Chapter 18
Lia was enjoying a light tea time with Kartian in a garden inside the imperial palace.
Bitter tea and sweet desserts were prepared together. After taking a bite of the sweet dessert, Lia’s expression slowly softened.
Lia had always liked sweet food.
Since coming here, she had not eaten dessert separately, so she had forgotten about it for a while. But eating it now made her feel alive again.
She had already been under nothing but stress since arriving here.
Nothing around her was friendly toward her. The only person who showed her any goodwill was Kartian, who was sitting in front of her.
Meanwhile, seeing the gentle smile settle on Lia’s face, Kartian stared at her blankly.
It was a smile he had never seen before.
Kartian had only ever seen Lia’s indifferent expression. Not once had her face carried such a clear smile.
And yet, just from taking a single bite of dessert, she was smiling like that.
It was a very small smile, barely hanging at the corner of her lips, but Kartian could see it clearly.
“What?”
Feeling satisfied from the sweet dessert for a moment, Lia soon noticed Kartian staring at her and frowned slightly as she asked.
“This is the first time I’ve seen Lia smile,” Kartian said, as if in admiration.
Lia already had outstanding looks, enough to be called a beauty who could topple nations. With a smile resting on her face, she was so beautiful it was hard to look away. Her face, which usually felt cold because of her sharp eyes, seemed warm for a brief moment.
“Oh. Is that so?”
Lia replied indifferently.
She had only smiled a little—she did not understand why he was reacting like that.
“Do you like this?”
Remembering how she had smiled after taking a bite, Kartian pointed at the dessert on the table.
“More accurately, I just like sweet things,” Lia answered.
She looked like someone who would prefer plain food over sweets, but Lia truly liked sweet things.
She always preferred sweet coffee. She almost always had chocolate or candy in her mouth. Her friends used to find that surprising.
“Then should I have more prepared?”
“No.”
The desserts already on the table were more than enough, so Lia refused.
“You don’t like it? Because I told them to prepare it?”
Kartian’s expression darkened.
“I mean this is already enough.”
“Isn’t it too little?”
Kartian asked, thinking it would not be enough to fill her stomach.
“It’s enough.”
Lia answered firmly. She understood that he wanted to do more for her, but eating too much was not good—especially sweet food.
“……Okay.”
At her firm answer, Kartian looked gloomy.
Seeing that, Lia clicked her tongue inwardly. Every time she said something, he became gloomy like this. Was he originally this sensitive?
But thinking about the original story, that did not seem to be the case.
“Did your work go well?”
“Huh?”
At Lia’s question, Kartian brightened instantly. She had spoken to him first. Usually, he had to start the conversation, and even then she only answered reluctantly.
He felt like he would never forget today. To others, it might be nothing special, but not to Kartian. Every moment with Lia was precious to him—so precious that even writing them all down would not be enough.
Kartian’s eyes sparkled.
At his reaction, Lia flinched slightly. She had asked without thinking much, yet he reacted like that.
“Yes. It went well,” Kartian said proudly, as if he were boasting.
Lia nodded calmly in response.
Seeing her reaction, Kartian became gloomy again, like someone who had shown off expecting praise but did not receive it.
After all, he had forced himself to finish work he did not want to do, just because she told him to work hard.
“What is it?”
Seeing Kartian brighten on his own and then quickly grow gloomy again, Lia frowned slightly and asked.
“It’s nothing,” Kartian said, awkwardly rubbing his head. He thought that if she praised him and patted his head, he would be really happy.
Touching the Emperor’s head was a great act of disrespect and a serious offense, but if it was Lia, it would be fine.
Not just fine—he would be extremely happy.
“It doesn’t look like ‘nothing,’ though?”
Lia had a guess, but she pretended not to know and asked.
“Just… you told me to work hard, Lia, so I really did…”
Seeing Kartian awkwardly trying to appeal why he worked hard, Lia looked at him in disbelief.
“You’re just doing what you’re supposed to do. Why would I praise you for that? Were you planning to become Emperor and just play around without working?”
Lia said indifferently.
“…….”
He could not deny it because she was right, but Kartian still looked dejected. His face was full of disappointment.
‘Wow.’
Was she the Emperor’s wife, or the Emperor’s mother?
It felt like she was raising a child.
Still, seeing him constantly watching her reactions and clearly hoping for praise, Lia sighed inwardly and placed her hand on Kartian’s head.
She did not stroke or pat him—it was just a brief touch before pulling her hand away.
But even that made Kartian smile brightly, as if he were overjoyed.
“You smile so easily,” Lia said.
His emotions really changed quickly.
He became gloomy, then smiled right away, then became gloomy again.
For Lia, whose emotions were not that dramatic, it felt fresh and strange.
“Should I not smile?”
Kartian carefully watched her expression, wondering if she disliked seeing him smile.
“If I tell you not to smile, will you really stop?”
“Yes. Because Lia told me not to,” he replied firmly, without even a moment of hesitation.
At that, Lia made a dumbfounded expression once again.
Was this really possible? Could one person be swayed by another like this?
It felt as though everything about him moved around her.
At least it was her—if he acted like this in front of another woman, he would have become the kind of king from history who ruined his country because he was blinded by love.
“It’s fine. Smiling is your choice,” Lia said.
‘It’s not unpleasant to look at, anyway.’
With his natural looks, when he smiled it suited him. It was not ugly at all.
“I wish Lia would smile more often,” Kartian muttered regretfully.
Lia pretended not to hear. She had no intention of smiling foolishly all the time. She also did not feel any need to smile often.
Then Lia’s gaze turned toward one spot.
She had felt a strange gaze for a while now—was it that woman?
She could not see clearly because of the distance, but she could see a woman beyond the window.
The woman was staring straight at Lia and Kartian. Even if she could not see the woman’s expression, it was obvious who she was.
‘It must be Freya.’
It was a truly ironic situation. It felt like the same scene had happened before, only with the people switched.
Although Lia herself had not experienced it, she had seen—through Lianna’s memories—Freya and the Emperor enjoying tea together in the garden.
Lianna had watched that scene with a wounded, empty expression.
Without meaning to, Lia was now recreating that moment.
After finishing their simple tea time, Kartian headed to the office to continue working, and Lia returned to her room.
But before she reached it, Lia ran into Freya.
“I greet Her Majesty the Empress, the flower of the Empire,” Freya said politely as she bowed.
“We meet again. You may stand up,” Lia said, recalling what had happened the last time she met Freya and the noble ladies.
At Lia’s words, Freya straightened her knees.
After watching her for a moment, Lia turned to leave, as she had nothing to say to Freya.
If Freya had not spoken first.
“You look very happy,” Freya said.
“Do I?”
Lia replied indifferently, as she had never thought her situation was good.
“Yes. So much that I’m almost jealous. His Majesty never showed me that side of himself.”
Freya spoke with a bitter smile, pretending to be envious. But Lia felt something prick at her nerves.
Wasn’t what she said basically this?
He never showed that side to me, but he shows it to you—how strange.
Hidden in those words was the implication that she once held the Emperor’s affection, while also putting herself forward and subtly belittling Lia.
At first glance, it might sound like simple jealousy, but Lia knew it was not.
“I know. I’m surprised too,” Lia said, deliberately ignoring the meaning behind Freya’s words.
“You must be happy.”
“About what?”
Though it sounded like pure envy, Lia did not feel it that way and asked sharply.
“The man you loved so much now loves Her Majesty instead.”
“I don’t know what you mean by that,” Lia replied.
Lia knew that Freya was aware that the original Lianna loved the Emperor. She also knew Freya had intentionally tried to act close to the Empress because of that.
Perhaps because her personality was twisted, but to Lia, even that seemed deliberate.
“I just thought that Her Majesty’s long-held wish had finally come true,” Freya said, forcing a smile.
“Unfortunately, I never had such a wish,” Lia replied.
“But you like His Majesty, don’t you?”
“Not anymore.”
Lia denied it firmly. The one who had such wishes, the one who loved the Emperor, was Lianna—not her.
“That’s cruel,” Freya said, biting her lip.
“I could understand it. Why Her Majesty acted the way she did before. But now that His Majesty has come to like you, you say you don’t like him? Is your love for His Majesty really that shallow?”
Freya spoke rather boldly.
“I never asked for your understanding, and I don’t think there’s any reason for you to speak about my actions like that. His Majesty already knows everything. So there’s nothing for you to step in and say.”
Wasn’t it ridiculous?
When Lianna loved the Emperor, Freya did not care at all about the Emperor’s attitude or the pain Lianna must have felt.
And now she was criticizing Lia for not loving him.
Love was not something that could be forced.
Hearing such words from Freya made it even more unacceptable. Especially since Lia did not feel any good intention behind Freya’s words.
“I didn’t want to say this, but sometimes you seem to go too far. A third party interfering in matters between the people involved feels rather overstepping.”
Just like when the Emperor collapsed last time.
Lia spoke coldly.
“If I offended you, I’m sorry. His Majesty’s sudden change confused me, and I spoke without thinking.”
Freya bowed her head, apologizing sincerely.
“It’s not about my feelings being hurt. You should consider that what you said itself could be rude. I don’t know your intention, but words can be taken in many ways. Shouldn’t you be more careful?”
Lia’s expression naturally grew colder. Every casually spoken word was filled with hidden thorns, making it impossible to take them kindly.
Not wanting someone’s affection did not mean you thought it was worthless.
By that logic, would rejecting a confession mean mocking someone’s love?
Of course not.
Lia had not intended to be this cold to Freya. Considering Freya’s situation, she could understand her sharp reaction. But at the same time, Lia could not help but doubt whether Freya had ever treated the Empress with good intentions before.
At Lia’s cold words, Freya bit her lip. Her tightly clenched hands trembled.
“I’m… sorry,” Freya said again, tears welling up in her eyes.
Seeing that, Lia looked baffled. In her memories, Lianna did not easily cry even in far worse situations.
Yet Freya was tearing up over just a few words. Lia did not think she had said anything that harsh.
She had only said what she believed was reasonable.
Lia looked at Freya for a moment, wondering what to do.
But she had nothing to say and nothing she wanted to do.
It felt like she was being made into the villain, so Lia coldly turned away and left.
As she walked away, she could hear the maids whispering. Their voices were low, but clear.
They said she had become arrogant because she received the Emperor’s favor, that she treated Freya badly without thinking about the kindness Freya had shown her.
That too was laughable.
Who were those maids to say such things?
If Lia was relying on the Emperor’s favor to act that way, then weren’t they also relying on their position to vent their resentment by looking down on her?
Lia carefully remembered the faces of the whispering maids. Even if she would not act cruelly like Lianna once had, she intended to make them pay for what they had done.
