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CHAPTER 02 —
“The Villainess Will Take Everything”
“Are they really brushing off imperial affairs with just a few words like that?”
Even in the webtoon, this part was heavily criticized for its lack of logic.
Dayton let out a mocking smile as he looked down at me.
“His Majesty collapsed before he could even approve it, so honestly, it’s a meaningless promise.”
“……”
“From this point on, we have no relation whatsoever.”
He finished speaking and gave a casual nod.
“Wishing you well.”
“To live well… after dying, you mean?”
Dayton, who had already turned to leave, froze in place.
“If I’m to make a deal with the Second Prince, your death would be necessary, wouldn’t it?”
“……”
Dayton turned back toward me again. His hardened eyes flashed sharply.
“…Are you saying I would kill the princess?”
“You wouldn’t.”
I shrugged, and his face twisted further.
“Today, you’re acting a bit…”
“What, you thought I wouldn’t talk back? Because I’m the naïve, helpless Princess Melissa?”
For a moment, Dayton’s gaze shifted.
“…Have you eaten something wrong?”
“You might be the one who eats something wrong soon.”
How did Melissa die again?
Did she cough up blood? Was she cut down?
All I could remember was blood everywhere.
After Dayton left, an assassin sent by the Second Prince would come in.
“What…?”
“Don’t act like you don’t know.”
I studied his face as though I were admiring a piece of art—his sharp nose, his strong jawline.
Beautiful things really do look better up close.
Annoyingly handsome.
Even in the original, I knew he was good-looking—but seeing him in person was on another level.
“You really are as handsome as I expected.”
“…What?”
Dayton’s eyes widened at my casual mutter.
“But your personality is disgusting.”
I grabbed his shirt collar and yanked him down roughly. His startled eyes looked up at me from below my gaze.
Yeah. I like this height difference better.
A princess and a brute—this feels right.
“I think we’ll suit each other.”
As I smiled with narrowed eyes, Dayton sharply inhaled.
I was no longer the foolish Princess Melissa he knew.
I would not live like before—giving away everything that was mine.
I wouldn’t be taken from, I wouldn’t surrender anything, and I certainly wouldn’t die easily.
This time, I would take first.
I would seize what I wanted with my own hands.
“I’m going to change the genre.”
I’ll take everything.
—
In the webtoon Flower of the Empire, Melissa barely appeared at all.
She died too early, and she wasn’t important to the overall plot.
However, her death was used by the Second Prince as justification, exposing the mistreatment she had endured.
And that was it.
Just a spark in the imperial palace’s struggle for power.
A nameless extra who never even crossed paths with the protagonist.
The original story went like this:
After Melissa’s death, the First and Second Princes began their power struggle. The Third Prince met a brutal death, and eventually the throne fell to the Second Prince.
After becoming emperor, he framed and eliminated the First Prince to solidify his rule.
But even that wasn’t enough for his ambition.
The greedy Second Prince extended his reach beyond the empire, igniting wars across the continent.
The empire burned while its citizens suffered under endless conflict.
The female lead, Riche Kaisar, was a noblewoman from a warrior family who grew to hate the emperor personally.
She prepared a rebellion, overthrew the empire, and became its first empress.
That was the ending.
I actually liked reading it.
Strangely, there was no male lead in Flower of the Empire.
It was a story where the heroine destroyed everything and took it all for herself.
A masterpiece of sharp strategy and satisfying revenge.
It just flopped because there was no romance.
At that moment, Dayton—who had been silently shocked—finally spoke again.
“What exactly is this disrespect?”
“This is barely disrespect.”
“Princess!”
You’re the one who abandoned a helpless noble lady to a ruthless Second Prince.
And now you’re calling this disrespect just because I grabbed your collar?
I smirked at his hypocrisy.
When I let go of his collar, Dayton straightened up and gritted his teeth.
Anger had replaced his earlier confusion.
“I don’t understand how I’m supposed to interpret your behavior.”
His polite mask had already started to peel away.
His tone became shorter, sharper.
A low, restrained growl slipped from his voice.
“Are you listening? You’ll need to explain this properly. What exactly is going on?”
“Hm.”
I studied him calmly.
Being handsome really does make life easier.
Even while being infuriating, he was still attractive.
Is this why people say you should at least marry someone good-looking?
“I wonder how I’ll die.”
“Stop talking nonsense…”
“As soon as you leave, assassins will enter my room. And they’ll make sure it’s obvious the Second Prince is behind it.”
Dayton let out a short laugh.
“If that’s the case, why come all the way here just to break off the engagement?”
“You’re still undecided, aren’t you?”
His eyebrow twitched slightly.
“You haven’t decided whether to abandon Princess Melissa or not.”
“……”
That hit the mark.
I smiled faintly.
So that was it.
In the original story, no one cared about Melissa.
Not when she was alive—and even less when she was dead.
Even Dayton, her formal fiancé who visited once a week out of obligation, eventually abandoned her.
And yet…
He was the only one who had hesitated at all.
After a brief silence, Dayton admitted it.
“Yes. Until I came here.”
“So before that, you were unsure?”
“The moment I stepped into this room, I had already made my decision.”
“……”
“I don’t know how you found out, but it doesn’t change anything.”
His gaze turned cold.
I shrugged exaggeratedly.
“During a power struggle between the First and Second Princes… what do you think will happen if they find out you were weighing both sides?”
“What?”
“They wouldn’t be very pleased, would they?”
His atmosphere froze instantly.
The empire was already a battlefield of political calculation.
The emperor, once vigorous, had failed to choose an heir and now hovered between life and death.
Or rather—he simply refused to choose.
Whenever the council brought up succession, he would snap, “Why don’t you just beg me to die already?”
And yet the nobles were too afraid to speak openly.
The princes each demanded absolute loyalty.
Especially the First and Second—who were extremely ruthless about it.
One wrong move, and a noble family would be wiped out overnight.
“Recently, there are rumors that House Colin is losing influence.”
Still just rumors within the house—but they would later be used against Dayton.
The reason was simple.
Dayton’s post-traumatic stress—and the fractures it caused within his house.
A war hero who supposedly slaughtered thousands, yet reportedly screamed and cried at night.
During the day he pretended to be fine—but he was already spending enormous sums searching for doctors and shamans.
“The princess is mistaken.”
Dayton curled his lips.
“If you’re going to lie, at least do it properly.”
I pointed at his clenched fist.
Even he couldn’t fully hide it.
His knuckles were white, blood drained from them.
“No need for shamans or doctors. I already know the solution.”
“….”
His expression cracked slightly.
“Stand on my side.”
Dayton laughed in disbelief.
“Are you really the same Princess I know? Or have you been pretending all this time?”
“Pretending? No. I just didn’t bother showing it.”
His eyes shifted again as he rubbed his face.
From ridicule to confusion… then to shock.
He muttered almost to himself:
“How could the princess know things even the princes don’t…?”
“That’s not the important part.”
There would be far more things he would come to be surprised about.
Dayton clenched his fist tightly, as if trying to steady himself, and looked at me.
