Chapter 1

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“Come out.”

The spire opened, and the man in charge of the execution walked in. His glance remained stuck on Lucentia’s skin.

She closed her eyes without revealing her emotions.

As if regretting it, the old nobleman placed a black hood on her head.

It was an act that meant that death was close, but Lucentia accepted it. Finally, when she couldn’t see anything anymore, she forcibly trembled.

The nobleman looked at her quivering hands and smiled sarcastically.

“Don’t worry. I told the executioner to sharpen the knife, so I’ll send you away in one go.”

Lucentia did not answer.

The tongue-tied nobleman dragged her out with an ambiguous expression on his face.

He almost floundered on the steps of the spire several times but he busily tossed Lucentia into a crude cage that he had prepared.

As soon as he got on a horse, he waved his hand arrogantly.

“Depart!”

Finally, the sinner who had escaped from the spire was now trapped in a cage and began to exit the imperial palace.

The fresh air that permeated between the hood turned into a damp smell of sweat and the buzzing sound outside gradually grew louder.

Lucentia finally realized that the guillotine, that had been prepared for people’s entertainment, was closeby.

As they passed by, the flabby voices penetrated her ears through the black cloth covering her.

“Is that the empress? The one who rebelled?”

“Look at that black hair. It’s not a rumour, she really is a witch. I’ve never seen hair like that in this world!”

The psychology of the crowd who had immediately believed in the unknown false rumours seemed cruel.

For them, the truth didn’t matter. They just needed someone to blame.

And that someone was Lucentia.

People threw filth, profanity, and malice towards her who looked at them with her emaciated devilish face.

“Daughter of a traitor!”

“Kill! Kill her!”

Lucentia was indifferent to the anger of those who did not care about burying her body by throwing dirt and filth at her. She only reflected on her life by hearing that one name.

“Lucentia De Ardell.”

Lucentia smiled in vain as her name seemed unfamiliar. She was the daughter of a Count and had become an empress, but she had never been properly called by her name.

‘What a pathetic life.’

Of course, no matter how glamorous her life had been, she had just been used as a tool who had been swayed around by others. With a bitter smile, Lucentia recalled the woman who had been the first to lose her life when her family had collapsed.

[ You should have died! A wench who only brings misfortune! ]

The countess flared at Lucentia with a wistful look.

[ An illegitimate child is the Empress! My sister told me that you’d end the family! Now look! Look! I was right! ]

She uttered spiteful words and laughed at her husband, Count Ardell, until the moment of her death.

Lucentia had no regards for the countess. As a woman or as a person, her life was sympathetic enough.

She was a daughter born out of an affair, and she wasn’t the first one, nor the last. Her father, Count Ardell was a man who had no conscience.

He was a patriarchal man, and selfish enough to use everyone as his pawn.

What he did to the countess was terrible.

In addition to having an extramarital affair, not only did he place his children in the family register, but also forced the countess to accept them as her own children.

Amongst them, the countess hated Lucentia the most because unlike the other illegitimate sons who were strangely close to her, Lucentia resembled her mother, the count’s mistress.

The countess detested her to the point where she would have driven her out if not for her blue eyes.

‘The other illegitimate sons had been able to deceive her… but I couldn’t’

Lucentia was able to forget their existence when she was living in the detached house. But after becoming the prince’s fiancee and empress, she had to suffer every moment.

While being dragged out, she didn’t hide her hatred.

[ You shouldn’t have been born. ]

Lucentia, who was bowing her hood-covered head, slowly opened her mouth.

“I didn’t ask you to give me birth either.”

Lucentia looked forward stubbornly without paying attention to anything else. Then the heat of the hot afternoon sun touched her skin.

The body moved by itself with the warmth that was felt throughout her body. The pitiful woman lifted her hooded head covered with filth to feel the sunshine one last time.

The smell of the clean air and refreshing taste were faint even in this space filled with people.

“The sinner is raising her head? I’ll have to get a taste of this!”

Hearing drunken voices, the excited people grabbed the prisoner’s carriage and shook it.

“Smile.”

Her wounds, such as knife cuts were snapped and opened again. She tried to swallow the pain by holding her breath, but it was impossible.

Hard blood scabs remained on her flesh, causing horrifying pain every time she moved.

Even her stiff, blood stained dress scratched her wounds every time she inhaled.

At the same time, the faint smile disappeared from Lucentia’s mouth, and her father’s voice pierced into her mind, trampling her entire heart.

[ Greetings, this is Prince Heen. ]

“Huh….”

Words that leaked from his lips aroused fear, anger and hatred in Lucentia.

The son of a bi*** called Heen Arga who had become the emperor.

Lucentia chewed on her lips as the demonic man who had a sword scar across his back came to her mind. Her blackened vision was naturally filled with her first encounter with him, who had golden hair and blue eyes.

The prince, who had been introduced to her by her father, Count Ardell, was a beautiful man. From his wife’s children to illegitimate sons, all eyes had always been on Heen.

Only Lucentia had avoided the prince. Overwhelmed by efforts, Heen had pointed himself to the twelfth illegitimate child.

So, as a political pawn, she was traded.

“Haha….”

Looking back at the past, it was a waste to think that her current situation was a mere spectacle.

Count Ardell has chosen the prince to be the puppet emperor, but he turned out to be a monster. Heen was extremely clever and after coveting the throne, he weakened the power of the nobles in just a few years.

Of course, Lucentia was no exception.

At first, they were just light rumours. Only enough for someone’s entertainment and gossip.

It didn’t take much time for the rumours to intensify. The mask of the empress, which Lucentia had been playing on the stage, was very obviously a fragile character, but now, she had already turned into a cruel and jealous woman.

Even the nobles who were aware of the truth and had consoled her, now despised her.

As the story began to swell, it quickly spread like wildfire and was the only thing in people’s mouths.

The more she thought about it, the more she couldn’t help but laugh.

[ That fu**ing emperor. ]

The influence of her father had rapidly diminished due to the empress’s reputation and the weakening of the aristocracy.

Eventually, she foolishly tried to turn against the emperor through a rebellion.

[ Stop it. ]

[ It’s none of your business. ]

Lucentia was frustrated.

She couldn’t stand it anymore and cried out to the count as he walked directly into the emperor’s trap, which was clearly visible in front of him.

[ You will die. Do you think the emperor is such a fool that he wouldn’t know? Don’t do anything stupid. If you quit here, you’ll still be able to keep your title as the count. ]

[ That’s ridiculous! In the first place, he didn’t mean to leave me alone. Leave! ]

Then the count grabbed Lucentia.

[ Take this. ]

[ What is it? ]

[ It’s poison. ]

For a moment, she was so dumbfounded that she could only laugh.

[ Are you telling me to poison the Emperor now? Even a passing dog would laugh at the fact that a man who pushed the powerful aristocrats to this point immediately falls for such a shallow trick. Father. ]

The count had been cornered beyond recognition that he was not being his usual self.

Father. The emperor.

There was nothing that neither of them couldn’t do for power.

Not only would they buy and sell her blood as well as her name, but they weren’t afraid to kill her.

[ This is amazing, really. ]

Swallowing her disgust, Lucentia put down the poison and tried to leave.

At that moment, the emperor appeared as if he had been waiting for this very moment.

[ Kneel down! ]

The emperor and the knights entered with great valour, kicking the door open. The Count trembled and pointed his finger at Lucentia.

[ You dare betray me! ]

Lucentia stopped speaking and closed her eyes. She didn’t expect the emperor to account for each of her actions.

It gave her goosebumps.

The emperor walked in slowly and looked at her and the Count. Whenever his cold gaze examined her body, she felt as if he was looking deep into her heart. So she had no choice but to stay stiff.

He laughed at Count Ardell as if he was the last winner.

[ Count Ardell, if you give up your neck, I’ll send you at once. ]

[ This ungrateful bastard! I’m the reason for making you stand where you’re now! Repaying kindness with blood, can you still call yourself a human! ]

The emperor cast his eyes at the the bottle of poison. Heen pulled out his sword as if nothing was worth mentioning anymore.

[ Who told me you could kill me as you please! ]

The Count threw his daughter, Lucentia, in front of the emperor in an instant. Without any hesitation, the father ran away, leaving his daughter behind as a sacrifice.

As soon as she was thrown forward, the blade wielded by Heen slashed her without any hesitation.

The flesh on her back was torn open and blood splattered everywhere, but it took a long time for her pain to be delivered through her voice.

Her screams were horrifying enough to creep the listeners out, but no one actually listened. The emperor’s smooth shoes stopped in front of her, who was gasping for breath and bleeding profusely.

He lowered his back for a moment and made eye contact with Lucentia, and said something that incredibly ridiculed her as his wife.

[ It’s thanks to you, empress. ]

The emperor spoke as if he had been watching a ridiculous play.

[ Don’t worry too much. Your father will be caught soon. He even dared to use his daughter as a shield. Shameful, isn’t it? ]

It was as he said.

Before long, all of the emperor’s enemies had been purged. The nobles who led the rebellion and the nobles who didn’t, had all been devoured by him.

Lucentia had also been deposed from her position as the empress and was imprisoned in a spire.

And today, she was to be executed.

Because the emperor did not have any use of her anymore.

The voices of the people who could not stand the boredom pierced through Lucentia’s ears, who burst into laughter.

“Hurry up and kill her! Why are you dragging it so much!”

In the end, someone couldn’t stand the delay and called in the convoy containing the sinner, Lucentia.

“Th-These bastards!”

The nobleman shouted out, but that didn’t matter to those whose eyes had already turned a blind eye to her fate.

In an instant, a large crowd gathered and her small body was no longer visible, hidden by the crowd. The nobleman screamed in a frenzy.

“These crazy rats! Stop them right now!”

As the knights threatened them with their swords and spears, the excited men felt threatened and hurried back.

“Out! Get out of the way!”

“Sir Baron, It’s okay. That’s a sinner.”

“F**k you, there’s a long time! Go and keep these nasty rats away! God damn it.”

The Baron then decided to rush the execution, for fear of something else happening.

“Keep a leash on those people, hurry up and move forward with the execution!”

Originally, a long announcement talking about her sins and a prayer of penance in the temple would have followed, but now, they were all omitted.

The executor set up a guillotine blade almost as if he was being coerced to do so.

“Her majesty, Lucentia!”

At the same time when the nobleman pretended to be solemn, her head was decapitated.

Her majesty, Lucentia De Ardell, was dead.

Officially.

On the morning of the day the empress was executed, men dressed in hoods passed through the capital city’s gate onto the deserted streets.

After a long run on horses behind the walls, they took off their hoods.

A red haired young man and a grey haired middle aged man spoke to a woman hidden in the darkness.

“Miss Lucentia, the dolls prepared by the alchemists have done their part without a hitch. You can rest assured now.”

The woman who raised her head held a decapitated head cut off at the guillotine.

She shook her head.

“Lucentia is already dead.”

“Then what….”

“Call me Rose.”

“Understood. Miss Rose.”

The grey haired gentleman smiled silently at Rose. Between them, the young man with the red hair shoved his head.

“So Rose, where do you want to go?”

Rose still had a cool smile on her pale face, that didn’t go away despite the lingering pain on her back.

“Anywhere but here.”

Translator’s Corner

Hello! I’ll be translating this new project that caught my interest. And I read as I translate, so we are on this journey together.

Also, let me make it clear- this is pure MTL and 10% editing. Hope it’s readable for everyone~

Do leave comments and likes whenever you can. I need that motivation : )

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