I’m back.

No, I’ve been forced back again.

Into the arms of the man who stole everything from me and trampled it all underfoot.

“Welcome back, Loren.”

He smiles brightly.

Just like that day three years ago when he devoured me all night long, then ordered me to marry a foreign king like he was greeting me good morning.

Seeing that smile made my heart race without fail.

But unlike back then when I was foolish, it wasn’t racing from nervousness or excitement.

I acted calm on the outside, but inside I was churning with fear and rage.

Laurencia stared at Jedrian sitting on the imperial throne with an expressionless face.

The man I met after three years had changed completely, like a different person.

His silver hair, always matted with sweat before, was now slicked back smoothly, and the red cloak draped over his shoulders made him look like a formidable monarch.

Even though he sat in a position no one dared challenge, Jedrian looked every bit the perfect emperor, as though the throne had been his from the very beginning.

So much so that I wanted to gouge out my own eyes for thinking it.

“You’ve become more alluring since I last saw you. Seems the old king doted on you quite a bit.”

His lecherous gaze leisurely swept down her curvaceous body. His eyes were blatantly expl＊cit, caressing her with his stare alone.

Though he’d risen to the highest position, he couldn’t hide his lowborn origins—his vulgar words drew other eyes toward her as well.

Her delicate body trembled at the shame of so many stares. A red flush slowly spread across her skin, pale and lustrous like white jade.

Watching her quietly, he let out a snicker.

Despite that mocking laugh, Laurencia bit her lip while forcing herself to hide her expression, staring directly at the man who looked down at her from his arrogant posture, chin propped on his hand.

Why didn’t I see it back then?

If only I’d recognized the ambition hidden in those eyes sooner, the empire and my life wouldn’t have been trampled like this.

But regretting it now was useless. It was frustrating and infuriating, but there was no one to blame.

The ones who helped that man climb so high were the emperor, her father, and herself, the imperial princess.

Laurencia despised herself for being deceived by that false smile and giving him everything.

With a scoff, he suddenly straightened his posture. Then he pointed to one side, revealing his true nature.

“I prepared this for you. You must have had a hard time catering to that old king’s whims, so pick whichever one you like.”

Only then did she slowly turn her gaze away from Jedrian, whom she’d stubbornly kept watching until that moment.

There knelt three men, their lower bodies barely covered by shabby tunics.

Judging by their sun-bronzed copper skin and roughly built bodies, they seemed to be slaves who worked in labor camps.

Laurencia’s eyes turned ice-cold as she caught onto the vile intentions of the man who brought slaves from the very bottom of society and called them a gift.

* * *

Jedrian, who possessed neither royal bl＊＊d nor the golden eyes that symbolized the imperial family, was currently ruling the empire as regent under the pretext of the emperor’s illness.

With his current power, he could easily usurp the throne, but the man wanted to ascend to the imperial seat with everyone’s approval without bloodshed if possible, so he patiently continued his nauseating charade.

He already enjoyed power equivalent to the emperor anyway, and if the unconscious emperor died like this, the throne would naturally become his, so there was no need to make any risky moves.

But unexpectedly, the princess who held succession rights—the one he’d sent far away with his own hands—had returned.

For him, this was a considerably troublesome variable.

If Laurencia allied with the pro-emperor nobles who resented him and installed one of their noble sons as her consort, and if they declared they would enthrone that man as emperor, he would have to step down from the throne immediately.

Of course, if that happened, he’d resort to usurpation or civil war without hesitation.

Anyway, his plans had hit a snag, and he was angry. So he decided to remind her of her position once again.

Who the true master of this empire was now.

He intended to make her realize exactly what happens when you disobey his orders.

While he was at it, branding the princess with the stigma of a promiscuous woman to diminish her authority and shake the hearts of the pro-emperor nobles didn’t seem like a bad idea either.

If he could win them over one by one, amend imperial law, and neutralize the princess’s authority, he wouldn’t need to send Laurencia away anymore.

When that day came, he planned to lock her in a secret chamber and make her see only him for the rest of her life.

Right in front of that man who turned him into this beast, he would flaunt his conquest of his precious daughter and mock him to his heart’s content.

Just thinking about it sent shivers through his entire body.

Jedrian’s eyes flashed savagely, though only the corners of his mouth lifted.

Her utterly expressionless gaze returned to him. Having hidden his expression in the meantime, he asked sweetly.

“Have you chosen?”

But the voice that returned was cold without fail.

“What if the gift doesn’t please me?”

“Then they’ll have to die. For the crime of defiling your noble eyes.”

Though it seemed like mere intimidation, Laurencia knew better than anyone that he was more than capable of it.

“But I went to such trouble preparing this. At least have a taste.”

When Jedrian urged her again, like he’d prepared some special delicacy, Laurencia reluctantly turned her gaze once more.

If she refused one more time, they would die. Even so, she had no intention of choosing.

Then suddenly, her eyes met with one of the slaves.

Unlike the other slaves who still couldn’t even lift their heads, he raised his and looked straight at her.

Almost like he was telling her to choose him.

Judging by his appearance, he didn’t seem to be from Armazé.

He was a man with black hair and blue eyes, rare to see in the empire.

Laurencia hadn’t expected there to be a foreign slave, so she stared at the man who gazed piercingly at her with puzzled eyes.

What was even more curious were the man’s eyes.

He couldn’t possibly be unaware that his life depended on her single word, yet his deep blue eyes seemed devoid of fear.

Unhealed wounds were visible all over his body, marks from recent beatings perhaps. Just looking at them, he seemed to have suffered quite a bit, yet his completely unbroken spirit strangely drew her attention.

Just then, a fierce voice interrupted.

“I have many gifts prepared for you. If you don’t like them, I’ll replace them with new gifts anytime, so just say the word.”

Unlike his leisurely tone moments before, Jedrian’s voice had an edge to it.

Guessing the reason, Laurencia deliberately kept her gaze on the slave as she answered.

“The soil covering his grave hasn’t even dried yet.”

“It’ll dry eventually. Do I have to worry about the dirt burying that dead b＊stard too?”

Only then did she slowly turn her head, looking at Jedrian with coldly frozen eyes.

The man’s red eyes, which had quickly turned savage, flashed dangerously. His crimson irises, as red as her hair, blazed like fierce flames.

The man who’d been sitting arrogantly finally rose from the imperial throne.

At the sight of Jedrian leisurely descending the steps, Laurencia’s expression stiffened without fail.

Soon, a large shadow covered her entire body. She instinctively tried to step back but forced strength into her legs and barely held her ground.

As if impressed, Jedrian raised the corners of his mouth in a smirk and slowly lifted his hand.

As his large, rough hand approached from above, her slender shoulders visibly shrank.

He let out a low chuckle, seemingly asking why she was so frightened, then stroked her hair with an affectionate touch.

Still not letting down her guard, Laurencia clenched her clasped hands tightly.

Sure enough, the hand that had been stroking suddenly grabbed her hair and yanked her head back.

“Ngh!”

Laurencia barely swallowed the scream that rose to the back of her throat, biting the inside of her mouth.

From between the teeth of the man who’d drawn close, a sinister voice flowed out.

“So why did you come back already? If your husband died, you should have stayed there playing queen and waited quietly. Then I would’ve come to fetch you myself.”

His lecherous, gleaming gaze slowly traveled down along her slender neckline. Every time his breath touched her, goosebumps rose all over her body.

“How could you get kicked out without using this beautiful body to win over even one of those prince bastards? Now I have to do terrible things to you again, Loren.”

Jedrian brushed aside the red hair that had been bothering him, finally revealing her full br*asts, and flicked his tongue.

One thick finger slowly pulled down the front of her thin dress, seemingly intent on violating her.

Staring intently at the increasingly exposed cleavage, he spouted even more absurd words.

“Don’t tell me… you didn’t kill the old king with your own hands, did you? To return to my arms even one day sooner.”

“Ah…!”

She had no time to react to his outrageous words. The man who suddenly bared his teeth engulfed her neckline as though he would bite into it.

A faint moan escaped at the stinging yet familiar pain.

Laurencia’s face, which had desperately maintained an expressionless mask, crumpled pitifully.

Unconcerned, the snake-like tongue that licked up her neckline now teased her earlobe, whispering.

“That’s why you should have taken my hand back then. Why make things hard for me with your pointless stubbornness? You know how much I cherish and love you, so why do you keep making me into a bad b＊stard, Loren?”

“Hng…!”

In a moment of carelessness, the hand that had been anxiously toying with her cleavage finally grabbed her br*ast firmly.