Bring Me Juin Marcus
Emperor William licked his dry lips as he stared up at the bed.
There she was.
The beautiful mage who had first accepted him at the far edge of the Demon Continent.
"Liris, isn't this a little much?"
"Are you even listening to me?"
"It's the first time since then that you've come up onto my bed."
"Helena has been charming the saintesses and going around abolishing the Adult Ceremonies."
"Looking at it again, your figure is dizzyingly beautiful. That's why I couldn't restrain myself even in front of the Demon King's Castle."
"The one silver lining is that the Adult Ceremony is still being maintained despite the High Saintess's orders. But Helena's saintesses are touring the kingdoms and personally dismantling them. Isn't that completely absurd?"
"Pull that blanket down a little. I can't see your chest."
"At this point the emperor needs to step in. What exactly are you doing? Depose Helena and appoint another saintess as High Saintess. She's running around destroying the very laws she established—you'd have to be insane to allow that."
"That's it, just a little more. I want to see your waistline too. Your body feels softer than before. Well, of course you'd look prettier now than when we were suffering through the Demon Continent."
"Helena's priests are just as bad. They used to devour dozens, hundreds of people during the Adult Ceremonies, and now they want to perform them with holy water? After spreading their filth everywhere, they suddenly switch to plain water? Disgusting creatures. I even heard one of them cut off his own manhood while claiming to repent."
William stripped off the clothes he had been wearing.
Reasonably firm residual muscle covered his frame. He flexed his arm, making the biceps stand out, and presented it toward Liris.
"Well? You're not the only one who's improved. I've built a body impressive enough to draw admiration now. If I'd looked like this back then, I could have crossed the Demon Continent without relying on that damned Juin Marcus."
"It's all because of that alchemist. Juin Marcus. We have to kill him."
William crawled up onto the edge of the bed. When he nudged the blanket aside a little, Liris's pale feet came into view.
"Juin Marcus has been holing up in his territory without so much as a peep. I hear he's running a restaurant with his bedroom slave. Can't we just leave him alone?"
"If abolishing the Adult Ceremony is Juin Marcus's doing, he'll eventually reach for the Magic Towers as well."
William let out a long sigh.
"Could you focus a little? How long have I been waiting for this moment, and you keep talking about Juin? His face keeps popping into my head and ruining it."
"If you handed the Magic Towers over to me, you have to take responsibility. As Archmage and master of the Towers, I need to be able to exercise proper authority."
"I am taking responsibility. I even dispatched imperial holy knights to guard the Towers. No one can even approach them except the mages under your command."
"And what good does that do? Your final order was still to hand the Magic Towers over to Juin Marcus."
"That's the official justification, but it's not the reality. Without permission from the Magic Tower Academy, no one can touch the Towers anyway."
"That's exactly the problem—it's so ambiguous! Administration rests with the Magic Academy while ownership sits with Juin Marcus? What were you thinking when you issued that order?"
William extended his tongue and brushed it against Liris's calf.
"We both saw what happened. Don't make this difficult. Juin Marcus arrived with a dragon's daughter. Things could have gone catastrophically wrong that day. Handing over the empty title of ownership and smoothing things over was the best option we had."
"A report came up from the Magic Academy in the Marcus Territory. The restaurant Juin is building sits right against the Magic Tower. There's definitely some scheme involved. Wait—you said you wouldn't let anyone approach the Tower closely. Then you shouldn't allow this either, should you?"
"It's buildings touching, not people. There's no grounds to stop it. Ownership of the Magic Tower still belongs to Juin Marcus either way. He still can't enter the Tower itself."
"If the buildings are connected, he could slip in secretly!"
Liris shoved William's chest with her foot. He toppled backward, then crawled forward again and seized her ankle.
"I'll double the holy knights at the Marcus Territory Magic Tower. Ten of them. No—twenty. And I'll pick only the highest-ranked senior knights. That should set your mind at ease, right?"
"Not enough."
"I've ordered every scholar in the Empire to research Mii dragons. The first report already came in. A dragon that hasn't reached adulthood is weak. We might even send an army into the Marcus Territory. Everything I'm doing is for you, Liris—so I can cleanly hand you the Magic Towers you want. And yet you treat me like this—"
William's tongue traveled past her calf and climbed toward her waist.
"Aren't I allowed to feel a little hurt?"
His cheeks, flushed with heat, twitched with anticipation. He lifted his head and looked at Liris.
Her bare breasts filled his vision completely.
So beautiful it hurts my eyes.
But I can't close them.
Liris sighed and regarded William's face.
"Doesn't the restaurant itself seem suspicious? A dragon's daughter is even working there. Why build a restaurant right next to the Magic Tower of all places? Until I uncover his true intentions, I can't let my guard down for a second."
"Looks to me like you've already let it down."
William puckered his lips and leaned toward her.
"What have you been eating to smell this sweet? Even a potion wouldn't produce a scent like this."
Liris shoved his face away.
"Listen carefully, William. If we don't kill Juin Marcus, something serious will happen without fail. Helena wouldn't even meet the envoy I sent. People have changed. All of it started after they met that damned Juin Marcus."
"Even so, it's still just Juin Marcus. A half-wit who wants to run a restaurant himself despite being a lord."
William forced his way forward, aiming for Liris's lips. She pushed him back again.
"That man will definitely drag you down from the throne."
"I keep telling you that won't happen."
"Have you ever once fought Juin Marcus and won? You haven't. So where does this confidence even come from?"
Liris sat up on the bed. William awkwardly followed suit and stared at her.
"Are you going to keep acting like this? She was the same way, and now you too?"
"Who?"
"Helena."
William twisted his face in disbelief.
"She shoved me away just like you. She gave it to me so willingly, and now they both act like this? I still picture what happened inside that tent that day. I don't think I'll ever experience a moment that thrilling and magnificent again."
"You're right. You will never do it again."
Liris swung her legs over the side of the bed.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I warned you clearly. Don't forget why I put you on the emperor's throne. If you fail to accomplish what I want, it won't be Juin who pulls you down—it will be me."
William raised his hand as if to strike her cheek.
"Say that again. Just because I accepted you, you think you're somebody? I'm the emperor. You're the Archmage—a title I appointed you to. The administrative rights over the Magic Towers were my gift, and the territory larger than most kingdoms was also my doing. All nine kingdoms of the Empire now obey my commands."
"And so?"
"You're no longer dealing with just me. You'll be facing the entire Empire. Can you handle that?"
William reached for Liris's hair.
"Your emperor is me—William. So stop being so stiff and obediently listen, will you? Keep this up and I'll call the holy knights to bind your arms and legs."
"Haa!"
Flames burst from Liris's fingertips. Ten small fires flickered like candle flames and painted light across William's pupils.
"Shall I blind you? I could finish it in an instant."
"Is this jealousy talking? Because I told you I did the same with Helena?"
"Not jealousy—regret. The truth is, I wanted to give myself to Juin first, not you. Even inside that tent, I was imagining his face."
"Do you want to die, Liris?"
"I'm the one who wants to kill. I want to shove a fireball down your throat right this second."
"Then do it! I already told you I'll pin Juin Marcus down so he can't move and make him kneel at your feet!"
"Stop talking and get up. Put it into action."
William's gaze shifted again. The look he gave her was as tender as a lover's.
"You're far prettier than Helena. Helena doesn't even have a chest, does she? Your body is so beautiful it could actually blind a man."
Liris rose and opened the bedroom door.
"Go. Subdue Juin Marcus and bring him to me."
William stared for a long time at Liris's naked back as she left the bedroom.
"Juin-nim, what's wrong?"
"Dunno. My ear suddenly started itching."
Satin stretched her legs out and sat.
"Want to come over and lie down? I'm good at cleaning ears. Even Dad used to praise me for it."
I rested my head on her lap.
Her soft touch made my eyes close on their own.
Something must be happening at the Imperial Court.
Wait. Dad?
Come to think of it, I'm curious about the Demon King's movements too.
He's not the type to sit still.
Where is he now, and what is he doing?