Chapter: 9

But now all those warm feelings have withered.

Love disappeared without a trace, and only a dry and desolate emptiness remained like a dry branch.

Astelle suppressed her bitter feelings and knelt before him with the child.

“I see your Majesty the Emperor, the Lord of the Empire.”

Now, this man has become the emperor, best suited for the title ‘Lord of the Empire’.

The political dispute between the emperor and the nobility ended with the emperor’s victory.

Almost all the great nobles who opposed the emperor for the past six years have disappeared.

Kaizen became the most powerful emperor who fully ruled the empire.

He has become a real leader with power so strong that no one can blame him for killing someone he doesn’t like.

“It’s been six years.”

His voice was not that different from before.

Astelle stood up and faced him.

Familiar red eyes glanced at Astelle.

His gaze shifted to Astelle’s monotonous gray cotton dress, with no patterns or decorations, and the rough pelerine laid on top.

And finally, when the gaze fell to the old indoor shoes made of weaving of the leftover fabric, a wrinkle was briefly formed in the good-looking brows.

Kaizen’s face was filled with surprise and displeasure.

It seemed that he was shocked by Astelle’s poor appearance.

“I guess things weren’t good.”

What did he expect after dragging her here before it’s even dawn?

Well, Astelle always looked her best in front of this man.

All they had to do was stand face to face for a few minutes, but she put on make-up and groomed her hair for several hours.

Then, she tightened her body with a corset, and she picked out the most beautiful dresses and jewelry.

It was tiring, hard, and sometimes even painful.

But for a while, she would endure everything to look beautiful to this man.

It was a foolish effort.