Chapter-01
Prologue
In 2025, the Emperor of the Korean Empire died.
“Find the sinner, Yi Seol!”
Yi Seol (李雪).
The only princess of the imperial family—
a national treasure beloved by all the people.
A living symbol of the Korean Empire.
And then—
“Search the imperial palace thoroughly!”
The murderer of the Emperor of the Korean Empire.
They called it a civil war.
They dared to claim that I, a princess of the Korean Empire, had tried to kill my own father and usurp the throne.
They said that tea laced with a neurotoxin had been served to the Emperor over a long period of time.
“I wish you would disappear from this world.”
My father—who despised my very existence—had drunk the tea I personally prepared for him for years, without a single doubt?
Who would listen to excuses now?
The entire world had already turned its back on me.
“Plum Blossom Palace! Search Plum Blossom Palace!”
“Capture Princess Yi Seol immediately!”
Screams filled with naked hostility pierced my lungs.
“…Why?”
Why did it turn out like this…?
The night breeze brushed against my cheek. I quietly felt its chill as I gazed at Plum Blossom Palace.
My palace—
radiantly beautiful.
“There is no better place to die.”
I was out of breath.
I only wanted to rest.
Because I was exhausted—
so terribly exhausted.
“Here she is! The sinner Princess Yi Seol is here!”
“It’s Plum Blossom Palace! Plum Blossom Palace!”
The silence shattered.
Footsteps thundered closer. Countless shadows fell over me.
My body trembled with fear, yet I refused to collapse.
I would not lose my dignity—not until the very end.
Straightening my back, I turned around.
“….”
Under the moonlight of Plum Blossom Palace,
I slowly swept my gaze across them, enduring their contempt.
Imperial guards.
Court officials.
Palace ladies.
“…Princess.”
A woman strode proudly through their ranks.
“Why did you commit such a heinous crime?”
Sadness tinged her voice.
It was revolting.
“Why… why His Majesty the Emperor?”
Empress Dowager Yu Jeong-won.
The woman who entered the imperial family after my mother’s death, coveting the position of empress.
The woman expelled from the royal family fifteen years ago—when I was twelve.
The woman who slowly destroyed me after my return to the palace two years ago.
And now—
She had framed me for regicide.
“Princess, come here. If you surrender willingly, I will at least preserve your honor as a member of the imperial family.”
My enemy.
An enemy I could gnaw down to the bone and still not be satisfied.
Yes.
Everything had always been in that woman’s hands.
“You finally succeeded in destroying the royal clan.”
“…Princess…”
“The imperial bloodline is about to be severed. Shouldn’t we at least give you a round of applause?”
“Haha!”
I burst into laughter, staring at the Empress Dowager’s twisted expression.
Then, I pulled the pistol I had prepared in advance from inside my coat.
Black metal gleamed coldly beneath the moonlight.
Even after losing everything to that damned woman—
She won’t even get to take my life.
As I spun the revolver’s cylinder, a chilling metallic grind tore through the night.
At the sight of their startled faces, a sly smile curved my lips.
“Look carefully, everyone. And remember this.”
Click. Click.
The cylinder turned.
Bullets rang sharply.
“How will the last bloodline of the Korean Empire’s imperial family end?”
Murmurs spread at my sudden action.
Yes.
Remember this moment.
Etch it into your bones.
Don’t shed a single tear.
Just remember—and suffer.
“Don’t regret anything.”
Come to my grave later and cry if you want.
Because I won’t even allow you the mercy of regret.
“Look straight ahead.”
I felt the weight of the pistol as I pressed its muzzle to my temple.
A cold wind brushed the tip of my nose.
Slowly, I squeezed the trigger.
“No!”
“Princess!”
I sensed someone beyond my closing eyelids, but I didn’t know who it was.
I only wanted to rest.
This was how my life ended—
cowardly and alone.
Bang!
Goodbye, you fucking world.
A thunderous gunshot split the night.
“….”
Silence followed, as though the world itself had stopped breathing.
From the plum tree branches adorning the palace, a single petal drifted down.
Beneath it lay the slender body of a princess, collapsed in a pool of red.
“Ugh…!”
“Gyaaak!”
Late, terrified screams erupted.
Deeeeeeeeng!
That was the moment—
The sky twisted unnaturally, and an icy wind swept through the palace.
And then—
Deeeeeeeeng!
The imperial relic,
the Plum Blossom Pattern Golden Bell,
began to ring on its own.
Deeeeeeeeng!
The Korean Empire.
The moment its final pulse faded into the quiet night.
My descendants.
When you reach the brink of destruction—
To the one who inherits this dynasty—
Correct your destiny.
Grant me one more chance.
On the day this bell rings,
may broken justice be restored.
May the fading light burn once more.
I bow before the gods of heaven and earth, and pray.
