Remaried Empress

Did I have a preference for foreigners? What on earth was he talking about?

I threw him a reproachful look. It was hard to understand what he meant. Was this because I spoke to Grand Duke Kapmen?

"I won't stop the Empress from paying attention to other men, but I hoped they would not be foreigners."

As I suspected. I was about to say I couldn't refuse Grand Duke Kapmen, but then I changed my words.

"It's not something you need to concern yourself with."

I kept getting involved in strange misunderstandings, especially with Prince Heinley, but it was Sovieshu who brought in a concubine first. It was unlikely I would bring in my own lover as retaliation, but in any case, Sovieshu shouldn't criticize me in what I do. In my view, that was fair.

Sovieshu, however, he seemed to have different ideas.

"How can I not care? Are you not my wife?"

"..."

I wanted to retort, "Did you consult me before taking in Miss Rashta?" but I knew he would say I brought her up again because I was jealous.

Sovieshu exhaled in a dignified manner.

"Do you like Lord Kapmen? To the point that he makes you sigh?"

"Don't misunderstand. We only spoke of this one thing."

"Yes, well, I'm glad to hear that...but I'd like you to be more mindful."

*

*

*

After that was another meeting with the finance minister and treasury officials on the annual state budget, which included the salary of the court officials, royal guards, as well as the budget for various events.

"The tax revenues are about the same as last year."

"While the system is expected to be unchanged, we don't know the costs."

"We can use last year's budget plan."

"Alright. Overall there is no national conflict expected, so we can set it similar to last years."

So far, everything had gone smoothly. Complications arose, however, when it came to Rashta. The emperor usually gave his concubines a considerable, though unfixed, amount of money each year. Because there was no standard and each emperor paid different amounts, it was difficult to reference to previous cases.

"Do you have a separate account book for Miss Rashta? It should be easy enough to calculate."

"The books did not come to the treasury. Since there is no money assigned yet, it should be listed under your account. The Emperor is providing for her now."

"Is that so."

I didn't think Sovieshu was going to give me the account books somehow.

"What if we use Countess Malti as an example here, Your Majesty? She was a commoner before she became a concubine early in the emperor's rule."

"Prices have gone up since then, so I don't think they're comparable."

"We still have to use some precedent. Once the amount is set it will be hard to lower it, but if there is a new concubine—ah, sorry."

"It's fine. You're right, we should be sure."

The meeting went on longer than I thought, and when I left the room with the finance minister, the air was already cold. The sun was still out, but the sky was not that bright.

'I missed lunchtime.'

My meeting with Grand Duke Kapmen went from morning until afternoon, and from the afternoon onward I missed my meal when I met with the finance minister. When I realized I hadn't eaten, I suddenly felt hungry and hastened my stride. I also wondered if Queen had dropped by.

I hurried along, and at the fork leading to the eastern and western palaces, I saw the hem of a blue skirt peeking from the bushes. Sir Artina, who was following me, frowned.

"Who is that?"

"I don't know."

I answered with a shake of my head. As if I was heard, the owner of the protruding skirt stepped away from the bushes, revealing it to be Viscountess Verdi.

"Your Majesty."

When our eyes met, she broke away and her eyes darted around. After making sure no one else was here, she urgently beckoned at me. However, I didn't approach and Sir Artina rebuked her.

"Rude."

Viscountess Verdi shook her head vigorously. Desperation flickered on her face, then she looked around again and came up to me.

"I have something urgent to say. I may not be your lady-in-waiting anymore, but I can't rest easy until I tell you this."

Her lips trembled. I prevented Sir Artina from admonishing her again and signaled Viscountess Verdi to continue speaking. The viscountess pressed her hands together.

"I think Viscount Roteschu knows something about Miss Rashta. A weakness."

"Weakness?"

"I couldn't hear the details, but I think she—"

The sound of something snapping interrupted her. I turned towards the direction of the noise, but Viscountess Verdi had disappeared into the bushes again.

'What was that all of a sudden?'

I looked where Mrs. Verdi had stood, then saw someone else approaching me again.

It was Rashta.

"Your Majesty."

She looked thinner than before and had dark bags under her eyes. She greeted me with a short bow and spoke in a feeble voice.

"Who was there just now?"

I shook my head, and she peered closely at the bushes where Viscountess Verdi had disappeared. I didn't know if she spotted the viscountess or not, but it was clear she suspected someone had been there.

Rashta sighed. Instead of asking more about the disappeared person, she looked back at me gloomily.

"Well...Your Majesty. Is it alright if Rashta asks you something?"

"Go ahead."

"It's about the Duchess Tuania."

I was certain she was going to ask about Sovieshu. Or perhaps Prince Heinley or Viscountess Verdi. I didn't expect her to ask about this.

"Duchess Tuania?"

Why her? I stared at Rashta, and she answered in a small voice.

"Is Duchess Tuania easy?"

I thought I heard wrong. Easy?

"What do you mean by that?"

I frowned at her, and she carefully examined my face.

"Are you upset?"

"Duchess Tuania is a good person and a good friend."

"Well..."

Rashta hesitated, twisting her hands together.

"There are always men at Duchess Tuania's side."

"?"

"The Duchess seems to enjoy being with men too. I don't know if that's allowed when she's already married."

She looked up in embarrassment, then waved her hands in protest.

"Rashta is not asking for bad reasons. Rashta is asking because she doesn't understand."

"Duchess Tuania is popular with everyone, both men and women."

She didn't seem to believe me.

"But at the party, she was always with men..."

I sighed. She was asking me because she didn't understand? That was worse in my view. It was better if she had some idea what she was saying, but if she was asking out of ignorance, she could unintentionally tarnish someone's reputation. At the very least, it was fortunate that she was asking this when there were only the two of us.

"It only appears that way at parties, because men and women pair together to dance."

"Ah..."

"There is nothing wrong with Duchess Tuania, so don't say anything else like that from now on."

Rashta gave a small "yes", and I turned around and walked back to the western palace. However, even after I returned to my room and spoke with my ladies-in-waiting, Rashta's strange question continued to gnaw at me.

'Why would she ask about Duchess Tuania?'

Presently, Rashta was disliked and shunned in society. Although the popular Duke Elgy sided with her, it would not be easy to restore her image. If she was interested in gossip...

'Then by any chance?'

"Countess Eliza."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Are there any bad rumors about Duchess Tuania recently?"

"Not that I know of."

"Oh, I heard that Viscount Langdel has been utterly lovesick since he danced with Duchess Tuania at New Year's."

Countess Eliza gave a chuckle at the story.

"He must be completely wild about her."

Noblemen falling in love with Duchess Tuania was not an unusual occurrence. I wondered if Rashta was trying to shift the topic of gossip towards someone else. Was I worrying for nothing? Well, in any case, Rashta didn't have the social clout to influence people. It had only been a day since Duke Elgy met her as well, and there was no way he could spread strange rumors for her either.

"..."

However, I felt uneasy as I remembered the way Rashta constantly glanced at Duchess Tuania at the New Year's ball.

"Why do you ask, Your Majesty? Did you hear something?"

Countess Eliza's face twisted.

"Why would she do that?"

"I don't know...just tell me right away if you hear anything strange."

*

*

*

I kept busy with preliminary research about Rwibt— I compiled information from tourists, merchants, and explorers who were recently at the Hwa continent, but their time was spare and they couldn't abandon their jobs.

I was so busy that I forgot my birthday was coming. Surprisingly, it was Sovieshu that brought it up.

 "It takes several hours to go to the villa by carriage, so we should finish up our work and leave the day before."

I was just finishing the imperial budget before submitting it for approval to Sovieshu. At Sovieshu's sudden reminder, I put my feather pen down on the inkwell. It took me a few seconds before I realized what he was talking about.

"Ah. Birthday..."

"Oh goodness."

Sovieshu chuckled as if he found my dazed reply amusing.

"The empress really doesn't care about anything when she gets into her work."

It was a teasing remark.

"Can you guess whose birthday I was talking about?"

"I remember now."

"You should remember your own birthday."

"..."

"Do you mind if we leave a day early?"

"I'll schedule it."

I flipped through my schedule, and Sovieshu spoke up again.

"Do you remember the tree planted at the villa?"

I nodded, and Sovieshu stretched himself lightly as he reminisced.

"It was when you were still crown princess and very small. You were cute back then."

"..."

This time I smiled. In the Eastern Empire, there was a story of a wish tree, and superstition had it that if you made a wish while planting a tree, it would come true.

When I was a princess I was very short for my age, and I found it especially stressful when I was always surrounded by adults. After worrying alone, with no one to share these feelings with, I finally planted a wish tree. The rule was that I had to shovel the ground and plant the seedlings myself. However, I was young and small, and after a few hours of inefficient digging, I hugged the seedling and passed out from exhaustion. When I woke up, I found Sovieshu digging the hole.

– Your Highness! If you dig, I'll have to do it over again!

– It's all right. We're a couple. A couple is like one body, so it doesn't matter if you or I do it.

– ...Really?

– Yeah. That's what my father the emperor said.

Shoveling was a tough job, so I relented and allowed Sovieshu to do it. After digging a decent-sized hole, I placed the seedling in it and covered the base with dirt. I put my hands together and made a wish, and Sovieshu said, "What did you wish for?"

– ...I asked to be taller.

– Why? It's nice to be small.

– I follow the Empress and she always goes beyond a partition. But the screen is bigger than me, so I can't see...

After that I felt unwell with body aches, and Sovieshu got into trouble because his palms were ragged. Sovieshu was always taller and stronger than I was, but he was still young too.

The ends of my mouth tipped up in a smile. When I looked at Sovieshu, I saw him smiling as if he were remembering as well.

"But that tree worked, didn't it? Now you're very tall."

I smiled wordlessly, picking up the feather pen again and looking down at my papers.

A bitter feeling mixed in with the memories. After all, my wish was not about my height. Back then, I prayed that Sovieshu and I would keep a good relationship for the rest of our lives.

...But it didn't come true.