Prenatal fiancé. Someone promised in marriage before they were even born.
Suddenly, buried memories sprang to life.
“Cedric Sylvester, heir to the Sylvester Estate!”
Originally, Leah’s father, Duke Celeste, had hoped for a son. He planned to marry his child to the daughter of the Sylvester family, rulers of a wealthy maritime principality.
As soon as the duchess announced her pregnancy, the duke arranged a betrothal with the principality’s royal consort, who was also pregnant at the time.
But then—
“I was born a girl.”
To complicate matters, the duchess died giving birth to me, and the royal consort delivered a son. The agreement was automatically nullified.
One might think it wouldn’t matter—they could still marry regardless of gender. But the key point here was that my father was an ambitious man.
Instead of marrying his daughter into a principality, he went as far as placing an enchantment on me to ensure I’d become empress.
“Back then, there was no prenatal gender testing or DNA verification. Those technologies are barely ten years old now.”
If those had existed 21 years ago, I might not have had a prenatal fiancé at all.
Even so, Duke Celeste and the Sylvester Principality remained close. They often visited each other, and as a child, Cedric Sylvester would sometimes stay at our estate.
“Why do you keep coming to our house?”
“Because I’m your fiancé.”
“Liar! I’m going to be the empress!”
“No! Cedric is my fiancé! Cedric, marry me!”
Most of my memories from that time involved Cedric being dragged into noisy squabbles between Leah and Eloise, who both had strong personalities even as children.
“It’s been a long time, Prince Cedric of Sylvester,” I greeted warmly.
“Yes, it has. I’ve been busy managing the principality and haven’t been able to visit for years. Have you been well, Your Majesty?”
Now that we were adults, seeing him felt more like reuniting with an old childhood friend, so I kept things casual.
“Of course! As you can see, I’m—”
“Healthy, of course,” Xian interjected, cutting off my reply.
“Since you’re taking the trouble to attend the hunting competition before tomorrow’s negotiations, I must commend your dedication to fostering goodwill between our nations.”
Cedric laughed heartily at Xian’s blunt tone. As the only foreign guest present, he had to be accustomed to such formalities.
“Haha, I couldn’t miss this chance. Being back in Bermut brings back so many fond memories, and I greatly appreciate Your Majesty’s generosity in allowing my last-minute request to join.”
“Wow, you must be exhausted,” I said, impressed by his stamina. Attending the competition and preparing for negotiations back-to-back was no small feat.
“If one lacks the stamina to manage this, how could they lead a nation?”
Xian cut in again before Cedric could reply.
I looked at Xian curiously.
‘Why does it feel like my conversations keep getting interrupted?’
Did they want to talk without me?
As I tilted my head in confusion, Cedric spoke in a friendly tone.
“Well said. Perhaps I could learn from Your Majesty’s wisdom during today’s hunt.”
“Unfortunately, I’ll be too busy looking after the empress to accommodate you. Enjoy it as best you can.”
Xian rejected Cedric outright with a sudden excuse before pulling me away.
“Wha—hey!”
I exchanged a quick glance with Cedric as we were whisked away, then turned to Xian with an incredulous expression.
“What’s this about you needing to look after me?”
“I do.”
By then, the hunting competition was about to begin.
This year’s theme was focused on showcasing the younger generation who would lead Bermut in the future. As such, the competitors were primarily the heirs of noble families rather than the elders themselves, giving the event an energetic atmosphere.
As we made our way toward the starting line, mingling with the gathered nobles, I asked casually, “Do you dislike Cedric?”
“Why would I?”
Xian hoisted me effortlessly onto my white horse as I pressed on.
“Then why did you cut off the conversation and use me as an excuse to leave? The winner of the competition is decided among the nobles anyway, so the three of us sticking together wouldn’t have been an issue.”
After all, Cedric was a visiting dignitary and an ally.
Curious about his reasoning, I looked at Xian. He mounted his black horse in one smooth motion, raising an eyebrow at me.
“Why? Are you disappointed you can’t hang around with your former fiancé?”
“What? No! And how is he a former fiancé? That was a marriage proposal made before I was even born and was canceled ages ago.”
Did that really count as a “former fiancé”?
I tilted my head in confusion as Xian handed me the reins and smirked.
“I didn’t know the Celeste family had a tradition of regularly meeting broken engagements.”
“That only happened before the proposal was canceled, when we were kids. Besides, it wasn’t about me and Cedric—the families were just close. Ugh, this is suffocating.”
When I complained about feeling stifled, Xian loosened the strap of my cloak and adjusted my saddle.
“You’re on a first-name basis, but you’re not close?”
“Yes! We’re not close. We haven’t spoken in years, so how could we be?”
“That look in his eyes says otherwise…”
Xian started to say something more, but at that moment, a plume of white smoke rose into the air, accompanied by the sound of trumpets. My excitement peaked.
“Xian, is it starting? Let’s go!”
Gently nudging my white horse with my foot, I urged it forward. The horse neighed softly and began trotting into the forest.
Xian followed closely, riding alongside me.
“You should learn to keep your distance from men. Former fiancé or not, you’re the empress now, so he’s a stranger. Act accordingly.”
“Oh, come on. What did I even do? If someone overheard you, they’d totally misunderstand!”
“I don’t like the way he looks at you,” Xian muttered.
“What are you even talking about? You slept just fine last night, so why are you being like this today?”
****
The royal family’s exclusive hunting grounds were vast and tranquil. The hunting competition wasn’t particularly intense; the fiercest animals were deer, foxes, and wild boars.
Thus, I was so enthralled by the hunting ground I had never seen before that I completely overlooked the fact that I had only ever done casual horseback riding.
“Xi-Xian, my back really hurts…”
When I whimpered, almost collapsing onto my horse, Sian gave me a frustrated look and summoned an escort knight.
“Set up a tent and let the Empress rest.”
Until now, Xian had stayed by my side, but as the Emperor, he needed to socialize with the nobles. Of course, I had originally planned to accompany him.
“I told you so.”
Xian sighed, his expression showing he had a lot to say but chose to hold back. As I dismounted, I quickly flashed a bright smile.
“Don’t worry! I’ll wait here quietly.”
“…If only you’d stop talking.”
In the end, Xian took the reins, still looking doubtful.
“Have a safe trip!”
“I’ll return shortly.”
Leaving behind five escort knights, Xian rode off to join the nobles at another part of the hunting grounds.
Phew, I feel alive again!
I tapped my newly freed back and thighs before sitting under the tent to rest.
One of the friendly escort knights, perhaps worried I’d get bored, struck up a conversation.
“Your Majesty, shall I catch you a rabbit?”
“Oh my, can you bring it back alive?”
“If that is your order, I will.”
“Wow, that sounds adorable!”
Thanks to the effort I had put into improving my image, I’d finally reached a point where small talk with those around me felt natural. Oh, how satisfying!
While I was relaxing and chatting away…
Tooot!
‘Huh, that’s the hunting horn!’
It was the alarm that sounded whenever a particularly notable prey was spotted in the competition.
Could it be Xian who caught it? I jumped to my feet and asked,
“What’s today’s top prey?”
“It’s a specially bred wild boar. It’s larger than the usual ones—”
Thud, thud, thud!
Suddenly, the ground shook. Confused, the escort knights and I turned our attention to the source.
And then I saw it.
‘Wh-what is that?!’
A creature with the head of a bull, the body of a lion, and the tail of a snake. It was already covered in blood as if it had been through a battle, and half of its tail was severed.
“A chimera!”
“Your Majesty! Please step back!”
The escort knights swiftly formed a protective circle around me. They immediately moved to intercept the monster, which was charging at us frothing at the mouth.
Graaah!
“Ahhh!”
But it was futile. The creature’s black steel-like fangs easily lifted one of the knights and hurled him aside.
Squelch!
It pierced through another’s armor with its fangs, taking him down instantly.
“Urgh!”
In the blink of an eye, three knights were incapacitated. The remaining two tightened their grip on their swords, shielding me from both front and back.
“Jeil, fire the signal flare! Alert the others and request reinforcements!”
“Yes, Captain!”
The younger knight launched the signal flare. The monster, seemingly emboldened after taking down three knights, snorted and scraped the ground with its paw.
“Why, why is such a creature in the hunting grounds?”
“I don’t know, Your Majesty. Chimeras like that were banned over ten years ago as war weapons!”
The young knight stammered, trembling, until the captain signaled him to remain silent.
Roarrr!
The monster let out a deafening roar, then lunged forward. In an instant, it sent the two remaining knights flying as they tried to protect me.
Both were injured and incapacitated in a matter of seconds.
Frozen in place, I stared at the monster barreling toward me, the ground trembling with each step.
Swoosh!
Just then, a massive spear flew through the air, piercing the monster’s side entirely.
Crimson blood sprayed everywhere, filling the air with a pungent metallic smell.
“Y-Your Majesty!”
The injured knights shouted with relief and joy. Xian, drenched in the monster’s blood, stood there, pulling out the spear and tossing it aside. He locked eyes with me.
‘I…I’m alive.’
Tears welled up as I wiped my eyes with my fists and stumbled toward him on shaky legs.
“Xian! Are you okay? What on earth—”
“Your Majesty, stay back!”
A desperate voice suddenly cut in.
‘Cedric?’
Cedric appeared from a nearby path, drawing his sword as he approached.
To my shock, one of his arms was injured and bleeding.
“Step away, Your Majesty. His Majesty has lost control of himself!”
“What are you talking about?”
Now that he mentioned it, Xian was oddly silent. Cedric positioned himself protectively in front of me.
“We were walking through the hunting grounds together when the chimera suddenly appeared. At first, we worked together to fight it, but when I got injured, His Majesty…turned on me.”
Xian attacked him? That couldn’t be true!
I looked at Xian, unable to believe Cedric’s words.
But to my horror, Xian’s golden eyes were nearly devoid of color, his irises almost entirely white, as he approached us.
