The next day, the union of the two was recognized.
It had been a brief time, but the emperor had spent a while in the empress’s quarters after the banquet, and that was enough.
“I greet Her Majesty the Empress Dowager.”
Alexa paid her respects to the Empress Dowager according to protocol. It was imperial tradition for the empress to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager after the wedding night.
“Raise your head and sit.”
At Camilla’s words, Alexa gave a small bow and took her seat.
Camilla held her long pipe and looked Alexa up and down, this woman who had just become empress. There was no man who disliked a beautiful woman. In that regard, it seemed the right choice had been made for the empress.
“I hear the emperor stopped by the empress’s quarters briefly yesterday.”
“Yes.”
Camilla was Enoch’s mother. She had known from the start that he would not warm to a daughter of the Tairas right away.
“He would not have gone through with the wedding night.”
“…Yes.”
Alexa lowered her head.
“I expected as much from the emperor. But there is plenty of time ahead.”
Camilla exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
Alexa simply sat with her hands folded, composed and quiet.
“Did he say anything?”
Even the Empress Dowager had no right to know what passed between the emperor and empress in the bedchamber.
But Camilla currently thought of Alexa as being on the same side, as a member of the Taira family. That was precisely what Enoch despised most.
“He said nothing in particular.”
Just as she had told Enoch, Alexa answered as the empress, not as a person of the Tairas. At that, Camilla’s expression turned dissatisfied.
“Half the blood running through the emperor is Taira blood, and yet he insists on being so contrary. Tsk.”
This was exactly the sort of thing that made Enoch colder still, but Camilla did not seem to realize it.
“Do not worry. The emperor may seem that way, but he has a soft side to him. You are still young and beautiful, so you will be able to find your way into his heart.”
Camilla spoke of her own son Enoch as though he were a stranger throughout.
Alexa felt she could understand Enoch’s feelings, at least a little. Even his own mother, Camilla, seemed to think of the Taira ducal house before her son.
“You need only think about winning the emperor’s favor. That comes first.”
“Yes.”
Alexa answered obediently.
She had no intention of doing so, but there was no need to make an enemy of the Empress Dowager either.
“It has been over fifty years since the practice of taking a secondary consort disappeared from this empire… You are the only one with the right to bear an heir.”
In the past, when the empress failed to conceive, this empire had taken in a secondary consort to continue the line. When the original Alexa reached ten years of marriage without producing an heir, the ministers had called in unison for that institution to be revived.
But Enoch had simply left Alexa to suffer in that impossible position.
‘What was the ending of the story, I wonder.’
There was no way to know now. But it was certain that a woman named Claire would appear in the latter part and become entangled with Enoch.
So Alexa’s goal was to find this woman named Claire as soon as possible, bring her and Enoch together, and make her own exit from the imperial palace.
* * *
The empress’s quarters was a white and elegant building. The trousseau from the Taira ducal house that filled it from end to end was of extraordinary quality.
“Goodness… a coat made from silver fox fur. Something this precious…”
But Alexa’s attention was not on any of that.
What use were luxurious things in abundance? They could not fill the heart. That was why the original Alexa had been unhappy too.
“By the way, why did you ask the Empress Dowager for an etiquette tutor earlier? You have already learned more than enough.”
Alexa had asked the Empress Dowager for a tutor to teach her more about imperial etiquette. It was to prepare for the attacks that would come from the social circles ahead.
The noble ladies of the empire’s social world were quick to pick apart Alexa’s every gesture and glance and whisper among themselves, so she had decided to get ahead of it this time.
“There is no harm in learning more. I am not from the empire, so I should study harder.”
“Your Majesty is truly diligent.”
This was not diligence. It was preparation for survival. But Alexa saw no reason to say that to Matilda. Matilda would not be able to understand what was coming, not yet.
‘I need to present myself as the most ideal empress possible, and the moment this woman named Claire appears, move at once.’
Alexa’s thinking had not changed.
“Oh, and there will be another imperial marriage celebration banquet tonight…”
It was custom to hold banquets for three full days after the imperial marriage, celebrating the new imperial couple.
“The dress is already prepared, so please rest for a little while before we begin getting you ready.”
There did not seem to be a single thing in this imperial palace that was not exhausting. She had gone through the imperial marriage yesterday, paid her respects to the Empress Dowager early this morning, and now she had to attend another banquet. It was a truly grueling schedule.
“Oh.”
Alexa suddenly remembered something important. The first incident that had sent Enoch into a fury in the early part of the original story had come back to her.
“Tell the chamberlain to bring a few crowns that the empress may use in this palace.”
“Pardon? There is a magnificent and beautiful crown among the trousseau, and we had planned for you to wear that one.”
That was precisely the problem.
The ducal house had made a crown more splendid than what the imperial family’s women would wear, and the brazen display of power it represented had grated on Enoch.
“Since I have only just entered the palace, I thought it would be better to follow tradition first.”
“Understood.”
Fortunately, Matilda was quick to understand.
Besides, even without wearing such an elaborate crown, Alexa was strikingly beautiful as she was. A simpler, more modest crown might even lend her a purer, more refined air.
“Haah…”
Matilda left, and Alexa, alone for a brief moment, let out a long sigh.
She had managed to avoid today’s trouble thanks to knowing a few things about the original story, but she could not go on living this exhaustingly forever.
On top of that, even the small ways in which Alexa had acted differently from the original were already changing Enoch’s behavior. It was a subtle difference for now, but there was no telling what it might become as time went on.
“Though I have no intention of staying long enough to call it ’as time goes on.’”
That was a secret Alexa could share with no one. It was a thought that Empress Alexa, whom the whole world was celebrating and envying right now, should never be having.
* * *
The second night of the banquet arrived. Alexa sat beside Enoch at the head table, watching everyone waltz and receiving their greetings.
“Congratulations on the marriage of His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress.”
The crown Alexa had chosen was a modest one, made of platinum and a single small diamond.
Enoch said nothing, but he found the sight of her quite pleasing.
Not only that, but the blue dress Alexa had chosen herself also caught his eye. The dress, the same shade of blue as Alexa’s lake-like eyes, was far from ostentatious, but it looked pure and noble.
The purity stood out all the more when she was beside the Empress Dowager, who had adorned herself in full splendor.
The same was true when she stood among the noble ladies who seemed to know no limit in their finery. But seeing Alexa, who wore less and yet lost none of the dignity of an empress, put Enoch considerably more at ease.
“If I had this time, I could be attending to state affairs.”
Enoch’s voice came from beside her. But she could not tell whether it was a murmur to himself or addressed to her, so she could not respond.
“Does the empress not find this tedious?”
This time it was clearly directed at Alexa. Enoch’s face was turned toward the people waltzing, but the words were unmistakably meant for her.
“I am simply… following protocol.”
Alexa answered quietly, also facing forward.
“And yet this woman who follows protocol so faithfully fell asleep on her husband.”
At those words, Alexa’s cheeks burned. Enoch said it without any particular feeling, but it was something that had happened in the bedchamber, all the same.
“…I am deeply sorry.”
“I did not say it to make you apologize.”
Then what had he meant by it?
Alexa wanted to ask, but she could not find the courage to open her mouth.
“More to the point, the people I least want to see have appeared.”
At that, Alexa followed the direction of Enoch’s gaze. Duke and Duchess Taira were making their way toward the throne.
“Ah…”
“Though perhaps not for you.”
This was a difficult thing to answer. But before Alexa could say anything, Duke and Duchess Taira arrived and paid their respects.
