The Thunder Dragon's Palace
The Thunder Dragon's Palace
The first evening after Yuzel entered service as a maid.
As usual, I was feeding Hildea and Rebecca Marshall Burgers for dinner.
"But have you seen where Luna went?"
"I don't know."
"That eonni wouldn't have returned to Anvelrum without telling Piel, would she?"
I should set aside Luna's share of the Marshall Burgers.
Oh right, I need to take care of Yuzel's portion too.
"Yuzel, was it? That woman made an incredibly wise choice."
"Once you've tasted the meat of the Marshall family even once, you can never go back to your previous diet. Living as Piel's servant rather than an imperial maid would be thousands of times happier, no?"
"To go so far as to offer 100,000 gold annually just to live as a maid, Count Yunes must truly be wealthy."
Just as I was finishing cleaning up after the meal.
Luna quietly appeared and called me.
"Daeryeong-nim, daeryeong-nim. I have something to show you, so would you please follow me for a moment?"
"When you say things like that, it makes me uneasy."
I think it was like this during the noona raw chicken incident too.
Luna laughs hihihi.
"It's nothing like that, so hurry and follow me."
I moved to Luna's quarters in the Northern region.
It's a house built separately for her after her amnesty and reinstatement.
Luna dramatically flung open the guest bedroom door and introduced it proudly.
"Tada! I prepared this diligently! I'll even cast a soundproofing spell for you, so please enjoy yourselves to the fullest tonight!"
"...I knew this would happen."
A lavishly decorated honeymoon-concept bedroom.
On the soft sheets, Yuzel, practically half-naked, sat bashfully.
A leather strap was tied around one slender ankle, connecting her to the bed... it seemed quite faithful to the slave concept.
Suddenly, Elenoa noona's raw chicken mode came to mind, but at least it wasn't full limb restraint with her mouth gagged like that time.
Only one ankle was long-tethered to the bed with a leather cord.
"Then I shall take my leave!"
Luna gave a brisk salute and closed the door.
It fell silent as if by magic.
"...."
"...."
Yuzel sat demurely with her legs together, shyly looking up at me.
I let out a light sigh, brought over a blanket, and covered Yuzel's exposed body.
"...Janggyo-nim?"
"Yuzel, all that talk about restlessly coveting you or whatever was just said to confirm your resolve."
"...Nae?"
"It means there's no need for this."
"Th-then, are we not doing it?"
"Yeah, we're not."
Yuzel's eyes trembled violently.
They shook chaotically like a magnitude 9 earthquake.
I gently patted her blanketed shoulder.
"So there's no need to overdo it. I don't commit barbaric acts like those southern bastards."
"I-I naturally thought you would embrace me... I thought you would ruthlessly yet tenderly destroy my chastity... I thought that instead of just introducing my tongue to the pleasure of gourmet food, you'd covet my body day and night endlessly...."
"By keeping you as my maid, I earn 100,000 gold annually. There's absolutely no reason to torment you."
The money the Noble Council put up for supporting the elf subjugation was 100,000 gold. That's a huge sum.
"I already know everything about your resolve to bury your bones in the North after falling for the meat and the Melona. And I even get 100,000 gold annually. So there's no reason for me to treat you poorly."
***
The moment Piel's words ended, Yuzel became dejected.
In truth, the reason she decided to throw away her succession rights, her status as an imperial princess, and everything else to live as a maid for life was....
'I've never seen such a beautiful man before!'
His appearance, like the cold, peerless Northern Grand Duke straight out of a fairy tale, was a major factor.
Even the high-status youths of the Empire, who are undefeated when it comes to looks, wouldn't be able to hold their heads high before Piel.
Yuzel had extremely normal sexual preferences.
Even without the monster meat and Melona, she would have seriously considered an engagement to Piel.
A life of living as a concubine to such a handsome man while eating delicious monster meat and ice cream every day would be thousands of times happier than living as a mere imperial princess.
"I-I thought I could become happy with delicious monster meat during the day, and enjoy blissful days and nights under Janggyo-nim's tender touch...."
"You're not even an adult yet."
"But I am an adult? I'm 18 years old."
"That's by the Empire's standards."
"Nae? The Leodis Kingdom shouldn't be any different, should it?"
"Anyway, there are things like that, so don't do this kind of thing from now on. Now, let's eat first."
Piel took out three Marshall Burgers he had brought stored inside the Subspace Bracelet.
Brown beef patties. Bacon cooked golden brown.
Thinly sliced smoky pulled pork, flat-cut brisket.
Lettuce and onions smothered in mayonnaise, large thin slices of cheese oozing savory flavor.
The form of wrapping that multitude of ingredients in brioche bread, which itself is practically a dessert already, fried in greasy butter and packed with saturated fat, sugar, and eggs, was an atrocious calorie bomb of taste just to look at.
"Wh-what on earth is this...."
Yuzel's white hands, which accepted the Marshall Burger, trembled.
The blanket covering her body slipped slightly, softly revealing her white shoulder.
"I-is it really okay for me to eat all of this?"
"Of course. Hurry up and eat."
Yuzel looked at the Marshall Burger with eyes so moved she looked about to shed tears and took a large bite.
"...!"
At that moment, a typhoon of flavor whirled inside her mouth.
Yuzel plunged full-dive into a spectacular fantasy of taste she had never known until now.
The typhoon of flavor blew Yuzel's body and mind off to another world.
She couldn't possibly keep her feet on the ground. She couldn't maintain her consciousness.
When she suddenly came to her senses, she had already devoured two Marshall Burgers, leaving only one.
"I-I'm full. Uwaaaang, I shouldn't be like this...."
"You ate two even though you're not a knight. Impressive."
"I-I'm so full I can't eat anymore. I'm so terribly sad and resentful...."
Yuzel stared at the one remaining burger with eyes dripping with lingering attachment and sorrow.
She wants to eat more, but frustratingly, her stomach is too full and there's no room!
"Don't worry, I'll feed you again tomorrow. Here, Melona ice cream for dessert."
"Melona!"
Yuzel frantically devoured the Melona ice cream that Piel peeled for her.
The sticky, rich, sweet, and cold taste of the concentrated fruit flavor cleanly washed over her mouth, which had been wrecked by the bombardment of greasy flavors.
"It's amazing. Even though I was so full, the Melona ice cream goes right down."
"Well, originally, there's a separate stomach for meat, bread, fruit, and dessert."
As Piel laughed and stroked her head, Yuzel grew embarrassed and her face turned red.
"Janggyo-nim, I sincerely wish to become Janggyo-nim's true maid."
"You're already my maid."
"But still...."
"Eoheo, a child shouldn't have such irreverent thoughts. When you're twenty, maybe, but you're still far too young."
Yuzel thought to herself.
Did that mean it would be okay in 2 years?
"Now, report for work at the Official Residence tomorrow. Sleep here at Luna's house for today. But what's up with that leather fetter?"
"Ah, I can untie this myself. It's just for show."
"Was it really Luna's idea?"
"Yes, she said you would like it, Janggyo-nim...."
Seeing Piel hold his forehead, Yuzel realized.
Luna had orchestrated this on her own.
"Then sleep well. I shall now...."
"J-Janggyo-nim! I have something to tell you! It's important!"
"What is it?"
Piel's face changed color slightly as he sat back down.
Yuzel hastily racked her brain.
'Uh, what do I do? What should I talk about?'
She had reflexively said she had something important because she didn't want him to leave, but her mind was completely blank on how to continue.
'Right! Elves!'
At that moment, a story she had heard before came to mind, and Yuzel spoke triumphantly.
"I know what the elves are after!"
"Elves?"
Piel shifted his posture.
His expression became serious, and his voice deepened with gravity.
"Tell me, Yuzel."
***
"This is something I happened to overhear from a conversation among high-ranking imperial family members...."
I immediately sensed that Yuzel's family was not ordinary.
Because otherwise, she couldn't have overheard a conversation of high-ranking imperial family members.
"In the southern part of the Empire, there's a very vast plain called the Palace of the Thunder Dragon."
"First time I've heard of it."
"You would be. The existence of this land isn't even known to the Imperial nobles. Count Yunes-nim doesn't know about it at all either."
So this was it.
A tingle of thrilling dopamine ran down my spine.
'Lord Deville had analyzed that the elves' advancing direction seemed much further south. That the Empire, not our kingdom, appeared to be their destination.'
"Why is the place called the Palace of the Thunder Dragon? Does a Dragon live there?"
"I don't know about that. But the reason it's named the Palace of the Thunder Dragon is certain. It's a place where lightning strikes more than half the year."
"Lightning? More than half the year? Doesn't sound like a natural phenomenon."
"Right? That's what I thought too when I heard the story. That perhaps somewhere in the Palace of the Thunder Dragon, a transcendent Object exists...."
My fingertips are tingling.
Accepting Yuzel as a maid was truly a great decision.
I obtained information whose value a measly 100,000 gold regular annuity can't even compare to.
"They even said that if the elves enter the Palace of the Thunder Dragon, it would be the end for all humanity on the continent. That's all I know."
"Thank you. Thanks to this, the direction of what we need to do going forward has become much clearer."
"Then please quickly take my maiden...."
"...Make sure to eat well and grow up first."
***
"I-I only had the intention of actively assisting so that daeryeong-nim's nights wouldn't be desolate or lonely!"
"Alright, so don't inject strange ideologies into Yuzel from now on. And follow me."
After giving Luna a light flick on the forehead, I returned to the Official Residence.
Hildea and Rebecca were waiting for me in thin nightgowns.
After I changed my clothes, the two women's Mana Massage began,
and Luna, floating beside the bed, made me cool by sending a gentle breeze.
"Yuzel gave us high-level information. In the southern Empire, there's a very vast wasteland where lightning flows called the Palace of the Thunder Dragon...."
The three women showed such an intense reaction that the Mana Massage and the gentle breeze fan stopped momentarily in the middle.
"Palace of the Thunder Dragon? I'm hearing this for the first time."
"A forbidden land unknown even to Imperial nobles. That place is the elves' objective?"
"It's absolutely not a natural phenomenon! There's undoubtedly a transcendent Object there! The elves are clearly after that!"
After the three of them chattered excitedly for a while, the massage and the Wind Spell fan resumed.
I lay straight down and made eye contact with the women.
"As expected, we should confirm it, right?"
"Is there a way?"
"Piel, the Imperial border is closed. Even entering the country is impossible without permission."
"If we get caught while infiltrating secretly, then we'll have no choice but to subjugate the entire Empire via aerial bombardment with the incendiary package, daeryeong-nim."
I smiled confidently.
"There is a way to enter the Empire openly and honorably."
"Piel, is there such a way? The Empire sends back even envoys of other kingdoms after finishing business only at the border zone...."
"It's offering the Wyvern Lord taxidermy as tribute."
At that moment, as if realizing it, the women silently exclaimed through their expressions.
The Imperial household had paid a staggering 100 million gold for the Wyvern Lord taxidermy.
A fearsome price markup reaching hundreds of times its original value.
The 100 million gold contains the following intent.
「If you hunt any more Wyvern Lords from now on, present them without fail. Never trade them elsewhere.」
It was a firm will and a warning that the Imperial household intends to become the one and only collector of Wyvern Lord taxidermies.
"Of course, even if it's far less than 100 million gold, they will bestow a hefty reward item each time a Wyvern Lord taxidermy is presented as tribute."
Because that's what tribute is.
So you could consider the 100 million gold a down payment for the monopoly tribute contract on Wyvern Lords.
"If we offer additional Wyvern Lord taxidermies in about one or two months, they'll be pleased, thinking we've been diligently running about, blinded by the tribute."
We can openly enter Imperial territory.