Chapter 1

The first thing I remembered was the sensation of my hair being cut before the execution. My head felt lighter, almost refreshingly so, and I found it oddly amusing that I was thinking such thoughts right before my death.

A cart rumbled over the cobblestones. I was being paraded down the middle of the street as a spectacle for the crowd to see.

Surveying the street, where the voices of the crowd mixed with curses and cheers, I called out to the guard next to me.

“What time is it now?”

The guard looked at me with a puzzled expression but hesitantly replied, “It’s almost evening.”

“Is that so?”

I was about to thank him with a smile when a stone hit my head. Clutching my head in pain, I groaned, and the woman who had thrown the stone pointed at me and shouted.

“You wicked woman! Even now, you’re trying to seduce the guard!”

At her words, the people around us erupted into even more chaos.

“Sure enough, that woman is wicked!”

“The previous emperor was deceived by that woman!”

“The country has been brought to the brink of ruin because of that woman!”

“The taxes became heavier because of her extravagance! The war started because she bewitched the king of the enemy country!”

“If it weren’t for that woman! If it weren’t for her!”

No.

It’s not my fault.

The taxes had to be increased to prepare for the war. The war started because the enemy king wanted our resources.

Even if I wanted to shout this, I was too busy protecting myself from the stones and garbage flying at me to open my mouth.

The guard glanced at me, trembling, and coldly said, “Be quiet.”

His attitude was understandable. I had no allies left. It would be futile to try to explain myself.

I followed his advice and remained silent until we reached the square where the execution platform was.

“We’ve arrived. Please get down.”

As the driver said this, I was almost dragged off the cart.

Then, I was led to the guillotine and forced to kneel before the crowd, filled with hatred.

“—The crimes of the former empress, Samella Ainzats, are hereby stated.”

Above my head, the executioner read out the charges.

“You, using the favor of the late Emperor Houlan, have disrupted the order of the empire. You indulged in luxury at court, instigated unnecessary conflicts, and brought tyranny upon this empire. Furthermore, you had all the nobles who tried to calm you killed, and ultimately, you even poisoned your beloved husband, Emperor Houlan.”

The fabricated charges left me without the energy to refute them.

Even if I told the truth, no one would believe me. Those who had believed me were all beheaded and displayed.

Seeing the heads of my family and close friends lined up in the square, I couldn’t even cry.

All I felt was a vague sense of confusion.

How did it come to this?

Until I was thirteen, I was just a village girl. A government official who happened to be inspecting the area suggested that I be taken to the emperor’s harem. Refusing the official’s order meant death. In exchange for a large reward, I was taken by the official and entered the harem.

People around me often said that a girl with no connections like me would never catch the emperor’s eye. Thinking it was true, I lived peacefully in the harem until one day, the emperor called for me. Among the noble daughters, a plain village girl must have seemed unusual. The emperor took a liking to me, and I was called to him several times.

At that time, I was often mocked as just a pretty village girl. And that was true. I was only slightly more attractive than others, but in terms of education, music, and etiquette, I was inferior to all the other consorts.

The emperor often praised me for my beauty. But I was never praised for anything else. What the emperor wanted from me was just that. That’s why I, being incompetent, was framed by my political enemies.

By the time I realized it, it was too late. I was framed with fabricated evidence as the poisoner, thrown into prison without a chance to defend myself, and all my family and allies were killed. They spread false rumors among the people to ensure no one would oppose my execution. This way, I would be remembered in history as the woman who brought the country to ruin.

Ah, I see.

From the moment I was discovered by that official, my fate was already sealed.

“Haha”

A village girl with only her beauty as her asset.

Because I was empty inside, I ended up with this fate.

The thought made me laugh softly.

“Hahaha”

The crowd’s cheers grew louder. Their reaction made me realize that my head would soon join my family’s on the square.

In the moments before my death, I felt an inexplicable sense of elation. I looked up at the sky with blurred vision and prayed to the heavens.

Ah, God. If you pity me,

Please, never let me meet someone with power again.

I shed a tear as I made this wish.

From that point on, there was nothing left in my memory.

My previous life ended here.

***

God is cruel.

To make me, who lost my life due to the favor of a powerful person in my past life, a powerful person in this life.

I, Azalea El Savage, was born as the daughter of a duke in the Kingdom of Cabos.

And, for some reason, I became the fiancée of Prince Lotus.

Prince Lotus was like the sun.

He had a handsome face, burning red eyes and hair. Not only was he beautiful, but he was also highly intelligent. He was well-versed in all fields of study, including politics and economics, and even in the mysterious art of magic, which did not exist in my previous life. His martial skills were also exceptional, to the point where even the head of the knights admitted defeat.

He was, in every sense, a genius.

No other word could describe him better. Prince Lotus was truly remarkable and awe-inspiring.

Yes, awe-inspiring.

He did things that far exceeded my imagination. He accomplished the impossible as if it were as natural as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.

If I were asked to name his flaw, I would say this:

Prince Lotus is not normal.

One must not evaluate him with a superficial mindset.

Underestimating him will result in a painful backlash.

For example,

Like the hero who is now sobbing before the king and queen, and the holy maiden who has collapsed, foaming at the mouth.

“Hmm? Why is the hero crying? Azalea, do you know why?”

The prince tilted his head. For some reason, his face was covered in blood.

In his right hand, he held a holy sword that had turned into a hammer. In his left hand, he held something grotesque and unrecognizable.

I gripped my fan and, with a determined heart, spoke to the confused prince.

“Before that, Your Highness. What happened to the holy sword in your hand?”

“This? Embarrassingly, I couldn’t pull the holy sword out. So, when I borrowed it for training, I took the base along with it. It was a good weight!”

“I see. By the way, Your Highness. What is the piece of flesh in your left hand?”

“This? It’s the head of the demon king! I just defeated him! He was a good training partner.”

Prince Lotus nodded in satisfaction, and no one could say anything to him. The king and queen had a distant look in their eyes, and the attendants seemed to have achieved enlightenment, emitting a divine light from behind. The hero, who had provoked the prince the other day, was repeatedly apologizing, and the holy maiden was still unconscious. Meanwhile, Prince Lotus, with a radiant smile, proudly declared, “I’m amazing, right?”

In the chaotic audience hall, I was at a loss for words when the prince dropped another bomb.

“Well, it’s only natural for someone who will bear the future of the country. I did it. Azalea, if you train, you can defeat the demon king too. Right, Azalea!”

At the prince’s words, the last of my rationality shattered.

“Do you think anyone can defeat the demon king with just a bit of training?”

My outburst was met with vigorous nods from everyone in the room except the prince.