Please provide compensation through divorce.

Please provide compensation through divorce.

Episode 1

【 Prologue 】

The dawn of the 154th year of the Imperium.

The Great Central Temple of the Set Empire.

An imperial funeral was being held here.

Lying in the coffin was Livia Set.

She was the Empress, who had died at the age of 22.

Angels are carved into the ceiling and columns.

A giant statue of a goddess overlooks the temple.

Paintings symbolizing rest and peace.

The reverent singing of choirs.

All of this was mourning the death of Livia.

The choir finished singing. There was only one step left. The coffin lid was closed, and the body was laid to rest.

The high priest, his hair white, led the ceremony.

“His Imperial Majesty, the Sun of the Set Empire, had all the nobles and priests of the Empire in attendance. We now close the coffin… in honor of the eternal rest of the Empress Antakai.”

Once sealed, the coffin can never be opened again. Livia’s body bids the world farewell for good.

“Close the coffin.”

The high priest ordered. Six priests came with a coffin lid. They were about to place it on the coffin.

“No!”

A scream erupted from the unearthly coffin. A woman jumped up from the coffin. People stared in horror.

Light brown, full hair.

Green eyes like emeralds.

A face as white as snow and pink cheeks.

And…….

wide-open eyes that looked like they didn’t understand.

She was the undisputed Empress of the Livia’s Set.

“Ew, ew!”

The priests stumbled back in surprise. The coffin lid clattered to the floor, and the temple erupted in a roar.

“Gah!”

“Hua, the Empress Dowager… the Empress Dowager is alive!”

“Three, my God…”

Nobles screamed; one lady fainted, clutching her forehead. The funeral quickly descended into chaos.

The high priest trembled as he approached the coffin. Inside was an unbelievable scene.

There were two women in the coffin.

A woman is sitting up, alive.

A woman is lying down, dead.

They both looked like Livia.

The High Priest swallowed hard, a million thoughts racing through his mind. Then he fell to his knees and cried out.

“The Empress has been resurrected in a new body, a miracle of the goddess!”

“What? Wealth, resurrection?”

“Well… this.”

“A miracle of the goddess again?”

“Ohhh……! Goddess, Empress!”

One by one, the people fell to their knees. Some prayed with tears in their eyes.

Miracles of the Goddess had been common in the Set Empire for years. As such, everyone seemed to believe in the Empress’s resurrection.

Only one person.

Except for the Emperor.

The young Emperor of the Set Empire, Leto Runion Set, He was sitting in the throne room, observing the whole situation.

Unmoved, he rose from his seat.

Jab, jab, jab.

Leto stopped in front of the coffin. He looked at the two women and said,.

“Resurrection. Not funny.”

The living woman looked up at him with a dumbfounded expression. His mouth curled into a sharp sneer.

“Defiling the Empress’s Coffin.”

“…….”

“You have insulted the imperial family, and I cannot let you live.”

The beginning is a death sentence.

How did this happen to me?

I am an orphan.

I don’t even know my parents’ faces.

The happiness that others take for granted is denied to me. I lived a life where I had to do everything on my own. I was used to it.

I was lucky to have a better brain than others. I managed to get a scholarship and go to a prestigious university. A few years later, I joined the research team of a large pharmaceutical company. I worked day and night for my precious life.

But my luck was short-lived.

Workplace bullying started for the most ridiculous reasons. I was told that I couldn’t get along with my coworkers and that I was a loner, when in fact, I was not participating in the behind-the-scenes gossip.

They made me do all the work, from researching drug ingredients to developing and testing drugs to writing research reports.

But I didn’t run away. I stayed up all night to get the job done. Because I love my work, and if I give up, I lose.

And one dawn, I died of overwork. I collapsed on the cold floor of my lab. I was only twenty-four years old.

Yeah. God was not on my side until the end.

But when I opened my eyes, a beautiful woman was lying beside me. She was covered in white flowers and jewelry.

At first, I thought it was a dream.

Or a spirit of death.

She was Empress Livia Set, a supporting character in the webcomic The Second Empress.

Livia is the honored daughter of the Marquis of Marion. She became empress through an arranged marriage. However, she was not loved by the emperor because she was timid and incompetent. In addition, her weakness led to her death. She is the ‘unfortunate empress’.

That’s how the story goes. The real protagonist of The Second Empress is Meryl Iste.

Meryl is the Emperor’s second empress. Her appearance is unique. Red hair and violet eyes—she’s a beauty to be treasured for that alone, and that’s not all. She’s good, wise, and a wizard of immense power. Not to mention… the perfect Empress.

The Second Empress is the love story of Meryl and the Emperor. It’s fun to see the arrogant, cold emperor turn into a lover.

Meanwhile, me and Livia have our history. We were both broke and jobless. I had a part-time job modeling character images at a webtoon studio.

I modeled for them with a wig and circular lenses. Livia is the character that was born from that image.

It’s sad. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken that job. I didn’t think I would end up like her.

It’s a moment of reflection on a sad life, but this situation is more vivid than necessary, isn’t it?

The choir singing and the voice leading the funeral. Pale Livia cheeks and blue lips.

‘I’m guessing this is Livia’s funeral, and this is… the coffin?

I caught my reflection in the mirror that had been placed in the coffin as a memento mori. I gasped in horror; it was another Livia.

“No way… I’m in a webcomic, and I look exactly like a dead Livia.

My whole body stiffened. And then a voice spoke, like a celestial force.

“Close the coffin.”

The coffin lid lifted before my eyes. With a dull thud, the darkness closed in.

“No!!!”

I jerked upward, speechless at the sight before me.

A vast marble temple.

Countless nobles dressed in black.

Their stunned expressions.

It was all too real.

What happened next was chaotic. People were stunned, then fainted, then fell to their knees and worshipped me.

Except for one person.

Jab, jab, jab.

A man approached the coffin and looked down at me.

…The Emperor. The male protagonist of this story. The young Emperor Leto is twenty-five years old.

Blue eyes like the depths of the ocean. Silver-gray hair that looks like it’s about to fall out. I’ve never seen a more beautiful man in my life. At the same time, I’ve never seen a man with such a cold expression.

A gaze that seemed to pierce through me and freeze me, a gaze that gradually turned into a sneer.

“Resurrection? That’s not even funny.”

“…….”

“Defiling the Empress’s coffin. As an offender of the imperial family, you cannot be allowed to live.”

Leto drew his sword with a fluid motion. The blade glinted in the chandelier light.

“Lungs, Your Majesty!”

“Hold it!”

“Her Majesty the Empress!”

The ministers and priests stopped Leto. They flinched and stepped back as he fired.

Then a man stepped carefully in front of him. I recognized him from the original. Euthen was the Emperor’s closest confidant.

“The body of the Empress is before you. No blood, please. Your Majesty.”

Leto paused and looked at Livia’s body. There was no grief in his gaze as he looked at his dead wife. Only a dry coldness.

“Tsk.”

Leto clicked his tongue and sheathed his sword. With a clang, the sword slid back into its scabbard. He turned to Ewarton.

“Call an emergency meeting now; we’re not wasting any time.”

* * *

The imperial conference hall.

For a moment, I was mesmerized by the huge, ornate conference room. I recognized the reality.

Everything is so vivid. This isn’t a dream or a lucid dream.

“Then I… shouldn’t I be awake? My life depends on this meeting.

The deputies are seated around the table. The guards seated me at the head of the table. I sat facing Leto at the head of the table, though he paid me no attention.

They began to discuss this ‘extraordinary event’.

The deputies persuaded Leto.

“Your Majesty, the color of your face and hair, your eyes and body type… and your voice—you are a perfect match for the Empress of Livia.”

“That’s right, let’s go ahead and proclaim that the Empress has been resurrected by a miracle of the goddess.”

“An impostor.”

Leto interrupted the deputies with a single word, and that was it. The two men sitting next to each other cried out.

“What do you mean, my sister is an impostor?”

“Your Majesty! Livia is the mistress of the Marquis of Matrion and the only sister of our brothers. Trust the eyes of the family. That child is our sister!”

Those brown-haired men! They are Livia’s twin brothers, Louis and Sean. They are both accomplished wizards. But after Livia’s death, they became Leto’s enemies.

Leto says it bluntly.

“If they’re not crooks, they’re manipulators.”

“Now what? What did you say?”

Sean bounced off the table and jumped to his feet. Sean was a hot-tempered man, and he couldn’t contain his anger. His older brother, Louis, barely stopped him.

The last to speak was the high priest.

“Your Majesty, the miracles of the Goddess are happening all over the Empire right now. Now that miracle has reached its culmination, How else would the Empress appear before us in a new body?”

“‘How’ is not important, High Priestess. What matters is that she entered the Empress’s coffin.”

“Your Majesty.”

“I’ll have to change the guards, too. What kind of imperial funeral would allow a stranger to intrude?”

Leto’s voice dropped low. There was a breathless silence. No one looked him in the eye. Except for the High Priestess.

“Your Majesty does not believe in the miracles of the Goddess.”

“I’m only trying to catch the impersonator, High Septon.”

The two men are at loggerheads, and so he should be… The High Priestess is the “villain” of the piece.

The goddess religion is the state religion of the Set Empire. It is the spiritual pillar of the people. Naturally, the High Priestess is powerful. Second only to the Emperor.

The problem is that the current High Priestess is corrupt. Many of the “miracles of the goddess” that occur in the empire are the work of the High Priestess. A series of scams to consolidate power and collect tribute.

By the way, a con man, a manipulator, and an impersonator… The various insults are clear.

‘Leto sees this as a scam by the High Priest, and he’ll think of me as one of his minions.

Leto glanced around the room.

“So, I assume you’ve all said what you need to say?”

“Your Majesty, the goddess is angry!”

The High Priestess exclaimed solemnly, but Leto didn’t even pretend to hear.

“Then, as the decider of this council, I will decide what to do with her.”

The words coming out of Leto’s mouth were obvious.

‘Death’ or ‘execution’.

I clenched the hem of my skirt.

“I can’t let her die like this. I have to say something. I’m the only one who can protect me.

“May I say something?”

I gathered my courage and opened my mouth. In an instant, everyone turned to look at me. Sean and Louis covered their mouths.

“…Uh, Louis. That’s Livia’s voice, isn’t it?”

“Oh, Livia, my sister.”

Sibling or not. Leto nodded, his face relaxed. Looking at me for the first time since we started the meeting.

I looked him straight in the eye, too.

“There’s nowhere to back down. This is the only way.

“I request a private audience with His Majesty.”

There was a hush, as if no one had expected these words. All eyes were now on Leto.

“Ha.”

Leto smirked in disbelief. Then he turned to stare at me.

I don’t know how much time has passed. A cold sweat broke out on my back. Leto stood up from his seat.

“Bring her in.”

* * *

Leto’s command was not merciful. It was an act of political showmanship to impress Brother Matrion and the High Priestess.

The meeting was held in the common room of the meeting hall. I followed Leto’s group into the room.

Thud.

The door slammed shut behind my back. I flinched involuntarily.

It was a dark room with no lights on. The blue dawn light slanted in through the window. The room was as cold as Leto’s eyes.

Leto crossed his arms and looked down at me with an arrogant glare. I said it calmly, as best I could.

“I ask you to pass the torch, Your Majesty.”

Leto nodded to Ewarton and his attendants. They left the common room in silence.

Now it was just the two of us. Leto’s face was wary.

“You put too much effort into the obvious.”

Leto took a step toward me. My breath caught in my throat. I took an involuntary step back.

It wasn’t because he was tall and well-built. On the contrary, he wasn’t overly large.

Yes, intimidation. He had a certain air about him that intimidated his opponents.

“You’re going to do a Libyan impersonation anyway; aren’t you going to tell me some secret about me and Livia that you found out somewhere?”

“…….”

“Well, so what? I and Livia have a very casual relationship. There’s no such thing as a secret.”

He tilted his head sardonically. There was a sneer in his every move.

I swallowed hard, stifled a shudder, and spoke.

“I am not the resurrected Empress of Livia.”

“…What?”

Leto paused. You’d think he’d be surprised. Faking it, pretending to be Livia, would be common sense survival.

But that’s common sense, not Leto’s common sense.

So I’m going to say your common sense is the right answer.

“Because there is no such thing as a resurrection.”