—Meanwhile around the same time—

Immediately after leaving the emperor’s side, Lian came straight to the palace. Kairi accompanied her for protection but maintained her distance since it’s not necessary to follow her around in the palace with all the guards here.

Lian entered the front door of the palace after getting clearance from the guards. Her arrival didn’t arouse any suspicion due to her profession and place in Ko Johun’s army. Instead of telling the guards directly that she feels like she’s being followed, it’s best to tell the head maid or someone of similar authority. If she did that so soon, they would lock her in one room and assign a guard to her who follows her everywhere she goes.

Ko Johun didn’t have any concubines so she couldn’t make an excuse to go see them in the inner court as an excuse to snoop around. There are many grey areas in the palace and its outer towers—those being the areas that guards typically don’t go to. There are lots of empty rooms in these grey areas so if Lian were to go there normally, she’d be under suspicion.

In the end she came to the head maid, the woman who attends to the Empress. The two met up the moment the guards locked down the palace upon learning that someone was after Lian’s life. It won’t be long before the emperor hears of this and agrees to let Lian stay for a few days. Depending on how the week goes, the banquet might be scheduled for tomorrow, as originally thought, but maybe the emperor will want the next inner martial rest before being formally introduced to the empire.

If this is the case, there will be an extra day left for Lian to investigate.

The location was the living room. Sitting across each other was Lian and another woman wearing a maid uniform. This same woman is known for her neutral relationship with the emperor and also her loyalty to the crown. Despite her loyalty to the previous imperial family, it was still required of her to serve the current imperial family.

“—The emperor did indeed change the locks and their locations.”

She confirmed Lian’s suspicions.

“What do you mean by ‘change their locations’, Suesei?” she asked the tall raven-haired woman who looked no older than her, the same woman who served as head maid for twenty years.

Her droopy long ears wiggled slightly, a sign that she’s constantly listening if someone is nearby. Elves can even hear breathing so this wasn’t a fruitless effort of hers.

“It sounds absurd when you put it that bluntly…”

“You are one of few others besides myself who know of what arcane arts is like.” Lian nodded but looked confused at what she said, “Do you know what interior manipulation is?”

“It’s magic that allows you to swap rooms. But it’s high-tier magic, far outside the reach of ordinary people.”

Places like the [Infinite Labyrinth], located somewhere in the mortal realms, is known for shifting rooms to trap whoever dares set foot in it for all eternity. It’s rumored to be the former home of the Progenitor who happens to be its creator.

“Indeed, but Ko didn’t use the spells one would normally use to swap rooms around. Instead, he used runes, something even non-magicians can use if you have enough magic crystals on hand.”

“Those aren’t available to the public.”

“Yes, only individuals in positions high in society have access to them but none can use them as efficiently as His Majesty, given his experience in handling them. I started noticing strange runes on the doors of some of the rooms in the palace shortly after Ko officially became the emperor but I haven’t been able to find the rooms they were swapped with, which should have the identical runes I scribbled in here.” She pulled out a small notebook from her pocket. After flipping through some pages, she handed it to Lian.

“I’m not knowledgeable about every rune out there, Suesei.” Lian said after giving the rune drawings a look over. They looked incredibly complicated even for someone like Lian who is very studious and intelligent. Meanwhile her talismans, which were easy to make and very convenient, were like child scribblings in comparison.

“I had expected them to be similar to the runes you place on your talismans but that is unfortunate.” Suesei heaved a sigh, “I would aid you if I could but the emperor has been very careful in what he reveals to me. Our conversations almost never delve into official business, which is quite worrisome as I am left in the dark about most matters unless Empress Zhoming shares them with me.”

Normally a Head Maid and Butler would be the only two besides the main family to know all the palace secret passageways, rooms and treasure but even five years later, Ko still didn’t trust Suesei despite her showing nothing but obedience to the crown.

“How goes your preparations for the Revolution?” Suesei changed the subject.

Suesei was just a “silent ally” of the Revolution and doesn’t openly show her support for it. Rather, she presents herself an ally of the crown only. Of course, she helps Lian obtain information most of the time-which is why Lian came straight to her this time again—but that was pretty much it.

“We’re a few steps away from taking back our empire.” Lian said with more confidence that she thought she had. This would’ve been unprecedented just a week ago since they were nowhere near as prepared as they would’ve hoped.

Hearing her confident reply, Suesei raised an eyebrow.

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“Last time you told me the Highnesses were barely scraping by because they used all their gold on mercenaries who abandoned them the moment they found out the job was to challenge Ko, taking the gold with them.” She gazed at Lian intently, “What changed that all of a sudden?”

The door suddenly opened, which made Suesei frown since she didn’t hear anyone approach. Her mouth opened slightly when she turned her head, finding the empress standing there at the door.

Lian and Suesei hurriedly stood up to greet her.

“No need to greet me when we already saw each other earlier this morning, Suesei.” Said the empress with a kind smile. Looking down, Suesei noticed the empress was barefoot. So that’s why she couldn’t even hear footsteps.

It’s the empress’ habit to walk around barefoot when there aren’t any guests in the palace. Due to this habit, the floors have to be mopped daily to ensure her feet don’t get dirty from sand. It was a lot of work but no one complained outwardly.

Why is she here now when it’s expected of her to be by the emperor’s side while the tournament is ongoing?

She glanced at Lian, “Leave us for a moment, Suesei.”

“…Yes.”

Even at this distance, Zhoming didn’t appear to be breathing at all. Suesei always found this disturbing since even her ears couldn’t pick up the empress’ heartbeat. The thought of “could she be a vampire” came up frequently but she didn’t stick around for long to have any such thoughts again.

After Suesei left, Zhoming walked over to the couch and sat down.

“Is there anything I can do for you, Your Majesty?” Lian asked, growing uneasy. It will be harder to move around if the empress is here. She came here just a few hours after the tournament began. Any other person would find this odd but Lian knew the reason for this.

“There is, actually.” She rubbed her shoulder and stretched her neck to the side, “Do you have any pain relief medicine? I’ve been feeling an ache in my shoulder ever since last night.”

This again. No matter where Lian is at any time, the empress always seeks her out when she gets mysterious aches in her body. She doesn’t seek out other doctors, only Lian as if she’s the only one that can make the pain go away.

But…

‘How can you feel back pain when you’re a—’

“Lian, do you have any?”

“Ah, yes.” Lian quickly retrieved a small vial from her magic bag, its white liquid glimmering faintly. The empress loosened her yukata, letting it slip down her shoulders, and draped her hair over one side to reveal her flawless porcelain neck.

Lian uncorked the vial and tilted it to pour some of the gel into her palm. Just as the liquid began to flow, a sudden trumpet blast echoed through the room, startling her. The gel missed her hand entirely, splattering onto the floor. A piano joined the trumpet’s melody, followed by the delicate strains of violins.

“The orchestra seems to be rehearsing again,” the empress remarked, her lips curving into a soft smile as she began humming along to the tune.

“O-Oh, the palace hired musicians for the banquet? That’s a first.” Lian asked, her voice tinged with surprise. That had to be the reason they were here, given the banquet was the only grand event she knew of this late in the month.

“Yes,” the empress replied. “My husband insists on making this feast the grandest we’ve ever hosted for our new Inner Martial. It’s the end of the year, after all. Tradition demands it, even if it’s a little different from last year.” She sighed lightly. “I used to worry about how much of the taxpayers’ money goes into the tournament, but it seems unavoidable.”

“Don’t the nobles sponsor it as well?”

“They do, but at a cost.” The empress’s tone grew more serious. “Many of their regions suffer economically because their lords pour nearly everything into the tournament. Which is why I introduced a cap in how much of their income they can invest. As for the payouts to the martials who don’t make it into the inner circle—those funds come directly from the general populace. The palace only finances the tournament itself.”

“…That sounds like a recipe for unrest,” Lian said after a thoughtful pause. “If the citizens knew their hard-earned money was being funneled into their lords’ personal ambitions, riots wouldn’t be far behind.”

“It is a troubling thought,” the empress admitted, a shadow passing over her expression. “I’ve often dreamed of establishing an equal authority to the emperor—something like a Congress—to prevent such issues. But the nobles would never allow it since all of them voted in favor to remove it five years ago.”

“Everything has worked out so far for them.” Lian said dryly.

Before Ko Johun took over this empire, Kohana’s father would let nobles vote on certain things concerning the empire then he’ll take it to Congress to discuss strategy. In the end, he will examine Congress politicians’ answers before making the final decision. Nowadays, the emperor did not care for the empire unless it had something to do with martial arts, military, and his own role as emperor. That’s what the Outer circle is for.

“They’d see any change as a threat—or worse, as a return to the days when they had less control.”

The empress nodded, her gaze distant. “Precisely. To people like them, change is like a demon, something to fear. For now, I can only hope the banquet and tournament will soothe tensions rather than ignite them.”

‘Lady Zhoming, you always were a kind woman…’ Visions of her scorched face and unblinking, lifeless eyes clouded Lian’s mind.

Zhoming’s gaze grew unfocused as she whispered to herself, almost as if forgetting Lian was there. “Change… change…” Her voice was soft but almost mechanical at the same time.

Lian paused, her hands steady as she continued applying the gel. She wasn’t sure if the empress was speaking to her or simply lost in her own thoughts.

“…Lian, have I changed?” she placed her hand on Lian’s which was rubbing the gel on her back.

“Pardon?”

“Do I… seem different to you somehow?”

“I don’t understand what you mean, Your Majesty.” Lian genuinely didn’t understand why she was asking that.

“The food I used to like doesn’t interest me anymore, or rather the taste is even unpleasant to my tongue. I cannot feel at ease when visiting a garden, something I remember doing many times in the past when stressed. Painting—something that requires patience and motivation—is difficult to do now without my body crawling with unfamiliar pain I feel but even when drinking a potion, it remains.” Zhoming stood up after letting go of Lian’s hand, “Who am I even anymore, Lian?”

“Then there’s my little girl. She still hasn’t had her first Scarlet Season yet, even though she’s a girl well into puberty and has been growing naturally. Even mine has been rare the past few years… What is happening to us, Lian?” the empress took Lian’s hand again, “You’ve been with my husband since the beginning, right? What change in us occurred during all that time that I was unaware of?”

It seems that when she said “people fear change”, she was referring to herself as well. She fears losing the person she once was to become a stranger she has to learn how to live like for the rest of her life.

“…I don’t know.”

It was up to Ko Johun to reveal the truth to his family.

“….” Zhoming stepped back, her trembling hands quickly adjusting her yukata. “Excuse me, the pain has subsided for now.”

Without another word, she left the living room just as the orchestra reached a soaring high note.

But there had been no pain to begin with—Lian knew this.

Her ability to sense discomfort or immunities in others, even with a simple touch, made it clear.

It had all been in Zhoming’s head, much like an infertile woman believing she had suffered a miscarriage.