Translator: Nox

Chapter 1

Empress Dowager Maria

Sister Kang Hee

Episode 1

"Aaaagh!"”

The brown-haired woman screamed, clutching tightly to the hands of the maids on either side of her.

“Miss Laurent, just a little more strength, please.”

The Court Physician repeatedly checked the mother's condition and encouraged her. Seated on the sofa opposite the birthing bed were the former Empress Monica, Emperor Henry, and Empress Maria. Behind them, the court recorder and key State Ministers watched the birth of the imperial grandchild. Of course, the most anxious of them all was Emperor Henry.

“Your… Majesty!”

Laurent, in labor, called out to Henry in a plaintive voice.

“Laurent!”

Henry tried to rise from his seat, but glanced at the former Empress Monica beside him. She nodded. Only then did Henry rush to Laurent's side and grasp her hand tightly.

“I… will give birth. Your Majesty’s child.”

Laurent, a native of Landes, spoke Lastonian awkwardly. She was often mocked or teased by the locals for reversing the word order or using incorrect grammar, but Henry claimed that he was drawn to her because of it.

“No, it’s not necessary. I only need Laurent to be healthy.”

The weak-willed Emperor, overcome, grabbed his mistress's hand and burst into tears. Watching the scene, Monica took out a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes. Even so, she was careful not to smudge her meticulously applied makeup, which was meant to conceal her wrinkled eyes.

“Our Emperor is so full of emotion, you see. Well, it’s the first descendant in ten years. Moreover, the woman he loves is giving birth at the cost of her life, so how could he not be moved?”

Monica sobbed in a refined tone, as if for the State Ministers to hear.

“Isn’t that right, Empress?”

The former Empress Monica's gaze turned to Maria, who remained expressionless.

“…I only hope that Miss Laurent and the child are safe.”

Maria replied in an emotionless tone.

She had become Henry Coburg's Empress at the age of fifteen, but she had not been able to bear a child. For the three years following their state marriage, their relationship had not been so bad. That is, until Laurent Seradu, the Countess from Landes and niece of the former Empress, arrived. In truth, she wasn't sure where things had gone wrong. Even if it wasn't a burning love, she had liked Henry, and he had cherished her.

“Aren’t you even sorry to our Emperor?”

Monica wore an elegant smile as she offered her harsh words in a very low voice.

“……”

She suspected it had started after her father, James, became the Empire's State Minister. Also, Monica's dissatisfaction had grown day by day since she had taken charge of the Inner Palace as Empress. But they hadn't been this bad from the start. It seemed that even the most noble beings could become petty in the face of money. When she tried to correct Monica's bad habit of indulging in luxury and extravagance her whole life, Monica openly displayed hostility towards her, even abandoning her dignity and decorum as former Empress. Being unreasonable because of money was not much different from a back-alley tavern owner. Due to Henry's unwavering belief in his mother's words, the Emperor and Empress's factions, though family, had become rivals, poised to draw their swords against each other.

“Come to think of it, the Empress is quite shameless. A Barren Woman who can’t even bear a child, yet she’s arrogant, relying only on her father’s power.”

‘Barren Woman.’

Maria gripped the hem of her dress with trembling hands. She had heard it countless times inside and outside the Imperial Palace for ten years, so she should have been used to it, but it hurt every time as if fingernails were scratching at her chest.

“What is it that my father opposed this time? Was it to prevent an unfair title from being bestowed upon the former Empress’s lover? If so, I find it reasonable.”

Maria smiled elegantly and retorted at Monica. There was no way she could allow the money she was scattering to her lovers to come from the national treasury.

“What?”

“I don’t understand why the former Empress’s lovers should live in luxury at the expense of the Empire’s citizens’ taxes. And what about her promiscuous behavior of changing lovers almost daily?”

At Maria's harsh words, Monica's face turned pale, and she smiled awkwardly. Then, covering her mouth with a fan, she whispered in Maria's ear.

“How long do you think you can bark and act recklessly without fear? Your father, Duke James, is nothing but a cripple who can’t do anything without Pope Liberio?”

‘A cripple?’

She must be trying to mock her for not being able to bear children. For such a vulgar woman to be a member of the Imperial Family. The venerable laws of the Lastonian Empire's Imperial Family, as well as the refinement and dignity of the Imperial women, had long since disappeared. All that remained was a shockingly low-class, third-rate melodrama.

“That cripple is diligently preventing the former Empress from wasting taxes.”

“What?”

It was the moment Monica shouted in anger. Laurent's piercing scream echoed through the birthing room. Shortly after, the sound of a newborn baby was heard. The State Ministers began to stir. In an instant, the birthing room was as quiet as if cold water had been poured over it. Everyone held their breath, watching the Court Physician's reaction.

“It’s a Prince!”

“What? A Prince?”

Monica exclaimed excitedly at the Court Physician's words. But the atmosphere among the State Ministers was icy.

“Court Physician, watch your words. To call a bastard born to a mere mistress a Prince! The Empress is present in this very place!”

The State Ministers clicked their tongues and rebuked the Court Physician's slip of the tongue.

“Shut up! Get out of here! You, old geezers!”

As expected, Henry threw a tantrum and chased the State Ministers out of the birthing room. Once only the four of them remained in the birthing room, he approached Maria, his chest heaving.

“Divorce me.”

“……!”

Maria felt numb, as if she had been struck on the head. In that instant, she recalled the time, ten years ago, when she had first shared her heart with Henry.

[Maria, I love you. I have never considered any other woman as Empress but you.]

How ironic, why was she reminded of that day? Henry Coburg, the Empire's finest man, the nobles of the capital had even called them a couple of the century.

“Your Majesty, I… am still young.”

Maria replied as if she were spitting out the sorrow that had built up in her chest.

“It doesn’t matter if the Empress is young or not, or even if she’s not a Barren Woman. I don’t need anyone but the child Laurent bore.”

[I can swear to all the gods. I will love and protect Maria as my wife for the rest of my life.]

[Thank you, Henry. I will also do my best as the Empress of Lastonia and as Henry's wife.]

Maria desperately tried to suppress the surge of resentment. Then, Henry knelt before Maria. Maria's vision blurred for a moment. He had never knelt before her except when he proposed, and now she was seeing that sight again for a different reason.

“Divorce me, Maria.”

“Is that true? Your love for Henry and me, I mean.”

Then, Laurent, who was lying in bed, struggled to get up and pleaded the same way. Seeing Laurent, who was shedding tears that didn't suit her ridiculous way of speaking, Maria sighed.

“Such a tenacious woman, caring only for her family’s power, even if the Imperial Family’s only descendant is a bastard.”

Of course, no good words could come from Monica's mouth. Maria trembled as if an earthquake was running through her body, then turned around. And then she answered briefly.

“I will not divorce.”

An Empress divorced for not being able to bear children, she could not leave such a shameful record for her family. Above all, the Court Physician had confirmed it. She was not a Barren Woman. It was just… that her relationship with Henry had become strained.

At that moment, Nancy rushed over and supported Maria, who was staggering. She was just about to leave the birthing room. From behind Maria, sharp words like blades poured out.

“So you’re going to push it to the end? I am the Emperor of Lastonia. Do you think I can’t get rid of one Empress? Greedy as you are, even though you can’t bear children!”

Maria closed her eyes tightly and bit her lip. There was nothing more to hear, so she quickened her pace, which had stopped. But once again, Henry called out to her.

“Maria Stuart, do you think I’ll just stand by?”

Only then did Maria slowly turn around and look at Henry. His eyes were wide with anger, and his handsome face held a murderous intent she had never seen before.

* * *

The moonlight streaming through the bedroom window was as eerie as the murderous intent that had recently settled on Henry's face. It had been well over 100 days since Laurent had given birth to the child. During that time, there had been much conflict over the child's registration, and she sensed that the time to end it had come.

Maria rose from her seat and touched the sword placed at her bedside. She wasn't even wearing a nightgown.

‘Is today the day?’

The climax of the tragedy, the end of love and hate… Even without being told, her crumbling soul reminded her of the horror that would unfold tonight. She had sensed that the atmosphere in the Imperial Palace had changed sometime ago. She had thought that something big would happen someday… and that day seemed to be tonight.

“Your Majesty.”

“Nancy, did you send word to my father?”

“Yes…? Of course.”

Nancy hesitated, startled, and barely managed to answer.

Maria had informed her family through Nancy earlier. She told them to be fully prepared in case Henry's soldiers stormed in at any moment. She instructed them never to open the castle gates, even if the Imperial flag was flying.

When Nancy grabbed Maria's hand and cried, Maria wore a look of regret.

“Nancy, you foolish thing. You’ll be in danger if you stay with me.”

Maria was planning to secretly send Nancy to her family as well. She didn't want to put even her, who had been like a sister to her, in danger because of her. But Nancy stubbornly insisted on sharing her fate. At that moment, the captain of the Escort rushed in through the bedroom door.

“Your Majesty, please escape! The Imperial Guard is coming this way!”

“Let’s go, Nancy!”

Maria grabbed her sword and ran out of the bedroom. From a young age, she had received the education befitting a noble lady and Empress. That education included swordsmanship. It was the minimum training in preparation for assassination, but her father had taught his daughter, who surprisingly had a talent for swordsmanship, more advanced techniques.

At the time, she had never imagined that she would use swordsmanship in this way. A bitter feeling welled up in Maria's chest.

As she came out, the Escort vigilantly guarded her surroundings. She had to leave the Imperial Palace immediately and go to her father. Of course, Henry would have made moves there as well, but the Stuart family's forces were not to be underestimated. Moreover, she had given them advance notice, so her father would be prepared.

She didn't want to confront the Emperor with force like this, but she had no choice. If she had to clash with him anyway, she had no choice but to win.

‘I am the Empress of Lastonia.’

She was a princess of the venerable Stuart family and cherished the honor of being the Empress of the Lastonian Empire as much as her life. Of course, she would continue to do so in the future. But before long, the Empress's Escort and the Emperor's Imperial Guard clashed. The sight of the sacred beings who had to protect the sun and moon of the Empire fighting each other and shedding blood, and at the end of that path, was Henry with a sword.

“Maria Stuart!”

He rushed over in an instant and swung his sword at Maria.

Clang!

The sharp sound of metal clashing tore through the black night. Maria and Henry's swords flashed as they attacked each other. Her swordsmanship was not to be underestimated as a woman's, and Henry struggled.

“I hate you for this. You have to do everything better than me to be satisfied. I can’t find any submissive charm in you.”

“Is that so?”

Maria barely managed to answer, parrying his sword. He had said he liked strong-willed women at some point. Men's sweet talk was so futile.

“Do you know? James Stuart committed treason. He tried to assassinate me!”

“That’s absurd…!”

In that instant, Maria's sword faltered, and Henry did not miss the opportunity. As Maria fell, his sword quickly aimed for her neck.

“You’ll soon find out whether it’s absurd or not. You daughter of a traitor!”