Prologue

The open-air temple of the Imperial Palace of Marcepon.

As Diane watched the wedding of Emperor Jacques and Catherine, she recalled the moment when she and Jacques were in love for a brief moment.

It was now all in the past.

As the wind blew, the white curtains that adorned the temple fluttered like flames, and the coveted flowers hanging from the pillars fell.

Now, the time for when a new Empress was to be born in Marcepon had come, although only if the vows of marriage were completed.

Catherine coughed up blood.

“Uh-huhhhh!”

It was poison.

Each time blood gushed from Catherine’s mouth, the murmurs of the guests grew and diminished.

Embarrassed, Jacques grabbed Catherine and laid her down, but an arrow that flew fiercely, as though its purpose was to end things, hit her heart.

Her white, delicate arms dropped to the floor, and the startled guests screamed and scattered all over the place.

“Catherine? Catherine!”

With Jacques’ roar, her guards advanced, but Catherine died with her eyes opened.

“No, no, no, no. Argh!”

Jacques, who was crying as he hugged her, shook her whole body and stared silently at Catherine’s eyes.

A final imprint.

It was clear that he was waiting for the final scene when the soul of the dead would be engraved into his eyes just before it left.

In the gloomy atmosphere, the people who remained in the temple only prayed that the final imprint would not be successful.

It was obvious what Jacques would do if they were blamed for the poisoning of Catherine.

After a while, Jacques checked the engraving and slowly raised his head.

At the place where the Jacques’ eyes, full of life, glared at,

There stood Diane Athenas, who had lost her beloved emperor to Catherine and had to give up her position as Empress.

★★★

One year later.

In Catherine’s wedding dress, Diane stood on top of the temple where Catherine took her last breath.

She looked up at the pouring rain from the dark sky and thought it was more suited for a funeral than for a wedding.

In order not to miss the interesting spectacle, guests were chattering here and there.

“Was Diane really the last person to imprint?”

“She must’ve. As soon as he saw her, Jacques ran like a mad dog! It was Diane’s father who stopped his sword. The Black Knight’s Knight Commander dared to strike back the Emperor’s sword!”

“Anyways, did Diane regain her position as Empress?”

“I don’t know! This marriage is nothing more than a declaration that the Emperor will take Diane by his side and take revenge.”

Either way, Diane’s mind was elsewhere.

Her father had not been seen since morning.

She knew how heartbroken he was, but her heart trembled at the thought of what other humiliation he would suffer for not attending the Emperor’s wedding.

Ultimately, the wedding took place without her father, and it was finally time to take the oath of marriage.

At the end of the vow Catherine could not finish, the moment Diane lifted her wine glass high into the air.

Crash!

An arrow from somewhere shattered her glass, and dark red stains spread across her pure white dress.

“Rebel attack!”

‘Rebel attack?’

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At the sound of the guard’s cry, the Black Knights came crashing into the temple, and to their surprise, Sir Pharaoh, Diane’s father, was at the forefront.

“Run away, Diane! Hurry!”

“Father!”

As the Emperor’s soldiers confronted the Black Knights, the wedding turned into chaos in an instant.

Her maid, Beatrice, pulled Diane away, who was frozen, while the surprised nobles fled.

“Empress! Calm down! Come this way! Come on!”

As she ran away, she looked back and saw that the sword was held high above Jacques’ head.

“No…!”

“Come on, Empress!”

Beatrice grabbed Diane’s arm as she escaped the horrific scene.

She was so frantic at the end of the run that when she barely came to her senses, she found herself inside her stable in the Second Palace.

Diane couldn’t even remember how she got there.

She was just waiting for Beatrice, who had left to see the situation, and slowly looked back on why today’s wedding turned out like this.

The Athenas family was Marcepon’s best knight family and had been in charge of the Black Knights for a thousand years.

The Black Knights were a corps of knights created by the alliance of the Marcepon Empire and the Three Kingdoms to fight the war against the demons a thousand years ago.

As it was a difficult task to deal with the demons, they continued their history with the strong support of the Three Kingdoms, and because of that, the Imperial family could not treat the Athenas family recklessly.

But after that day, everything changed.

On the day Catherine was poisoned, the last imprint in his eyes was Diane, and Jacques, thinking that she had killed Catherine, began revenge against Diane’s family.

Her mother was summoned to the Imperial Palace and suddenly died of a mysterious death, and her brother, who was a Black Knight, disappeared while scouting the Forest of Fog, and news had been cut off since then.

And as if that was not enough, he forced their marriage by citing the promise of the past.

Bang!

Suddenly, the door to the stable slammed open, and Jacques entered with an angry foot, holding onto Beatrice’s hair and dragging it.

“Beatrice!”

“Ahh- Empress…!”

Jacques pulled Beatrice’s hair one more time, held the dagger to her neck, and spoke softly.

“Say it.”

Terrified Beatrice opened her mouth as she wept.

“Ah, all the members of the Athenas family… They were beheaded for treason. Ah- the Black Knights who participated in the plot were also summarily executed. Ah. the Black Knights are now completely disbanded… ”

Jacques threw Beatrice at her and grabbed Diane by her chin.

“At the most, the only place you escaped to is inside the Imperial Palace. I want to behead you right now, but they say that if I execute the new bride, I will be cursed. I wish it had been before I recited the vow of marriage. You are lucky all the way, Diane.”

Jacques squeezed Diane’s jaw with force as if to crush her jawbone.

“It will make you realize how terrible the position you and your family had longed for is.”

Hot tears fell from Diane’s eyes as she stared at him.

“As of today, all the property of the Athenas family will be confiscated. You, the last member of that bloodline, will pay the price for your sins on behalf of your family in the future. The punished Empress. Aren’t you looking forward to it?”

“…I’d rather have you kill me now.”

Diane’s voice trembled with evil.

“I can’t do that. There’s something I need you to do for next year’s no-frills. Until then, please stay healthy and alive.”

After Jacques released her chin from his grip, the guards slammed their armor and followed behind him as he slid out of the stable.

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At that time, the sun rose over the entrance to the stable.

Diane’s life, on the other hand, was facing gloomy darkness.

***