Chapter 1

Adele looked around the queen's room, searching very slowly, as if there might still be something she was reluctant to leave behind. But no matter how many times she looked, there was nothing.

"Oh, it’s really nothing,"

she thought, and her heart felt surprisingly light. At that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps approached, and the door burst open. There was only one person who could enter her room like that. The man who appeared, opening the door, was breathtakingly beautiful. His blond hair, disheveled from running, sparkled. With his sharp, decadent purple eyes, the man glared at Adele. He was Karl Ulrich, the Emperor of the Echmont Empire and Adele’s ex-husband. Karl looked as if he had turned pale. He scanned Adele’s attire from head to toe and clenched his jaw.

"Where are you going?"

His eyes blazed as if he were about to devour her. Adele turned her head away from him and strode forward. The Emperor blocked her path, stepping close and growling,

"Where are you going? I asked you."

Adele’s golden eyes met his defiantly. No matter how hard he tried, he could never grasp this intense gaze. The Emperor wanted to confine her, to bind and restrain her, so that he could possess her, even if it meant doing it by force.

"……"

She took a step back, as if she didn’t want to answer his question, and moved toward the door again. The Emperor, knowing how much she hated this kind of behavior but unable to think of any other way, finally grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. As expected, Adele roughly pushed his hand away. They glared at each other with bloodshot eyes, standing in a tense standoff. They took another step away from each other. Emperor Karl, feeling a chill run through his body, finally asked the question he had been wanting to ask all along.

"Are you really going to him?"

"……"

"Are you really going to Lionel Valdr?!!!"

The Emperor shouted in despair, but Adele’s expression turned even colder upon hearing his words. He, in the end, didn’t understand the most important thing. Or perhaps it was because what they considered important was different.

"Does it matter where I’m going?"

"……"

"No. I don’t care where you’re going. What matters is that I can no longer bear to be by your side."

"If my empress can’t be by my side, where will you be?!"

Adele burst into a derisive laugh at his growling question.

"Empress? After you deposed me?"

Karl was speechless at her accusation. Adele wiped the smile from her face and looked at him with a detached gaze, whispering,

"Actually, it’s for the best."

Karl’s body began to tremble as if something had been shaken loose. Stop. Don’t say any more. Karl wanted to kneel before her and beg her to stop, but Adele didn’t give him the chance.

"I would have said this eventually, even if I hadn’t been deposed."

"……Stop."

She finally showed him the captivating, crescent-moon-like smile he had always longed to see.

"I’m going to abandon your side."

The Emperor looked at Adele with a face that seemed to crumble, but Adele felt no sympathy. Because he, even with that face, couldn’t let go of his ways. As expected, he shouted with bloodshot eyes,

"No!! You can’t do that. The only place for you is by my side. I will do whatever it takes to put you back there. You are my empress!!!"

Daring to mention the title of empress to her, Adele firmly drove the point home.

"I will abandon the position of empress."

＊＊＊

A group of people was crossing a vast wilderness. Large carriages loaded with various precious items lined up, and the number of soldiers guarding the procession seemed to be in the hundreds. What stood out most in this grand procession was a magnificent carriage and the two flags hanging from it. The flags of the two great empires, separated by the sea, fluttered on either side of the carriage. Inside the ornate carriage, a woman looked out the window with a bored expression. Her lustrous black hair, blown by the wind, obstructed her view, and she raised her hand to push it away. Her eyes, revealed then, were a rare, brilliant gold, like the sun. Her name was Adelaide Gottrop. She was the top-tier striker capable of removing the core of a tower alone and the princess, or rather, the crown princess of the Gottrop Empire. The soldiers guarding the carriage kept glancing at the exotic princess with her ethereal beauty through the open window. She was someone who naturally captivated people’s attention.

"Adelaide Gottrop."

Repeating her name with a cynical tone, Adele laughed.

'The marriage proposal from the Emperor of Echmont. Go and become the Empress of Echmont.'

"……Is it because you couldn’t bear the insecurity of keeping me here, Mother?"

"I thought you would readily agree, but you didn’t?"

At the Dowager Empress’s probing question, Adele fell silent, as if at a loss for words. The Dowager Empress approached her silent daughter and whispered,

"Whenever you faced difficult moments, didn’t you regret that day? If you had let Lucio die that day, you would have become the Emperor of Gottrop."

"Stop it."

Adele pushed her mother away with bloodshot eyes, but the Dowager Empress did not back down easily. She looked at Adele with sad eyes.

"Adele. Don’t you owe something to your only brother? Of course, you will be loyal to Lucio, but what about your future children? Your close aides? Will they all think the same way? You were also swayed, weren’t you?"

"……"

"Your existence is like a sword hanging over Gottrop. For the sake of the empire, for the sake of your brother, leave."

Adele shook her head, pushing away her mother’s words, and pulled out a small chest from a corner of the carriage. Inside the chest, a red envelope contained a portrait and a document. Adele lifted the portrait with a detached hand. It depicted a man in the imperial attire of Echmont. The man in the portrait was breathtakingly beautiful, with neat blond hair and mysterious purple eyes. His name was Karl Ulrich Echmont, the current Emperor of Echmont and the man she was to marry. She had only just taken out the portrait and information about her husband after being chased here in a hurry. Adele put the portrait aside and took out the document. As she read the brief and limited information about Echmont with a long sigh, a small note fell onto her lap. Frowning, Adele unfolded the note. [Mistress of Emperor Karl Ulrich. Name: Diane Poitiers Age: 29] It seemed to be part of a notebook hastily scribbled by an informant, likely added at the last minute in case it was needed. She had no thoughts on the note. At that moment, the wind blew through the open window. Adele put the papers and portrait back into the chest and closed the lid. Would this journey be smooth? She had left behind everyone she could trust, everyone she could rely on. She had coldly and resolutely shaken them off. It was truly desolate to turn around and find no one who had always been there. Leaving her homeland, crossing the deep and rough sea, she arrived on the continent. Feeling the wind on her body, Adele closed her eyes lazily.

"……Damn, it’s so hot."

＊＊＊

Meanwhile, at that moment, Emperor Karl of the Echmont Empire was in his office, listening to a report about the future empress. The news that the Gottrop princess had safely crossed the sea and arrived at the port had just been relayed by signal fire. The attendant who reported the list of dowry items from Gottrop finally presented a sealed document to the Emperor and withdrew.

"This is the document related to the dowry list."

The attendant glanced at the Emperor’s face and, without realizing it, swallowed hard. The Emperor’s face, unrealistically beautiful, showed no emotion, which was eerie. Emperor Karl tore open the seal on the envelope with a detached hand. Inside was a single document. As he took it out, something fell onto the desk.

"……"

It was the portrait of the future empress. He put down the letter he was holding and picked it up. A woman with hair as black as jet was gazing out of the portrait. Her eyes were so intense that it felt as if they had met his. He rested his elbow on the table and brought the portrait close to his face. His eyes narrowed as he examined it. Usually, a portrait sent to a future husband would depict a demure woman sitting and smiling gently. However, the woman in the portrait had her red lips tightly closed and a determined expression. The arrogance of someone who had everything from birth was evident in her face. The corners of Karl’s bright red lips curled up in a crooked smile.

"……She means to come as an empress, not as a woman. Even in a portrait, her presence is overwhelming."

His eyes darkened and flickered. It would be better for both of them if she came as a woman. Because what he wanted from an empress was only one thing: an heir. He had no intention of giving any power to the empress. That was why he had sent a marriage proposal to the princess of Gottrop across the sea, choosing someone with no ties to Echmont. Karl put the portrait back with a cold hand and picked up the document again. Just then, a servant knocked and entered, announcing a visitor. Karl’s expression stiffened reflexively upon hearing the visitor’s name.

"Diane’s maid?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Karl sighed and nodded, and the servant quickly brought in the maid waiting outside.

"What is it?"

Karl asked before the maid could even greet him, and she quickly stated her business.

"The mistress has requested your help, Your Majesty."

＊＊＊

In a corner of the Echmont Palace, a woman had been in deep thought for hours. She had wavy golden hair and light blue eyes. In front of her were several sets of tiaras and jewelry, all treasures of the royal family that had belonged to past empresses. Despite the opulence of the palace and the precious treasures before her, her face was dark. How long had she been like that when the outside became noisy and someone burst into the room? In the current palace, only two people could enter her room without her permission. The woman, Diane Poitiers, cautiously stood up and turned around.

"Welcome, Grand Duke."

Diane greeted the Grand Duke Elizabeth with a respectful bow. Elizabeth, the Emperor’s sister, cast a cold glance at the royal treasures before her and then looked at Diane. Diane slightly lowered her gaze, avoiding eye contact with Elizabeth, but did not step back. The tension between the two made the maids standing around exchange glances and quietly leave the room. The door clicked shut, and Elizabeth moved. She walked gracefully and sat in the chair opposite Diane. As she slowly ran her fingertips over the royal treasures shimmering in the sunlight, Elizabeth spoke to Diane.

"Did the Emperor, His Majesty, bring out the treasures?"

"……"

"Ah, he didn’t? It seems you didn’t need anyone’s permission."

Elizabeth’s mocking tone met with Diane’s expressionless response.

"I didn’t take them illegally, so you don’t need to worry, Grand Duke."

"Choosing the coronation crown for the empress yourself……"

"……"

"Wouldn’t it be better if your sister-in-law chose the coronation crown? I’m worried that the Gottrop Empire might send a diplomatic protest if they find out."

Diane’s gaze finally met Elizabeth’s. Elizabeth smiled and leaned back in her chair.

"Wouldn’t a crown chosen by your sister-in-law be better than one chosen by a mistress?"

Diane’s eyes widened, then blinked, and she let out a small laugh.

"……"

Under Elizabeth’s cold gaze, Diane quickly composed herself and answered.

"Sorry. But as the only divorced woman in the empire, you might be qualified."

Just as Elizabeth, angered by the remark, stood up from her seat, the door was suddenly and roughly opened.