The Emperor's Lies, My Cold Revenge

I am Helena, a humble horse trainer at the royal stables. The Emperor once showered me with affection, claiming that only by my side could he truly be himself, and promised to make me his queen. I waited for him, foolishly, for two long years. But instead of fulfilling his promise, he brought back his unattainable first love, his 'white moonlight'—the woman he had always longed for—and crowned her as Empress. To her, I was nothing but a thorn in her side. She subjected me to endless torment, while the Emperor stood by and indulged her every whim. She even went so far as to provoke my horse and feign injury, leading the Emperor to cruelly order the demise of Alec, my beloved steed, its flesh boiled into a stew. She demanded that I consume the stew, knowing it would break me completely. In the end, the Empress decreed that I was to be tamed and enslaved, stripping away my dignity, and the Emperor, desperate to win her favor, readily agreed. When the cold whip lashed against me, the pain made it all clear—every moment of tenderness had been nothing but a cruel pretense. Every moment of kindness had been nothing but a lie.