"Von..." I uttered.
Her emotionless face made me anxious. She looked like she was going to eat me.
"My name is Empress Isha," she corrected me.
"I know it's you, Von," I said.
Her eyebrow went up. "What?"
"I know it's you," I repeated.
"What are you talking about?" she asked with annoyance.
"I have so many questions for you. How did you end up here?"
"With all due respect, Your Majesty, I don't want this conversation to continue."
"I know you know me," I said, then held her hands.
She wanted to pull away, but I held her hands tightly.
"I'm sorry, Von, for coming back here," I said sincerely.
She didn't respond. She just looked at me.
"I hope you can still forgive me. I know I made a big mistake, which I admit. I was selfish and greedy for leaving you alone in our world. I'm sorry."
"Look at yourself," she started.
My grip on her hands loosened. It was her chance to pull away.
"You were too desperate," she added.
"Am I?" I didn't ask her that question—it was directed at myself.
"Too desperate to solve everything without thinking about the outcome."
"Von..."
"You've caused such a scene that the story's flow has already been affected."
"Von." I kept calling her name because I didn't know what else to say.
"I don't want you to experience the pain I've been through in this book," she added.
"Tell me what happened to you in this book."
She looked away. "In this world, we are not best friends. We are enemies. I don't want to talk to you anymore."
"Von, please. I know you're still mad at me, but I need your help."
She raised her eyebrow. "Help? I already did, but you refused."
I was hurt by her words. But what could I do? It was my fault that she became cold to me.
"Sorry."
"You should have said that before," she said, then walked away.
I tried to stop her by pulling her sleeve. "Please, Von. I only have you. I can't bear to lose you."
She smiled sadly. "You already lost me the moment you decided to come back here."
I pulled back my hand, shocked.
This was not the old Von. She is Empress Isha...
Feeling guilty and sad, I still bowed my head to pay respect to her. After all, she said I already lost her. It was all my fault—I know that. My decision ruined everything, especially our friendship.
I stayed there, standing, watching her walk away. I just lost the most important person in my life. I wanted to cry, but I tried to hold back my tears.
Someone behind me held my shoulder. I looked at the person—it was Min Yun.
I looked at Min Yun with pity in my eyes. But he didn't seem to mind.
"The event is not done yet, Your Majesty. You should socialize with the other royals."
Right. I shouldn't act like a weak leader. I am the queen of this country. I should show them I am worthy of being queen. I glanced once again at the path where Von had walked away. After this, I will win her back. I won't stop until she forgives me.
Min Yun escorted me to the group of royalty. There, they started smiling at me, admiration clear in their eyes.
"I didn't think you had an angelic voice. Your performance a while ago highlighted the event." – Queen 1
"I agree. The king is so lucky to have you." – Queen 2
The other queens nodded in agreement. I looked at Min Yun, but he had already left.
"Thank you for the compliment. I appreciate that you enjoyed the event," I answered.
"Actually, my husband told me that the king is young. I know about his history. The former king died abruptly, without him being prepared." – Queen 3
"Yeah, I agree. Rumors also spread that he is a weak leader." – Queen 4
My smile faded when I heard that. Are they mocking the king?
"But seeing this successful event proved that the rumor was false." – Queen 5
I forced a smile. "A rumor is just a rumor, Your Majesties. You know that people who oppose the king will do everything just to ruin his image. I don't think he is a weak leader. If he were, I wouldn't have married him," I said, then tried to laugh.
They laughed with me, too.
"See? Even the queen disagrees." – Queen 1
"Yeah. I wouldn't even marry a weak leader, even if he were the most powerful being in the country." – Queen 6
"By the way, since it's been months since your marriage, is there a child already?" Queen 7 asked, pointing at my tummy.
I was shocked, but I remained calm. I didn't want them to doubt me.
"Still trying," I replied shortly.
"Conceiving is not easy. I've been there too."Everyone became quiet when someone behind us spoke.
When we looked to see who was talking, the queens bowed their heads.
"Empress Isha..." I called.
She just looked at me with her cold eyes.
"May I borrow the queen? I want to talk to her personally," she said.
"Of course, you can have her." – Queen 1
"Thanks," she said, then motioned for me to follow her with just a look.
I hurriedly followed her. When we were far from the crowd, Von stopped.
"Thank you," I uttered.
She looked at me. "You never liked socializing with other people."
That touched my heart. She knew I wasn't comfortable talking in a crowd.
"You still care for me," I said.
I had so many questions in my mind that I wanted to ask.
"Ask now."
"Huh?"
"Are you deaf now?"
"Aren't you angry at me anymore?"
"I changed my mind."
My eyes sparkled. "Thank you, Von."
"But just because I'm talking to you now doesn't mean I've forgotten what you did."
"I know. It was my fault. I had this urge to help the king catch the culprit."
"Yeah, that means you chose him over me," she said, sounding offended.
"That's not what I meant. I planned to go back once I caught the culprit."
"Then how are you going back?"
I didn't respond. That was the question I hadn't even thought of. How can I go back home? What if I have no chance to go back home?
"Sometimes you don't even think things through. You just do whatever comes to mind," there was bitterness in her voice.
"I regret it."
"Do you know the reason why I came back here?"
I looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"Because I didn't want you to be in danger. You don't know how many enemies you made when you decided to help the king."
Her statement warmed my heart.
"I still see you not only as my best friend but as a sister. Even though you prefer reading your books rather than spending your free time with me."
I bit my lower lip and somehow felt guilty.
"But still, I understand you. If I didn't, I would have just let you stay here and die in this world."
"You seem to know this world," I said.
"Yeah. I wouldn't have become an empress if I didn't."
Then I remembered how the queens respected her.
"They bowed their heads to you," I stated.
"Because I am the empress of the most powerful country."
"How did that happen?"
"Just like you, I married the emperor to help him."
"Where is the emperor?" I asked.
"He died."
"What?"
"He died due to a complicated illness."
"You're ruling the country by yourself?"
She nodded.
"But when I went back, you were there in our world. Before I was here, I was with you, shopping."
"I can go back and forth between this world and our world. I have multiple accesses."
"How did you do that?"
"You don't need to know. I don't want you to follow the path I'm on."
"That's why you didn't want me to read books that much. Because you were afraid it might happen to me."
"Which happened."
I nodded in agreement.
"Let's go back home. This time, it's for real."
"How about you being the empress? Who will succeed you?"
"My son."
"Your son?"