Remaried Empress

I could tell that Sovieshu believed me to be a heartless person. It was clear by the lines between his brows, which were usually not there, and the narrowing of his eyes.

"The empress is cold."

"As I should be."

"What?"

An international embarrassment could happen if Sovieshu disregarded his guests, and the blame would fall to him. But if I set aside a guest for Rashta, I would be blamed for doing something wrong to impress Rashta and Sovieshu. A similar rumor had already spread after Sovieshu gave Rashta gifts under my name. While that incident was disgraceful on a personal level, disrespecting guests would directly be judged by society.

But Sovieshu's behavior wasn't a mistake. Even at this moment, he was smart. He was forcing me to act this way to protect himself and soothe Rashta's heart.

"I'm not intentionally being cruel. Rashta is your concubine, not mine. I don't know why you're trying to force me to do things even you, the Emperor, cannot do."

I was too peeved to explain it further to him, so I deliberately turned away. Sovieshu's jaw was clenched and Rashta glanced at me with a frightened look, but I wasn't feeling any better at all. I gave my farewell as etiquette dictated, and then left the room with a stately walk.

*

*

*

When I arrived at the western palace, I found the ladies anxiously waiting for me.

"You should have eaten without me."

"How could we? We wondered if something terrible happened again."

"You don't look good whenever you see the Emperor these days."

After calming them down, we ate breakfast together, but I found it difficult to swallow. I managed to fill my stomach lightly with soup and pudding.

Afterwards, the ladies-in-waiting prepared themselves for the party, so I sat alone at my desk to check the schedule after the New Year's celebrations. I had to see off the foreign guests, as well as accommodate those that wished to stay longer. Reports of any incidents also had to be handled thoroughly. If any foreigner had a legal problem, it had to be settled before they crossed the border.

The day passed quickly, and then it was time for the feast. I made another examination of myself in the mirror, and I saw that each of my ladies-in-waiting were splendidly dressed as well.

"Will you come to the party after the special banquet?"

"I don't know. I have to check the time...what's wrong, Laura?"

"Alischute—no, Lady Alischute is ill and cannot go to the party. If neither you nor her come, I'll just show my face and leave quickly."

Laura, who preferred to mingle with her peers, did not seem very interested in socializing with the other noblewomen.

"I'll be there if you wait for me, Laura."

I gave her my promise, and Laura smiled with excitement and quickly went to the grand hall for the party. The other ladies-in-waiting also followed suit, while I went to the Red Rose room for the special banquet.

Lively music filled the air, and the special guests were gathered together in groups of three or four. I walk towards Princess Soju, with a casual nod to everyone else, when I came across Grand Duke Kapmen first, who was holding a champagne glass. A large statue holding a flower basket and sword and a servant carrying champagne bottles stood symmetrically on either side of him, leaving no other way to pass.

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

A nod wouldn't suffice as he was right in front of me, so I smiled and spoke to him. Before I bowed in greeting, it occurred to me that he ignored both me and Rashta yesterday.

"...Your Majesty."

Fortunately, Grand Duke Kapmen did not turn a blind eye to me this time. He didn't answer my question, however.

"Does the food suit your taste?"

I gave him a small bow for the second time without realizing it. Instead of answering me, he stared at me again. His long, sharp eyes were something fierce.

This was Grand Duke Kapmen's first invitation to the banquet, and I had never interacted with this man until last year. I had little knowledge of his character. All I knew was that he was a grand duke from a desert country, and had graduated first from a magical academy.

As I waited for his reply, Kapmen asked me his own question out of nowhere.

"Is this the state of the Eastern Empire?"

"What do you mean?"

"In Rwibt, the Imona's and Imot's emotions are one. "

"The king and queen are one. That's amazing."

" ...You know what it means?"

"Not enough to say I'm fluent. Only a few basic words."

When I lifted my eyebrows, he opened his eyes in surprise and continued.

"If Emot's lover is in front of her, she would be killed immediately."

"!"

"Are you not able to do that, Your Majesty?"

"I'm afraid that in this great empire I cannot kill a person for no reason, even if I am an empress. A trial must be held first."

"Foolish that you cannot eat soup out of your own bowl."

Was he saying that I didn't have proper control of the Rashta yesterday? However, just as there were the laws in the country of Rwibt, there were the laws of the Eastern Empire. In my country, concubines were legally approved. And if an empress ever killed an emperor's mistress? There was the strong possibility of being thrown into prison.

Then what did that leave me? A little excitement? Should I bet my life to kill Rashta? Before giving an answer, however, Grand Duke Kapmen left with his glass of champagne.

I gave a relieved sigh. He probably thought of me as pathetic.

'How strange. It was Sovieshu that made Rashta a concubine, so why am I the pathetic woman?'

Unfortunately, Princess Soju seemed to have moved elsewhere in the room. I shook my head and looked around to find another person, when my gaze landed on Duchess Tuania.

"Queen."

There was a low voice from behind me. As soon as I turned my head, I found Prince Heinley right before me.

"How are you—"

Before I could ask him how he was, he spoke again.

"I'd like to talk to you for a moment."

Prince Heinley's expression was both serious and sad. He didn't have his usual smile or proud bearing. I nodded for him to speak, remembering that he had helped me.

"It's alright."

Prince Heinley picked up two champagne glasses from a passing servant, and with his eyes pointed towards a spot where the music was loudest and would cover our conversation. The open area left no room for the other guests to misunderstand, even if I was with the much-gossiped-about Prince Heinley. He was a surprisingly thoughtful man...

As I admired him, Prince Heinley extended to me a glass of champagne, which I accepted. He didn't drink his, however, and simply fiddled with his glass, while I still stood and waited for him to speak. Finally, he carefully opened his mouth.

"I read your message, Your Majesty. You want to keep our friendship only by letter."

"You know that it's me?"

All I had said yesterday was that I knew it was not Rashta. How did he know it was me? When I looked up at him, Prince Heinley hurriedly waved his hand and gave an awkward smile.

"Don't be alarmed. You did not make a mistake."

"Then ...?"

"Both Lady Rashta and her maid knew the contents of the early letters, but not the later ones. So I thought about it. It turned out that a lady-in-waiting named Viscountess Verdi had transferred from the Empress to Lady Rashta."

So that's how he figured it out...

But I was still surprised. Rumors had it that Prince Heinley was a womanizer, a cruel man, a person who kept bad company. I had never heard a rumor that he was exceedingly intelligent, and I smiled a little.

But the prince still looked forlorn, and I couldn't help but wonder. He wasn't disappointed that I was the letter acquaintance, even though I'd rather not have it revealed in the beginning. It would be less embarrassing for the both of us to ignore it. Why was his face so stiff?

"Are you alright? You don't look very happy."

Prince Heinley sighed as he stared at me.

"How can I be happy? I imagined us as good friends, but you want to pretend not to know me in real life?"

Was that really as coldhearted as it sounds? I thought he was exaggerating, but he looked so forlorn I didn't protest. He downed his champagne glass in one smooth motion.

"In fact, I don't have many friends to share my thoughts with."

Prince Heinley set his empty glass down on the statue pedestal and continued, his voice thick.

"I know. It's unexpected, isn't it? Am I popular? Yes. I have many friends. I always have people around me, so you many think I am not lonely."

"?"

"But that is only what you see. In fact, I'm very lonely. It's not that I hate my friends—I have many good ones. However, as the prince of the West, I cannot honestly share my thoughts, and always have to be conscious of others."

"!"

I looked at him in surprise. Those were almost my exact same thoughts. It was as if—as if Queen listened to me and delivered those words straight to Prince Heinley.

"It's not a problem about the people, but my own, so there's no way to improve it..."

I stared steadily at Prince Heinley, as I realized I wasn't the only one with those thoughts. I had believed Prince Heinley behaved without regard to what other people thought of him, but it was an act too...

"I loved being able to talk to someone without them thinking of me as 'Prince Heinley' or 'Crown Prince.' Our conversations weren't long, but I was happy to have someone exchange lighthearted letters to."

"..."

I was the same. I was marked as a princess early on, and this was the first time since with my family that I felt I could open up my heart. Not because there weren't good people, but because "a good person" and "a person I can reveal my innermost thoughts to" were not the same.

"I've looked forward to those letters. Honestly, I was even happier when I knew that my letter acquaintance was you, Your Majesty. But instead you seemed reluctant and inconvenienced."

Prince Heinley sighed, his eyes becoming moist. As I faced those eyes, I felt a wave of guilt wash over me. I sympathized with everything he said, and felt further shame.

"We had the same thoughts, but different conclusions."

Prince Heinley looked at me with those wet eyes and sighed again, his mysterious violet irises glistening like jewels under the chandelier's light. There almost seemed to be resentment in his expression. I could be his friend, or I could end it like this.

"I understand what you feel, Prince Heinley."

"But you still only want to exchange letters?"

"I enjoyed them."

"Outside of letters, it will be even more enjoyable."

"..."

"You can tell me that Sovieshu's a son of a bitch."

"Keup!"

I choked when Prince Heinley tossed all dignity out of the window. Everyone stared at me as I coughed, and Prince Heinley lowered his voice once again and whispered, "Sovieshu's a son of a bitch."

What kind of person...

Prince Heinley raised his eyebrows and gave a silly grin.

"There is nothing more funny than watching someone suppress a laugh. Just laugh if you want to. "

"..."

"If you don't laugh, your heart will ache."

Ache? Did he have experience in this?

His smile faded, as did his voice. For a moment, Prince Heinley stared at the floor, his forehead furrowed in thought.

"Then, can you do something for me? I'll keep it a secret you, my Queen, are my letter partner. And I'll also keep secret that we are friends."

"Are we friends?"

"Don't you know that we're friends, Queen?"

He gave a strange smile, then he pressed his lips together and continued.

"Instead, it can be like now. If we meet by chance, please don't ignore me. And if the two of us happen to be alone, don't avoid me."

His voice was playful and the smile around his mouth looked light, but his gaze was serious. It sounded like a joke, but I knew it wasn't.

He gazed at me with those earnest eyes, and I felt a strange sensation of my heart being squeezed lightly with fingernails.