Emir Solarion
"Long time no see."
I said, letting my discomfort show plainly.
"It's been so long since we last heard from you that I came to visit."
Emir flashed me a radiant smile. It was hard to believe this was the same woman who'd been so anxious about Seria just moments ago. Her innocent grin melted my heart without warning. She was stunningly beautiful. Even standing next to Seria, the Empire's flower, she didn't pale in comparison—not in looks or figure. If Seria was a beautiful ice crystal forged in cold, lofty heights, Emir possessed a warmth like sunlight that melted people on its own.
I was taken aback. Emir Solarion. In the original story, she was mentioned in just one line.
'Emir Solarion is poisoned by Siegfried of the noble faction.'
The one who'd tried to poison her was, of course.
'Seria.'
The book said Seria had poisoned her out of jealousy over her appearance. In the original plot, that poisoning sparked a war between the noble faction and the imperial faction. The reason? Solarion. The great lord ruling the Empire's eastern territories. One of the two families currently leading the emperor's faction under him.
The great lord of Solarion had an heir son and two daughters. The eldest was Emir Solarion, the second Hera Solarion. And that eldest daughter had now come to my mansion.
As my 'former' fiancée.
The Solarion great lord's most cherished daughter—and one of the few women Seria had ever envied.
Why was she still alive now? I'd just say I happened to pass by and saved her.
In any case, Emir Solarion was the fiancée of the current me, Morris Dmitry. It was a setting from the original story. Solarion commanded powerful forces in the east but had no ties to magic. The Dmitry family was a central noble house famed for magic but lacked a solid base of power. To fill each other's gaps, the families had arranged a marriage between Morris, the Dmitry eldest son, and Emir, the Solarion eldest daughter.
But shortly after I possessed this body, the Dmitry family head and matriarch—Morris's parents—died in an accident. Soon after, the engagement was called off. It was the natural course for someone like me back then, who had nothing.
So, former fiancée. We had no ties now.
"Is that all you have to say?"
I sat across from her and continued.
"Now that you've seen my face, you can head back."
From my current position, she was the most awkward visitor possible. An ex-fiancée from a broken engagement. And now...
...someone I could get politically entangled with. I hadn't fully built my own power base yet; she wasn't someone I could afford to meet.
"Didn't we agree not to contact each other? I'm pretty sure I told your family head that much."
"Lord Morris."
She leaned forward, grasping my hand. Her dress, designed to plunge deep at the chest, revealed a dramatic valley.
"If you're speaking so coldly because of the broken engagement, it's a misunderstanding. I begged my father over and over not to call it off..."
"Enough. I'm grateful for your words, my lady, but I can't fully trust them."
They were words too easy to believe, considering the paths we'd walked.
"A few months ago, you developed feelings for me because I saved your life. Trying to bring up the engagement again on such fleeting affection... don't you think that's asking too much?"
I shook off her hand.
"B-but, Lord Morris."
"I'd prefer 'Minister.' I don't care for being called by name."
Emir lowered her gaze. After all this, she'd give up now, surely.
"I still can't forget that day. The way you neutralized the poison forced into me by those thugs, defeated them all, and boldly rescued me."
"Enough. We've been over this."
I squeezed my eyes shut.
"Please think it over once more. My family has always..."
"Why cling to a story that's already over? When your family head died and the Dmitrys were reeling, what did the Solarions do? Didn't they abandon their trust and demand to end the engagement?"
Canceling a marriage with an unneeded partner was commonplace in this world. It wasn't born of love, so it was the expected outcome.
"Lord Morris, that's a misunderstanding. I... I was trying to uphold our engagement..."
"Emir, your excuses are tiresome."
Every time I saw her, echoes of my past self surfaced. The worthless me from my original world. The me who'd confessed to someone I liked, only to be coldly rejected for not being her type. The me right after possession, feeling discarded just like then.
Emir looked up at me from the reception room sofa, her moist eyes and flushed cheeks breathtakingly beautiful. Any man weak to women would have fallen instantly. Even a Casanova who'd broken many hearts would have offered jewels and whispers of love. It was that lethal a weapon.
But it didn't work on me.
"Please leave. Don't make things harder for me."
Emir, her eyes brimming with tears as she met my gaze, finally bowed her head. Was that a tear falling? Or just my imagination?
After a long moment with her head down, she pointed at Seria standing beside her.
"Is it because of this woman?"
"Emir."
"Did this statusless girl, granted by His Majesty, seduce you, Lord Morris?"
Her eyes burned with jealousy, her face on the verge of tears.
"Is that why you're casting me aside? Because you have such a beautiful maid now?"
I could see Seria behind her, cursing with her expression alone. She was holding back only because she knew I'd punish her for stepping out of line.
"Then make her your mistress. What's one or two slaves or mistresses to a nobleman? All I want is to stay by your side. So..."
"Emir."
"To be with you again, Lord Morris, I turned down proposals from every noble house."
How could I not know? Her pleas tugged at me. She was a beautiful woman. Even without me, proposals from better men must have flooded in. After our broken engagement, I'd heard she hadn't tied herself to anyone new, remaining alone. Rumors swirled in noble circles that she'd forsaken food and sleep.
Her status as the great lord's eldest daughter, her beauty, her political position—there was no reason she couldn't marry if she willed it.
Most of her words were sincere. That's why I couldn't bind myself to her.
Not with the Empire's current political landscape.
I was outwardly the Magic Department Minister appointed by the emperor, but truly the leader of the neutral faction. The third force, aligned with neither nobles nor imperials.
If I sided with one in this fragile balance of power...
'The equilibrium shatters.'
The Empire could plunge into civil war centered on the emperor once more. That couldn't happen.
So I had to drive her away even more ruthlessly.
"Just give me a chance..."
"I'm sick of it."
"Pardon?"
"I'm sick of you coming here like this. It's over from long ago. How long do you plan to cling like this?"
"L-Lord Morris."
I beckoned Seria. She bit her lip and approached. I grabbed her ass hard, toying with her, all while keeping my eyes on Emir.
"As you said, I'm enjoying a new woman, so don't come to the mansion anymore. Unless you want to watch me and my maid up close."
I slipped my hand under Seria's skirt.
"Ah!"
Seria's face flushed red. Emir watched, her cheeks burning with shame and shock, gasping in disbelief.
"So never come to the mansion again."
"I'm sorry. For visiting so rudely like th-this."
She stood, stumbling over her words. Blood seeped from her bitten lip.
Bam!
She shoved back from her seat, slammed the door, and left. I watched her retreating figure through the window as she departed the mansion.
'Truly beautiful.'
Regrettably so. If I could have taken her...
'It would have been thrilling.'
I startled myself with the thought. I shook my head violently, as if seized by a fit.
What was I thinking? Had Sexual Sadism activated or something?
No. Surely not.
Was that really my own will just now?
Before I could dwell on my surprise at my own behavior, Seria, who'd been standing quietly, spoke up.
"Master, are you sure it's okay to send her away like that...?"
She'd started in casual speech but switched to formal mid-sentence, probably feeling the electric jolt.
"What do you mean?"
"You seemed to like her... though."
"Me?"
"Yes."
"You saw wrong."
"No. You were harsh, but there was affection in your voice... though. I was too startled to notice when you grabbed my butt."
"Was it obvious?"
"Yes."
"I'm still inexperienced, then."
Once her carriage was fully gone from the mansion, I turned to Seria.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing. I just didn't know you could make that face... though."
At her words, I glanced in the mirror. My reflection had furrowed brows, looking sorrowful.
"Pretend you didn't see that."
Seria bowed her head.
"You've adapted well to a maid's etiquette."
"If I don't, it h-hurts! Ugh!"
Did she curse me mid-sentence? Her body shuddered.
"Did you curse me?"
"No."
"You can be honest. No count this time."
I snapped my fingers, and she nodded.
"What did you say?"
"I thought, 'Damn bastard who cursed me so I can't refuse.' Master."
"Spot on."
"Pardon?"
"I admitted to cursing you so you can't refuse."
"Whoa..."
Seria gaped, then continued blankly.
"What a jerk."
Did that slip out unconsciously? She covered her mouth in shock.
"That one counts."
I snapped my fingers again. Seria flinched and writhed. A deep blush spread across her face as she bit her lip. Her breathing grew slightly ragged, like she was excited.
This...
'She's starting to enjoy it?'
The hypnosis from the lizardman venom essence must have hit harder than expected. Too much enjoyment could be a problem.