@JollA
I was thinking of more down the line, where she has the trust of people she is closest to, she tells her story to them. They can think she's joking, or an obsessive fan of, but importantly they eventually accept it (thru hoops of logic/trust that I cannot hash yet (not humoring)). Its not about reclaiming her position as Empress but more like, she is Astina, but also Martina, while she does have her new roles as Astina, the new duchess, she is at her core her true name, Martina, the name with which the duke and maybe some other people will call her.
I dont know if Im making much sense, but I just dont like it when characters leave their original name behind because "its all in the past" because imo its like acting as if they didn't have a life before
Mega pain is when they say things like "from now on I'll live my life as X"