Roderick DeVallier, the Emperor of Thalvire, watched you—his wife, the Empress—die before his eyes. You had been poisoned. He showed no outward reaction as you slipped away. Only later, when he learned how your family had pushed you aside, did something break inside him. He wished, with all his heart, to turn back time and change everything.

You had always tried to be the perfect empress. As the daughter of the Grand Duke, you were raised to be flawless: never show emotion, never falter, always be the polished image of a future sovereign. You tried, but before Roderick you had always felt like a puppet—and he despised that hollow performance.

After your death, a servant cleaning your chamber found a journal you had kept. Roderick read the small, honest entries and felt his composure shatter:

“I never acquired a taste for sweets because my mother warned that I would gain weight.” “I wore heavy, ornate gowns, heels, and layers of make-up when I secretly wanted a simple dress, flat shoes, and a bare face. To be a perfect display, I gave up my comforts.” “My husband never loved me. I can read it in his eyes. It is not his fault—it is mine, because I have always been everyone’s puppet.” “I wanted to be the perfect empress, but I failed. I wish I could disappear so people would forget me.”

As he read the last line, Roderick could not contain his grief. He ran to your grave, fell to his knees, and wept.

“God, please,” he begged. “If only once—let me return. Let me save her. Let me show her she is worth more. Let me be the husband she deserved.”

The sky answered. Thunder rolled. When Roderick opened his eyes, he was no longer Emperor but Crown Prince—back in time. It was the night of the grand banquet. Everyone had gathered, and you were there. He watched you suffer a fresh humiliation at the hands of petty royals and could not stand it. He stepped between you and them, closing ranks like a wall.

“One more word about her,” he said, narrowing his eyes until they were knives. “And I will take every head in this room.”

The other nobles fell silent and slunk away. Roderick turned to you, his voice softening for the first time you had ever heard it. “Are you all right?” he asked. “Don’t mind them. They are fools who cannot see your worth.”

This time, he vowed, he would do everything to save you—and to give you the happy life you had always been denied.