Breaking Off the Engagement

"Please speak." The Emperor gave his assent.

"I do not wish to get engaged to Prince Heinrich." Kalina said while keeping her eyes fixed on the Emperor.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Heinrich stiffen, his smile gradually fading. His mother also looked up for the first time, her expression full of disbelief.

"Impudent!" The Emperor slammed his fist down on the armrest of his throne. "Do you know what you are saying? Your mother and I have been planning this for years. Fine. You don't want the engagement. At least tell me your reason."

Heinrich's face had turned dark. He opened his mouth to say something, but Kalina cut him off before he could get a sound out.

"Of course, Your Majesty. I'm sure that you're aware that there are two major political factions in the Solythaire Empire." Kalina began recalling what Countess Bianca had told her. "One is the nobles' faction, or the aristocrats. The other, more powerful one is namely the faction controlled by Your Majesty the Emperor.

"The Ephraim family is not a part of either party. In fact, we have been neutral for many years. As of now, the aristocratic party has yet to make any big moves against the imperial faction, but that is because both sides have equal, balanced power. If my family, considered the most powerful one in the Empire, joins a side, then there will be disastrous consequences."

"But we can just suppress them using our power." Heinrich scoffed. He hated the fact that his fiancée, who was supposed to be obediently following him around by now, was spouting nonsense.

"Shut up. You don't know what you're talking about." The Emperor glared at his son, who stopped talking immediately. Kalina had exposed his worries. The aristocratic faction had indeed been growing in power lately. Although the Emperor was incompetent, he wasn't inept to the point where he didn't know what was happening in his empire. He knew that the ministers and officials under him had been working night and day trying to suppress the nobles.

If Kalina married into the imperial family, and the imperial family received her support, the aristocrats would grow wary of them. Then, they might start garnering force in secret.

After a long moment of silence, the Emperor spoke again. "You're right. I should have thought of this earlier."

"Father!" Heinrich protested. He didn't even try to conceal his upset expression anymore. "How can you break off the engagement so easily?"

Heinrich didn't care about Kalina's feelings nor did he like her. He cared that his fiancée, who was supposed to belong to him, was being taken away from him.

"Will you stop whining? It's just a fiancée. There are lots of noble ladies with a good background that can replace her." The Emperor snapped at his son. "Or, could it be that you like her?"

"No, I don't." Heinrich's frown deepened and he finally quieted down. He didn't like her. She was just pretty. Her personality wasn't even his type. She was too outspoken for his taste. Just like the Emperor said, it didn't have to be her. His future wife was just a position to be filled by someone with the necessary requirements.

"It's settled. The engagement between Lady Kalina and my son is annulled. Duchess Ephraim, do you agree with this outcome?"

"Oh? Yes, I agree, Your Majesty." The Duchess hadn't expected Kalina to take matters into her own hands. She had easily turned the opposing political parties into the reason for breaking off the engagement. If it weren't for this point, the Emperor might not have given the matter a second thought.

"Then that's good. Duchess Ephraim, if it weren't for your clever daughter, I would have made a grave mistake. Servants, reward the Duchess with the painting I bought the other day."

"Your Majesty, there's no reason to reward me. I just wish for my daughter's happiness is all."

The Emperor let out a hearty laugh. "Well, then I won't hold you any further. You are dismissed."

As the Duchess and Kalina exited the throne room, both the Imperial Concubine and her son had their eyes fixed on Kalina's retreating silhouette.

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After the meeting, the Duchess went off to discuss work with a government official, leaving Kalina to explore on her own. A palace maid silently followed behind her in case she got lost.

The imperial palace of the Solythaire consisted of a tall outer wall surrounding the entire structure, many separated palaces inside of the wall, and gardens filling the remaining space.

There was the main palace, where guests were received and the ministers worked. It was the largest. Then there was the Emperor's palace and the Empress's palace, as well as palaces for the princesses and princes. In this case, only one was being used: Heinrich's palace. The second prince stayed in the Empress's palace. The Imperial Concubine resided in her own side palace.

It was a design that caused the members of the imperial family to feel distanced from each other. If the Emperor and the Empress wanted to spend time together, they would have to visit the other's palace. Of course the current imperial couple hated the thought of seeing each others' faces, but for previous loving couples, it must have been troublesome.

Kalina wandered through a garden filled with white lilies. She paused to feel up an especially large blossom while lost in thought. The picture of a charming young girl surrounded by flowers surfaced in the nearby servants' eyes. Many stopped to stare before blinking a few times and moving on.

"You." Kalina turned to the palace maid beside her. "Do you know the way to the Empress's palace?"

The maid hesitated before replying: "Yes, I do. But, Lady Kalina, even if I led you there, the Empress seldom takes visitors. I'm afraid that..."

"It's fine. Just take me there. Rest assured, I won't blame you."

The maid swiftly led Kalina to the Empress's palace. She nervously excused herself, as if she was afraid of hanging around the palace.

The Empress's palace was just as large as the other palaces, but it had a desolate feeling instead of an elegant one. There were no vibrant flowers in the gardens surrounding it, only a few shrubs and trees that hadn't been trimmed in a long time. A stone fountain must once have spouted tall spurts of water from its top like a volcano, but now it lay dormant.

Kalina sat down on the side of the fountain and looked down into the puddle of water that remained in the bottom. A few leaves floated in the murky water.

'This is no place for an Empress to be staying.'

Suddenly, she felt a pair of eyes fixed on her. She quickly got up and looked around, but all she saw was a black shadow disappearing behind a hedge.

If it weren't for her fancy dress that limited her movements, she would have gone to investigate. Sighing, Kalina sat back down on the fountain and smoothed out her dress.

The sun was low in the sky when she heard footsteps approach. Her eyelids that had been closed flitted open, the fan-like eyelashes revealing golden irises.

A middle-aged woman wearing a lady-in-waiting's outfit stood in front of Kalina. Gray strands were mixed in with her nut-brown hair. Circular wire-framed glasses rested on the tip of her nose. She had a friendly smile on her face, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Lady Kalina."

"Baroness." The person in front of Kalina was Baroness Noyan, the Empress's most trusted confidante. Kalina had never met her before, but she had received information about her appearance from Countess Bianca, who was also a friend of the Empress.

"Empress Juniper is waiting for you. Please follow me."