Chapter: 602
The officials from the Information Department have at least some combat abilities.
Even secretaries who have just sat behind desks since their days as Senior Managers were once operational staff, and it goes without saying for those like the Executive Manager of 3 and 5, who rose through the ranks to become the Executive Manager and Senior Manager. Whenever a situation called for a show of force, those two were often the ones to step up.
Even the Information Senior Manager, who was miles away from battle, and Eri had some knightly strength. In the unpredictable world of the Information Department, being able to defend oneself was essential.
But flipping that around, it meant Eri was the weakest among the officials from the Information Department.
“Ugh… W-heeek…”
And seeing Eri sprawled out on the bed, gasping for breath, it hit me.
Eri’s confidence was nothing but baseless bravado.
‘Why did she invite trouble for herself?’
As I watched her struggle to breathe and tremble, I felt a mix of emotions.
I never thought she could defeat me, but I was a bit nervous. She had been so confident she’d smash some record right after the wedding ceremony. So I thought there had to be some reason behind it.
‘Well, she did set a record indeed.’
The issue was that the overwhelming record was a problem.
In fact, Eri was so ridiculously confident that I had put in more effort than usual. Strictly speaking, her conditions weren’t the same as those of the other wives.
Yet still, considering everything, getting knocked out in one hit and ending up passed out was a bit excessive.
“Are you alright?”
I touched her shoulder, worried she might be dehydrated—
“Ughh!”
I quickly pulled my hand back.
I found out just two minutes into our honeymoon that Eri was the weakest among my wives, but I didn’t expect her to be this weak. Why did she flop around like a fish out of water the moment I touched her?
“Uhh…”
At some point, Eri, who couldn’t even speak properly, barely managed to lift her trembling arm to cover her eyes.
‘What’s she doing now?’
Unfortunately, it was too late for any of that. Her tear-streaked face was already more than I needed to see.
No, it wasn’t just tears flowing; there were many other things that had come out, but I won’t get into that. Gotta preserve her remaining dignity.
‘Maybe I overdid it a little?’
I carefully sat next to the still trembling Eri. At this point, I started worrying if I had been the one at fault. No matter how weak a person is, they shouldn’t be this weak.
Was it because I was too casual around her? Did I somehow push her too far and cross some line of endurance?
“Eri, get ready! I won’t let you go until you beg me to stop!”
“Oh, but I thought you were supposed to conserve your stamina first? That way, the balance would work out.”
“Uhh… I didn’t… do anything to conserve…”
‘Hmmm…’
Recalling what Eri had just said, it didn’t seem to be my fault after all.
Still, better to hypothesize a bit. I knew Eri was a prodigy of words capable of triggering blood pressure spikes. If I punished her just for a bit of that, then maybe I was in the wrong.
“Admit it! Acknowledge that I’m stronger!”
My fault…
“Wahh! No way! The strongest of the continent… but… I’m not… tired…!”
My fault…
“Is my dear… weaker than me?”
‘There’s no doubt left.’
No matter how I looked at it, it definitely wasn’t my fault. I could firmly state that.
How can someone taunt their opponent while their own body is falling apart? If that’s the case, then being pulverized is just part of the deal. I was merely acting according to common sense; Eri was the odd one out.
“Eri.”
For a moment, just to tease her, I called her ‘sister.’
“Uhh… w-what…”
But there was no response. Only her sporadic breaths echoed back.
‘This is serious.’
The Eri I knew would have shrugged and flaunted her superiority the moment I called her sister. Surely she’d have felt smug about having made me surrender to her nurturing capacity.
What a pity. It’s only been like what, four days since the start of our honeymoon?
“Eri, can you get up?”
I leaned in slightly and whispered in her ear.
“We have six more days to go, you know?”
At those words, Eri’s body twitched violently and shifted to the side where I wasn’t.
By ‘violently,’ I mean she barely moved ten centimeters in a minute or so, but considering her current state, that was actually a lot of movement.
“Let’s push through to break that record. Fighting!”
At that, Eri flopped around even more.
She was like some fish out of water, flopping about.
Eventually, our ultimate weakling Eri managed to escape from the honeymoon room after just one week.
What a shame. The last remaining wife, Penelia, was definitely stronger than Eri. If not strong, she would certainly not be weaker. Eri would forever remain the ultimate weakling in my heart.
Still, being remembered as the last would not be a bad choice if she couldn’t be first. According to Eri, being last would at least be a new record.
“Beast!”
Finally recovering her senses, Eri pouted.
“The beast wife talks too much.”
Of course, I had no intention of tolerating her whining. Anyone could see that she collapsed at lightning speed due to her own actions.
“So, what now?”
“What do you mean?”
Pouting her lips like a child, Eri replied, but there was something I needed to know.
“Now that we’re married, you should drop the title of Minister. Are you really going to call me that in front of the kids?”
“Definitely calling you that in front of the kids would be a bit much.”
Given my solid reasoning, Eri fell into thought.
What wife would call her husband by his work title? That’s way too much like a show-window couple.
“Yet, thanks to someone who keeps calling people by their titles, I’ve gotten used to it…”
“Oh, so that’s how you’re going to play it?”
That was a hard logic to rebut. To argue that point, I’d have to dig up Eri’s embarrassing past when she’d wilted on the ground.
In the past, I would have happily dug it up, but now Eri was my official wife. It wouldn’t do to drag out her dark history. Fighting while bringing up each other’s dark side would only hurt both individuals.
“Should we just call each other ‘Patriarch’ then?”
At that, I instinctively snagged Eri’s lips.
Might as well call me Minister instead. ‘Patriarch’ sounds like some other kind of relationship entirely.
“Uhhmm!”
Ignoring her futile attempts to escape, I continued to contemplate a fitting title.
Should I demand she call me ‘Oppa’ since she dared to toy with the term ‘sister’? No, I wouldn’t want to hear ‘Oppa’ from someone older than me.
Then how about the safer choice, ‘Dear’? Even though ‘Dear’ was a title usually used by Rizie, for three years, Rizie had gotten so used to calling me ‘Oppa’ that she still preferred that over ‘Dear.’
But that made me feel like I might be snatching it away from Rizie to hand it to Eri.
“Master…”
“Huh?”
I turned around at the voice of a servant calling from behind.
“A messenger from the royal court has arrived.”
“The royal court?”
As soon as I heard someone was sent from the royal court, feelings of dread and annoyance swelled within me.
…Should I just slip back into the honeymoon room? Then the messenger would likely leave too.
*
The new year has arrived.
Maybe it was because it was the new year, but the Crown Princess seemed to have grown a tiny bit since last year.
“Daboo! Daboo’s going home! Want to see him!”
To my surprise, her voice had gotten stronger than last year.
This dad is happy. She’s actually expressing herself quite well now…
“Our daughter. Your father will be here in a few days, so let’s wait a bit longer.”
“Want to see him! Want to see him! I can’t wait!”
Watching the Crown Princess throw herself on the floor and thrash around made me crack a bittersweet smile.
Yeah, she’s been waiting for quite a while. It’s pretty impressive for such a young child to wait a whole week.
‘Maybe I should have sent the evil gods away before the marriage.’
I splashed cold water on my face, caught off guard by this unexpected variable.
Before the Minister got married and locked himself in the mansion, I had almost daily visits to the royal palace as the Crown Princess’s guardian— and never alone but with his son and a bunch of pets.
The big dog that was large enough to ride on and the eleven animals that could speak were more than enough to win the affection and attention of the Crown Princess. Thanks to that, she used to wait eagerly for the Minister’s arrival, but now with his honeymoon, she was stuck waiting indefinitely.
The Crown Princess, who would typically spend the evening with a gloomy face having waited all day for the Minister, broke my heart every time I saw her. As her father, there was nothing I could do.
‘If I disturb their honeymoon, I’ll face rebellion.’
No matter how powerful an emperor may be, meddling in a newlywed’s business, especially right after their wedding, crosses a line. Unless the very existence of the empire is at risk, summoning the Minister is a no-no.
But I also couldn’t bring the animal friends the Crown Princess was so eagerly waiting for. There were only two talking animals left in this continent, and bringing the Minister’s former evil deities to the palace would weigh heavily on my conscience. What if those creatures lost their minds and harmed the Crown Princess?
So, I struggled to coax her gently, even loosening the daily chocolate limit, but…
“Daboo! Pedii! Dee-dee! Wanna see you!”
That clearly had its limits. I couldn’t keep extending the Crown Princess’s patience any longer.
If we let one more day slip by, I’d definitely hear “I hate daddy!” come from her.
‘…I should send a person for starters.’
If I just contacted them through the communication tube, it’d be embarrassed on both sides if the Minister were in a heated moment.
So, I’ll send a messenger to check if the Minister is free and then comfort the Crown Princess afterward.
*
“That’s how it turned out.”
“I see.”
I nodded stiffly at the tearful explanation from the royal messenger.
It was an unexpected problem. I had never anticipated the Crown Princess would be so anxiously looking for Titi and the holy waters.
“Of course, His Majesty has no intention of disrupting the Minister’s honeymoon. It’s merely a request for the Minister to meet with the Crown Princess if he has the time, and this is not an imperial command, but just a father’s plea.”
Even the Emperor took a soft approach rather than a coercive one.
This made it difficult to refuse. Since I had just left the honeymoon room today, and given that the Crown Princess was throwing a tantrum to see her guardian, how could I possibly ignore that?
“Also—”
While I was thinking about what to do, the messenger continued.
“The Crown Princess has also granted her permission for you to visit her estate.”
At that, I couldn’t help but snicker. It was clear a newlywed wouldn’t want to step outside and would rather stay inside, so sending the Crown Princess to my estate made far more sense.
‘Looks like the doting father has made a big decision.’
Thinking about the Emperor weeping as he brokered such a deal made my heart feel warm.
Sure, why not— I’ll accept it.
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