Emperor, the formless Verd.
Ironically, even though he was the most famous figure in the Empire, there wasn’t a single person who truly knew him.
First of all, the abilities the emperor wielded were unknown.
He unified the chaotic Byte Empire solely through brute force and was the only person who negotiated with the Demon Lord through ‘conversation’ during the last war with the Demon Realm. He even personally killed the mothers of his five daughters.
…I only knew this because it was all me.
The emperor opened his mouth again around that time.
“Well, the chief of balance shouldn’t just die like this.”
Balance.
The name of a secret organization of the Imperial Family. I was the one burdened with it as the chief.
After the doors of the Demon Realm closed, not a single member survived. They weren’t killed by enemies but by the emperor himself, and the reason was to silence them. The emperor is that kind of being.
“Living without a name and dying quietly. That was probably the last mission given to you, but now you think you can rebel?”
“Rebel? I might, I suppose.”
I haven’t forgotten that job yet.
No, I must not forget. That’s my duty as the chief.
Of course, I didn’t write love letters to the princesses just to seek revenge. I couldn’t honestly admit that I wrote them in a drunken stupor, so I merely responded like that.
However, from my recent reply, it seemed the emperor was convinced that I had proposed to the princesses for revenge.
“…Dare you hold my daughter as a hostage to live?”
Simultaneously, invisible thorns surged toward me to pierce through.
Ka-ka-kak─!
“…”
In that moment, even though I defended myself by trapping myself in the cube-shaped Ice Barrier, several thorns deeply pierced my shoulder.
The power the emperor wielded was definitely not magic.
“Hey, Ezekiel Hound.”
The chalice near the throne bobbed up and down in the air. It seemed the emperor’s mood wasn’t calm.
“Yes.”
“I have five daughters, how many proposals do you think I’ve received combined so far?”
The imperial princesses were all exceptional, regardless of looks or abilities. There must have been many humans trying to pluck them like flowers atop a cliff.
“I believe it’s quite a lot.”
“Quite? No, it’s utterly impossible to count.”
The small chalice in the air kept splashing around. The purple liquid inside was on the verge of overflowing as the emperor continued.
“The methods of courtship were so varied that one couldn’t even count them, but the outcomes were all similar. My daughters are not ones to easily give their hearts.”
In fact, it was quite an intriguing story for me.
‘What was it like?’
The stories that take place inside the imperial palace seldom leak outside, so I quietly listened to the emperor.
“The first pursues strength. She firmly believes she will only give her heart to a man stronger than herself.”
“Yes.”
“She set the condition that she would marry only if she fought and won against me, and I never once saw a guy come back alive. You’d think they could at least hold onto their lives, but they ended up dying anyway. It was tough work.”
The Empire’s 1st Princess, Ether.
It felt very much like her. She was indeed monstrous.
Moreover, she had inherited some of the current emperor Verd’s power.
“The second pursues bloodline, dignity, and grace.”
“That was the case even when she was young.”
“Maybe because of her mixed dragon blood. If she feels the slightest bit superior to someone, she won’t even consider them a living being. You know about Dragon Speech, right?”
I nodded.
The Empire’s 2nd Princess, Hedera.
She was a Dragon Speech user and also a Lingual Mage.
“If there’s a man who can resist her Dragon Speech, she said she would willingly give her heart. What do you think her command was?”
“No matter what she said, it was very much like Hedera.”
“It was a command to take your own life. Not a single one was able to resist and ended up taking their own lives.”
“…”
—Teacher! Don’t go! Play more!
—Play more! I said don’t go!
—Wah! It’s a Dragon Command! Let’s play more!
…Wasn’t it that bad when I was a kid?
“The third is the one who could rightly be called a Saintess. Her faith is remarkable.”
The Empire’s 3rd Princess, Solana.
“Isn’t she nicknamed the Empire’s Angel?”
“Right. She said she would give her heart to a man who can pray longer than she can. Not a single one has been able to last longer than Solana. The one who lasted the longest managed only three days.”
Solana’s Holy Power had already reached an impressive realm.
It was almost like a declaration to not give her heart to any man, which was important because it was the first time I had heard this condition.
‘I’ve never been asked for something like that before.’
I wanted to think about that point, but the emperor’s words continued.
“The fourth, as usual, is obsessed with gold coins and gambling.”
“I’ve tried to correct her a few times in the past, but it never worked.”
The 4th Princess, Chain. The Empire’s wealthiest.
“She always said she wouldn’t settle for a man who doesn’t have more assets than her, but she always gave the other party a chance at least once.”
“What kind of chance?”
“A chance to gamble. She had to bet her marriage in a gambling game.”
I couldn’t picture the 4th Princess losing. She had always had an absurdly high win rate from a young age with probability-based games.
“Most ended up having their wrists or ankles cut off, and in severe cases, their eyes were gouged out. She probably has them displayed somewhere. That’s just how she is.”
The 4th Princess’s possessiveness was immense. It was quite understandable since she wanted to claim the spoils from any competition.
“Finally, the fifth has no interest in humans as always.”
“Is she still immersed in inventing scrolls?”
The 5th Princess, Neo.
She had an exceedingly timid personality. It was so hard to catch a glimpse of her face since she always locked herself in the library or lab.
“She’s also received a lot of proposals. She must have seemed easy to approach.”
The emperor said with a slight smirk.
“She created a veritable maze out of magic scrolls, saying that whoever could get through it might meet her. Most gave up or met their end there.”
“…”
All five princesses were eliminating suitors in ways that suited them. Much more violently than I expected.
“Ezekiel.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not so cruel as to force my daughters into unwanted marriages. Rather, I respect my daughters’ opinions. I’m quite willing to help them start families with those they desire.”
“Is that so?”
I answered hesitantly at the emperor’s words, which didn’t sound very emperor-like.
“Yes, but even so…”
However, after a moment, I realized that I was mistaken.
After hearing the following emperor’s words, I understood that this was more like something an emperor would say than anything else.
“If a man is unremarkable and boring, as a father, I can’t just sit back and let it be. I have no choice but to tear him apart and prevent the marriage. It’s better to be resented by my daughters than for the entire continent to perish, don’t you think?”
…In the end, it means he’ll kill the guy if he’s not satisfied.
In that case, my chances of dying at the emperor’s hands were currently very high.
“Now, Ezekiel. I don’t have many questions left to ask you. Let’s see if you’re worth tearing apart.”
“Yes.”
“Are you strong enough to defeat the first princess? If not, are you some precious human with blood more valuable than the second’s Dragon’s Blood?”
The small chalice near the throne thudded down on the table.
“Are you as righteous as the third? Do you have more wealth than the fourth? Or can you easily break through the maze of magic scrolls created by the youngest?”
The emperor was currently asking me if I qualified to propose to his daughters.
Perhaps I could manage to break through the youngest’s magic scrolls. At least in the field of magic, I was confident more than anyone.
However, the others were still too difficult, so I shook my head.
“It might take some time.”
But I didn’t forget to cleverly answer, giving the impression that I could do it later. However, the emperor latched onto that.
“I’m asking based on the current situation.”
“It might be hard for the time being.”
“Yes, I think so too. No matter how many times I think about it.”
My mind started spinning rapidly.
‘Could it be that he wants to test me on all five at once?’
If so, that would be very troubling.
My letter, written in the frustration of a terminal illness, would have turned out to shorten my life instead. Of course, there were plenty of other bad possibilities looming.
While I was contemplating these things, the emperor called my name again.
“Ezekiel. Now for the last question.”
“…Yes.”
In the next moment, space compressed.
Before I knew it, the emperor and I were facing each other at a very close distance.
He had no shape, but I definitely felt a sharp gaze piercing through me.
“You, who can’t pass even one of the challenges.”
At the same time, I detected something faintly mixed with the emperor’s voice.
Surprisingly, it was a question.
It was definitely a question.
“How pathetic you are, that with just a wave of the hand, you would crumble… how could one like you…”
But soon, my mind went completely blank.
The emperor’s next words were too shocking.
“…how on earth did you manage to win the hearts of all my daughters?”
What?
…What on earth does that mean?
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