I Became a Barbarian's Bride - Chapter 4
The new Empress was an old friend of the former Empress. It was clear that some sort of transaction had taken place, for she did not love the Emperor.
She viewed Nisha with utter contempt, seeing her as the embodiment of her dear friend’s demise.
All the Empress’s torment was directed at her, and the Emperor, aware of everything, turned a blind eye.
It was absurd.
Was it a crime to be born?
Her mother was the sinner, and the Emperor was blameless?
Astonishingly, it was so.
In this country, power was everything, and the Emperor was the sun of the empire, thus becoming the pitiable victim who lost his virtuous Empress to the schemes of a greedy woman.
‘I want to die.’
If everything was hell no matter where she went, she at least wanted to escape this imperial palace.
In her childhood, after hearing the cruel truth of her birth from the new Empress and attempting to take her own life for the first time, Nisha did not succeed in dying.
Instead, she received unprecedented care and survived.
As she opened her eyes after wandering the edge of death, the smiling Empress stood before her. The Empress soon whispered into Nisha’s ear with a sorrowful face.
“Don’t think of dying so easily. Since you have dragged everyone into hell, I will personally ensure that your life becomes a hell as well.”
Despite the cruel whisper, Nisha did not give up.
However, it wasn’t long before she realized that even death would not come as she wished, and for the first time, she despaired.
As if the heavens had shown mercy, she discovered she had acquired a mysterious power.
What might be a blessing to someone else was another form of despair for her.
Learning that even death was no longer hers to control, Nisha gave up on many things and lived quietly, hiding herself.
‘Marriage…’
She had been prepared for a political marriage, of course. But she soon realized that preparation and reality were vastly different.
The prospect of leaving for an unknown place, giving birth to and raising the child of a man she had never met, and living a confined life was horrifying.
Alternatively, she might have to live as she did now, confined and scorned for the rest of her life.
“Cough-.”
Another cough burst forth.
Nisha quickly rose and buried her face in the pillow, her face contorted.
“Cough, cough, cough-!! Ugh….”
She curled up abruptly as the coughs violently erupted from her. She tried to stifle the sound as much as possible.
The poison her mother had ingested while Nisha was in her womb had exacted its toll, not on anyone else, but on Nisha.
Nisha’s body had been frail from birth.
As she coughed violently, almost to the point of suffocation, she reached out and fumbled around the nearby bedside table.
Grabbing the familiar kettle from the nightstand, she took a few gulps, feeling somewhat calmer afterward.
“Really, it’s exhausting….”
If life is like this, I think it might be fine to end it now.
Muttering softly, she curled up and pulled the blanket up to her neck.
***
The Roshan Empire was once a very prosperous nation.
It boasted vast granaries, large mines producing high-quality diamonds, and a favorable climate year-round.
With such abundance, it built up its military strength, conquering numerous neighboring countries and creating many vassal states.
However, as time passed and the throne was succeeded, peace took hold, and the imperial family began to rot from within, as if it were its natural course.
Corruption and tax evasion became the new norm, taxes were raised almost daily, and while commoners struggled to afford even porridge, the nobles were busy enriching themselves.
Some nobles amassed more wealth than the Emperor himself.
The people’s uprisings, driven by their unbearable suffering, were all violently suppressed, resulting in countless casualties.
This marked the beginning of a reign of terror enforced by military might.
While the people bled outside, the imperial city glittered with lavish jewels and gold.
While the streets overflowed with people dying of starvation, the imperial food stores were so full that the food rotted, and banquets were held every day.
This was because the Emperor, having lost all will after the Empress’s death, had almost entirely abandoned state affairs.
Ironically, the Emperor, who had taken a mistress, truly loved the Empress.
The problem might have been that the Empress was naturally too weak to satisfy the Emperor’s s****l desires.
Yes, that ridiculous reason was the beginning of the former Empress’s and Nisha’s misfortune.
