Synopsis and Starting Chapter Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90 - Light And Shadow>
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112 - The Morning Comes>
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118 - After The Storm
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132 -
Chapter 133
Chapter 134 - Epilogue 1.3
Chapter 135 - Epilogue 2.1: Traces Of Life
Chapter 136
Chapter 137 - Epilogue 2.3
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140
Chapter 141 - Epilogue 4.1: Ever After>
Chapter 142 - Epilogue 4.2
Chapter 143 - Epilogue 4.3
Chapter 144 - Epilogue 5.1>
Chapter 145 - Epilogue 5.2
Chapter 146 - The Most Romantic Weekend>
Chapter 147 - Short Stories 1.2
Chapter 148 -
Chapter 149 -
Chapter 150 -
Chapter 151 -
Chapter 152 -
Chapter 153 -
Chapter 154 - Short Stories 3.1: Unexpected Things Happen>
Chapter 155 - Short Stories 3.2>
Chapter 156 -
Chapter 157 -
Chapter 158 -
Chapter 159 -
Chapter 160 -
Chapter 161 - Short Stories 5.1: The Man Behind The Mask>
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
Chapter 164 -
Chapter 165 -
Chapter 166
Chapter 167 - Short Stories 6.2
Chapter 168 - Short Stories 6.3
Chapter 169
Chapter 170
Chapter 171
Chapter 172
Chapter 173
Chapter 174
Chapter 175
Chapter 176
Chapter 177
Chapter 178
Chapter 179
Chapter 180
Chapter 181
Chapter 182
Chapter 183
Chapter 184
Chapter 185
Chapter 186
Chapter 187
Chapter 188
Chapter 189 (End)
Categories Genre: All, Completed, Fantasy Status: Completed ______
Total Chapters in book: 189
Estimated words: 290059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1450(@200wpm)___ 1160(@250wpm)___ 967(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 290059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1450(@200wpm)___ 1160(@250wpm)___ 967(@300wpm)
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LIST OF LAST 10 CHAPTERS:
Page No. 189 Page No. 188 Page No. 187 Page No. 186 Page No. 185 Page No. 184 Page No. 183 Page No. 182 Page No. 181 Page No. 180 Page No. 179 Chapter 169
Chapter 169:
Roberto said to Amarince with his sweetest voice, “You get it, right? You are my accomplice. If this gets discovered, you will be punished alongside me, so you better keep your mouth shut.”
Amarince couldn’t deny the logic. All she could do at the time was to return home in the intricate outfit.
Roberto became suspicious.
“You want to keep the costume?”
Amarince replied calmly, “If you take this… Then how can I trust you not to use this against me? I can’t trust you, so please let me at least be the one who destroys it. I will burn everything right away. I don’t want to be executed for treason. My alibi will be that I returned home immediately after my performance. I didn’t see or hear anything.”
Roberto smiled in satisfaction. He kissed her forehead and dropped her off at her home.
“What should… What should I do… What can I do to make this right…?”
Amarince remembered the first time she saw the empress.
The first time Amarince performed at the castle, the empress looked like a little girl because she was so excited. Empress Sa Bina looked at her like she was her hero. The empress applauded for her.
However, she didn’t deserve it. Amarince was useless and weak, and she was the culprit who was causing the empress so much grief.
Those pure and kind black eyes.
How could she call herself an operetta prima donna if she treated her biggest fan in this horrible way?
“…”
She started to calm down after long contemplation. Her body finally stopped trembling as the sun started to set.
Amarince took the black wig and stood up. Her eyes looked determined.
***
Roberto was satisfied with how everything was going. On the last day of the celebration, his cousin Yulia will be dancing the first dance with the emperor.
If an unmarried woman appeared by the emperor’s side at an official event, the emperor had no choice but to marry her. Yulia would become, at the very least, his concubine.
“As you hoped, you will finally get your own puppet in the royal family, mother.”
Yulia was still resisting the idea, but once she was placed in the ballroom, she would have no choice but to do whatever was asked of her. His mother had already told her that this was what the emperor and the empress wanted.
Yulia had to do it if the emperor asked, unless she wanted to ruin the whole event.
Now, the only problem left for Norma and Roberto was one person.
“Empress Sa Bina.”
Duchess Lonensia’s spies had given her the news about the empress. Apparently, her carriage arrived at Maram. The spies saw a black-haired woman and a black-haired child walk into the Maram castle.
Roberto sighed in relief. If the empress came back before the last day, this entire plan would be ruined.
Not even he predicted that the empress would leave the castle like this. He hadn’t realized this would work so well.
He thought the empress would feel hurt from the emperor’s misunderstanding, but nothing more. From what Roberto saw, he expected Empress Sa Bina to be the type of woman who became angry and tried to fight for her innocence rather than become upset and run away.
He guessed that it didn’t really matter. Perhaps he misjudged her. It was actually better that she felt hurt. It would benefit him with his plan.
He poured himself a glass of wine to celebrate. The white wine smelled sweet.
“Hmm. Not bad.”
Roberto loved women who had emotional scars. Those women in pain were desperate. They were like fragile flowers with the deepest fragrance. He loved the feeling of them in his hand as he crushed them slowly.
This time, he was aiming for the most precious flower in the kingdom.
He remembered Empress Sa Bina. Her rare black hair looked like a piece of the night sky. Her smart black eyes reminded him of ripe grapes. Her unique skin looked smooth and soft.
He had only seen her a few times, but he found her very interesting. He had never seen a woman who was so lively and confident. He felt attracted to her.
Most women he met were obedient and dutiful. They grew up to be a good daughter, a submissive wife, and a selfless mother. Their lives were centered around their fathers, husbands, then their children. When these figures were taken away from them, they felt deep sadness and looked for another person they could depend on.
Roberto was curious because Empress Sa Bina seemed different. Even if she lost her husband and her child, she seemed like she would survive the loss and continue to live her own life.
He had never met such an independent woman, and he wondered how she would react when she lost her loved ones.
Soon, he would find out.
After Emperor Lucretius dances the first dance with Yulia and take her as his wife, it would be too late for the empress to do anything. How would she react when she finds out another woman took her husband in her absence? How would she feel?
He felt so curious that he wanted to run to Maram and ask her. When she returned to the castle, he would do whatever it took to meet her in person.
He knew what he would do. He had successfully seduced many women who were in emotional distress. When he failed to seduce them, he managed to take them by force. The noble ladies couldn’t afford to be tainted by scandals, so they always didn’t do anything about it no matter what he did to them.
Only those women who didn’t have anything to lose made a big deal. Whenever he seduced low-born women, they would become angry the next day at his casual attitude. Thankfully, his mother took care of them. He was the son of Duke Lonensia after all.
“I wonder what kind of face her highness has when she is in bed.”
He smirked and emptied his glass. He imagined she would look lovely with her long black hair spread on the bed.
***
The castle was filled with uncomfortable tension.
The empress who suddenly left and the emperor who didn’t follow after her.
The celebration continued according to plan, but everyone could feel the emperor’s anger. They stayed low to avoid his wrath.
People realized what kind of influence the empress had been having on the emperor and the castle. Those who have known Lucretius since he was young knew how cruel and cold he could be.
After Bina became his wife, Lucretius, the ice cold emperor, started to melt. By the time the princess was born, the emperor was still cold but with a very warm side to him.
Now, with the empress gone, the winter was back.
Finally, today was the last day of the celebration.
Many things would be decided tonight.
Total Chapters in book: 189
Estimated words: 290059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1450(@200wpm)___ 1160(@250wpm)___ 967(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 290059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1450(@200wpm)___ 1160(@250wpm)___ 967(@300wpm)
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