Toward the Imperial Palace (2)
Slosh, slosh. Slosh, slosh.
I stopped at the end of the corridor.
In front of me stood the academy director and the professors.
Behind me, the commanders of the count’s household guard and the marquis’s household guard were staring at me. They glanced past my shoulder, then back at me again.
Dozens of knights lay sprawled behind me.
The two commanders kept their mouths shut tight.
They had seen how the knights died.
If you tried to show off, you died.
The director spoke quietly.
“A Grand Master?”
“Probably stronger than that.”
“So you came here for revenge.”
I nodded.
The director, a great mage, had come out of the mage tower for the first time in ages.
And yet he wore the expression of a man who had already anticipated this situation.
“I figured you weren’t a mage. You must’ve had confidence in your own strength, so you showed your true face.”
“My target is the Emperor.”
The academy director gave a faint smile.
“You don’t seem all that different to me.”
“The world will be a little better for it.”
He looked at me for a long moment.
“Then make your wish come true.”
“What do you mean by that! Director!”
Thwack— thwack—
A formless sword, fired from my left index finger, punched straight through the two commanders’ foreheads.
Thud.
The pair of commanders collapsed in vain.
Men who had once dominated the continent in wartime.
“Take care of yourself.”
I saluted the director, then walked down the stairs.
Rachel and the four noble ladies followed me.
The cruel pain I had carved into my bones over six years of wandering.
When I came into this world, I would become Yuri.
I had carved into my own bones the memory of how his king, his lord, his family, and his retainers had all been mercilessly slaughtered.
I stepped out of the academy building.
The guard and the soldiers of the two families had formed a cordon outside, but none of them so much as dared to attack.
“If you block my way, you die.”
Hundreds of soldiers swallowed hard and said nothing.
“Open the road.”
In the end, the soldiers slowly drew back to either side.
I walked through them at my own pace.
Before long, Rachel came close and whispered, “There’ll be a banquet at the imperial palace soon.”
“Yeah?”
“It’s the birthday banquet for the only princess. It’s also a social gathering where the young nobles of the continent come together.”
“Yuri. Disguise yourself as a noble.”
At that, I laughed.
Was there originally a birthday banquet at this point in the story?
Once I changed the flow, it started moving that way.
“We’re going to the imperial palace.”
I headed in the direction of the palace.
Rachel and the four noble ladies trailed after me.
The novel’s main setting was the academy, and only much later did Yuri begin his revenge, dragging along the noble ladies he had broken and brainwashed.
But there was no need to go that far.
Today, this would be enough.
I’m leaving this world.
Light burst across my vision.
Return.
When I opened my eyes, it was past 1 a.m.
Then a message appeared.
449 Sponsor Coins have been added.
Oh. This time I’d gotten a lot, thanks to the noble ladies.
I think I was starting to understand what the viewers liked.
If I ran wild in the imperial palace, it would probably stack up quite nicely.
“Growth menu.”
Beauty Lv. 1
[Recovery] [Talent] [Strength] [Foresight] [Charm]
So the categories were increasing one by one?
If there was a level, that meant it could grow further.
Maybe that Foresight could tell me stock or coin prices. Money would be a nice source of motivation.
Should I invest in Charm once?
Let’s see what it does.
“Invest 200 coins into Charm.”
200 Sponsor Coins have been used for Charm.
I’d need to save up coins for the time being.
I should see what else showed up.
*
Saturday morning.
I came to the Paju set studio.
Today’s schedule was for the top star, Kim Ji-yeon.
Kim Ji-yeon was in the middle of filming a drama, and since the actress had requested it, she was one of the top stars I handled from time to time. She was my age, too.
For a top star, she wasn’t the kind of overwhelming beauty that stole your breath away.
She had an elegant, refined image, but she was difficult and sensitive, which made her a pain to deal with. Her road manager had already been replaced twice this year.
The effect of Charm was immediately obvious.
A deep floral fragrance drifted from my body and filled the car. So that was the effect, then.
Kim Ji-yeon was staring at me.
“Did you change the diffuser?”
“Yeah. Don’t like the smell?”
“Hey, Park Jungsu!”
“What now? Why’re you being so snippy?”
“This is ridiculous. Why are you suddenly talking so casually?”
“Then why are you talking casually too?”
Kim Ji-yeon looked exasperated, while the stylist only darted glances at us.
“Stop bullying Ji-hye. Look how much weight she’s lost.”
“Unbelievable. When did I ever bully her?”
“I’m fine, unni.”
Kim Ji-yeon glared at me, then said, “Talk to me after we’re done.”
“Fine, so go shoot already.”
Kim Ji-yeon got out of the car and went into the studio.
She used to be nice. I wondered why she was getting more and more twisted.
Who was putting her under that much stress?
Was there some conflict on set that made them call me in?
When problems came up, it was the team leader’s job to smooth things out between managers. A road manager didn’t have any real authority.
It was now 9 a.m.
I’d have to finish number one today.
“Enter storyline number one.”
1. Imperial Academy 3
Time was skipped again.
I was standing in the imperial palace banquet hall with Rachel, dressed in a splendid gown, and the four noble ladies.
The academy incident had been covered up.
It seemed Rachel’s father had pulled some strings.
Or maybe they’d just ignored all logic and made it happen anyway.
Either way, since the emperor’s or princess’s birthday celebration was a social banquet, nearly every noble child of the empire had gathered there.
It was a banquet dripping with gold ornamentation and extravagance.
Countless nobles festooned with jewels were chatting among themselves, dressed in absurdly lavish clothing and reeking of oppressive perfume.
At the seat of honor on the far side sat the dazzlingly beautiful princess.
Rachel went straight to her.
The princess held her chin high.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.”
Rachel saluted her with a graceful lift of her hand.
The noble ladies bowed, and I did the same.
“It’s been a while, Rachel.”
“You’ve become even more beautiful in the meantime.”
“I’m glad to hear that from you, Rachel.”
The other four noble ladies were apparently not even worth her attention.
She looked only at Rachel, then turned her eyes to me.
“And who are you?”
“Baron Yuri Osgard, Your Highness.”
The princess curved her lips and looked me over.
Yuri really was exceptionally handsome.
“Are you a retainer of the grand ducal house?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
At that moment, a trumpet sounded.
“The rising sun! The glory of the mighty empire! His Highness the Crown Prince enters! Show proper respect!”
Bang, bang, bang—
The master of ceremonies struck the floor with his staff.
Every noble child bowed deeply.
After they remained bent over like that for a while, the Crown Prince finally came clomping out.
He glanced at the nobles with a bored expression, then sat down. He drank like a man who couldn’t be bothered with any of this.
After prayers of gratitude to the patron god, solemn rites and procedures continued before the banquet finally began.
It was just a drinking party, really.
About an hour later, I left the banquet hall and came out onto the balcony.
It was the time of day when the sun was sinking.
The building with the banquet hall and the building housing the emperor’s inner chambers were connected by an upper skybridge.
The imperial guard stood watch at both ends of the skybridge.
It seemed like that was the only way in.
Just as I was about to leap up onto the skybridge, the princess came out onto the balcony behind me.
It was as if she had been waiting for me to leave.
“What’s your name?”
“Yuri. Yuri Osgard.”
“Have you always escorted Rachel?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The princess studied me closely.
“If that precious Rachel chose you as her escort knight, then you must have something special about you.”
She went on, “How about escorting me instead of Rachel?”
“Protecting Rachel is the same as serving my lord. Even hearing those words is a great honor.”
I bowed politely.
“I’m jealous.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand, Your Highness.”
“You mean even if I order you, it won’t happen?”
I said nothing.
The princess looked at me with a smile tugging at her lips.
“So you’re refusing a princess’s command?”
She stepped closer.
“You’ve got a strange charm. Countless nobles and knights can’t even breathe in front of me, but you were staring straight into my eyes. How dare you? A mere baron.”
The princess’s face came closer.
“I can have everything I want. If it’s something that bitch Rachel likes, I’ll even take her little dolls. And if it’s a handsome man like you, all the more so!”
The princess, still glaring at me, wore a smile at the corner of her mouth.
“Follow me.”
She walked to the far side of the balcony.
“If you don’t, I’ll kill you.”
I followed the princess.
She went down the balcony stairs, crossed a narrow garden, and headed toward the building where the emperor was.
So she’s escorting me herself.
Passing the greetings of the imperial guard, we walked and walked, then climbed and climbed until we entered the princess’s chambers.
The princess plopped down on a golden sofa.
“You’re my escort, and you dare ignore me?”
She poured wine into a golden goblet.
“You insulted me. I’ll make sure you get to watch those knights humiliate your ass. Heh-heh-heh.”
The princess lifted the cup.
“Take off your pants.”
I stood and took them off.
My enormous cock swung down heavily.
“Oh! That’s very impressive.”
I walked slowly toward the princess.
“Who told you to move?”
“Sound barrier.”
Whoosh—
A barrier that cut off sound spread outward.
When I walked forward again, the princess nearly lost her mind.
“Stop! Stop right now—”
The princess was overpowered and frozen in place.
I strode over, lifted the princess in her gorgeous dress, and smashed her down onto the floor.
Bang— thud.
“Eek!”
I yanked up the princess’s dress and underskirt as she lay face-down on the floor, then tore away the undergarments shaped like pants as well.
Rip—
The princess stared at me with bulging eyes.
“Is no one outside? Hurry and save me! Ugh!”
I shoved a finger into the princess’s cunt.
I used my middle finger to stir up the inside of her hole roughly.
“You’ve gone mad!”
I sat down behind the princess’s ass.
“I’ll tear your limbs apart—”
Smack! Smack! Smack!
I struck the princess’s ass hard.
Once her strength had weakened a little, I spread her legs and thrust my hard cock deep into her cunt.
“Aaahhh!”
Then I seized the princess by the hair.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Ngh!”
I rammed into the princess’s pussy without mercy.
“Ugh! Ugh! Ngh! I will absolutely kill you!”
Smack! Smack! Smack!
I kept pounding her while spanking her ass.
“Our princess’s pussy tastes delicious. This is the last time in your life, so enjoy it. You’re in for a fun experience today.”
“You piece of trash, how dare you—”
Just as I was driving into her without restraint, a message floated up before my eyes.
1,000 Sponsor Coins have been added.
Ability Domination can now be acquired.
So that wasn’t just suppression.
It was Domination.