Prologue

The child cried loudly. Tenere swallowed a deep breath.

The footsteps approached closer and closer, but Tenere didn’t even think of comforting the crying child.

As the shadow beneath her feet darkened, her shoulders hunched.

“Long time no see, Empress.”

In the midst of the crying, a voice sounded, so familiar yet void of laughter, eerily unfamiliar.

Tenere hesitantly murmured, belatedly patting the child’s back.

“Your Majesty.”

“If you had run away from me, you should have lived well, not in this state.”

Tenere couldn’t speak. Leonard wore an expression she had never seen before.

His once affectionate face now shadowed, revealing a sharpness within the darkness, accentuated by the distinct shine of a hidden golden mark.

Tenere stared at him dumbfounded, unable even to tidy her disheveled hair.

Despite her shabby appearance and trembling hands, she didn’t have the courage to hide.

“Why…”

Her words stumbled, never fully forming.

Why are you here? How did you find me?

Many questions lingered in her mouth, unspoken.

A cold gaze swept over her and the child. Tenere couldn’t withstand the stare, lowering her head.

Seeing the bloodied tip of the blade, she instinctively held the child tighter.

“Whose child is this?”

“…”

“Whose child, Empress.”

Tenere couldn’t answer. Her breath, now thin and mingled with the scent of blood, trembled.

“I…. am already ruined”

“Whose child is this, Empress.”

A low, dry voice, yet carrying an unprecedented desire.

Tenere held the child close, as if unwilling to let go.

It was the precious child of the royal family. The moment the child’s father was revealed, it would undoubtedly be taken away.

“It’s… my child.”

Leonard remained silent. Tenere, with a strong grip, repeated:

“I gave birth to this child, so this is my child.”

“Who is the child’s father..”

“I don’t know.”

A long silence ensued. Leonard let out a brief bitter laugh.

“An unknown man’s child, is that what you’re saying?”

“You said I could have a lover. Besides, my body has already been tainted. So…”

Her touch continued to caress only the child.

Leonard’s brow furrowed. Tenere, hesitating, spoke:

“If you have come for me, Salvatore will be disappointed.”

“I clearly ended my engagement with her when I married you, did you forget.”

“You left the Empress’s position vacant for too long?”

It had been two years since Tenere’s abdication. This meant the Empress’s position had been vacant for two years.

Now, even the absence of a Empress in the royal palace was unacceptable.

“You’re right.”

Leonard readily agreed with her statement.

“The Empress’s position has been vacant for too long.”

His voice was as tender as Tenere remembered. However, the gaze that scanned the child was unusually cold.

As if avoiding unfamiliar expressions, Tenere turned her head.

“Now that Salvatore has returned, she must return to her position as it should be…”

“What are you talking about, Empress.”

A large hand enveloped Tenere’s cheek. The exhausted child slept in her arms.

It felt as if a pulsating warmth reached her.

“To me, you are my only Empress.”

The hand that caressed the child ceased. Tenere slowly lifted her head.

He wore an expression she had never seen before.

Warm, always kind, yet now carrying an unfamiliar heat, his soft voice held a genuine affection, akin to addressing a loved one.

It felt so unfamiliar and exciting that Tenere couldn’t say anything but tremble as she awaited his next words.

Not wanting to reveal the vulnerability in her hopeful expression, she had decided to leave him, yet when his lips softly met hers, Tenere could no longer speak.

Despite the rough hand and the blood on them causing discomfort, she couldn’t move.

All she could do was wait for him to open his mouth.