Prologue

It was the one-year anniversary of the wedding of Karloi Croitan, the emperor of Croisen, and Duke Deluah’s precious daughter, Evonne Deluah. The capital had been in a festive mood for the past week celebrating the imperial marriage and there was a celebratory banquet held at Prute, the capital’s palace.

The people were perplexed by the unexpectedly proper display of various celebrations and banquets. There wasn’t a single person in the empire who didn’t know that the emperor strongly disliked the empress. In fact, he didn’t simply dislike her. He loathed her.

Everyone had expected the emperor to completely ignore the anniversary, but once they witnessed the grand celebrations, a hopeful doubt arose in them. But at the palace banquet held on the day of the anniversary, they realized their hopeful doubt was in vain.

There wasn’t a single word exchanged between the emperor and empress, despite the banquet having been arranged to celebrate their marriage anniversary. The emperor only danced with other women for everyone to see, and the empress didn’t bat an eye, maintaining a straight face as she let her ladies-in-waiting attend to her.

Duke Deluah’s eyes welled with tears. He was infuriated at the treatment his beloved daughter was receiving, but there was nothing he could do. Whatever the case, the matters between a married couple stayed between the couple.

The nobles who noticed Duke Deluah’s rage approached the empress, starting conversations and showering her with flattery, but the empress was indifferent as if she didn’t hear or see anything. It was hard to discern whether she was being dignified or coldhearted.

“There is something I wish to announce to all of you on this day,” the emperor raised his voice, alone in his joyfulness. His smiling face was beautiful, befitting of the man titled the most handsome man to ever exist in the empire since its establishment. But it was somewhat unsettling.

None of the announcements that the emperor had ever made when he was happy by himself had been sane ones. It was the expression the nobles hated most on him.

“Although it has already been a year since the empress and I were married, we have yet to see an heir. A shame. Yes, a shame indeed.”

The emperor raised his glass to take a sip after beginning his announcement nonchalantly. The nobles stole glimpses at Duke Deluah, who was no longer even trying to hide his anger toward the emperor.

Even the rats sneaking around the palace knew that the emperor didn’t share a bed with the empress. It was shameless of him to discuss heirs when he never even showed his face at the empress’s chambers.

The empress was still expressionless as if she was listening to someone else’s story. It seemed as if her soul was someplace else.

“Since we’re so distant for a married couple, I think there needs to be some sort of change on this anniversary of the imperial marriage. Perhaps things will change a bit going forward.”

“What do you mean by change, Your Majesty...?” Someone asked in a nervous voice.

The emperor didn’t answer. Instead, he nudged his subject standing next to him. The subject faltered, hesitating, then said something to the attendant next to him. The command traveled down and down, all the way to the footman at the door of the entrance of the banquet hall.

“Lady Kiana, the daughter of Marquess Roden!” The footman announced in a booming voice.

The doors of the banquet hall opened and a woman with her raven-black hair coiled in a graceful updo walked in wearing an elaborate dress.

There was chilling silence inside the hall. Everyone could see the woman’s dress and her adornments were befitting of an empress.

“How... What in the world...”

The faces of the nobles who sided with the duke turned pale as they watched the woman enter as if she were the empress. The nobles glanced back and forth between Duke Deluah and Evonne Deluah. Duke Deluah’s face was bright red as if it was about to burst open. And the empress’s indifferent face finally shifted. Now she looked as if she was bored to death.

“Your Majesty, I told you it’s embarrassing to announce me like this!” Kiana Roden ignored everyone and approached the emperor, speaking in a nasal voice.

The emperor affectionately put his arm around Kiana Roden’s waist. “I shall welcome Kiana as my concubine,” he declared.

There were exclamations all around the hall, calling the emperor. The emperor leisurely fed Kiana peaches and other fruits, grinning like a fool as if no one else’s voice reached his ears.

The delinquent emperor was bringing back a system that had ended more than two hundred years before. A grin spread across his aggravatingly handsome face as he raised his glass.

“And I shall not go back on my words. I have already received the most precious gift from this lady. I would be ashamed to be an emperor if I could not even take responsibility for such a gift.”

Did that mean they had spent the night together? The nobles flipped when they finally comprehended what the emperor meant.

The emperor exchanged affectionate gestures with Kiana, still oblivious to the situation. Finally, Duke Deluah burst with fury.

“Your Majesty!” he bellowed.

The emperor glanced at the empress nonchalantly even at the enraged roar rattling the banquet hall.

“Empress, you won’t be jealous, will you? Anything for an heir, after all.”

He pretty much meant he would not have a child with the empress. Empress Evonne still looked as if none of this uproar had anything to do with her.

“No.” A single word was spoken in a dry voice, without any rise or fall in the intonation. That was all Evonne said in reply. There was almost a brief trace of rage that crossed the emperor’s face as he gazed at her indifferent face, but no one paid much attention. They knew the emperor despised the empress even for breathing.

“How agreeable. The rest of you figure out the details of how to make Kiana a concubine. I must take my leave. I have business to attend to.”

The emperor set down his glass and exited with Kiana in his arms. Judging by the way they were leaving, it was clear what business he was referring to.

The emperor exited with his new woman and left the empress alone at the banquet held to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the imperial marriage. It was a day of horror and awe. Even the grandeur and the extravagance of the banquet felt like a joke in poor taste prepared for the amusement of this moment.

Everyone’s eyes fell on Evonne.

“What are you all waiting for? Do as he says,” she said in an irritable tone, looking bored to death.

Thus, one year from the day of their marriage, Emperor Karloi brought in a new woman and made her a concubine to screw the empress over.

Chapter 1: He Hates Her (1)

Evonne Deluah was the beloved, precious daughter of Duke Deluah, who was said to be more powerful than the king. There was a rumor that, as she was born frail, the duke had had been carrying his daughter everywhere ever since she was young so that she didn’t have to walk. Another rumor said that he had assigned her numerous servants so that she never had to lift a finger.

In any case, Evonne Deluah was Duke Deluah’s treasured only child. The duke never let her out of the house once because he cherished her so much. And this was precisely why the king of Croisen, Karloi Croitan, despised Evonne Deluah so much.

“Eve...” the duke murmured.

“It’s all right, Father. Don’t worry.”

On the day of the wedding, Karloi yawned as he stood back and watched the father and daughter duo making a fuss and crying. It was irritating just to watch them. The sight of the duke wiping away a tear as he held onto his daughter’s hand was contemptible.

Seeing the two, one would think they were the ones who were being forced into an unwanted marriage. But with heaven as their witness, the one who opposed the wedding was not them, but Karloi himself.

It was Duke Deluah who had set a trap for Karloi in order to make him marry his daughter, even though Karloi would rather die than marry her. So Karloi was incredulous as to why they were the ones shedding tears and causing such a scene.

“Your Majesty, I realize you do not particularly like me in my old age. But my daughter is a delicate little girl, naive to the ways of the world. I beg you to treat her well,” the duke pleaded.

“If you were really so worried, you could have married her off to someone else, no?”

Karloi would never treat Deluah’s daughter well, and the duke had to be truly hungry for power to marry her off like this while knowing that.

Duke Deluah smiled calmly at Karloi’s sarcastic response.

“What else was there to do? My daughter is the most beautiful woman in the empire. There is no other place more suitable for her than by your side, Your Majesty.”

The duke’s family was the most powerful in the empire, so he wasn’t entirely wrong. But rage bubbled up within the king. The duke looked down on the royal family more than anyone, but it seemed he still coveted its status.

Nevertheless, Evonne Deluah made her first public appearance on the day of the royal wedding. Upon seeing the duke’s pampered daughter for the first time, the people immediately understood why she was so doted on.

Evonne Deluah was a rare beauty, her golden blonde hair shimmering like the setting sun upon the water’s surface, and her light emerald eyes like swirling waves. Her overall coloring was flushed with color, making her look incredibly fragile. Her beautiful but pale face, her thin limbs, and her slim build told people why the duke had made such a fuss while raising her. She looked like she could be blown away by a breeze.

And as the duke’s only daughter, she truly was the spitting image of the duke. Upon seeing Evonne’s face, the nobles, and the members of the Imperial and Ducal Faction alike, all speculated that this marriage would not be a smooth one. The king might have a fit of rage just from seeing his wife’s face.

“We finally meet,” the king remarked sarcastically as he received Evonne’s hand from the duke.

Even after the marriage had been agreed upon, he hadn’t been able to see her face because of how over-protective the duke was. Karloi was mocking the fact that they were meeting for the first time at their wedding.

Evonne stared at the king with her emerald eyes and didn’t give a word of response. Her gaze was earnest like she was waiting for something. As Karloi stared back at the pair of eyes studying him without the slightest tremor, his hair stood on end, and he felt uneasy.

He hated that golden blonde hair and those emerald eyes that were a spitting image of Duke Deluah, but what he hated more was that haughty gaze that seemed to expect something from him. She looked at him just like the duke did. Was she expecting him to whisper words of affection? Her audacity was unbelievable.

He could almost understand why this woman, who had lived her entire life like a princess at the duke’s household, would want to become the queen. She must have thought it was her rightful place. This was a woman who had brought over a hundred of her own servants from her household, refusing the servants offered by the palace.

“Yes,” Evonne answered quietly after a long pause, and Karloi scowled.

The indifferent reply was all there was, not a hint of dispute or agreement. Karloi looked disgusted as he coldly let go of the small hand in his. Evonne briefly looked taken aback, but Karloi only wiped his hand.

He didn’t look at Evonne for the rest of the ceremony. He even stormed out of the hall without kissing her, causing a ripple of whispers among the nobles.

“Eve—!”

The duke walked over from the head table toward Evonne, who had been left alone. The duke looked as if he was about to say something impertinent, but Evonne put her hand on his for a moment as if to stop him.

“Don’t worry. I will have a word with him,” she told him.

The duke’s rage seemed to simmer down at his daughter’s response, but the other nobles were momentarily dumbstruck by what Evonne had said. What on earth was she going to have a word with the king about? It sounded like something a Deluah would say, clearly implying that she would do her best to tame the king.

The nobles of the Imperial Faction were infuriated and told Karloi about Evonne Deluah’s arrogant attitude, which was just like her father’s.

“So, tell me,” Karloi demanded.

Thus, after not showing his face at all after the wedding, Karloi visited Evonne’s bed chamber with a frigid expression marring his features.