"Let the Empress be brought forth."
The chains bit into my wrists, cold and unyielding.
The snow fell gently, mockingly, as if mourning what the people would not.
I walked forward—not dragged, not forced.
Even now, I would not let them see me fall.
The crowds gathered in the execution square were restless.
Nobles in furs whispered behind gilded masks.
Commoners spat curses through gritted teeth.
"She poisoned the Empress Dowager."
"She tried to kill the heroine."
"She bewitched the Crown Prince."
Yes.
They weren't wrong.
I was the Empress.
I had ordered poison to be placed in Elisse's tea.
I had exiled anyone who praised her too highly.
I had threatened the boy who once adored her just to see her cry.
I was the villain.
The villainess.
And still… I wished someone—anyone—would have stopped me before I became this monster.
My family stood among the crowd.
My mother, silent as ever.
My older brother, eyes averted.
Not one tear. Not one word.
I searched the crowd… and found her.
Elisse Caelum.
The heroine of this story.
The girl I hated… envied… feared.
The one who forgave too easily and smiled too warmly.
She wasn't smiling now.
Her face was pale, trembling, her hand clutching a lace handkerchief soaked in tears.
"I didn't want this," she whispered as I was forced to my knees.
I met her eyes and smiled bitterly.
"I know."
It wasn't her fault.
I was the one who chose cruelty.
I was the one who wore the crown and crushed everyone beneath it.
I thought being feared meant being strong.
But in the end, fear leaves you alone.
I looked up at the cloudy sky.
I wasn't ready to die.
I still wanted to fix it.
To turn back.
To protect what I should have cherished.
But villains don't get second chances.
The executioner stepped forward.
The priest muttered a final prayer.
Elisse reached out a hand too late and cried, "Don't—!"
Shk.
The blade fell.
Blood splattered across the pristine snow.
My body collapsed, empty and still.
And just like that… the villainess was dead.
---
But death was not the end.
It was only the beginning.
---