Chapter 1
“La Rose Lady.”
“…Yes.”
Layla answered weakly when the officer called her name.
She stepped forward, her long silver eyelashes trembling under a thin veil.
Right now, the Emperor of the Inverno Empire was sitting in front of her.
He had announced that he would choose new consorts to help revive the empire.
Layla had come here to become one.
But in truth, she hoped she would not be chosen.
She prayed the emperor wouldn’t pick her.
‘There’s no way I’ll do what he wants.’
She slowly glanced to the side, her pretty pink eyes—like spring roses—turning toward a man.
It was her father, but she didn’t even want to call him that.
He looked angry or maybe tired—she couldn’t tell.
Layla’s hands trembled with tension.
If she really became the emperor’s consort, she would be her father’s puppet forever.
‘Either way, I’m dead.’
Her face turned cold and expressionless. She had no reason to live anymore.
Three years ago, the person she loved most in the world died.
From that day on, she had lived like a doll with no soul.
Could you even call it an accident?
Guilt kept crashing into her like waves.
Even now, the pain of his death was sharp like a fresh wound.
And now they wanted her to become the emperor’s woman?
Layla let out a quiet, bitter laugh.
She had no wish to live like a puppet again.
As a form of protest, she wore a black dress.
It wasn’t even a funeral, but she wore mourning clothes.
Even if she was the daughter of a powerful noble family, surely the emperor wouldn’t choose someone dressed like this.
Maybe she would be thrown in prison. Maybe executed.
But it was still better than being used by her father.
She waited for the emperor to tell her, “Go back.”
“…Why are you wearing a black dress? Are you in mourning?”
But instead, he just asked a simple question.
“…No, Your Majesty.”
And strangely, the emperor’s voice sounded… familiar.
The odd feeling made her feel sick for a second, but she quickly calmed herself.
“The person I loved died in an accident… three years ago.”
She couldn’t believe she said that in front of the emperor.
Her father’s mouth dropped open in shock.
He tried to say something, but the emperor spoke again.
“You’re still wearing black… for someone who died three years ago?”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
The emperor went quiet, like he was remembering something.
“…Do you think that person would want this?”
“…What?”
His voice was calm but strangely kind.
It was too familiar.
Layla’s heart raced, and her head spun. Slowly, she lifted her gaze.
“Maybe the one who left just wanted the person left behind to live well.”
Golden hair brushed back neatly…
Eyes shining deep blue, even darker than sapphire…
“…Don’t you think so?”
Was she dreaming?
Even if years had passed, even from far away—
There was no way she wouldn’t recognize that face.
It couldn’t be a coincidence.
Her whole body started shaking.
‘No… no way.’
Her feet barely moved, but she forced herself forward.
“La Rose Lady, stop right there!”
Guards stepped forward, lowering their spears to block her.
From behind the weapons, she stared at the emperor.
Tears spilled over her cheeks without stopping.
“…How…?”
When she saw his face clearly, she ripped off her veil in shock.
“How are you here?!”
This couldn’t be happening.
He left her through death—he shouldn’t be here.
The moment their eyes met—
The same eyes she once loved—she understood.
He didn’t leave her.
“Easton!”
He abandoned her.
He pretended to die. He left her in the cruelest, most cowardly way.
The betrayal hit her harder than all the years of missing him.
Her knees gave out, and she collapsed.
Seeing her face, Easton stood up at once.
He said her name in disbelief:
“…Layla!”
Hearing her name from his mouth shattered her heart into pieces.
She fainted.
“Call the royal doctor, now!”
Easton ran to her and held her in his arms.
And the only one smiling in that chaos was Layla’s father, Duke La Rose.
(Scene Change)
It was a heavy summer rain.
A fancy carriage stopped at the edge of a small village.
It looked too grand for the countryside.
“The road is too rough for the carriage to go further.”
“…Thanks for your work.”
A man wearing a robe stepped down slowly.
He was well-dressed in a suit, but still young—maybe not even an adult yet.
He hurried under the orange roof of a house to escape the rain.
Then he pulled a communicator from his jacket pocket.
After a short beep, a voice came through:
[Have you arrived, Crown Prince?]
“Yes. So the medicine for the princess’s illness is really here?”
[Yes. It’s a rare herb that only grows in the southern part of the Inverno Empire. It appears only for a short time, right after the rainy season ends.]
“Then I’ll stay here for now and look for it myself.”
[Wouldn’t it be easier to send someone else?]
“You know I can’t trust anyone.”
Easton let out a bitter laugh.
[Even me?]
“You have other work to do. This job is for the most free person in the palace.”
[Sigh… Fine. I told everyone you’re on vacation. Be careful. Contact us if anything happens.]
“…Got it.”
The call ended.
Easton looked at the sky. The rain was pouring like it would never stop.
He didn’t have an umbrella. If he walked now, he’d be completely soaked.
“I should’ve brought one…”
He shook his head, annoyed at himself.
Reaching his hand into the rain, he felt the cold drops hit his fingers.
This rain wouldn’t stop soon.
Still, he had to move.
Just as he was about to step forward—
Splash, splash.
He heard footsteps on the muddy road.
Was someone following him?
He reached for the sword at his side and turned quickly toward the sound.
“…Huh?”
What he saw was a small, bright yellow umbrella.
The umbrella slowly lifted, showing the face of a girl.
“Hello?”
Her voice was clear and cheerful, like silver marbles rolling.
And her smiling eyes curved like a crescent moon.
In the pouring rain, time seemed to slow down.
For the first time in his life, Easton froze—unable to answer.
Her deep blue eyes, filled with light, seemed to hold him still.
Even the sound of rain now felt warm and soft.
The smell of rain-soaked earth was pleasant.
It was the summer he was seventeen—
That day, she came to him holding a yellow umbrella.
Even now, when he closes his eyes,
he can still hear the sound of that rain.
