So even the emperor can be late to an imperial palace meeting.
By an hour, no less. Honestly, the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that the emperor of our empire is utterly hopeless.
The emperor of the neighboring empire has a reputation for being so competent, but ours? Just pitiful.
Not even a shadow of him appeared for an entire hour. And when he finally did show up, yawning like a bored cat and dressed like he just rolled out of bed, I couldn’t help but click my tongue internally.
Still, we had a lot on the agenda today.
If it had been anyone else, I would’ve stormed out already.
But watching the noblemen—many of whom were old enough to be my father—sitting beside me with expressions like they were about to cry… well, I just couldn’t bring myself to crush their last sliver of hope by leaving.
There were also several pressing matters that had to be handled today.
They knew the deranged emperor wouldn’t listen to a word they said, so they expected me to take the lead and carry the burden instead. And because some of those issues were truly important, I had no choice but to accept and take on the stack of documents they handed me.
“Ahem. Let us begin.”
Whether embarrassed by his tardiness or not, he fiddled with the buttons of his half-done shirt and tried to sound dignified.
That thing is our emperor. Seriously. This empire is doomed.
Suppressing the sighs that kept bubbling up, I got straight to the point—especially since we were already running late.
“We need to deploy part of the capital’s military forces to the north. Winter is approaching in the north, and monster breeding—”
“Unbelievable. Do you really intend to waste the empire’s military strength on the north? Do you even understand how vital the capital’s defense is? Rejected. Next!”
I hadn’t even finished speaking.
Swallowing back the string of curses that nearly escaped, I irritably flipped to the next page.
“Baron Melladin’s western territory has been devastated by drought. There’s a severe food shortage, and many residents are starving to death. We’ve provided what aid we can, but it’s nowhere near enough. We should consider opening the imperial treasury—”
“And now you’re eyeing the imperial treasury? Rejected. Next!”
Again, I hadn’t finished.
Maybe cutting people off mid-sentence is his special skill.
And yet, even as he did this, he shamelessly caressed the handmaid standing beside him.
With so many eyes on him, he acted without an ounce of shame. It was truly appalling.
I was about to explode in frustration, but Count Hebrune, sitting beside me, discreetly held my hand under the table to stop me.
No matter how insane the emperor was, I wouldn’t be the one punished if I caused a scene. But someone else might suffer the consequences of my actions.
Barely restraining my irritation, I turned to the next document.
“The Brynten Empire has monopolized the sea trade routes. They’re imposing outrageous taxes and inventing excuses to deny permits. The empire must step in to negotiate—”
“Marchioness, couldn’t you have just negotiated before bringing this to me?”
“…”
“Whether by force or smooth talking, figure it out yourself. That issue is yours to handle.”
Staring at the emperor as he lazily picked his ear, I received a painfully clear lesson:
This country has no future.
There were more agenda items, but I quietly put the documents down.
There was only one reason.
No matter what I said, he was going to reject everything anyway.
Unfortunately, the emperor harbored deep resentment toward me and my family—the House of Metheisa.
Ever since I became the head of the house, I’d been involved in everything—politics, diplomacy, military affairs.
There wasn’t a corner of the empire untouched by my influence. Naturally, that didn’t sit well with an incompetent emperor whose pride outweighed his ability.
Thanks to me, the noble factions had grown stronger while the emperor’s power weakened. Of course I’d be a thorn in his side.
I understood that much.
But in the end, everything I did was for the good of the empire.
Still, the emperor remained the same from beginning to end.
Any time I tried to speak, he’d cut me off with a pained look and complain of a headache.
“Take care of it yourself,” he said—thirteen times.
Grinding my teeth, I forced myself to endure it. After all, he was the emperor.
Damn this rigid social hierarchy.
After the meeting, the nobles filed out of the chamber, muttering carefully veiled criticisms of the emperor’s behavior.
Had anyone heard, they might’ve been accused of treason against the imperial family—but no one seemed to mind, as long as it was done with elegant phrasing.
As I trudged toward the carriage, Anton appeared, waiting for me.
“Marchioness.”
“I’m exhausted. Let’s go home quickly.”
Seeing my grim face, Anton seemed to instantly understand not to speak further.
Soon, the carriage set off.
I tried to calm my nerves by watching the scenery outside the window, but my irritation wouldn’t subside.
It had already been 24 years since I was born as Lizebrion Metheisa.
At first, I thought I had reincarnated with memories from a previous life.
But when I realized this world was actually from a romance-fantasy novel I once read back in Korea, I nearly fainted.
Lizebrion Metheisa was a villainess who tormented her younger brother—the male lead—out of jealousy, even going so far as to harm the female lead. In the end, the male lead destroyed her completely.
Once I realized I was inside that story, I did everything I could to avoid the original plot. I tried to prevent the events that would drive a wedge between the siblings from happening in the first place.
But no matter what I did, most things still went according to the original story.
One major example was our parents’ deaths.
In my memories, they were warm and kind people. I knew they were going to die, but I couldn’t stop it.
Gazing out the window, I recalled how little time was left.
“Soon, Theo and the heroine will meet…”
Up to now, I hadn’t directly triggered any death flags.
Mainly because Theo and I were genuinely close.
That bond was the one thing I’d managed to change.
“I’m home,” I said as I got off the carriage with Anton’s help.
Waiting at the entrance were Molga and Hebrune. Then I saw Theo running toward me with a bright smile.
“Sis!”
“Theo.”
Molga’s scolding followed from behind, but Theo didn’t care. He ran straight into my arms.
He was too big to catch now, so I stumbled a bit—only for him to brace my waist to keep me steady.
“You’re getting heavy, you know.”
“You seem a bit down today, Sis.”
“Just your imagination.”
“No, it’s not.”
Since our parents’ deaths and I inherited the title of marchioness, Theo had been my constant support.
We were deeply attached to each other.
I’d spoiled him since he was young to avoid incurring the male lead’s wrath.
Of course, I hadn’t always been affectionate with him.
Back then, I was too busy fighting tooth and nail to keep our relatives from stealing the marquisate.
As a young girl, I was little more than a pawn to them.
‘I used to think if I lost the title, Theo would grow up and kill me for failing the family. I even planned to pass the title to him when he got older.’
That’s why I worked myself to the bone to protect our house.
But oddly enough, that effort just solidified my reputation as a villainess—just like in the original story.
When I started punishing those who coveted the title—public floggings, death threats—they bowed their heads in fear.
Maybe it was because the novel had already established Lizebrion as a villainess that everything I did had a multiplied effect.
Those who had been loyal to my parents initially doubted my sudden change, but once my fearsome reputation protected the house, they rallied behind me.
And so, I fought a lonely battle.
Then, one day, I awakened the power that only the Metheisa bloodline could inherit—
A spirit mage who could command the elements at will.
The novel briefly mentioned that Metheisa was a family blessed by nature, which explained their close ties to the male lead and their influence in the empire.
It had been a minor detail, but once I manifested as a spirit mage, it solidified my place as the head of the house.
‘I wasn’t close to Theo back then…’
Only after securing my position as marchioness did I finally notice the still-young Theo.
He was just a child.
I’d been so focused on surviving that I hadn’t spared him a second of attention.
Even the spirits nudged at my conscience.
‘He’s lonely.’
‘He cries at night.’
‘He likes you, Lize.’
‘He watches for your return every day.’
They reported his every move to me.
How could I ignore that? I had Molga bring him to me.
From then on, we ate all three meals together—except when he had lessons. I kept him by my side even while I worked.
We barely talked at first, but now we were as close as any siblings could be.
It was a massive improvement—and it meant I was no longer doomed to die by his hand.
After washing up, I came down to the dining room to find Theo already waiting.
“You’re here. You must be hungry.”
“Eat first.”
“I can’t eat before you.”
Good boy.
Beaming at him, I picked up my fork. Theo didn’t move until I took the first bite.
“This is your last semester at the academy, right?”
Unfortunately, Theo hadn’t inherited the Metheisa family ability.
But like in the novel, he showed extraordinary talent in magic.
The story had dubbed him a magical genius—and he truly was.
“I’m going to graduate at the top of my class.”
“Of course you are. Whose little brother do you think you are?”
I popped a piece of steak into my mouth, and only then did Theo pick up his utensils.
He had about a month left until graduation.
I found myself thinking about the date and wondering… what should I give him as a present?
“You’re thinking about what to get me for a gift, aren’t you?”
“…How’d you know?”
“I just know.”
Theo had an uncanny sense for my thoughts and moods.
It gave me goosebumps sometimes. I shivered a little and went back to pondering gift ideas.
“Theo, get ready.”
“Huh?”
“I’m going to give you an amazing present!”
“…That actually sounds kind of scary.”
Theo gave me a nervous smile, then gulped down a glass of water.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked with a mock glare.
“You’re known for going big.”
“What, like the time I dragged you into a boutique and said, ‘I’ll take everything in the store’?”
“Yeah, and the time you walked into a jewelry shop and said, ‘From here to the end—buy it all. One payment.’”
Theo scratched his cheek, remembering it all.
“You nagged me so much I stopped doing things like that.”
“Right. Now you just gift things with paperwork. Like that one time, you bought an entire diamond mine in the south and transferred it under my name for my birthday.”
“…”
“You even tried to buy the imperial art museum from His Majesty, but when that didn’t work, you rented it for a day—and filled the entire place with my portraits.”
I suddenly felt like I was going to choke.
Even the steak tasted like rubber now.
Sweating awkwardly, I looked away, and Theo smiled sweetly.
“Should I keep going?”
“…Please don’t.”
To be fair, Theo had given me plenty of over-the-top gifts too.
But according to him, his were at least within the bounds of common sense—whereas mine were always beyond it.
He wasn’t wrong, so I decided to accept the criticism gracefully.
“Please, I’m begging you. Just give me something normal this time.”
“…No promises. But I’ll try. I’ll keep it as quiet as possible.”
Theo probably had no idea what I was planning.
I began mentally sorting through some of the possible options.
Just thinking about the surprise made my heart race—and as I smiled to myself, Theo smiled along with me.
“Well, if it’s a gift from you… I’ll love it no matter what.”
Ah, my sweet, precious Theo!
