In moments the man was before her. "Your Highness," he said graciously.

"Physician Carl, at last you're here." Katrina leaned in the soft armchair, trying her best to look sickly. "I feel weak and quite uncomfortable. Please, have a look at me."

"Yes, Your Highness." Carl Huang produced a handkerchief. When Katrina offered her hand, he covered it and checked her pulse. It was smooth and vigorous, much as any healthy person's would be.

"Is there anything else wrong, Your Highness?" he inquired.

"I don't feel well anywhere," she complained, rubbing her temple. "I feel suffocated, and have a terrible headache. Physician Carl, am I suffering from some incurable disease?"

"There's no need to worry about that, Your Highness," the man said quickly. "Maybe it's too hot, and you simply have sunstroke. You should be better after resting for about two days. As far as I can tell, you're in quite good health."

Rather than look

ice for me at once!"

Mere moments later, Josef was rushing to the emperor, who was having dinner with the empress. The emperor was loath to leave a good meal unfinished, but upon hearing that Katrina had something urgent to discuss with him, he stood up and left.

The empress watched him leave with a cold stare. Up to then, no one had dared to come and ask the emperor to leave when he was with her. Clearly, Katrina was beginning to forget her station. However, it didn't matter, as she would soon lose all her power. When that was done, the emperor would no longer care about her.

The empress called a maid as she rose from the table.

"Your Majesty, what can we do for you?"

The empress went and sat down on a luxurious sofa, where she began to meticulously tie her hair into a bun. "Deliver a box of green bean cakes to Felix," she said elegantly. "It will help him cool down. It's so hot out today."

"Yes, Your Majesty."