I Became The Tyrant's Limited Time Wife

IBTLW Chapter 1

It all started two years ago.

One day, when she opened her eyes, she suddenly became a villainess—someone destined to die in a fantasy novel called “As Long As It’s Not Me.”

Leah Celeste. The wife of the tyrant emperor and the male lead.

“Tsk, tsk. The empress eventually passed away. When she got married, she looked like she couldn’t live long because her face was so pale.”

“How pale her face was, I thought her hair was white a not silver.”           

The empress depicted a passer-by who emphasized the ruins of human relationships and the tyrant male lead.

Because her father, Duke Celeste, coveted power from the emperor, he dragged her into a political marriage.

Hating her husband, who knew nothing but blood, she created a harem full of handsome boys, lived with alcohol and men, and eventually died from pleasure.

I’d be really happy if I died playing with handsome boys!

“When the emperor crazed on blood, the empress, on the other hand, could not hold herself in the harem. It was not strange that she went at a young age when she drank and screwed every day.”

“Oh, God, Please look over the Empire!”

However, the young empress neither died from alcohol nor lust, as the novel said.

It was from poison!

No, why are you suddenly poisoning me? You said I was drunk and died in the harem!

Note: She was talking to the author.

Since the author was a god, the empress dying was a foregone conclusion; there was no need to elaborate on the poisoning.

Also, in the final chapter, the last sentence revealed the tyrant emperor committing suicide.

The empress was poisoned; the emperor killed himself. In the end, the empire collapsed.

What was more worrisome was she had turned away from the emperor. She did not care that it was a political marriage; she did not like it anyway. 

In detail, after the empress died, the tyranny of the male lead worsened, consuming the empire. Madness swallowed him, and eventually, he committed suicide.

Still, with the story flowing with the prospect of riding emotions, the readers—torn because of the plot twist—had to endure.

Yet when the last chapter ended with such a cliffhanger, the readers finally exploded.

How did she know? Because there were 9,999 comments on that chapter!

After lazily confirming the ending, she, saying, ‘Let’s see where we go,’ also joined in the roaring wave like the other readers. 

But two things were different.

First, when she posted the comment, it hit the 10,000 mark.

Second, the other 9,999 comments were full of swearing and curses, and only hers was slightly different.

‘Poor thing. I want to live for you…’

They were fictional characters. But it was sad and disappointing, the life of an emperor and an empress who died in vain. The empress was not even a main character and did not get a proper appearance in the novel. 

Feeling a little pitiful, she left comments for the male lead and the empress, whom the author expelled from the plot. That was it.

It was a tribute to the novel that once brought joy to her dry life. Yep, that was all…

I really didn’t mean I want to live as an empress!

Author—no—did God read her comments?

The words became seeds.

In the end, she became Empress Leah Celeste, who would die without even knowing who killed her or the reason.

She swallowed her tears.

Hah… Let’s live for now.

She would save this weak body and run away from the destiny of the empress!

Leah Celeste was not even a rare femme fatale, and she never dreamed of dying from poison like Jang Hee-bin.

Note: Jang Hee-bin is a royal noble consort in Korea executed by poisoning at Chuseondang Hall, her residence inside Changgyeong Palace.

I want to be a minor citizen, get a handsome husband and a rabbit-like child, and happily live my old life as a grandmother…

First, the male lead must not commit suicide. However, it should not ruin the novel.

Then there was only one answer.

It was so simple she was grateful to tears. But there was still a long way to go, and she wanted to beat the author.

She must save the emperor.

The emperor had to live.

Certainly!

She promised like some candidate in an election who was giving a speech. And then, she fainted because of her weak body.

  *

“…Your highness. Her Majesty, the Empress. It is time for you to wake up.”

Someone was shaking her. She dazed for a moment, then, as if waking up from anesthesia, she opened her eyes.

“Cough!”

“Bring something to drink.”

The person who woke up her ordered after seeing her cough. In less than five seconds, the glass touched her mouth. She drank from it, still lying on the bed.

Oh, this is comfortable. After all, power is good…

“Pooh!”

This is alcohol!

Her upper body sprang up. Then, the scenery of the room came into view as if rushing.

“Forgive me, Your Highness! Your favorite wine ran out, so I prepared some beer!”

The maid fell crying on the floor; her expression showed she thought the empress would kill her. She tried to open her mouth, but it was to no avail.

No, was it right to give someone alcohol after they woke from fainting?

“Her Majesty, the Empress. We will make sure this never happens again. I apologize, but please be kind. If you punish a maid who has just worked for a week, rumors will come out again in the social circle.” The woman who woke her up interceded.  

…The problem was her.

Frowning, she wiped the beer in her mouth then calmly relieved her frown.

“Alright. It’s fine. Instead, alcohol is prohibited in the future. I’m going to stop drinking.”

She was a simple girl. She spoke like she used to, and then she cleared her throat before speaking like how Leah Celeste in the novel would.

Ugh, if she drank alcohol like water, she would first die of liver damage before the poisoning.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Fortunately, the maids understood her, quickly putting away the alcohol and tidying up her blanket.

“Her Majesty then should wash up and start your schedule.”

The woman spoke again. She probably was a maid, but she also helped her. She nodded and followed to the bathroom.

I’ll have to plan what to do next while I’m in the bath.

She started recalling the memories of Leah Celeste, the original owner of this body.

Meanwhile, Lauren—the one who woke her up and was also the head maid of the empress’s court—skillfully began to arrange for the bath.

Swaaah~

Soaked in warm water, she closed her eyes and organized her memories.

In the original story, the emperor commits suicide in the last chapter. The empress died before that… I haven’t come up with an exact timeline.

Because even if Leah Celeste was the male lead’s wife, she was just an insignificant character.

Still, the timing of the two deaths was not much different. Besides, considering that my health condition has yet turned from bad to worse, it seems I haven’t fallen deep into alcohol and pleasure.

Naturally, if you want to poison someone like the empress, you would not kill in one shot.

They would probably poison her slowly over a long period. She was in good shape right now, so there was still a chance.

Then how much time do I have left?

She compared the memories of Leah Celeste to those in the original novel.

Leah was now 21 years old, and she would have been 28 years old when the emperor committed suicide.

The novel stated that the emperor and the empress have a five-year difference, so if the emperor is 26 years old now…

Two years left!

She turned pale and grabbed the bathtub.

“Hey!”

“P-please save me, Your highness! Instead of the orange-flavored oil, I will switch to the strawberry-flavored oil!”

The maids began to cry and fell on their knees.

“What?”

“Please, heuk!”

The maid in front of her cried loudly. She was embarrassed and scratched the back of her neck awkwardly when some memories flashed in her mind.

‘Are you telling me to eat a watermelon with so many seeds?! Oh, my gosh!’

‘Aww!’

‘You! Are you screaming right now because you think it’s funny?!’

…Was she still human?

In the emerging memories, Leah was critical of every detail. Annoyance was engraved basically on her pretty face.

If her maids made one mistake, she would give 100 punishments. If the mediators had twisted minds, heads would hit the ground just like what would have happened had Lauren not stopped her earlier.

Is this why you got poisoned?

Three months had passed since she got married, and there must only be a truck full of resentments. She sighed, thinking she would be cut to her bones if this continued for another two years.

I need to reform Leah Celeste.

And the first step was to eliminate the threats.

She was fixing it from head to toe, so she did not have to die!

To do that… I have to cut off the most rotten one.

The sinister thing that Leah chewed and enjoyed.

She smiled as harmless as possible.

“Lauren, I need to go to the Harem.”

The empress was said to have lived with alcohol and men. Even after she died, her reputation was so bad that it chewed her up. So, she had to start with this.

-To be continued

Translator: Byoun
Editor: Kofeibean