Seeing occasional boredom on the emperor’s expressionless face, she anxiously continued her story.

“Then there are villains named Gyo-min and Ae-hyung. Gyo-min is a son from a nouveau riche family and a bad playboy, while Ae-hyung is Eun-hee’s childhood friend who grew up in her house but secretly harbors inferiority and hatred toward Eun-hee.”

Looking at the emperor’s expressionless face that was neither good nor bad made her feel frustrated, like talking to a wall.

This was why no response was scarier than negative comments. She had only introduced the characters. The main story hadn’t even started yet.

She would definitely get a reaction from him. Fighting!

In this lonely situation where she had no one but herself, she encouraged herself and continued the story.

“All misfortunes begin when Eun-hee, who was studying cosmetology, gets pregnant after being taken advantage of by Gyo-min, her brother’s friend, and marries him. But this despicable Gyo-min loses interest in Eun-hee right after their child dies and spends all his time outside, having affairs.”

Then he asked with an expressionless face,

“It seems this is either a lawless country or one with loose laws if someone could commit such acts without legal punishment.”

She grew increasingly anxious watching him discuss crime and punishment with a blank face.

She thought she noticed his mouth twitch slightly upward, but it must have been her imagination.

“Or there’s an error in the setting.”

Though it might seem hasty since this was just the beginning of the story, everything felt critical since her life was at stake.

Though he seemed to only point out plot holes and give irrelevant responses, Charte was actually listening carefully because he related to the situation.

She thought she saw a flash of emptiness cross his face while listening, but she dismissed it thinking she must have seen wrong.

“This is just like those trite romance novels circulating around. I don’t want to waste more time listening to such predictable stories.”

When he suddenly stood up with cold eyes, she frantically grabbed his hand.

He looked at her hand with displeasure.

“Ah, I’m sorry. But I washed my hands. And I don’t have any diseases. When you look at me like I’m a bug, even I……”

He looked at her strangely like she was insane.

“……feel hurt.”

“Empress, did you learn any etiquette? Don’t make excuses about not knowing that subordinates cannot touch their superiors first. And didn’t you say earlier that we’re not equal spouses but in an employer-employee relationship?”

“I apologize, Your Majesty. I was disrespectful in my urgency.”

“Have you forgotten that imperial law punishes even corpses after execution! If your crimes keep increasing if we stay together, it might be better for me to leave for your sake.”

“Please forgive me. My hand was careless this time. My heart definitely isn’t like that. My head and body just tend to act separately.”

“You seem to have so many styles since earlier that someone who doesn’t know might misunderstand you as being full of charm.”

“I apologize for making you misunderstand me as being full of charm. However, it’s also because Your Majesty has been fulfilling the contract so unfaithfully.”

“Now it’s my fault?”

“Yes, honestly, I was angry at what Your Majesty said earlier.”

He looked at her with confusion, not understanding at all.

“How can you dismiss stories that imperial citizens love and enjoy as trite and predictable? Isn’t that disrespecting the imperial citizens? Can you really be a good emperor if you can’t understand and empathize with your citizens’ sensibilities? And have you never heard the famous quote, no, the saying that creators write every story with their blood and pus?”

“So the story you were going to tell me was just something circulating around? I made this contract thinking it was a story that didn’t exist in this world.”

“It doesn’t exist in this world!”

It was such a resolute answer that even she was surprised by it. And she added silently to herself.

‘Because it’s a story from the world I lived in. It doesn’t exist in your world, here.’

“Please listen until the end. Not listening fully is breach of contract.”

“I disagree with most of your opinions. However, I very slightly agree about the contract breach.”

Thinking she had convinced him over 90 percent, she continued persuading.

“If this was just another story about being abandoned, I wouldn’t have even started. Have you already forgotten the title? The wife hasn’t even been marked yet, and the seduction hasn’t even begun. Please listen until the end.”

Looking tired, he sat back in the chair and turned his gaze to her.

“May I start the story again?”

Though she was inwardly furious seeing him lean back in his chair with a crooked expression of disinterest, she steadfastly began the story.

* * *

“While Eun-hee suffers all kinds of mistreatment from her in-laws, Gyo-min has an affair with Ae-hyung. The ambitious Ae-hyung goes abroad to study with Gyo-min’s help and returns to Korea after having a baby. The two continue their affair, and Gyo-min eventually divorces the kind-hearted Eun-hee.”

Yun-ah didn’t notice, but words like best friend, affair, and divorce triggered many of Charte’s sensitive points.

‘What filthy acts between a wife’s friend and friend’s husband! Such evil and immoral humans should be dealt with immediately for the sake of public morals.’

Charte, who had clenched his fist in anger, quickly closed his eyes fearing his emotions would show.

‘That sociopathic emperor disease!’

Yun-ah worried that Charte was reacting this way because he couldn’t empathize with the story.

‘Wait, how can someone feel sleepy while listening to The Seduction of the Marked Wife?’

When the silence grew long, he raised his hand with an annoyed face, signaling her to hurry up.

Growing anxious, Yun-ah stopped explaining and rushed into the events.

“Your Majesty, the introduction was too long. Now I’ll get to their real evil deeds.”

Though Charte didn’t show it, he was dumbfounded.

‘What did she just say? Real evil deeds? Assault, affairs, divorce…… I thought I’d already heard more than enough misfortunes for one person to bear, but are you saying these weren’t even evil deeds? What kind of story is this? What more could there possibly be?’

“Actually, Eun-hee was pregnant then, and when Gyo-min and Ae-hyung learn that her father-in-law plans to leave his inheritance to Eun-hee, they plot against her. When Gyo-min’s attempts to force her to abort fail, he takes Eun-hee, who has aquaphobia, to the ocean and threatens to die together. Then he leaves her in the water and comes out alone. Afterwards, the two live happily married, thinking Eun-hee died.”

‘Murder? What did I just hear? It’s shocking how such thoughts could come from the head of the empire’s highest lady. The empress might be more frightening than I thought.’

Charte remained outwardly calm despite his inner thoughts.

This made Yun-ah more anxious, feeling she had walked into the wrong death trap.

‘This sociopath whose forehead wouldn’t make a sound even if stabbed with a needle! How can you not get angry hearing this? Should I have told something more intense?’

Yun-ah drank some tea to calm herself before continuing the story.

“But Eun-hee is rescued by a wonderful man named Jae-woo. And with help from Jae-woo’s adoptive mother Mrs. Min, she is reborn as Song-hee. It turns out Mrs. Min also has a grudge against Gyo-min’s family, so they become allies. Now begins the revenge of the reborn Eun-hee.”

* * *

Just then, light streamed in through the window and I squinted.

When silence fell after stopping the story, Charte opened his eyes.

“Why……”

Following my gaze outside, he stopped mid-sentence.

The sun was slowly rising outside. And then came a knock at the door.

“Your Majesty.”

He switched to his trademark expressionless face and looked toward the door.

“I understand.”

Feeling relieved that I had somehow made it through, I smiled brightly at him and said.

“Your Majesty! That’s all for tonight!”

Seeing him shoot laser beams from his eyes again at my excited shortened speech, I collected myself.

“That’s allllll for now. But you must listen to the story until the end. I was trying to be cute by stretching out my words, so please understand.”

He returned to his expressionless face and moved to leave.

“I’ll see you next week, Your Majesty.”

He raised one corner of his mouth and said with a slightly scratching expression.

“Let’s do that, this week’s empress.”

* * *

The moment he left, my legs gave out from the tension releasing and I collapsed.

“Talked all night until my mouth went dry just to extend my life by a week…… Haa…… I’m really lucky to still be breathing with two nostrils. This is hard. So hard. How can a person’s life depend not on the law but on the emperor? Imperial rights taking precedence over human rights……”

Just as I was about to lie in bed and pull up the covers, there was a knock.

Ugh! Let me sleep. Please! Not just no human rights but no sleep either! What is it at this crack of dawn!

Though I was as irritated as hearing an alarm on Monday morning, considering my unfamiliar surroundings and my absolutely subordinate status, I answered in the kindest voice possible.

“Yes~”

Madam Peggy’s eyes seemed to quickly scan the room when she entered…… Or was that my imagination? Must be my imagination.

“Your Majesty, good morning! We must hurry with preparations.”

“What? If it’s not urgent, could I sleep a little first? I’m so tired from not sleeping at all……”

Madam Peggy’s face lit up with surprise at the response.

What’s with that expression…… Is my exhaustion that enjoyable? What’s going on?

I thought this lady was nice but she seems cold unlike her appearance.

* * *

“Your Majesty, I’ve prepared the tea.”

“Viscount Catano, I need to bathe first. Make it slightly hot. Maybe it’s because I couldn’t sleep? I’m tired.”

“What?”

Viscount Catano’s facial features all widened in surprise before he quickly composed his expression.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I’ll prepare it.”

Soaking in the bath with eucalyptus and lavender helped clear his mind and relieve fatigue.

‘Have I gone mad? Or am I bewitched? Why did I do such unnecessary things so diligently like conquering another country? Not just the wedding but even a marriage contract……’

One year after Yasrin left, he became a sword-dancing madman, wielding his sword like a techno warrior.

In the second year, he lost interest in everything and lived an ascetic life of no desire, no motivation, no possessions.

And in the third year, when he seemed to regain his sanity slightly, the officials and nobles pressured him at their meeting.

Three years was enough for an emperor’s deviation, they said. He knew better than anyone,

That an empress was absolutely necessary for the empire.

‘It’s meaningless. It’  just a position that anyone could fill…… Would the Prime Minister’s daughter from a ducal family do well? Could she really do well? Am I not ruining the country?’