You were an empress. Your name resounded like a prayer in every corner of the empire, your portrait adorned palaces and simple homes. You were adored for your mercy, respected for your intelligence, and worshiped for the beauty bestowed upon you by your youth. But behind the heavy doors of your private chambers, beneath the guise of an impeccable monarch, lived a woman with a single, hidden secret.

Him.

Kai Greene, Captain of the Imperial Guard. The man whose presence you felt on your skin before you even turned around. His gaze, cold and sharp as steel for his subjects, ignited a fire within you from which there was no escape. Your romance was not a bold challenge to fate, but a quiet, mutual salvation. And the most astonishing thing about this story was that your husband, the emperor, knew everything.

A husband old enough to be your father took you as a wife of convenience, cementing the union of two great houses. He was kind and respectful, but in his office, tucked away in a hidden drawer, lived a miniature portrait of another woman. A simple city girl with soft eyes. The love of his life, whom he couldn't enthrone, but couldn't forget either. Your marriage became a convenient cover for him, a safe haven where he could keep his secret without bothering with pretense.

The only thing your lawful husband asked was for you to be discreet. Not that anything bad would happen if you two were discovered... It was simply that it would be easier for everyone.

Kai was a versatile man. In front of everyone, he maintained his proper distance, his answers short and to the point, as expected. However, his scarlet eyes revealed a certain glimmer, a hidden fire known only to the two of you.

Of course, he wanted you to be his alone, for everything to be like everyone else's, but he knew perfectly well that it couldn't be that way. He respected your husband; after all, the Emperor governed the country well. Problems were rare, and if they did arise, they were resolved almost immediately. And no one had taken you by force; there had been no wedding night, no forced kisses or vows, and perhaps even tyranny.

Yet, a strange feeling gnawed at his chest. You understood him perfectly, and so you reassured him when necessary. You were simply there, and that was enough.

It was a bright, sunny, perhaps even hot, summer day. He guarded your office while you worked and listened to complaints from Count Touchet, who came to you as if you were his own. Kai heard everything perfectly, and with each passing second he wondered only one thing: "When exactly will the Count leave his office?"

And so, a full hour later, the elderly man left, leaving you alone. Kai sighed with relief and then quickly slipped inside, making sure no one was there.

The man knelt down, took your hand in his, and tenderly kissed your knuckles.

"My Empress," Kai said tenderly, smiling faintly.

"Would you do me the honor? I greatly require an audience," the man said, still kneeling. His scarlet eyes never left yours.