“What were you writing?”

Cedric glanced at the paper Artizea had put down.

“It’s a document about Marquisate Rosan. I have to sort it up before the Coronation.”

The Empress could not hold any other titles.

So before the Coronation, Marquisate Rosan had to be handed over to Leticia.

Of course, the infant Leticia couldn’t do the succession ceremonies, so they just processed the paperwork.

“You are no longer Marquis Rosan.”

Cedric felt a strange feeling and mumbled that.

Anyway, Artizea thought that her work was done. So, she wouldn’t mind losing the title.

The title of Marquis Rosan was merely a means of obtaining the financial and power she needed for her work.

There would have been no attachment or pride, so if she doesn’t need it now, she’ll hand it over to someone else.

Cedric thought for a moment that he had been fighting over this marriage contract some time ago.

In the end, it was supposed to be sorted out like this.

“Please sit.”

Artizea suggested a seat.

Cedric let out a small sigh. At this point, he couldn’t stand up and talk as if he was dealing with the rest of his people.

He didn’t even want to sit and talk. But in the end he sat down on the sofa.

Artizea sat down.

As if Cedric had already ordered when he came, the maid came in with a teapot and teacup.

Artizea brewed her own tea. Cedric stared at the hand.

Her hands were clean and empty. The diamond bracelet that used to be worn on her wrist is no longer there.

His mind was complicated. But he also felt it was natural.

Artizea’s face was at peace. It seemed clear to him that emotionally she had organized several things.

She looked okay. Her worn out vitality had not been replenished and she still had wrinkles on her face, but she seemed to be doing well.

Cedric calmed his mind as he watched Artizea’s hands dump the hot water that had heated the cup.

Perhaps, this is the state they should have ended up in.

“Have you had enough time?”

Cedric asked, looking at her fingertips.

Thinking about how to make a life possible without regret.

“Yes.”

“…….”

“I want to retire.”

Cedric looked at her with an empty face.

Artizea looked down at the teacup. And she said quietly,

“I did too much in too little time. It happened twice.”

She ran like crazy, like someone being whipped.

“What I was doing was like rolling a snowball down an incline while supporting it from the bottom. If I roll well, I can build up my influence in an instant, but if I do it wrong, I would be the first to die in the avalanche.”

There were several dangerous moments this time as well, if Cedric hadn’t intervened a few times to help.

She couldn’t stop, even though she knew she wasn’t supposed to live like that. That’s probably her own flaw.

“I am tired now. I don’t want to think about anything anymore.”

“I see…….”

“Yes. So, now…… I want to spend the rest of my life doing nothing.”

Artizea said. Cedric answered in a low voice,

“All right. You can rest now.”

“I’m sorry for being irresponsible.”

Artizea bowed her head.

“You said I should come up with a better idea. I thought I wasn’t going to be a useful person with just the right attitude, and I still think so, but I was greatly comforted by those words.”

“…… That’s enough.”

She wanted to deny it.

However, just because he said that she was not a useless person, that would not mean much to Artizea now.

Cedric looked at Artizea with a complicated feeling.

This was the right thing to do.

Artizea was right. She lived a terribly exhausting life.

So, it would be right to spend the rest of her time so that she can live comfortably without being disturbed by greed.

Still, it was as if his ankle had fallen into a swamp.

Artizea said,

“I will try to live the rest of my life for myself.”

“…….”

“So that’s why I’m saying this.”

Cedric looked at Artizea curiously.

Artizea awkwardly wiggled her hand. Her earlobes and cheeks were red.

“I know I’m nothing if I don’t use my head. So, I’m useless now.”

“Tia…… ?”

“I’m not particularly pretty, I’m not healthy, I’m not even capable of having another baby, and I probably won’t be able to fulfill my duties as a spouse, let alone my role as an empress to the Empire.”

Cedric waved his hand in embarrassment.

Artizea paused for a moment, then she let out the rest of her words all at once.

“I don’t even know how much of my life is left, and I think I’ll probably leave nothing but sadness in the future.”

“Tia.”

“But will you still let me be your wife, above all else?”

The meaning of those words came into Cedric’s ear, stayed there for a while, and then slowly entered his consciousness.

And it spread through his body as if it was running through his veins.

It was later that Cedric fully understood the meaning of the word.

They were married for a purpose. Now, Cedric was someone who could understand the whole picture Artizea had drawn with the proposal.

In the short term, it will make the Emperor and Lawrence misunderstood, and in the long term, it dilutes the impression that he is a Northerner by connecting him with a central noble, Marquisate Rosan.

And above all else, it must have been to obtain a legitimate right to Grand Duchy Evron that could be used immediately.

Joined for conspiracy, the marriage was inseparable from politics.

He proposed to her again, hoping that they would become husband and wife before being master and servant.

However, even after achieving the original goal, the marriage continued, but it was still a militaristic relationship rather than a companionship.

It was unavoidable until the final goal, the throne, was obtained.

So, except for that one moment of the night, Artizea had never been fully his wife.

Artizea was not married to him because she’s his companion, but because she needed the status of Grand Duchess Evron.

But now she had said that she would stay by his side for the rest of her life, not for the sake of taking the place of the Empress, but for herself.

Cedric was skeptical and held out his hand to Artizea.

Artizea stood up, and she placed her hand on his.

Cedric took the hand and released it once. Then, he grabbed it tight again and pulled her in.

“Ah!”

The hem of her skirt swept the table, knocking down the teapot. Fortunately, the tea was already lukewarm.

The cup fell under the table and stained the carpet. Tea was also smeared on Artizea’s skirt.

Her slippers were taken off and tossed on the floor. Artizea sat down on Cedric’s lap and closed her eyes.

Cedric looked into her face without kissing her.

“I’m really going crazy for you.”

Cedric whispered in a cracked voice. Artizea hesitated and opened her eyes.

“Actually, I think I’m already crazy. Really……. I shouldn’t have loved you.”

Tears streamed from Cedric’s eyes and fell onto Artizea’s face.

Artizea reached out her hand to his face hesitantly. Then with her index finger she wiped Cedric’s eyes.

She then lifted his head up and grabbed his neck with her arms and gently pressed their lips together.

Cedric felt her back with his big hand. It was a careful move, as if trying to confirm that Artizea was still there.

The next moment, Cedric hugged her tightly. Artizea’s lips opened first.

Cedric dug into her like a madman.

Artizea, who couldn’t breathe properly, struggled.

Cedric asked, loosening his arms a little,

“Where did the bracelet go?”

What he had been anxiously thinking about before came out as a question.

Their lips were still almost touching, so the sound of his words was transmitted almost literally to her lips.

“In the bedroom.”

Artizea still closed her eyes and answered. The suffocating breath tickled Cedric’s throat.

Cedric let out a long sigh.

“Really……. Just because you keep putting people through hellfire doesn’t mean they’re tempered.”

There was a long sigh, as if resentful and lamentable.

But there was no hesitation. He stood up holding Artizea. Artizea wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his ear.

And she whispered something Cedric had never expected.

On the day of the Coronation, the sky was clear without a single cloud.

Even though there was a war, the atmosphere filled with hope and happiness continued on from the day of the Coronation Ceremony.

The wise ones had already guessed that the rebellion resulted in the Emperor’s defeat by the Crown Prince.

Emperor Gregor’s condition was not yet available. There was no abdication ceremony.

If this was truly an abdication, the Emperor would have to take the Crown off his head and hand it over to the Crown Prince.

But there was no talk that the Emperor would make an appearance at the Coronation. The role of delivering the Crown to the Crown Prince was assumed by the Archbishop.

But right now, no one cared about the Emperor.

＊＊＊

Madame Emily* let out a lament filled with sorrow.

“This isn’t it.”

The clothes did not fit the body tightly and were a little baggy.

Emily thought the dress lacked sophistication because it was originally an old-fashioned dress.

There was too much embroidery and too many jewels. And the embroidery consisted of real gold overlaid threads.

It was so luxurious that words could not describe it. But the latest trend was not that.

The thread used for embroidery should have been the most delicate silk thread from Iantz. What was important was the silhouette and the variety.

Above all, the clothes should not crush the person.

The jewels were also taken from the times of the first Emperors, and their brilliance was different from those of today. It was because of the difference in craftsmanship.

Sophie and Emily gave a glance.

“It is dignified and nice.”

There was nothing they could do because everything from the cloak to the accessories was a national treasure, not the dress itself.

*She is the owner of a high end boutique, which Miraila seemed to like. She is also the one making Tia’s Wedding Dress. First appears in Chapter 20.