Elizaveta Diker’s dream was to become a virtuous wife and loving mother. Just like all the chaste women of the Empire in this era.

Offering fidelity to one’s husband was a natural virtue for a good wife. Men swore firmly before God that they would not commit adultery with any woman other than their own. But in this corrupt Empire, chastity had become meaningless.

Nevertheless, the old-fashioned Elizaveta Diker maintained her purity.

How many seductive advances had Elizaveta received, with her noble and pure beauty? 

Despite all temptations, she overcame every trial. Though no one knew that her chastity would plunge Elizaveta’s life into ruin.

[To the Honorable Count Diker.

I highly praise the chastity and character of your eldest daughter, Miss Elizaveta, and wish to welcome her as a member of the Imperial Family.]

Below the courteous greeting, a personal letter arrived at the House of Count Diker, describing in detail how smitten the Crown Prince was with Elizaveta Diker.

A member of the Imperial Family.

Those were the most secretive and alluring words among all the temptations Elizaveta had received. It was the only opportunity for a Count’s family that had merely wandered the borderlands to boldly enter central politics.

Thinking only of that romantic opportunity, Elizabeth should have become the happiest woman in the Empire.

“Even God is indifferent. To my good daughter Elizaveta.”

Yet somehow, the House of Diker became a house of mourning.

The Count’s wife resented heaven. She wept all night until she fainted, then woke to beat her chest and wail again. 

The Count lit a cigarette with a somber expression—tobacco he had quit long ago. He had given up the leaf tobacco the moment his first daughter Elizaveta was born, making this his first smoke in over twenty years.

‘What family would give their daughter to such a libertine? Even if she becomes the official consort, she’ll be nothing more than a hollow Crown Princess.’

Crown Prince Nikolai Horn—a man who engaged in promiscuous s*xual acts, copulating and ej*culating indiscriminately.

Among the women in the capital who had spent a night with the Crown Prince were his uncle’s wife, his cousin’s mistress, and even the second wife of a high priest.

Elizaveta wanted to break off this engagement if she could. But that was impossible.

[……I look forward to the dazzling growth of the Count’s second daughter, Miss Joanna.]

That line in the letter from the Imperial Palace sent chills down Elizaveta’s spine.

It elegantly warned that if she refused this marriage, her younger sister—four years her junior—would inherit that karma. What sin had that child committed to deserve such punishment when she hadn’t even had a proper debutante ball yet?

Elizaveta neither cried aloud nor smoked. She simply stared quietly at the letter with the Imperial Family’s ornate seal stamped clearly upon it.

“Hk.”

A single tear she had been holding back fell precisely onto the word “chastity.” The moisture-soaked “chastity” immediately blurred and disappeared without a trace.

“To h＊ll with purity.”

Elizaveta bit her lower lip and quietly swallowed those words.

* * *

The imperial wedding was grand.

Countless crowds gathered before the castle gates to witness that magnificent ceremony.

“Count Diker? I’ve never heard of that family.”

“Didn’t that family get chased down to the southern regions long ago after offending the collaborators? How could such a family snatch the position of the Emperor’s in-law?”

“Thanks to the Crown Prince’s peculiar s*xual f*tish of never seeking the same woman twice. His Highness absolutely loves ‘unused goods.’”

“Was there not a single ‘unused’ woman in the capital?”

“Of course not! He already used all the ‘new ones’ in the city long ago!”

“Then will that woman also be discarded like the others once she’s served her purpose?”

“Pitiful like a spring flower. Such a beautiful and lovely woman must be used as the Imperial Palace’s disposable waste hole……”

“Watch your tongue. Such blasphemy before Her Highness the Crown Princess……”

“He may be trash and a wastrel, but his looks are absolutely killer.”

Having quickly lost interest in the new Crown Princess, their gazes shifted to the Crown Prince.

“That feminine prettiness is completely gone, replaced by such a beastly body that captivates people—you can’t help but stare.”

“Now I understand why women throw themselves at the Crown Prince even while being treated like rags.”

“They say his bedroom manners are absolutely ecstatic, don’t they?”

“Who knows? He doesn’t sleep with anyone who has a d*ck, so I wouldn’t know his skills. Hahaha.”

The onlookers’ snickering died down.

Crown Prince Nikolai Horn. A man with thick, dark hair and transparent blue eyes. He was undeniably the Empire’s greatest beauty.

His deep black hair and lustrous skin made any color of clothing suit him perfectly. Moreover, his rapid growth had brought complete masculinity to maturity—his overwhelming aura made observers’ knees weak.

Until he participated in the war, Nikolai had been a beautiful youth boasting delicate features. 

When that slender, fine-featured young man stood at the vanguard of the border conflict, people thought he wouldn’t last a month before fleeing back to the Imperial Palace.

Their predictions were completely wrong. Nikolai endured nearly two full years of war and even led them to victory.

In that time, he had cruelly damaged the “boyish beauty” he had long possessed. 

When he returned to the capital after the great victory, the nobles couldn’t hide their shock—in place of his lost youthful beauty, a decadent intensity had permeated every corner of Nikolai’s body.

It was the murderous aura of an unseen predator.

The young, delicate Crown Prince had now become a new power holder. People bowed their heads before the Emperor’s legitimate son. Truly, he would have been absolutely perfect if not for that perverse s*xual preference.

In fact, the Crown Prince’s deviant tendencies weren’t much of a problem for him becoming monarch. Everyone only spoke ill of him behind his back. 

In front of him, they fawned and offered their young daughters—some not even past their coming-of-age ceremonies—right under his nose. Marriage into the Imperial Family was practically a shortcut to becoming a powerful family.

But unfortunately, the Crown Prince saw right through such people’s intentions. He was even picky about women.

‘Do I look starving to you?’

‘Pardon? Your Highness, what do you mean……’

‘Do I look like some beggar b＊stard so hungry I’ll eat any garbage regardless of taste?’

Nikolai smiled brilliantly while quietly whispering insults to such nobles.

For various reasons, Nikolai had postponed taking a companion, so when rumors spread that he had suddenly sent out a personal letter bearing the Imperial Family’s crest, the capital literally turned upside down.

That vulgar Crown Prince had taken the initiative to welcome a true companion—not just a simple partner. And the House of Diker, no less, which had long been unable to hold important positions after being excluded from central power for offending the Emperor!

“If she’s unlucky, she’ll be forced into celibacy without even producing an heir and grow old lonely for the rest of her life.”

One nobleman ground his molars while wishing misfortune upon the new Crown Princess. He was an old man who had once offered his pretty daughter to Nikolai, only to receive the humiliating response: 

‘I’m not particularly moved by a young lady whose lower parts are looser than a trumpet’s bell, so take her back.’

“……With this, I announce to all under heaven that a new history has begun under God’s blessing. Everyone who participated in today’s wedding ceremony has become a witness to this history.”

When the priest’s tedious marriage declaration ended, cheers and applause erupted simultaneously from the guest seats.

“I hope you like the gift, Crown Princess.”

Standing at the highest point of the platform, Nikolai whispered secretly into Elizaveta’s ear beside him. He had just slipped a red gemstone ring onto Elizaveta’s left ring finger.

“I went through some trouble choosing one that matches your eye color exactly.”

Warm breath escaped with his low voice.

Red Pleasure. That was the gem’s name.

That bright red diamond called “Red Pleasure” was nothing less than shackles of restraint and chastity.

“Praise me. Tonight, on the bed with just the two of us. I’ll be waiting.”

Elizaveta’s fourth finger flashed bl＊＊d-red. Soon her face turned deathly pale. It felt like her virginity, which would be ravaged like an animal by him tonight.

Though he keenly noticed her state of mind, he remained expressionless and silent.

With neat and proper eyes that didn’t match the reputation of s*x maniac and libertine he was called.

* * *

“It would have been nice to bathe together.”

When Nikolai’s hand touched Elizaveta’s shoulder after washing, she startled and let out a short scream.

“Ah. I’m sorry if I surprised you.”

Nikolai’s elegant black hair swayed gently above his neat eyebrows. His deeply sunken, clear blue eyes were piercingly blue.

Robust physique, light and graceful movements, low voice, occasionally flowing sensual breaths. Everything about the man was elegant and dangerous.

How powerless people become when faced with beauty. That was an immutable truth.

Before his primordial beauty that must have continued since the origin of life, Elizaveta lost her words and stared intently at his eyes and nose bridge.

“You and I—we both smell the same. I like it.”

Nikolai, who had hesitated briefly, buried his face in Elizaveta’s white nape. Then he quietly inhaled her scent.

His bare upper body rubbed against the thin robe Elizaveta wore. Her pure white robe, soaked with moisture, slipped off with a sliding sound.

“Not only the ring, but I personally prepared these undergarments as well. With Elizaveta’s pure skin and our first night together in mind.”

“Hh.”

The half-slipped robe fell completely to the end of Elizaveta’s waist. Suddenly half-n*ked, Elizaveta covered her chest with both hands and trembled.

The robe was white enough to blind everyone. Like it was ready to fully prove the woman’s virginity.

So it was your perverted handiwork that chose this.

Elizaveta swallowed the desire to spit and remained silent.

“It suits you as expected. No, it’s far more stimulating than I imagined.”

Not caring about Elizaveta’s inner thoughts, Nikolai gently rubbed her cheek with the back of his hand.

That hand passed her cheek and descended to the mound of her br*ast. Elizaveta put more strength into the arms gathered around her chest. Her full br*asts swelled plumply, and that beautiful, proud form aroused Nikolai.

“Pretty, as expected……”

Trailing off his words in a low murmur, Nikolai softened his eyes and smiled at Elizaveta.

“Ple……. Please treat me preciously……”

Elizaveta lowered her head and spoke while clenching her jaw.

“I……. don’t have as much experience as Your Highness……. This, this kind of thing is my first time……”

Her voice cracked slightly as tears leaked out at the word “first.”

Nikolai slowly closed his eyes, seemingly truly sympathetic to Elizaveta. Then he opened them even more slowly and steadied his breath. It was quieter than a shadow’s footsteps, and even that strange habit clearly revealed that he was the Empire’s highest power holder.

“I apologize, Your Highness. I spoke presumptuously.”

Elizaveta immediately prostrated herself flat on the bed. Having brazenly demanded to be treated preciously by the Crown Prince, it was natural that she had offended him.

“You may whip me until your anger subsides.”

Elizaveta’s shoulders trembled at his silence, misunderstanding that he was furious.

“However, please allow me to serve Your Highness devotedly tonight. Please don’t cast away this lowly concubine, and if I can bring Your Highness any joy, anything……”

She babbled randomly, not even knowing what she was saying.

The moment I’m driven from this chamber for ruining his mood, our family will be reduced to a handful of ashes.