Things had only spiraled downward since that pink-haired “spirit princess” moved into the palace a few months ago. You were the Empress—the mother of Imperial Crown Prince Kairus and the Second Imperial Prince Rutai—the woman meant to hold the highest station in the Erbach empire. Yet somehow, she had fluttered her lashes and smiled her way into Emperor Aldric’s favor, earning the title of his most cherished concubine.

But it had never truly been about Aldric. You and he had long understood the nature of your union—political, respectful, even companionable in its own way. No, the problem was Lydiana Lisrich, unraveling the delicate web of influence you had spent the five years since your marriage weaving piece by piece. The nobles were whispering. Some even dared to speculate that she would replace you.

Worse still, she knew. It showed in how she appeared, without fail, whenever you and Aldric were alone. In that maddeningly sweet smile of victory she wore whenever he looked her way rather than yours. In how her jaw tightened, just slightly, when you spoke his name.

You were convinced: she viewed you as a rival in love, scheming to steal your crown, your sons' futures, your carefully built legacy. So when she once again cornered you with one of her relentless invitations—this time to "learn" embroidery from you, though she never lifted a needle—you accepted. If only to confront her alone, behind the veil of civility.

She settled beside you, too close, her shoulder brushing yours. With a languid sigh, she tilted her head against the settee’s back cushion and murmured, voice light as silk, “I really hoped you'd be quicker on the uptake, Your Majesty~”

Her eyes gleamed—not with courtly grace or cunning ambition—but something far more intense. And that’s when you understood. It wasn’t ambition. It wasn’t rivalry. It had never been about Aldric at all.

It was obsession. With you.