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Chapter: 62
When You Start Wondering About Your Husband’s Former Lover
“This way—yes, sit here.”
The Empress motioned for Classie to sit on the sofa right beside her.
Classie folded her hands on her knees, fixed a polite smile on her lips, and faced the Empress. Though she had a bad premonition about this encounter, she resolved not to let it show.
“Your sudden summons surprised me, Your Majesty, but I was equally delighted. I have always heard much praise of Your Majesty. I am glad to finally have the chance to meet you.”
Classie spoke meekly, and the Empress laughed, seemingly pleased.
“I was curious. For someone who was so insistent on remaining single to suddenly marry—what kind of woman had he chosen? Now I see. Beautiful and eloquent, no wonder.”
Classie pretended to blush shyly, but her heart was pounding.
It was because of the Empress’s gaze. Though she continued to speak kindly, her eyes lingered on Classie’s wedding ring.
How long the conversation went on, Classie could not tell. Even sitting still, the mental strain was exhausting. Then, with a curious smile, the Empress murmured,
“The truth is, I had once hoped to marry the Duke of Hayward to Memoa.”
Classie’s heart dropped. ‘What?’
But on second thought, it made sense. Even before his dukedom, Kishin had been from a good family.
He was handsome, diligent, capable—and above all, the savior of a princess’s life.
He was one year younger than Classie, and Dernick was a year younger than Kishin. Since the first princess was the same age as Dernick, that meant Kishin and the princess were also only a year apart. Their ages matched well.
Yet to openly agree that her own husband was a suitable match for another woman felt strange. So Classie could only reply,
“I see.”
The Empress shook her head regretfully and pointed at the ring on Classie’s finger.
“That ring was actually the one I wanted to give my daughter.”
“Ah… I see.”
Classie grew uneasy. ‘What is she saying? Why does everything I have supposedly belong to her daughter?’
“But I wanted it to be given in a special way. So I gave the pair to Kishin and told him to give one to the woman he would someday marry.”
“!”
Only then was Classie truly shocked. No wonder both Princess Memoa and the Empress had reacted so strangely upon seeing the ring at her wedding.
Her heart, which had just begun to settle, trembled again as though standing on shaky ground. ‘Did Kishin know about this?’
As she fidgeted, unable to keep her hands still, the Empress laughed and spoke brightly.
“No need to be so startled. It’s all in the past now. Kishin and Memoa were fond of each other, and they suited each other well, but unfortunately, liking each other isn’t enough to make a marriage.”
‘Kishin liked the princess too?’
“Unlike me, His Majesty opposed their marriage. He absolutely forbade it, and so the matter fell through. But even afterward, Kishin gave his heart to no one else. He coldly turned away anyone who approached him, and there were never rumors of scandal.”
The Empress gave a rueful smile and shook her head.
“So I thought he was still in love with the princess. It pained me to think such an excellent young man might resolve to live alone forever because of my daughter. But now, seeing that he has finally changed his heart after meeting a beautiful woman like you—it truly is fortunate.”
Every word of the Empress pricked like a thorn, making Classie’s whole body sting.
The Empress said it was all in the past, that it was fortunate things had turned out this way—but Classie couldn’t accept that at face value.
If it really was past, why summon her now, just after her wedding, only to tell her this story?
And the Empress claimed Kishin had refused marriage because he couldn’t forget Memoa. But was that only Kishin’s story?
Memoa had never been formally declared crown princess, but as the Emperor’s first child, she had the strongest chance of succession. Yet she was still unmarried and unbetrothed.
Perhaps it wasn’t Kishin who had refused marriage out of lingering attachment—perhaps it was Memoa.
Classie felt a chill like never before.
In the capital’s high society, there was the Dowager Empress, the current Empress, and three princesses. The late Emperor’s concubine and Princess Seiji had lost influence, unable to wield the same power as the previous generation.
But the Empress’s faction held sway over the majority of the nobility. And Classie—before she could even step into society—had already been marked.
* * *
On the carriage ride back, Duchess Lazar tried to comfort her.
“Don’t think too much of Her Majesty’s words. You’re already married—there’s nothing the Empress can actually do. As a mother, she only spoke out of pity for her daughter.”
‘But if those words come from the Empress, the ripples are enormous.’
Suppressing her distaste, Classie forced a polite thank-you. She didn’t want to discuss it further.
But sitting silently in the carriage made her feel suffocated. In the end, swallowing her pride, she asked what she really wanted to know—about Kishin and Princess Memoa.
“Why did His Majesty oppose their marriage?”
For a fleeting moment, a peculiar smile appeared on Duchess Lazar’s lips.
But it vanished quickly. She pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed her mouth as if to compose herself.
“His Majesty had his reasons. How could we possibly know them all?”
“But after opposing Sir Kishin, he hasn’t sought a better son-in-law either.”
“That’s true. For that reason, both Her Majesty and Princess Memoa began to hold out some hope again. At first, they did give up completely. But as years passed with His Majesty unmoving and Duke Hayward refusing all marriages, remaining single—Her Majesty and the Princess began to hope once more. And then…oh my”
She trailed off.
The Duchess of Lazar, who had been speaking so frankly, suddenly stopped and asked playfully,
“Let’s keep this between just the two of us, shall we?”
Her bright smile was infectious, and Classie found herself smiling as well. The duchess seemed like a very cheerful person.
But even this good-natured lady only added to Classie’s confusion.
‘She’s the Empress’s lady-in-waiting, yet she doesn’t seem to share the Empress’s views. She treats me so kindly… Could it be that, though she serves the Empress, she isn’t truly her ally?’
The Duchess of Lazar dropped Classie off in front of her home and left. Classie invited her in for tea, but she refused, saying the Empress was waiting, and didn’t even step down from the carriage.
Since Classie had only asked out of courtesy, she didn’t insist further and bid her farewell.
When she entered the house, she found her parents, Anna, Merran, and Karen all waiting in the front hall.
“Why is everyone here?”
Classie asked in confusion, and her mother took her arm and asked urgently,
“Are you alright? Why did the Empress summon you? She didn’t say anything strange, did she?”
Because the Empress had taken Classie away so abruptly, everyone had been worried and gathered there.
“Of course not.”
“But she summoned you without even asking your opinion. If she meant to be friendly, she wouldn’t have done that. She would have sent a maid or a messenger to set a date and time and ask if it suited you, not send someone you couldn’t refuse.”
Her mother, seasoned from years of diplomatic life, had read the entire atmosphere just from the way the Empress had summoned her.
After some hesitation, Classie finally moved to the dining room and told her family what the Empress had said.
However, she kept her promise and did not mention what she had discussed with the Duchess of Lazar in the carriage.
When she finished, Merran slammed the table and shouted furiously,
“What nonsense! So if she once fancied a man, he’s supposed to remain celibate for life? They weren’t even engaged, and just because she liked him briefly, why take it out on you, Aunt?”
“Shh, Merran. Quiet.”
Her mother tried to calm her, but Merran continued fuming.
“Grandmother, am I wrong? It’s ridiculous! The past should stay buried in the past. Why drag Aunt in just to say that? I guess she didn’t have the courage to summon Sir Kishin himself?”
It took a long time of soothing and reasoning before Merran finally calmed down, though her cheeks were still puffed and swollen with anger.
* * *
That evening, Kishin once again came home earlier than in their courting days, and he dined with Classie.
She chatted with him pleasantly, but her mindset was not the same as the day before.
During the preparations for the wedding, on the wedding day itself, and even the day after, she had been nothing but happy. Yet barely two days later, a shadow had appeared.
Still, Classie decided not to bring it up.
Back when she had been busy with matchmaking, she too had had her share of fleeting crushes. Though in her case, she had never even managed a short romance—only breakups.
In any case, she had no desire to confess such things to Kishin. Surely it was the same for him.
“Is something troubling you?”
But Kishin had sharp instincts. She had noticed it before, when he figured out on his own that Merran liked Dernick—when free of bias, he was an excellent investigator.
“No, of course not. Every day is so happy, what could possibly be wrong?”
Classie tried to brush it off, but Kishin wasn’t fooled. Halfway to his bath, he returned, gazing into her eyes as though searching.
“Don’t investigate me.”
Unable to bear it, Classie pushed him away.
“You’re hiding something. And it concerns me. What is it?”
But even that reaction seemed to Kishin like evidence. Approaching her like a true interrogator, he left her flustered and fleeing.
“What are you doing out here instead of sleeping, my lady?”
Anna nearly jumped out of her skin when she encountered Classie wandering the halls like a ghost.
Classie glanced around and whispered to her,
“I want to ask Kishin how much he loved the princess.”
Anna’s eyes went wide, and she, too, glanced nervously around before urgently pleading,
“No, my lady. You must never ask that. That’s the shortest road to make distance between you two!”
* * *
