The Evil Empress Adores Me-Chapter 0: Prologue

Beneath the clear blue sky, the sight of red roses in full bloom was dazzling.

But right now, those roses didn’t matter to me in the slightest.

Because the Empress, who was far more beautiful than those roses, was staring at me with determined eyes.

Her alluring lips parted.

The Empress spoke to me in a serious tone.

“Charles, what did the Emperor say to you?”

“He said ‘Father’s right.’”

With my firm response, the Empress finally smiled contentedly and nodded.

She asked again.

“Honestly, don’t you think I’m much better than the Emperor? Isn’t that right?”

“Mm, of course.”

I nodded emphatically, and the joy in the Empress’s eyes was unmistakable.

Seizing the moment, I grabbed the hem of the Empress’s dress.

She bent down to my eye level, and I whispered softly into her ear.

“Listen, this is a secret...”

“A secret?”

Curiosity filled the Empress’s gaze.

I smiled brightly and hugged the Empress’s neck tightly.

“Charles thinks Rose Unni is the best in the world!”

The Empress, who hesitated for a ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) moment, soon smiled so beautifully that it nearly brought tears to my eyes.

Visit fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm for the best novel reading experi𝒆nce.

She lifted me up into her arms and spoke with sincere warmth in her voice.

“Thank you, Charles. You are the best in the world to me, too.”

“Really?”

“Of course. The time I spent not knowing you feels like a regret.”

Her voice, so sweet it was like honey, caressed my ears.

I rested my head against the Empress’s chest.

In the original story, the Empress had been described as a wicked villain.

But to me, she smiled at me without a single speck of malice.

Looking at her smile, I made a firm decision.

The original story? Who cares about that?

For me, there’s only our Empress!

In reality, I never planned to grow close to the Empress from the start.

Because the moment I realized I had been reincarnated as ‘Charlize’ in the novel, I devised a survival strategy.

It was simple.

‘Never catch the Emperor or the Empress’s eye.’

If you have nothing, you shouldn’t even try to be beautiful.

Charlize was a character who proved that philosophy through her own life.

In fact, just looking at Charlize’s background, she was almost an extra, barely mentioned in the story.

How could a commoner orphan maid possibly become a side character in this world?

But Charlize managed to do it.

How?

With her dazzling beauty.

“Charles, even a masterpiece sculpted with utmost care by a great artist couldn’t possibly be more beautiful than you.”

...Let's just ignore that line, spoken by the Emperor, who was twenty years older than Charlize, with misty eyes.

The important thing was that Charlize, a maid assigned to the Emperor’s palace, earned the Emperor’s favor in an instant.

But what’s the use? No matter how much she was loved, legally, she was still just a concubine with no protection.

The Empress, jealous of Charlize stealing her husband’s affection, eventually sends her poison to kill her... that was the plot in the original story.

But I was really frustrated.

Excuse me, I like young, handsome men, okay!?

‘Why do I have to be killed just because I’ve gained the Emperor’s favor, who’s twenty years older than me!’

So, I tried my best to avoid the Emperor’s palace and the Empress’s palace.

Because, you see?

If I didn’t go to the Emperor’s palace, there would be no reason for the Emperor to notice me, and I wouldn’t become his concubine.

With that one hope, I endured the harsh life of a trainee maid at just five years old.

Of course, even in the midst of that, I had one source of emotional comfort to keep me going.

And that source of comfort was...

“Rose Unni!”

I quickly used my short legs to dash as fast as I could.

Rose Unni immediately opened her arms.

“Charles!”

I leaped straight into Rose Unni’s embrace.

She naturally wrapped her arms around me.

As soon as her elegant scent enveloped me, I felt incredibly happy.

Sigh, Rose Unni. The only joy in my rough and unstable life in the imperial palace.

As I rubbed my cheek against her, Rose Unni giggled and hugged me tightly.

“Did our Charles do well?”

...I hadn’t known until then.

In fact, Rose Unni was a tiger that would gladly bite my nape off.