Episode 44
Three days passed.
The emperor went back to his usual cold, uninterested self—either working in his office, swinging his sword in the garden, or eating with a face that clearly didn’t want to be there. And no matter how big he was, he never actually finished a meal.
“Madam,” the chief attendant, Miller, whispered to Emma as he led her into an empty sitting room and closed the door.
“What is it, Lord Miller?” Emma asked calmly, as if nothing was wrong.
“Please, don’t trouble me as well. Just serving His Majesty is already suffocating.”
Emma smiled at his blunt words.
“You’re the most experienced chief attendant in the palace. What are you saying? His Majesty has always been like this.”
“Yes, but… you know it’s been different this time. He used to dine at the empress’s quarters all the time, and he stayed there longer than ever.”
That had been the change everyone welcomed. While he was in a good mood, the palace atmosphere had been much lighter.
“But ever since he stopped going there… it’s suffocating in a whole new way.”
Normally, Kaien had no interest in palace affairs. Serving him was always tense work, but Miller was used to it. These past three days, though, everything was different.
“Even Sir Glenn said this morning that he can’t stand it anymore.”
Lately, Kaien would just stare blankly into space, sigh, swing his sword furiously at nothing, then at mealtimes just sit there and poke at his food before stopping. The air around him was so heavy that everyone felt like they were walking on thin ice.
“Madam, can’t you help? At this rate, the whole staff will suffocate to death.”
“My part is done. The rest is up to the two of them.”
“I know, but…”
“It’s not for us to worry about. Instead, we should prepare for winter properly. Seasons change faster than people think.”
Emma wasn’t in a hurry—especially after seeing his robe all dirty from three nights ago and hearing the next morning that the tree at the empress’s quarters had a broken branch. That had left her feeling oddly at peace.
“Besides, three days isn’t a long time for us.”
Her wise eyes met Miller’s with a smile.
“If you say so, Madam, I suppose it’ll be fine.”
They had both spent most of their lives in the palace, running it together while waiting for the often-absent emperor to return. So Miller could guess what Emma meant—this tense atmosphere would end soon.
“Actually, I do have a small request, if I may.”
“Of course.”
Emma smiled pleasantly.
The empress’s quarters were still peaceful, but the mood had changed. Dinners were stopped, and Alicia now ate light meals alone in the small sitting room—sometimes skipping them entirely, which worried Agnes.
“There, I finished. Happy?” Alicia said, pointing at her empty plate. Agnes smiled, and the younger maids took the dishes away, leaving tea for two.
“I wrote down everything you asked for in this notebook. I also noted the sources—it’s all from official books.”
Alicia nodded, flipped through it, and scanned a few lines.
“Pretty much what I expected. Date-wise, that means…”
“Sunday,” Agnes answered.
Alicia bit her lip without realizing it.
“Today.”
“Yes.”
These past three days, Alicia had been busy sorting out her thoughts. Since the tree branch was broken, Kaien hadn’t come back, which gave her time to research the official standing of their marriage.
“Today…”
Still, it felt unreal that their marriage was only valid until the end of the day.
“So after today, it’s completely void?”
In her past life, she’d never even thought about it. And even if she had known then, she probably wouldn’t have bothered asking—having another annoying wedding would’ve been worse.
“If someone raises the issue after today, the legitimacy of the marriage will have to be reconsidered.”
Customs were strange like that—nothing happened until someone made it an issue. In her past life, Alicia had died as empress without a doubt, but now… the future wasn’t so clear.
“Do you think His Majesty knows? No, he must.”
She already knew Kaien had called for the Minister of Rites—Emma had hinted at it through Agnes the day after clearing up their misunderstanding.
“To keep the marriage valid, we’d have to… complete the final step today, right?”
Agnes gave her a slightly awkward smile.
Ever since Alicia had told her who broke the branch, Agnes couldn’t make sense of the situation either.
“And yet he gave me the final say on everything,” Alicia muttered. That felt a bit unfair—choices came with responsibility, and deciding on both the wedding night and whether to keep the marriage valid, before they’d even really gotten to know each other, was a lot to ask.
“It’s already three o’clock,” she added.
There’d been no word from Kaien.
“And he hasn’t called for His Holiness, either.”
According to the laws Agnes had found, the priest who officiated the wedding—His Holiness in their case—had to offer a blessing before the wedding night and announce the union the next morning for it to be valid.
But since there was no sign of the Pope’s arrival by mid-afternoon, Kaien’s intentions seemed obvious.
“Even if it’s been a year, nothing will change immediately,” Agnes said gently when Alicia’s expression dimmed.
“I know, but still…”
In her last life, she’d been empress for ten unquestioned years before dying quietly. And their marriage had been a grand national wedding—just passing the date wouldn’t spark immediate scandal.
“I just… don’t understand what he’s thinking.”
After telling her she had full control over the marriage, Kaien had done nothing. Not that she resented him for it—he had admitted his ignorance and come to clear the air.
“Why not just ask him?” Agnes suggested softly.
“Me?”
“I think His Majesty is waiting for you.”
What Alicia needed now wasn’t more law talk—it was a gentle push.
“Maybe he just got busy with work and forgot,” she said, though the words felt hollow.
“No, I’m sure he’s waiting. The emperor wouldn’t go back on his word.”
The night he’d snapped a sturdy branch in the wind just to reach her window—that wasn’t something done without sincerity. Alicia’s eyes drifted to that broken branch again. If they wanted to talk, all it would take was one word from her. Yet here she was, staring at the branch for the third day in a row.
“I…” she began, but a knock at the door interrupted.
“Come in.”
Howard, the chief attendant, entered with several servants in tow, all bowing deeply.
“Urgent message for Her Majesty.”
“What is it?” Agnes asked for her.
Howard smiled faintly and gestured. A young servant stepped forward, holding a large basket, and set it on the table.
“…What is this?” Alicia stared.
“From His Majesty,” Howard said.
Indeed, there was an envelope with the imperial seal in the middle of the basket.
“I can see that. I meant—” She glanced at Agnes for answers, but Agnes looked just as lost.
Because the basket, the kind you’d expect to hold flowers, was… full of pinecones.
“Is there some imperial meaning to pinecones I don’t know about?” she asked Howard.
He just smiled awkwardly.
“Look—there are acorns too. Cute,” Agnes added, trying to keep it light.
But everyone just stared at the enormous basket of pinecones.
To Alicia, with apologies and gratitude for the past year.
It was clearly Kaien’s handwriting, but there was nothing to explain the pinecones. Alicia sighed at his signature.
“I still… don’t get him.”
If there was one thing that hadn’t changed between this life and the last, it was that Kaien’s thoughts were impossible to read.
Two hours earlier, before the basket arrived, Kaien had been pacing all morning before finally asking for Emma.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” Miller said. “She’s out on personal business.”
“What?”
“She went to the chapel to pray.”
“Suddenly? Even leaving her post?”
It was unusual enough that Kaien frowned. There were other senior maids in his quarters, but it was inconvenient that Emma wasn’t there now.
“She’s devout. She said she was praying for her late parents and for her niece, who’s about to give birth.”
Kaien, who dutifully visited every year to honor his late mother, couldn’t argue with that.
“If you wish, I can have her brought here immediately.”
“No. Don’t disturb her. Call Glenn instead.”
And so, with Glenn—and a certain idea—the path to a giant basket of pinecones began.
