How could this happen in a world without the internet or smartphones?

It had only been a few days, yet even Nancy was aware of the rumors.

“The country is in an uproar! They’re calling it the meeting of the century!”

“Well, it should be interesting now that Casanova and a femme fatale have met.”

“Why do you talk as if it’s someone else’s business? Didn’t His Imperial Majesty fall head over heels for the young lady?”

“They’re all groundless rumors.”

“What about the talk that she’ll soon become the Empress?”

Empress? As if. At most, I’d be a slave sold off through an unfair contract.

“Nancy, has there ever been a commoner among the past Empresses?”

“No.”

“Has the current Emperor ever taken an Empress?”

“No, he hasn’t.”

“And I will never become the Empress either. I don’t even want to.”

“Are you giving up on His Majesty because of your status? You can overcome it with love!”

“Stop reading so many romance novels.”

Nancy was Douglas’ fervent fan.

Just as I had adored Claudia, the female lead of “The Silver Knight”, she admired Elise, the heroine of “The Empire’s Red Star”.

Who wouldn’t like a beautiful, confident, and sharp-tongued protagonist?

Douglas created Elise inspired by me.

But I was nothing more than a villainous supporting character.

I had ambitiously challenged myself to seduce the tyrant, but I messed up from the very first step.

Moreover, I royally screwed up a precious opportunity.

‘How was I to know you had a habit of crying when drunk? Nikolai’s shirt was covered in tears and snot. A true alcohol disaster right here.’

I made a spectacle of myself in front of a man I met for the first time, completely defenseless.

I also said far too many things I shouldn’t have.

“I don’t want to die again. I hate the guillotine. But what can I do? Sob sob.”

Nikolai looked perplexed.

He awkwardly patted my shoulder, then hastily withdrew his hand.

Like a forty-year-old virgin who had never been on a date.

‘I pretended to be fine, but I was scared. Both of being possessed by Elizabeth and awaiting a second death. I boasted about stopping Claudia, but I was just acting tough. I thought it would make me less afraid.’

The anxiety I couldn’t confide in anyone turned into teardrops upon meeting Nikolai’s warmth.

The tears I had held back for so long didn’t stop easily.

With the most stoic face in the world, Nikolai said,

“If you want to cry, then cry to your heart’s content. I’m not going anywhere.”

Even after several days, his low voice wouldn’t leave my ears.

My mind was in turmoil.

A dozen times a day, my emotions swung back and forth.

Burning up with fever one moment, then turning ice cold.

Mortified, sorry, grateful, curious.

Why did he want to make me his concubine?

Did he really see me as an interesting toy?

“In the end, is my body his real goal…?”

I muttered without realizing it.

Nancy, who had been brushing my hair, turned bright red.

“Tell me honestly! What happened that night at the palace?”

A kiss. An embrace. Tears. A contract.

Nothing was trivial.

Nikolai was immune to charm.

It meant I couldn’t manipulate him as I pleased.

Playing a game of seduction with him was tantamount to dousing myself in oil and jumping into a pit of fire.

How could I, a proponent of monogamy, become the umpteenth concubine of a philandering emperor?

Just imagining it was terrible.

My plan to seduce him and turn him into a sage ruler had practically already failed.

Then, for now, until Claudia appeared, the best course of action was to avoid getting involved with that tyrant as much as possible.

Nikolai sneaking into my bed in the middle of the night!

The mere thought gave me goosebumps all over.

‘Let’s seek help from the Nettleton siblings. It’s shameless, but I have no other options at the moment.’

***

I visited the Nettleton ducal residence, away from prying eyes.

It was a large and elegant mansion, but their strained circumstances were palpable.

‘The stone pavement is cracked and the garden hasn’t been tended to. I heard the book was a huge hit. Did the royalties not come in?’

Douglas’ father was a notoriously inept gambler.

If he hadn’t died early, House Nettleton wouldn’t have merely been excluded from the Five Great Families, but would’ve ended up destitute.

“Welcome, Elizabeth.”

“We’ve been waiting for you, sister!”

Contrary to my worry that I might be turned away at the door for my presumptuousness, Douglas and Susan warmly greeted me.

It was as if they had completely forgotten my sharp tongue at the party.

When I confessed about the seduction game contract, Douglas bit his lip.

“His Imperial Majesty cannot do this, no matter what.”

“I heard the imperial concubines from noble families have a hold on the harem. What should I do, sister?”

Susan spoke with a worried look.

I nodded.

The Four Great Families.

I knew inside and out what kind of misdeeds they were up to.

Their evil deeds depicted in the original work were truly hair-raising.

“I’ve investigated too. Empress Freyja of the Riemann dukedom, Empress Rose of the Brendon marquisate, Empress Emma of the Pipe marquisate, and Empress Cynthia of the Blackford earldom. They’re all aiming for the position of the empress, right?”

“If His Majesty hadn’t been so stubborn, one of them would have become the empress.”

“Why hasn’t he taken an empress until now?”

As if he had been waiting for my question, Susan raised her voice.

“Because he’s the empire’s greatest womanizer! He wants to take every woman in the empire!”

“Watch your words, Susan. No matter what anyone says, he is the empire’s sovereign.”

“Didn’t he have innocent women captured and dragged away? I can’t forgive him for targeting you too, sister.”

Susan clenched her small fists.

Animosity blazed in her eyes.

‘Looks like there’s no chance of Susan having a crush on Nikolai.’

Just as I was about to feel relieved, Susan slapped her knee.

“I thought of a way to stop that dastardly tyrant!”

“What is it?”

“Let’s ask Claudia to kill him.”

“Eek!”

Chills ran down my entire body.

It was the scariest thing I had heard since being possessed.

“Susan! How can a knight who’s sworn allegiance kill her liege?”

“Lydia has always wanted to get rid of the emperor. She despises womanizers. I know her well since we’ve been friends since childhood.”

‘I know her better than you! I die at Claudia’s hands every night!’

I almost blurted out my inner thoughts.

My palms grew clammy with cold sweat.

I had to calm Susan down first.

“Susan, that’s treason. I’m grateful that you’re worried about me, but don’t do anything reckless.”

“Even if we don’t ask, Lydia will probably make a decision soon.”

“Is Lady Claudia’s resolve that firm?”

“Of course. She’s stubborn, but she’s a righteous person. And she’s stronger than any other knight!”

I felt despair and helplessness.

It was as if someone was stepping on my hand as I clung to the edge of a cliff.

‘Is this how Claudia will return? Is it useless no matter how much I struggle?’

The guillotine blade seemed to graze my collar, flashing.

The fate of death was digging black pits ahead of me at every turn.

‘You think I’ll give up because of this? I’m the one who used the tyrant’s shirt as a snot rag. I’ve had enough of dying powerlessly in my past life!’

I looked at Douglas with determination in my eyes.

“Lord Douglas, may I say something out of line for a moment?”

“I’m listening.”

“You are the head of a marquisate and Susan’s only guardian. If you cherish your sister, you must guide her strictly. Especially on an issue like this.”

“You’re right, Elizabeth. I’ve been negligent.”

Douglas’ cheeks reddened.

My gaze shifted to Susan.

She was already cowering.

“Is treason child’s play? With a single word from Susan, countless people could die. Can you bear that responsibility?”

“I’m sorry. I was so eager to save you, sister…”

“Do you think I could live comfortably while putting Susan in danger? I’d rather enter the palace myself.”

“Don’t do that! I won’t ever think such reckless thoughts again.”

Susan looked genuinely repentant.

But only for a moment. Her eyes turned misty as she looked at me.

“Even in this situation, you only worry about me, sister.”

What was she talking about now?

I blinked.

“I knew it. That day, you went out to the terrace to protect me.”

Susan spoke in a tone filled with conviction.

“You sacrificed yourself so I wouldn’t become that tyrant’s prey, right?”

“I never did that though?”

“It’s no use playing dumb. Our family is the only one among the Five Great Families that hasn’t produced an imperial concubine.”

“I heard the other concubines entered the palace of their own accord?”

“If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve been dragged away to become a concubine too. Because that’s the kind of man the Emperor is.”

Susan was misunderstanding something.

No one referred to the Five Great Families now.

The Five Great Families was just a name of the past. The nobles ruling the empire now were the Four Great Families, excluding Nettleton.

Nikolai also had no interest in Susan whatsoever.

‘Should I correct her misunderstanding? It should be fine to leave it, right? It’s not hurting anyone. And it’s true that I tried to protect Susan.’

The calculation was done.

I immediately switched gears.

I didn’t forget to make a lonely expression as I lowered my gaze.

“I’m sorry for deceiving you. I didn’t want Susan to blame herself.”

“Sister Elizabeth!”

“Just as Susan thinks of me, a mere commoner, as her sister, I also consider Susan as my own little sister. If I can protect Susan, then nothing else matters to me.”

I thought it was a natural impromptu act.

But considering Susan as my own sister was true.

It was also true that I had stood in front of the tyrant to protect her.

As if realizing everything for the first time, Douglas muttered,

“So that’s why you broke off our engagement and coldly cast us aside. Even saying words you didn’t mean…”

I didn’t mean those words but you’re misunderstanding from there?

Was misunderstanding their family legacy too?

I was puzzled, but Susan hugged me tightly.

“You saved our family from a mountain of debt. And you protected me. I can’t let them take away a sister like you!”

Susan was a child who appreciated even the smallest help several times over.

Her kind heart made my own ache.

“Susan, it’s too early to give up. There’s one last way to save Elizabeth.”

Douglas stepped forward.

He had a solemn face I had never seen before.

***

The place Douglas took me to was a small chapel inside the mansion.

Susan, whose respiratory system was weak, couldn’t follow because of the dust that hadn’t been cleaned in years.

I covered my mouth with a handkerchief and entered the chapel.

Ancient marble statues caught my eye.

There were too many gods in this world.

Douglas kindly explained.

“The one holding the sword is Tathos, the god of war. The one with the wolf is Morasynthia, the goddess of healing. The statues of the god of literature, the god of farming, and the god of the sea are over there.”

“Why does the goddess of healing keep a wolf? And why are her eyes covered?”

“Lady Morasynthia’s wolf is said to be a spiritual creature that finds the root of all illnesses.”

“That’s fascinating.”

“I was taught that her eyes are covered to symbolize that she heals equally, regardless of rich and poor, noble and commoner.”

“Such a god can’t possibly exist.”

Remembering my past life, I smiled bitterly.

“It’s always the poor who die first. Saying death is equal to all is bullshit.”

Douglas flinched at my resolute attitude.

In my past life, I died of an epidemic while volunteering abroad.

Few countries properly responded to the new global pandemic.

South Korea was among the safest, but I was staying in a country that lacked even proper medical facilities.

I couldn’t board the chartered plane sent from my homeland because I was already infected.

The epidemic turned the poor but peaceful country into a hell where humanity was obliterated.

Murder occurred over a sack of flour, a tank of oxygen.

Unburied corpses littered the streets.

That’s why I had handed the oxygen mask to the young child.

‘I wanted to give up on everything. The wretched circumstances, the life I had to wade through alone. I merely used the child as an excuse to seize an opportunity to die. Do I deserve to live a new life when I’m like this?’

I had resolved not to give up, but sometimes gloomy memories assaulted me.

Douglas tapped my shoulder.

He was covered in white dust and cobwebs from crawling somewhere.

“This… is a divine object passed down through generations in our family.”

Douglas held out a small box covered in red leather.

A copper bell was embedded in the lid, and the figure of the goddess Morasynthia was engraved on the surface.

Opening the box revealed an old monocle resting on a velvet cushion.

“It’s a shabby copper monocle?”

“It may look humble, but it’s a divine object. If you offer it, you can defy the Emperor’s orders. Only once, however.”

“You’re going to use the right of defiance for me?”

“Nothing is too precious to give to you, Elizabeth.”

“But we broke off our engagement.”

“Embarrassingly, there’s a passage like this in the novel I wrote.”

“What kind of passage?”

“A person in love often does foolish things. Even knowing it’s futile and silly, they don’t stop. And rather than regret, they rejoice. Because that’s how they confirm their love is true.”

Douglas recited, gazing at me.

Something, either my face or my stomach, kept feeling ticklish.

An ever-upright man. A sentence he had written down thinking of me.

It felt as if his sincerity was being engraved in my heart, letter by letter.

For a moment, it seemed I could forget about Claudia and Nikolai.

Even if I couldn’t accept Douglas’ love.

‘Romance is too much for someone in my position. The only thing I can do for Douglas is not give him false hope. But then why does my heart keep fluttering? How frivolous of me.’

A subtle silence prodded the small chapel.

Douglas’ eyes looking at me grew even more amorous.

Unable to bear the awkward atmosphere, I grabbed the monocle.

“Thank you. I’ll gratefully use the divine object.”

“You mustn’t carelessly touch divine objects!”

The warning came too late.

Blazing white light poured out from the monocle.

It was a light that felt somehow yearned for and familiar.

“A righteous deceased has discovered Morasynthia’s pupils. A privilege will be granted. Do you accept?”