In the large bedroom palace stood a woman wearing a gorgeous purplish-red dress embroidered with the pattern of swallows. As the breeze swept by from the window, the floor-to-ceiling curtains drifted about in the wind for a while.

As Francois wore a cozy look, she darted a look with her long and narrow almond eyes. Her maid standing aside lowered her head immediately.

The maid who passed the message hurried into the room and said before she got close to ...