The Empress Tames the Tyrant - Chapter 21

Alicia opened her notebook. She liked the simple beige leather, something she had asked the Head Chamberlain Howard for not long ago.

“Today’s menu is ‘Chi-Maek’, no, fried chicken and stout. I wonder if the satisfaction level will be over 90 points.”

She never thought her experiences from her previous life in the modern world would be so helpful. At least, not in this way.

“Well, there was no room for that back then.”

When Alicia first became Alicia, she was afraid of everything. Just adapting to the unfamiliar environment was overwhelming, and every time she saw the Emperor’s murderous face, she couldn’t help but feel intimidated.

At the time, she believed Lucan was the only one she could rely on, so whenever she barely managed to have an audience with the Emperor, she thought it was best to convey the teachings of the Great Sage. How foolish of her.

“The only good thing was that His Majesty had no interest in me.”

The Emperor didn’t even consummate their marriage, the basic requirement of a wedding, and after vaguely granting Alicia a few audiences, he stopped seeing her altogether. He always spent his time in Rubeo and only returned for his mother’s memorial service before disappearing again.

“What changed?”

Alicia married the Emperor at 19 and died young at 29. It was a lonely death.

“Well, I didn’t know it would turn out like this again either.”

Death was not the end. When she opened her eyes again, finding light after a desolate death, she had become the 20-year-old Alicia.

Of course, she started the change herself. Ignoring Lucan’s hypocritical teachings, which were of no use, she tried to live a peaceful life in her own way. But it was precisely that which caught Cayenne’s attention.

“Is a foolish Empress better than listening to the Great Sage’s pretentious words?”

Alicia could understand why. When she first became Alicia, after learning basic etiquette and manners, the first thing she learned was Lucan’s pompous teachings.

Those long, hypocritical, and arrogant teachings were, in retrospect, the epitome of a cult.

In the past, the reason why she had almost no contact with the Emperor, and the reason why he distanced himself from the Empress, was probably due to Lucan’s teachings.

“But…”

Alicia spun the innocent pen around and sighed.

“When is he going back to Rubeo, anyway?”

Based on her memories from her past life, Cayenne loved Rubeo more than this Imperial Palace and considered it his home and where he rightfully belonged. Even if Alicia didn’t convey Lucan’s words and incur his unnecessary anger, it was strange that he wasn’t returning to Rubeo.

“It’s already November.”

Cayenne came to commemorate his mother in early spring. Even then, he didn’t stay long and left, but the situation unfolding differently from the past made Alicia’s head spin.

“If I had to find a reason, even just a little one, it would be the Empress’s special meals.”

She knew it was nonsense, but for now, there was no other reason. It was ridiculous that Cayenne, the master of the Empire, would change his existing behavior because of the Empress’s food, but she couldn’t think of any other reason.

But, is that really all there is to it?

Even though it was a fleeting moment, Cayenne’s gentle gaze and the masculine aura he exuded were vivid.

“No.”

Alicia quickly denied her thoughts.

“No. It shouldn’t be.”

She sincerely wanted to live her life as she pleased in this life.

“It won’t be. …No. Absolutely not!”

Thud, Alicia closed her notebook.

She wished she could close her thoughts and heart like that, but she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.

❖ ❖ ❖

Cayenne rarely wore formal attire. As the skilled Head Chamberlain finished buttoning the formal attire that fit his body perfectly and stepped back, a handsome man was reflected in the mirror.

“My neck feels constricted.”

Cayenne, full of dissatisfaction, glared at himself in the mirror.

“This is a new formal attire made to His Majesty’s measurements.”

Emma replied softly, bowing her head.

The black formal attire, which only the Emperor of the Empire could wear, had splendid tassels on the shoulders and was filled with decorations as heavy as the territory he ruled on the chest. It was the first time he had worn formal attire since his wedding. He usually wore casual clothes in Rubeo, so even if the measurements were perfect, it was bound to feel uncomfortable.

“Even if it’s the Grand Council, I’m just seeing the same nobles in the same audience chamber anyway, is there really a need to wear formal attire?”

“I am afraid that it is the Imperial Family’s etiquette to wear formal attire at the Grand Council.”

Chamberlain Miller replied politely. The history of the Empire was endlessly long, and there were countless rules created by Cayenne’s ancestor, the Darius Imperial Family. Since they were rules made by his own ancestors, even Cayenne couldn’t do anything about it.

“You may depart for the audience chamber in exactly 15 minutes.”

At Miller’s words, Cayenne nodded roughly. The schedule of the Imperial Palace always tightened his neck like the formal attire he was wearing now.

“Your Majesty, there are some cookies left over from the Empress’s Palace, would you like me to bring some tea?”

“That would be nice.”

Seeing Cayenne’s expression soften in an instant, Miller was inwardly impressed by Emma’s skills. Unlike the Head Chamberlain’s precise work ethic, the old woman’s soft touch was excellent.

No one knew that the sweet taste of the Empress’s handmade cookies had greatly improved the Emperor’s mood.

❖ ❖ ❖

Alicia was looking at a large tree in the garden when Agnes quickly laid a handkerchief on the marble chair as she was about to sit down. Seeing that, Alicia couldn’t help but find it unbelievable that Cayenne had done the same thing not long ago.

“Shall I bring you some tea?”

Agnes said, draping a neatly woven cashmere shawl over her shoulders.

“No, I don’t plan to sit here for long.”

“Yes. The autumn breeze is quite chilly.”

“It’s okay for now.”

In the past, Alicia spent most of her lonely and desolate life looking at this garden. The Empress of the Imperial Palace, where the Emperor had left, was the most idle being in the world. Only the silent plants and flowers bloomed and withered, seeming to comfort Alicia’s similar situation.

“Agnes. Do you remember His Majesty taking tea here?”

Was it a dream? It still didn’t seem real that Cayenne had personally laid a handkerchief and sat across from her in this place, the center of Alicia’s loneliness, and drank tea.

“Of course, I do. It was a very pleasant sight.”

So, it wasn’t a dream after all. Then, Cayenne’s harmless gaze and the fleeting smile must have been real too.

“When was the last time I saw His Majesty before I got sick? Before I lost my fever and my memories became confused.”

“That’s…”

Agnes wore a subtle smile as if she was in trouble.

“You had dinner together a couple of times after the wedding. You also had a brief audience three or four times.”

“Briefly? How long?”

As if this was also a difficult question, Agnes was reluctant to open her mouth.

“About 5 minutes?”

“Probably, yes.”

In fact, the Emperor had never properly met Alicia. Even when he nominally granted her an audience, he was always looking at documents for official business or doing other things, paying her no attention.

“I am afraid that His Majesty was very busy with matters of the Rubeo territory after the wedding.”

“I know that. But it’s also true that His Majesty disliked me.”

“That’s.”

“I know everything.”

Naturally, Agnes, who had watched all of this, felt sorry, but there was nothing she could do. No, no one could dare to question the Emperor’s attitude.

“Recently, His Majesty has changed.”

That was the truth.

“But I don’t know if that’s a good thing for me.”

A person’s innate nature rarely changed. Alicia couldn’t even control her own life, so could she really move Cayenne? She was worried that she was being too arrogant, thinking that Cayenne was just showing a little interest out of a fresh feeling.

“How can you say such a thing?”

Agnes knew better than anyone that Alicia had changed a lot since she had a high fever. She had also seen Alicia working hard for Cayenne. She looked more vibrant than ever.

“My wish is to escape this stuffy Imperial Palace and live freely, right?”

At the end of Alicia’s gaze, cosmos flowers were swaying in the wind. It wasn’t just the flowers that were swaying.

“To do that, I need His Majesty’s approval, and to get that, I need to win His Majesty’s favor, and …”

Alicia, who was muttering quickly, couldn’t finish her sentence. It wasn’t just Cayenne’s attitude that had changed rapidly recently. Alicia also thought of him. Every day, even in moments without him, or even in her dreams.

“Your Majesty the Empress is only twenty years old now. There is plenty of time.”

Even with Agnes’s soft voice, Alicia shook her head weakly.

“But opportunities are not unlimited.”

She was his Empress in her past life as well, but a few years after the wedding, she became someone who couldn’t even request a meeting. Of course, Cayenne’s attitude changed as Alicia denied Lucan’s teachings, but his home was still Rubeo, not this Imperial Palace.

“I’m afraid of him.”

It was a complex emotion. She was actually afraid of Cayenne, but at the same time, his black eyes wouldn’t leave her mind. His faint smile, which she had never seen in her previous life, tickled Alicia’s heart with a very unfamiliar feeling. It was her undeniable heart, her current emotion.

“He’s the one who holds my life in his hands so easily.”

How long would Cayenne’s interest in the Empress’s Palace last? Even if he continued to respect the Empress and her life improved, she couldn’t know for how long.

“Your Majesty the Empress does not need to try to win His Majesty the Emperor’s favor. You are already husband and wife.”

Agnes’s true meaning was that the Empress was as noble as the Emperor, but to Alicia now, those words sounded completely different.

“Yes, that’s right.”

The light returned to her eyes as she looked at the cosmos flowers.

“I don’t need to beg for favor.”

Now was not the time to have her heart waver or to fear a vague future. Even in the worst case, wouldn’t she just die lonely like in her past life? On the contrary, now was the best time in Alicia’s life. At least, she had a chance to change something.

Even if that was the Emperor’s heart.