“Don’t worry. She will definitely regret it.”
“……What?”
Groer asked in confusion.
Not because he hadn’t heard, but because he was startled by Roxan’s assertive attitude.
Roxan’s face, as they faced each other again, was expressionless as if frozen.
“Return to the capital.”
The chief commander’s order was given.
Roxan’s golden eyes glowed intensely as if capturing the setting sun.
On the day of the Victory Celebration.
As the sun began to set, the imperial palace and the capital were crowded with carriages of nobles from various regions.
The largest party hall of the imperial palace.
The Emperor and Empress entered the hall, adorned with lavish decorations.
This was the first time Demios and Sephia appeared together in public since a woman bearing the Emperor’s name emerged.
All eyes in the room were on them, trying to gauge the extent of their estrangement.
The seats for the Emperor and Empress were on the elevated platform above.
Demios escorted Sephia up the stairs.
The nobles couldn’t hide their surprise.
‘Was the rumor that their relationship soured due to the Emperor taking a new woman false?’
The Victory Celebration was the grandest event of the year.
Society and connections, wealth and power.
Most of the nobles gathered here came from far away to the imperial palace, attending the event for their own interests rather than the celebration’s original purpose.
One must be observant to seize the right opportunities.
The most pressing matter now was the relationship between the Emperor and Empress.
However, seeing them together, their relationship did not seem as strained as the rumors suggested.
If only Titie Louvre’s seat wasn’t right below the platform.
As the Emperor and Empress took their seats, Titie promptly sat on the chair that seemed to have been waiting for her.
The opulent velvet chair appeared even more plush and comfortable than those on the platform.
Everyone knew that only royalty or state guests of the empire could sit right below the platform.
Titie, poised elegantly, smiled at the nobles.
Her pure and mysterious beauty, enhanced by her rarity as an albino, was enough to captivate everyone’s attention.
And to think she also bore the Emperor’s name.
Murmurs of “What’s a consort doing in the royal family?” echoed from the back, but in truth, many were eager to court Titie’s favor.
Everyone was weighing the power dynamics.
Sephia sat at the Empress’s seat, looking over the filled hall.
She had expected Demios to give special treatment to Titie. However,
‘Giving away a seat fit for royalty?’
Defending Titie in front of other nobles was akin to endowing her with power.
The relationship between the Emperor and Empress also influenced politics.
Everyone knew an invisible line had formed between them.
Some lamented this development, while others felt relieved.
It was evidence that factions of power were diverging.
‘Perhaps it’s fortunate that Demios escorted her.’
Being the center of attention by entering alone would have been worse, but being escorted without a word of conversation was suffocating.
It still was.
Sitting right beside her, Demios never once turned his head towards Sephia.
‘After the first dance, he’ll probably head straight to Titie.’
In such a grand banquet, it was customary for royalty to open the first dance.
The chair right in front of the platform was likely prepared for Titie to make his way to her afterward.
Sephia steeled herself.
She couldn’t afford to show concern for a consort in front of everyone.
After the Emperor and Empress’s entrance, a ceremony to commend Duke Leopold’s achievements was scheduled.
The Duke had not yet entered the hall.
Instead, the chief of the punitive force and some knights were enjoying the banquet.
Was it because they had been on the battlefield for so long?
Despite being mixed among the nobles, the punitive force members stood out due to their distinct aura.
‘Where is Roxan?’
Sephia scanned the hall.
In such a crowd, Roxan should have been easily noticeable, but strangely, he wasn’t visible.
Instead, she spotted another familiar face.
‘That knight from before?’
The red-haired knight who had come to fetch Roxan.
The chief of the punitive force was busy tasting various party foods.
Noticing Sephia’s gaze with his keen senses, the knight bowed silently to her and then returned to enjoying his food and drink.
Laughter erupted around him, boisterous and uncharacteristic of nobility. Sephia thought he seemed unusually jovial for a nobleman.
Pwoo
The sound of a trumpet, symbolizing victory, rang out.
A quintet played music representing the empire, while flags bearing a wolf on a red background were unfurled throughout the hall.
“Duke Claude Leopold enters.”
The Duke, a descendant of divine beasts.
As the grand double doors opened, the hero who led an impossible war to victory entered the hall alone.
“My goodness, that’s him…”
“Oh my…”
Whether it was due to the Duke’s accomplished deeds or his unexpected appearance,
Everyone standing there couldn’t help but express their astonishment for various reasons.
Sephia was no exception.
‘Roxan?’
Her close friend was walking on the red carpet.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
