Remaried Empress

What was wrong? Prince Heinley looked as if he were caught by surprise, his purple eyes darting around the hall.

"Prince Heinley?"

"Queen's busy right now. No, I mean, Queen's quite shy. He's bashful whenever there are two or more people in the room with him."

"What?"

That Queen, the one who played with my ladies-in-waiting? I stared at him doubtfully, and Prince Heinley flushed. For some reason he didn't want to see Queen with me.

Ah. Perhaps it was too forward if Prince Heinley came into my room or I went into his, or if we spent time together at the garden in the evening.

"I apologize. I made an unreasonable request."

We had decided not to be friendly in public. Prince Heinley groaned and placed a hand on his forehead.

"No, it's not that...anyway, what do you want to ask about Queen?"

"His favorite—"

"The Empress."

"What?"

"Queen's favorite is the Empress."

"..."

Why was his face so red? He looked quite embarrassed. Was it childish to say that the bird looked like his human? I smiled from the charming image, but that was not what I meant to ask.

"Then please tell him thank you."

"I will."

"And I want to know what his favorite food is."

"Oh...food."

"I usually bring water to my room, but I'd like to give him something to eat."

"Queen will love anything you give him."

I thought Prince Heinley was responding too much from his own perspective.

"Still, there must be something he likes."

"No, he's a good bird, so he'll eat anything."

He suddenly tightened his lips and turned his head sideways. His jaw was clenched as if he were trying to suppress laughter.

...Was Queen a big eater? Or was he saying that as a joke?

Before I could ask him anything else, Prince Heinley turned away to leave, saying he would send Queen.

*

*

*

When I returned to my room, I opened the window so Queen could enter when he arrived.

When Prince Heinley first brought up Queen, I only wanted to hug the warm bird, but as we talked more I decided I wanted to give Queen some delicious food as well. I consulted Sir Artina on the subject.

"What kind of food do birds usually like, Sir Artina?"

The imperial guard had their own messenger birds, and I surmised that Sir Artina had more knowledge of birds than I did. As expected, he answered without hesitation.

"Birds like insects."

"Insects?"

"Caterpillars, mosquitoes, moths..."

"!"

"What is it?"

This would be more difficult than I thought...

"I thought I'd give Queen something he'd like to eat."

As my guard, Sir Artina was often with me and had known about Queen.

"Ah. Since he's a large bird he might like large insects."

When I didn't reply, Sir Artina gave a soft chuckle.

"We have caterpillars meant for the messenger birds. I'll get you some."

"Are you sure?"

"Queen might not eat if them if they're are served on a plate. If he's doubtful, you can feed him with tweezers."

I felt sick imagining picking up a caterpillar with tweezers, but I nodded for now. I had promised Prince Heinley that I would take care of Queen, and I couldn't back out simply because I was squeamish.

Finally, Sir Artina returned with a wooden plate and set it down on the table. It was full of plump, squirming larvae.

"Are you alright?"

I nodded automatically, but as soon as Sir Artina left, I immediately backed away from the table. I was afraid they would crawl out of the plate at any moment.

'Queen is going to eat that...'

I sat hunched on the bed and peeked at the table about five or six times to check whether the caterpillars had wriggled off the plate.

At last, Queen arrived. Instead of landing on the window sill, he flew gracefully through the open window and circled the room in a glorious sweep, his eyes on me as if to confirm that I was watching his majesty on display. After a brief circuit, he landed on my knee. I stroked his neck and back, and he gave a loud cry and wiggled his tail.

"You're incredible, Queen."

Queen raised a wing at the compliment, and I thought it was now a good time to prepare the caterpillars, nervous as I was. Once again I brushed his back and hugged him.

"I wanted to give Queen something to eat."

– Gu?

"Your master says you'll eat anything..."

– Gu!

"I think he's wrong."

– ...

"So I prepared something that big, nice birds like the most."

Queen nodded enthusiastically. I picked him up and brought him to my desk.

"Here are some caterpillars, Queen."

Fortunately, the larvae were still on the plate, and I set him right in front of it.

– !

Queen pulled away, his eyes blinking wildly. Sir Artina had said that Queen might be doubtful if I fed him like this, so I stroke the bird's back again and picked up a plump caterpillar with a pair of tweezers. I could feel the fine hairs on my body rise as I came near the plate, but I steeled myself for Queen's sake.

"Come on, Queen. Let's eat."

The bird, however, drew even further backwards and refused to eat.

"Try it, Queen. It's okay."

I jerked my hand and got the caterpillar right in front of Queen's face. The caterpillar suddenly wriggled, then slipped from the tweezers and landed on Queen's head.

– Guuuuu!

The bird leapt up with a shriek.

"Queen?"

Surprised, I tried to catch him, but he was hopping everywhere like crazy. Queen leapt out the window, caterpillar still attached to his head, and flew away and finally disappeared.

*

*

*

Was it the wrong kind of caterpillar? Sir Artina's birds ate them and were fine. Was it because Queen was a different species of bird?

I worried about Queen all night long and slept uneasily. It was him that eased the hurt caused by Sovieshu. I was heartbroken by the distrust in Sovieshu's eyes, but as soon as I remembered Queen, the image of Sovieshu was pushed away.

The next day, I left my room as soon as I finished breakfast to see Prince Heinley. I couldn't visit his room, but I would likely run into him around the southern palace.

'I need to ask if Queen returned safely.'

However, as soon as I left the palace, I discovered Prince Heinley leaning against a pillar and staring at the building.

"Prince Heinley."

He turned to me, omitting the greeting bow and immediately speaking.

"I answered wrongly yesterday. He doesn't eat raw food."

"Well, then I can give him cooked larvae—"

"He doesn't eat that. He doesn't eat insects at all."

Rashta was entangled in a net of complicated emotions. She was grateful that Sovieshu protected her. The Emperor knew from the beginning that she was a runaway slave, of course, but his desire to safeguard her had compelled him to cover it up even after the matter was revealed. How many other men had sweetly whispered their devotion to her before abandoning her, using their identities as a shield? Ironically, it was Sovieshu, the most powerful man in the empire, who did not do so.

But fear of the past still nipped at her heels. Just when she had barely shaken off her shackles, just when people were starting to look at her as "Rashta" instead of "slave", was when her identity grabbed her ankles again. If it weren't for Sovieshu's love for her, her dream would have died because of Roteschu.

But what about the people who once hung onto her every word and smile? What would they do now? Rashta was worried. She hadn't yet met with the other nobles since the truth came out, and she was fearful that those smiling faces would turn into rejection.

Rashta stroked the amber bracelet on her hand, but her heart did not settle.

'No, even if Rashta is a slave, Rashta is now the Emperor's concubine. It won't be the same as before...'

Rashta hugged a doll that Sovieshu had designed for her, a soft thing made of fabric and cotton. Then, the door opened, and Viscountess Verdi entered the room with an uneasy expression on her face.

"Miss Rashta, Viscount Roteschu came to see you...What should I tell him?"

"The lord?"

In the confusion of the moment, Rashta used the same title she had used in the past. Viscountess Verdi looked startled, but she didn't say a word.

The viscountess's expression was replaced by a kind smile, but Rashta was sure the other woman must be laughing at her. If the viscountess knew about Roteschu's relationship to Rashta, she shouldn't have mentioned him. Wasn't it the subordinate's job to keep others out of the way? Rashta was sure that if the viscountess were still working for the Empress, she would have been more responsible.

Rashta bit her lip. If she had known this, she would have lain down in the Emperor's room and feigned sickness. It was a mistake to return here to organize her thoughts alone.

No, no—the problem was that the Emperor allowed the viscount to go around freely in the first place. Why didn't the Emperor just drive him out? Why didn't he just kill the viscount himself or put him in prison? Wasn't Sovieshu capable of anything?

Rashta held back the hot tears in her ears as she gave an order to Viscountess Verdi.

"Tell him to go back."

However, Viscountess Verdi hesitated.

"Tell him to go back!"

Rashta yelled this time, but Viscountess Verdi still did not move. Are you ignoring me now too? Rashta wanted to tell in rage. The viscountess continued in a shaky voice.

"Well...he said if you don't let him in, you would regret it..."

"He said that?"

"Yes."

Anger gave Rashta courage, and she gritted her teeth.

"Then tell him to come in. Let me see his shameless face."

She was determined to give him a cold bowl of abuse.

However, when he entered, an ominous smile on his face, her insults died on her lips.

"Lady Rashta. Congratulations. You are the Emperor's concubine."

Viscountess Verdi, who was staring alternately between Rashta and Viscount Roteschu, rushed out of the room when Rashta glared fiercely at her.

Rashta turned back to look at Viscount Roteschu, who helped himself into an empty chair. "Very good, I like it," he said contentedly.

"Why are you here?"

Rashta imitated the Empress' stern tone. Rashta's own voice was perfect in charming people, but it lacked authority. The viscount let out a chuckle.

"You've grown to be quite a lady now, Rashta."

"Don't thoughtlessly say my name. You will no longer simply address me as Rashta."

"I'm sure that's true...for a definite period."

"Definite period?"

"Do you know how many years a woman stays as an emperor's concubine?"

"!"

Rashta bit her lip at the viscount's barbed remark. He was tapping his fingers against the table and bobbing his neck in time, when he noticed the bracelet on Rashta's wrist.

"Oh, how beautiful. Is it made of amber? Hm? Let me take a look."

Rashta flung her hand behind her. Viscount Roteschu frowned for a second, then smiled.

"The Emperor ordered me to correct my erroneous claim that you were a runaway slave. Now I'm being treated like a fool who cannot even recognize a person's face. Whether your secret will be revealed or not is up to me. I'm thankful for the gold and silver, but it's not quite sufficient, hm?"

Rashta turned on him wildly.

"Then you should not have said that from the beginning! You're shameless! You're only hiding that I'm an escaped slave because the Emperor ordered you to. You're not doing this for me."

An insidious smile spread across Viscount Roteschu's face.

"Well then, why did I say nothing about the baby you abandoned?"

Rashta paled.

"Baby..."

Blood rushed to her face again, and she clenched her fists. The white of her eyes were red with blood.

"How dare you lie! You killed my baby!"

Rage flooded every pore of her body. The way he so nonchalantly claimed that she abandoned her baby echoed hatefully in her ear, but she forced her mouth shut for fear of Viscountess Verdi overhearing them.

Viscount Roteschu said "Well?" and widened his eyes in an exaggerated circle. Finally, Rashta stood up.

"You can't threaten me with a baby that's already gone."

Viscount Roteschu chuckled.

"Gone...what do you mean, Rashta?"

It was an ordinary laugh, but Rashta felt her spine chill. Roteschu's expression suddenly hardened and his tone turned mocking.

"I would not kill my own grandchild, my own blood."

"You're...you're lying! I saw the body with my eyes...!"

"If you don't believe me, do you want me to bring it to you?"