0.Prologue 

The cold lips touch her thin, scarred ankle.

Her frightened body contracts spontaneously.

The lips that had fallen after lightly touching her thin ankle attach themselves softly again. She can feel the moist tongue sucking her skin in.

“Ugh….!”

The more she swallows a moan and bit her lip, the more arousing the kisses attacking her ankle becomes.

Her ankle is where the sensation was becoming numb.

But the touch of his lips feels strange. Is it because his lips are too cold or the wound on her ankle is too hot?



"…"

A strange burning sensation scorches beneath her pale skin. A tingling sensation rises up from the inside of her thighs, hot all the way down to her navel.

Her toes naturally contract.

After kissing her wounded ankle respectfully, he slowly lifts his eyes and stares at her. His red eyes, like the blazing sun in Amor's blue sky, trap her.

She looks at him with an expressionless face. She tries not to be caught as she bites the flesh inside her lips and swallows the moaning sound.

The man’s red eyes narrow as he observes her, and soon he drops his gaze and concentrates on the kissing again.

"Uh, it's…"

It’s only then that she finally let out a few labored breaths.

She always has to hold her breath like this when his lips touch her skin.

Licking her ankles and kissing her knees with impunity.

It’s strange of a man to embrace her useless leg like a holy grail of God, in exchange for a bargain.

The hot lips that always spew bad words become softer every time they kiss.

It’s the same for the sharp tongue that spat out sharp words.

The sharp kissing sensation slowly makes her shudder every time and she desperately ignores it.

She holds her breath and pretends to be unconcerned with her expressionless face.

Because she doesn’t want to let the man know how he makes her feel.

The man's lips rise up over her shins, and he covers her beautiful knees with his hot breath.

“You still can't feel anything?”

"…it’s just a useless leg, as it always has been."

The man laughs at her words, deliberately nonchalant.

His laughter touches her saliva-soaked skin. The delicacy and dignity of it make her feel a tingling sensation below her navel.

Surely, it’s a useless leg, and she gave it to him without a second thought.

"…"

That's why he’s the owner of this leg, not her.

The man who’s constantly kissing her thin ankles, as if performing some pious ritual, murmurs. A slow, weighted voice cries out quietly in the darkness.

“Never forget.”

His eyes bend with vigor.

He was her enemy at one time, but now he is the man who wants her.

He looks up at her with his pious, innocent eyes.

What is that thing that fills his dark, shimmering red eyes?

What is that hot thing that flicks under the thick collar like a starving animal for days?

It’s as if she saw something she shouldn't have.

Her instincts tell her she’s in danger, as if she knows something she shouldn't. She silently pushes away the strange tension that tickles her stomach and lowers her eyes.

Slowly, once again, the man's cold lips touch her leg. The moist tip of his tongue contained her ankle bone.

As if to claim his ownership, his hot lips rub against her skin again and again.

As if to regain his appetite, the man slightly bites her skin several times. It seems like she would be eaten by him at any moment.

This man is a poisonous plant.

If she got a taste of it, it would get her addicted, demotivate her, and make her lose her purpose.

‘Yes, I shouldn't get involved.’

The kissing marks of the man’s lips linger on her legs, which she cannot walk.

She used to be the Empress of a far away empire.

...But what’s happened just now is one of the days that Empress  Roselyn V. Sunset, who had abandoned the name of the past experience, ...

...chapter 1...

***

*The past*

“Please stop…”

The emperor's mistress, Natasha Roanti, whispered softly into the emperor's ear.

“Kill the Empress.”

Her voice was as warm as winter cotton, and her smiling green eyes were as green as the new sprouts of spring that had survived the winter.

Natasha, whose face was full of compassion as if she was full of love, whispered.

“Kill her and achieve prosperity. My poor Majesty.”

Her arms, which were as smooth as white snakes, hugged the emperor's stiff and rigid shoulders.

The poor emperor, who always failed to fulfill his desires because of the empress' authority.

“Please use Natasha, Your Majesty.”

She whispered, gently caressing the shoulders of the emperor, who was tightly united with persistence and arrogance.

“I am your faithful servant. You can use me as much as you like for your greatness. It is my pleasure, my splendor. Get rid of the Empress who worries you and lay the foundation for your glorious authority.”

Everything in this country, in this land, belonged to the Emperor Gillotti.

Why couldn’t the Lord of all things dispose of the wealth in the safe at will without the approval of the Empress?

The emperor clenched his teeth and stared into space.

He stared at the sky with his eyes strained sharply, as if the face of the lone empress was painted on that black void.

Natasha kissed the emperor's earlobe and whispered sweetly.

“Give me the Empress’s brother. In a few months, he will be an infidel who would blackmail and plunder the emperor's government.”

The emperor began to have a different look in his eyes.

“The Empress will try to save him. But the harder she tries, the more ugly she will become. She will be blinded by jealousy and clumsy by protecting her shameless brother.”

Haha. Her laughter was innocent, but her words were cold.

The young emperor with his tightly shut lips, listened to Natasha without a sound.

His eyes, glistening beneath his bristly hair, shone as they devoured the depths of the darkness.

The black desire that coiled around his heart slowly came to his head at the sound of Natasha’s voice.

“There will be evidence of treason in the chamber of the Empress’s brother. Someone on our side will say that the Empress is envious of the beautiful Natasha and hates His Majesty.”

Her whispering voice was so sweet………..

The emperor closed his eyes and became more and more addicted to Natasha's voice.

“But first…… I have a request for you, Your Majesty.”

Natasha’s warm, soft white hand with red fingertips stroked the Emperor's angular chin.

“You must cut off all her limbs. Get rid of the people she loves."

Even though it’s a light and refreshing gesture like caring for a baby, at the end of the act, there was a slightly tight grip.

“The empire must be made aware of the fact that they were killed for trying to betray the Empress. Rumors are so scary that they even create monsters that aren't there."

Natasha's hand slid down the emperor's neck, over his shoulders, and gently into his open shirt.

"The maidservants she cherishes, her entourage, distant relatives with whom she has shared a long friendship, and even the brother, whom she loves.”

Her hand that had been groping the emperor's chest roamed around his stomach.

The emperor's calm breath gradually became rough.

Natasha whispered in a lovely voice as she leaned her head against the emperor's shoulder like a little girl.

“Kill them all.”

Her gentle hand drifted over his pants playfully as if it wanted to enter.

The Emperor's eyes began to turn red.

“Natasha will fall down at the grand party, grabbing the Empress's dress. The poor Natasha, whom the Empress’s brother tried to take her innocence away, would cry out, blood staining the edge of her white dress. Just then, the doctor will start shouting…..”

Is the mother's voice singing a child's lullaby this gentle?

“There’s a precious imperial descendant in Natasha's belly.”

With that voice, Natasha continued telling her plot to draw out the Empress.

"Then the empress will become a filthy woman who tries to kill the Imperial Son for speculation, for her beastly brother. Oh, how refreshing, Your Majesty?"

Despite the innocent sound of her giggling voice, her hand was lewdly making its way into the emperor's pants little by little.

“Her entourage and her family will try to protect the Empress. Then….”

Natasha’s small hand didn’t hesitate to invade between the emperor's undergarments.

As the emperor’s manhood showed and he couldn’t hide his excitement, she whispered , clutching it, which rose inexorably hot.

“Just then, you will pull out the knife.”

Natasha's voice, which had been toying with the emperor without hesitation, quickened slightly. It raised the emperor's heart like a soprano towards the climax of a play.

"Spray red blood everywhere, so that the empress cannot find a way to survive with her cunning head."

Her flamboyant skirt was rolled up as far as it would go, and her actions were lewd to the extreme, but only her pink face as she gazed at the emperor was as shy and pretty as a girl who had not yet grown up.

Without hesitation, Natasha released the front of her shirt.

Her round and nicely shaped breasts distorted the emperor’s eyes.

She raised and lowered her hips with laughter as she proudly took them out in front of the greedy emperor.

Her round bottoms thrust up and down powerfully. An impatient moan came from the emperor's mouth.

“No matter how smart the empress is…. If all the people she needs to protect are dead, what will she do? Ahhh….She's, uh…To get rid of …… you have to get rid of her hands first."

Natasha rode the emperor like a horseman riding a horse. (*She is doing a cowgirl’s style…)



She grabbed him and shook him as she wished, moving her hips freely. The emperor was swayed by her as the pleasure took over.

"Your Majesty…………… You can do it. Right?”

Her breathing became ragged, and a hasty hand reached out toward her.

The emperor, who seized Natasha's slender waist, lifted her up and lowered her down vigorously just like she did a while ago.

There was no mercy in his hands as he struck with force. He slammed her hips down harshly.

Natasha closed her eyes and squeezed him with all her strength.

She didn't rest for a moment until he cried out in satisfaction.

"Natasha! Ahhhh…………!"

The suppressed moan of the emperor was always thrilling.

No one would have known how sweet it was to have the greatest power in the land in your control and hear him groan.

Natasha looked at the Emperor, smiling like a cat. Her eyes were buoyant and cloudy with heat.

“So, Your Majesty…"

Her face immediately flushed a delicious pink.

Then she saw the greedy eyes of the Emperor glaring at her as if devouring her. 

Natasha smiled happily and whispered.

“Please use me to get rid of that disgusting empress.”

It was the smile of a demoness leading the emperor to ruin.

***

The 17th empress of Tanatos, the kingdom of ice and gold, was a cripple.

She was not born that way but was the result of a noble sacrifice she had made in an attempt to save the emperor and his poor children.

Roselyn V. Sunset.

She was an iron-blooded empress with her glittering silver hair that looked as if it was made with moonlight and her elegant purple eyes.

Roselyn was considered the noblest, most beautiful, and most perfect empress in the history of Empire Tanatos.

No one could point fingers at her even if such an Empress limped one leg.

She was a genius strategist, a perfect diplomat who could fluently speak six languages, and a kind empress who established a national medical institution to take care of the poor. ṛᴀ𝐍𝐨ΒΕŠ

Despite the fact that she had only a few facial expressions compared to her beautiful appearance and her inability to enjoy a party, it did not change the fact that she was a great person worthy of respect.

The Empress's leg injury was a glorious achievement as the parent of this kingdom.

The people were busy exchanging mythical stories about her and praising the Empress.

"Great Empress who saved the emperor and her children! She is the pride of this country!”

The Empress's family, the Sunset family, had a high reputation for being exceptionally generous to the people.

Articles supporting the Empress and her family filled the daily newspapers on a daily basis.

It was a routine of the people to talk about the Empress every day.

Everyone loved Empress Roselyn, except for one person.

The Emperor.

"I heard that the Emperor locked Count Cainely in the underground prison last night!”

Roselyn walked silently down the dark corridor.

It was said that the Emperor caught her brother, and locked him in a dungeon.

The Emperor's Special Order of Knights prevented Roselyn from approaching and threw Count Cainely into the underground prison where the thugs were confined.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She worried about her brother. Roselyn bit her lip gently.

"The Emperor took Count Cainely last night…………!"

Screaming voices rushed into her ears like waves.

The Emperor.

Lord of the throne, the great Tanatos’s ruler, and her husband.

A foolish man blinded by greed and jealousy.

Roselyn walked silently down the cold corridor, thinking of the Emperor's fine face.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Different, unbalanced footsteps echoed sluggishly in the dark hallway.

Roselyn walked down the wide, empty hallway.

Despite the presence of the Empress’s maidservants, the only sound in the corridor was the sound of her footsteps.

Her footsteps were very unsteady but stubborn.

Unlike the rest of the people, the nobles pointed at the crippled Empress.

The Empress, who rarely laughed and knew no pleasures, was secretly mocked, saying that she had become a doll with a broken leg.

But to Roselyn, their taunts did not hurt her at all. It was only the emperor's incompetence and remorse that could gouge her wounds.

It had been a long time since they were a couple only in appearance.

She was not damaged by any love.

Her purpose in life was to rule this country, to lead those who trusted and followed her to safety and to achieve greater prosperity.

Protect her family, protect her people, and protect her country.

That was the goal and purpose of Roselyn V. Sunset.

But Gillotti Tanatos destroyed all of that.

This cold country she loved, the people who followed her, and even her family………..

‘Not yet…..'

Roselyn walked straighter, putting more strength into her thin neck.

‘I can't collapse yet.'

She lifted her blurry gaze straight up.

Her pale cheeks, her silver hair shining as smooth as a frozen lake, and her angry purple eyes, shone coldly as they reflected the moonlight.

Roselyn pulled her hair upwards as if to tighten the feeling that she was about to collapse.

It made her white face, which reflected the moonlight, unusually cold.

Tears welled up from the eyes of Countess Puglish, Roselyn's maid of honor, who was watching her back.

‘Oh, my poor Empress.’

Her poor Empress, who had lost everything she had worked so hard to build for the sake of an ugly emperor.

The Countess had been with Roselyn since she was a child, so she knew Roselyn's sacrifice better than anyone else.

Even when the previous emperor asked her to break her engagement to her planned fiancé and become the Crown Princess, Roselyn never rebelled.

Not once did she waver when the "vulgar ladies" tried to humiliate her, clinging to the emperor with innocent faces.

Even when she came back with one of her legs torn beyond repair due to the emperor's shortage, she never complained a single word, saying she just wanted to live.

Could it be that she was so upright that this terrible fate was trying to break her again and again?

Countess Puglish bowed her head, unable to look at the Empress's posterior, which reflected the moonlight.

Her heart, as a third party, was this heavy, so the Empress’s feelings must be heavy thousand times more. It was just that the Empress didn’t want to express it………..

Roselyn Sunset stood in front of the door, entering the grand banquet hall.

The faint sound of music coming from behind the closed doors mocked her.

It had only been a few hours ago that her brother was framed and taken to a dirty underground prison.

With such an order, the Emperor attended the banquet and sipped his tea without a care in the world.

"……. It's just the beginning.”

Roselyn took a deep breath. The harsh, bleak winds of winter pierced her lungs as she said her prayers.

It was the feel of the notorious winter wind of Tanatos. An empire of ice and gold imbued with fragments of God.

She had never been so glad to see the sharp coldness of this barren land.

She scoffed and raised her head straighter.

“……………….Your Majesty.”

Her maidservant, Countess Puglish, who was holding the doorknob, called out to Roselyn in a faint voice that seemed to disappear.

Their eyes tangled in the dark air.

She could see the beautiful brown eyes of her old friend, filled with sadness and anger, worry and grief.

They had been close friends since they were children.

Their parents were close friends, so it was only natural.

A dear friend who always reached out to her first and protected her, as Roselyn had been rational and blunt since she was a child.

The Countess was persuaded to come to Roselyn’s side without greed or ambition.

And now Roselyn regretted doing it.

“I brought you to such a desolate and frightening court and made you suffer, didn’t I?”

Roselyn smiled gently as she looked at Countess Puglish with pitiful eyes.

White moonlight slid down her pure white forehead and gentle nose.

“It's alright.”

"…"

“Can you please open the door?"

Staring into her best friend's shimmering eyes briefly, Roselyn raised her head and stared straight ahead.

She would not bend.

Even if her foolish husband, the emperor who should have been so noble, has turned his back on her family, with whom he shared the beginnings of this country.

She would never bow to cowardice and ignorance.

Roselyn slowly swallowed a sigh.

It was an unwanted marriage, but she tried to make it work.

It was foolish.

Throbbing.

The cold wind penetrated under her ankles, where one of her ankles couldn't feel anything anymore.

Feeling pain that should not be felt, Roselyn pulled herself together.

“I will accompany you, Your Majesty. To the end, Your Majesty. I will always be ……."

"Anna.”

Roselyn called her by the name she'd called Countess Puglish when she was a child. She smiled obliquely and shook her head.

Some accidents and illnesses had caused her entourage to leave her side.

Lady Charlotte, her beloved maid of honor; Count Thomson, her strong supporter in the palace; and Vice-Commander Cartren, her protector.

But everyone knew who stood behind those deaths, and who was responsible for them.

Anna was the last person left.

She couldn't afford to lose Anna, too. Anna was the only one who was …….

A tidal wave of misfortune swept over her. It was a misfortune fabricated by the most powerful authority and greedy desires.

She had endured well until now, but now her brother had fallen into the pit and everything had gone astray.

Roselyn clenched her fists and held on.

If she collapsed here, they would eat every last piece of Roselyn's bones like a swarm of starving locusts.

Dying was okay. But she didn’t want to fill them up with her flesh and bones.

"I'm sorry. Anna. I guess I didn't do a good job of preventing it. That's why I'm in trouble.”

"Your Majesty…….”

Roselyn smiled bitterly, feeling Tanatos's cold air once more.

“Don’t hesitate to leave. To the safest place far away….”

“Your Majesty!”

Countess Puglish raised her voice unknowingly with a pale face. Roselyn smiled and patted her cheek as she whispered.

"I've got everything you need in Noem's seaside residence just in case."

“Why do you say that? Why would I want to …………Your Majesty?"

Countess Puglish, Anna's voice trembled.

"Leave me….Rosie.”

In the end, Countess Puglish burst into tears.

Her voice trembled with the watery air as Roselyn called Anna’s childhood nickname. To Anna, at that moment, Roselyn was her childhood friend, not the Empress.

The Empress, who was actually standing at the center of this storm, smiled quietly, but why was she showing tears?

Anna bit her lip in grief.

“Rosie ……I haven’t heard this name in a while.”

“Just bear with me for a few days. Count Sorrento is also putting in a lot of effort. Are there one or two people who are on your side? Don't worry too much. The Sunset family won't collapse."

Roselyn replied with an ambiguous smile.

She looked at the closed door again. Countess Puglish also wiped her tears and put on a strong expression.

It was too early to be relieved, but there was nothing good about showing an agitated appearance.

It was something she had learned while guarding the Empress' side for a long time.

After a deep breath, Countess Puglish opened the tightly closed door.

"Here comes Her Majesty, the Empress!"

The music stopped as Viscount Hudson raised his voice to announce Roselyn’s arrival.

In the silence, Roselyn lifted her head and entered the banquet hall, not bothering to hide her unbalanced footsteps.

Tap. Tap.

In the midst of that glamorous party, a beastly scheme awaited her, baring its poisonous teeth at her…

She strengthened her right leg, which felt no sensation and walked straight into it.

****

“Look over there. The Empress is here."

At Ronasso's words, Tamon stopped looking at the snow that began to flutter from beyond the balcony.

The sturdy, massive body of a man who had served as a general slowly turned backwards.

His broad shoulders, in particular, twisted into a long shadow.

Tamon’s red eyes stared at the Empress, who appeared from afar with her gray hair dancing in the cold wind.

"She’s really here…”

Tamon chuckled.

“Didn't you see the message I sent?”

Surely, when has that woman ever acted in accordance with his expectations?

She was good at catching him off guard with her cold face.

Tamon leaned his back against the balcony railing where the white snow was falling and stared at the back of the woman as she walked across the banquet hall.

She seemed to be walking restlessly as she always did.

Every time he saw her, he thought……..

Her silver hair that was tightly rolled up, and the back of her neck that was clearly exposed, looked delicious.

If he were an animal, he had a desire to bite and break it at once.

Tamon's red eyes were blazing as he followed the Empress's back.

The emotions involved in the deep gaze were complicated.

He was too big to be cold, too young to be hot.

“Roselyn V. Sunset.”

Even her name that rolled on his tongue was a mixture of sharpness and sweetness.

The Empress of Tanatos, who was as good as an enemy, and the only woman bold enough to look Tamon straight in his red eyes.

Tamon Krasis was Amor's diplomatic general, who was on good terms with Tanatos.

Until just a few years ago, he was running around the battlefield under the title of General, and his vigor was distinctly different from the nobility.

His red eyes, which carried the stigma of having contact with the devil or being stained with too much blood from the enemy camp, also contributed to his threatening atmosphere.

No one wanted to make eye contact with him. But because of his beautiful appearance, the noble ladies were always mesmerized by his smile.

His red eyes, which glowed gorgeously when he smiled and were as beautiful as rubies, attracted people. 

It was all nonsense.

Neither did he  mix with demons nor bathe in blood.

It was just rumors created by fear, but Tamon let them make as much noise as they wanted.

The more the stories about him spread, the more advantage he had.

It didn’t matter if it was fear, mystery or admiration.

He could use anything if it was advantageous in the negotiations.

But that woman.

Only the Empress of Tanatos did not show any emotion or agitation towards him.

Rather, Tamon was tempted by her.

"It’s amazing. I think she's a woman made of ice at this point. What do you think? Do you think she's human?”

Ronasso Baschel, commander of the First Order of Barnes, who accompanied Tamon as a delegation said as he poked Tamon on the side.

He whispered happily about what he had heard as if he thought Tamon had never heard the rumors.

"The former emperor of Tanatos was so worried about his incompetent son becoming emperor that he offered a sculpted statue made of ice to be made into an empress? I think the rumor has credibility."

"Nonsense….”

As he said to himself, Tamon castigated Ronasso and brushed away his useless thoughts.

Sipping the red wine, he kept his eyes on the Empress of Tanatos as she approached the Emperor.

Just a month ago, she negotiated as if tightening his leash.

“I cannot allow it.”

“This is a win-win deal for both Amor and Tanatos. Don’t you always think of the Sniorans from the Katulan Islands as an eyesore? We will subdue them and prevent them from bothering you forever.”

“Give you the island in return for keeping the pirates at bay? If the island falls, Tanatos's territorial waters will shrink by about 3,000 meters. And did you think I didn't know that those three thousand meters include some of the waters in dispute with the Legar nation?”

“It's only 3,000 meters. Also, the disputed area claimed by the Legar is cleverly located away from there, so there is no need to worry about it. If you really worry, I will choose an island that is not part of the disputed area. Yeah, that Oyster stone island would do.”

At Tamon's words, the Empress stared at him and smiled softly.

"So that's what you wanted.”

Her smile made him flinch for a moment, but Tamon quickly turned to face her with an unconcerned look.

"What do you think………?"

"Amor's ship was wrecked near Guldor Island."

"…."

"It seems there was something covert aboard that crude ship."

She looked down with a painted smirk on her face.

Tamon knew that it was a habit that came out when the Empress of the enemy country deepened her thoughts.

It was the result of observing her for a very long time.

A competent negotiator must be aware of the opponent’s habits.

For example, she would bite her lips when she was upset, she would frown when she was bored, and she would lick her lips with her red tongue just before she cornered her opponents.

Whenever he saw that red tongue, Tamon felt his throat tighten in a strange way.

There were times when his blood boiled up and his body stiffened.

More than once, he crossed his legs, pretending to be unconcerned, because of the strong sensation below the waist.

‘Damn, my lewd body.’

“By the way, I'm sorry about the ship…” Tamon said.

The Empress smiled at Tamon, who didn't look the least bit sorry.

“The ship is …… already hauled away by my country.” Tamon said.