The man who stepped down from the sedan was wearing a long, trailing dragon robe.

I whispered softly.

“Brother. I think it really is the emperor.”

“He came wearing a dragon robe? Does he want to be assassinated? The fact that no one stopped him means the Imperial Palace must be full of idiots.”

“Even if they tried to stop him, it wouldn’t matter if the emperor didn’t listen. Maybe the emperor is the idiot...”

“Those pathetic fellows over there must be his shadows. Why did he bring them when they can’t hide their presence at all? I think they’re worse than the guards the Apostate Alliance Lord takes around.”

“...Brother, you’re a martial artist to the bone.”

His interests were clear. I was more curious about the emperor’s face.

“They don’t seem to have noticed us, right?”

“Yeah. Judging by the state of them, they won’t notice unless we shout. Let’s stay here until the emperor leaves.”

Yeon Ryang answered indifferently, then leaned back against a tree and reclined at an angle. But he did not seem to have any intention of lowering his guard, because his hand never left the hilt of his sword.

I sat beside Yeon Ryang too and glared at the sedan.

“Anyway, I don’t know why he came in person. When he confined her to a hermitage and told her to die on her own because he didn’t want to kill her with his own hands, that was one thing. Did he suddenly feel guilty?”

“It may be for political reasons. He might have come to take Her Grace back so he can suppress the momentum of the consort who seized power after Her Grace fell. She’ll die soon anyway, so there won’t be any trouble afterward.”

“What? He’s complete trash. I should have given Her Grace a poison that doesn’t show. She could have slipped it into the emperor’s teacup and gotten her revenge.”

“That would be actual treason, little sister. Ugh, that tickles. Furball. Come out already.”

Yeon Ryang chuckled and pulled Cane out from inside his clothes. Seeing Cane drowsily nodding off even as it dangled and swayed in the air, I clicked my tongue.

“It goes inside your clothes now too?”

“Apparently. I think it sees me as a moving bed.”

It had been thinking that for quite some time... around when they shared a heart.

“Now go to your master, you little thing.”

With a faint laugh, Yeon Ryang set Cane on my lap.

I stroked its glossy fur while waiting for the emperor to descend the mountain.

But the emperor did not leave until sunset.

As the sun began to sink, the emperor’s party waiting outside started preparing to camp.

“...Brother. We’re sleeping outside, aren’t we?”

“Looks like it. It seems they intend to stay the night.”

“I should have brought a blanket. The cave floor is hard.”

After casting a sideways glare at the emperor’s party, I pouted and headed for the cave.

The emperor only descended from the hermitage after noon the next day.

After all signs of people had vanished and we had watched for another hour, we crossed back over the peak. The deposed consort, who had been sitting on a rock in front of the hermitage, rose when she saw us.

“Young Lady Yeon...”

The deposed consort’s face was pale as she called me. Tears as large as chicken droppings fell from her eyes as she ran over and threw herself into my arms.

“Your Grace, what happened? Hm? Why are you crying?”

“His Majesty... His Majesty...”

The deposed consort could not continue and burst into tears. I patted her back until her tears stopped.

Only after she had cried until her throat went hoarse and drunk the honey water Yeon Ryang brought did she speak in a voice half rough from weeping.

“His Majesty told me to return to the Imperial Palace. He said he would give me the position of Imperial Noble Consort, and asked me to stop Consort Jin’s atrocities.”

Yeon Ryang had been right.

Speechless, we exchanged glances and rolled our eyes.

The deposed consort’s eyes filled with tears again.

“I’m sick and tired of a life where I quarrel with women pretending to be sisters and stare only at a square patch of sky. I don’t want to go...”

Yeon Ryang groaned softly as he tried to comfort the deposed consort.

“Your Grace. Calm down. You don’t have to return to Jinling. Do you have somewhere you can rely on? We’ll take you there.”

“That’s right, Your Grace. Come with us. We can leave today if you want.”

When I quickly agreed with him, the deposed consort smiled sadly.

“How are the two of you so kind...? I am glad to have made friends like you. But I cannot go.”

The deposed consort clutched the hem of her clothes so tightly that the veins stood out on the back of her hand, and her body trembled.

“In exchange for my return, His Majesty promised to make my child the crown prince. But if I do not return, he says he will send my children to a foreign country as hostages.”

“What? His own children? That bastard is insane—mmph!”

“Whoa, whoa. Little sister. Use pretty words.”

Yeon Ryang quickly stopped me from committing lèse-majesté, then sighed.

“He must have been angry that you deceived the emperor by pretending to be dying while you were healthy.”

“I believed there would be at least a little affection left between husband and wife... but it was all my delusion. I was nothing more than His Majesty’s game piece, one who knew how to attend his bed.”

The deposed consort bit her lip until it looked painful, then began crying as if she would faint.

We silently stayed by her side until she calmed down.

*****

“Have you calmed down a little, Your Grace?”

“Thank you, Young Lady Yeon. I made an ugly scene.”

With both eyes swollen, the deposed consort sniffled and smiled at me.

That smile was so pitiful that I held her hand tightly.

What would it feel like for your former husband to threaten you by taking your children hostage?

If it were me, I would not have been able to hold back my anger, and I would have planted a throwing knife in the top of his head.

No, wait. A painless death would be too much for that kind of trash, so I’d use a poison that melted his body over seven days and nights...

“Sohae. Fix your expression. You’re scaring me to death. Who are you planning to kill?”

Yeon Ryang clicked his tongue and jerked his chin toward the deposed consort. The deposed consort’s eyes had gone as wide as a startled rabbit’s.

“Ahaha, please don’t misunderstand, Your Grace. I just got a little angry too after thinking over what you heard.”

When I hurriedly composed my expression and smiled, the deposed consort blinked blankly, then burst into laughter.

“Young Lady Yeon is angrier than I am, so now I feel relieved. Thank you, Young Lady.”

Her complexion had become much brighter than before. After watching her carefully, I asked in a cautious voice,

“Will you... return to the Imperial Palace?”

“When the emperor himself has made the journey here and told me to return, how could I refuse?”

After answering bitterly, the deposed consort folded her hands and straightened her back.

“Young Lady may not understand me, but I understand how you feel. You and I have lived such different lives, Young Lady Yeon.”

“Your Grace...”

“Young Lady Yeon. I lived my entire life as an ornamental flower. I was born the legitimate daughter of a prestigious family, and lived as my father’s flower, then as a flower that brightened His Majesty’s garden.”

The deposed consort murmured as if mocking herself, then looked up at the sky. The stinging sunlight poured over her face.

“I am someone who cannot live by my own strength as you do, Young Lady Yeon. I am a weak and useless person who can do nothing unless someone cares for me.”

“That’s not true, Your Grace. You endured so resolutely in that terrible Imperial Palace. You are a strong person, Your Grace.”

“Hehe, how kind you are. It would have been so nice if I had become friends with you sooner, Young Lady Yeon.”

The deposed consort lowered her head, stroked my cheek, and whispered,

“What I mean to say is... whether I like it or not, I am someone who can only live in the Imperial Palace. I am a flower raised for that purpose. So returning is the right thing to do.”

Her voice was calm.

I wanted to tell her no. I wanted to tell her flowers did not bloom all at once.

That they only burst into blossom after piercing through soil, sprouting, putting down roots, withstanding scorching sunlight and rough winds, and raising their stems.

I wanted to tell her that everyone fought their own battles, large and small, and that she had been struggling all along.

But I could not open my mouth.

Because it would be arrogant to define, with just a few words of my own, the time she had spent trying to bloom, and the life she had lived.

After moving my lips for a long while, I barely managed to say one thing.

“...I will respect your choice, Your Grace.”

“Thank you for understanding, Young Lady. I have only taken up the two of you’s time by hesitating.”

“No, Your Grace. It was something you naturally had to decide carefully. Please don’t worry about it.”

At my answer, the deposed consort smiled softly and lowered her long lashes.

“When I return... my name will be forgotten again. No one will remember my name. I will simply go from the deposed consort of the So Clan to the Imperial Noble Consort of the So Clan.”

“Your Grace...”

When my expression darkened, the deposed consort poked my cheek. A playful smile appeared on her face.

“I did not say that to make you sad, Young Lady. This is my choice. So there is something I would like to ask of you.”

“Please tell me, Your Grace.”

“Young Lady Yeon. Will at least you remember my name?”

“Of course.”

“My name is...”

The deposed consort—no, the Imperial Noble Consort—whispered softly into my ear. I lowered my voice and whispered the same thing into the Imperial Noble Consort’s ear.

“It’s a beautiful name, Your Grace.”

Yeon Ryang, who had been watching us, crossed his arms and pretended to sulk.

“What’s this, Your Grace? Is it a secret from me?”

“It is a secret between Young Lady Yeon and me. Young Lady, do not tell Great Hero Yeon.”

“Of course. I’ll keep it to myself.”

When I grinned broadly and winked, the Imperial Noble Consort laughed aloud.

“I would like to give you a thousand pieces of gold if I could... but right now, this is all I have. Please keep it, Young Lady.”

Then she took off the jade ring she was wearing and slipped it onto my finger.

“It suits you well. That is good to see. If there is ever anything I can help you with, send word to Jinling, Young Lady Yeon.”

“Yes. I will.”

“It does not have to be for any particular business. Please send me stories of your travels through the martial world. I will always be curious about how my friends are doing.”

“Of course.”

When I answered firmly, the Imperial Noble Consort’s face grew determined.

“When I return, I intend to become the noblest flower in this land. I will bloom magnificently in the highest place I can reach. When that time comes, we will be able to meet again, won’t we?”

“If you call for me, Your Grace, I’ll go see you anytime.”

“Thank you, my friend from the outside world.”

The Imperial Noble Consort spoke with a smile, but the corners of her eyes had flushed red and were damp.

I silently hugged the Imperial Noble Consort tightly.

And I hoped that the path my elegant friend would walk would not be too lonely.