Dark and Robust Empress

Chosen to stand beside the emperor, Margot is still looked down on by the refined women of the court. Quietly, she spends her days growing turnips in her palace yard and trading sincere letters with General Rowan, the battle-worn frontier warrior who is the only one to truly understand her. Rowan even carves her a wooden circlet, but he is killed in a savage ambush before he can confess his love. Heartbroken, Margot remains Emperor Lucien’s loyal, platonic companion for forty years, managing the palace, tending crops, and holding on to the circlet as her most precious memory.