“You, of all people—do not dare be rude to me.”
Adel wanted to shout those words straight into the emperor’s ear. She clenched her jaw with all her strength, afraid that if she opened her mouth even slightly, they would spill out on their own. It was obvious she had already lost control of her expression. Heat surged up, her face burning hot, and her breath threatened to come out ragged, so she forced herself to breathe slowly and deeply.
She couldn’t remember how she had walked all the way to the altar. All she wanted was for this absurd wedding to end as soon as possible. At least it was a blessing that Ehmondt’s wedding customs did not include kissing or even facing one another.
Adel stood stiffly, almost glaring at the high priest’s shoulder. She couldn’t hear a single word—neither the congratulations nor whatever was being said.
But it seemed the emperor wasn’t finished speaking. While the high priest diligently recited the prayer of blessing, he added one more quiet remark.
“I will not consummate the marriage today, so do not wait up. Get some rest.”
“……”
“……and thus, may the two of you be faithful to one another and serve as an example to all—”
Faithful to each other, my foot. Adel let out a small, involuntary scoff. Where was any faith in an emperor who, the moment the marriage began, might as well have driven a nail in by declaring she was not truly his wife? His fidelity lay elsewhere.
“From this moment on, we proclaim before the gods that Adelaide Gottrof has become Adelaide Ulrich Ehmondt.”
Damn it all. There was no turning back now.
With a sigh, Adel closed her eyes.
＊ ＊ ＊
Once the bewildering wedding was over, Adelaide headed straight for the Empress’s Palace. Walking along behind the maids, she struggled to calm the churning turmoil inside her, as though her insides had been violently stirred. She felt as nauseous as she had on the day her mother told her to give up her position as crown princess, or the day she was ordered to leave everything behind and depart Gottrof.
“Your Majesty, are you all right?”
When a nearby maid asked cautiously, Adel slapped her own soul awake.
Get a grip, Adelaide!
She returned to her usual expression in an instant and looked at the maid as if nothing were wrong. The maids bowed respectfully and resumed leading the way.
Before long, the Empress’s Palace came into view in all its splendor. Adel’s steps gradually slowed. Gazing at the palace gleaming gold as it reflected the blazing sunlight, she thought that life in Ehmondt would be far from easy.
Then again—had there ever been a moment in her life that was easy or comfortable? Closing her eyes, Adel softly recited the passage from scripture she always carried in her heart, like a spell.
“Like a lion unstartled by loud noises,
like the wind not caught in a net,
like a lotus unstained by mud.”
She inhaled deeply and opened her eyes.
“Like the horn of a rhinoceros crossing the wilderness—go alone.”
Adel resumed walking toward the Empress’s Palace. She looked less like a newlywed bride and more like a warrior, burning with resolve as she marched toward the battlefield.
＊ ＊ ＊
Meanwhile, at the same time—
Diane was gazing at the Empress’s Palace through the window.
“Is the ceremony over?”
“Yes, they say everything has concluded.”
Ehmondt-style weddings usually consisted of a neat ceremony and brief greetings. Lavish banquets were avoided, as they were believed to sap good fortune, so the imperial palace was quieter than ever. Diane found herself appreciating Ehmondt’s wedding culture. If the entire capital had been in an uproar over the emperor’s marriage, it would have hurt her all the more.
“Shouldn’t you try to eat something now? You’ve skipped meals for several days already.”
At a maid’s question, Diane’s face twisted sharply. She frowned and turned toward the maid, whose shoulders hunched as she shrank back under Diane’s sharp gaze.
“You’re really that clueless?”
Lorraine, the maid standing closest to Diane, scolded her in Diane’s stead.
“She’s unable to eat because her stomach is upset. And you speak as if she’s deliberately refusing food?”
“No, I didn’t mean—”
“She can’t eat. Do you understand?”
The reprimanded maid bowed deeply and apologized to Diane.
“I’m sorry, miss.”
“……”
A silence as heavy as death fell between them. Diane slowly blinked as she stared at the maid, whose lips began to tremble. Catching Diane’s mood, Lorraine hurried over to the maid and snarled.
“You! Who on earth trained you?!”
“I—I, what did I—”
“You idiot!”
Diane watched them coolly, then cut between them in an icy tone.
“That’s enough. Step aside.”
“Pardon?”
“I said, step aside.”
As Lorraine moved out of the way, the maid found herself facing Diane directly, without even understanding what mistake she had made. Confronted with Diane’s expression—frozen like midwinter—the trembling maid dropped to her knees.
“I’m sorry, truly sorry. I didn’t know—I beg you, please—”
“Oh, yes. You’re right.”
Diane approached the kneeling maid with a mocking tone. She grabbed the maid’s chin with one hand and slowly lifted her face. Terror filled the maid’s eyes as her face was held in Diane’s grip, sending a chill deep into Diane’s own heart.
“Since you don’t seem to know what you don’t know, I’ll teach you.”
“Yes, yes.”
“‘Miss,’ you said?”
“…Pardon?”
“Do you think this is some common noble’s estate? Do I look like some ordinary person?”
“……”
With her other hand, Diane slowly stroked the maid’s hair and whispered,
“This is the imperial palace, isn’t it?”
“Yes, yes.”
“And I am the master of this palace.”
“Yes.”
“So how dare you call me ‘miss’?!”
“Ah!!”
Suddenly yanking the maid’s hair back with brutal force, Diane made her scream. With her neck bent back, the maid began to beg in terror.
“I’ll never make that mistake again. Please forgive me.”
After staring at her tearful pleas for a moment, Diane shook her hand free and straightened up. The maid collapsed from the recoil.
“There must be order between those above and below. I am the master of this Ivory Palace. So you will call me ‘Palace Lord.’ Do you understand? It means the owner of this palace.”
“Yes—yes, Palace Lord.”
“Haaah…”
Diane let out a long breath and shook her head.
“It’s exhausting, being surrounded by such incompetent children.”
As she headed toward her bedroom, looking weary, Lorraine hurried after her and whispered,
“Shall I have a physician on standby?”
“Yes. Do so. I’ve never once awakened.”
“Of course, Palace Lord.”
With a faint smirk, Diane lay down on her bed. Having gone nearly a full week without proper food, her entire body felt limp, as if soaked through with water.
Still, it had been worth drying herself out so thoroughly. By tomorrow, the empress’s honor would be trampled into the dirt—and then she would know. She would know who truly owned this vast imperial palace.
＊ ＊ ＊
Alone in her room, Adel shut herself in and began to think, piling thought upon thought.
How many people here could she trust?
“Even the maids of the Empress’s Palace aren’t trustworthy.”
On the very first day of her marriage, the empress had declared she would meet no one—yet the maids showed not even a flicker of surprise. Instead, they were far too busy watching her expression, as though they already knew the emperor would not come.
Gottrof and Ehmondt had not interacted for a long time. The reason was simple: a deep, violent sea lay between the two nations. There was no need to cross the ocean to covet each other’s lands, so neither country went beyond merely acknowledging the other’s existence. Gottrof had planted countless spies in neighboring nations to watch their movements, but not a single one in Ehmondt. Ehmondt, no doubt, had done the same.
Because of that, the one at a disadvantage now was Adel—herself. She had no information in hand. Slowly, she inhaled and exhaled. Thinking of the emperor, now officially her husband, made her chest feel tight, as though a stone had been placed upon it.
After burying her face in her palms for a long while, Adel lay back on the massive, soft bed and forced herself to cool her thoughts.
“First, I need to find out why Karl Ulrich chose a princess of Gottrof as his empress.”
“Do not desire too much.”
At the sudden voice that surfaced in her mind, Adel clenched her fists and ground her teeth.
“There’s a limit to how much humiliation one should endure.”
