The protagonist regains memories of her past life upon becoming a hostage in an empire, realizing she is now the mother of the heroine in a childcare novel—doomed to die in childbirth. Determined to escape her tragic fate, she attempts to flee but is quickly captured by the emperor himself and forced into the role of empress.

Hoping to live quietly and be forgotten, she instead finds herself drawing unexpected attention. The emperor frequently visits her palace, insisting they share a bed, while the empress dowager grows fond of her, moved by a nostalgic resemblance to her younger self. In an attempt to reconcile the estranged mother and son, she unknowingly deepens their attachment to her.

Despite her desire to escape, the emperor—who has never cared for anyone before—begins to look at her with longing. She knows that bearing his child would make everyone happy except her, yet she finds herself unable to leave the lonely man who whispers for her to stay.