Chapter 001
“Ahhh—!”
“P-Please save me!”
Screams echoed from all directions.
It wouldn’t be long before the rebels broke into the room I was in.
What they wanted was my head as the Empress.
“Haha.”
A self-deprecating laugh escaped from my lips.
Looking out the window with vacant eyes, I could see an enormous army approaching from afar.
Everyone had faces filled with rage, desperate to find the emperor who had ruined the country.
‘They still haven’t found Delos.’
It was only natural. The so-called Emperor they were looking for had already escaped the palace.
I recalled the last moment of the man who had turned his back on me just 15 minutes ago.
His usual arrogant expression was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a face twisted with fear and anxiety.
“Da, Dahlia, I need you to do something for me. While I escape safely from the palace, distract my brother as much as you can. I’m counting on you.”
Though he called it a request, it was essentially telling me to act as bait and die.
With those words, he left the palace with his personal magician, who usually stuck to him like a part of his body.
There was not a trace of hesitation in his steps as he turned away.
“I must have been really crazy. How could I have put up with such a man until now…?”
It had been a full 13 years.
The time I had spent longing for his love and staying by his side.
In the end, he chose to abandon me, even after I betrayed my own family for him.
I stared blankly at the palace, ablaze with red flames, and muttered to myself.
“I really was just a puppet.”
The words people used to mock me, calling me Delos’s puppet, now felt so true.
Admitting the truth, which I had desperately denied until now, left a hollow emptiness in my heart.
Thud, thud.
Then I heard someone rapidly approaching from the other side of the door.
Bang!
The door swung open, accompanied by a heavy sigh and a rough voice.
“W-why haven’t you escaped yet?”
Upon seeing the intruder’s face, my eyes widened in shock.
‘Duke Ballestain.’
A commoner who had risen to the rank of duke after making significant contributions in the war against the Clayts Kingdom about two years ago.
He was a man with such a fearsome reputation that even the most boastful nobles would not dare to speak in his presence.
My gaze then shifted to the sword he was holding.
Blood, whose origin I could not discern, was dripping from the tip of the eerily sharp blade.
Just moments ago, I had wished for death, yet seeing the bloodied sword before me filled me with sudden fear.
I thought to myself that soon my blood would flow from that sword. But just then…
“You’re not planning on dying, are you?”
The duke took a step closer and spoke in a low voice.
Unintentionally, I flinched and took a step back from his imposing presence.
The duke halted abruptly as I retreated.
The fierce-looking man stood silently, his mouth tightly closed, but strangely enough, to me, it looked like he was somewhat flustered.
The duke then asked me a question in a calmer tone than before.
“Damn it, the emperor’s closest aides have already fled, so why is the empress here all alone?”
“You wouldn’t understand,”
I couldn’t bring myself to say that I had been abandoned as a decoy to stall for time, so my response was laced with irritation.
“I think I do,”
The duke, who must have already found the answer in my appearance, muttered gloomily with a cold sneer.
I couldn’t hear it clearly, but it sounded like he muttered curses toward Delos.
‘He must be angry because he was a step too late.’
As his demeanor grew more menacing, I instinctively shrank back.
At that moment, when I thought that the duke, filled with anger, was only going to kill me.
“Find the Empress!”
A hurried sound of footsteps and a voice searching for me echoed closer than before.
At the same moment, the duke grabbed my wrist and urgently spoke.
“We need to get out of here immediately. Follow me.”
“What—what are you doing…!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, the duke pulled me out of the room.
The whole process happened so quickly that I was left dazed and confused, stumbling after him.
“Let go of me! Where are we even going?!”
Despite my panicked cries, he continued to walk forward in silence.
As I was dragged along helplessly, I suddenly took in the surrounding scene.
Red stains splattered on the palace floor and walls, and fallen knights lay scattered everywhere.
The horrifying sight left me breathing heavily.
At that moment, the duke, who had been walking silently, spoke briefly.
“Once we get out of the palace, don’t look back and just run. Don’t even think about seeing that trash again.”
His voice carried a low, underlying anger.
“Why…?”
Realizing too late that he had come to save me, I could only repeatedly mutter “why” with my mouth agape.
‘But you hated me too.’
The image of him scowling and turning away whenever our eyes met in public was still vivid in my mind.
There were plenty of people in high society who mocked and slandered me as the puppet empress, but the duke’s cold gaze lingered in my memory longer than any of them.
‘Moreover, this man is one of the closest people to the Grand Duke.’
The one who instigated the rebellion was Delos’s brother, Grand Duke Axiph.
Duke Ballestain was known to be extremely close to the Grand Duke, and it was said that he was his only friend.
But judging from the duke’s urgent footsteps, it seemed that the Grand Duke was not aware of the duke’s actions.
We reached the hidden exit of the palace by running frantically.
“There she is! The empress!”
Soldiers lying in an ambush nearby suddenly revealed themselves.
It seemed the duke hadn’t anticipated this, as I could hear him muttering a curse under his breath.
At that moment, dozens of arrows rained down from above like a storm.
‘I’m going to die…!’
Faced with imminent death, I squeezed my eyes shut.
Thud.
Then, the sound of flesh being pierced rang clearly in my ears.
But no matter how much I waited, I didn’t feel any pain.
When I opened my trembling eyes, I was left speechless by the sight before me.
“Gasp…!”
The reason I didn’t feel any pain was that the duke had thrown himself in front of me, taking the arrows that had rained down.
The area around his forearm, where the arrows had struck, was rapidly turning purple.
If things continued like this, it was clear the duke would die within minutes.
“Y-You…”
I couldn’t bring myself to ask if he was okay.
His back had already been pierced by dozens of arrows, leaving no unscathed area.
“I’m fine, so don’t worry about me. I’ve prepared a carriage outside. A man named Roman will guide you. If you trust him, you’ll be able to escape the palace safely.”
He spoke to me, taking labored steps as he struggled to maintain his balance.
Though he said he was okay, his voice gradually grew fainter, making me uneasy.
I grabbed his hand tightly and said in a trembling voice,
“Let’s go together. If you don’t get treated quickly, you’ll die!”
His eyes widened in surprise at my words.
Then he let out a light chuckle and pulled something from his pocket, handing it to me.
“Don’t worry about me and go first. Keep this just in case.”
“What is this…?”
It was a crude-looking dagger.
“The one who sold this said that if you have it, your wishes will come true.”
The duke fiddled with the dagger, then chuckled softly as he muttered,
“Well, my wishes didn’t come true, but it’s quite a useful little thing, so keep it safe.”
As I stared blankly at the dagger he had given me, I suddenly heard a soft sigh from in front of me.
“When holding a sword, you should grip it like this to avoid straining your wrist. And… if you ever need to use it, aim for your opponent’s vital points.”
He personally corrected my grip on the dagger, pointing to his throat and solar plexus in turn.
“These two places are where you can inflict fatal wounds, so remember them. Do you understand?”
I barely moved my trembling head up and down.
