They exchange glances at the way their Empress acted. This is so not her. They never see the Empress being so joyful about something.

'Maybe she is happy because she finally has the mana that she has been longing for,' that is what Harold thought. The four ladies who know better than the Empress might have lost her memories because she can barely know them. But they are happy their master has mana, and her tongue-tied condition is no longer helping her to great weakness.

Once she enhances it, the people of the empire, including the Emperor and his three concubines, will recognize her.

"I remember something," Urduja says and turns to Harold. "Since you need to deliver a message, tell them that I don't have my tongue-tied condition. But don't tell them about me having mana. Is that okay?"

'She talks differently.' Harold says in his mind. Gone is the soft-spoken Empress he remembered. 'Has the Empress been like this lively and bubbly before? Before she met Emperor Alistair?' He wonders.

Harold understands her and nods his head. "Your wish is my command, Your Imperial Majesty. I shall relay a message to His Imperial Majesty. Worry not, for I am your loyal servant."

'I will help Her Imperial Majesty with everything I can so she will be recognized by the Emperor again.'

"I shall take my leave. You can take a rest for a day or two."

"Thank you!" Urduja beams and waves at him.

"Camila, you shall go with the Imperial Physician and escort him until he leaves," Gertrude orders. "Ingrid, you need to take our Empress's evening meal so she can rest later."

"I will." Camila and Ingrid nod their heads and leave the chamber.

Urduja lifts her eyes to the study table and carefully approaches it. She sees a heavy red book entitled 'The Combination of Mana and Magic Armament'. The title has a gold cursive style that makes it unique. It piqued her curiosity.

"That is your favorite book, Your Imperial Majesty."

She flinches at the speech of Polly, who suddenly appears beside her, peeking at the book she is looking at.

"I-I see." She is planning to study this. She needs to understand what mana is. But first, she needs to be alone so she can explore this luxury room she is in. She glances at the window. It is already dark now. "What is it?" she asks and approaches the bookshelf displayed in the chamber.

"It is already eight in the evening, Your Imperial Majesty," Gertrude answers.

She stops at the painting again. "Can you tell me more about Emperor Alistair? How did I end up marrying him?" She wonders.

Polly and Gertrude exchange glances. Then they start to tell her the story she wants to hear.

They say that she was from a lower rank noble family and ended up as a dancer at a tavern. She entertained men and was taken by the Emperor. The Emperor showered her with so much affection until something happened between them, and they married after that.

"What? One night stand?!" She can't help exclaiming.

"Pardon me, Your Imperial Majesty, but what is a one-night stand?" Polly asks in curiosity.

'Oh. They didn't know about that term...'

"Nothing. Just never mind."

'A one-night stand and Urduja was forced to marry this man... The fuck is wrong with this timeline I was at.'

She shakes her head.

She listens and understands everything. The Emperor found out about her condition and low mana after they got married. Her ladies-in-waiting say that she lost the favor of His Imperial Majesty. The Emperor has taken three concubines to live in the palace. All the attention she deserves is now focused on his three concubines.

'What a fuck up love story.'

She already has an inkling about concubines from the empire. She reads books about how messed up the royal and imperial family was when she was a Corinne Fallen.

'Concubines are just sugar-coated for mistresses. It's like legalizing having an affair. This Emperor is an asshole as well! The audacity! She feels sorry for the real Urduja who experienced hardships. Her life has become miserable because of this stupid Emperor...'

"Where is that Emperor now?" she asks, gritting her teeth. She darts her eyes to the image of Emperor Alistair in the painting.

"That Emperor?" Gertrude is shocked by the way Her Imperial Majesty addressed their His Imperial Majesty. She looks at Polly, who has the same expression as hers.

They can't believe that their Empress can say something unpleasant. They know how their Empress cherishes His Imperial Majesty right now. With her memory lost, she forgets that she is in love with their Emperor.

Polly speaks. "He has been on an expedition for five days already, Your Imperial Majesty."

'An expedition, huh?'

"I see." She wants to meet him and makes him realize how stupid and asshole he is.

Her other ladies-in-waiting, Camila and Ingrid, arrive. Her evening meal is served. She hurries to take her meal and finishes them.

"Girls," she calls them.

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty?" They kneel a little while bowing their heads.

She looks at them. Urduja already has some plans to gain what this real Urduja deserves in the first place.

"I hope no one knows about me having mana. I am only hoping the four of you who know this news won't tell this to anyone."

"But what if Her Imperial Majesty oppressed you by the three concubines again? They should know that you are not as incompetent as of right now," Polly cries.

Her heart softens. The real Urduja has some very trusted companions. As Corinne in the soul, she only trusts herself. She has no companions to be with ever since she studied in college. She is adventurous and sometimes reckless, yes, but no one wants to befriend a weirdo like her, even though she has the capabilities to be a leader. She has led many organizations, yet her classmates are a bit afraid of her.

"I know that. But don't worry, I will not let them oppress me again. I need to work on my powers first. Then earn the respect of the people of the empire. I hope you understand my whims."

She needs to convince them not to tell anyone. She likes giving out full of surprises. She will do her best just as she always did for her school projects and be a part-time worker.

This is for the sake of real Urduja. This is the rise of the fallen Empress!

"We understand, Your Imperial Majesty."

Urduja nods. "You can go back to your..." she pauses. 'How do they say 'room' here? Chamber? Quarter?' "To your quarters. I would like to take my rest."

They nod and leave her chamber. She waits for a moment before she finally strolls around this spacious room.

"I can open a lot for sale here," she says to herself and opens the bathroom door. "Wow! Bathtub!" She almost squeals. "Shit... I have been wanting to have my bathtub." She giggles.

She goes to the wardrobe and sees a bunch of dresses. Some can be worn in summer and winter. There are some clothes that she doesn't need to wear.

"Cool!" She checks every clothes she sees as her eyes sparkle in fascination. She even kneels to check underneath them and feels something hard. She pulls it out and opens the antique box. It is in a hidden place, so it cannot be found by anyone.

She slowly opens it and sees the bell together with a stationary. She touches the bell, and it feels bitterly cold. "Is this the bell made of ice? I can call the wizard through this?" She tilts her head. Can she call the wizard through this?

Before she can even try to ring it, her eyes are glued to the stationary notebook inside of it. She carefully places down the bell, and with curiosity getting the best of her, she flips the pages and then opens them to the recent pages that it is handwritten.

"Must be from the real Urduja," she says and checks the real Urduja's handwritten words. She is awed seeing how nicely written her paragraphs are. "Whoa... It's like I used a computerized font from Microsoft Word," she says through chuckles.

'I love Emperor Alistair so much. I am willing to give up everything so I can have his favor for me again. If only I didn't have this kind of condition and if I also had mana, he wouldn't treat me like I don't deserve to be the Empress of his empire...'

She caresses a certain page. She can feel how broken Urduja is. How she wants to beg for his attention, but she can't do it.

'But I can't take this anymore... I can't bear the pain that I already lost him, but I can't keep living like this. I have been enduring this ever since he forced me to marry him. Alistair went on an expedition and hasn't come back after two days. I want to talk to him once he comes back from his expedition...

I want to tell him that I want to divorce him.'

She gasps.

'What? Divorce?'