Within her dark and damp prison, Alexandra closed her eyes and reminisced on the past.

She recalled the day she married her husband, the first night she spent with him, the day her parents past away, and the day her husband became the emperor and the day that she became the empress, and...

"Seize the Empress and put her into prison!"

The day her husband cast her into jail.

Alexandra opened her eyes. She stared blankly into the air then suddenly started to laugh like a maniac.

"Hahahahaha!"

There was no way that anyone wouldn't call her insane after seeing her locked in a prison cell alone. However, even if someone did call her insane, Alexandra continued to laugh and did not stop. All she could do was laugh. That was the only way she could forget she was trapped in Hell, even for just a little bit.

Clank.

The cell door opened along with the sound of chains, and Alexandra’s laughter subsided. Armored guards approached her shackled form. Her expression void of emotion, Alexandra looked up at them with a crooked upturn of her lips.

“Oh my. Is it time already?”

“…Drag out the deposed empress.”

With those orders, the guards moved as one. They seized her arms and dragged her out of her cell. It wasn’t how an empress should have been treated, but neither the guards nor Alexandra were concerned about that.

Alexandra came out of the prison with dull eyes, eyes that were blinded by the sudden sunlight as soon as she was outside. She squeezed them shut as she quietly walked.

A good amount of time had passed before she opened them again. And the first thing that came into view was…

‘Ah…’

The gallows. Though she was expecting this, the sight of it made her feel worse. Alexandra steeled her face into a blank state as she walked towards the gallows, ignoring the whispers of the people who came to watch.

“Apparently that woman cursed the emperor…”

“She was blinded by jealousy that she begged for His Majesty to be killed!”

“My goodness, does she not fear the Heavens? How could she do that to the Sun of the Empire…”

The sun. The sun, they say.

In the end, Alexandra laughed coolly and let it go. The man they referred to as the ‘Sun’ was the man whose existence was like the Sun to her as well. The Sun that she was to dedicate her entire life serving. A unique existence that offered everything to her.

But now?

“Lead the deposed empress to the guillotine.”

He was a stone-hearted being that sat on a cold, golden throne and ordered for her execution. A hypocritical bastard that wanted her dead. She gritted her teeth. As soon as she heard his voice, it felt like a pit of fire was rising in her heart.

It was an uncontrollable rage. A rage that seemed to consume her entire being.

“Any last words?” the Emperor asked, as if trying to show her some last-minute mercy.

Hearing the question forced a laugh out of Alexandra. ‘Any last words?’ Of course…

“I detest you,” she murmured with a furious expression. For a moment, the air around the guillotine turned cold.

“I detest you, Emperor.”

“…”

The Emperor listened wordlessly as Alexandra glared at him with bloodshot eyes. If she were to die, then she was going to say what she wanted to say before she went down. That way, she could somewhat die in peace.

“Regardless of whether I’m alive or dead! Even if my physical being is torn into two! Even in my next lifetime!”

Alexandra spat out her curses.

“I will always detest you. I will make sure that you pay for your sins!”

“Is that all you have to say?”

“…You.” Alexandra’s tone suddenly changed, and her voice trembled. “Do you not have anything to say to me?”

“…”

“Not even one word?”

“…Send the deposed empress to the guillotine.”

“Ha!”

Alexandra lay beneath the blade with a futile expression. It seemed that she had exhausted all of her energy. With the last ounce of strength she had left, she raised her head and looked at the man whom she loved so much.

‘Did the person I loved really have a face like that?’

Alexandra smiled as tears welled up in her eyes. How foolish she was to leave everything she had for this cold-hearted, cunning man, only for her to die at his hands like this.

If… If I was given one more chance, then I…

“Begin the execution.”

…will become Empress once again.

She would become the most noble woman in this empire so that all the humiliation, tears and suffering she experienced could be turned to him. She would watch him fall to his lowest state as the person closest to him and mock him for it. She would make him understand what it was like to be betrayed by the person one loved the most, the person whom you were closest to.

There was a snap as the blade was released from its position, and with a grim sound, Alexandra was decapitated. While the people who gathered for the execution all turned their heads away from the gruesome scene, only the Emperor watched it intently from start to finish. He then gave a low order to the person behind him.

“Though she committed a grave sin, she was once the empress of this kingdom… Make sure she has a proper funeral.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Finished with his orders, the Emperor stood from his throne. The peculiar expression he wore as he walked away from the execution grounds was neither joyous nor sad. With an unreadable expression that told nothing about his thoughts, he disappeared from sight.

The only thing left behind was the face of hatred etched on the decapitated head and the people that looked upon it.

The day when Alexandra’s life began to fall into ruins was the day she got married to Cleo Guillaumin von Reyes.

In order to make Cleo—the third son of the incumbent-emperor and the man she loved—the heir to the throne, Alexandra did anything and everything she could. She never hesitated to stain her hands with blood, nor did she hesitate to cast aside her morals and conscience.

Even her parents, Marquis and Marchioness Zychlin, acted as Cleo’s scapegoats when he was charged for treason, and they were executed in his stead. Alexandra never required that from her parents, of course, but they sacrificed themselves for the sake of their one-and-only daughter’s bright future.

If they knew that their daughter would meet such a tragic demise, they would never have gone so far.

In any case, Cleo was able to safely ascend to the throne despite his position as the third-born imperial prince, thanks to the sacrifices of his wife and her parents. In a story like this, the husband would normally love his wife dearly, and properly repay the grace and kindness she gave to him in full.

In truth, everyone expected that. They expected the Emperor to be completely enamored by his loving, faithful Empress. They thought he would love and cherish her, and that the two of them would live happily ever after as the main characters of a fairy tale.

But when Cleo became emperor, he followed down a path no one anticipated. He not only looked at his wife, but looked upon other women as well. Each night he brought a new lover to his bed, and his attentions never lasted on a woman longer than three days. On top of that, not once had his “partner” been the Empress.

As the nights grew in number, Alexandra’s life was no different from that of a woman separated from her husband. There was no glory waiting for her upon making her husband the emperor. All she received was the empress’ crown for the sake of appearances, and her husband’s betrayal. Only loneliness accompanied her during the cold, long nights when she gritted her teeth at the injustice.

Those were already horrible in and of themselves, but that wasn’t the worst of it. No, the real problem revealed itself when a sly and cunning woman caught the Emperor’s interest.

The woman’s name was Rowena. The daughter of a fallen noble, she won the Emperor’s love with her beautiful looks and her deliberately innocent act. When she received the Emperor’s favor, she was given a new castle called Segolene, and even the noble title of marchioness. Rowena was now of the same rank as Alexandra’s parents.

As the situation began to spiral out of control, Alexandra’s mental state started to slip. Her parents already sacrificed their lives for her husband. She offered her youth and dedication, but her husband never acknowledged her love, and threw her away for another woman as soon as he became emperor. It would have been stranger if Alexandra didn’t lose her mind after everything she went through.

Her mentality frayed, Alexandra needed something else to depend on. That was when a swindler who disguised herself as a magus approached her. Alexandra’s good judgment had deteriorated along with her physical and emotional strength, and she fell for the swindler’s bait. Alexandra tried to use the talisman given to her by the so-called magus to gain the Emperor’s favor.

However, when the people found out about her plan, they mistook the talisman as a means of planting a curse upon her husband. Alexandra was charged with using black magic on the Emperor, and was stripped of her imperial title before being thrown into prison.

No matter how much she cried out that this was unfair, no one would listen to her. What was worse, the swindler lied and testified that the talisman was made for cursing the Emperor. In truth, Rowena sent that magus to trick Alexandra, but Alexandra did not know that. She may have been able to figure it out if she were more sane, but with everything that happened to her, she had long since lost her sense of judgment.

And that was how the life of Alexandra, a young woman of twenty-six, ended. However, perhaps it was because of the empty wish she made in her last moments that…

“…Ah.”

Alexandra opened her eyes with a short groan. Her mind felt like it was stuffed with cotton.

‘What’s going on?’

As she tried to take stock of her situation, a voice called out to her.

“…Lady Alexandra!”

That loud, sharp voice woke Alexandra up from her sleep. Startled, she snapped her eyes wide open, and her vision cleared.

“Who—” she mumbled groggily.

“Lady Alexandra, did you doze off? Goodness, how could you sleep on such an important day!” a woman’s voice chided.

That voice was familiar. Alexandra blinked twice to see who was speaking to her so loudly.

“…Penny?” she said in a dumbfounded voice.

“Yes, it’s Penelope. Lady Xandra, did you doze off?” the woman named Penelope said.

“Why are you here?” Alexandra asked.

Not long after Alexandra became queen, Penelope was killed by a castle burglar. So how was she here…? Alexandra blinked twice again, struggling to understand her surroundings.

“What do you mean by why am I here?! Of course I would be here. I am your lady-in-waiting, My Lady,” Penelope said in an exasperated tone.

“But you…”

Should be dead.

The second half of that sentence remained unspoken.

Maybe this is the afterlife? Am I dead?

Alexandra looked forlornly at Penelope. But why…why did Penelope look much younger than when she died?

“Penny, how old are you?” Alexandra asked.

“Goodness me, My Lady. What’s going on with you?” With an incredulous expression, Penelope answered. “I am eighteen years old! You even arranged my coming-of-age ceremony just two months ago.”

“…What?”

Upon hearing those words, Alexandra felt as if she’d been splashed with the cold water of reality.