Chapter 1

Under the clear sky, the garden was vibrant and full of life.

A gentle breeze brushed past the rose bushes, where petals were falling one by one.

The Empress’s Palace.

A crimson sunset poured in through the narrow window.

The room was spacious, but there was almost no furniture or belongings, and even those looked old and worn.

Inside the room, a woman was kneeling and scrubbing the floor with a rag.

Golden sunlight settled on the woman’s long eyelashes, the same shade as her dark blonde hair.

With a rounded forehead, a slender face, and long, sharp eyes with double eyelids beneath straight brows.

Her unusually long and thick eyelashes stood out, and while her upper lip was thin, her lower lip was full.

However, her body was so gaunt it would not be an exaggeration to say she was nothing but skin and bones, her face hollow, and she was dressed in ragged clothes, dulling her beauty.

After finishing her scrubbing, Heila wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, then sat down for a moment to rest, gazing out the window.

She looked at her hands, which had grown rough over the past year, with a lonely gaze.

She didn’t even look in the mirror these days, wondering how things had come to this.

She used to take great care of her appearance, but now she lived in an environment where she couldn’t, and in any case, there was no one left to look at her anymore.

She couldn’t even remember the last time she had seen Kersian’s face.

Just thinking of him was painful, so Heila tried to shake off the thought.

At that moment, the door burst open without warning with a loud noise, and several people entered.

It was Uriel and the servants she had brought with her.

With downturned eyes and deep green irises, she wore a bright smile and was dressed in an extravagantly luxurious manner.

Her wavy red hair, glossy white skin, and delicate hands that seemed never to have known hardship were adorned with a red ruby ring.

It was a treasure passed down through the imperial family, left behind by Heila’s mother.

“What is it this time?”

Heila looked at Uriel with a frightened expression, then froze when she noticed her swollen belly.

Noticing the unmistakable gloom, loss, and longing in her gaze, Uriel let out a scoff.

It had been a long time since she last saw Heila, and she had become noticeably haggard.

Even the maids working in the imperial palace looked far better than her now.

Seeing that seemed to lift her mood slightly.

“Today, His Majesty said he would send you to a monastery.”

Uriel raised her brows as she looked at the silent Heila.

Her resigned expression made it seem as if she had already expected this.

Just as Kersian had said, the woman before her was powerless, and rather than causing trouble, she was extremely docile.

Even so, they couldn’t just leave a potential threat as it was.

“All the members of the former imperial family are already dead, yet he continues to keep you alive instead of k*lling you. It’s excessive mercy.”

Uriel spoke in an exaggerated tone of regret.

At those words, Heila’s complexion darkened.

Because of the rebellion led by her husband, Kersian, she had lost her family, and in that process, Uriel’s family had lent their strength.

He had originally cherished Uriel, but after the rebellion, that favor had only deepened.

Even when she had taken poison and miscarried, although he had sensed her involvement, he did not question her guilt and simply covered it up.

As a result, she had been deposed, and soon Uriel would take her place.

And the child in her womb would become the next emperor.

“Bring the branding iron.”

As Uriel’s words fell into the quiet room, Heila flinched in shock and raised her head.

Seeing her startled face, the corners of Uriel’s lips curled upward.

Soon, the servants grabbed Heila and forced her to kneel on the floor.

Then they held her tightly from both sides so she couldn’t move.

“What are you trying to do?”

Heila struggled as she asked.

Though she rarely raised her voice, no one was afraid.

Once the most noble woman in the empire, she had now fallen into such a miserable state that she was no different from a toy that could be broken at will.

Soon, a servant brought the branding iron.

Inside the brazier, among the heated stones, the lump of iron glowed red—it was enough to break into a cold sweat just by looking at it.

Heila’s resistance grew more desperate, and only then did Uriel’s expression turn satisfied.

Holding the iron rod, she brought its red-hot tip close to Heila’s face and spoke.

“I think this will finally put my mind at ease.”

“Please don’t! I’m begging you······..”

As the iron neared her face, the heat was transmitted directly.

With a terrified expression, Heila pleaded.

But the next moment, Uriel pressed the iron rod firmly against her clean skin.

With the sound of flesh searing, a nauseating smell of burning filled the air, and Heila screamed like she had lost her mind.

After a while, Uriel threw the iron rod she had been holding onto the floor.

Heila couldn’t even properly open her eyes from the pain.

Around the pink, melted flesh, the surrounding skin had turned black and charred.

The horrific sight was enough to make even the servants turn their heads away.

Uriel, too, frowned at the grotesque view and spoke with a disgusted expression.

“It’s hard to keep looking at this. She needs to stay alive if she’s to be sent to the monastery without issue, so call a physician.”

With that, she turned around.

The moment the servants let go, Heila collapsed onto the floor, writhing.

Even though the iron rod had already fallen and rolled away, the lingering heat on her face caused unbearable pain.

“Kersian….”

The name that slipped out of Heila’s lips out of habit stopped Uriel in her tracks as she was about to leave.

“At the upcoming banquet, His Majesty will announce that he is making me the Empress. This will be the last time I come to see you. It’s pitiful and unsightly how you keep calling for His Majesty until the very end, so I’ll tell you one thing.”

“The one who killed the child in your womb was His Majesty.”

At those final words, which brought her pain-clouded mind back into focus, Heila’s eyes flew wide open.

“So it would be best not to place any more hope in His Majesty. And when you arrive at the monastery, I’ll send you something as well. The same thing your father and the child in your womb drank.”

At that moment, Heila’s gaze caught sight of the iron rod lying nearby.

In a flash, she reached out, grabbed it, and swung it toward Uriel.

Startled, Uriel stepped back and fell hard onto the floor.

The Heila who had always been quiet, lacking confidence, and never a threat was now rushing at her with blazing eyes.

For the first time, fear filled Uriel’s gaze as she looked at her.

But Heila’s resistance was subdued far too easily.

The servants rushed in at once, pinned her down, and snatched the iron rod from her hand before throwing it far away.

The rod clanged loudly as it hit the floor, and Uriel, still catching her breath, looked at the struggling Heila.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

At the servant’s question, Uriel finally regained her senses.

Her pride wounded, she hesitated, unable to approach, then clenched her teeth and glared fiercely at Heila as she shouted.

“That mad woman dared to try to harm me and the imperial heir in my womb! K*ll her immediately!”

“But it is His Majesty the Emperor’s order….”

At that moment, another person appeared through the open door.

The moment Heila saw the man she had longed for and loved so dearly, her gaze wavered.

Even when he had been a duke, he had been exceptionally handsome and elegant, but now, dressed in the emperor’s robes, he shone even more than before.

The figure of the young emperor, now more mature and full of authority, was enough to stir anyone’s heart.

However, as Heila looked at him, it felt as though all the blood in her body had turned cold.

“Your Majesty.”

Everyone in the room was startled, and the servants quickly composed themselves and bowed to Kersian.

His gaze fell on Heila.

Her face was soaked with tears, and on her cheek was a horrific wound that seemed freshly made.

“Release Heila and summon a physician. And take Uriel back to her room.”

Uriel, seeing Heila’s ghastly wound, withdrew while watching Kersian’s reaction.

As the surroundings grew quiet, he extended his hand.

“The floor is cold. Get up.”

But Heila did not take his hand.

So he grasped her hand himself and helped her up.

His hand was still large and warm.

Unable even to think of wiping away her endlessly falling tears, she finally managed to speak.

“Why did you do it?”

“I feel sorry toward you.”

For a moment, Heila didn’t know what to say.

A brief silence passed before she barely opened her mouth again.

“I don’t need words you don’t mean. It wasn’t enough that you killed my father—you even laid hands on your own blood. No one could do that without abandoning their humanity.”

“If that’s what you think, then so be it.”

Kersian, who uttered those words, looked weary, as if indulging a child’s tantrum, and there was an annoyed tone in his voice.

In his expression, his gaze, his voice—there was not a trace of guilt or remorse for the dead child.

A dark despair spread through Heila’s eyes.

She had thought it was love.

Because she believed it was love, she had been willing to give him everything.

Only now could she fully accept that those feelings had been hers alone.

“Kersian, you are the most shameless and vile person I know.”

“I know. So you can resent me as much as you like.”

Kersian reached out and wiped the tears from Heila’s eyes.

She shuddered in horror and stepped back.

As her vision cleared, his figure came into view.

Black hair, sharp eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin lips pressed tightly together.

In his pale green eyes—the very shade she had loved most—her own ruined face was reflected.

Kersian was still handsome, and there was a faint trace of pity in the way he looked at Heila.

Only she knew how horrifying that sight appeared to her now.

Heila kept stepping back until her back hit the wall.

Watching her, overwhelmed with fear, betrayal, and anger, he let out a light sigh.

“Your Majesty, the physician has arrived.”

At the servant’s words, Kersian turned his head.

Just as he said, the physician was there.

“Good, then treat her at once—”

“Y-Your Majesty…!”

His command was cut off by the servant’s shout.

A sudden breeze brushed against his cheek.

Sensing something ominous, Kersian turned around.

And then he saw Heila sitting on the window frame.

Her hair fluttered in the wind blowing in through the open window.

“Meeting you was the worst decision of my life. I regret that I couldn’t kill you and Uriel with my own hands.”

“Heila, don’t do anything foolish. Come down.”

Kersian coaxed her in a gentle voice.

Seeing the panic in his eyes for the first time, Heila let out a scoff.

“Go to h*ll.”

The next moment, Heila leaned her body backward.

Kersian rushed forward, but she fell faster than he could reach her.

Even as she plummeted, it felt as though time had slowed.

The moment she threw herself, regret swelled within her like a snowball.

More than the fear of the death rushing toward her, she felt resentment and regret.

She was not the one who should die.

Soon, with a sickening thud, Heila’s legs snapped, and the ground beneath her was stained red.

Palace attendants passing nearby screamed, and some of them ran frantically to call for help.

With that sound as the last thing she heard, Heila lost consciousness.