Ottol confronted his late-night visitor in the corridor, and he did not trouble himself to hide how much the interruption had cost him. He demanded to know what she wanted at this hour.
Evelyn remarked that he seemed flustered. She asked, playfully, whether he was too busy for tea — or simply too eager to get back to the empress.
His patience gave out. He told her to get to the point.
The facade dropped away, and her tone changed entirely.
Did he remember, she asked, the important date coming the month after next?
Ottol's jaw tightened. He remembered it.
It was the anniversary of Alaric's death.
Evelyn's expression softened. She had dreamed of him recently, she said. She had dreamed of his kindness, and when she woke she had felt as though he were still right there with her.
Then she asked the emperor directly whether he recalled the promise he had made to Alaric — that he would take care of her instead.
His temper flared without warning. He shouted that he had not forgotten and commanded her to stop talking about it.
The sudden rage left Evelyn stunned and momentarily speechless.
She tried to defend herself, claiming she had not brought Alaric up on purpose. And then her next words betrayed her entirely, because she asked, coldly, whether he still felt guilty about his friend's passing even now — even after three years.
The accusation struck exactly where she had aimed it. The emperor stood trembling in silent anguish.
She offered an apology she did not mean. The damage was already done. Ottol turned away, bid her a cold good night, and walked off down the corridor.
Once the door had slammed shut behind him, a smirk appeared on Evelyn's face.
She knew now that the name was the perfect weapon, and that it would work on him every single time.
Her cruel words sent Ottol into a spiral before he had crossed half the palace.
His head throbbed violently and the memories came up out of the dark to meet him. Voices echoed all around, accusing him of taking his brother Alaric's life to claim the throne. He tried to reason with the ghosts of his own past, insisting that it had been a fair struggle for power, that he had never wanted any of it.
Overwhelmed, he screamed for the torment to stop.
And then a familiar, calming fragrance cut through the anguish like a hand reaching into deep water.
A desperate need washed over him. He turned and went, following the scent like a lifeline, until he found the door it came from.
Inside, Flora was sleeping soundly, entirely unaware of the storm walking toward her.
Overcome by memories he had no other defence against, Ottol crossed to her bedside and gently got into the bed beside her, seeking the only comfort in the world that could silence the voices.
He pulled her close and buried his face near her neck and breathed her in, and the suffocating grip of the past loosened, and for the first time all night a wave of peace came over him.
The next morning, Flora stirred under an unfamiliar weight.
She opened her eyes, and every trace of drowsiness left her at once, because Ottol was asleep on the pillow beside her.
Stunned, she tried to process the impossible. He had been with Evelyn last night. He had left her and gone to Evelyn. Therefore this could not be happening, and therefore this was a dream.
Reassured by that logic, she settled in to look at him. He did not seem so frightening up close. She could feel the warmth of his breath, and her heart began to race, and she was thoroughly flustered by the closeness of him.
Then, still convinced she was dreaming, her shock curdled into indignation.
She gave him a firm shove and informed him that he could not simply do as he pleased.
The movement woke the emperor, who sat up completely disoriented and wondered aloud how he had got here.
His confusion twisted into something else. Believing that he was the one dreaming, he glared at her and called her a horrible person for appearing in front of him like this.
He took her face in his hand and asked her, with terrible intensity, whether she was planning on going somewhere again — mistaking her, entirely, for someone else.
Still certain this was a dream of his own, Ottol asked whether she truly did not want to be by his side.
Flora, equally certain that it was hers, felt a wave of boldness that was nothing like her. She knew perfectly well that she should not be so forward. She was drawn toward him anyway, as though under a spell.
Acting on impulse, she leaned in and kissed him.
The move stunned Ottol so thoroughly that it snapped him awake. He was baffled. Last night this woman had been trembling with fear at his touch. Why on earth was she behaving like this now?
He froze where he was. Her strong floral scent filled the air around him as she leaned over him.
Believing herself safely inside a dream, Flora felt a rush of courage. She asked why he was looking away, and whether that meant he disliked her. Before he could answer, she silenced him, declaring that he was not in charge of this moment.
She caught the front of his shirt and pulled herself closer and told him she would not give him room to refuse.
Ottol was utterly baffled, wondering what kind of game she thought she was playing.
Her first attempt was clumsy. She was so inexperienced that she forgot to breathe.
Ottol, wondering seriously whether she was trying to suffocate him, gently pulled her away and calmly advised her to take a breath. And next time, he added, she should try to remember to do it.
The advice echoed around Flora's head, and another wave of boldness came with it.
With her new confidence she leaned in for a second kiss, silently wishing the dream would go on forever.
This time he did not pull away. He was lost in her scent, in the whole overwhelming floral weight of it.
Which is when the bedroom door swung open.
A maid came cheerfully in to begin the morning preparations, and her smile vanished at the sight of the imperial couple tangled together on the bed.
Mortified, Flora turned her face away, understanding all at once that she had made an enormous mistake. The maid stammered an apology and pulled the door shut.
Alone again, Flora froze, as a horrifying thought arrived and made itself at home.
This had not been a dream at all. Every bold thing she had just done had been entirely, unmistakably real.
Panicked, she dropped her head and began apologising profusely for her behaviour.
Ottol cleared his throat, a bit flustered himself, and calmly reassured her that as a married couple there was nothing wrong with what had happened.
Flora was consumed by guilt anyway, convinced that she had forced herself on a man who disliked her.
Ottol was genuinely confused by the assumption. He ran a hand through his hair and privately thought that her sleepy confidence had been rather cute.
In the palace gardens that morning, two noblewomen named Iona and Luna were gossiping about the empress.
They had heard that Flora was surprisingly bold in her marriage, and they chalked it up to some foreign resilience peculiar to Pedanians.
Spotting the emperor's physician crossing the lawn, they immediately cornered him and peppered him with questions about the imperial couple.
Cecil tried to refuse, stating that their majesties' private lives were exactly that.
However, a coachman standing nearby quieted the ladies down with a raised hand — only to lean in and confirm every single one of the romantic rumours, and leave them speechless with the details.
Back in the royal palace of Pedania, Queen Mila received a report she had not expected to receive.
Against all odds, the girl had survived. More than survived: by every account, Flora had won over the tyrant of Nordvein.
A nobleman at the queen's side pointed out that this was a perfect opportunity — that a woman inside the emperor's household could be turned into a weapon of revenge.
The queen smirked, and began to consider how best to make use of the girl.
Flora, meanwhile, knew nothing about any of it. She sat in front of a full plate, lost in thought, without the slightest appetite.
Her maid misinterpreted the situation completely. Vishi took one look at the untouched breakfast and the faraway expression, and in a burst of excitement she dashed off to find the imperial physician, leaving a very confused empress behind her.