
It's 5.15 am where I live, I just binge read thing and I just want the emperor and the Trash to finally suffer for everything they do to our Empress.
Also, I believe that the male trash is actually in love with our Empress, it's just that the trash thought that she would always be the naive happy child he grew up with so when she acts as an Empress must do, he doesn't like it. Then he found some trash that mimicked her in their young days and he thinks he's in love with the trash. That's why he has these contradictory actions towards her: trying to make her remember when they were young (the trip to the villa), getting jealous when she's with Queen (sorry probable ML, I don't remember your real name) or with hot magician Duke (sorry beautiful 2nd male lead, you have a name difficult to remember) because she was showing her emotions openly to them but not to him.
Anyway, trash with trash and royalty with royalty, our Empress must end with her Queen. ヾ(❀╹◡╹)ノ~

Everyone was attracted to the first queen, then Johannes sees Shuli and thinks "I couldn't marry the queen, Imma gonna marry this child because she is a doppelganger of the woman I love" then he dies and every other boomer there is either attracted to her because she resembles the queen or hates her because of it.
Ok, cool cool cool and nooormal. Yup. No issues here, huh people? Just please emperor, don't see Shuli as your dead wife. That would be just bad.
The red-haired queen I think at first didn't like Shuli because she resembled the queen but then recognises her as Shuli. Well, tour highness, SHULI IS STILL A QUEEN just not THAT queen.

I'm starting to ship Pauline with the chubby doctor. I am a sucker for soft sweet chubby characters with a strong reckless stubborn significant other ლ(´ڡ`ლ)
Let's be real, if Pauline married the emperor, she would need to stop being a knight, she would need to start dressing up, learning etiquette, managing the nobles, have a baby, etc. She would stop being the Pauline we all (and the emperor) love and adore. ( ̄へ ̄)
Furthermore, I think that the doctor sees a strong, powerful, independent woman (he treats her as a lady and worries about her but also knows she is strong and capable of taking care of herself) while the emperor sees a man in a woman's body so he's more comfortable with Pauline than with any other women he interacted with. ╮( ̄▽ ̄)╭

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Sorry to pop your balloon but he might he someone who you'd want to burn on a stake. Based on the comments, the doctor was a dick! He married Pauliana because of her title and he has a bastard son who he wants to give it to.
I was gunning for the doctor at first since he looked nice and cute but he's a snake instead!
(╯°Д °)╯╧╧
Ok, so I don't want Colette to die so possible happy endings...
*maybe* Demeter will adopt and roast her to make her a Goddess (yeah, this happens in one of the myths) and they are happy ever after.
OR
She actually dies and reincarnates into Persephone. I think so because one of the names Persephone has is "Kore" and Colette (KOREte) (I don't know much Japanese but I think it would pronounced as this) so... You know... Also, Kore means "maiden" and that's what she is now, so..... ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶