emperor theodore

Princess Anya Jyara of the defeated Kingdom of Jyara is captured by a notorious pack-horse caravan during her journey to a political marriage. She almost loses her virtue to the bandit chief Wyatt Igan. Through careful scheming, Anya manages to enter the imperial palace of the Kingdom of Eoghan, where she makes a shocking discovery: the bedridden emperor bears an identical resemblance to Wyatt. Meanwhile, Wyatt infiltrates the palace disguised as a eunuch to stay close to her. The Prince Regent, who holds actual power in the palace, desires Anya for himself. Caught in a web of palace intrigue and deadly power struggles, Anya strategically manipulates the men around her to survive. She uses herself as bait while he shields himself with his bandit identity, and together they battle from the bedchamber to the imperial court in a dangerous game of deception and ambition.

Freya Lyon is the Nine-Tailed Fox who has protected the Noxen kingdom's royal family for five hundred years. To repay the founding emperor's kindness, she guards the kingdom's fortune at the cost of severing her tails nine times. On the eve of her final blessing ceremony, she disperses her powers as the ritual requires, only to be publicly blocked, humiliated, and beaten by the arrogant and jealous Consort Jynna, who even destroys the blessing token, causing celestial anomalies and destabilizing the kingdom's fortune. Though the royal family knows her true identity, suspicion and selfishness prevail—under the incompetent King Cedric Grant and the Empress Dowager's indulgence, they repeatedly harm her. Freya grows cold toward the corrupt Grant descendants but still remembers the innocent commoners, using her remaining power to bear their suffering. Finally, after her powers recover, she reveals her true immortal might, quells the rebellion,and punishes the treacherous.