CHAPTER 01
A large hand cupped her face.
The gaze that met her eyes was like one reserved for someone deeply loved. Asilia lowered her gaze and let out a trembling breath.
“You should look at me.”
The voice was impossibly gentle. He had been light and carefree until now—so unlike an emperor—but his voice now carried a heavy, undeniable weight.
“Your Majesty, I…”
“Shh.”
The shawl draped over her shoulders slipped off, and as the heavy presence approached, her body naturally fell backward.
The soft sensation of the bed against her back, and the golden eyes brimming with passion, swallowed her whole.
“I was going to wait until you remembered me.”
His affectionate whisper echoed in her ears. As his lips pressed against her soft skin, Asilia couldn’t stop the startled moan that escaped her lips.
“But now… I don’t think that matters anymore.”
His hand moved boldly down her waist, fingers pressing against sensitive, damp skin. Asilia clenched the bedsheets in her fists.
She tried to close her legs, but the man looming over her wouldn’t allow it.
As she twisted her hips in discomfort, he leaned in closer and whispered into her ear.
“From the moment you returned, I wanted to do this.”
And with that whisper, he entered her in a single, powerful motion.
It felt like she’d been struck by lightning. As she tried to crawl forward, away from him, his hands seized her hips and pulled her back into him.
“After making me search for you my entire life, don’t even think about running from me in bed.”
He moved slowly at first, as if he might pull away, only to bury himself deeper again, leaving his marks all over her.
If only she could reach the sharp blade hidden beneath the pillow…
“Give up.”
His large, thick hand overlapped with hers, pinning her down.
“You can’t kill me.”
The moment he finished speaking, he thrust into her roughly. Her mouth gaped, gasping for breath, but no words came out.
All she could do was sob, overwhelmed by the pleasure he forced upon her.
“The affair is over.”
“……”
“I think I’ve waited long enough, don’t you?”
At the sound of his whisper, Asilia raised her eyes to look at him.
A man who seemed to have never known fear… was now staring down at her with unmistakable anxiety.
Asilia laced her fingers with his, the hand that had been covering hers.
Even if she didn’t want to accept it—now she had to.
She was completely ensnared by this man.
Beneath the blazing sun that scorched her skin—
Asilia planted her foot into the dry, cracking earth and forced strength into her wavering knees.
“Drop your weapon and surrender.”
When she lifted her head and looked around, no one was left.
Everyone who had followed her had fallen—killed—or been consumed by despair.
They had lost.
Like a flipped coin, the tide of battle had reversed in an instant, ending in a crushing defeat.
“I’ll say it one more time. Drop your weapon and surrender!”
There was only one thing left for a knight who had failed to lead her people to victory.
Suicide.
As she tightened her grip on the sword, another blade came flying and struck the ground beside her.
“I surrender.”
A familiar voice.
Asilia turned her head and saw him—Isaiah, the comrade she had shared over a decade of her life with.
“You…!”
“Survival comes first,” he murmured gently as he approached.
There was no telling what would happen once they surrendered.
To surrender was to place their fate in the hands of the enemy emperor.
In the worst-case scenario, dying here on the battlefield might be a kinder fate.
“I’ve heard the Emperor of Moria is a merciful man. As long as we haven’t disobeyed direct orders, we might be spared.”
“I just hope that order isn’t to treat prisoners as slaves,” Asilia muttered bitterly as she drove her sword into the ground.
“His Majesty will welcome you,” said the man with a confident voice, removing his helmet and smiling.
The red hair that glinted in the sunlight stirred an overwhelming wave of hatred in Asilia’s heart.
Whether they knew how she felt or not, the victors treated their prisoners with surprising care.
Not only had they provided horses to escort them to the imperial palace, they even covered their faces, citing it would be inconvenient if their identities were revealed before they met the emperor.
What game are they playing?
It was… uncomfortable.
At least, back in Revilla, prisoners were never treated like this.
In Revilla, prisoners were criminals, and being stoned to death was not uncommon.
Many were executed, or ended their lives as slaves.
Are they trying to offer false hope just to snatch it away later? Or do they want something?
Asilia clenched her fists, tension stiffening her shoulders.
She had learned to be most alert in unfamiliar, overly kind places. No one truly knew another’s heart.
Yet, the further she walked, the stranger it felt.
“Ah, the troops who went to battle have returned! I’m so glad you made it back safely. His Majesty is in the audience hall!”
Unlike the silence and tension that clung to the palace in Revilla, the Moria imperial palace echoed with laughter.
Even the servants wore expressions of genuine joy.
Discipline must be nonexistent here.
No wonder it felt so foreign. It was, without question, a place of deep discomfort for Asilia.
At the door to the audience hall, the knight standing guard took a deep breath and declared,
“Your Majesty! We have just returned, bringing an end to the long war with Revilla!”
Their joyous voices rang down the hallway.
As the doors opened, they stepped inside with elation.
Once in the hall, the knight knelt and continued,
“We’ve reclaimed part of the territory we had lost. And we’ve captured General Asilia Restantis of Revilla, along with her aide Isaiah Heathclear!”
Asilia swallowed dryly at the announcement. From here on, whatever was said would determine her fate.
“Captured?”
The slow, heavy voice filled the hall. The moment she registered it, someone’s arm wrapped around her waist.
Startled, her body trembled as the cloth covering her face was removed.
A cascade of jet-black hair. Golden eyes like the rising sun over a wide plain.
A face so strikingly beautiful it took her breath away. Dazed, Asilia stared until a hand brushing her cheek made her flinch.
“At last…”
He whispered as he stared at her wrist. When he reached out and brushed the ropes around her hands, they suddenly split apart, falling to the floor in tatters.
It was unclear what he had done—he had only touched them. And yet, they were completely destroyed.
“We’ve finally met again.”
His voice was soaked in longing.
The emperor studied Asilia’s face, feature by feature, as if trying to burn every detail into his mind. His intense, sorrowful gaze made her frown.
“Whoever you’re mistaking me for…”
“……”
“You and I are meeting for the first time, Emperor of Moria.”
Her voice was as cold as ice. Yet, the emperor smiled, unfazed.
“How heartless your words are.”
Though Emperor Cretes was smiling, Asilia’s expression remained taut with wariness.
His talk of ‘reunion’ and his wistful, aching gaze had nothing to do with her.
What mattered to her now was the decision regarding her and Isaiah’s fate.
“Will you be more merciful in your treatment of us if I speak kindly?”
“I’ve heard Revilla wasn’t kind to hostages.”
The emperor lowered his gaze to look at her. That unreadable look only heightened her anxiety.
Wouldn’t it be ridiculous to trust him? After all the things Revilla did…
In the Revilla Empire, captured prisoners were disgraced.
They were mocked as weak, promised release only to be killed in the end.
It was a disgrace not only to the knights, but to the emperor of Moria as well.
If he knew this, then being thrown into a pit of filth or sold as a slave wouldn’t even be surprising.
“I have no intention of doing the same as the emperor of Revilla.”
“……”
“Nor would I ever do such a thing to you… now that you’ve finally returned.”
He reached out and gently touched her cheek.
Like a man retrieving something long lost. As if he feared it would shatter in his hands if he wasn’t careful.
“But there is one condition.”
A condition.
Of course there would be.
What would he ask for?
Would it be some nonsense about returning to Revilla to assassinate their emperor?
Or perhaps a demand to reveal Revilla’s military secrets?
“Marry me.”
“…What?”
“My lost bride stands before me once again.”
