“Eric is five now, so I don’t need a shield anymore. I only kept you as a placeholder to prevent Eric from becoming an easy target if he was appointed too early while the Queen’s power was still growing. Now that I’ve crushed the opposing factions supporting you, you’re no longer of use.”

Emperor Maximus, who ascended the throne unexpectedly, had to be wary of various noble factions due to his weak base of support.

Maxwell had maintained his position as the Crown Prince because the largest power faction, which supported his deceased father and the kidnapped Queen, held significant sway.

Tired of talking, the Emperor released the bowstring.

At that moment,

“Roaaar!”

A huge black figure, unnoticed until now, pounced on the Emperor, causing the arrow to shoot vertically into the sky before falling powerlessly at Maxwell’s feet.

The black beast, identified as a black panther, a designated magical creature of the Empire, stood over the fallen Emperor.

The beast that killed his father and kidnapped his mother. Anger boiling in him, Maxwell grabbed a dagger from his belt, assuming a combat stance.

Determined to avenge his parents, Maxwell stared at the panther. As it stepped toward him…

A faint, melodious whistle sounded from somewhere. The panther, advancing towards Maxwell, halted.

In that moment, Maxwell saw another pair of red eyes in the panther’s gaze. Strangely, there was no malice in those eyes, only sadness.

His aching heart twinged at the sight. It was impossible, yet Maxwell shook his head and readied himself again. Suddenly, the entire forest seemed to spin chaotically.

Thud.

Maxwell lost consciousness and collapsed onto the grass.
“Your Highness Prince Maxwell, have you regained consciousness?”

“Oh, thank the gods!”

Struggling to lift his heavy eyelids, Maxwell saw familiar faces come into view. He didn’t know how he had returned, but upon waking, he found himself inside the Emperor’s tent prepared at the hunting ground.

“How did I…?”

As Maxwell squeezed out his question, Sir Jacob cautiously began to speak.

“Do you remember anything? What happened in the forest?”

Maxwell closed his eyes again and shook his head, unsure how to explain. Those gathered assumed he had lost his memory due to the shock.

“His Majesty the Emperor…?”

Believing the worst, Maxwell asked in resignation.

“His Majesty had a fall from his horse and… has passed away. It seems you witnessed the accident and collapsed from the shock, Your Highness.”

“Your Majesty, I pay my respects.”

Sir Peter knelt, placing his sword on the ground, followed by the knights and soldiers who also knelt, acknowledging their new sovereign.

The furious Maximus’s hands began to throttle Maxwell’s neck.

Maxwell’s brows furrowed, his eyelids tightened, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. His head shook uncontrollably as veins bulged on his clenched fists, and a beast-like growl escaped his clenched teeth.

‘This is a nightmare. A terrible dream.’

Maxwell struggled to wake up from the dream, but his body was being sucked into a deep swamp.

The recurring nightmare.

“Choking…”

Unable to fight off the choking grip, Maxwell felt himself sinking further into the ground.

“Screaming…”

Maxwell bolted upright in bed, clutching his throat, gasping for air. The pillow and even the bandages Arabel had tied were soaked in cold sweat.

The Emperor, his black hair sticking to his forehead, staggered out of bed, his throat parched. He grabbed a water bottle and drank it all, but the thirst only tightened around his throat and lungs.

Nausea welled up. Maxwell stepped out onto the balcony for fresh air, his long legs wobbling. The cold air provided no relief; his handsome face contorted in pain.

As his heightened senses became overwhelming, every stimulus around him felt oppressive, especially the various rotten smells in the air, making it difficult to breathe.

Painful groans escaped Maxwell’s lips. It was a precursor to his transformation into a monster.

Though a month away, nightmares always triggered the beast within him to rage, trying to break free.

‘I can’t give in.’ Clenching his teeth, Maxwell clutched his head, fighting off the beast clawing at his weary soul.

In his agony, a sweet and refreshing scent wafted through, purifying the foul air around him. The clean, crisp scent calmed his heightened sense of smell.

The throbbing headache vanished. The Emperor slowly raised his head, silently observing the darkness below the balcony.
Within the golden-rimmed red eyes, a small figure swiftly moving toward the castle gate came into view. As she moved further away, the scent of her skin faded, and the surrounding foul odors once again assaulted his senses, tightening around his lungs.

Soon, a large hand with prominent veins rested on the balcony rail. In an instant, the long and sleek silhouette effortlessly leaped over the railing and landed lightly on the ground three floors below.

Male lead is a Divorced Husband

She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”

Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.

After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.

She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.

But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…

Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!

――

This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!

The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.

That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”

Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”

The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”

That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”

Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”

The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.

Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.

“She was originally a ‘she’!”

At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.

The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”

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