The Empress Only Wants to Slay Her Husband for Enlightenment - Chapter 1

I was Xiwei, Empress of the Demon Realm, and the only nine-tailed enchantress fox left in the world. All I needed to ascend to immortality was the right opportunity.

I had already picked one out.

The Azure Dragon Clan’s third prince, to whom I had been betrothed since childhood.

Once I had his heart-guarding scale, I could use its divine dragon aura to force open the Ascension Platform and ascend.

Granted, a heart-guarding scale was a dragon’s most precious possession. I had heard it mattered even more than his enormous dick.

Still, it should not be too difficult for an enchantress fox.

After all, my husband-to-be—whom I had never met—was said to have found his true love.

Wonderful news!

Day after day, I waited and waited for him to come and break off our engagement.

Then I would cry, make a scene, and threaten to hang myself, all from the moral high ground, while accusing him of breaking his word and heartlessly abandoning me.

Finally, I would give him a fragile little look and ask for a keepsake to remember him by—

Fine. It was a bit of a stretch.

But that was all right. That would be the version everyone heard afterward.

Once he set foot in my Demon Realm, however badass he thought he was, he could hardly take on my tens of millions of demon soldiers.

And at the end of it, I would even let him save face.

Where else would he find such a thoughtful fiancée?

Surely he would have no complaints.

Besides, I had connections in the Divine Realm!

I had underestimated how shameless the third prince could be.

His beloved turned out to be the adopted daughter he had picked up in the Mortal Realm a hundred years ago.

Where were his morals?

Where was his decency?

And where was the porn?

Could a mortal’s frail little body really take a dragon’s…

Ahem. Just asking.

That was hardly the important part.

The important part was—

The bastard had barged into my bedchamber in the middle of the night.

And had the gall to demand that I cut off three tails to prolong his adopted daughter’s life.

This fox could die laughing.

Who the hell did he think he was?

Did he have any idea how hard I had worked to cultivate these nine tails?

Apparently, my expression gave me away.

The third prince frowned as though he had come to some momentous decision.

“Xiwei, if you agree to save Susu, I will grant your wish and marry you.

“But Susu will always have a place in this family.

“Don’t go throwing your weight around as mistress of the household in front of her.

“Behave yourself, and I will give you a life of wealth and honor!”

Listen to him.

Was that any way for a dragon to talk?

I nearly rolled my eyes, but caught myself just in time.

A mature demon empress ought to seize every opportunity to ascend.

So I sank to the floor and began to sob pitifully.

“My heart is yours, my lord, yet yours is harder than iron.

“Even if you asked for all nine of my tails, I would never dare refuse.

“It’s just… I’m gravely wounded. If I cut off my tails now, I’m afraid I won’t survive.”

Naturally, the third prince did not believe me.

He hesitated, then demanded loudly, “I’ve heard that for a nine-tailed fox, each tail is another life.”

“As you said, my lord—you’ve heard it!

“If that were true, my poor ancestress Daji would never have died!”

Fair point.

His expression softened. In the end, he could not quite bring himself to be that cruel.

“Don’t worry. If you agree to save Susu, I won’t abandon you.”

“Do you truly mean that, my lord?”

“I am the Dragon Clan’s third prince. My word is my bond!”

“In that case, I do have an idea.

“I’ve heard that a dragon’s heart-guarding scale has tremendous powers and can preserve the last breath of vital energy.

“With that, surely nothing could go wrong.”

His expression changed.

“How dare you!” he snapped. “A creature like you has no right to covet a heart-guarding scale!

“Besides…”

Before he could finish, another man’s voice sounded in the room.

“Besides, his heart-guarding scale is long gone.

“He must have given it to that adopted daughter of his. Susu, was it?”

Brilliant.

A demon empress wasn’t worthy, but a mortal was.

I understood now.

No wonder a mere mortal could take his dragon energy…

What a pair. A toad chasing a frog: one ugly, the other a hopping little flirt.

Unfortunately, that put an end to my plan.

Not every dragon had a heart-guarding scale.

Only those who reached the rank of divine dragon could grow one. It was effectively a divine dragon’s second life.

And this idiot had gone and given his to his little lover.

That left only two members of the Azure Dragon Clan with heart-guarding scales: the clan leader and the crown prince.

I considered my chances of getting one of theirs.

Pretty much zero.

Why the fuck was I still pretending?