Prologue

Bored.

Rudbeckia, with a doll-like face, lay there truly like a doll. It has already been 3 years and 5 months since her whole body became stiff, and 3 years and half a year since she became the Empress.

‘Who will come first today?’

Unable to open her eyes, she consciously thought. And she recalled. Her father and brother, who visit at least once a week. Irene, a friend and her husband’s half-sister, who comes by every other day without getting married, chattering away. And her husband, Benedict, who comes by every day, saying three words, five at most. Benedict, who had to attend to state affairs during the day, mostly visited her at night. But it seemed he found time today.

She recognized his presence five steps before he entered her room. His footsteps, his presence, it was just a feeling that it was Benedict.

“Empress.”

Rudbeckia found the title of Empress, as called by him, awkward. It wasn’t surprising, as he only called her Empress when visiting during the day.

“The weather is clear today.”

It seems so. I can’t hear the wind, and the birds are chirping happily. While listening to his low, calm voice, she thought of the answer she couldn’t convey. When he visited during the day, his words always stopped at three, so now all that was left for Benedict was to look at her and say his final goodbye. But today was different.

He, who sat beside the Empress’s bed for a long time as usual, spoke words other than a greeting.

“Today, I particularly wanted to see you.”

The man, who only spoke informally at night, expressed personal feelings in broad daylight. Rudbeckia couldn’t move even an eyelid, but she was very surprised by his behavior, which was out of the ordinary.

“You appeared in my dream.”

Both his continuous voice and the terms of endearment were equally surprising. Benedict’s voice was thicker and darker than usual, with less emotional restraint. She wanted to ask what kind of dream he had. The maid, as surprised as Rudbeckia, swallowed dryly and held her breath.

The Emperor’s affection for his one-month Empress was a famous story among the people of the Lorkan Empire, but in reality, when seeing the Emperor’s gaze and hearing his voice, no one would chatter lightly like they were gossiping in a marketplace.

“I caused unnecessary commotion. I’ll come again tomorrow.”

Benedict, who had been staring at his wife in silence for a long time, finally stood up. He placed her left hand on his right palm and pressed his lips to her pale hand. In the noble act, like praising something sacred, an undeniable tenderness was revealed. The unusually emotional farewell ended as his lips withdrew.

Benedict’s footsteps faded away. Rudbeckia roughly knew how much lingering affection was left in those steps. But today, she encountered Benedict’s particularly lingering affection. It momentarily unsettled Rudbeckia, but as if it never happened, she became calm again.

She had no lingering feelings. For nothing in the world, including Benedict. These days, she genuinely wanted to sleep forever. What do you mean these days, for the past year, she really wished for it earnestly. Of course, even now after Benedict had left, it was the same.

“His Grace, the Duke of Diaz, has arrived, Your Majesty.”

Father…

She weakly called out to her father, who visited her following Benedict, in her heart.

“Did His Majesty visit?”

“Yes, he visited a little while ago.”

“He came to you first after finishing the meeting. I was going to come with Aaron, but he seemed busy, so I came alone.”

Father, please let me sleep.

She repeated the words like a spell that would break the Duke if he heard them.

“Today is a good day for training. Ah, that’s not right. It’s the kind of weather that reminds me of the days we took walks in the estate. Listen to my story and try to guess the day I’m thinking of. You were seven years old then…”

I really want this to stop and just die.