Ficorpio
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
I married Adrian Vale when he was at his lowest.
That year, his mother’s entire family was executed, and I was the one who asked to marry him.
On our wedding night, the boy’s face burned red. His hand shook so hard when he lifted my veil that he could barely manage it, and he swore he would never fail me for as long as he lived.
Later, the late emperor died, and Adrian took the throne.
Later still, more and more beautiful women entered the Imperial Palace. I fought. I cried. In the end, all I got from him was one quiet sentence.
“Elena, I need heirs. As Empress, you should embody the ideal of dutiful feminine virtue. No jealousy. No arrogance.”
So I listened. I became the Empress he wanted me to be. I stopped being jealous. I stopped asking questions.
And then he lost his mind over that, too. He pinned me down against the bed and demanded through gritted teeth, “Why don’t you fight with me anymore? Don’t you care now?”
He never understood.
I didn’t even care about myself anymore.
After Adrian ascended the throne, every noble house began sending women into the harem. He refused none of them. Each one received a title, a residence, a place in the palace.
There were many beauties, but apart from me, he had never shown special devotion to any one of them.
Until now.
His newest favorite had broken that pattern.
Bolts of Shu brocade worth a fortune a foot were torn apart on a whim, simply because she liked the sound of fabric ripping.
The Palace Gardens were sealed off and forbidden to everyone else, because His Majesty didn’t want anyone disturbing her sleep.
When she said she liked watching the stars, the emperor ordered a grand observatory built for her.
She had not only the emperor’s affection, but also the backing of a grandfather who ruled as Warden of the South.
Everyone in the palace was saying the same thing now:
Adrian was going to depose me and make another woman Empress.
“Your Majesty, that Vivienne Carrington is only this arrogant because she’s the Empress Dowager’s niece. She hasn’t even officially entered the palace yet, and all the finest gifts are already being sent to her.”
“Exactly! If she really receives a title, how are the rest of us supposed to survive?”
The room was full of delicate voices, each one sharper than the last. Their complaints piled on top of one another until my head throbbed.
“Your Majesty, she’s already acting like this. She’s making it obvious she doesn’t even respect you…”
Lady Jing spoke in a sweet, fragile voice, her eyes flickering around the room as she tried to stir everyone higher.
“Enough.”
I pressed hard at my swollen temple and frowned.
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
“Put away your scheming. If you have grievances, take them to His Majesty. Do not come here and complain to me.”
The room fell silent.
I looked over the women before me, each beautiful in her own carefully cultivated way, and suddenly felt nothing at all.
“You’re dismissed.”
They rose and withdrew, but in the rustle of silk and perfume, someone muttered just loud enough to be heard.
“She really thinks she’s still the emperor’s greatest love.”
Another voice gave a low, mocking laugh.
“Since His Majesty took the throne, how many times has he even gone to Phoenix Court? If the entire Ashford family hadn’t been wiped out except for her, and if His Majesty didn’t feel some old obligation, how could a woman like her ever have become Empress?”
“That’s right. And she still puts on airs in front of us. A woman without a family to support her—if you ask me, those rumors about the Empress being deposed aren’t rumors at all. Maybe we should start paying our respects to Miss Carrington instead.”
Ivy bristled and started toward the door, furious, but I caught her wrist and held her back.
The whole world said my place as Empress had come by luck. That I did not deserve it. That Adrian had only given it to me to repay the loyalty and sacrifice of the Ashford family.
When the late emperor died, what he left Adrian was not a stable empire, but a kingdom splendid on the surface and rotten underneath, along with a pack of ambitious brothers and uncles waiting to tear it apart.
The frontier raiders took the chance to pour across the border.
My father and brothers held Smokehaven to the last breath and stopped the invasion there, but every man, woman, and child of the Ashford line died with that city.
People remembered only that tragedy had secured my title.
They forgot the eight years I had spent at Adrian’s side. From a prince no one valued to the man who sat on the throne, I had been there through every step. Yet all anyone ever spoke of was my “good fortune.”
Fortunate timing. Fortunate military merit. A few dead Ashfords, and the seat of the Empress was made secure.
Otherwise, what right would the daughter of a third-rank border general have to stand as mother of the empire?
“Let them talk,” I said at last, feeling tired down to the bone.
Ivy pouted. “His Majesty really has gone too far. How long has it been since he last came to see you, Your Majesty?”
Maeve shot her a warning look before turning to me. “Your Majesty, we’ve received word from Master Fa’an…”
She didn’t get to finish.
A young maid burst in from outside, breathless and pale.
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
“Your Majesty! You have to come at once—His Majesty has ordered the Moonbreath Flowers uprooted!”
In the Palace Gardens, whole beds of Moonbreath Flowers had been torn out and replaced with peonies.
I ran forward so fast I nearly stumbled. My chest clenched as I dropped to my knees and gathered the broken roots into my arms, trying to save them, but the blossoms had already been trampled into the mud.
Moonbreath Flowers only grew in my homeland. Back there, they spread across the fields in wild clusters, and when they bloomed, their fragrance drifted through the whole city.
Adrian had once known how fiercely I missed home. He had gone out of his way to have them brought here for me. But the flowers had never suited the soil or climate of the Imperial Capital. No matter how many skilled gardeners tried, they would not live. In the end, only after I tended them myself, day after day, did a small patch finally take root.
I came to care for them every day.
When I looked at them, it was as if I could still see my home.
“Who gave you the nerve to do this?” I demanded, though even to my own ears, my voice shook.
The servants glanced at one another, then dropped to their knees in a line. At last, the one in front answered in a trembling voice, “Your Majesty… Miss Carrington said she disliked the scent of the Moonbreath Flowers, so His Majesty ordered them replaced with the peonies she prefers…”
By the end, her voice had nearly vanished. She lowered her head so far it was almost pressed to the ground, not daring to say another word.
“So these were Your Majesty’s flowers.” Vivienne Carrington stepped out in a soft pink gown, smiling sweetly. “I was wondering why a few wild country blooms had been planted in the Palace Gardens. They were rather unpleasant to look at.”
She plucked up one of the flowers, dropped it to the ground with obvious disgust, and slowly crushed it beneath her shoe.
“Don’t blame the servants, Sister. This was His Majesty’s own order. After all, how could some rustic wildflower ever compare to a noble peony?”
Her tone dripped with mockery, and the way she looked at me was all lofty condescension.
She was talking about the flowers.
And she was not talking about the flowers.
Without a word, I passed the snapped stem in my hand to Maeve, stepped forward, and slapped her hard across the face.
“Miss Carrington has not yet formally entered the palace as a consort,” I said coldly. “That ‘sister’ is not yours to use.”
Vivienne froze in shock. Red swelled across her left cheek almost at once.