There Is No Light In The Empress's Birdcage

“Who dares to leave a mark on what’s mine?”
The towering man bent down, seized her chin with brutal force, and wrenched her mouth open.
This was Calliod Lorcan Gladius, who had suddenly appeared one day and claimed the throne of the newly formed Gladius Empire.
His other name was Killian Clian Ridges, the ill-fated noble who lost both parents and his family to the betrayal of the very princess he was once engaged to.
‘Who gave you permission.’
Calliod assumed she was about to bite her tongue and end her life.
After creating all this tragedy, how dare she.
“Do you have any idea what it took to get here? Can I not claim at least one trophy that pleases me?”
Unlike before, Calliod now reached out with almost reverent care, wiping the blood from her face as if he were handling some precious treasure.
By then, the frozen blood had clotted thickly against his hand.
“Hear me. Elana Rita Cliphes, Princess of Cliphes, I hereby proclaim you the wife of Calliod Lorcan Gladius, and Empress of Gladius, the empire reborn.”