Yu Lian covered his ailing lover with a warm wool blanket and gently held her hand.
Brunhilde opened her brilliant golden eyes and gazed at her beloved, managing a feeble smile.
"Darling, do you remember when we first met?" Her eyes were full of longing and memories, yet also distant, like fragile crystal—clear and beautiful, but seemingly ready to shatter at any moment.
"Ah, the first time we met. I honestly can't remember anymore. Where was it? On some muddled battlefield, at a court ball, or in the middle of a blazing inferno?" Yu Lian laughed.
"Oh, right, right! It was that blazing inferno. As you put it, a true case of 'a loving father and a dutiful daughter.'" Brunhilde seemed to have finally remembered, and looked troubled. "But I can't even remember how it started or how it ended."
"Don't worry about such unromantic details. My righteous bearing made the late emperor admit he was wrong." Yu Lian burst out laughing.
"Righteous bearing!" In the past, Brunhilde would probably have responded with a well-practiced eye roll. But the ailing empress laughed as if she'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. She laughed until tears ran down her face, until she was nearly overcome by coughing.
Yu Lian gently patted her back, and the robot beside them brought over a glass of water.
Brunhilde took a couple of sips in Yu Lian's arms, and finally stopped coughing. She sighed. "I've only just realized that even after becoming empress, all I have waiting by my side are robots."
"I told them not to disturb us. You're the empress, but you should have some private space, too. Right now, neither of us wants to see anyone, and neither of us should." Yu Lian paused, then added with a smile, "Besides,