Summary
“I want you to remain ignorant of everything.”
These were the Emperor’s words as he ascended the throne, spoken while gazing at his wife, the newly crowned Empress, Lobelia. He asked her to stay by his side, naïve and unaware. In that moment, the Empress resolved one thing—never to trust her husband again.
“You have to trust me, Lobelia.”
“Why are you doing this to me? Why do you keep deceiving me?”
“To protect you! To keep you alive… so I can remain by your side…”
A husband who hides the truth in order to stay close to her.
“Mother, Father always had eyes only for you. So please… don’t leave us.”
A young son pleading for her not to abandon them like before.
“Lobelia—forget that ordinary name. No matter what becomes of this empire, I’ll take you where you truly belong.”
Her former husband, Paris, who returned alive from the desert just to see her again.
“Congratulations, Your Majesty the Empress. You are… with child.”
And now, a child growing within her.
Lobelia had vowed never to trust her husband again.
But that conviction is starting to falter—over and over again.