**Episode 8**
—
After the honeymoon, the Emperor and Empress returned to the palace.
As soon as they got back, the Emperor went straight to his office to handle the piled-up work.
He said, “Even though I only rested for two days, there’s already too much to do.”
“The Emperor said that Her Majesty should just enjoy herself for now. You’ll also need some time to get used to life in the palace,” Grand Duke Ian politely told the Empress.
Arion was nervous that the High Priest might visit soon since their marriage had already been reported in the papers. But surprisingly, there was still no word.
Perhaps it was because the Holy Festival wasn’t over yet.
After leaving the High Priest’s temple, Arion realized there wasn’t much she personally needed to do in the palace. Everyone around her handled things for her.
She thought she’d have something to do after the honeymoon, so being told to “just rest and enjoy yourself” didn’t please her much.
For Arion, the most important thing was to quickly take her place in politics as Empress — to build her influence and destroy the temple’s power completely.
It would be a storm — a bloody one. Like toppling dominos.
But she knew she had to act naturally, think carefully, and only strike when the perfect plan was ready. Politics required patience.
“Tell me, what do people usually do when they rest these days?” Arion asked her maid, Joy.
“Hmm… Oh! There’s a play that’s really popular in the capital right now. Everyone’s desperate to get tickets!” Joy said excitedly.
“A play?”
Arion had never been to a theater before. She was curious about what kind of performance people enjoyed watching.
“It’s about a mean noble lady who falls in love with the Emperor. The story’s a bit overused now, but people say it’s still really fun.”
The play was already quite famous.
“And guess what? That noble lady is actually from the future — she got trapped inside a book she once read!”
“What? That’s impossible,” Doris said in disbelief.
Arion quietly laughed beside her.
“Well, it’s a play. Anything can happen in a play,” she said with a small smile.
Joy’s eyes sparkled with excitement. She couldn’t wait to see the play herself.
Thinking it would also be good for her maids to enjoy some time outside, Arion decided to go to the theater.
However, when the time came to actually leave, the maids hesitated. The Emperor had warned them to “stay alert and watch over the Empress carefully.”
But when the Emperor heard about it, he didn’t seem too worried.
“Hmm. Taking a short walk outside sounds fine. The Empress should see the city a bit,” Kairus said calmly.
Then he added, “How about we go together in the evening? I have work to finish right now.”
The maids’ faces changed immediately — they knew if they went in the evening, they wouldn’t make it to the play.
Arion noticed their disappointment right away.
“Your Majesty, the play only runs during the day. I wouldn’t dare disturb your work — we’ll just go now,” Arion said politely.
The officials around them all stared at her in shock.
The Empress could… say no to the Emperor?
“Then go,” Kairus said reluctantly.
But secretly, he thought to himself, *I actually want to see a play too.*
He had never been to a theater before either — not because he couldn’t, but simply because he’d never cared to. Yet, hearing that Arion was going made him want to go as well.
—
Since it wasn’t an official outing, the maids covered Arion’s face with a cape and dressed her like an ordinary noblewoman.
Her maids Joy and Doris went with her, and the former head of the Holy Knights — now her personal guard — Sir Allen, followed as their escort.
As usual, Allen didn’t walk right beside them. He protected the Empress from the shadows, moving unseen.
The group rode in one of the plain royal carriages — the kind without the imperial crest — to keep a low profile.
When they arrived at the theater, a huge crowd was waiting in line for the same show.
Arion was surprised to see so many people. The theater entrance was grander and more colorful than she had imagined.
A giant poster of the play hung above the doors — it showed the “evil noble lady” and the Emperor in a romantic pose. The man’s black hair and red eyes looked strangely similar to Emperor Kairus.
“Please wait here, Your Majesty. I’ll go buy some snacks!” Joy said and disappeared into the crowd.
Soon she returned with colorful fruit skewers.
“Oh, these must be the candied fruits that young ladies love these days!” Doris said.
Arion thought it was interesting — she’d never seen fruit served that way before.
She took a bite. The outer shell was hard and crunchy, but inside, sweet fruit juice burst out.
Meanwhile, Sir Allen was nowhere to be seen — but that didn’t mean he was idle. Hidden from view, he carefully observed the behavior of everyone nearby, ready for anything unexpected.
After a long wait, Arion and her group finally got their tickets.
Her maids suggested she rest at a nearby café until the show started, but Arion refused.
She was genuinely interested in watching the people around her. Seeing how citizens lived was strangely enjoyable.
When they finally entered the theater, Arion was amazed. Hundreds of people were packed into the hall. It was a little stuffy, but the stage setup was breathtaking — snow-covered mountains and a castle made it feel like real winter.
The play began, but it took a while before anyone appeared on stage.
People started whispering, and then — suddenly — a *monster* appeared.
Even though most people had never seen a real monster before, the creature looked so realistic that the audience gasped in awe.
Arion, who had actually seen monsters during battles, was impressed by the production quality.
Then the monster suddenly leapt toward the audience.
Arion was startled, but everyone else just cheered — they thought it was part of the act.
Then came the shock — the monster released poisonous gas. Within seconds, dozens of people collapsed.
Cheers turned into screams. It was chaos. The monster was real.
The crowd rushed to the exits, but the doorways were jammed with people trying to escape.
Arion raised her voice, calm but firm.
“Everyone, please stay calm! Leave in order! If you push, it’ll be more dangerous!”
Her commanding tone made some people hesitate, but at that very moment, the monster lunged toward her.
Before it could reach her, Sir Allen appeared like lightning and struck its weak point.
Even though the creature had attacked her, Arion’s voice remained steady.
“Anyone who’s hurt, come this way. I’ll heal you.”
While Allen finished off the monster, cutting it into pieces, one of its large tails flew off and hurtled toward an elderly woman nearby.
Without thinking, Arion threw herself over the woman, shielding her.
The monster’s tail grazed Arion’s shoulder — deep enough to draw blood.
That part of the monster’s body carried concentrated poison — even a touch could be deadly.
Thankfully, the old woman was unharmed. Arion, however, was bleeding badly.
Ignoring her own wound, she rushed to heal the fainted victims.
The maids were horrified — their Empress was hurt!
Everyone else was stunned too. The person who had suffered the worst injury was helping others.
As the crowd sobbed and panicked, Arion lifted her hand. Divine light glowed around her fingers as she sent healing energy to the unconscious people.
Her shoulder ached and her arm trembled, but her healing power remained strong.
Soon, everyone who had been poisoned began to wake up — perfectly fine.
The holy energy that flowed through her also healed her own wound.
Arion stayed until everyone was safe and helped them leave one by one.
The people, too shocked to realize who she was, simply thought a powerful saintess had saved them.
When the crowd was gone, her maids — pale with fear — called out to her.
They pointed ahead.
Standing there, watching the entire scene, was **Emperor Kairus.**
