TMRM 09

Chapter 9

Anel lowered her eyes. She knew almost nothing about Johannes Denegher.
That made it all the more difficult to guess what he was thinking.
Was she a lover he’d taken while still a duke’s son? Or simply a noblewoman convenient for strengthening imperial power?
Either explanation seemed plausible.

“Has His Majesty said anything about his choice for empress?”
“No, Your Grace. Not a word.”

When Johannes had still been a young duke, he was notorious for scandal.
Especially for his entanglements with women — his reputation in that regard was far from clean.
Even if one of those rumored women were named as empress, Anel would not have been surprised.
She recalled the names she’d seen printed in gossip columns —
Among the women listed beside Johannes’s name were some of very noble birth indeed.
And if she were to pick the one who had stood out the most—

It would have to be Lady Rose Kenneth.

Rose Kenneth.
The second daughter of Count Kenneth — famous not only for her family name, but for her beauty.

“If I could pluck Kenneth’s white rose, I’d give up my entire fortune!”

That ridiculous boast from Bachman Carlos, one of the Empire’s most prominent merchants, had made her even more famous.
Her beauty was one thing, but it was her air of delicate, untouchable purity that earned her the nickname “the White Rose of Kenneth.”
She was the kind of woman every young nobleman had once nursed a hopeless longing for —
and there were even stories of knights surrounding her family estate, pledging themselves to her.

So when news of her scandal with Johannes broke, the reaction was explosive.
Worse still, the rumor claimed Rose had been the one to pursue Johannes —
and that only fueled the fire.

So even the White Rose couldn’t resist the duke’s son’s hand!

After that, the praises that had surrounded Rose vanished as if they had never been.
Her marriage prospects reportedly fell drastically.
Anel had found people’s hypocrisy and double standards so nauseating that she’d avoided society gatherings for a time.

Compared to marrying someone so pitiful, she might well welcome a proposal to be empress…

But that, too, was not something she could decide.

“Has His Majesty given no other message?”
“None, Your Grace. That was all.”

That meant, of course — come and ask him yourself.

Anel turned her gaze toward the window.
Directly opposite the Empress’s Palace stood the Emperor’s — the Potentia Palace.
He was there.

“I will request an audience with His Majesty.”

The request was approved swiftly.
Anel stepped into the Emperor’s office feeling like a prisoner led to her sentencing.
Most noblewomen would go their whole lives without ever setting foot in that room.
For her, this was the third time.

It had changed.
Where once the study had been gilded in gold, now everything was dressed in black.
Dark, somber, oppressive — as if meant to cow whoever entered.
Yet even in that darkness, one person shone unmistakably.

“I greet the sun of the Empire.”

The sun? — he was more shadow than light, really.
But she bowed her head and offered the formal greeting nonetheless.

“You came sooner than I expected.”

The shamelessness of that remark made her fingers tighten around her skirt.
You made it necessary.

“I thought it proper.”
“You’ve come to discuss the matter of the empress, I take it.”

A direct hit.
She neither confirmed nor denied it.
What angered her more was his arrogance — that he didn’t even bother to tell her to raise her head.

By imperial custom, no one could lift their head before the Emperor unless permitted.
Typically, after the greeting, the Emperor would say raise your head.
Unless, of course, the person before him was someone he meant to crush.

But Johannes, as though unaware of the custom, simply continued speaking.

“So tell me, which candidates do you intend to name, Your Majesty the Empress?”

Anel’s eyelashes quivered.
He was testing her.
Deciding whether to let her live — or not.
His low voice brushed her ear like a whisper of judgment.

Anel knew her position all too well.
Once, no one had dared to slight or harm her —
the only daughter of the grand duke’s house, second only to the imperial family itself.

But now? No longer.
Her father was exiled. Her house — ruined.
Perhaps one day they might be restored, but that depended solely on him.
On this man’s will.

Not that she longed for the family’s glory again.
Anel cared nothing for power or wealth.
If there was one thing she still wished to protect, it was—

Honor.

Whatever else happened, she did not want to bend that.
Even if it was foolish pride.
She might have lived her life as the grand duke’s marionette,
but she had never bowed her heart to anyone else.

Yet now — what could be more luxurious than honor?
Anel gave a bitter smile.
She no longer even wished to preserve it.
From the moment she became this man’s empress, her honor had been shattered and ground into the dust.

Now all she desired was—

Rest.

In any form — she just wanted rest.
She was sick of everything.
She wanted to escape the reality she’d been given.
She knew she couldn’t — and yet, she yearned for it all the same.

And she knew there was no rest to be found with this man.
If she wished to avoid greater pain, she had to play along.
So she had to pass this test.
Because an empress who failed the Emperor’s test would not be left alive for long.

“I don’t have all day, Empress.”

She couldn’t read his face — her head still bowed.
That made it harder.
After a moment’s thought, she spoke carefully.

“The first candidate: Lady Flora Rodian, daughter of the Marquess of Rodian.”

Flora Rodian.
The only daughter of the neutral Marquess Rodian, a key figure among the undecided nobles.
If the Emperor wished to strengthen his power, securing Rodian’s loyalty was crucial.
Failing even to nominate his daughter as a candidate would be tantamount to declaring him an enemy.

Besides… I’ve heard that lady herself has long desired the position.

It was the safest answer.
Anel waited in silence for Johannes’s response.

“And the second?”

Did that mean she’d passed?
She pushed the uncertainty down and answered.

“The second candidate is Lady Rose Kenneth, daughter of Count Kenneth.”

In truth, there were better candidates than Rose.
The Kenneth family was noble, yes — but politically irrelevant.
Still, Anel chose her for a reason:
Rose had once been entangled with Johannes.
For a brief moment, he had felt something for her.

“And the third—”

…Laughter?

Just as she began to speak, a low chuckle broke from him.
It startled her — she’d never heard him laugh before.
Was something she’d said amusing? She couldn’t imagine what.
Had she made a mistake?

“Interesting.”

The sound of a chair sliding echoed, and the Emperor’s shadow moved.
It grew larger, drawing closer.
When instinct told her to step back, his hand caught her arm.