Chapter 3

After confirming that her pulse stopped beating, Gaius turned towards the door without a single trace of regret.

Her beloved knight who possess strong features; the dark hair that seemed rough at the first glance, the golden eyes that once only filled with her, and the low-pitched voice that was sweetly wrapped around her ears.

Everything about their world together and Ellenia was left behind.

———

Hiding behind the fireplace in the corner of the room, the golden-haired girl,  bit her lips until it seeped blood. The tears kept flowing down but she couldn’t close her eyes at all.

Apollonia, whose body was frozen in fear, couldn’t even reach the body of her dead mother even after her father left. But the last words that her mother murmured stuck in her mind as if she had shouted them loudly into her ears.

“Survive….Emperor..”

To survive. To become an emperor.

Those two wills were imprinted deeply into Apollonia’s soul.

——-

7 years later.

“Say hello.”

The 16 years old Apollonia who was called to the banquet hall, followed after Paris and exchanged greetings with 5 women who seemed to be a few years older than her.

“From now on they’ll be staying here as a concubine, so be polite.”

Seven years ago, when Pascal III and his daughter Ellenia died from unknown causes on the same day, Gaius Liefer cried in grief and refused any food or drink.

On one side, people around him were worried about his health, on the other side, people talked about how harmonious the imperial couple was.

“I heard they fatefully met in the Leifer estate.”

“They fell in love at first sight, but to avoid the emperor’s wrath, they secretly made love. Eventually, they come back after giving birth to His Highness Paris. Such a romantic story.”

“You were uselessly worried. His Majesty cared about the prince consort (Gaius).”

“Even more worrisome, if the emperor and the princess were gone at once…what would happen to the prince consort and his highness Paris…”

The Emperor eventually accepted Gaius, whom her daughter loved as if he was his own son. Gaius, who was originally an ordinary head of a family, became a strong general and built countless military works. They built such a harmonious family together, and their happiness lasted until The Emperor and The Princess died from a mysterious disease.

“My god, you’ve been crying non-stop without having a single meal for days!”

People sympathized with Gaius who adhered himself in black clothes while crying out Ellenia’s name. The sight of a strong soldier with beautiful and soft golden eyes, who was breaking down in the name of love was enough to win over people’s hearts.

However, things became a little strange after the funeral was over.

“As the only adult left in the imperial family, I will protect the empire.”

At the end of the funeral, Gaius himself ascended to the throne because his children were still young. It was only a temporary position and so far no one thought that it was strange. It was true that there was no other alternative until the imperial heir grew up.

However, Gaius quickly recovered from his grief and built the empire. Soon he built his own imperial palace and occupied the key positions. Seven years later, when the emperor’s main office was filled with only his aides, he took a surprising step.

“The seat next to the emperor cannot be empty.”

It was the concubine.

The Samara Kingdom basically upheld monogamy, but only the emperor could take a concubine, as to advance the relations with various kingdoms through marriage formed for political negotiation. However, the temporary emperor who wasn’t an imperial descendant was completely unrelated to these political principles. Who can imagine that the princess’s husband would ascend to the throne and take other women with him?

But Gaius was different. He didn’t care about the opposition from the ministers and took five concubines at once. He proudly invited them to the palace and gave them an enormous amount of dresses, golds, and jewelry.

“How can the emperor who did not inherit the imperial’s bloodline take a concubine?”

“How can you say that the concubine who came to the palace is now a member of the imperial family?”