[READ AUTHOR'S NOTE FOR AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT]

Irene's POV

The empire fell into ruin after Seulgi left. The late emperor died and left a law that was both immoral and unfavoured by a faction in the court and the Holy Church – causing a massive dispute within the imperial court, poverty rose, corruption within the nobility caused imbalance within the cabinet, attempted assassination of the emperor and empress, and a planned coup.

    In reality, however, that didn’t happen.

    There was no rise in poverty, no imbalance, no attempted assassination, and no planned coup to begin with. The empire reigned peacefully and productively when the new empress and emperor were crowned. However, the late emperor indeed left a law that bothered most of the imperial court and that there is a division.

    The empress is the second ruling person in the empire, followed by the saint, and then the holy church. She governs the palace and keeps the harem intact. She rules on behalf of the emperor’s absence, and she is the mother of the future sovereign of the empire. Her words are as absolute as the emperor's.

    A year had passed since the emperor passed away. The late emperor managed to live for more than six months before he finally left his people. Before he died, the late emperor proposed a law wherein people of the same gender is granted sanctuary in the empire - and the right to have a family, marriage, land ownership, and such. His new law sparked an outrage within the imperial court which caused a long delay. To add, the church has not said anything about the law nor has any intention to intervene. It is as if they are waiting or remaining in neutrality. With that, the feud stays within the noble faction and imperial faction – those who are in favour and those who are not.

   A knock disturbed me whilst I am having my morning tea. The door opened and my lady-in-waiting entered with a bow, “Your majesty,” the maid spoke, “the Imperial Court is restless. They demand your presence today.”

    I placed my cup back on the table. “They demand the presence of the empress?” I remarked with full authority in her tone.

    The atmosphere in the room changed.

    “Y-Yes, your majesty.”

    Early in the morning and those fools are testing my patience. I thought, They can no longer keep on waiting. If I will continue to avoid them and their call, they might lose respect for me and that is crucial to the imperial family

    I stood up, “Very well. I shall see the court after I visit his majesty.”

    The maid bowed, “I heed the word of her majesty, empress of the empire.”

    The person who rules besides the emperor, the moon of the empire, the reigning woman: I, Bae Joo-hyun "Irene", the empress of the empire. I reigned with Suho and led the empire to its current glory. The empire's treasury continued to flow, famine and drought were overcome, wars were won, and peace remained. The empire continued to flourish. Some thought the position of the monarchy was too much for us, but we proved them wrong. 

     However, that doesn't mean problems no longer arises. 

     Suho is sick. Just like his father, he inherited his bloodline's sickness – an illness that can never be cured. Medicine can delay the symptoms, but just like the late emperor, he will suffer greatly. It doesn't bother the young emperor, but it does concern the rest of the imperial court. Added to the fact that the imperial sickness is hereditary, it can be the end of the imperial bloodline – the end of the empire's future.

     The golden doors met my face. The guard bowed their heads for their empress before announcing my arrival to the person inside the room.

    "Her Majesty, the empress!" The guards shouted in unison.

    The doors opened and I entered. A young man is laying on his bed – back supported by soft cushions as he leaned his upper body against the headrest. His skin was pale as the moon, sweat rolling down from his face, and frail body – the emperor, Suho.

     "Greetings to the sun of the empire," I said with a bow, before greeting my husband with a smile, "I am here, Suho."

     Suho smiled back. "What brought you here today, my dear empress?" He asked, clearing his throat from the dryness he felt.

     I sat on the chair next to her husband's bed. As we are a couple, it is only a custom that they will stay in one room and sleep on one bed. We did spend nights in our room before Suho's sickness attacked him. Even though the illness isn't transferable through contact or by any means, Suho doesn't want to risk anything; hence, I and Suho slept in two different rooms. 

     "I will always come," I replied. "Is it wrong to check on my husband on a daily basis?"

     "I didn't say that,"

     "But your words implied that it is,"

     "Apologies," Suho chuckled. "There are important matters for you to take care of instead of giving this fool a visit every day, you know?"

     I raised one of my eyebrows in disagreement, "My dear husband, you are the emperor of this glorious empire. Your health is important, you are important; thus, I must check on you every day—are you sleeping well? Eating well? How are you feeling? Your recovery—"

     Suho interrupted me, "—is vital for the future. I know, I am aware. You keep telling me so no need to repeat it." He smiled, "I am fine, Irene. The imperial doctor is doing his best to keep me healthy."

     Suho is stubborn, no matter what I do he's adamant with his principles and such. 

     I sighed out of defeat, "I just... I can't help but worry. I can leave the empire under the hands of the imperial court, but not you. Dear god, not you. I must make sure you regain your strength back so you can lead with me once more." I released an exasperated groan, "And so you can banter with the fools in the court because I am sick of them. Clearly!"

     Suho chuckled, then his smile faded. "I am... sorry, Irene."

     "Why are you apologizing?"

     The young emperor turned his head to face the window - gazing through the sun's rays and the brustling of leaves. He answered, "For burdening you with my duties. You're already helping me handle the imperial economy and treasury, now you have to handle the imperial court on my behalf as well as manage the empire's defenses and such."

     A smile formed on my lips. I grabbed my husband's hand, "We vowed in front of the altar, Suho—" I smiled, "through sickness and in health, remember? I know the struggles of being an empress, I was molded to become an empress ever since I was a child. So all of these? It's like the Regina Selection but... until death does us apart."

     The couple laughed.

     I continued, "I know you will regain your strength. There will always be a solution to every problem, and I am close to that solution. The scholars in the east found a remedy to your sickness. They are testing it. I know we shouldn't let our hopes up but if any chance the remedy works, you can be healthy again! You can reign once more."

     Suho kissed my hand, "I can reign with you once more, Irene." He smiled, "Thank you, my dear empress—for all the sacrifices."

     A knock caught our attention. My maid from earlier excused herself and said, "Apologies, your majesties—the empress is needed in the court. The members of the imperial court urgently need the voice of the reigning monarchy."

     Ah. Right. The Imperial Court. 

     Suho must have noticed my expression, he tightened his grip on my hand to assure me that everything will be all right. I know it will be, I just don't want to hear the same banters that the people in court won't even risk compromising.

     Upon arriving, the voices in the court echoed. Even the thick door in front of me cannot suppress the noise of their silly little arguments. Nobles screaming their lungs one after the other - curses, over-the-line responses, you name it all. I have no issues at first, but their disagreements over simple matters are aggravating.

     "Her imperial majesty has arrived!" The courtier announced.

     The doors swung open and only then the bantering ceased. The heads of the court lowered their heads and remained still until I sat on the throne in front of them all. On my right stood the imperial faction, and on my left stood the nobles. The ones near the middle are those who are in neutrality - they don't engage in disputes unless necessary - and the ones in front of the row of the royalty stood the Holy Church followed by the generals.

     "Five imperial concerns will be discussed in today's meeting." Said the courtier, reading the scroll, "First, the concerns of the invasion from the western borders. The call for alliance from the Eastern Continent. The financial assistance from the Magic Tower that governs the Imperial Academy. The concerns of the imperial-wide orphanages. Lastly," the courtier faced me before bowing, "the dispute regarding the late emperor's final order: Freedom of the Same- Relationships, your majesty."

     I spoke, "General," my attention diverted to the imperial general who is stationed below the row of the Holy Church, "what is the situation of our borders? Any word about the reason from the west as to why they decided to trespass on our land?"

     The general stood up and answered, "We strengthened our defenses in the western border, your majesty. The soldiers are ready to defend the walls and attack if necessary. An evacuation plan has also been distributed to the towns near the border—with the help of Marquess Kang, the people will seek refuge in the marches. There are soldiers stationed in other borders as well but we focused most of our strong guards to the west. We also sent notice to the North and Eastern territory about our current dispute. The monarchs said they are ready to assist us in case the Western Kingdom will attack."

     "And the reason for their provocation?"

     "That... we are yet to know, your majesty." The general bowed his head, apologetically. "I apologise for the lack of report. We already sent a messenger, we are waiting for the reply."

     "With the help of our allied friends, I think there is no need for us to be this tight in our borders." One of the nobles said. "The Southern Empire is known for its undefeated army and conquest. Must we keep tightening our soldiers? With just a glance at our army, the enemy will quiver in fear. To add, your majesty, my concern is with the supplies we will have to give to our soldiers. More soldiers mean more distribution of supplies and we already categorized each number for plausible natural disasters and the upcoming drought. We successfully won 3 consecutive wars in a year—I fear won't have enough even if we ask for assistance from our allied friends. Our farmers won't be able to keep up to reach the number of supplies needed."