Chapter 8
Alicia sat alone in her bedroom, staring into a hand mirror for a long time before setting it down.
“Come to think of it… in my past life, I never had such a high fever.”
Back then, she became bedridden about two years before her death.
Before that, she had never been seriously ill.
But this time, when she woke up after dying and returning, everyone said she had caught a cold, burned with fever for three days, and nearly died.
“Things are different from before… but my health wouldn’t have changed his decisions.”
The more she thought about it, the clearer it became—
She knew nothing about Kaiyen.
She had never had any power in the palace.
She barely managed the empress’s garden, let alone understood politics or the emperor’s position in council.
“The empress of an empire… knowing nothing beyond the flowers in her garden… how pathetic.”
She spoke bitterly to herself, then slowly blinked.
But wait—
Now she knew something no one else knew. She knew the future.
That was far more important than quietly dying like before.
“Rebellion… war…!”
After she fell ill in her past life, the empire began to fall apart.
The news of the rebellion spread everywhere—
even to a sick empress lying in bed, even to beggars in the streets.
The last thing she had heard about Kaiyen before she died was that he had gone to battle to crush the rebellion.
But before the war ended, she ran out of breath.
She never saw what became of the empire.
—Your Majesty, this is terrible. The empire is isolated, but the empress cannot flee in her condition…
—But Duke Nigel and Rukan have joined hands. You must escape the palace quickly!
Back then, she had been too weak to think clearly, but the memory was still sharp.
Duke Nigel—loyal to the late emperor, the most powerful noble—joining a rebellion?
Shocking.
But worse… that Rukan, who claimed to seek truth above all else, had joined too.
—Whether the rebels take the palace or the emperor returns alive… Her Majesty will not escape disaster.
The new leader they supported was a descendant of a fallen grand duke.
—How pitiful… Her Majesty will only be a sacrifice between Rukan and the empire!
Looking back, maybe death had been a mercy.
Rukan had abandoned her, and no matter how the war ended, her life would have ended in misery.
“So… it happened about eight years after I fell ill?”
She had never really thought about the empire’s collapse before—maybe because deep down she knew she wouldn’t live to see it.
But now?
Now that she knew what was coming, maybe she could change something.
“Even if I know the future, it’s useless if I have no power.”
Alicia blinked slowly—a habit she had since childhood when thinking deeply.
“I wonder… how much does His Majesty know?”
The Great Sage had always said she was weak and lacking.
But she was still Rukan’s blood, raised with the best education.
Both Rukan and the emperor underestimated her, but now her mind was clear.
“To get what you want, you have to know yourself… and your opponent.”
It was one of Rukan’s lessons she had hated.
But now… she admitted it wasn’t wrong.
It was exactly what she needed.
“If my life is fated to end in a lonely, useless death… then I have nothing left to fear.”
Death had been like every light in the world going out, a crushing darkness.
But Alicia had opened her eyes again and found light.
“Not Rukan. Not His Majesty.”
Her graceful face hardened with resolve.
Her pink lips spoke cold, sharp words:
“No one will step on me again.”
In her last life, she had grown up trapped in Rukan’s teachings, married to a man who never cared, and died without ever truly living.
“Hypocrites… all of Rukan.”
They claimed to seek only truth, yet they raised rebellion and burned with ambition.
Her life had meant nothing to them.
“And that man… the beast born of the Darius Empire.”
She muttered his future title without thinking.
Even now, five years after his coronation, people still whispered insults about the emperor.
But later… it would be far worse.
Yes.
In the future, Kaiyen would be called the Beast of the Empire—a man who shed his royal dignity, spilling blood on battlefields his whole life.
“No… I want gentle, kind animals to raise… not a beast like him.”
With that obvious conclusion, Alicia lay down on her bed and closed her eyes.
Even if the emperor’s sudden return and dinner invitation had been unexpected, she would have some time to think.
And to think clearly, she needed rest.
Meanwhile…
Kaiyen, unaware of Alicia’s thoughts, leaned against his window, enjoying the night breeze.
He was even whistling—something completely unlike him.
“Your Majesty, you seem very pleased tonight,” said Glen carefully.
He had served Kaiyen his whole life, but right now, Kaiyen seemed like a different person.
“Do I? Not really.”
Kaiyen’s words were cool, but the corner of his lips was lifted.
“You must have enjoyed your dinner with Her Majesty.”
“Of course not.”
Kaiyen had always complained about the empress from Rukan.
But now… why was he smiling and humming?
“…The food was good.”
Knowing his personality, that was high praise.
“It’s been a year since you last spoke alone with the empress. How was she?”
Kaiyen frowned slightly, but not with anger. He thought for a moment, then spoke.
“…She smells nice.”
Glen didn’t know how to respond.
“…Ah… yes…”
Kaiyen thought back to the moment Alicia had been so close to him.
“Yes. When she stood near me… she smelled very nice.”
He licked his lips without thinking, lost in memory.
It was a strange comment, but he had no better words.
Alicia’s scent had been gentle and sweet.
For a man like Kaiyen, who lived by sharpened senses on battlefields, that scent was even more striking.
“It wasn’t like those disgusting perfumes at the council.”
Kaiyen spoke again without being asked.
“It was soft… warm… almost like food.”
If Alicia heard that, she would be horrified.
But Glen just nodded quietly.
“You said the food was delicious, so maybe that’s the smell, sire.”
“Hmm… maybe.”
He had eaten well, and Alicia had seen him off politely.
But even now, his mouth watered at that sweet scent, stirring feelings he didn’t understand.
Neither he nor Glen knew that what he felt was simply a man’s instinctive pull toward a woman.
“Anyway, I’m glad she’s changed. She seems to have forgotten all of Rukan’s nonsense.”
“Is it true she changed after her fever?”
“Yes. Completely different.”
He remembered the timid girl at the wedding who couldn’t even meet his eyes, her voice trembling as she spoke her vows.
But now… Alicia looked him in the eyes, smiled, and even admitted she no longer understood Rukan’s words.
“She changed after that fever.”
Her purpose had been to remind him of Rukan’s truths and guide him.
That had been the whole reason for the marriage.
But after today, it was clear—she was no longer that woman.
“I’d love to see the Great Sage’s face when he hears about this.”
Rukan had sent Alicia to control the emperor.
And now she had forgotten everything—what a disaster for them.
“They used to nag me nonstop for staying unmarried, but now they can’t.”
Kaiyen’s lips curled in a satisfied smile.
For a moment, he looked less like an emperor and more like a handsome young man of twenty-five.
“Shall we stop watching the empress’s palace then?”
“No. Keep watching.”
The playful smile vanished, and the emperor’s authority returned.
“It’s better to be sure about everything.”
“Yes, sire.”
Alicia seemed honest, but who knew?
If she secretly contacted Rukan again, she might return to being that same puppet.
“I’ll take lunch at the empress’s palace tomorrow.”
Kaiyen’s comment surprised Glen.
“Forgive me, sire, but tomorrow afternoon you have lunch with Duke Nigel and the other nobles after council.”
Kaiyen frowned.
“Then ask the empress’s palace to prepare tomorrow’s lunch.”
Glen blinked in surprise.
How good was that meal that the emperor himself was making requests?
“And make sure there’s no disgusting perfume smell. Keep the table arrangements as usual.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I’ll send the steward to the empress’s palace at once.”
Kaiyen nodded and waved a hand, ending the day.
Silently, unseen, a great change was starting to flow through the imperial palace.
