Chapter 76 — Proof of Manhood
Chapter 76 — Proof of Manhood
Translation: Godtl
Just as expected. It was a good thing I hadn't taken the medicine out of my inventory beforehand.
In front of the reception room of the main palace.
The Emperor's attendants lightly searched Lelia and Kalix's bodies.
Cedric, Damian, and Lute glared at Lelia before the three of them left together.
Lelia sighed inwardly.
Whatever happened, Lute had certainly earned the favor of those two princes. For now, it was essentially the same as being on the same side.
"Please come this way."
Following the attendant's guidance, they entered through the large doors, revealing splendid furniture.
In the spacious area that appeared to be a reception room, a magnificent carpet was spread out, with sofas and tables arranged harmoniously.
And turning her head, she could see the end of a sofa inside a large, open archway.
That space seemed to be a private audience room, more intimate than the reception room.
"…."
Lelia desperately tried to control her trembling hands from nervousness.
On the other hand, Kalix looked completely at ease.
The attendant guided the two into the audience room beyond the archway.
The Emperor, who had been reading documents while seated on the sofa, raised his head.
"You've come."
"…."
Lelia swallowed hard.
Since fleeing the imperial palace in her childhood, this was her second reunion with the Emperor.
The first reunion was the night she went to the cottage to find ingredients. The sensation of the drunken Emperor grabbing her ankle was still vivid.
Perhaps because the shock of that moment resurfaced, Lelia found it difficult to calm her pounding heart.
"…."
Seeing Emperor Perseus in the light, in his right mind, he looked not much different from before.
Despite the passage of quite a long time, he still appeared young. Though he had lost some weight.
Emperor Perseus's brow furrowed.
The actual appearance of Sir Raymond, whom he had only heard about….
Yes, it bore quite a resemblance to that painting his secretaries had shown him, calling it a popular trend.
But seeing him in person, he resembled someone else even more than that painting.
'Elizabeth…?'
Why did this young man he was seeing for the first time resemble his deceased wife?
Even the eye color and hair color were completely different, yet he was overcome with strange emotions.
He even began to suspect whether his late wife had hidden a secret son.
All kinds of doubts instantly dominated him.
To that extent, the atmosphere and expression were similar.
Then, suddenly, the woman who resembled Elizabeth that he had seen at the cottage that drunken night some time ago came to mind.
He had searched for the green-eyed woman while locking down the capital, but the woman who resembled his wife had vanished without a trace.
So he had concluded it must have been a drunken hallucination.
But….
"Your Majesty?"
The silence had dragged on too long.
Unable to bear it, Kalix called out to the Emperor in confusion. The Emperor still wore a dazed expression.
Kalix turned his head toward Lelia and asked with his eyes.
'Did she get caught being a woman?'
Since it was spoken with his eyes, there was no way to understand. Lelia awkwardly pulled up the corners of her lips. Her barely raised lips trembled violently.
Lelia too was flustered by Emperor Perseus's persistent gaze.
Then, Emperor Perseus, coming to his senses, spoke.
"…Sir Kalix. You came together."
"This friend is in a fragile state of mind and body, so I accompanied him."
"…I see. I'm grateful. But would you wait over there?"
At those words, Kalix looked over Lelia, then bowed and exited through the archway.
Fortunately, with the wide-open door, they weren't left alone in an enclosed space. Reassured by that fact, Lelia sat in the seat the Emperor offered.
"…."
The Emperor, having seated Lelia, continued to watch her with a strange gaze for a long while.
She couldn't know what he was thinking.
Then, Emperor Perseus suddenly stood up and paced restlessly by the window like a troubled man.
'Is he trying to drive me crazy?'
Lelia seized the opportunity to open the inventory window and take out an item.
She had a foreboding feeling.
'He might suspect something's strange because I look too much like Mom. He might even suspect I'm a woman.'
Preparing to open the cap when the chance came, Lelia hid the medicine bottle inside her sleeve.
After pacing by the window for a while, Emperor Perseus turned his head to look at her.
It seemed he had finally remembered the original reason he had summoned 'Sir Raymond.'
"I heard that Princess Julianna has taken a liking to you."
"…Though it's difficult for me to say this myself, my relationships with women are quite complicated. I'm grateful for Her Highness the Princess's interest, but…."
"Your relationships with women are complicated?"
Emperor Perseus asked with a furrowed brow.
Indeed, having summoned someone as a potential son-in-law candidate, hearing such a direct statement must have been absurd.
But Emperor Perseus brought up something else.
"…You look very much like someone I know. You're from a noble family of the Roseberry Empire?"
"Yes… Everyone does say that when they see me. That I resemble some painting…?"
Lelia forced a smile and feigned ignorance.
However, Emperor Perseus tilted his head to the other side with his arms crossed.
"Is there nothing you're hiding from me?"
"Pardon? What do you…."
Emperor Perseus seemed to choose his words carefully before speaking.
"I would prefer someone without any flaws to become Princess Julianna's partner. But you…."
"…."
What, who wants to be her partner?
Lelia waited for the Emperor's next words with a sour expression.
"Let me ask you directly. Are you really a man?"
"…!"
"To my eyes… you look like a woman who infiltrated while hiding her gender."
"If it's true that you deceived us about your gender and toyed with Princess Julianna's affections… you won't be able to avoid severe punishment."
Emperor Perseus lifted his chin.
"…."
Thanks to Donatelli's painting, Lelia had never been directly suspected like this before, and she was utterly flustered.
She hadn't expected the Emperor to ask so bluntly.
Perseus wore a peculiar gaze.
Seeing his eyes, Lelia became certain.
'He suspects I'm the woman he encountered that night.'
Lelia's guess was correct.
Perseus stared at Lelia, half-convinced she was the woman he had seen that day.
The slender ankle he had grabbed directly, the voice heard before she fainted, the small groan that escaped.
Those were definitely feminine.
The Emperor remembered everything that had happened before losing consciousness.
He didn't know what method was being used now.
Though a somewhat lower voice was coming out compared to that time, Emperor Perseus was certain.
The true identity of the person wearing this 'Sir Raymond' mask was a woman.
What was her intention in infiltrating the imperial palace, and why did she hide her gender and approach Princess Julianna?
He also needed to find out how she had knocked out the knight who had come to the cottage that day.
Despite his orders, the imperial mages had found no traces.
And with a face similar to the deceased Elizabeth, no less.
Though he didn't know her intentions, Emperor Perseus judged' Sir Raymond 'to be a suspicious person trying to exploit his weaknesses.
"What do you mean…."
Lelia denied it for now.
But seeing her hardened expression and tense lips, Perseus became even more certain.
"I'm curious what your intention was in approaching me."
"…."
Tension hung between the two as they exchanged only gazes without speaking.
Meanwhile, Kalix, who had heard everything from outside, clicked his tongue.
'So she got caught after all.'
Kalix stood with his back leaned against the wall right next to the archway, listening to the entire conversation.
Though tea prepared for him was cooling before him, this wasn't the time to sit comfortably and wait while drinking tea.
Kalix debated what to do.
The Emperor wouldn't let Lelia go.
But so what?
As long as Kalix and Romeo were protecting her, the Emperor couldn't touch her arbitrarily.
At most, he could only expel her from the imperial palace.
He was about to take the opportunity to enter and speak to the Emperor on her behalf when suddenly—
"How unpleasant!"
Lelia's angry voice came from inside.
Startled, Kalix slightly turned his body to peek beyond the archway.
"Unpleasant?"
Emperor Perseus scoffed as he took his seat.
"Yes, unpleasant. Even if you are His Majesty the Emperor, this is an utterly preposterous insult."
"Then can you prove it?"
He asked with a composed attitude. He seemed quite convinced.
Though Lelia didn't show it outwardly, inside she was panicking.
'If I get caught, it's over.'
The Emperor seemed certain she was the person who had infiltrated the imperial palace.
If the truth came out, it would be troublesome.
She would become a criminal, of course, and Romeo and Kalix would also suffer.
Moreover, Lute's holy relic would be forever out of reach.
She had to settle this now.
'If I don't get through this moment, all my plans will fall apart.'
Lelia quietly opened the cap of the medicine bottle she had been hiding under the back of her hand.
Through the silently opened cap, invisible mist flowed out.
This medicine, with its blatant name from the start, was something Lelia had created for 'Phantom Thief Lupin,' a regular customer at the shop in the 'Alchemy Restoration' game.
There were all kinds of things in a similar series, but Lelia had made several of this medicine that would be helpful to her.
[Using item! For 10 minutes while the effect lasts, you appear as the finest man!(｡•̀ᴗ-)✧]
Seeing the message that briefly appeared, Lelia rose from her seat.
"I will prove it. But if it's certain that I am a man, how will you compensate me for that insult just now?"
When Lelia responded confidently, Perseus twisted one corner of his lip and answered.
"I'll grant you one thing you desire."
[Delusion Mist activated! The medicine's effect is in progress.✧*.◟(ˊᗨˋ)◞.*✧]
Now the smoke flowing from the medicine would show the opponent a perfect illusion.
It was a perfect hypnosis, so convincing that one couldn't doubt it wasn't reality.
The problem was that Lelia couldn't know exactly what illusion the other person was seeing.
"…."
Emperor Perseus was staring blankly into empty space. He was seeing an illusion.
In the Emperor's vision, Lelia was removing her cravat, unbuttoning her top, and stripping off her clothes altogether.
Then angular, firm chest muscles and solid abdominal muscles beneath them were revealed.
It was a male torso to anyone who saw. Perseus clicked his tongue, never imagining it was an illusion or hypnosis.
He had to acknowledge his mistake.
'I must have lost my reason too much because of that day's events….'
Perseus sighed low and swept his face with his palm.
Meanwhile.
'Has she gone mad? Why is she taking off her pants?!'
Another person was also caught in the illusion from the Delusion Mist.
From where Kalix stood, Lelia was visible almost directly through the archway.
Before his eyes, Lelia was now stripping off her pants.
Kalix was about to rush in immediately to stop her. He judged that Lelia had gone crazy.
But he couldn't move a single step and froze in place.
'No, crazy… what is that?'
No… no….
Even after rubbing his eyes, that was…?
Lelia had definitely said she was Leo's younger sister. Younger sister, younger sister….
But that thing dangling there… to anyone who saw, it was male genitalia.
It was shocking enough that someone would strip off their pants in front of the Emperor to prove they were a man.
But the fact that such a thing was actually attached was even more shocking.
Kalix turned his back as if he'd seen something he shouldn't have and walked toward the sofa.
'No… no….'
He fell into confusion.