TNCM~01

Chapter 1

“Why? Has Your Noble Majesty, the Empress Consort, only now realized how dreadful it was to share a bed with me?”

It was a time before dawn had fully broken. The man’s voice—colder than the biting chill of the early morning air—was sharp enough to freeze the listener’s heart.

Barely covered by a thin blanket that precariously concealed his body, the man exuded a captivating presence. He was Kaian, the Emperor of the Lecanto Empire.

Even in the bluish pre-dawn light, his brilliant golden hair and blazing crimson eyes asserted their colors vividly. It was as though the sun, not yet risen outside the window, had already risen upon the bed.

“What is going on here?”

“You ask as if you truly don’t know.”

Estelle genuinely could not comprehend the situation.

When she remained silent, Kaian’s gaze sharpened. The corner of his lips curled crookedly upward—a clear sign of displeasure.

“You begged me all night to hold you. And now that it’s over, the Empress Consort treats her own husband like an intruder.”

“…?”

Kaian looked at Estelle with cold eyes, as if he found her utterly detestable.

“I’ll be leaving now.”

Leaving only those chilly words behind, Kaian walked out of Estelle’s bedroom.

“Ha…”

Left alone, Estelle looked around with a confused expression.

The bed, the couch, the mirror, the table—everything was familiar. Exactly as it had been, buried deep in the farthest corner of her memories.

‘This is the imperial palace of the Lecanto Empire… the very room I used in my first life.’

Estelle sat weakly on the bed as she organized her thoughts.

She carried a secret that could never be spoken aloud.

She had lived two entirely different lives.

Her first life had been as the Empress Consort of the Lecanto Empire.

Her second had been in 21st-century South Korea, where she was the promising CEO of a trading startup.

‘I definitely went to a buyer meeting…’

Her last memory was the horrifying moment she was caught in a traffic accident.

No matter how miraculous the circumstances, surviving something that catastrophic would have been nearly impossible.

‘Then… does that mean I died in Korea and returned to the Empire again?’

It did not take long for her to reach a conclusion.

If this had been the first time such a thing had happened, she would have dismissed the idea as impossible. But she had already experienced reincarnation once before. She could not simply deny it.

Before she could fully process her complicated emotions, a familiar scent brushed past her nose.

The bedding where Kaian had been lying moments ago still carried his scent. That sensual fragrance awakened old memories, making the wounds in her heart twist painfully.

‘Get a hold of yourself. If time ever turned back… you swore you would never love him again.’

Estelle tried to steady her heart.

But he was still a dangerously attractive man.

Unfortunately.

Estelle had been a perfect Empress Consort.

From a young age she had mastered numerous disciplines, including imperial studies. Her knowledge rivaled that of past emperors and far exceeded what was expected of a typical noblewoman of the imperial family.

She also possessed extraordinary political instincts and insight.

Furthermore, her family—the Grand Ducal House of Astria—was the most prestigious noble house in the Empire. Her lineage was flawless as the emperor’s consort.

And Kaian, who had become the youngest Swordmaster on the continent at only eighteen, was the most gifted emperor in both civil and military affairs in the history of the Empire.

Though he had once been merely the Second Prince born of a low-born concubine, no one dared bring up that past anymore. His imperial authority had become far too powerful.

Thanks to him, the Lecanto Empire stood at the threshold of a golden age.

However—

For the two of them, it had been nothing but a long and bitter ill-fated relationship.

Everyone knew that the Emperor hated Empress Consort Estelle.

After all, the fact that Estelle—once destined to become Empress—had suddenly been demoted to Empress Consort while Christine, from the declining House of Count Joan, was installed as Empress said everything.

“I heard Empress Christine has never even managed a single ledger in the count’s household.”

“So all the imperial duties are handled by Empress Consort Estelle instead.”

It was a strange and unprecedented situation where the roles of Empress and Empress Consort seemed reversed.

Yet the Emperor merely ignored the humiliation Estelle endured.

Of course, their relationship had not been this twisted from the beginning.

When they were children, they had been inseparable friends of the same age.

“Estelle, I’ll become Emperor for you. Right now I’m only the Second Prince, but if you’re with me, I feel like I could accomplish anything in the world. I’ll build an Empire where you can achieve your dream—becoming the first Grand Duchess.”

Their bond had once been strong enough for them to promise such a secret future.

Kaian’s mother, Serena, the Late Imperial Consort, had cherished Estelle as though she were her own daughter.

But peace could never last forever.

The year Estelle and Kaian turned sixteen, the Shawenan Lake Incident, in which Serena was accused of treason and executed, divided their fates forever.

At the time, an assassin who had attempted to kill the reigning emperor, Carlos, had been discovered hiding by Shawenan Lake behind the imperial palace.

By coincidence, Serena had been there at that very moment.

Every piece of evidence—including the assassin’s testimony—pointed to Serena as the mastermind.

However, the real culprit who framed her was Estelle’s father, the Grand Duke of Astria.

The Empress at the time was his own sister. When she finally gave birth to a son after fifteen years of marriage, the Duke began moving to eliminate other princes who could threaten the line of succession.

Serena had been the emperor’s most beloved consort, yet she had little political backing—making her the perfect first target.

Kaian knew this.

Worse still, the one who had arranged to meet Serena for a picnic at Shawenan Lake that day was Estelle.

Kaian believed Estelle had lured his mother there according to her family’s plan.

From that moment on, the way he looked at Estelle became as cold as winter frost.

“Was this your plan from the very beginning? Seven whole years… just to eliminate my mother and me!”

“No, Ian! That wasn’t my intention!”

“You must have found it amusing. Whispering dreams of a future to me while secretly plotting to kill me and my mother.”

Kaian never trusted Estelle again.

But it was all a misunderstanding.

Estelle was innocent.

She too had been used by her father, the Grand Duke of Astria.

She had never told anyone about the picnic plans—not even her own family.

In the imperial palace there was a saying that even the walls had the Grand Duke’s ears.

Someone among his hidden agents must have been within Serena’s residence as well.

Only after the incident did Estelle realize the truth.

Her father—who had always despised Serena for being a mere former dancer—had allowed Estelle to visit her palace only because he had been preparing this trap all along.

The entire Empire praised Estelle as the treasured jewel of the illustrious Astria family.

But the reality was different.

The Duke exploited her brilliant intellect and insight as if they were his own, yet whenever he was displeased, he abused her.

“You useless girl who can’t even carry on the family line! Do you know what kind of child Regulus was? And you dare destroy the thousand-year legacy of Astria!”

He believed that Regulus, the Duke’s son who had died at the age of eight, had lost his life force because of his twin sister, Estelle.

Since birth she had been treated like an unwanted child.

At first, Estelle believed everything was her fault.

She hoped that if she worked hard enough, her father would love her someday. That was why she devoted all her abilities to fulfilling his expectations.

But instead of praise, the abuse only worsened.

“Oh, Estelle. Regulus’s death wasn’t your fault. Why would you think such a thing? You must have suffered greatly.”

The one who rescued Estelle from years of guilt and despair was Serena, the Late Imperial Consort.

Only then was Estelle finally able to resent her father.

So there was no reason for her to betray Serena—the woman who had taught her love for the first time—just to help such a father.

Yet the Duke wore the mask of a perfect, doting father in public.

No one knew the truth.

Not even Kaian.

“Lady of Astria. The cunning lust for power flowing in your blood is utterly disgusting.”

In the end, Kaian and Estelle became worse than strangers.

And yet—

Estelle still loved him.

After Serena’s execution, Kaian could not escape punishment as the son of a traitor.

The former emperor exiled him to Pecator, a cold, barren island overrun with monsters.

It was infamous as a cursed island.

Everyone believed Kaian would die there.

Everyone—

Except Estelle.

She believed he would return.

Avoiding the Grand Duke’s watchful eyes, she secretly began building her own hidden power.

Having managed the household of the Astria family from a young age after her mother’s death, securing independent funds was not difficult for her.

With sufficient capital, combined with Estelle’s brilliant judgment and political sense, her influence grew rapidly.

In just one year, it had become the largest and most secret underground guild in the imperial capital.