Everyone's Reasons
"Hehehehe... Bwahahahahaha!"
I threw my head back and cackled maniacally at the glowing monitor suspended in midair.
The razor-sharp cut to the cliffhanger captions, the pulse-pounding dramatic score, the slow zoom-in that caught every subtle quiver of a contestant's dilated pupils—every single visual I had plotted in my head was coming to life with terrifying precision.
Beside me, Sylvia swallowed hard, her eyes glued to the display.
"Whoa... This is... actually insane. It's so good..."
"Right? Isn't it?"
"Yes! At first, I honestly wondered what kind of unhinged show you were cooking up, but... Wow, Director, how did you ever come up with something like this?"
How did I come up with it? Simple: it already conquered my old world.
Naturally, I kept that part to myself, adopting an air of profound worldly wisdom instead.
"Throughout human existence, what has captivated people more than the opposite sex? Nothing. It has to be fun. Other people's love lives are always the most entertaining circus in town. What are the numbers looking like? Did we see a bump?"
Sylvia tapped her magic tablet, and her jaw dropped so hard I thought it might hit the floor.
"N-No way... Viewer ratings just broke ninety-five percent?! T-This makes no sense, Director! The capital metropolitan area is sitting at ninety-eight percent right now! Practically every single soul in the Empire is staring at this broadcast!"
"Bwahahahahaha!"
Could even a totalitarian regime back on Earth dream of pulling off ratings like these? This wasn't achieved through ideological indoctrination or iron-fisted coercion. Driven by nothing but an overwhelming flood of dopamine, fifty million imperial citizens had their eyeballs forcibly glued to the broadcast—a true masterclass in emotional dictatorship.
Beaming with pride, I scrolled down through the frenzy of real-time posts flooding the Forest of the Empire.
Ecstasy, fury, heartache, utter immersion—the viewers were already living and breathing alongside the twelve souls inside the mansion, strapped into a wild emotional rollercoaster.
Just as the public was ready to burst with curiosity over whatever Derickan and Rosalyn were discussing on the terrace, Marie's gentle voice drifted from the kitchen on screen.
"Dinner is ready, everyone!"
At last, their first dinner was served.
For the very first time, all twelve contestants gathered around the grand dining table, settling into their seats.
"Wait!" Aedus exclaimed in the studio. "What happened to the conversation between Female 1 and Male 2?"
"Ah, it looks like they're saving it for later!" Damon chimed in, leaning forward. "What could they have discussed that was so critical...?"
"Or maybe it was boring and got cut?" Madame Verna teased.
The mouthwatering aroma of freshly prepared food wafted through the hall, instantly softening the thick, awkward tension lingering in the living room air. Since this was their very first shared meal, the gathering naturally evolved into a round of casual introductions, where each contestant shared their reasons for coming on the show and what they hoped to find.
With their true occupations and noble lineages still strictly confidential, everyone chose their words with extreme care, relying on veiled metaphors to present themselves.
The first to speak was Male 1, Aaron.
"I... well, I came here to find a wife. An upright and wise woman would be ideal. I want someone who will quietly stand by my side throughout the work I must carry out for the rest of my days."
It was an earnest plea to find a lady of the house who would brave the bitter northern gales and shoulder the grueling duty of defending the Empire against monstrosities. But inside the studio and across the entire continent, the interpretation veered down a wildly different path.
"If we're talking grueling labor, it has to be agriculture!" Aedus shouted, clapping his hands together. "An upright, sensible maiden to plow the fields and tend the cattle together!"
"Look at those thick, heavy calluses on his hands," Damon added with deep conviction. "One hundred percent a farmer. Such an honest, rustic lad—he'll surely treasure his bride like gold!"
"I hear modern agricultural estate managers make an incredible living these days, don't they?"
"Of course! Food production is paramount to our recovery, so the Imperial Family backs them with massive subsidies!"
Following the panelists' breathless assumptions, the comment section of the Forest of the Empire cemented Aaron's identity as a salt-of-the-earth farmer or a burly lumberjack.
Next was Male 2, Derickan.
"I wish to experience pure, spiritual love. I've always wondered what an unconditional communion of the heart truly feels like."
An astonishingly platonic declaration from the sovereign lord of the imperial underworld, a man whose daily routine involved ruthless betrayals and cutthroat dealings in shadowy alleys.
"Does that mean you reject physical love?" Rosalyn asked, arching a sculpted brow.
"No. Th-That... isn't what I meant, but..."
"Then what is the point?" she cut in with a cool smirk. "In the end, you simply want ordinary love like anyone else."
"Oho!" Aedus roared, slamming the desk. "A direct fastball straight down the middle! Female 1! The more you watch her, the more fascinating she becomes!"
Then came Male 3, Lucas.
"Whenever I watched lovers walking through the avenues, I couldn't help but envy them. I always wondered what that emotion felt like, and I wanted to experience it for myself, at least once."
It was the sorrowful lament of a young knight who had spent his youth grinding through military mud and blood just to keep his crumbling earldom afloat, never once having the luxury of romance.
Just as the atmosphere turned warm and contemplative, it was Male 4's turn. Drexler flashed an easy grin and spoke without hesitation.
"As for me... I think I've already met my ideal type."
The entire dining room froze in stunned silence.
"Wait, what?! Already?!"
The female contestants gasped in unison, and the studio erupted into frantic shouts.
"Oooh—!"
"What do you mean by that, Number 4?"
Amid the chorus of cheers and barrage of questions, Drexler scratched the back of his neck with an unabashed chuckle.
"Truthfully, I didn't expect much when I arrived, but coming here was the best decision I've ever made. From now on, I intend to charge straight toward that person. Without stopping."
The commentary booth completely lost its mind.
"Aaargh! Male 4! That gaze is locked squarely onto Female 6!!"
"A full-throttle bulldozer from day one! A line like that carpet-bombs a woman's heart!"
"Wait, look at Female 6's expression! It's so ambiguous! Ah... could this be a reckless blunder on his part?!"
Behind the glass, I smirked. A relentless bulldozer running headfirst into drama was gold for ratings. I made a mental note to throw a few lucrative station contracts toward House Drexler.
Keep it up, kid. Very good.
Next, Male 5, Edgar, adjusted his spectacles and gave a stiff, scholarly remark: "I've spent far too long shut inside my study, so I wished to venture out into the world. People seem like a far more intricate subject than books."
Meanwhile, Male 6, Julius, offered a charming, practiced smile: "Being granted the opportunity to stand here among you all is a profound blessing, and perhaps, our destiny."
Damon immediately pounced on the prince-like commoner's words.
"Ah, Male 6. It sounds terribly romantic on the surface, but there's zero substance behind it, isn't there? If he keeps up that noncommittal, overly polished facade, the ladies will begin to question his sincerity. That could spell trouble for him down the line."
Then, the floor was turned over to the women.
Female 1, Rosalyn, slowly swirled the crimson vintage in her wine glass before speaking in a low, melodious voice.
"Life had simply grown far too boring. I thought romance was the only novelty left that could cure my tedious existence. Yet... it turns out things haven't been boring in the slightest since the moment I stepped through that door. Receiving zero votes on the very first day was enough to make my head spin."
A burst of surprised, hearty laughter erupted around the table at her brazen self-deprecation.
"Ah, what brilliant wit!" Damon remarked, thoroughly impressed. "It's remarkably difficult to turn one's own humiliating defeat into such an effortless punchline."
"That is the composure of a woman possessing unshakable self-worth," Madame Verna agreed.
Female 2, Seria, rested her chin in her hand with a breezy smile.
"I feel quite the same. I'm searching for something that makes my heart pound. And just like Number 1, my circumstances have been exceedingly eventful from day one."
As she spoke, Seria shot a razor-sharp glare across the table at Male 2, Derickan, who had just returned from his secluded garden stroll with Rosalyn.
"Oho! What is this electric current?!" Aedus gasped. "Female 2 and Female 1—is an official rivalry already igniting between them?!"
"Ahem! *Cough!*"
On screen, the underworld kingpin cleared his throat uncomfortably, looking caught off guard for the first time.
Female 3, Vivian, the heiress to a merchant syndicate, spoke next with a bright, earnest tone: "I'm looking for someone who can walk beside me throughout the venture I run! Though, to be clear, it involves no harsh physical labor!"
Her phrasing drew an intriguing, subtle parallel to Aaron's earlier words.
"Ah, another contestant focused on work?" Damon noted. "Yet Female 3's hands show no signs of rough toil whatsoever."
"Indeed," Madame Verna remarked. "Trying to piece together their true identities while remaining completely blind to their backgrounds is truly the greatest thrill of this program."
Seizing the moment, Aedus turned toward the magic lens and flashed a conspiratorial wink.
"The true professions and noble lineages that you, dear viewers, are so desperate to discover will be unveiled in dramatic fashion in the latter half of the season! So make sure you never miss a single live broadcast!"
Next was Female 4, Chloe, who fidgeted shyly with her silverware. "I-I've also spent all my time reading texts in isolation, so being here makes my heart race... but I feel as though I will uncover tremendous inspiration here." Her poetic delivery immediately sparked a flurry of forum theories guessing she was a cloistered artist or writer.
Female 5, Cecilia, declared with spirited conviction: "Whether nobleman or commoner, it matters not to me! I came here solely to meet my fated partner!" Her proclamation earned enthusiastic applause from everyone around the table.
"Yes! Female 5 speaks straight from my very soul!" Aedus cheered boisterously. "Precisely! Love knows no boundaries of blood or status! Imperial law actively encourages holy matrimony between nobles and commoners alike—"
Aedus abruptly caught himself and cleared his throat, clamping his mouth shut. Proroguing any further risked transforming a lighthearted variety show into a political broadcast championing the Prime Minister's controversial integration policies.
And finally, all eyes turned to Female 6, Marie, the center of everyone's quiet fascination.
"For me... should I say I came to fulfill a dream? Or perhaps... I have already fulfilled a small piece of it...?"
It was a brief, enigmatic statement.
Yet the profound sincerity glowing within those crystalline eyes seemed to pull the entire table into deep, contemplative silence.
Surprisingly, the one who offered the strongest reaction was none other than Female 1, Rosalyn.
"A dream... A dream, is it? What a deeply inspiring word."