The New Empress: The Beginning

“Where am I?” I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar room. I sat up but was greeted with a sharp pain on my temples.

“Your majesty, you’re awake.” I opened my eyes and saw a young girl wearing a bright blue kimono. Aino? Her face showed concern. Wait, why do I know her name?

“Aino? Is that you?” She breathes a sigh of relief. 

“Oh your majesty, you scared me. I thought you were never going to wake up. It’s been almost a month since the accident.” Accident? Suddenly a vivid flashback came before me. 

[Flashback]

“You will never be the empress. Have fun in hell.” That was the last thing I heard before falling into the lake. I can’t swim. Those words repeated in my head. 

I remember everything but… these aren’t my memories. 

“Your majesty? Empress Yukina? Are you okay?” Aino snapped me out of my trance.

Empress Yukina? These must be her memories. I am not Yukina. The last thing I remember was…

[Flashback]

That’s right. I was a spy and was about to retreat after successfully infiltrating the largest company in Japan. Everything was going well when the whole building exploded and I was caught in the explosion. I must’ve died at the same time as the Empress. My soul must’ve found its way into this body.

Without answering Aino, I stood up and went to the mirror. This face… it resembles my face. Tojou Miu’s face. I have no choice but to live this life. Empress Yukina’s life. I’ve often read that being the empress at this time period is really unforgiving. I must be cautious as to not arouse suspicion. I do have her memories, though not all of them. Just enough for me to go by.

“Aino, what happened?” First things first. I have to know what happened to Empress Yukina. 

“You were seen floating through the lake your majesty. It was a good thing that you were found and was saved.” It was clear that Aino and Yukina were close. I could see the concern in her eyes. She means well.

“Who saved me? How did I end up in the river?” I only have a slight clue how I ended up floating in that river. All I remember was a shrill voice and the feeling of someone pushing me. 

“He did not introduce himself to your majesty. After setting you down here, he promptly left without another word. As for how you got into the lake, nobody knows. The day you fell, we were at the Royal garden and you sent me to pick some Tsubakis near the Shijo Bridge but when I got back, you were gone. I looked for you everywhere and then suddenly everyone was fussing over something by the lake. When I saw you unconscious, I immediately called for the palace doctor. I tried asking around for what happened but every person that I asked didn’t see you before the accident. Nobody knows how you ended up in the river.” Damn! And to think I may have had a lead.

This doesn’t make any sense. How could Yukina fall into the lake without any witnesses? Someone must be hiding something. I must find out what happened to Yukina. 

“Your majesty, you should go back to bed. Are you hungry? Would you like to eat something?” I sighed. I went back to bed and instructed Aino to fetch me something to eat. When she left, I tried to piece together what Aino told me and what I knew. Some things are missing. I must find out what really happened that afternoon. 

In my previous life, I was a spy. Not just a regular spy, I was the best. I knew everything from martial arts to medicine. I was a med student before the order found me. I had extensive training in all forms of martial arts, even swordsmanship. I could speak 15 languages, I could escape any situation, and I could even concoct my own antidote for any type of poison. I was at the top, but an unforeseen event cost me my life. Now I have to find meaning in this new life. I have to find out and avenge Yukina.

Suddenly, the doors flew open and an exasperated Aino flew in, bowing at me.

“His majesty has come to see you.” His majesty? Does she mean the Emperor?  I signaled for Aino to stand. Two men came into the room and bowed at me.

“His majesty, Emperor Kagami Sora.” The Emperor stepped into my room. He was… something I’ve never seen before. His aura radiated with sophistication and elegance. He’s handsome, no doubt. But something felt wrong when he looked at me. His gaze was cold. Something seems so wrong in his presence. I figured he must not care about Yukina but he came here for formalities. I decided to act accordingly. Acting weak and frail, I tried to bow to him.

“Your… majesty.” I groaned. Wow, my acting is spot on. I should’ve been an actress in my previous life. His servants were shocked and wanted to help me but they feared the Emperor. 

“No need to bow to me, my empress.” I looked up at him but was greeted by a cold stare. What are you playing Sora?

“Thank you your majesty. I am pleased to be blessed by your presence.” I sat back down on my bed and awaited his next move.

“I am glad that you are awake though it seems that you are still weak. You should stay here until you have fully recovered.” His tone was monotonous. No sense of emotion whatsoever. I guess being the Emperor; you have no time for emotions. 

“As you wish your majesty.” I tried to smile at him but he seemed… surprised? Oh, what do we have here? Doesn’t Empress Yukina smile at you? 

“I shall take my leave.” He said. I bowed again and he left. Fuck, this place is too formal. Aino closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Did you see that your majesty, the Emperor was flustered when you smiled at him.” 

“Flustered? When? I didn’t see a change of emotion. And Aino please call me Yukina. “Aino seemed to be taken aback by what I said.

“But your majesty…” I cut her off

“No buts. It’s just between you and me. Don’t worry.” I winked at her. I stood up from the bed and examined the room. It’s big and spacious. A thought suddenly came to me.

Don’t Emperors and Kings in this time period have, like, a shit ton of wives? What do they call it? Concubines? Something like that. Since I’m the Empress, I must be higher in favor. But don’t concubines usually want to win the Emperor’s favor? Do I have to face that now?

“Aino, how many concubines does the Emperor have?” I turned around and found Aino placing food on the table. I didn’t even see her bring food, where’d she get those?

“Do you not remember your ma--- Yukina? The Emperor has 5 concubines living here. Almost all of them have not taken a liking to you.” I knew it. 

“I’m sorry Aino; the accident must’ve caused me to lose my memories. Could you tell me all about them?” I sat down at the table and Aino sat across from me.

“Well, first of all is Lady Sogo Aiyo, first daughter of General Sogo Katsuhide. She’s terrible. She always finds faults in you so she would be favored by the Emperor.” Oh boy, there’s one bitch. 

“Second one is Lady Sogo Ima, second daughter of General Sogo Katsuhide and sister of Lady Aiyo. They have the same personality.” Two bitches

 ”Next is Lady Honomi Tori, the fifth daughter of Daimyo Honomi Akimoto. She’s been good to you as she is almost always the target of the other concubines. She must’ve had a hard time when you weren’t awake. She’s the youngest out of all the other concubines.” Poor girl. I should pay her a visit.

“The fourth one is Lady Aya Hiwa, second daughter of Daimyo Aya Nagatasuke.  She is Lady Aiyo’s best friend. Both of them have the same mean personality. Always trying to win the Emperor’s favor.” Here comes the third bitch.

“And the last one is Lady Hisamatsu Tsuya, the only daughter of General Hisamatsu Taketoshi. The meanest of them all. She always threatens you and then blames you for things you did not do. You never fight back and that’s why she loves to insult and threaten you. She also has some knowledge of martial arts since her father is a general. Please be careful around her Yukina.” Martial arts you say? Oh this just got way more interesting. 

After listening to Aino, I decided to take a stroll outside my room to clear my head and process the information. 

As I was walking through the garden, a group of ladies headed my way. This seems like trouble

“Empress Yukina, you are finally awake. We are delighted to see that you are alright.” All of their faces have no hint of sincerity in them. I bet one of them is responsible for Yukina’s death. Aino pulled my arm and whispered to my ear.

“The one on the far left is Lady Hiwa and the one next to her is Lady Aiyo, Lady Ima and the girl who spoke to you was Lady Tsuya.” I decided to ignore them and tried to walk past them but they seem to be in the mood to fight me. 

“Where are you going, Empress? Don’t you want to talk to us? It’s been quite lonesome without you.” I ignored her once again but she grabbed my arm.

“I’m talking to you. Just because you had an accident, it doesn’t give you the right to ignore me.” Her grip was tight on my arm. I pulled back and she let me go.

“I don’t like to waste my time on something unimportant as this.” Lady Tsuya’s face grew red.

“How dare you?!” She raised her hand, thinking she would slap me, I mentally prepared myself. But to my surprise, she slapped herself. Oh, I believe drama hour will be starting. Suddenly, the Emperor’s mother and the Emperor came into the garden. 

“What is going on here?” The Empress dowager shouted. I knew something like this was going to happen eventually. Luckily, I’ve prepared to defend myself.

“Empress Yukina, why did you slap me? All I did was ask you if you were okay.” Lady Tsuya said in between sobs. The Empress dowager looked at me in disdain.

“Your attitude is out of control. You must have faked that little incident for you to start bullying Lady Tsuya. How dare you?! You should apologize to Lady Tsuya this instant!” This bitch really wants to start? Fine, I’ll play your game.

“Forgive me your majesty but I believe I do not owe her anything for I did not do anything to her. She was just stupid enough to slap herself while trying to insult me.” I felt Aino’s grip on my kimono tighten. The Empress dowager’s face looked like it was about to explode. The Emperor looked quite annoyed.

“HOW DARE YOU?!?!” She shouted. The other three girls huddled behind Lady Tsuya as if begging for her protection. They knew Empress Yukina wasn’t a fighter. I must use this to my advantage. I should not reveal myself.

“There she goes again, being aggressive. I was just trying to be nice.” At this point, I can’t believe they still bought that. Her acting is beyond terrible. 

“Yukina, apologize to Lady Tsuya right now or else.” Is she threatening me? Fine. I walked up to Lady Tsuya and The Empress Dowager and bowed my head. 

“I apologize…” I glanced up at them and saw their smirking faces.

“I apologize that you have to deal with these fake people and their terrible acting.” I straightened up and turned my heel. I glanced back and they were all dumbfounded. Even the Emperor showed a clear expression.

“Aino, let’s go.” 

“Where are we going?”

“To the Cold Palace.”