Chapter 1

Prologue

The man’s cold lips pressed against her fragile ankle, raw with open wounds. Roselyn’s body winced, tensing instinctively as the light touch lifted, only to settle back against her skin with a soft, persistent warmth. She could feel his damp tongue licking over her tender flesh.

“Ah…”

The harder she bit her lip to swallow her groans, the more provocative his kisses against her instep became. Sensation in her ankles had long been dead, yet the places his lips touched felt strangely, intensely alive. It was so cold that it burned, as if inflicting a searing scald upon her skin.

A peculiar heat flickered beneath her thin skin, spreading from the inner curve of her thighs up to her lower belly. The sensation made her toes curl inward. The man, who had been kissing her ruined ankle as if worshiping a holy relic, slowly raised his heavy eyelids to look at her.

Reflected within his crimson eyes—eyes bearing a heat as fierce as the blazing sun in the Amor sky—was her own reflection.

She remained silent, meeting his gaze while feigning a face devoid of all emotion. He stared back at her through narrowed eyes, then deliberately bit down on the inner flesh of her ankle. Roselyn bit the inside of her cheek just as hard, suppressing any sound that threatened to escape. The man’s red eyes observed her intently for a long moment before pulling away, immersing himself once more in his deliberate task.

Ah…

Only then did she allow herself to slowly exhale her ragged breath. Whenever his lips grazed her skin, she was forced to hold her breath like this. Here was a man who unceremoniously sucked at her scar-ridden ankles and kissed her knees; a man who cradled this useless leg—given to him as the price of a bargain—as if it were a sacred artifact.

Those hot lips, which constantly dripped with cruel words, grew exceptionally gentle only when kissing her like this. The tongue that spewed sharp retorts was no different. Every time she trembled at the cool, meticulously licking sensation, she forced herself to ignore the overwhelming rush of feelings. She had to hold her breath, maintain her blank expression, and pretend it was nothing.

Because she never wanted him to know just how fiercely he made her bite down on the inside of her lips.

His lips traveled up her thin shin, coming to rest on her shapely knee. Covering her sensitive skin with his ticklish breath, he asked, “Do you still feel nothing?”

“…As always, it is merely a useless leg.”

At her artificially composed words, the man chuckled against her skin, wet with his saliva. The delicate, lingering touch raised the fine hairs on her skin.

“Well, I suppose you gave it to me without hesitation precisely because it was useless.”

Roselyn offered no reply, staying quiet under his intense gaze.

“So never forget that the owner of this leg is not you, but me.”

The man murmured, continuing his relentless kisses against her thin ankle as if performing a sacred ritual. His low, heavy voice echoed softly through the darkness.

“Never forget.”

His eyes curved into a dangerous slant.

Once an enemy, once a foe, but now a man who coveted her.

He was looking up at her with a reverent, holy gaze. What was that burning emotion filling those dark red eyes? What was that hot, thick lump swallowing down his throat like a beast starved for days?

It felt as if she had witnessed something she should never have seen, as if her instincts were warning her against knowing what should remain unknown. Silently pushing away the strange tension fluttering in her stomach, she lowered her eyes.

Slowly, his lips moved up past her thin knees. His tongue slithered up to her thigh, dangerously licking her flesh before he licked his lips as if ready to devour her whole.

This man was a poisonous plant. Once she developed a taste for him, she would become addicted, losing her willpower and abandoning her purpose.

So… I must not let myself get swept away.

Upon her immobile leg, the man’s lips left behind a mark like a brand. It was just another day in the life of Aranrosia—a woman who was once the empress of a distant empire, but who had now cast aside her past name.

***

“Stop it now…” Natasha Roangti, the Emperor’s mistress, whispered softly into his ear. “Kill the Empress.”

Her voice was as warm as winter cotton, and the orange glow of her smiling eyes seemed as gentle as the fading afternoon light.

With a face so benevolent it seemed capable of loving all creation, Natasha whispered sweetly into the Emperor’s ear, “Kill her to bring about your prosperity, my poor Majesty.”

Her arms, smooth as white snakes, wrapped around the rigid shoulders of the Emperor. A pitiable Emperor, constantly thwarted by the authority of the Empress whenever he tried to exert his will.

“Use me, Natasha, Your Majesty.”

She whispered, gently caressing the Emperor’s shoulders, which were stiff with stubbornness and pride.

“I am your loyal servant. For the sake of your greatness, you may use me as much as you wish. My joy, my radiance… eliminate the Empress who torments your mind and build the foundation of your brilliant authority.”

Everything in this land belonged to Emperor Guilloti. Why, then, as the master of all things, could he not even dispose of the vast treasures piled in the vaults without the Empress’s approval!

The Emperor ground his teeth, glaring into the empty air as if the proud, lofty face of the Empress were etched into the black void. Natasha kissed his earlobe, whispering sweetly.

“Attach the Empress’s brother to me. In a few months, he will be framed as a villain who threatened and violated the Emperor’s mistress.”

A strange light flickered in the Emperor’s eyes.

“The Empress will try to save him. But the harder she tries, the more she will look like a pathetic woman blinded by jealousy, shielding her shameless brother.”

Her soft chuckle was innocent, yet the words it carried were utterly ruthless. The young Emperor kept his mouth shut, listening to her scheme without interruption.

Beneath his stiff eyebrows, his blazing eyes gleamed fiercely as if ready to tear through the darkness. The black desire coiled inside his heart slowly raised its head at the sound of her voice.

“Treasonous evidence will be found in her brother’s room. Someone on your side will claim that the Empress, jealous of beautiful Natasha and harboring hatred for Your Majesty, orchestrated the whole thing.”

Her whispering voice was so sweet… The Emperor closed his eyes, sinking deeper into her words.

“But before that… there is something Your Majesty must do.”

Her pale, warm hands with reddened fingertips stroked the Emperor’s angular jawline.

“You must cut off all her limbs. Eliminate everyone she loves.”

Though her gesture was light and airy, like cradling a baby, a faint sensuality dripped from her movements.

“However, the public must believe that those who tried to betray the Empress were killed by her own hand. Rumors are terrifying things; they can create monsters out of thin air.”

Natasha’s hand slid down his nape, over his shoulders, and crept beneath his half-open shirt.

“Her cherished maid, her closest confidants, the distant relative she shared a long friendship with, and even the brother she loves above all else…”

The hand groping the Emperor’s chest wandered down toward his hair-covered navel. The Emperor’s calm breathing grew increasingly ragged. Like an innocent young girl, Natasha rested her head against his chin, whispering in a lovely voice.

“Kill them all.”

Her soft touch hovered tease-like near his trousers, nearly touching him.

The Emperor’s wide eyes began to flush red.

“I will collapse during a grand banquet, clutching the Empress’s skirt. Poor Natasha, who was almost violated by her brother, will burst into tears, her white dress stained with blood. And right at that moment… my personal physician will shout.”

Could a mother’s voice singing a lullaby sound any sweeter than this?

“That inside Natasha’ womb rests a precious heir to the imperial family.”

In such a gentle voice, Natasha sang her scheme to pull down the Empress.

“When that happens, the Empress will become a filthy woman who tried to kill a royal child out of mere jealousy and for the sake of her beastly brother. Ah, how thrilling will that be, Your Majesty?”

Contrary to her innocent giggling, her movements were unabashedly lewd.

“Her confidants and her family will try to shield her. Right then…”

Slithering inside his trousers like a snake, her small hand reached unhesitatingly into his undergarments. As the Emperor bared his teeth, unable to conceal his arousal, she boldly gripped his hot, hardened length and whispered.

“Right then, you must draw your sword.”

Her voice, which had been playing with him so casually, quickened. Along with her voice, the hand stroking him accelerated its pace. Everything about her heightened the Emperor’s passion, like a soprano reaching the climax of an opera.

“So that the Empress cannot find a way to survive with that cunning mind of hers, spray red blood everywhere, plunging everything into chaos.”

Her actions as she pulled up her voluminous skirts were utterly shameless, yet her blushing pink face looking up at the Emperor was as shy and lovely as a girl suffering through her first love.

Without hesitation, Natasha unfastened her bodice. Her round, shapely bre*sts heaved as if to dazzle the man’s eyes.

Exposing them proudly before the Emperor’s greedy gaze, she smiled and raised her hips before driving herself down.

Pound! Pound!

Every time her rounded hips rose and came down with force, deep, simmering groans escaped through the Emperor’s clenched teeth.