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Episode 4
“I heard you had tea with the noble ladies.”
“……Are you not even going to follow proper court etiquette with me anymore? At the very least, I think you should knock before coming in, Your Majesty.”
At Salubia’s sharp scolding, Jenaden finally realized that he had come too suddenly.
The moment he heard that Salubia had held a tea party, he rushed straight to the Empress’s Palace. She had never done anything like that before, so Jenaden had forgotten even his manners and simply walked into her room.
“Empress, why did you suddenly do something you never used to do?”
Salubia raised one corner of her lips and smiled.
“Something I never used to do…… It just means I’m finally doing the things I should have been doing all along.”
He was the foolish one for only realizing that now.
“Have you thought about what I told you?”
“That……”
“I’m going to help Your Majesty. I have no intention of lying to you, so you can rest assured.”
“I don’t understand why you’re suddenly acting like this.”
“Because I know Your Majesty is going to get rid of my father.”
“That can’t be true, Empress.”
“I suppose Your Majesty thinks I’m stupid. Go ask anyone in the palace. Almost everyone knows that Your Majesty and my father are constantly keeping each other in check.”
He had thought she knew nothing.
When had she heard all those rumors whispered by the people around the palace?
Only then did Jenaden realize that the woman standing before him was no longer the Salubia who used to look only at him.
“……Yes, all right. I’ll accept your offer.”
So he decided to take her hand.
He didn’t know what had caused Salubia to change, but at least he couldn’t see any reason why this would be bad for him.
“I’ll do my best to make this a good deal for both of us, Your Majesty.”
There would be a lot of difficult things ahead. There would be many obstacles they had to overcome.
But somehow, Salubia felt like she could get through them all.
She had even gone against death itself.
So she believed she could endure anything worse than that.
“……What are you planning to do now?”
At his casual question, Salubia gave him a bright smile.
“First, I’d like to prepare for Your Majesty’s birthday. You’ve never had to handle something like this before, though.”
Jenaden’s shoulders flinched.
She was right.
He had pretended to shower Salubia with love, but he had never given her any of the Empress’s duties.
Because he wanted Salubia to live like a puppet.
Without knowing anything.
“……All right.”
“Yes. Thank you, Your Majesty.”
What was she planning?
Jenaden wanted to ask, but he kept his mouth shut.
Maybe this was his chance.
A chance to find out whether she was truly on his side or not.
The moment Jenaden permitted Salubia to prepare for his birthday, she became noticeably busier.
Salubia had never known anything about the palace finances before, and now she spent every day buried under piles of paperwork.
As she worked through the documents, Salubia let out a bitter laugh.
She was only now doing all the things she should have been doing as Empress.
How had I been living all this time?
There was no doubt about it.
She had lived foolishly and blindly.
A bitter smile appeared on Salubia’s lips.
“Um…… Your Majesty……”
Stella, who had come to bring Salubia some tea, carefully approached her as she struggled over the documents for a long time.
“Duke Bronar says he’ll be coming soon.”
“……My father……?”
“Yes.”
“All right. Then could you prepare some refreshments in the drawing room?”
“Of course.”
After Stella left, Salubia tapped the tip of her pen against the desk.
The reason for Duke Bronar’s visit was obvious.
He was going to ask for money without anyone knowing.
There were far more of Duke Bronar’s people inside the imperial palace than Salubia had expected. They were spread throughout the palace like a spiderweb.
And every year, some of the money set aside for the Emperor’s birthday ended up flowing into Duke Bronar’s hands.
Of course, Jenaden probably already knew about it.
He was simply waiting and putting up with it for the sake of the future.
“Welcome, Father.”
Salubia greeted her father while remaining seated.
Duke Bronar frowned and sat down across from her.
“Would you like some tea? It’s rose tea that arrived yesterday.”
“I heard you’re preparing for His Majesty the Emperor’s birthday.”
Instead of answering Salubia’s question, Bronar immediately got to the point.
“Yes. I want to make His Majesty happy.”
Salubia smiled, her eyes curving just like they used to.
Just like the old Salubia who was hopelessly in love.
She had to make sure her father didn’t notice that she had changed.
Duke Bronar secretly clicked his tongue as he looked at Salubia.
What an idiot.
“His Majesty seems to trust you completely.”
“Yes……”
“It’s nothing serious. I just need some money. Could you give some of the funds set aside for the birthday preparations to the Bronar estate?”
Duke Bronar asked for the money without hesitation.
“Yes……? Father, that……”
“Salubia. You’re our only daughter, aren’t you? The ducal estate has been having a little trouble lately because we’re preparing for a new business. Are you really going to refuse your father’s request?”
Our only daughter.
Salubia bit her lip to keep herself from letting out a contemptuous laugh.
There was a time when she had desperately wanted to hear those words. She had tried and tried to become worthy of them.
Who would have thought those words would become something she hated hearing?
Holding back her trembling hands, Salubia smiled at Duke Bronar.
“Well, it’s not going to be a large amount, but I’ll see what I can do so that at least a little can be sent over.”
“His Majesty seems to love you very much, so even if he finds out, he probably won’t scold you.”
Duke Bronar believed that Jenaden was completely in love with Salubia.
Especially since he and Emperor Jenaden had been constantly clashing with each other lately.
And now, Salubia had been given the Empress’s duties for the first time.
That was a good sign.
Even an Emperor in love is still just a man in the end.
A sly smile crept across the Duke’s lips.
Duke Bronar began thinking about how he could persuade Salubia further and take even more money from the imperial family.
In his eyes, Salubia looked like an innocent little child.
He had raised her that way since she was young.
A doll who never complained, whether she was given something or had something taken away, and simply did whatever they told her to do.
“When are you planning to have a child?”
Just as Salubia expected, the conversation soon went there.
Duke Bronar glanced at her and asked.
“We’re still……”
Salubia carefully opened her mouth.
“We’re happy just having each other for now.”
“What are you talking about! Now that you’re the Empress, it’s your duty to have a child as soon as possible. How many years has it been already?”
“……Yes…… Father…… I’ll try.”
When Salubia answered obediently, Duke Bronar smiled with satisfaction.
“Ahem. All right, then. I’ll be leaving now.”
He needed to go home and start calculating everything right away.
Duke Bronar stood up and said goodbye to Salubia.
Foolish father.
You don’t even know what’s happening right in front of you.
Salubia bit her lip tightly as she watched him walk away.
That’s right. Don’t look at the truth.
The moment you learn the truth, you’ll fall straight into the depths of hell.
Salubia’s head was beginning to ache.
She had already been busy with work, and then Duke Bronar had suddenly shown up.
Maybe I should take a little walk around the palace.
She thought some fresh air might help, even just a little.
So she slowly stood up and went outside.
……But who would have thought things would turn out like this?
Salubia sat at a table in one corner of the central palace garden and stared at the teacup in front of her with a helpless smile.
She had barely escaped the tiger and thought she could finally get some rest, only to suddenly run into a lion.
After leaving the Empress’s Palace, Salubia had been walking through the central palace garden when she ran into Jenaden.
She had planned to simply greet him and walk past, but Jenaden stopped her, so she ended up having a conversation with him.
“I heard Duke Bronar came to see you……”
Jenaden carefully brought up the subject.
Salubia gave a small nod.
“He openly asked me for secret funds.”
“I expected that, but he moved faster than I thought.”
“He knows I’ll do whatever he asks.”
Jenaden picked up his teacup to take a drink, then glanced sideways at Salubia.
She had turned her head away and was looking at the colorful chrysanthemums blooming beautifully in the imperial garden.
“What are you going to do……?”
“I’m going to give it to him for now. I also need to find out where that money goes. Oh, and of course, when you divorce me later, you can use this against me if you want.”
“……Can I ask why you hate your father so much?”
Jenaden was curious.
He wanted to know why Salubia hated her father so much.
He also truly couldn’t understand why she was suddenly acting like this when she had never shown any hostility toward her father before.
From the outside, Duke Bronar had never exactly been warm toward Salubia, but Jenaden had seen him take care of her several times.
And every time, Salubia would simply smile and look at her father.
So she hated her father?
Something didn’t add up.
Salubia lifted her head from the teacup and looked at Jenaden.
“Then why do you hate my father, Your Majesty?”
“He’s greedy, and he tries to control me like I’m nothing more than a puppet.”
“……Is that the only reason?”
Their eyes met.
Jenaden turned his head away, avoiding Salubia’s gaze.
She could tell that he didn’t want to say anything more, so Salubia didn’t press him.
She already knew why Jenaden hated Duke Bronar so much.
Because Duke Bronar was the one who destroyed the family of his first love, the woman he had loved more than anyone.
Duke Bronar had begun gaining power in the imperial court back during the previous Emperor’s reign.
So it was obvious that Elaine, the Emperor’s first love, had been a huge thorn in his side.
If the daughter of a mere count’s family with little power became Empress, there would be no way for him to put Salubia forward as Empress.
So, to prevent that future, he framed the Costel family for crimes and destroyed the entire family overnight.
At the time, the current Emperor, Jenaden, was only thirteen years old.
The previous Emperor had recently died in battle after going to war alongside Duke Bronar.
Jenaden’s mother, the former Empress, had also been in poor health.
In reality, almost all the power had fallen into Duke Bronar’s hands.
So framing someone for a crime had been easier for him than anyone else.
The Costel family was destroyed overnight.
It was as if they had never existed in the first place.
And eventually, people forgot about them.
It was only natural that Jenaden hated Duke Bronar.
And because she was Duke Bronar’s daughter, she was the daughter of the very man he hated.
So perhaps it was only natural for him to hate her too.
“……What are you thinking about so deeply?”
At Jenaden’s voice, Salubia suddenly returned to reality.
She was afraid he might somehow realize what she had been thinking, so she changed the subject.
“No. I just remembered something from when I was young.”
“When you were young……?”
“……You asked me why I hate my father, right?”
In truth, she didn’t want to talk about anything deeper.
But she had no choice.
If Salubia wanted to become allies with Jenaden, she had to show him at least one part of her painful past.
Only then would he trust her more.
“Those two never once saw me as a human being……”
To those two, I wasn’t a person.
I was a doll.
Salubia gave a bitter smile.
