IRRY 02

Chapter 2

Cotton fiddled with her hands for a while in the office after being left alone, then headed toward the marital bedroom. Since the day of the wedding, it had been used only by her, so no one working in the imperial palace thought of it as the couple’s bedroom. Still, she stubbornly called it that.

“Ugh, I knew this would happen. Why did you go in there without permission? We were the ones who got scolded for it.”

As Cotton handed over the shawl she had been wearing and sank onto the sofa as if exhausted, her personal maid, Sheildy, grumbled while tidying it away. Cotton’s husband, Rikton, had ascended the throne as emperor, which meant she herself had officially become the empress. Normally, one would be careful not only with their tone but also with their behavior in front of the empress, but Sheildy deliberately shook the shawl roughly, clearly showing her irritation.

“Could you go back now? I’d like to rest.”

But Cotton did not point out the rudeness. It wasn’t in her nature to scold people, and she didn’t have the strength or energy left to rebuke her. More than anything, she still didn’t fully understand what it meant to hold the position of empress. Hearing that, Sheildy’s face brightened as if an annoying task had disappeared, and she gave a brief, perfunctory greeting before leaving.

“You’ll be in your room, right? If you need to go out, call me.”

It was something she always heard when she was about to be left alone. She used to think it meant they cared about her and was grateful for it. Only now did she realize it was meant to keep her from wandering around.

“…I was such a fool.”

Not long after the wedding, the late emperor failed to overcome his illness and passed away. By the late emperor’s final wish, Prince Rikton immediately held his coronation and became emperor. Cotton believed that was why her husband hadn’t been able to see her. His father had suddenly died; he must have been overwhelmed and busy. Taking over the throne from his father must have been exhausting.

The strange words her husband had said to her the day after their wedding—she had decided she would ask about them later, once things settled down.

Even if she waited alone in the empty dining hall and ate the food after it had grown cold…
Even if she stayed up all night hoping he might come to see her, only to fall asleep from exhaustion…
Even if she went to his office and returned in disappointment after facing the endless silence behind the closed door…

It was all right.

Because she believed that one day, once the misunderstanding was cleared, things would return to how they used to be.

“So… you just didn’t want to see me.”

Cotton lowered her heavy eyelids.

She spoke as if she had just realized it, but perhaps she had already known it deep down. That was probably why she had impulsively opened the door to his office earlier.

When she finally faced the truth she had been pretending not to see, a vivid pain surged through her, making her closed eyelids tremble.

Where had everything gone wrong?

When she searched for the answer, only the wedding from a year ago came to mind. That was when she first felt that the kind Rikton she knew had changed.

Did I make some mistake at the wedding?

It was a question that had never once left her mind since that day.

But since Rikton refused to speak with her, there was no point in pondering it.

Forcing away the memory of that day—when it felt as though the world had collapsed—Cotton slowly pushed herself to her feet. When she opened the door and stepped outside, she saw Sheildy and several maids gathered in the hallway.

They had been chatting happily, laughing together, but when Sheildy noticed Cotton, she slightly frowned.

“Your Majesty, why did you come out without saying anything? I clearly told you to call me if you were leaving.”

A maid scolding the empress—it would have been unimaginable. Yet Cotton was used to it and apologized.

“I’m sorry. I was going to sit downstairs for a while.”

“In the reception room again?”

Sheildy tilted her head so it wouldn’t be seen directly and let out a faint scoff, clearly guessing where Cotton was going and why. Then she casually nodded as if granting permission.

The emperor wasn’t in the palace right now anyway, so whether Cotton wandered around alone or not, Sheildy wouldn’t get into trouble.

“If you see His Majesty returning, please call me.”

Cotton nodded and walked away.

She headed for the first-floor reception room, the place where one could most clearly see the private entrance the emperor used. She didn’t know when he would return, so the waiting might be endless—but it was the only way she might catch even a fleeting glimpse of her husband’s face.

Curious gazes gathered on the empress descending the central staircase. When her figure gradually disappeared from view, one of the maids glanced around to check if anyone was nearby before cautiously speaking.

“She’s still the empress… what if we get scolded for this?”

“Oh, you must be new here and don’t know. The empress never tells His Majesty anything.”

“No, it’s more like she can’t. She’s already been abandoned.”

“Even if he knew, I doubt His Majesty would punish us.”

The maids laughed in disagreement. To them, the empress was only an empress in name. The emperor had ignored her since their wedding night and never spared her a glance, so they had already concluded she had no power at all.

The youngest maid, who had asked the question, looked confused at their reactions.

“I don’t understand. Then why did His Majesty marry the empress in the first place?”

“Probably because she’s Renedya Elfrt.”

“Renedya Elfrt?”

The maid’s eyes widened in shock.

The name Renedya Elfrt was one that no citizen of the Asbern Empire could fail to recognize.

Ten years ago, the entire empire—along with the imperial palace—had been stirred by a single topic.

The disappearance of Renedya Elfrt.

She was the only daughter of a family so prestigious and powerful that even the imperial family could not treat them lightly.

That person was Renedya Elfrt.

The Elfrt family and the imperial family mobilized every possible resource and searched the entire empire, but they never found her.

“Wasn’t she declared dead?”

“They assumed that because they couldn’t find her. But a year ago, His Majesty brought her back.”

“And it really was Renedya Elfrt?”

“Didn’t the Duke and Duchess of Elfrt visit the palace every day back then? They came to see their daughter.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Sheildy suddenly leaned into the group and clicked her tongue.

Seeing the youngest maid’s wide eyes, she spoke as if prompting her to think carefully.

“Have the Duke and Duchess of Elfrt visited recently?”

“…Now that you mention it, I’ve never seen them.”

“Neither has anyone else. And why do you think that is?”

“Then…?”

“Because she’s not their daughter.”

Sheildy wagged her finger as she declared it, clearly enjoying the shocked reaction.

“There’s a reason the servants secretly call her the fake empress. Even now, if you ask her name, she doesn’t say Renedya—she says Cotton. She knows it herself.”

Covering her mouth as if the very thought was absurd, she laughed, and the other maids who already knew the story laughed along with her.

“Does His Majesty know that the empress isn’t the Elfrt lady?”

“He knows. He just deceived everyone. The wedding wasn’t held under everyone’s blessings. They married first and only appeared afterward. And he brought someone who looked just like her and claimed she was Renedya Elfrt. Why do you think he did that?”

“Why?”

“Think about it. Why do you think the Second Prince became emperor instead of the First Prince?”

“Ah.”

A small exclamation escaped the youngest maid as she seemed to grasp the implication—then she tilted her head again.

There had once been another rumor connected to the story.

During the ten years Renedya had been missing, people whispered that the Second Prince was searching for a lost lover—and that lover was said to be Lady Renedya.

She had been about to ask whether that was true, but the others had already started openly criticizing the empress.

Abandoned empress.
Empress in name only.
Fake empress with no memories.

The secret nicknames the servants used kept spilling out.

Listening quietly, the youngest maid finally waved her hand dismissively.

No way.

If the empress had truly been the rumored lover, the emperor wouldn’t have allowed her to be treated like this.

Even she, who had only recently begun working in the palace, could clearly see how the servants treated the empress. There was no way the emperor didn’t know.

After all, he even ordered us to keep watch so she wouldn’t leave her room and report on her.

Then she must really not be Renedya Elfrt.

Besides, there was another rumor too.

Some said Renedya hadn’t been kidnapped at all—that she had fallen in love with another man and run away with him.

A scandalous rumor that would have enraged the Elfrt family.

Rumors really can’t be trusted, the maid thought with a small laugh.

Cotton sat on the sofa and gazed at the window far across the room.

She waited until the sun that had risen high in the sky slowly sank and disappeared beyond the horizon.

But Rikton never returned.

“Maybe he has a lot of external duties…”

Even after what had happened yesterday, she still tried to believe he wasn’t avoiding her—just busy. The thought made Cotton smile bitterly for a moment.

As she left the reception room to return to her chamber, she remembered she hadn’t eaten lunch and turned toward the dining hall. She wasn’t hungry, but her physician had told her never to skip meals, so she thought she should at least eat dinner.

Just then, a servant was coming out of the dining hall after finishing his meal.

Cotton gently tapped his shoulder.

“Excuse me.”

The man turned around and, realizing it was the empress, briefly showed an uncomfortable expression before smoothing it away. But Cotton noticed the fleeting reaction.

“I was wondering… could you ask the chef to prepare a small plate of food for me? Nothing elaborate—just something light.”

The kitchen was always full of ingredients and simple snacks. It wasn’t a difficult request.

The man was about to go ask the chef when another servant who had been watching the situation grabbed his arm and spoke to Cotton instead.

“We were the last ones to eat, so everything’s already been cleared away.”

“Oh… I see. Thank you for telling me.”

Cotton simply nodded and turned away.

If there was no food left, there was nothing she could do. At least she now had an excuse if her doctor scolded her.

Just as she turned the corner and started toward the stairs—

“Don’t they have anything simple left to eat?”

“Forget it. Don’t give her anything. We prepare meals at the proper time every day, but she doesn’t eat them and they all go to waste. Now she suddenly wants something? That’s annoying.”

“Even if she’s fake, I guess an empress is still an empress.”

“A noble lady who eats whenever she feels like it?”

Their snickering laughter followed.

The quiet voices reached Cotton’s ears before she had gone far.

She did not stop walking and silently climbed the stairs.

No matter how much people tried to hide their true feelings, they inevitably showed through in subtle ways.

A slight frown.
A crooked smile.
An irritated tone.
Whispers from afar.

There was no way she wouldn’t notice.

But Cotton remained silent.

After enduring these subtle sneers and mocking attitudes for an entire year, she had grown used to them.

More than anything, she was afraid that even if she spoke up… nothing would change about her husband’s cold indifference.