“Your Majesty.”
At those words, a cold stiffness crept up the back of my neck. Before it could reach my head and freeze me whole, I hurriedly rose and offered a bow as tradition demanded.
Although overwhelmed by this sudden turn of events, my body managed to move to offer a polite greeting.
“The secret to surviving palace life is to pretend!”
It was all thanks to Sylvia’s lecture faintly coming to the back of my mind.
“I offer my greetings to the Moon of Radom that chases away the darkness, Your Majesty the Empress.”
Feigning calm, I touched my right hand to my left shoulder and bent a knee. I could feel her gaze on my face. Slowly, I raised my head.
Our eyes met. They were calm, unwavering. Like a deep river rather than a sea. Like there were no waves rolling, making the surface calm and serene yet impossible to gauge the depth of the water beneath.
And those eyes examined me in silence.
“I offer my greetings for the first time. My name is Len, newly appointed to the Imperial Dance Troupe.”
The Empress nodded with no words, then turned and walked toward the table. Following her, I carefully observed her.
From what I could see, she seemed a far cry from the person described in the rumors—easily pleased and outrageous as the ‘abandoned empress’ jibe suggested. On the contrary, she came across as a woman who possessed the full quality of an empress’ dignity and grace.
No sooner had she taken her seat, a maid rushed over to fill her teacup.
What could she possibly want to talk about with me in private? I lifted mine as well, more out of caution than courtesy, and kept my guard up.
“The incident at the banquet… allow me to apologize in his stead. A cursed flower… It was preposterous of him.”
The tea caught in my throat, almost choking me.
I had met many high-ranking individuals in my travels. Never, not even once, had someone with power apologized to an inferior, especially not for something they didn’t even do.
And for an empress who wields power second only to the emperor, apologizing to a mere dancer for something she hadn’t even done, while also chiding the emperor…
“It was an uncharacteristic display from His Majesty.”
“Please, Your Majesty. The fault was all mine for being so rude.”
“Do you know what kind of flower that was?”
Looking straight into her eyes, as sapphire as the stone around her neck shimmered with a deep blue light, I answered without a flinch, “A flower that wilts the moment its blessing is fulfilled. This flower is called Perial.”
“I see, Perial…” She smiled, sipping her tea. Though her smile was not as sweet as the tea it seemed, it was somehow bitter. “Long ago, His Majesty kept one in his chamber. He never let it leave his sight. Not for a moment.”
Just as I suspected, there was a history with the flower. It had not been a mere stroke of bad luck of what had happened on that day.
“But one day… the flower withered. And he, who once cherished it so dearly, cast it aside like it meant nothing to him.”
“…”
“A flower that dies means the blessing came true, doesn’t it? Isn’t that strange?”
“Did you know? A blessing can sometimes turn into a curse.”
“And ever since, His Majesty has been living in hell.”
I remembered the Emperor’s venomous glare that day. How his murderous intent pierced me like a newly sharpened blade. Her voice and his merged in my mind, muffled into jumbled sentences.
She refilled her empty cup herself. The red tea shimmered like blood in the light.
“Let’s stop the talk there,” she said at last. A warning, sharp and clear. “Whatever your purpose in coming here, you now belong to this palace.”
“I don’t like to point my blade at my own kin.”
The Empress’ perfect placid face was impossible to creak through and read her intentions. But one thing was certain: she would take up a sword if she deemed it necessary.
I dip my head in courtesy.
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
Praying, in earnest, that it would never come to that.
It was a brief conversation, but I returned to my chambers utterly drained. Sylvia, who’d just been changing out of her clothes, sat me down and coaxed every detail from me, down to the smallest nuance.
Hours had passed since then. Sylvia remained seated, lost in thought. The room grew darker with the falling night. At last, I found courage to voice what had weighed on my mind.
“Could their relationship be more special than people thought?”
Sylvia shook her head firmly.
“Emperor Khainon treats Empress Reina as if she doesn’t exist. She, in turn, only offers the bare minimum of courtesy.”
“Then I don’t understand why she warned me like that.”
“I can’t say for certain. But! It’s probably because of the Crown Prince’s selection.”
“What’s that got to do with her? It’s not like she has a son in the running.”
Sylvia exhaled slowly, her expression turning grave.
“You know there are four princes, right? And that the competition for the throne is approaching.”
“Yes.”
“No matter how fair they claim the contest will be, it’s still run by the royal house. The Emperor’s opinion will tip the scales, like it or not. And with their family staking everything on their candidate to win, their first priority will be to read the atmosphere around the Emperor. But it’s impossible to watch him directly. So who can stay by the Emperor’s side without suspicion, and watch him legally without any restrictions?”
“…The Empress?”
“Exactly. We don’t know which side the Empress was on, but I’d bet every family has already sent her a request. And from the Empress’ perspective, it would be better to choose a prince to support, make him the next emperor, and secure her own position rather than growing old in a forgotten corner of the palace.”
Her deep blue and calm eyes popped in my head. What was the real face of the Empress behind that flawless mask?
Was what she really wanted for survival? Power?
“So if she thinks something, anything, might sway the Emperor’s mood, or interfere with her chosen Crown Prince’s path to the throne, the Empress would have every reason to eliminate it. Even if that threat is a mere dancer. A little excessive, sure, but…”
It must’ve been because of Perial. Her words were a warning not to reawaken the past memories that the Emperor had tried so hard to bury.
“Long ago, His Majesty kept one in his chamber. He never let it leave his sight. Not for a moment.”
Who had given the Emperor his first Perial, I wondered?
What kind of blessing had they wished upon him? Surely, it wasn’t so different from my own… right?
A wish for the Emperor’s peace and well-being. An earnest prayer that the twin-moon, the protector of the Empire, guided him to a right path.
How could such a blessing have left him drowning in misery?
“And ever since, His Majesty has been living in hell.”
And if the memories tied to that flower were so unbearable… why had he summoned me back to the palace? It made no sense. None of it did.
Thoughts began to spiral out of control, thus I shut down any thoughts and flopped onto the bed. Any more minutes, and my head would burst from all these incomprehensible mysteries.
“Maybe I should go back home.” At my childish grumble, Sylvia approached, her face uncharacteristically serious.
“To be honest, I’m worried. I don’t know if we made the right choice,” Sylvia confessed in a quiet voice.
“What are you talking about? That was a joke. You were so desperate to get into the palace, are you sick of it already?”
I laughed, trying to lighten the mood, but Sylvia didn’t smile. Her voice dropped low. Soft, but carried a heavy sense.
“Len. The Crown Prince’s selection isn’t like picking a mayor. Every time a royal line changes, blood spills. That’s always how it’s been in every nation, in every age, everywhere. The only way for people like us to survive that hellish chaos is to shut our mouth. Pretending that we’re deaf and blind. And then wait for the storm to pass.”
“Sylvia…”
“So promise me one thing: no matter what happens, don’t get involved. I don’t want you to fall into a dangerous field.”
Seeing this side of Sylvia, which I had never seen before, I simply nodded without a word. Her world was still foreign to me.
Noticing my solemn mood, Sylvia pulled the blanket over me and a playful smile finally bloomed on her face. “Since you promised, I’ll give you a special hint, just for you!”
The candle flickered out. Moonlight streamed in, blanketed the room. Sylvia’s words, muttered at my bedside, lingered in the serenity.
“Here’s one thing I know for sure. The palace never gives without taking. Whatever you receive, you’ll have to offer something in return. Remember that rule, it’ll make things easier.”
If that’s the case, what would I have to give in return for entering this place?
And what had the Emperor, who held the highest power in the Empire atop the history of countless people’s spilled blood, given up in return?
To that unanswerable question, a cold face appeared in my head. A face like glacial ice, frozen in the deep sea, untouched by sorrow or pain.
“What curse have you placed in it?”
What curse, in the guise of blessing, did you bestow upon me?
What else do you want from me?
More than a month had already passed since we entered the palace. Contrary to the chief chamberlain’s words that the Emperor was waiting, there had been no news from him at all.
Unanswered questions piled up like dust, but I kept busy, throwing myself into training with the Imperial Dance Troupe day and night. As a result, I was gradually beginning to adapt to palace life.
“Len, want to hear some good news?”
“What is it?”
“In the detached palace, there’s the Imperial Library. They call it a sanctuary for bookworms like you, you know?”
The Imperial Library.
It was said to hold the largest collection of books in the entire Empire, from ancient tomes long out of circulation to volumes printed just yesterday. A chance of stepping foot in that place was something I could only dream of. Now I have the chance and here I am forgetting all about it after having been in the palace all this time.
“Let’s go together after practice today.”
“I’ve read so many books I’m sick of them. I’m heading to the market with the girls.”
Well, a reasonable reaction from Sylvia. Raised by two scholarly parents, she had probably read an adequate amount for several lifetimes and wanted nothing to do with it now.
I set them off, then made my way alone toward the detached palace.
The path was lined with well-tended gardens, whilst flowers began to bud one by one and swayed gently in the warm breeze, basking in the early spring sunlight.
The season had come to the capital ahead of schedule.
Before long, I stood before the detached palace. Compared to the Main Palace, it was modest in size. Yet even with its age, the building stood strong and refined, radiating a rather classical atmosphere.
“I am Len, from the Empress’ court.”
After receiving my entry token at the gate, I made a beeline to the inside. The scent of old books hit my nostrils instantly.
It was great timing, I’d nearly finished the last book I’d brought from home.
If only I could… I would lock myself inside this heaven for a year and devour every last page this place has offered.
Since a little, books have always been my priority over luxury, scraping together whatever coins I could to afford the ones I needed. So now, being here, having all this knowledge laid out before me like a feast, it felt indulgent, intoxicating. For the first time, I was thinking coming to the palace had been a good idea.
Drawn by that thrill, I headed straight for the inner archive, where the ancient books were said to be kept. I wanted to see those that could not be found in any common market stall.
“Yes… this is it.”
At the very back of the library, rows of towering, arch-shaped shelves loomed above me. Ancient tomes lined every inch. Humming softly to myself, I trailed my fingers along the rows, letting my gaze wander.
That’s when a title caught my eye—‘The Vanished Races.’
My heart leapt. I reached for the spine, its edges frayed with age. But my hand brushed against a stranger’s.
The fingers, long and firm,
A shoulder, straight and poised,
And then his face.
For a moment, I forgot to breathe. Too awe-struck by the fine sculpture in front of me.
After all, a man, beyond beautiful that no word could do its justice, just showed up in front of me.
Comments