Chapter 01
A surge of emotion.
Melina stared in horror at her hands, stained dark red with blood.
Pain burned from her neck down into her innards, twisting her face mercilessly.
“Huff… huff…”
She could barely breathe, as if her lungs had shriveled.
What… what is happening? Why is this happening?
Amid her confusion, Melina’s gaze fell upon the person sitting before her, and she finally grasped the situation.
The one whose eyes sparkled with amusement was her husband—the Emperor of the Orbes Empire.
How could he do this to me…?
Struggling to steady herself, she glared at the source of her torment.
“That expression is new. Always so docile and dull, like a sheep. Boring.”
Seeing the emperor mock her only twisted her stomach further.
They had shared wine earlier that day, as was customary on their night together, yet he hadn’t so much as touched a hair on her head. And now… she was vomiting blood.
“Thi-this… is…”
She couldn’t form the words. Her tongue refused to move no matter how hard she tried.
“Don’t try to speak. Your tongue must be starting to go numb by now.”
Even as Melina writhed in pain, the emperor remained calm—no, there was delight in his cold eyes.
Desperately, Melina tried to think, trying to reason why the emperor would do this to her.
“Such a curious look. Well, I suppose it’s natural to be curious.”
He stroked his chin as if sizing her up.
“Still, you’ve lived as my wife, my empress, so I suppose some courtesy is due.”
Clutching her stomach against the excruciating pain, Melina forced herself to look at him.
“The reason is simple. You’re no longer needed. It’s time for you to step aside. That seat has always belonged to my beloved Nora.”
Nora?
A name popped into her head—Nora Salavit.
What connection did the emperor have with her? Why did he speak of her as a lover?
“You are so naïve, unlike Duke Lenotor. In fact, that made you perfect… perfect for me to use.”
Melina glared at him in response to his mocking words.
“Interesting. Had you shown emotion sooner, perhaps I would have let you live a little longer.”
Treated like a mere toy, her blue eyes turned ice-cold.
“You know why I married you, don’t you?”
She did. How could she not?
It was the will of the late emperor. To solidify the crown prince’s position, the power of a ducal family was needed. Among the empire’s two duchies, she alone was eligible. Thus, she was chosen as crown princess.
“Although it was a marriage arranged by my late father, I did not choose unwillingly. I wanted this too.”
He wanted it too? Melina’s eyes widened slightly.
“Because I had to become emperor.”
Right. She was nothing but a tool for his ambitions. What had she expected?
Had she hoped to hear even a word of affection? How foolish she was.
“Nora and I loved each other before I married you. We simply waited until I became emperor. So that we could be together.”
She had been irked by the repeated mention of “someone I love.”
The man who had always been indifferent and cold to her now spoke of love, and it wounded her heart.
“The only woman who should be by my side is her. So you must step aside.”
She had never felt anger or hatred before. Or perhaps she had unconsciously suppressed it, knowing survival depended on it.
But now, confronted with his betrayal, something hot and fierce rose from the depths of her heart.
Is this… anger?
“You were always just a means and a shield for me to become emperor and make Nora empress. I appreciate that you knew your place and stayed quiet all this time.”
“Appreciate?”
A bitter laugh escaped her.
Would things really go according to his plan? If her father knew, would he stand idly by?
She could not comprehend what this calculating man believed in to act so brazenly.
“I can see what you’re thinking. Don’t worry. Your father has already agreed to this.”
Her father agreed? To what?
Her mind felt like it was doused in ice water, scorching one moment and freezing the next.
He… he agreed to kill me? Why? I’m still useful to him…
A thought flashed through her mind.
“You will be reported as having been poisoned by forces seeking to drive a wedge between me and the duke.”
No… that can’t be the only reason.
Praying it wasn’t, Melina shook her head.
“I will take your brother’s wife as empress to console the duke’s grief and to show that we will not yield to the enemy.”
The emperor’s words made her denial collapse into reality.
“When the duke first proposed this plan, I was surprised. But as I must soon deal with you, I had no reason to refuse.”
Of course… that’s my father to a T. What did I expect?
For five years, she had clung to the belief that holding the title of empress meant she wouldn’t be abandoned. How foolish, how miserable.
She knew it, yet hoped against hope.
“I don’t care what happened between you and the duke, though I am curious. How did he come to abandon you?”
The emperor looked at her with a curious gaze.
She braced herself against the table, closing her eyes as the pain intensified.
The duke had longed for a child with his wife, and when that did not happen, he took a maid as a last resort. The child born of that union was Melina.
The maid vanished without a trace, and Melina was publicly recognized as the duke’s legitimate daughter. She discovered the truth around age four, after the duke’s wife miraculously gave birth.
[A filthy illegitimate child… don’t you dare come near my daughter!]
Believing Melina had usurped the crown princess position that should have belonged to Leila, the duke’s wife despised her even more.
[Know your place and stay quiet. Don’t obstruct Leila’s future.]
Melina never forgot the disdainful gaze of the duke’s wife.
“What a perfectly orchestrated scenario.”
The emperor hummed with delight, but Melina no longer wished to hear his words.
She curled up, teeth gritted, as the pain intensified.
“Better than being deposed for failing to produce an heir, wouldn’t you agree? At least you’d be pitied by the people if poisoned unjustly.”
To hear such words from the emperor…
She had been denied an heir for five years, and yet he had never touched her. Still, he had forced her to take contraceptive tea.
Despite knowing this, she never confronted him. Her only way to prove her worth to her father was to retain the title of empress. Now, all of that was meaningless.
“Well, I’ve said all I needed to say. Shall we begin?”
His eyes sparkled like a child about to witness something amusing. He summoned his attendants with urgency, and a perfect spectacle unfolded.
Screaming maids, knights rushing in panic, the emperor giving orders with a furious expression…
Watching this cruel theater, Melina lost consciousness.
When she awoke, she could not open her eyes or move a finger. She only sensed that the surroundings had grown quiet.
Alone in the silence, emotions she hadn’t realized flooded her.
It’s not fair. I only tried to be a good child. Why must I die?
I want to live.
At that moment, a warmth she could not possibly feel touched her forehead.
Startled, she forced her eyes open to see a stranger standing before her.
“Who… are you?”
Her voice emerged despite her belief that she couldn’t speak.
“I’ve temporarily lifted the paralysis with magic. But if I don’t fully neutralize it, it will return.”
A woman she had never seen before. When the woman removed her black hood, long white hair cascaded like falling snow.
“Who are you?”
Melina asked again.
“I am a magician who owes a debt to your mother. I promised her that I would help you if you were ever in danger.”
It was the first time she had heard such a thing.
Am I dreaming?
But whether dream or reality, it didn’t matter. If it meant survival, she would do anything.
“Please… let me live. I want to live.”
“I can fully neutralize the poison. But are you sure you’ll be alright with just that?”
Unsure of the woman’s intentions, Melina only blinked.
“You don’t seem happy. No one is there to care for you, to grieve with you.”
Her harsh assessment struck her deeply.
“Your mother wished for your happiness. With all her heart.”
Melina quickly closed her eyes as a clear tear slid down her cheek.
Happiness…
As a child, she had dreamed of it. But since learning of her birth, happiness had been a luxury.
“I can offer you a chance. A chance to live differently.”
Melina’s eyes widened at the unexpected words.
“A chance?”
“Yes. Of course, becoming happy depends on your choices and effort.”
She could not be sure if the woman spoke the truth.
But…
Right now, she only wanted to escape her father and the emperor.
“I’ll do anything to live. Please, give me that chance.”
The woman nodded gently and softly closed Melina’s eyes.
