Chapter 1 (Part 1)

“That child seems to have inherited your intelligence.”  

“Oh my, inherited from me? If anything, their bravery clearly resembles you, Earl!”  

“Indeed, I am brave! Hahaha!”  

Through the slightly ajar door, the sound of nauseating laughter spilled out.  

The conversation between the two was so revolting it made one want to retch. A bitter chuckle escaped at the absurdity of it all.  

“Let’s go back to the room.”  

“Madam…”  

Ignoring the maid calling out from behind, she turned on her heel.  

Loveless marriages among nobles were far from uncommon. And this was no different for her.  

George Plarad, the Earl renowned for his handsome looks and impeccable manners, was considered one of the most eligible bachelors.  

If not for the fact that he wasn’t a high-ranking noble, the position of Countess Plarad would have been seen as an unparalleled match. His only flaw was perhaps his age, having long passed the prime years for marriage.  

But contrary to his public image, Earl Plarad was the worst of the worst.  

George Plarad inherited the title of Earl before he even turned twenty. And as soon as he became the Earl, he elevated a maid, with whom he had been having a long-standing affair, to the position of mistress.  

Too preoccupied with his mistress, he naturally postponed marriage. He even made the absurd excuse that he was too busy with the affairs of the earldom and the empire to marry, acting as though he would remain a bachelor for life.  

The reason he eventually entered the marriage market was, of course, because of his mistress.  

His mistress’s sudden pregnancy. It was nothing more than fear that his reputation, built over the years, would crumble if he had an illegitimate child without being married.  

Thus, Plarad sought a bride who would be as obedient as a doll.  

It was only natural that she caught his eye—a woman who silently endured the crude jokes of men and the bullying of her peers, always smiling to appease them.  

She was the perfect candidate for the title of Countess in name only, just as the Earl desired.  

Her father, Baron Jackley Martin, and her stepmother, Elina Martin, accepted the marriage proposal for a mere pittance.  

Once the marriage was arranged, Plarad continued his act, pretending to have fallen in love with her at first sight to maintain his reputation.  

Even up until the day before the wedding, he showered her with flowers and sweet words. She never imagined that his heart already belonged to his mistress, Syla.  

It wasn’t until several days after arriving at the Plarad estate, bearing his surname, that she realized all his actions had been nothing more than ‘acting,’ devoid of any genuine emotion.  

That was when her misfortune began.  

As soon as they arrived at the manor, she saw him rush off somewhere. Foolishly, she thought he was heading off to catch up on delayed work.  

Even after discovering the existence of his mistress, she dismissed it as a mere dalliance, common among nobles who often kept mistresses or lovers.  

She realized the truth—that his seemingly endless affection had never existed in the first place—on their wedding night.  

Despite her resistance, despite her cries, he forced himself on her, calling it the ‘duty of a married couple.’  

Even after that night, he would seek her out late at night, demanding the ‘duties of marriage.’  

Those were the only times he sought her.  

At all other times, George Plarad remained by the side of his mistress, leaving his real wife abandoned except for the early hours of the morning.  

A life lived simply because she couldn’t die. That was the life of Reinis Plarad, Countess of Plarad.  

Every dawn, the manor would echo with her screams, yet everyone turned a deaf ear and a blind eye.  

No one helped her. No one treated her as the Countess.  

Even Yuria, her maid who had been her sole comfort and support, was dismissed less than a year after arriving at the manor.  

She was a Countess in name only. Nothing more.  

The Plarad estate and the capital were several days apart by carriage, so there was no one in the capital she could turn to for help.  

‘Not that anyone in the capital would have helped me, anyway…’  

As time passed, her days grew lonelier and filled with more self-reproach.  

The mocking laughter of the two echoed in her ears, refusing to leave her alone.  

“While I suffer like this, what could they possibly find so amusing?”  

Even sharing the same air as them was nauseating, yet their laughter never ceased.  

‘I don’t want to live this kind of life anymore…’  

Once again, she spent the night shedding tears.  

Some time later, a rumor so massive it shook the empire began to spread.  

[An Earl blinded by love covets the Emperor’s possessions. Surely, this is treason against the Emperor. Earl Plarad is preparing a rebellion.]  

The rumor spread from mouth to mouth until it finally reached the Emperor’s ears.  

After the birth of his illegitimate child, the Earl, blinded by the greed of his mistress, began imposing absurd taxes to satisfy her vanity.  

This led to the deaths of some of his subjects from starvation.  

The relentless greed and extravagance of his mistress made life unbearable for the people of the Plarad estate, prompting them to submit petitions to the Emperor multiple times.  

For the Emperor, who needed a justification to strip the Earl of his title, the rumor of ‘treason’ was the perfect excuse.  

[Capture the Earl who covets the Emperor’s possessions and punish him for his crimes.]  

The Emperor’s decree was issued.  

Having heard the news in advance, Plarad arranged for his beloved mistress and illegitimate child to escape first.  

Thanks to the Earl’s complete disregard for his actual Countess, it was she, Countess Plarad, and the remaining staff at the manor who were captured by the knights.  

The knights, having only heard the rumors of the “Earl blinded by love,” had no idea who the object of that love was and began interrogating her instead of his mistress.  

At that moment, Plarad spoke as though he had been waiting for this opportunity.  

“It’s because… because I love my wife so much! She asked me to raise the taxes, so I did. She said she needed more money for something she wanted, so I got it for her. I couldn’t possibly refuse her because of how much I love her… I had no other choice!”  

“Ha…”  

Before he could even finish speaking, a hollow laugh escaped her lips.  

‘Love?’  

She knew full well that the person at the end of that so-called love was certainly not her.  –

As she chuckled bitterly at the absurdity of it all, a single tear fell.  

“I am truly innocent! I only did it for my beloved wife! I swear, it was all because of her demands!”  

The Earl’s intentions were clear. Pretending to proclaim his love while blaming everything on his wife was nothing more than a ploy to shift all the guilt onto her.  

Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—the knights had no intention of listening to the Earl’s lamentations.  

The charge of “treason” was far graver than anticipated, and as a result, not only the Earl and Countess but also the manor’s staff and even distant relatives associated with him were all executed.  

Some begged for their lives, while others, like the Earl, protested their innocence. Watching them crawl on the ground, desperate to save themselves, was almost laughable.  

‘A life lived simply because I couldn’t die… If only I had at least one enjoyable memory, I might have been able to close my eyes peacefully.’  

As that thought crossed her mind, a smile crept across her face. It was a surprisingly serene smile for someone facing death.  

Amidst the chaos of screams, the only person smiling was her. A blood-stained blade halted in front of her.  

She could see Plarad’s head rolling on the ground nearby.  

“Ah…”  

A short sigh escaped her lips, followed by a bright smile.  

“It’s finally over.”  

Everything that had shackled her like chains was finally coming to an end. As if to bless this moment, warm sunlight shone down on her face.  

“So, only at the very last moment does such warm sunlight finally shine upon me.” 

It was a spring day, more beautiful than any other.  

Bathed in the pleasant sunlight, a blade came flying toward her.