Remaried Empress

"?!"

No. He couldn't have said that. My head whirled towards Sovieshu. Why would he lie...?

My husband approached me, then leaned over to kiss my cheek.

"You are beautiful beyond imagination, Empress. Thank you for granting my request."

I didn't know why he would invent such a thing, but I quickly responded as if his words were true.

"Whatever color you wish, simply say it."

"Oh...it was the Emperor's request."

Grand Duke Liltiang looked embarrassed, but then he quickly smiled and amended his words.

"It's nice to see them get along so well."

The group surrounding Rashta exchanged nervous glances with each other. Rashta's expression, on the other hand, was dark. Even with Sovieshu by her side, she looked unhappy. I watched Sovieshu take a drink, but his gaze was fixed elsewhere and I couldn't ask him why he helped me.

I held on to my glass like a lifeline as I stared around the hall. The ladies-in-waiting stayed with me at first, but as they became bored, one-by-one they began to peel off in different directions. The nobles who were sitting close to the Emperor went to the dance floor as soon as the music began. Surprisingly, Rashta went somewhere else instead of lingering here.

'Is she going to Duke Elgy?'

No, I had heard Duke Elgy left the palace a few days ago. Perhaps she just wanted to socialize with everyone? I was caught up in my thoughts when a voice spoke up from my side.

"So who copied who?"

I turned to my side. Sovieshu was looking at me with a gentle expression.

"Who do you think?"

"To be honest..."

His voice was a low whisper in my ear.

"I don't care."

"Yet you sided with me?"

"You don't approve?"

"I don't like it. Miss Rashta will be upset later."

"Even so, I had no choice but to help you."

"What do you mean, you had no choice?"

"The empress is the face of the Eastern Empire. You represent the honor of the Imperial Family. Isn't the answer obvious?"

"I see."

His answer eased my confusion. Convinced, I looked back towards the front as bright light and cheerful music began to fill the room. Masked men and women held each other's hands, smiling and moving their feet jovially to the music. Even if someone wasn't a skillful dancer, they had a smiling look on their face. The commoners enjoyed the novelty of the ball, while the nobles seemed to be excited about the less formal atmosphere.

There was a cheer from somewhere in the room. I turned towards the sound, and saw Rashta dancing alone in the center of a high stage. Her silver hair gleamed in the air as her light feet waltzed and twirled, and the crowd was drawn to her like a moth to flame. The commoners in particular seemed cheerful, and clapped their hands whenever Rashta spun around. I noticed that Sovieshu's admiring gaze was also fastened on her.

"Why don't you go and dance with her?"

The words involuntarily left my mouth. Sovieshu turned to look at me.

"Over there?"

His eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"You seem to want to go."

I answered with a nod of my head, and he gave me a strange look.

"Are you jealous?"

"Jealous? Me? "

"Or is it sarcasm?"

"Who says it's sarcasm?"

"When are you going to break the habit of speaking like that when you're angry?"

"Isn't it the same?"

"You know, I think..."

Sovieshu bowed his head in a moment of thought, then turned back towards me with a serious expression on his face. I wondered what he was going to say.

"By any chance, when my empress mother brought you around, did she teach you how to fight with words? Why is it that you always refuse to support even one word of mine?"

"You want to know?"

"To be honest, a little."

"Well then, why don't we put down the crown for half an hour and have a heart-to-heart talk? In a neutral zone? Then I'll give you my mind."

Sovieshu's eyes narrowed.

"You said that once when we were children. Do you remember what you did afterwards?"

"!"

"I'm not falling for it again. I clearly don't like it."

*

*

*

'What are they talking about?'

Rashta stopped dancing and brushed the sweat off her face as she stepped down from the stage. She frowned as she saw the Emperor's and Empress' heads leaned towards each other in conversation. They looked quite serious...

Rashta's heart sank. The Emperor never discussed state affairs with her, or his job, what he's been doing, what he was worried about, and so on. She enjoyed his warm eyes and attention, but she felt uneasy whenever the Emperor and Empress talked about something so seriously.

'Duke Elgy has gone to Rimwell...'

She had no word from him since he went down to Roteschu's estate to investigate the matter about the baby. She wondered if he was doing his job well. Rashta had stopped dancing, unable to cope with her rising anxiety.

There was something else that captured her attention, however. From across the room she spotted Duke Tuania, who, unlike the ever-popular Duchess Tuania, was sipping his wine alone. Rashta smiled to herself and approached him.

Sovieshu and I kept arguing, and I waved my hand after I got tired of his drivel. I didn't want to talk anymore. The same was true of Sovieshu, who wore a sour expression and called a passing servant to fetch more wine.

"Will you have a drink, Empress?"

"I'm fine. I'll have cake."

"You're going to gain weight."

"It's better than being drunk in public, isn't it?"

"I won't get drunk. But if you eat at this time of day, you'll get fat."

"Even if I gain a bit of weight, I have a tailor on hand."

Sovieshu scoffed into his wine as I put a forkful of cake into my mouth.

At that moment, music began to flow in the room again, and everyone on the dance floor changed partners. Sovieshu and I had the uninteresting job of simply sitting here at the table, but we had to keep up formal appearances. I picked a strawberry from a slice of cake and put it in my mouth, while Sovieshu looked around with a bored expression.

Suddenly, his gaze halted. I followed the direction of his stare, and saw Rashta laughing and talking with someone in a corner. I couldn't see who it was as they were hidden by the crowd—no, now I could see them. It was Duke Tuania, smiling as if he were enjoying his conversation with Rashta.

'Will Sovieshu be jealous?'

I glanced to the side, but Sovieshu had already turned away and handed a servant his empty wine glass.

'He's not jealous?'

Though he kept glancing at them every once in a while, he seemed largely unperturbed. Was it really alright for his lover to smile and talk to other men? Was he not jealous?

"..."

Yes. He trusted her.

I shook my head. What was so important about Sovieshu's reaction anyway? It was between them. It would be strange if I was caught watching them, so I took another bite of cake again.

"Queen."

A familiar voice called to me. I looked up, and saw a man in a glittering gold mask approaching me. I immediately knew who he was by the name he addressed me.

"Prince Heinley."

He smiled underneath his mask.

"May I sit with you? I'm not good at dancing."

"Why, though? You've been flying about very well."

Prince Heinley and I turned towards Sovieshu, who was looking at the prince and holding up his glass of wine.

"Your Majesty, how are you?"

Prince Heinley greeted him belatedly with a smile, but Sovieshu's expression remained cold. Oh...yes. The pair of them had almost gotten into a fight over Rashta. Sovieshu's hatred for Prince Heinley was not out of jealousy, but out of insult.

The cake suddenly felt stale in my mouth. I set down my fork and handed my plate to a servant.

*

*

*

As soon as I returned to the palace, I instructed my aide to find out who leaked the information about my dress. He looked skeptical as he received my orders, however. Was that even possible? What I wore was not confidential, and some noblewomen requested this kind of information in advance so their dresses wouldn't overlap. As expected, after three days the aide could pinpoint any one person to be the culprit.

"Many ladies and gentleman had asked, and there were too many people who had answered, Your Majesty."

"I see..."

It was evening. Laura, who had been out for Lady Alischute's birthday, returned earlier than expected.

"Your Majesty, Countess, did you hear?! There's shocking news!"

Laura burst into the room, and Countess Eliza frowned at her.

"Laura, I told you not to run in front of Her Majesty."

"There is no time for manners, Countess!"

"There is always time."

"This is urgent! How could this be a time for manners?"

Laura rushed over to me and collapsed by my side to catch her breath. She was a healthy woman, and must have run here from a distance. Countess Eliza was too overwhelmed with curiosity to nag her, instead choosing to sit next to her, while the other ladies-in-waiting paused their chess game. Laura took in a deep breath as everyone crowded around her.

"It's about Duchess Tuania."

"Laura, if you're talking about Lord Marian or Duke Elgy, you're a step behind."

"That's not the story, Countess Jubel."

Laura looked affronted, as both of those stories had already been widely circulated. To be precise, one was an old scandal had been revived, and the other was when Duke Elgy was slapped on the cheek.

"Well?"

"Duke Tuania told the Duchess he would divorce her."

"What?"

The ladies covered their mouths in astonishment. I was also shocked, and I set my book aside. Why Duke Tuania?

"Is it because of rumors about Lord Marian?"

At Countess Eliza's question, Laura nodded.

"Yes. I heard him yelling, 'Is he my brother's son?' and that he couldn't help but be suspicious."

"But he never said it before, so why is he mentioning it now?"

One of the ladies-in-waiting feigned a smile, while Countess Jubel clicked her tongue.

"Shortly after Lord Marian went into the church, Duchess Tuania visited the temple at the request of the former duke. Before that, they had a close relationship. From the standpoint of the current Duke Tuania, he would be suspicious if he heard these kinds of rumors. Keep talking, Laura. "

Laura looked alternately between the two, then continued.

"And he didn't like that the Duchess got into a fight with another woman. He wasn't sure if it was because there was something between Duke Elgy and her."

"Oh, that's too much."

"The Duke must be frustrated that paternity tests are not allowed by the Church."

"There used to be talk from some time ago. Someone said to the former duke, 'Is it possible that the baby may be Lord Marian's?' He replied, 'Is he not still my grandchild anyway?'"

The ladies-in-waiting tsked collectively. Paternity tests had once been considered infallible, until the Rumpel case thirty-five years ago. A woman went to the Church to found out who her child's father was, but the father had an identical twin brother. As the priest examined the results, he concluded that both men were the baby's fathers, revealing a loophole in the paternity tests. However, even if there was a flaw, those particular circumstances were so rare...

"It's kind quite strange, actually. Duke Tuania said they conceived the baby before they were married, but since they were wedded, the Duchess hasn't gotten pregnant since."

"Maybe Duke Tuania is too proud to admit he's infertile."

The supposed affair of Lord Marian and Duchess Tuania happened when I was still young enough that I had no idea of the commotion at the time. Why was it dredged up now after it had been buried for ten years?

"Does this have something to do with Miss Rashta?"

The ladies-in-waiting stopped chattering and turned towards me. They were unsure why Rashta's name was brought up all of a sudden, and in all fairness I had no proof. However, Rashta recently asked me about Duchess Tuania, and soon after a scandal broke...was that too weak of a connection?

"What did Duchess Tuania say, Lady Laura?"

"She said she would never divorce. It may even go to trial."

The ladies-in-waiting began to talk about the possibility of the duchess winning the trial.

*

*

*

I found the timing of this situation unusual, so I asked the ladies-in-waiting to find out why Duke Tuania suddenly brought up the problem. I suspected Rashta must have fanned the duke's anxious mind, but that alone was not cause for punishment, not unless she actively manipulated information.

'But it wouldn't hurt to know.'

If Rashta caused this, she could not simply be treated as a naive slave-turned-concubine. She had the ability to influence society and manipulate public opinion, and one had to be wary of such enemies.

However, four days after hearing the news of the Duke Tuania's intention to divorce, something more shocking happened.

"Empress! Rashta was stabbed by Viscount Langdel!"