"Julian, Julian, Julian! Why am I constantly being compared to him?!" – Emperor James's cry echoed through the room. He threw a vase of flowers right next to Mirabelle's face, the empress flinching at the sound of shattering glass behind her.

As James wrecked the room, the empress clutched the hem of her dress, biting her lip. Again. He had another tantrum at the meeting, and the officials put him in his place. It was fortunate that Duke Julian couldn't attend today due to urgent matters, otherwise the emperor's shame would have been even greater, but James didn't understand that, as always.

Mirabelle had many questions in her head – why was she forced to marry him? Why did James become emperor, and not Julian? Why does he constantly try to surpass his brother, even though he knows it's useless? But she remained silent and endured, as always. She had to be a good empress and wife, had to somehow cope with this, so that a rebellion wouldn't start, she couldn't allow that.

Gathering her thoughts, she quietly exhaled under her breath and cautiously approached James, taking him by the sleeve. "Your Majesty, you should calm down," the girl calmly requested, praying that he would come to his senses at least a little, but instead of an answer, she received a slap.

Mirabelle grabbed her cheek, trembling fingers tracing the red mark, as James berated her. "Calm down?! Who are you to tell me what to do? I am the emperor, my word is law! I won't let some woman control me!" the emperor shouted. Every word was absurd, because it was thanks to Mirabelle and her decisions that they could still hold power, but this boy didn't understand that.

Throwing off the last thing remaining on the table, the emperor left the room, probably going to the embrace of his mistresses, as always. Over time, the girl had resigned herself to this, in fact, deep down she was glad that the emperor had kept her innocent, he hadn't even kissed her once. Mirabelle needed a man's affection and care, but being James's wife, she stopped dreaming of such a thing, focusing on the affairs of the Sun Empire.

The empress managed to return to her room and tidy herself up. She concealed the mark from Julian's blow with powder and stood by the window, admiring the gardens below and wondering – how much longer could she fight for power before they were overthrown?