Chapter 17
Lucian left the Empress’s Palace after uttering nothing but cruel words.
Rosalyn sank to the floor, tears streaming down her face. No matter how hard she thought, she could not fathom where things had gone wrong.
Perhaps because the Emperor had departed far too early, Anna entered the bedchamber with a worried expression and hurried to support her.
“Your Majesty…”
Rosalyn looked half out of her mind. Anna struggled to lift her and sat her on the edge of the bed.
Tears trickled endlessly down Rosalyn’s cheeks.
“What on earth happened?”
Anna glanced between the bloodstain on the sheets and Rosalyn’s nightgown, which showed not the slightest sign of disarray.
“He said… he would not embrace me.”
“Pardon?”
“His Majesty said he has no intention of embracing me. He told me to devote myself solely to my duties as Empress. That bloodstain… His Majesty cut his own hand to make it.”
Bewilderment flooded Anna’s face. The two of them had only just exchanged wedding vows and should have been closer than anyone, but she could not fathom how it had come to this.
It was all the more baffling because there had not been a single moment where Rosalyn could have done anything wrong.
“We must go to the Empress Dowager at once…”
“No.”
Rosalyn said through her tears.
“If we drag the Empress Dowager into this, it will only earn me His Majesty’s hatred. He said as much himself.”
Lucian’s ruthless treatment had shattered her pride completely.
She had been raised as a treasured princess of the Kingdom of Bellotien. Never had she imagined she would suffer something like this after her marriage.
No, even someone other than Rosalyn could not have predicted it. To show such coldness to a beautiful princess even after making her his Empress.
“Then, what shall we…”
“Tomorrow morning, burn this sheet on the rooftop for all to see.”
“What? But the wedding night was never actually consummated.”
“That doesn’t matter. What matters is His Majesty the Emperor’s wishes.”
Rosalyn wiped her tears away.
“He came to the Empress’s Palace intending this from the very start. His failure to come the night before was no accident, either.”
She was already Empress, there was no going back to being a princess of Bellotien. Rosalyn knew that better than anyone.
If she were to step down from her position now, the entire continent would find fault with her. In the worst case, it could even diminish the standing of the Bellotien royal house.
“But I will not give up.”
She declared her resolution with her tears wiped clean.
“It may have started this way, but… I will win His Majesty’s heart, no matter what it takes.”
“Yes, that is a wise decision. His Majesty is certain to open his heart to you in time.”
They were already husband and wife. They could not simply live as though the other did not exist.
Rosalyn intended to take her time and win Lucian’s affection. No matter how much of a stranger he seemed, if they saw each other often and spent time together as husband and wife, surely his feelings would change.
“It must be so.”
Rosalyn’s blue eyes gleamed with fierce determination.
To her, Lucian was not a man she could give up over something as trivial as this. Now that she was his one and only wife, she intended to give it everything she had.
“No matter what anyone says, I am the Empress of the Orbien Empire.”
That was one thing even Lucian could do nothing about. After all, their marriage had already been consummated.
“I will never give that up.”
She bit down hard on her lip. The metallic taste of blood seeped across her tongue.
Those were the delicate lips that Lucian should have been kissing. The thought only deepened her misery.
“You are quite right. There is but one Empress in this Empire, and but one woman His Majesty shall embrace.”
“Anna, I am not yet familiar with the palace, so quietly look into His Majesty’s movements for the time being. There may be something we are unaware of.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Rosalyn closed her eyes tightly. Tears slid down her cheeks.
She would never forget what had happened tonight. But she had no intention of backing down now, nor could she.
After all, an Empress was like a great pillar of the imperial palace, not something that could be changed on a whim.
Rosalyn now belonged to the Orbien Imperial Family. Even Lucian could not undo that.
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