The Abandoned Empress
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chapter-262
When I arrived at the booths dedicated to the imperial family with my father, I heard the protocol officer announcing the arrival of the emperor. Shortly afterwards, the young man with blue hair appeared, escorted by the royal knights.
“Loyalty to the Lion. We’re honored to see Your Majesty, the Sun of the Empire!”
“Glory to the Empire! Please sit down. ”
After telling the nobles to sit down, who were bowing to him all at once, he headed to the booth. I made eye contact with my father, then walked after the emperor.
A familiar woman stood inside the blue curtain embroidered with the crest of the imperial family. After greeting the emperor with a smile, she turned to me coldly and said with a sullen expression, “Oh, hi, Lady Monique.”“Hi, Lady Jena.”
At the political meeting a few days ago, the noble faction formally raised an issue with the situation where the emperor didn’t solve the matter of choosing the empress. They complained that the emperor didn’t formally announce me as the empress despite the late emperor’s promise while he was alive, the decision by the noble council and all the participants’ unanimous support of me as the empress at the political meeting.
The emperor remained silent despite their pressure to officially record the breakup of his engagement with me and choose a new empress or make me his concubine. Instead, he decided to accept the opinions presented by the noble council chaired by Duke Jena. In other words, he delayed the decision, but he agreed to decide on the empress within this year.
As a result, they decided that I and Jiun would serve the emperor on an equal footing at this year’s National Founding Day festival, unlike the original plan. That’s why Jiun and I were in the imperial booth today.
As soon as she finished greeting me, Jiun spoke to the emperor immediately. After greeting her with a nod, I slowly walked to my seat. Then, after carefully holding the hem of my skirt, I sat down on his left, the seat assigned to me. It was the same seat I sat in when I watched a play with the late emperor one day.
After a while, the curtain went up and actors began to appear on stage one by one. While I was watching the play celebrating the emperor’s achievements since his crown prince days and after he succeeded the throne, I suddenly heard a delightful laugh from the side. Jiun, who suddenly got close to him, was laughing noisily.
“So, what happened after that, Your Majesty? Didn’t you punish them?”“Hmm, what would you do in that situation?”
“Of course, you have to catch and punish everybody. They dared to challenge the dignity of the empire, right? ”
“… Yes, that’s right.”
What?
I raised my eyebrows at her attitude that showed no mercy. As I glanced around, he slowly nodded and stared silently at the front, as if he was no longer interested, but her black eyes were glowing with elation.
Somehow, I felt displeased, so I turned my head, ignoring her, who was smiling at him.
Although I tried to fix my eyes on the actors on the stage, it was not easy for me to focus on the play no matter how hard I tried. I was bothered by her repeated speaking to him and his occasional response.
I twisted the hem of my skirt that I was holding tightly as if to tear it right away. I felt anger surging from my heart and my breathing began to be rough little by little unconsciously.
‘I really can’t see her flirting with him anymore.”
When I looked at my side, biting my quivering lips, I suddenly heard people uttering exclamations here and there. Despite that, I felt as if I was thrown with cold water on me.
What did I try to do a moment ago?
When I quickly looked at the stage, I saw two actresses in silver and black wigs on the stage.
‘Come to your senses! I should be really focused if I don’t want to be blamed.’
I quickly relaxed my hardened look and looked at the actors. Originally, I was described as the emperor’s precious wife offered by God as the child of His prophecy, but the contents of the play was changed in this year’s performance to have Jiun also appear as the child of God’s prophecy because of the noble faction’s appeal.
“God has offered the emperor his spouse because he values the only Sun of the empire so much, may the child of God’s prophecy be blessed!”
It was the same dialogue with different content.
Another ‘child of God’s prophecy’ who suddenly appeared and the agony of the Sun.
When I turned my head as I felt uncomfortable, he looked very displeased, watching the stage with his hands folded. His unique expression, which he showed when he was displeased with something, was the same as the smile he made when he was watching the court play with me one day.
I suddenly became curious. At that time, he was displeased because I appeared as his wife. If so, why did he feel displeased now? Was he displeased because Jiun appeared as the child of god’s prophecy under the pressure of the noble faction? Or was he displeased with the fact that I again appeared as his wife despite my merciless rejection of him?
I took a deep breath because I felt bad somehow at that moment. When I turned my eyes again at the stage, calming my troubled heart, the chandelier illuminating the ceiling turned off all at once, and the surroundings turned dark.
“Your Majesty, what happened?”
“Hmm. I don’t know. Let me see what they will do.”
His distinctively cold voice sounded very calm, in contrast to Jiun’s trembling voice.
People began to whisper at the unexpected situation, and the royal knights came running to the booth, just in case of the contingencies.
I blinked my eyes to get used to the darkness and slowly reflected on the situation. Given that there was no sharp dropping sound, it seemed that the chandelier had not fallen like it did when I came here with the late emperor. Was it an accident? Or did they want to create a dramatic effect?
“The world was surrounded by darkness since the moon didn’t rise when it had to.”
At that moment, there was a solemn voice in the air, then the actors appeared on both sides of the stage one by one, with candles in their hands. When the stage brightened again at the procession of candles, a man who held something shining on the cushion appeared.
“Please forgive us, Your Majesty, and distinguished guests.”
The man with a smile on his face was familiar to me. The man showed his due manners, then knelt on one knee and said to the audience watching the stage silently, “Master of the glorious empire and the only Sun of the empire, may I ask you a favor?”
“Go ahead.”
“There is one sun and one noble moon in the sky. I would like to show my small sincerity to your only wife and precious moon. Please grant my request!”
The spectators turned their attention to the cushion the man was holding. It was a tiara made of platinum and diamonds placed on the cushion. It was clear from the height and size of the tiara that only the empress could use it.
“…”
When the young man who confirmed the identity of his “small sincerity” was silent, the audience now took their eyes away from the tiara shining brightly to the royal booth gradually.
‘Does the actor want the emperor to make the choice now?’
Was this also made up by the noble faction in advance? Or was it plotted by the pro-emperor faction to check the noble faction that was pressing the emperor hard?
I got cold feet as the emperor next to me was still cold and indifferent. But I tried hard to stay calm by hiding my trembling hands under the hem. I didn’t have to show to everyone that I was extremely nervous and uncomfortable.
“… I grant your request.”
“Who will I give this tiara to, Your Majesty?”
Only
“Give it to me. Let me give it to her on the day when the moon rises next to the sun fully.”
The man who paused momentarily bowed politely to him.
“Your Majesty, I’m going to take it as the greatest honor of my family for generations. May the eternal glory be with you, the great emperor, and your precious moon of the future!”
“Thank you.”
When the young man, who pulled his lips up a bit and raised his right hand, the suspended play resumed. I looked at the emperor who was back as the same man without expression. Although he tried to look calm, his subdued eyes were glowing coldly.
I could feel he was upset at the moment.
Who was he angry at? The noble faction or the pro-emperor faction? Or me?
I suddenly felt scared.
