I’m Sorry I’m Not Qualified to Be Empress - Chapter 1

Year 147 of the Solstern Empire.

Count Jared Etoile was accused of treason and executed by beheading. His head was displayed in the square.

Audrey Etoile, the Count’s wife, died of a heart attack in prison the day after her husband’s execution.

The eldest son of the Count, Ian Etoile, was poisoned by an assailant while staying at a foreign monastery.

The second son, Hans Etoile, disappeared at sea and was never found.

As for the youngest daughter of the Count and Empress of Solstern, Rosé Etoile—
She was destined to die at the hands of her husband, Emperor Kasiax.

***

From a young age, all noble ladies of the Solstern Empire, regardless of their social standing, dreamed of becoming the Crown Princess.

He was the ideal of every young girl and marriageable noblewoman.

Crown Prince Kasiax Dumas was a beauty beyond this world.

His platinum hair flowed gracefully in the wind, and his emerald-green eyes could steal the breath of anyone who saw him.

His tall, sleek frame and sculpted features exuded the nobility of his royal lineage.

Most captivating of all was his enchanting smile, a smile that could make one imagine a cool breeze brushing by as he tilted the corners of his lips upward.

Young girls fell asleep dreaming of holding the Crown Prince’s hand and walking into the imperial palace, firmly believing they would be the heroine of that dream.

Rosé Etoile, innocent and full of charm, was no exception.

And, by some stroke of luck, her dream came true.

***

On a bright day during the Solstern New Year’s Ball,

Rosé Etoile fell in love with Kasiax after he asked her to dance.

The two shared a tender romance, hiding their affection from prying eyes.

On her 20th birthday, he proposed to her.

Backed by the full support of the royal family, they held a grand wedding, one that was celebrated as the most perfect union in the history of the empire.

The entire process unfolded as naturally as flowing water.

But their marriage soon began to crack.

As Empress of Solstern and wife to Kasiax, Rosé Etoile bore fatal flaws.

***

A gloomy sky, laden with dark clouds, hung ominously.

A cold wind swept around the bell tower, sending chills through the air.

Rosé instinctively felt she had reached the end of her life.

She wasn’t afraid—her life had been more painful than death.

In dying, she could reunite with her family who had gone before her.

But one thing left her filled with bitter regret.

The man standing before her.

Kasiax!

This devil who had destroyed her family, her house, and her life.

She was consumed with remorse for ever marrying him.

For having loved him.

For failing to protect her family from him.

As his cold smile taunted her and his hands tightened around her neck, tears of blood seemed to well up in her eyes.

The molten lava of resentment, suppressed for so long, surged upward in her throat.

Whether from regret or from the tightening grip on her neck, she could hardly breathe.

Recently, Rosé had grown so frail that she couldn’t even hold objects properly.

Distrusting the imperial court physicians, she had secretly called for a doctor from outside the palace.

“You’ve been poisoned. It seems you’ve been consuming minute traces of poison over a long period.”

“Poison?”

“It must have been mixed into your food or tea in quantities too small to detect.”

“I once had a miscarriage. Was that caused by this poison too?”

The old physician stroked his beard and clicked his tongue in pity, avoiding a direct answer.

After her father’s execution and her mother’s death in prison,

Rosé had stopped eating from the shock,

And assumed the miscarriage was a consequence of that.

But to think she’d been poisoned all along!

Her first thought went to Sasha, Kasiax’ mistress.

Rosé remembered Sasha becoming pregnant shortly after her miscarriage.

She’d always had a creepy feeling of being watched by Sasha.

When the physician left, Rosé summoned Sasha,

Who suggested they meet in the bell tower to avoid unnecessary gossip.

Rosé had agreed, never imagining it would lead to this moment.

Kasiax tightened his grip around her neck.

“How dare you lay a hand on Sasha? Especially when she’s carrying my blood in her body?”

“Hngh… ugh!”

Rosé struggled to breathe, clawing at his arms in a desperate attempt to break free.

Finally, he released her.

As her body was freed, she bent over, gasping for air.

“You should be grateful that Sasha is doing what you can’t.”

His green eyes, which once resembled a calm sea, had darkened into the depths of a stormy ocean.

Rosé glanced at Sasha, who was collapsed behind him.

“Sasha, are you all right? Someone, call a doctor! Quickly!”

“I’m fine… I just… I’m only worried about His Majesty’s child… Is the baby okay…?”

Sasha caressed her rounded belly, tears welling in her eyes.

Strangely, ever since Kasiax had entered the room, Sasha had seemed increasingly agitated. Now, she clutched her stomach, appearing frail and delicate as she lay on the floor.

Her complexion had turned ghostly pale, as though she were about to faint, but there was something peculiar about her lips. The corners curled upward ever so slightly, almost as if she were smiling.

To Rosé, it looked as though Sasha was smirking.

“I didn’t do anything to her. She fell on her own,” Rosé protested.

She had only lightly touched Sasha’s shoulder to ask about the poison. But the moment Kasiax appeared, Sasha let out a piercing scream and collapsed to the floor as if she’d been struck.

Rosé stared at Sasha, lying theatrically on the ground, in disbelief and frustration.

The maids in the room had witnessed everything, yet inexplicably, they all acted as if they were following a predetermined script.

The most absurd part was that even Ella, her maid, was helping Sasha instead of her.

At last, Rosé understood how poison had been slipped into her food and tea all this time.

“Sasha got me again. I’m so pathetic. It’s my fault my family is gone.”

Rosé felt utterly defeated.

Her legs wobbled as if they would give out beneath her.

Whether it was the effects of the lingering poison in her system or the overwhelming sense of despair, she wasn’t sure.

It felt as if every last drop of blood had drained from her body.

As she staggered, Kasiax grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her against the wall.

“Rosé. Pull yourself together. Stop testing my patience.”

“…I’ve been poisoned… That’s why I had a miscarriage. And now… now they’re saying I’ll never have children again.”

Rosé murmured the words as though speaking to herself.

Kasiax raised an eyebrow, his expression skeptical.

“Poison? The court physicians check on you daily. What nonsense are you spouting?”

Something about his reaction struck Rosé as strange.

Wouldn’t a normal response be to ask if she was all right?

But instead, he dismissed her words as ridiculous nonsense.

Snapping her head up, she locked eyes with him.

“Don’t tell me… It was you. Wasn’t it? How… How could you do this?”

Her voice quivered as she stared at him, as though looking at a monster.

“How could you do something so horrible to a woman carrying your child? Even a devil wouldn’t stoop that low.”

“Rosé. Stop it. Now you’re just being delusional.”

“You… You’re not even human. I’ll follow you to the depths of hell and curse you for eternity.”

“Rosé!”

“Bring back my baby! Bring back my family!”

She screamed at him like a madwoman, her voice filled with grief and fury, hot tears spilling down her cheeks.

“Are you insane? Completely out of your mind?”

He looked at her with pure contempt.

“Do you even realize who’s keeping you in your position as Empress? You should be grateful that a traitor’s daughter is still alive!”

Rosé let out a hollow laugh, utterly incredulous. But his next words were even more outrageous.

“I can understand if you resent me, but you shouldn’t treat Sasha this way.”

Turning to glance back at Sasha, he gazed at her with apparent concern.

“You wouldn’t know this, but every day, Sasha begged me to treat you kindly. She said she felt sorry for you—that you’d lost your family and your house.”

“Ha!”

A derisive laugh burst from Rosé’s lips, twisting into a mocking smirk.

The moment she did, an icy chill emanated from Kasiax.

“You’re laughing? Are you mocking me?”

“Who ruined my family and killed them, Kasiax?”

She screamed at him, her voice filled with anguish.

“You’re saying it’s my fault?”

“Why did you even marry me?”