arrived before me?”
“You didn’t know?”
“Haha. I came straight to see you as soon as I arrived, so I didn’t have time to gather any news.”
Hiel scratched the back of his head with a sheepish grin.
“Well, then I suppose the information I’ve brought will be quite useful to you.”
Lowering his voice halfway and widening his eyes slightly, Hiel began to speak.
“You won’t believe what happened near the border.”
