The Kidnapped Marriage of the Empress Who Turned Back Time.

 [Episode 4 ]

***
Every time Eliano received a report that a woman had entered the emperor’s bedchamber, her spirits plummeted.

To the empress, who was downcast all day, an elderly noblewoman dared to offer advice despite the risk of rudeness. It was possible only because the noblewoman held a high status and was on close terms with Eliano.

“Your Majesty the Empress, regard him as the emperor, not as your husband.”

But Eliano could not do that. To her, before he was the emperor, he was her husband. At least, that’s how it had been for her.

And surely, it must be the same for Marcel.

At least, she wanted to believe so.

But that hope was shattered in an instant.

Marcel, who came to her late at night, tore Eliano’s heart to pieces.

“Lia. I am the Emperor, and you are the Empress. We’re no longer at a point in life to play silly love games.”

Eliano had believed that if she fulfilled her role as empress well, her husband’s love would last forever.

Even if it wasn’t as passionate as it was in the beginning, she thought their love wouldn’t end. But when she came to her senses, it seemed that love had already cooled to the point where not even embers remained.

This realization made Eliano feel wretched and miserable.

‘Would it have been a little less miserable if I had remained ignorant like before?’

She thought that perhaps it had been better during the time when her life was mortgaged to her father, when she knew nothing. That’s how deeply cornered Eliano felt.

“Since Her Majesty the Empress cannot bear a child, wouldn’t it be wise for His Majesty to take more wives for the sake of an heir? My daughter will enter the palace as a concubine in a month, and she will serve you both well.”

While Eliano’s heart was withering away, the emperor’s consorts continued to increase.

Once all five positions of consorts were filled, new wives were brought in under different titles.

With so many women around the emperor, the daily intrigue among the concubines grew fiercer. The positions of the consorts, once filled, often became vacant again through death.

They fought fiercely, not for love, but for survival.

The only difference between Eliano and those women was that she loved not the emperor, but her husband.

But love did nothing to help her survive.

Now, in order to survive, Eliano had to break apart the love she had cherished so dearly in her heart.

“I’ve decided to fill the position of the deceased third consort. The daughter of Count Jonas from the border will enter the palace. She’s still young, so please take good care of her, Lia.”

It was her husband, the emperor, who crushed that love as well.

“She’s the third consort. Even if she was too unwell to attend some prayer meeting, how could you punish her so harshly?”

The emperor, storming into the empress’s palace at the crack of dawn, scolded her loudly.

“Was it really such a harsh punishment to have her copy the scriptures, Your Majesty? And that so-called prayer meeting—it was led by the Pope of Nymphus—”

“The third consort is a frail person. She was nearly poisoned not long ago, remember?”

The new third consort’s poisoning attempt was from two years ago. With a sarcastic tone, Eliano replied:
“Ah, I must have forgotten because it’s only been two years. I must be getting old.”

I’ve been poisoned multiple times myself. Eliano steadied her trembling gaze.

“Don’t mock me. I am deeply disappointed in you, Empress.”

When things didn’t go his way, Marcel spoke with solemnity. In response, Eliano spoke even more elegantly.

“Even if you are disappointed, there’s nothing I can do about it. And, Your Majesty, I must remind you that this is not something you should be involved in.”

“Is there anything in this palace that I, the emperor, cannot be involved in?”

At that moment, Eliano turned her icy voice not toward the emperor but toward the chamberlain.

“Chamberlain! What have you been doing? You should have informed His Majesty that managing the women of the imperial palace is strictly the empress’s prerogative. How dare you allow His Majesty to make such a fool of himself!”

The conflict between the emperor and empress escalated further and spiraled out of control.

Within this growing discord, Eliano’s love for her husband was broken, shattered, and ground into dust. But deep in her heart, remnants of that love lingered, like a fine powder. And that fine powder still burned with heat.

At times, it suffocated her.

“Lia, I sacrificed so much to make you, a woman from Bianteca, my empress. Even though we’re no longer as passionate as we once were, we have the bond of having endured difficult times together. Don’t let that bond be broken. Then, you’ll remain my empress for life. …Perhaps, in time, we could become as passionate as we once were. So let’s work together.”

At times, the emperor reminded her of the husband he had been in Lynxgen.

The sweet, tender man who whispered love to her.

It felt as if Marcel still harbored some love for her.

And whenever she thought that, the fine powder of her love would scatter and spread throughout her entire being.

In those moments, Eliano wanted to awaken Marcel’s love. Surely, somewhere within him, there was still a love that had been directed at her.

No matter how many times she tried to crush her love for him, it never completely disappeared.

Eliano believed that, just as she still loved Marcel, Marcel must feel the same.

Or rather, she wanted to believe so.

But a love that had already turned cold could not be rekindled.

At least, not for Marcel.

“Poor Empress, that’s how a man’s love is. They always promise eternity, but it’s never eternal.”

“Then what should I do?”

Becoming the empress of Zacador, Eliano learned to suppress her tears. But the sorrow and anguish etched on her face were so deep that even her closest attendants could see them. Sometimes, she even shed tears in front of her most trusted confidantes.

That day, the noblewomen attending the empress offered her earnest advice.

“Bring His Majesty to the empress’s palace.”

“He no longer comes to my palace.”

“Then go to His Majesty’s bedchamber yourself. There isn’t a man who would turn away a woman visiting his bed.”

Another noblewoman chimed in.

“That’s right. Seduce him and bear his child. If you give birth to a son, everything will change.”

Eliano, flustered by their blunt words, replied awkwardly:

“I-I am the empress…! How could I stoop to doing something so vulgar as a mistress would…?”

Born as a noblewoman of Bianteca, she had grown up without any shortage. Unlike her peers, she hadn’t even been pressured to choose a spouse for the sake of her family, so she had never once had to seduce anyone.

On the contrary, Eliano had always been the one receiving admiration.

Though she had been sold to Zacador on her father’s orders for the sake of the empire she was born and raised in, she became a part of the imperial family upon marrying the crown prince.

Not once had she been anything but noble.

She had always lived a life where everything fell into her hands. She had never needed to seduce her husband.

On the contrary, it was he who fell in love at first sight with the bride from an enemy nation and courted her passionately.

That’s how it had been. The memory of his confession to her was still vivid.

—May I call you Lia? I promise to make you happy for the rest of your life. I swear upon my love for you.

But there was a fatal flaw in those words.

When love ends, so do promises.

“Your Majesty the Empress, you are of Bianteca, but to men, all women are the same. In Zacador, you must follow Zacador’s customs. That is the only way to protect your position.”

As Eliano listened, the empress’s faction continued to give their advice without stopping.

“Your Majesty the Empress, you must give birth to a son before you grow older.”

“Your Majesty, a son is the cornerstone of the future. Even noblewomen bear heirs and entrust their later years to their children. You must do the same. The imperial family is no different.”

“Bear a son. The concubines have already borne four princes. Before the princes grow up, Your Majesty must also have a son.”

Perhaps finding Eliano’s appearance pitiful, even one of the concubines spoke up.

“If a noblewoman of Bianteca were to seduce him, His Majesty would surely be delighted. He’s that kind of man. Even if it’s just a fleeting whim, what does it matter? Use it. Just conceive his child. That child will be born from Your Majesty’s womb, a noble child of the empress. Bear an heir. Yes? You must protect yourself.”

In the face of such harsh realities, Eliano’s lofty pride finally broke.

From that moment on, her heart rapidly grew cold.

She no longer even knew if she still loved her husband.

Even the powder of love, once created from the shattered remnants, was now disappearing from her heart.

Following the whispers of the others, Emperor Marcel eagerly began visiting the empress’s palace.

When Eliano let go of her pride, he became unrestrained.

If he had any argument with Eliano or if something displeased him, he would display violent behavior in bed. Eliano endured and accepted everything.

To survive.

To bear a child.

***
“What are you doing, Your Majesty!”

“What brings the empress here? Leave at once.”

“Answer me! Is what’s written here true?”

“I have no obligation to answer you. Didn’t I tell you to leave immediately!”

That day, the emperor and empress had a heated argument in the emperor’s office, which ended with her slapping him.

Humiliated, the emperor roared for everyone to leave.

As Eliano, who had been standing her ground, asked if he was planning to hit her, she froze in shock. The emperor had begun taking off her clothes.

“I am the empress! You cannot treat me like a mistress!”

Once they were alone, Marcel discarded his solemn tone.

“Then scream louder. If the attendants come in, I’ll stop. I can’t show such disgrace to the servants. But after this, I will no longer visit you, Lia.”

As she tried to muster strength to shout, Eliano’s body went limp. Marcel took her hand and placed it on his lower body, laughing.

“You need my seed, don’t you? Lia, you’re too noble to do something like the third consort—carrying another man’s seed.”

“……!”

“You think I didn’t know? Lia, you’re still so naïve. Letting her get away with it as long as she got rid of the child. Well, she’s still useful, so I’ve let her be… but I’ll kill her soon. Don’t meddle with my affairs again, or else…”

Suppressing her trembling voice, Eliano spoke to Marcel, who was taking off her clothes.

“Please, let’s go to the bedroom. Not here. I don’t want this here.”

Marcel stared at her before speaking coldly.

“I don’t want to.”

“Your Majesty, please at least protect some semblance of honor.”

“You know. I’ve embraced women even in the gardens. Such things don’t tarnish the emperor’s honor.”

“I’m asking you to protect my honor.”

For a moment, Marcel’s hands, which had been focused on removing her clothing, froze.

“Fine. Let’s go to the bedroom. But don’t expect to get what you want.”

Marcel smiled brightly as his long fingers lifted Eliano’s chin.

“If you want my seed, Lia, you have to give me what I want too. After all, this is only beneficial for you.”