Chapter 1:
The Beginning of Vengeance
“So dazzling it almost hurts the eyes.”
The aged emperor opened his mouth as he stared at the woman sitting in his bedchamber.
She possessed stunning beauty.
Silky silver hair that looked like it would slip smoothly between one’s fingers and clear emerald eyes. Her fair, milky skin seemed to glow, and her lips were as red as if she’d just bitten into a ripe pomegranate.
Even the emperor, who had seen more women than he could count, was momentarily entranced by her beauty, his mind growing faint.
But his admiration didn’t last long. Losing patience, the emperor licked his dry lips and reached for her dress.
“You’re twenty-one this year, aren’t you? Truly the most beautiful age for a woman.”
As his hands fumbled eagerly to remove his own clothes, Selia felt like throwing up everything she had eaten the day before.
Seventy, yet dragging a twenty-one-year-old into his bed.
She faintly smiled at the emperor, who couldn’t fall asleep without a young woman in his arms—even on the verge of death.
Apparently, lust doesn’t diminish with age. Selia let a mocking smile curl on her lips as she glanced at what was pointed toward the ceiling.
Her family, blinded by greed for wealth and power, had sent her, only twenty-one, into the lecherous emperor’s chamber.
Not that they were her real family anyway. Not a drop of blood tied them.
“They only took me in from the streets so they could sell me later for a high price.”
Selia smiled soundlessly.
Beasts in the guise of family. They would never know—
Or even if they did, they would pretend not to. Her obedience and submissiveness had all been for this very day.
“The rumors don’t even come close to your real beauty. I thought it was just your face, but your figure…”
The emperor practically tore the thin dress from her body, licking his lips with anticipation.
“What treasures might be hidden under this chemise, I wonder?”
As he looked at Selia, now clad only in a white chemise, the emperor grinned, baring his yellowed teeth. His wrinkled hands traced her cheek, delicate neck, and collarbone one after the other.
Selia gave a sweet smile. Enchanted by it, the emperor leaned in to kiss her.
But Selia turned her head away, refusing the kiss.
“…Are you defying me?”
She shook her head, her eyes curved in amusement.
“How could someone as lowly as me possibly defy Your Majesty?”
Her soft and gentle voice made the emperor feel dizzy. Even a siren’s song would pale compared to her voice.
“You know your place. Good. Then come—satisfy me.”
Arrogantly spoken, yet Selia simply gave a small nod.
With a delicate smile, she gently pushed the emperor onto the bed and leaned her face over his chest, placing one hand on his bare skin.
Her small hand, resting on his body, and her face looking down at him made the emperor exhale a hot breath.
Selia reached for her hair ornament. As she unraveled the flower-shaped pin, her silken silver hair cascaded down, tickling the emperor’s wrinkled forehead.
At the same time, the scent of hyacinths filled the room.
The emperor’s eyes, once glazed with lust, lost focus entirely, becoming hazy and dazed.
Selia, looking down at him, curled one corner of her lips.
“Your Majesty… I’ve been waiting for this day.”
Click.
A small sound escaped the ornament in her hand—but the bewitched emperor didn’t hear it.
Selia opened her palm.
What she held was no longer a hairpin.
It was a small, gleaming blade, barely the size of her palm—but razor-sharp and deadly.
Without a hint of hesitation, Selia brought the blade to the emperor’s throat.
Even as a sword touched his neck, the dazed emperor simply stared blankly, mouth agape.
Disgust swept over Selia’s face.
“Even if you must go, you should feel pain.”
She murmured softly and instantly dispelled the hyacinth scent that had flooded the room.
As the fragrance vanished, the light returned to the emperor’s eyes.
“…G-Guards!”
He finally cried out—but Selia’s hand moved faster than any guard could arrive.
Stab!
Shhhhck! The sound of skin being sliced rang out, and blood burst from the emperor’s throat, drenching Selia completely.
Watching Selia slit his throat with a cold, expressionless face, the emperor trembled violently in rage.
“K-Kuhhkk!”
He vomited blood and died with his eyes rolled back.
Selia, now confirming the emperor’s death, stared blankly up at the golden ceiling.
She had finally killed that wretched emperor with her own hands.
How long had she hidden her true self, lying low all these years?
The memories of the days she’d rather have died than lived flickered across her mind.
“Wouldn’t it be better to lie in the emperor’s arms than marry some nobody?”
The words of Lady Hariel Brillion echoed in her ears.
To lie in the arms of the very man she wanted to tear apart. Did that woman even realize what she had said?
“Ha.”
A bitter laugh escaped Selia’s lips.
Hariel had always tried to squeeze every last ounce of worth out of her, selling even her soul for gold. Who knew how much she’d been paid for handing Selia over to the emperor? She was probably grinning from ear to ear by now.
She had no idea Selia would kill the emperor. She was likely dreaming that she could return to her husband’s love as if nothing had happened.
Hariel had deep navy-blue hair; Selia’s was silver.
Everyone knew that the viscount only sought out silver-haired women in brothels—except for his wife.
Not just the viscount. His two wretched sons, bearing his vile blood, also looked at Selia with lustful eyes.
They weren’t family. Not really. Just monsters.
One of those sons had even broken into her room while she was sleeping—despite the door being locked.
Had she not been capable of defending herself, who knew what might have happened?
Ever since that incident, Selia suffered from insomnia. She rarely ever slept deeply again.
But she had never once forgotten her true identity or her goal.
She couldn’t allow herself to be defiled by such beasts.
And then there was… Gabriel.
The youngest daughter of Lady Hariel. The worst of them all.
Selia was sure it was Gabriel’s influence that led to her being sold to the emperor.
But there was one thing none of them knew:
Selia had been counting the days—waiting for the moment she could kill the emperor.
Standing over his corpse, she let out a soft, delighted laugh.
Her clear laughter echoed through the blood-soaked room—just as the sound of angry footsteps approached.
The door slammed open, but Selia didn’t even glance at it.
Only her laughter rang out, bright and cold.
“…How dare you.”
A voice like frost. Icy cold and brimming with killing intent.
Selia stopped laughing and slowly turned her head.
A man cloaked entirely in black stood there—from his hair to his uniform, everything was dark. As if darkness itself had taken human form.
“….”
As her gaze followed the sharp jawline and sculpted features upward, she met crimson-red eyes—like blood.
Scarlet irises.
She had seen many people in her life, but never had a man looked so striking.
Still, she figured he was just like the others. Even priests who vowed lifelong celibacy had been entranced by her smile.
Selia offered him a quiet, serene smile.
“….”
But the man, untouched even by a smile that could bewitch the dead, only stared coldly at her. If anything, his murderous aura deepened.
He stepped closer, as if ready to tear her apart.
He snatched the bloodstained dagger from her hand and threw it across the room. Clang!
He grabbed her collar with blood-soaked hands. She wore only a chemise, but the man didn’t seem to notice—or care.
“Why did you kill the emperor?”
His voice radiated with fury.
Selia responded with a soft scoff instead of an answer.
Avalon had destroyed her kingdom first. This was just the price they had to pay.
Every time she closed her eyes, she could still hear the wails of her people and see the bloodied faces of her family.
“To be so furious over the death of a worthless emperor… what a fool.”
But if the man before her truly mourned the emperor’s death, wouldn’t he have rushed to the body first?
To Selia, he was clearly putting on a show.
She narrowed her eyes, assessing him.
He, too, noticed her gaze—not of remorse, but of scrutiny—and furrowed his brows.
Just as he was about to speak, Selia coughed harshly.
“Cough!”
Blood splattered from her lips.
The man’s face hardened.
But Selia looked unaffected. It wasn’t her first time coughing blood—she looked used to it.
Feeling his grip loosen slightly, Selia spoke in a calm voice.
“The emperor tried to force himself on me.”
“….”
“I killed him to protect myself.”
Dietrich didn’t believe a word she said.
She had hidden the blade too carefully. It was clear she came with the intention to assassinate him from the start.
Selia looked softly at Dietrich, who was still glaring coldly at her. Her eyes fluttered closed, and her body swayed.
“Damn it.”
As her frail body collapsed, Dietrich cursed and caught her. She was as light as a feather.
The knights who burst in moments later paled at the sight of the emperor’s corpse.
Dietrich, commander of the royal knights and the emperor’s closest aide, glared at the unconscious woman in his arms as if he could kill her himself.
The knights, following their superior’s gaze, nearly gasped aloud.
In their commander’s arms was the woman known as the Angel of Brillion.
Even drenched in blood, her beauty remained hauntingly radiant.
Dietrich issued his command in a hard voice:
“Announce this to all of Avalon.
His Majesty… is dead.”
