ODDEF 10

“You should start getting ready for bed now. At least try to protect the only thing about you that’s still worth looking at—your skin.”

Clara fanned the scented candle one last time.

The thickening fragrance filled Lucrezia’s lungs, and soon she fell asleep as if she had fainted.

“This is the order of entrance for the hunting festival, Your Majesty.”

An official from the Ministry of the Imperial Household handed her a list. Whatever he might truly think, he had been polite ever since that day.

Lucrezia felt the stares coming from all directions, prickling against her skin.

The officials kept their eyes on their documents, but from time to time they glanced at her cautiously.

It was only natural. Everyone knew that Count Johannes—once their colleague and superior—was now imprisoned in the underground fortress because of her.

After that, the officials handed over several more documents to Lucrezia.

Since this was just the beginning, the documents were relatively small in scale. Still, each one contained information a marquis would be eager to get his hands on.

Which foreign delegations would attend? How large would they be? Because the hunting festival was the empire’s biggest event, every piece of information could easily turn into money.

Lucrezia slowly read through the document describing the procedures of the hunting festival.

In the middle was the most important ritual.

The Emperor and his Imperial Knights would summon one of the Twelve Demons, defeat it, and seal it again.

This sealing ceremony was the heart of the hunting festival—a highly symbolic and crucial event.

‘The demon that will be hunted…’

Each of the Twelve Demons had distinct characteristics. Some could fly. Some used poison. Their traits varied widely, and naturally, the methods to deal with them also differed. Knowing which demon would be summoned was extremely important.

But the space where the demon’s name should have been written was blank.

“We ourselves won’t know that part until just before the hunting festival begins.”

An official noticed where her gaze had stopped and spoke.

“It’s highly confidential information. We ask for your understanding, Your Majesty.”

“I understand,” Lucrezia replied with a nod.

Her calm response surprised them.

After the incident in which Count Johannes and several officials were dismissed, ugly rumors had been spreading within the Ministry. People said the Empress had already eliminated those who opposed her.

Those who had been present that day were either imprisoned with Johannes or loyal to the Emperor, so they kept silent. The rumors only grew more exaggerated.

Eventually, they turned into stories that the Empress had acted possessed, performing dramatic tricks before the Emperor to frame the count.

But the Empress standing before them now did not seem like a vicious woman full of malice. When told something could not be shared, she simply accepted it and moved on—nothing like the rumors suggested.

The officials blinked at each other. What they had expected to be a tense first meeting with the Empress was going far more smoothly than they had imagined.

After the handover was complete, Lucrezia walked down the palace corridor, completely exhausted.

She had not realized just how busy the department in charge of national events truly was. The order of seating at the banquet table, the timing between each entrance—every detail had to be decided.

It wasn’t just her. All the officials in the Ministry had spent the entire day overwhelmed with work. It felt as though they were staking their lives on making this festival—the face of the empire—a success.

Watching them, Lucrezia felt both busy and guilty.

‘Even now, I was thinking about what information I should pass on to Father so he won’t scold me…’

Seeing the officials working until dark circles formed under their eyes filled her with a bitter sense of guilt.

She had spent her whole life longing for the marquis’s affection, but all she had ever done was sit alone in her room, feeling miserable.

She had never imagined she would one day actively leak state secrets—essentially betraying her own country.

Burdened by guilt, Lucrezia ultimately failed to select any information to report to the marquis that day.

‘Father will be furious.’

If she produced no results after being placed in the Ministry, the marquis would surely explode in anger.

Feeling helpless, she looked out the window at the end of the corridor—and suddenly stopped.

It was raining.

Despite what Head Maid Jaina had said about the weather being clear.

“Oh… it’s really raining. They say the rainy season starts today.”

“How strange. It was so clear just yesterday.”

The maids accompanying her murmured among themselves.

Back in the Empress’s palace, Lucrezia, exhausted, headed for her bedroom. She planned to change into comfortable clothes and then go to her study to review the materials she had received.

But the moment the bedroom door opened, she felt something ominous.

All the maids were staring at her.

Unlike usual, their eyes were filled with excitement and anticipation.

“…What is it?”

“Your Majesty.”

Clara approached her, her face flushed.

“A priest sent from the Grand Temple visited earlier.”

“The Grand Temple?”

Lucrezia’s heart dropped.

The events of yesterday flashed through her mind.

Had someone noticed the paper flying toward her? Had they realized she used magic? Had she been discovered?

“Yes. The High Priest has personally delivered a divine oracle.”

“An oracle?”

Her eyes widened. She had never expected that.

What kind of oracle could it be?

Could it be related to her?

Clara smiled brightly.

What she said next was completely unexpected.

“The High Priest has finally decided the date for Your Majesties’ consummation.”

It was just as shocking.

“What…?”

“The sacred and auspicious day chosen by the oracle is exactly one week from now.”

Her mind was in chaos. She could barely hear Clara’s words.

A consummation date? An oracle? Did the temple really issue divine messages even about a married couple sharing a bed?

‘…Well, we are not an ordinary couple.’

The Emperor and Empress’s union was not the same as that of a common couple.

It meant producing an imperial heir—the next ruler of the empire.

Because of that, the Grand Temple sometimes chose an auspicious day for the imperial couple to consummate their marriage.

But it was not common. And the timing was suspicious.

‘Could Father have arranged this?’

She remembered the secret letter she had received from the marquis a few days ago.

[Prepare yourself for consummation soon. Even the Emperor cannot ignore his marital duty forever.]

Had he been planning this all along?

Lucrezia already knew that Marquis Zephyr had connections with the High Priest. She had once glimpsed them meeting secretly.

“For now, only we know about this oracle,” Head Maid Jaina said, unable to hide her excitement. “But soon the entire palace will hear about it.”

On a continent long plagued by demonic beasts, children were considered precious. Producing heirs had always been regarded as a vital duty.

That tradition was even written into imperial law: anyone who could not produce an heir could not be crowned Emperor or Empress.

In such a country, there was no way an oracle-designated consummation date would be taken lightly.

“This is such wonderful news, Your Majesty! I can’t believe the High Priest personally delivered the oracle!” the maid Ira said with a bright smile.

The distant relationship between the newly married Emperor and Empress had been the greatest concern of the Empress’s maids. You cannot pick a star without looking at the sky, yet the Emperor and Empress did not even share the same bedroom.

Now that the High Priest himself had intervened, the maids wholeheartedly believed that the Earth Mother Goddess had shown her grace.

A week later, the morning of the consummation day arrived.

Lucrezia had been extremely busy.

It had taken enormous time and effort just to take over the Ministry’s work for the hunting festival and other matters.

But even so, she could not fully focus.

As the oracle-designated day drew closer, her anxiety only grew.

Since their last meeting, she had not seen the Emperor even once—not even from afar. Out of embarrassment, she could no longer bring herself to attend dinner at the same time as him like before.

The longer she went without seeing him, the more her tension grew.

Standing stiffly, she looked at herself in the mirror.

Several maids surrounded her reflection.

Since early morning, they had trimmed her nails, brushed her hair, and applied powder—doing everything they could to make her more beautiful.

‘Who is this?’

The woman in the mirror looked unfamiliar.

It was different from the overly extravagant makeup on her wedding day.

Her cheeks were bright, like petals tinted with flower water. Her lips were lively, as if filled with sweet juice. She looked completely different from her usual pale self.

Pearl powder had been applied to her skin so it would softly shimmer in the light. Even her long eyelashes were lightly dusted with jewel powder.

After finishing, the maids admired their work and let out soft sighs.

The Empress, already beautiful, now shone like a fully bloomed flower.

If even they, as women, could not take their eyes off her, then no man could possibly resist.

The maids were certain of victory tonight.