Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: The Emperor (1)
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...In the end, I couldn’t refuse.
I was left alone in the receiving room, chewing on Sunweed.
No one is more accustomed to chilling air than I am. And yet, even I felt a momentary illusion as if the whole world had frozen solid. How does that even make sense?
Fortunately, Solana has so far lived up to her nickname as the Empire’s angel, showing a benevolent side. But everyone knows that the moment an angel changes her mind, she turns into the most vicious demon.
...I don’t want to see an angel turn into a demon.
Appointing Zekiel Hound as Inspector of the Magic Tower
In any case, it looks like I’ve become the Inspector of the Magic Tower.
Not just any Magic Tower—an Imperial Magic Tower, no less.
Hoo—
I took a deep drag of Sunweed smoke and began reflecting on the days I’d spent just a few days ago.
My routine had been incredibly simple.
Drinking, painting, idly immersing myself in nature... But now, everything had changed from the ground up. I was suddenly in a position where I had to dress neatly and head to work.
“Too bad mind-reading isn’t my specialty.”
I still hadn’t fully grasped Solana’s intentions.
She was dispatching me to the Imperial Magic Tower to resolve some issue there, yet she added that I didn’t need to do anything.
Does she believe just my presence will solve it?
Well, that’s not something to dwell on right now.
I’m in a position where I have to take on this Inspector role anyway, and since I promised to trust her, I have no choice but to believe. Solana must have asked me to trust her with nothing but good intentions in mind.
Now, there was only one thing nagging at me.
“...So who wrote the reply? Was it really Solana?”
I was certain Solana had read the letter, but the atmosphere had been off, so I couldn’t confirm if she was the one who sent the response. And with that, a thought popped up.
If it wasn’t Solana who sent the reply...
Cold sweat beaded down my back.
Accepting Solana’s kindness only to end up marrying another princess? I couldn’t even begin to imagine what would happen. No way could I pull out an excuse like “a drunken mistake.”
...This must be how it feels when playing with fire accidentally burns everything down.
No matter how I pictured it, it was the worst-case scenario. It had been a long time since I’d felt this kind of fear.
Guess I’ll have to meet the Emperor in person.
I’d never been one to welcome His Imperial Majesty, but if I used his power, maybe I could force everything back to square one?
“It’s forbidden by the Emperor”—that excuse would look good enough.
Bang—
At that moment, the receiving room door opened again.
A now-familiar face. Anes, with her black bob and expressionless demeanor.
Click—click—
She entered manipulating her cube with one hand, just as usual.
Was this how it felt to watch a master musician play? Her long, slender white fingers moved with elegant grace.
Lost in too many thoughts, I was spacing out. I quietly chewed my Sunweed and met her gaze. We stayed like that for a while.
“...”
“...”
Click—click—
Click...
...
Suddenly, Anes tucked the cube behind her back.
She must have been worried I’d freeze it again. I hadn’t even been thinking about it, but seeing her do that strangely sparked the urge to freeze the cube.
Snap. I lightly flicked my fingers.
Anes felt the icy chill in her palm and squeezed her eyes shut. Her shoulders trembled as a bonus.
“...Please don’t do that.”
“How many times did I tell you in the carriage? It’s noisy.”
Surprisingly, Anes just let out a deep sigh without much resistance. Ever since our time together in the Penitence Palace, she’d developed this oddly courteous vibe. Not as sharp as our first encounter.
“So, why do you have that look like you’ve lost everything?”
“If I’d only lost something, I’d be laughing. Now I’m in debt too.”
“That’s hard to understand. Aren’t you actually advancing your career?”
Anes gave me a look like she’d seen something utterly bizarre.
“You were at a playboy level that seemed beyond redemption, and yet somehow you made it to the palace. Not even dragged in as a criminal. You seemed like an unexpected VIP.”
“You know how to express emotions honestly? Who knew.”
“You started the honesty first.”
Anes pointedly held up the frozen cube, but I stubbornly refused to thaw it. The noise was giving me a headache.
“Anyway, I didn’t know you were acquainted with the 3rd Princess.”
“Solana? We’ve known each other for a long time.”
“...Is it okay to say her name so casually?”
“I’m fine with it. You’re not.”
Anes furrowed her brow slightly, and this time I asked the question.
“So, what’s the business? Your mission’s already over, isn’t it?”
“One thing left. His Imperial Majesty has summoned you.”
“...”
That was very welcome news to me. I’d been pondering just moments ago how to get a private audience with the Emperor.
Anes, on the other hand, tilted her head slightly.
“...You really are strange.”
“Why.”
“Your face soured after the private meeting with the Princess, but you brighten at the news of a private audience with His Imperial Majesty. Isn’t it usually the other way around?”
“I’ve always been strange. Let’s head out now.”
Always, already, right now. It had always been that way.
Afterward, I followed Anes’s guidance—or rather, I was leading her.
The palace’s internal layout was already fully mapped in my head.
Sure enough, whispers trailed after us.
“To His Imperial Majesty’s sector... Who is that?”
“I heard the Emperor summoned him personally.”
“...Jealous. I’ve worked here 20 years and never even gotten a glimpse.”
My mind, meanwhile, was filled with thoughts of the Emperor.
Why had he stamped the appointment letter issued by Solana? That monstrous man? The one who doesn’t know the meaning of “conversation”?
Something was going on between the princesses and the Emperor, and I planned to uncover it step by step starting now.
A short while later, Anes stopped at the end of the passage.
“I can’t go any further. This is as far as I go.”
“Right, you’re still a newbie. Got it.”
“Then, I’ll take my leave.”
I could sense an odd excitement in Anes’s retreating figure. Even the expressionless woman got thrilled at the prospect of clocking out, huh.
Once I entered the Emperor’s sector, administrators with their faces fully veiled in cloth received me. No part of their bodies or faces could be exposed here.
“The changing room is to the left. Please change into this.”
“Sure.”
I changed quickly.
It was basically a massive tablecloth draped over the body—hardly what you’d call clothes. Probably to prevent visitors from smuggling anything.
We walked quite a distance after that.
“The Four Seasons Garden. It’s been a while.”
A famous spot said to capture the essence of each season. Passing through spring, summer, autumn, and winter in order, we finally reached a massive door.
Beyond this lay the Emperor’s grand throne hall.
“Halt there.”
Two enormous men blocked my path on either side of the door. Their builds were so colossal it felt like the pillars had come alive.
The one on the left pointed at my mouth.
“Spit it out.”
Spit out the Sunweed? Naturally, I didn’t.
“...Not gonna spit?”
The other one moved aggressively, but the right one quickly held him back. They whispered something, then nodded in unison.
Soon, both bowed politely.
“Our apologies. We’ll open the door right away.”
The massive door opened without a sound.
“...”
My first impression upon entering: majestic.
Not because of the hall’s vast space or structure. It was solely due to the majestic presence contained within.
Atop the jade throne at the far end of the stairs sat a certain being.
Its body was transparent, making it look like clothes were hanging in midair. Yet despite lacking any form, an overwhelming pressure emanated from the being on the throne, saturating the entire space.
That was the Empire’s Emperor, the Formless Emperor Verd.
I paid my respects.
“I greet His Imperial Majesty.”
No response came.
The clothes floating in the air above the throne fluttered slightly. A nearby chalice sloshed—likely the Emperor casually swirling it in his hand.
Then, silence.
I wished he’d say something, but with nothing but silence, I calmly waited for the Emperor to speak. Subjectively, it felt like nearly a day passed.
And as one day nearly became two...
“Zekiel Hound.”
He finally called my name.
Crack-crack—
At the same moment, every surface of the space crumbled away like puzzle pieces. Below was now an abyss—something so deep and dark its bottom couldn’t be fathomed.
Yet I didn’t fall. An ice platform had already formed beneath my feet, steadily supporting me.
“Persistent. You don’t die easily, do you.”
“I’ll die soon enough. Terminal, after all.”
“Hmph...”
The Emperor let out a meaningful smile.
“I told my daughters to teach you some magic... and they boldly sent a marriage proposal instead. What on earth were you thinking?”
I did it because I was drunk.
...Words I couldn’t bring myself to say.