Chapter 1

My best friend, Juliana Kingston, and I both transmigrated into another world.

She became the Emperor, and I became her most favored consort.

When the ministers pressured her to produce an heir, she dropped to her knees right in front of me and begged me to go "borrow some seeds" from Alexander, the Regent, who held the entire court in the palm of his hand.

"Mia, Alexander's got killer genes and the face to match," she said with a grin. "Trust me, we're coming out on top with this one."

I clenched my jaw and went. But Alexander just smirked, and before I knew it, he had me pinned against the throne.

"Your Grace," he murmured, his voice low and mocking, "His Majesty is right outside that door. Are you sure you want to keep screaming my name like that?"

*****

Juliana and I both transmigrated into another world.

She was disguised as a man, ruling the kingdom as its king. And somehow, I had ended up as the only officially crowned queen consort in her royal court.

Three months into our so-called marriage, those stubborn old ministers made a scene in the throne room every single day.

Their argument was always the same—the king had been on the throne for three months with no heir in sight, so he needed to take more wives and carry on the royal bloodline.

That night, Juliana burst into my chambers before she even had time to take off her royal robes.

She threw herself at my legs and wailed like the world was ending. "Mia. Help me. Those old geezers want me to have a baby!"

I was lounging on the couch, munching on popcorn, and flipping through a romance novel. I rolled my eyes at her. "Then just have one. Someone's gotta inherit the throne eventually."

Juliana's crying stopped dead. She looked up at me, her eyes filled with pure despair. "How, Mia? I don't exactly have the right equipment down there. You want me to pull an heir out of thin air?"

The popcorn slipped right out of my hand. "And you tell me, how are two women supposed to make a baby?"

"Exactly!" Juliana shot to her feet, and her expression shifted from desperate to disturbingly determined. "I've thought it through. Since I can't do it, you're up."

I pointed at my own nose and let out a disbelieving laugh. "Juliana, have you completely lost your mind? I'm your queen. Where am I supposed to find someone to knock me up?"

Juliana let out a sly little chuckle and leaned in close to my ear, dropping her voice to a whisper.

"We borrow the Regent, Alexander Martinez. I've done my research. The guy is six-foot-four with a perfect eight-pack, and his genes are absolutely top-tier. After you have the baby, we just say it's mine, and our hold on the throne is rock solid."

I looked at her face, plastered with that smug "I'm so brilliant" expression, and my fists clenched. I wanted to punch the stupid right out of her head.

*****

Juliana and I were best friends. Then a cargo truck hit us both and dumped us straight into this brutal, ancient world.

I ended up as the neglected daughter of some low-ranking nobleman. My mother was dead, and my father couldn't care less about me.

Juliana had it worse. She woke up as a prince hidden away in the forgotten wing of the royal palace. Her mother had raised her as a boy since birth to keep her alive.

The night the king held his grand feast, we spotted each other in a corner of the great hall.

"Wait, what?" I said.

"No way," Juliana whispered.

We found an empty garden alcove and threw ourselves into each other's arms, sobbing like babies.

She was a mess of tears and snot. "Mia, you have no idea what my life has been like.

"I practice holding my breath every single day so nobody hears my real voice, and I have to stuff padding into my trousers every morning. I can't do this anymore."

I let out a bitter laugh and rubbed the bruises on my arm. "You think I've got it easy? My stepmother has been lacing my soup with slow-acting poison, trying to kill me off without anyone noticing."

Juliana pulled back and stared at me. "Wait, you didn't actually eat it, did you?"

There was no way in hell I was going to eat it.

I grinned at the thought. "I fed that bowl of soup to her precious little lapdog. Now the thing runs around the courtyard like it's lost its mind."

Juliana matched my grin. "Oh, I've been busy too. That maid who kept pushing me around? I used a little chemistry to rig up a small explosive and blew up her outhouse."

We looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Some things never changed. We were still the same scheming little troublemakers we'd always been.

Back then, Juliana had gazed up at the moon with a carefree grin and said, "One day, when I'm crowned, I'll marry you. We'll shut the doors and live our own little life."

I nodded so fast my neck nearly snapped. "Deal. I'll be waiting."

And then? Well.

No one could have predicted that every prince in the kingdom would slaughter each other fighting over the throne, and somehow, every last one of them ended up dead.

Juliana, the forgotten "prince" who had spent years tucked away in the palace's neglected wing, practically invisible, stumbled into the crown by default.

Her very first act as king was to issue a royal decree naming me her consort.

My father was so thrilled, his mustache went crooked. He was convinced our family had been touched by divine favor.

But I knew better. Juliana was drafting me into service.

After all, in the entire palace, I was the only person who actually knew her, and that made me her sole accomplice.

What I never saw coming, though, was her grand plan for me to "borrow" an heir from someone else.

And not just anyone. The someone in question was Alexander, the Regent, a man who looked at every living person as if he were mentally planning their funeral.