Despite his sinister reputation as a tyrant, he was a man with skin the color of white jade and delicate features. Only his unusually dark eyes hinted that he was no ordinary man.

Gazing upon the Emperor’s face without permission was a grave offence, so Yu Haeyeon quickly lowered her lashes. A flicker of displeasure crossed his face, though she had no way of knowing this.

“You must be tired from the journey. Sit here.”

She had expected him to drag her straight to bed, yet the tyrant offered her a chair beside him and even brewed tea for her himself.

“You look as though you have a great many questions for me. Well? What would you like to know?”

“Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, might I ask you something?”

“Of course. Ask away. But first, lift your head.”

Long fingers gently caught her small chin and tilted it upward.

“Promise me you will neither kneel nor bow your head in my presence, and I shall answer any question you ask.”

“……”

“If you refuse, there is nothing I can do.”

“I promise. When I am alone with Your Majesty, I will neither kneel nor bow my head.”

Though he did not look entirely satisfied, the emperor nodded. Yu Haeyeon steadied her breathing and forced out the question she had rehearsed throughout the carriage ride.

“Did Jeong Ueon, Compiler of the Hanlin Academy, and his family truly plot a rebellion?”

The faint smile on the emperor’s pale pink lips slowly faded. This time, he was the one to lower his eyes.

“Hmm…”

Was he trying to avoid the question?

Only the space of two blinks passed, yet it felt like an eternity to Yu Haeyeon. Before she knew it, she was clutching her skirt with all her strength, her lips parting.

“Your Majesty.”

She bit her lip, realising that she had unwittingly pressed him for an answer. Cool fingertips brushed the corner of her mouth. A finger slipped between her clenched teeth and her trapped lip, gently massaging the imprinted area before withdrawing.

She barely had time to flinch at the unfamiliar sensation before his next words left her reeling.

“Because he is your fiancé.”

“…Pardon?”

“How dare he meet you before I did and whisper words of love to you? Is that not intolerable?”

Her fingertips began to tremble.

Their parents had arranged their betrothal when they were children. Although she had never been passionately in love with him, she respected his character and had always assumed that she would one day become his wife.

“Haeyeon, they say this ornament came from the Western Regions.”

She remembered the day he had offered her a hair ornament, the tips of his ears flushed red. Five years her senior, he had always seemed so mature—except that day.

“I thought it would suit you.”

Like his taciturn father, he could not utter a single flattering word. Yet there he stood, shyly holding a hair ornament that looked completely out of place in his hands.

If I spend the rest of my life with this man, our love may never burn like fire, but there will still be little moments that make my heart flutter.

That was what she had thought.

Ever since then, she had dreamed of a future with him as her husband.

“Then, Your Majesty, are you saying that Ueon… that my betrothed is to die because he is betrothed to me?”

As his petal-soft lips curved into a smile, Yu Haeyeon was forced to confront a truth she did not want to accept.

He is going to die… because of me.

Yu Haeyeon sank to her knees.

“Your Majesty!”

Clutching the fabric of his trousers, she pleaded.

“Please, please spare Ueon’s life. I will endure anything you ask of me, so please, just let him live.”

Her face crumpled, and she failed to notice the emperor’s eyebrows arch sharply.

Slowly, he pried her small hands from his clothes. Then he lowered himself onto one knee and met her eyes.

“I may grant your other requests, but I will not grant that one.”

“Why… why…?”

“Did I not tell you? He met you before I did. And as though that were not enough, he became your betrothed and made you plead for him like this.”

Was any of that something I could change?

Through a haze of unshed tears, Yu Haeyeon saw that the emperor’s expression had turned cold, utterly different from a moment before.

“Did he not make you ask about him before you had taken even a single sip of the tea I prepared for you?”

Despite his expression, the hand wiping away her tears was gentle.

“When I gave you the chance to ask a question, you should have asked about something else.”

As her vision cleared, she saw that his black eyes had grown unfathomably dark.

“Or you should have whispered that you remembered me, that you loved me, before anything else.”

Of all the questions she could have asked, why had she asked about that man first?

His voice sounded both angry and hollow.

She had no idea why the tyrant had set his sights on her. Because of her, her betrothed and his entire family were going to die.

This knowledge closed around Yu Haeyeon’s throat.

“Haeyeon.”

His voice reached her from close by, seizing the heart that had sunk deep within her chest.

“If you die, your family will be next.”

She jerked her head up to find him smiling, his eyes curved into crescents.

“Your father, your mother, and that younger brother you cherish so dearly.”

As her senses gradually returned, his face came into sharp focus.

Beneath his tousled black hair, his smooth forehead and straight nose were perfectly formed.

His long, upturned eyes and red lips gave his features a coy yet decadent allure, which would otherwise have seemed too perfect to be interesting. The beauty mark beneath his left eye was particularly bewitching.

If she had passed him in the street, she would have turned to look at him again.

“They will be beheaded for the crime of having a daughter and sister who dared to defy an imperial command.”

His lips and the red tongue within moved with a bewitching grace, holding Yu Haeyeon spellbound.

“So stay alive and unharmed, and become my empress.”

What had she just heard?

Her betrothed and his family were already certain to die because of her. Now her own family might die because of her, too.

She wanted to turn and run that very instant, but the firm palm cupping her cheek brought the merciless reality home.

“You must answer me.”

“…Yes.”

She closed her eyes for a long moment, as though shutting out everything around her, and answered.

“Yes. I will do as you say.”

And so Yu Haeyeon had no choice but to become his wife.

Her father had attended her grand wedding to the emperor, but she had not seen him since.

She begged him to come and see her, yet the only reply she received was that he was busy. She sent letters, but not a single line came in return.

“Are you certain you delivered my letter to my father? I mean, did you see him and place it in his hands yourself?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. As you instructed, I met with the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy in person and handed him the letter. I also told him that Your Majesty wished for a reply.”

Though the palace attendants treated her with the utmost deference, Yu Haeyeon felt uneasy around them. Perhaps it was because they rushed to stop her whenever she tried to leave the empress’s palace and never gave her a moment alone.

“Is that so? What did my father say?”

“He said he does not wish to see you or reply to your letters at present.”

Yu Haeyeon sighed and turned toward the window. The maid stepped back and stood in a corner of the room.