When I awoke, Huston was sitting by my bedside.

"Your Majesty…"

"There's no need for formalities in your condition."

He kindly placed a soft pillow behind me and personally held a bowl of medicine to my lips.

After I finished drinking, he gently stroked my hair and said tenderly.

"I've already punished Amy's servants. It was their gossip that made her recklessly confront you in your palace."

"Don't hold it against her."

"She usually follows the rules well."

I was speechless for a moment. He had seen her beat me without cause. He must have known it had nothing to do with the servants.

Yet he still defended her.

I sat up straight, looking him directly in the eyes. For the first time, I realized that the frail boy I once knew had transformed into a towering figure, every expression imbued with the authority of an emperor.

"Your Majesty, I've known you for 18 years. I know your heart better than anyone."

"Have you fallen in love with Empress Amy? Do you no longer love me?"

"How dare you!"

He abruptly stood, knocking over the bowl of medicine, and angrily pointed at me.

"I am the Emperor! How dare you presume to guess my thoughts!"

"Who gave you the courage?"

I knelt on the bed, bowing my head.

"If Your Majesty has fallen in love with the Empress, then please let me go. I'm willing to pray for Your Majesty from afar."

"If you dare speak such nonsense again, I'll have your head!"

Huston did not answer my plea. He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

For half a year after that, Huston didn't set foot in my palace.

He had confined me, forbidding me from leaving freely or seeing anyone.

His imperial guards surrounded the palace, and anyone who attempted to send me winter clothes or firewood would be executed.

Fortunately, I was quick-witted. I had several blankets taken apart to make coats for everyone and chopped wood from the back garden to light fires and keep warm, preventing others from suffering alongside me.

However, there was no solution for the food shortage, and my medicine supplies were running low as well.

Gradually, my old illnesses began to resurface, and my body grew weaker.

Each week, the head of the imperial guards would knock on my door arrogantly to inquire,

"Miss Renee, has the Emperor's question been answered?"

What question?

Huston simply wanted me to beg for forgiveness, to promise I'd willingly stay by his side as a nameless, insignificant servant woman, never to leave.

I shook my head bitterly.

"No. Please, do not ask again."

He glanced at me in shock, scoffed, and left with his sword.

When hunger became unbearable for everyone, I asked someone to bring me paper and ink.

I coughed while writing by the dim light of a kerosene lamp.

I wrote about how Huston and I met, how we came to know and love each other.

I wrote about how we fought side by side, resisting the former Empress's attempts to destroy us.

I wrote about my five years of imprisonment, enduring suffering and torment, surviving those endless nights only by holding onto a single scrap of his words.

I wrote about the beautiful dreams I had for our future, hoping to win his heart and grow old together.

How simple my wish was.

Yet the world changes, as do hearts.

All the love and sincerity I once gave had been repaid with, "Ah, how easily the heart of an old friend changes."

Tears fell as I wrote.

I handed the folded letter to the head guard, asking him to deliver it to the Emperor.

The next day, Huston, with tears in his eyes, lifted my confinement.

Since my release, it seemed that Huston wanted to reconcile with me.

Not only did he lavish me with gold, silver, and jewels, but he also sent the latest fashionable dresses. Every time I wore them, he would gaze at me, resting his chin in his hands, showering me with praise.

"My Renee is truly the most charming woman!"

"Everything looks beautiful on you!"

But in truth, I was far from beautiful now.

After my confinement.

My body had become frailer than ever.

As if it would shatter at a touch.

Yet despite this, I lovingly embraced him, breathing in the faint fragrance of his hair.

"Huston, hearing you say that makes me so happy."

Huston touched my pale face.

"Renee, take care of your health."

"Your birthday is coming soon, and I'm going to give you the grandest celebration!"

However, my birthday banquet never came to be.

On the day itself, I had dressed in a bright red wedding gown, wearing a bridal crown and red embroidered shoes, hoping to indulge in a dream of marrying him.

But at that very moment, Amy's mother fell ill and had to leave the Fensville to seek treatment. She insisted that Huston personally see her off.

"Your Majesty, I only have this one mother."

"I don't know when I'll see her again!"

"Your Majesty, don't you care about my pain in saying farewell?"

Her eyes filled with tears, her delicate face streaked with sorrow, looking so pitiful.

Without hesitation, Huston let go of my hand and gently wiped her tears away.

Turning to me with a troubled expression, he said.

"Renee, you have many birthdays, but Amy has only one mother."

"If her mother passes away without a cure, this will be their last meeting."

"Please, be understanding and let her have this moment, hmm?"

A heavy bitterness clogged my throat, rendering me speechless, leaving only disappointment in my eyes.

So many birthdays, he said.

But he didn't know.

This would be the last birthday of my life.

Misty dusk.