“His Imperial Majesty has returned!”
“Long live the Emperor!”
“Long live!”
A welcoming crowd flocked to the Emperor’s procession.
It was always like this.
Whether returning from the battlefield or from diplomatic affairs. Even for a modestly arranged procession, the people of the empire unfailingly came out to greet him.
The imperial citizens trusted the Emperor that much.
At first, there was much controversy when the lowest-ranking prince, who had participated in all sorts of wars and raised his name, was appointed Emperor, surpassing his higher-ranking brothers. People said the previous Emperor who appointed a blood demon must have been mad.
But within two years of his ascension, he raised the empire’s name high and implemented benevolent policies that cared for even the lowest places, so the imperial citizens couldn’t help but love him.
However…
“Is he riding in that carriage?”
Unlike usual times when there were only welcoming voices, this time there was no small amount of whispering.
“You mean that woman? I heard His Majesty has fallen hard for her.”
“But I heard she’s a murderer.”
“Shh! What if someone hears you?”
As this was the first time Carlos had stayed in a foreign country for reasons other than war, the imperial citizens’ attention was focused on what had happened in Shaim.
Thus, news of Shaim naturally spread quickly to the Loom Empire.
The content was quite shocking.
Didn’t His Majesty pull out a crown princess from her execution, and moreover, a woman who had killed her husband?
Killing royalty was shocking enough, but it was even more surprising that a delicate woman had not just commissioned the murder, but done it herself.
The capital was in great turmoil.
While Carlos and his party were delayed, the news spread even beyond the capital. All sorts of newspapers were carrying the story.
So while all the capital’s citizens were welcoming the Emperor and waving handkerchiefs, they couldn’t take their eyes off the carriage. A strange atmosphere formed.
A luxurious and beautiful white carriage, unseen in previous processions.
Just by looking at the exterior, one could tell that much care had been taken for the person inside.
Naturally, it was inevitable to think that the one sitting inside had truly stolen the Emperor’s heart.
“Surely he’s not thinking of her as Empress material?”
“A murderer? Surely not.”
“…But if the Emperor wishes it, it must be done.”
“There must be a reason for the murder.”
“Even so, to kill a person?”
People’s opinions were naturally divided.
“The attention is dispersed, unlike usual,”
“Quiet. Smile. We’ll talk later.”
The Emperor’s aides couldn’t miss such signs from the imperial citizens. They had no complaints about either the Emperor or the woman. It was their way to follow the Emperor’s decisions.
But when expected events unfolded, it was unavoidable to feel a little worried.
And Carlos marched proudly at the head, not paying any attention to any of this.
Exuding an even more intense aura than usual.
* * *
The imperial palace was incomparably larger than Shaim’s royal palace.
Mercedes, who disliked people’s gazes and commotion, only opened the carriage curtains after the procession ended and they had entered the castle gates, and her eyes widened.
She had thought the count’s mansion and royal palace where she had lived all her life were very luxurious and splendid, but the empire’s imperial palace was on a different level.
The inside of the castle was so vast that even riding in a carriage, it took quite some time to reach the Emperor’s palace. Gardens decorated here and there could be seen, and they too were extremely beautiful.
“We have arrived at the Emperor’s palace.”
“…I see.”
As she got out of the carriage, gentle sunlight touched her skin. Loom was certainly warmer than Shaim, being further south.
She shifted her gaze. The Emperor’s palace spread out before her came into view.
The Emperor’s palace was exactly about three times the size of Shaim’s entire royal palace. The ceiling height also seemed to be about twice as high, to the point where looking up would make one’s neck ache.
Mercedes felt a headache coming on, overwhelmed by the size and splendor.
Anything big and imposing didn’t suit her. She had spent too long being crushed under enormous things.
In front of it, an incredible number of servants could be seen lined up on both sides, bowing their heads.
In the center, the head butler stood greeting the Emperor.
“Welcome back, Your Majesty. We have been eagerly awaiting your return.”
The head butler, who looked quite elderly but had a straight back, had a sharp impression. Like an old-fashioned etiquette teacher, one might say.
“It’s been a while, Franz.”
“Yes, the imperial palace was aging while waiting for Your Majesty.”
“There’s no way that could happen with you managing it.”
“What meaning would there be in a house without its master?”
The head butler’s reply conveyed a strong pride in the Emperor and meticulous courtesy.
“You must have worked hard preparing such pleasant words. I sent a message in advance, did you prepare as instructed?”
Carlos asked with a smirk.
“Yes, do not worry.”
“Good. Mercedes, come here.”
The Emperor tended to Mercedes before giving any other orders. Mercedes hesitantly moved to his side.
The Emperor held out his arm as if to offer an escort. However, Mercedes had not yet let down her guard against the Emperor.
She hesitated for a moment with an expressionless face.
Carlos quickly lowered the arm he had extended for escort.
“Then shall we move?”
The Emperor’s escort was rejected. Yet, as if not at all offended, Carlos maintained an appropriate distance and accommodated her.
It was a strange feeling.
Until now, even the slightest hesitation would have been met with immediate beating or insults.
‘No matter how many times I think about it…’
He was a strange person. Imperial yet un-imperial.
“This way, Lady Mercedes.”
Even the stern-looking head butler called her in a rather kind tone and led the way.
Carlos and Mercedes walked side by side at a distance behind him.
Two maids followed behind. Mercedes worried they might look her up and down or giggle as they had in Shaim, but the maids only followed her with a polite attitude, as if well-trained.
“Considering your health and potential discomfort in movement, I’ve prepared your room on the first floor. So you won’t have to climb stairs.”
“Will I… be living in the imperial palace?”
It was a bit bewildering.
Bringing her directly into the imperial palace?
It was an idea that a conservative person might find improper.
Typically, noble couples use separate rooms or even separate buildings, scheduling their conjugal visits separately.
Rarely, if a couple is close, they might share the same building, or even the same bedroom…
Wasn’t the Emperor preparing for that ‘close’ state?
This was truly nothing short of a declaration and display that he had fallen for her.
“Why, do you dislike it?”
Carlos asked teasingly with a mischievous smile. This familiar treatment made her even more flustered, but Mercedes wasn’t allowed to refuse anyway.
She was an outsider and also a murderer. She wasn’t in a position to add words or cover anything up.
And in fact, if Carlos favored her like this, there was a high possibility that her position as an outsider would settle quite favorably.
Carlos’s choice was right. For the sake of her future goals, Mercedes needed to adapt well here.
She maintained her tension and focused solely on her purpose.
After passing through what seemed like an endless long corridor, they arrived at.
A room at the end of the first-floor corridor. Usually, there should be side doors at both ends of the first-floor corridor in a building, but there were only walls there.
So when she looked closely at where the side door should have been, it was a bit bumpy as if something that was originally there had been blocked off.
As Mercedes’s gaze turned towards that direction, Carlos, who had been quietly observing, opened the door wide.
“I heard most of the rooms in this corridor and on the second floor are empty. Right, Franz?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“So don’t worry. There won’t be any disturbances. No one will come and go this way carelessly.”
“Pardon?”
“You dislike commotion, don’t you?”
“Wait a moment… Did you… clear everything out because of me?”
“Well? The imperial palace has too many rooms to use them all. If you need more empty rooms, just say so. I think I can give you as many as you want.”
The Emperor joked with a smile.
Mercedes just closed her mouth, not knowing how to react.
“Shall we check the room?”
Meanwhile, the head butler guided her gaze.
“Ah, ye…s.”
Being a room in the imperial palace, how vast would it be? As she had tensed up, the interior was indeed very spacious.
But… it gave a strangely comfortable feeling.
The warm-feeling fireplace, the bright-colored carpet, the wide and cozy-looking bed. Above all, the brightly incoming sunlight and tranquility.
Mercedes, who had lived a noble life for a long time, knew. That everything in this room was of the highest quality and that it was an incomparably splendid room.
But it looked cozy to an unusual degree. The rugs spread throughout. The armchairs and large cushions placed here and there for lying down or resting anywhere made the room look truly like a resting place.
And there were large windows in a row to allow plenty of sunlight, with a small door attached in the center of the windows.
The view outside the window showed a garden surrounded on three sides by dense trees. Nothing else was visible except the sky and birds.
“This garden has no entrance except for the central door of the window. You can consider it yours, Lady Mercedes.”
“It’ll be perfect for taking walks alone.”
Was it because of the Emperor’s kind voice explaining gently, or because the comfort and peacefulness of this room hit her more than expected?
The nerves of Mercedes, who had been sensitive with tension, vigilance, anger, and revenge, seemed to relax a little.
“…Yes.”
“These two will be your only maids. Right, Franz?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. You might feel that two are insufficient, but we’ve chosen girls with good handiwork, so there should be no lack. Please don’t worry too much.”
This consideration was amazingly suitable for her. She had been exhausted by people’s gazes and voices.
“How…”
“Weren’t you always cooped up in your room in Shaim? I thought you might dislike noisy voices and gazes, so I prepared this. Is it not to your liking?”
Carlos asked, ruffling his own hair as if a bit embarrassed. It looked as if he was trying to gauge Mercedes’s reaction.
‘The Emperor, reading my mood?’
It’s absurd. A proposition worthy of a hollow laugh.
But she could see sincerity in his expression.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
