Chapter 05
Camilla knew well how Enoch felt about this marriage.
Her marriage to the late emperor, Enoch’s father, had seemed to go smoothly at first, but once the Taira ducal house began wielding its power as the maternal relative faction, it had grown rapidly cold.
In the end, he had never let down his guard until the day he died, and Enoch, who had watched all of that, could not have been left with good feelings.
“An imperial marriage is not a private matter. It is an affair of the utmost importance to the empire.”
In truth, personal wishes had no weight in an imperial marriage. All that mattered was what benefit the union would bring.
“The next heir must also carry the blood of the Taira ducal house without fail.”
Alexa was not Duke Taira’s own child, but she was the daughter of the Blanc marquisate, a collateral branch of the Taira ducal house.
And since she had been formally adopted, if Alexa bore a child, the Taira ducal house’s power could be carried on.
“Tell her to come and pay her respects to me once her cold has passed.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Camilla gestured for him to withdraw, and the chamberlain bowed his head and left.
“Stella, what did you make of the young lady who is to become empress?”
Stella was the Empress Dowager’s head maid, and had been teaching Alexa palace etiquette since her arrival.
“She does not forget what she has been taught once, and she learns quickly.”
“And beyond that? Were there any other notable qualities?”
“She seemed obedient to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager.”
At those words, the Empress Dowager exhaled a long breath of smoke.
“That is only to be expected.”
“Yes. She did not ask many questions, and she seemed a quiet and composed person.”
“That is a relief, at least.”
Enoch had been reluctant about this imperial marriage from the start. If his partner were talkative or frivolous on top of that, the situation would become serious.
“Above all, she seemed to understand well how important this imperial marriage is.”
“That would be the result of a proper education from the Taira ducal house.”
Stella gave a nod at those words.
And so the imperial marriage drew steadily closer. The only ones who did not want it were the two people it concerned.
* * *
At last, the imperial marriage was held.
The ceremony took place in the palace chapel in a solemn atmosphere. Emperor Enoch wore black ceremonial robes, and Alexa stood before the archbishop in a white dress and veil.
“Do you, Enoch Dias, take Alexa Taira as your wife and swear to spend your life together with her?”
Enoch’s profile was cold.
“Yes, I swear.”
But he fulfilled his duty.
“Do you, Alexa Taira, take Enoch Dias as your husband and swear to spend your life together with him?”
“Yes… I swear.”
The archbishop raised both hands.
“I now declare, in the name of our god, the union of these two people. The groom may kiss the bride.”
Thump, thump. Alexa’s heart pounded. Enoch lifted her veil, then brought his cold lips to her forehead for just a brief moment before pulling away. Not her lips.
The pipe organ began to play loudly. All those invited to the imperial marriage poured out their blessings for the new imperial couple in unison.
A banquet was then held in the grand hall of the imperial palace to celebrate the marriage. In the meantime, Alexa made her way to the new empress’s quarters to change her clothes.
“Your Majesty the Empress, congratulations on your marriage.”
Everyone in the empress’s quarters had come out to wait for Alexa. Seeing them all curtsy, Alexa gestured for them to rise.
“There is still some time before the banquet, so please rest until then.”
After the tension she had been holding since dawn, those words were welcome.
In the elegantly furnished bedchamber, with the help of the young maids, Alexa changed out of her ceremonial dress and was able to lie down on the bed for a short while.
“Haah…”
She could not even recall how the imperial marriage ceremony had gone. But she could still feel the sensation of those cold lips on her forehead.
“Your Majesty, it looks like you will have about an hour to rest.”
Matilda kneaded various parts of Alexa’s body as she spoke.
“After that, you will change into your banquet dress, receive guests at the hall, and may take your leave around ten o’clock.”
It was all something Stella had taught her in advance, but now that the day had actually come, her head was in a complete fog.
“After that, His Majesty the Emperor will remain in the banquet hall until midnight, then come to the empress’s quarters for the wedding night.”
No. That would not happen.
In the original story, Enoch had not left the banquet hall until the early hours of the morning, and when he had briefly stopped by the empress’s quarters, he had said something cold and never returned.
“It is all perfectly natural, so there is no need to be so nervous.”
Matilda seemed to have interpreted Alexa’s stiffened expression in a different direction.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
What would become of an empress whose wedding night never came to pass? She had flipped through the original story, but the details would not come back to her.
But she could imagine well enough how wretched and heartbreaking it would be. She almost felt sorry for everyone in the empress’s quarters who would be looking forward to the couple’s wedding night.
Even so, there was nothing Alexa could do.
Enoch despised Alexa’s very existence. More precisely, he despised the Taira ducal house for going so far as to take in an adopted daughter just to maintain their hold as the maternal relative faction. So his coldness, and the cold kiss from earlier, were only natural.
‘Why did I have to possess someone in a role like this…’
There was no point in regrets like that anymore. She had tried a few things right after the possession, but it had not broken. And of course, the broad course of the original story could not be changed either. Before she knew it, she had already come this far.
‘I’ll just live as though I’m invisible.’
That way, Enoch’s hatred would fade. Being hated by someone, and that someone being her own husband, was something difficult to endure.
Alexa did not want to be anything to Enoch. She would have been grateful even if he treated her the same way he treated the empress’s quarters or the empress’s crown.
‘And then, when the time is right, I’ll ask to be deposed.’
Even Alexa had no intention of living out her whole life like a plant. So she wanted to avoid provoking Enoch as much as possible, and then find some excuse to be deposed.
She had been empress once, however briefly, so she would have enough to live on for the rest of her life. For now, that was the best choice available to her.
‘The young lady named Claire definitely appears in the latter part of the story… so I just have to find a way to bring that meeting forward somehow.’
Alexa had no intention of waiting ten years until the ministers called for her deposition. She had only just turned a fresh twenty, after all.
It would be better for Enoch as well to have a clean, swift divorce so neither of them wasted any more of the other’s time, and then go their separate ways.
“Your Majesty, it is time to change into your banquet dress.”
The hour had passed in what felt like the blink of an eye.
Alexa lifted her heavy body, and Matilda and the young maids helped her into the banquet dress and touched up her makeup.
“You look truly beautiful.”
Both Matilda and the young maids wore excited expressions.
But Alexa herself felt nothing but a flat calm. Everyone assumed it was because she was too nervous, but the truth was that she knew all of this meant nothing.
* * *
The banquet proceeded without a hitch.
Enoch and Alexa sat side by side at the head table and received the long procession of well-wishers.
Today even the Empress Dowager, who rarely made public appearances, had come out in a red dress and was speaking with Duke Taira.
“Congratulations on the marriage of His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress.”
She looked up to find that it was Marquis Blanc and his wife, Alexa’s birth parents, offering their greetings.
Alexa studied them for a moment, then offered a faint smile to show she was all right. The marchioness’s expression relaxed with relief.
When she had possessed Alexa’s body, the adoption into the Taira ducal house had already taken place, so she had no memories of them. But she thought she could understand, a little, the feelings of a mother who thought of her daughter.
The reunion between mother and daughter did not last long, however. There was still a lengthy line of well-wishers waiting.
The marchioness watched Alexa until the last moment with lingering eyes before taking her leave.
“Your Majesty.”
Matilda had drawn close at some point and whispered in her ear. It was already ten o’clock.
“It is time to return to the empress’s quarters.”
Alexa gave a nod and looked at Enoch, who sat beside her still as a statue.
“Your Majesty… I will take my leave and return to the empress’s quarters now.”
Enoch gave no answer, only a brief nod.
Alexa left the banquet hall with Matilda at her side. The moment she arrived at the empress’s quarters, she shed the tight banquet dress and sank into a foaming bath. The urge to simply lie down in bed and fall into a deep sleep came over her powerfully.
But Alexa would not sleep tonight. She would have to put on a pure white nightgown and wait in bed for Enoch, not knowing when he might come, for the wedding night.
Even knowing that Enoch would come only in the early hours of the morning, say something cold, and leave at once, nothing would change.
Just then, Alexa’s eyes fell on the plum blossom branch in the vase. It seemed Matilda had brought it along when they moved from the detached palace.
