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Chapter: 01
“Aaaah!”
“P-Please, spare me!”
Screams echoed from every direction.
It would only be a matter of time before the rebel army stormed into the room where I was hiding.
After all, the only thing they wanted was the head of the Empress—mine.
“Ha…”
A bitter laugh escaped through my lips.
Staring blankly out the window, I could see an overwhelming army advancing even from this distance.
Every one of them wore the same desperate expression, consumed with finding the emperor who had ruined the kingdom.
Looks like they still haven’t found Delos.
It wasn’t surprising.
The emperor they were searching for had already fled the imperial palace.
I recalled the last image of the man who had turned his back on me only fifteen minutes earlier.
Gone was his usual arrogant expression. Instead, he had come to me with a face twisted by fear and anxiety.
“D-Dahlia. I need you to do something for me. Keep my brother distracted for as long as possible until I’ve safely escaped the palace. Please.”
He had called it a favor.
But in reality, he was telling me to die as bait so he could buy himself time.
With those final words, he left the palace alongside his personal court magician, who never left his side.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of hesitation in his departing footsteps.
“I really was insane… To love someone like him for so long…”
Thirteen years.
That was how long I had spent yearning for his love and remaining by his side.
I had even turned my back on my own family for him.
Gazing absentmindedly at the palace engulfed in crimson flames, I muttered,
“I really was nothing more than a puppet.”
People had always mocked me as Delos’s puppet empress.
Never had those words felt so painfully true.
The moment I finally admitted the truth I had spent years denying, an immense emptiness flooded my chest.
Footsteps.
Someone was running toward the room from the other side of the door.
Bang!
The door burst open.
A rough voice followed, accompanied by an exasperated sigh.
“…Why haven’t you escaped yet?”
The moment I recognized the intruder, my eyes widened.
Duke Baleshtein.
A commoner who had risen to the rank of duke after achieving remarkable victories in the war against the Kingdom of Kleitz two years ago.
Even the proudest nobles dared not speak carelessly in front of him.
His fearsome reputation alone was enough to silence them.
My gaze slowly drifted toward the sword in his hand.
Fresh blood dripped from its terrifyingly sharp blade.
I couldn’t tell whose blood it was.
Only moments ago I had thought I wanted to die.
Yet the instant I saw that bloodstained sword, fear gripped me.
So… my blood will be on that blade next.
Just as the thought crossed my mind—
“You’re not actually trying to get yourself killed, are you?”
The duke strode toward me, his deep voice rumbling through the room.
His overwhelming presence made me instinctively flinch and step backward.
The duke immediately stopped.
The fierce-looking man stood there with his lips tightly pressed together.
Oddly enough, he looked… almost flustered.
After a brief silence, he asked in a calmer voice,
“The emperor’s closest followers fled long ago. So why is the empress still here alone?”
“That has nothing to do with you, Duke.”
I couldn’t bring myself to admit that the emperor had abandoned me as a disposable decoy.
The sharp response escaped before I could stop it.
“I see.”
As though he had already figured out the answer from my expression alone, the duke let out a cold, mocking smile and muttered darkly under his breath.
His voice was too quiet to hear clearly, but it sounded as though he had cursed Delos.
He’s probably furious because he arrived too late.
As his aura grew increasingly murderous, I unconsciously shrank back.
Now he’ll kill me.
Just as that thought crossed my mind—
“Find the Empress!”
The voices searching for me rang out much closer than before, accompanied by hurried footsteps.
At the same time, the duke seized my wrist.
“We have to leave. Now. Follow me.”
“W-What are you doing—?!”
Without the slightest hesitation, he dragged me out of the room.
Everything happened so quickly that I could only stare blankly as he pulled me along.
“Let go! Where are you taking me?!”
Even though he surely heard my panicked cries, he continued walking without a word.
As I was helplessly dragged through the palace, the scenery around me finally came into focus.
Blood was splattered across the floors and walls.
Knights lay motionless everywhere.
The horrific sight stole my breath.
Only then did the duke finally speak.
“Once you’re outside the palace, don’t look back. Run. And never, ever think of seeing that piece of trash again.”
There was a quiet fury beneath his words.
“Why…?”
It was only then that I realized…
He had come to save me.
The only word I could manage was a trembling,
“Why…?”
You hated me too…
I vividly remembered how, whenever our eyes met at official ceremonies, he would frown with obvious displeasure before turning away.
Society had always mocked me as the puppet empress.
But for some reason, it was the duke’s cold gaze that had remained in my memory the longest.
And he’s the Grand Duke’s closest confidant…
The leader of the rebellion.
Delos’s older brother.
Grand Duke Aksif.
Duke Baleshtein was famous for being such close friends with the Grand Duke that Aksif openly called him his only true companion.
Judging from how desperately the duke was rushing, the Grand Duke clearly knew nothing about this.
After running frantically, we finally reached the palace’s hidden exit.
“There! The Empress is over there!”
Soldiers who had been lying in ambush suddenly emerged.
Judging by the curse that slipped from the duke’s lips, even he hadn’t expected this.
Then—
Dozens of arrows rained down from above like a storm.
I’m going to die…!
Faced with death at point-blank range, I squeezed my eyes shut.
Thud.
The sickening sound of flesh being pierced echoed one after another.
Yet…
No matter how long I waited…
I felt no pain.
My trembling eyelids slowly opened.
The sight before me robbed me of speech.
“Ah…!”
The reason I hadn’t been struck…
Was because the duke had thrown himself in front of me.
He had taken every arrow meant for me with his own body.
The flesh around the arrow embedded in his arm was already turning a deep shade of purple.
Poison.
If nothing was done…
He would be dead within minutes.
“Y-You…”
I couldn’t even ask if he was alright.
His back had been riddled with so many arrows that there wasn’t a single uninjured spot left.
“Don’t worry about me.”
He forced himself to take another unsteady step.
“I’ve prepared a carriage outside. A man named Roman will guide you. Trust him, and you’ll be able to escape the imperial palace.”
He insisted he was fine.
But as his voice grew weaker with every word, terror gripped my heart.
I grabbed his hand tightly.
“Come with me! If we don’t treat you right now, you’re going to die!”
His eyes widened in surprise.
A moment later, he let out a small chuckle and pulled something from inside his coat before placing it in my hand.
“Don’t worry about me. Leave first. Take this with you… just in case.”
“This is…”
It was a crudely made dagger.
“The man who sold it to me claimed that anyone who carried it would have their wish granted.”
The duke lightly traced his fingers over the dagger before giving a self-deprecating smile.
“Well… my wish never came true. But it’s a reliable little thing. Keep it with you.”
Still dazed, I silently stared at the dagger in my hand.
A faint sigh came from the duke.
“When you hold a blade, grip it like this. It’ll put less strain on your wrist.”
He gently adjusted the way I held the dagger.
“And… if you ever have to use it…”
He pointed first to his throat.
Then to the center of his chest.
“These two places are fatal. Strike here if you want to kill your opponent quickly. Remember that. Understood?”
With trembling movements, I slowly nodded.
