Episode 1
<Do Not Love a Traitor – Part 1>
From the start, their fate was twisted.
She tried to force it together, thinking that if she didn’t give up, it would somehow work out.
But maybe it was just a soft and foolish dream.
The knights in white armor who barged in made sure that dream ended.
“Sevia Cecil Trinitor. By His Majesty’s order, you are to be imprisoned in the West Tower for the crime of treason.”
The enforcer’s stern voice echoed.
“For daring to point a sword at His Majesty, you will be executed in three days.”
Sevia nodded calmly.
Soon, the knights surrounded her and marched toward the West Tower.
Lady Tanibera, her maid, followed with a bag she had packed ahead of time.
Sevia’s most trusted knight and friend, Baron Akina, also followed with a clenched jaw and a pained look on his face.
Thankfully, they didn’t tie her up—out of respect for her status as a duke.
As Sevia walked silently in the grim procession, she moved her lips and muttered something no one could understand.
As the murmuring continued, the knights, Lady Tanibera, and Baron Akina looked at her. But the blonde-haired duke didn’t stop.
As the incomprehensible muttering dragged on, people in the group exchanged uneasy glances.
The young and brilliant duke must’ve lost her mind now that death was near.
The whole way to the West Tower, Sevia mumbled with a blank stare.
Whether she noticed the grief on her loyal companions’ faces or not, her muttering didn’t stop.
Marquis Casar Juan, a close aide to the emperor, visited Sevia the night before her execution.
In front of the torch-lit entrance of the West Tower, Baron Akina stood guard.
As soon as he recognized the sound of footsteps, he grabbed the man by the collar.
“You bastard…! This is all your doing, isn’t it?!”
Casar, with his almost-too-handsome pale face and large frame, grabbed the baron’s hand with equal strength and said calmly,
“Since when did a baron think it was okay to lay hands on a marquis?”
“I don’t care if you’re a marquis or the emperor himself—if you hurt Her Grace, I won’t forgive you! If she dies, I’ll cut you down first!”
Even under the flickering torchlight, the fury in the baron’s eyes was clear.
But Casar replied without a trace of emotion.
“Your master must be waiting for me.”
“…What did you say?”
“Tonight is the only chance to stop the execution. Shouldn’t your master be begging me right now?”
With a sly and arrogant smile, the baron gritted his teeth and clenched Casar’s cravat—but in the end, he had no choice but to let go.
He was furious and bitter, but it was true—he had no way to stop this.
Casar adjusted his wrinkled cravat and opened the door to climb to the top of the tower.
“A wise choice, Baron.”
It was winter, and the air got colder the higher he climbed.
The tower was filled with an eerie silence and darkness, like it was choking him.
The cold, damp air wrapped around him like the spirits of the dead.
Casar climbed faster, knowing Sevia was at the top.
The young ruler with golden hair and emerald eyes—
A brilliant woman who led both nobles and commoners.
A one-of-a-kind sun that couldn’t be replaced.
Casar climbed higher to meet her.
But the higher he went, the clearer her murmuring became.
“…They said she had lost her mind.”
As Casar finally reached the top, the quick, creepy muttering suddenly stopped.
“You were reciting the ancient language?”
A single candle flickered in the cave-like darkness.
Sevia sat at a small desk, wearing a white shirt and pants.
The desk was covered in books and documents. Even the floor was stacked with papers.
Aside from a sword and some clothes in the corner, it didn’t look like a room for someone awaiting death.
“I knew you’d come,” Sevia said, smiling like she always did.
“Your execution is tomorrow. You’re quite relaxed,” Casar said, frowning.
“There’s nothing else to do in here.”
Still smiling, Sevia made Casar lose control—he grabbed her shoulders.
“What are you thinking? Why are you wasting time? Why can’t you just give up?!”
Surprised at first, Sevia calmly placed her hand over his.
Casar felt his heart ache as he shouted,
“Do you have any idea how I felt when I heard you’d lost your mind?”
Unable to take it anymore, he dropped to his knees in front of her.
“You know why I came. You know what I want to say…”
He lowered his face onto her lap, trembling, trying to hold on to even the smallest warmth.
“I thought you’d be happy,” Sevia said calmly.
Casar looked up with hopeless eyes.
“You were the one who tried to kill me.”
Her cold words made him feel like he was sinking.
He barely swallowed a pained groan as Sevia smiled gently.
“Now that things have gone your way, you can watch the execution with the emperor tomorrow.”
“If only it were that easy!”
The man, always so cold, shouted with a twisted face full of pain.
“If I could kill you, enjoy the victory, and serve the emperor, I would have done it!”
Before they knew it, he had grabbed her arm. His warmth transferred to her skin.
“I thought I could… but I can’t!”
Casar’s usually cold eyes burned with emotion.
He finally pulled Sevia into his arms and whispered,
“…Become emperor.”
Sevia gasped.
“Marquis Temian has already left the prison. The army is ready. We’ll leave the tower and march to the palace together.”
“Then what about you?” she asked, cutting off his explanation.
“You’ll die from the curse, won’t you?”
“The emperor is drunk and asleep. We have until morning.”
Sevia gripped Casar’s back tightly.
“And after morning?”
“…You’ll be the emperor.”
He hugged her even tighter.
But Sevia pushed him away and asked again.
“What about you?”
“….”
Seeing his silence, Sevia’s expression turned blank.
“You really plan to die?”
“If I don’t, you’ll die tomorrow.”
“But you’ll—!”
Before she could finish, Casar kissed her.
A desperate, passionate kiss, like he was trying to pour his soul into it.
He held her tight, as if he’d never let go.
“Now do you understand why I came?”
“…”
“After today, I’ll never see you again.”
Casar whispered in a low, sorrowful voice, locking her in his embrace.
“I just wanted to hold you once, even if it’s just at the end.”
A chilling wind shook the candle, but Casar didn’t care.
“I may not have been able to serve you as your loyal subject, but if I can make you emperor, that’s enough for me.”
Finally stepping back, he looked into her eyes and said,
“You’re too great a ruler not to be.”
Sevia grabbed him and asked,
“Am I worth your life?”
He nodded, staring at her pained face.
“I’m just the villain who helped create a tyrant. Offering my life to a great ruler is a fair price.”
“Don’t say stupid things!”
Sevia’s voice rang through the tower.
But Casar grabbed her shoulders and said,
“The villain who made a tyrant must vanish with the tyrant. Now hurry.”
“No. You must not die.”
She shoved him. Her eyes filled with grief, and Casar braced himself.
“Hurry. We don’t have time.”
“No. I won’t let you die.”
“If you die, all your loyal followers and their families will die too. Will you still hesitate?”
“If you live, maybe we can protect them.”
Sevia walked to the wall and picked up the sword leaning there.
“Just as you can’t kill me… I can’t kill you either.”
In a flash, she pointed the sword at herself.
And Casar screamed loud enough to shake the whole tower:
“No, don’t—!”
