Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Emperor (2)
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Emperor, the Formless Verd.
Paradoxically, despite being the most famous figure in the entire empire, there was no one who truly knew anything about him.
First and foremost, the power he wielded was a complete mystery.
He had unified the chaotic Byte Empire through sheer force alone, and during the recent war with the Demon Realm, he was the only one who managed to negotiate a truce with the Demon King through 'dialogue.' He had even killed the mothers of all five of his daughters with his own hands.
...These were facts I knew only because I had been there for all of it.
It was around then that the Emperor spoke again.
"Well, the leader of Balance can't exactly go down after just this much, can he?"
Balance.
The name of the Imperial Secret Organization. I was the leader they had saddled me with.
After the Demon Realm Gate closed, every single member was executed—not by the enemy, but by the Emperor himself. The reason? To silence them. That's the kind of man he was.
"To live without a name and die quietly. That must have been the final mission handed to you. Are you planning to rebel now, after all this time?"
"Rebel? It might come to that."
I still hadn't forgotten that incident.
No, I couldn't afford to forget. It was the duty of a leader, after all.
Of course, I hadn't written those marriage proposals to the princesses with the intention of seeking revenge. It was just that I couldn't bring myself to admit they'd been written in a drunken stupor, so I'd answered that way instead.
But from my response just now, the Emperor seemed convinced that I'd proposed to the princesses out of a desire for revenge.
"...How dare you, a wretch like you, take my daughters hostage just to save your own skin?"
At the same time, invisible thorns surged toward me to pierce me through.
Kagagak—!
"...!"
Even though I'd instantly encased myself in a perfect cubic barrier of Freezing Magic for defense, several thorns still burrowed deep into my shoulder.
The power the Emperor wielded was definitely not magic.
"Listen up, Zekiel Hound."
The holy grail near the throne floated in midair, swaying this way and that. It seemed the Emperor's mood wasn't exactly calm.
"Yes."
"I have five daughters. If you added up all the marriage proposals I've received so far, how many do you think there would be?"
The princesses of the empire were all exceptional in both looks and talent, without exception. Naturally, there had been plenty of fools eager to pluck flowers from the cliff's edge.
"Quite a few, I imagine."
"Quite a few? No, it's impossible to even count."
The small holy grail in midair continued to slosh about. The purple liquid inside threatened to spill over without quite doing so as the Emperor pressed on.
"The courtship methods were as varied as they come, but they all ended the same way. My daughters never give their hearts easily."
Honestly, it was a pretty intriguing story to me as well.
'I wonder what it was like?'
Stories from within the Imperial Palace never leaked out, so I quietly lent an ear to the Emperor's tale.
"The eldest pursues strength. She sticks firmly to her conviction that she'll only give her heart to a man stronger than herself."
"Yes."
"She laid down the condition that she'd marry anyone who could defeat her in combat, but I've never seen a single one return alive. You'd think she'd at least spare their lives, but no—she killed them all without fail. Made things messy."
The empire's 1st Princess Ether.
It sounded just like her. She really was a monster.
What's more, she had inherited a portion of the current Emperor Verd's power.
"The second chases bloodline, dignity, and grace."
"She's been like that since she was little."
"Must be thanks to the dragon blood in her veins. She doesn't even treat living beings as such if she deems them beneath her. You know about Dragon Word, right?"
I nodded.
The empire's 2nd Princess Hedera.
She was a wielder of Dragon Word and a Word Command master.
"She said she'd gladly give her heart to any man who could endure her Word Command. What do you think her command was?"
"Whatever it was, it sounds just like Hedera."
"It was a suicide order. Not a single one withstood it."
"...!"
—Teacher! Don't go! Play more!
—Play more! I said don't go!
—Eek! It's Word Command! Play more!
...She wasn't that bad when she was little.
"The third is more like a saintess. Her faith is exemplary."
The empire's 3rd Princess Solana.
"Isn't her nickname the Angel of the Empire?"
"Yes. She declared she'd give her heart to a man who could pray longer than her. Not one lasted as long as Solana. The longest was a mere three days."
Solana's Holy Power had already reached an exalted realm.
It was essentially a declaration that she wouldn't give her heart to any man, but the important part was that this was the first I'd heard of the condition.
'She never demanded anything like that from me.'
I wanted to mull that over, but the Emperor kept going.
"The fourth, as always, is obsessed with gold and gambling."
"I tried correcting her a few times in the past, but it never stuck."
The 4th Princess Chain. The empire's greatest tycoon.
"She always said she wouldn't settle for anyone with less wealth than her, but she did give each suitor one chance."
"What kind of chance?"
"A gamble. A wager with marriage on the line."
I couldn't picture the 4th Princess losing. Her win rate in probability-based bets had always been unnaturally high, even as a child.
"Most ended up with a wrist or ankle severed, and the worse cases lost an eye. She's probably got them on display somewhere. That's the kind of girl she is."
The 4th Princess's possessiveness was immense. She always wanted trophies from her victories, so it made sense.
"Finally, the fifth has zero interest in humans, as usual."
"Is she still immersed in inventing scrolls?"
The 5th Princess Neo.
She was the owner of an excessively timid personality. She always locked herself away in the library or lab, making it harder than reaching for the stars just to catch a glimpse of her.
"The fifth got a lot of proposals too. They must've thought she looked like an easy mark."
A hint of mockery crept into the Emperor's voice.
"She turned her rooms into a maze of magic scrolls, saying she'd meet anyone who made it through. Most gave up or died trying."
"...!"
All five princesses had repelled their suitors in ways perfectly suited to themselves—and far more brutally than I'd imagined.
"Zekiel."
"Yes."
"I'm not so cruel as to force my unwilling daughters into marriage. On the contrary, I respect their opinions. I'd even gladly help them build families with the partners they desire."
"Is that so?"
I answered uncertainly at this uncharacteristically paternal remark.
"Yes, but even so..."
But moments later, I realized it was all a misjudgment.
After hearing what came next, I understood that it was the most Emperor-like statement imaginable.
"If the man isn't up to par, I can't just stand by as a father. I'd have no choice but to tear the bastard apart and stop the marriage. Better they resent me than let the entire continent fall to ruin, no?"
...In the end, it just meant he'd kill anyone who didn't meet his standards.
Which meant my odds of dying at the Emperor's hands right now were extremely high.
"Now then, Zekiel. I have just a few questions left. Let's see if you're worth tearing apart."
"Yes."
"Are you strong enough to defeat the eldest? Or do you possess blood more precious than the second's dragon lineage?"
The small holy grail clinked down onto the table near the throne.
"Are you as devout a saint as the third? Wealthier than the fourth? Or can you easily conquer the youngest's magic scroll labyrinth?"
The Emperor was asking if I had the qualifications to propose.
I might be able to handle the youngest's scroll maze. I had absolute confidence in magic, after all.
But the rest? I shook my head.
"It'll take some time."
Still, I didn't forget to answer cleverly, buying time.
Implying it was impossible now but feasible later—a little head game to postpone judgment. But the Emperor zeroed in on it.
"I'm asking based on right now."
"It might be difficult at the moment."
"Yes, that's what I think too. No matter how I look at it."
My mind began spinning at full speed.
'No way he's going to make me take all five trials at once, right?'
That would be a disaster.
I'd written those letters out of frustration over my terminal life, only for it to shorten my lifespan even more. And that wasn't the only bad outcome—there were plenty more.
As I pondered all this,
the Emperor called my name once more.
"Zekiel. One final question."
"...Yes."
The next instant, space compressed.
Suddenly, the Emperor and I were face-to-face at extremely close range.
He had no form, but I could clearly feel sharp, piercing eyes fixed on me.
"You, who can't pass a single one of those trials."
At the same time, I detected something faintly—but unmistakably—mixed into the Emperor's voice.
Incredibly, it was doubt.
Definite doubt.
"A pathetic wretch like you, who I'd crush with a flick of my wrist..."
But then my mind went completely blank.
What followed was just too shocking.
"...How on earth did you win over all my daughters' hearts?"
What?
...What the hell does that mean?