Chapter 377 – Reception
The energy felt from the emperor of the empire was quite different from before.
While the emperor of the past gave Wolfgang a distant sense of helplessness, similar to his teacher Arien’s, as if he could not handle anything he did.
The current emperor was not like that.
—Cow!
Wolfgang shows proper respect to the emperor by kneeling on one knee.
[First of all, I sincerely appreciate your dedication to the empire.]
“I am devastated, Your Majesty.”
Listening to the congratulatory speech of his lord and father-in-law, who had become very weak in a short period of time, Wolfgang felt very mixed emotions.
He felt like he wanted to sigh like the nobles in the audience.
‘How can His Majesty be like this…? ‘
Clearly, Wolfgang is feeling tremendous tension in front of the emperor.
However, it was because of the extremely human burden of facing the emperor and the father of the woman he loved, to whom he had sworn allegiance as a knight.
It was not purely because I was afraid of the existence of the emperor as before.
Wolfgang’s sixth sense, honed through long battlefields, was speaking, like the mad whisper of an animal longing for battle.
If he does his best, he will be able to somehow defeat the current emperor.
His inhuman appearance and dignity as an emperor still remain, but his power has clearly weakened noticeably compared to before.
Why did the emperor, who had achieved power comparable to that of the transcendent with just a single word, fall to such a low level in just a short period of less than a year?
As an analogy, yes. I felt like I was seeing an aging spirit beast.
Wolfgang remembered.
At the time, he was following Arien from place to place and gaining experience. An encounter with a mysterious creature in the sea.
It was clearly a very large animal resembling a whale. Wolfgang, whose blood always boiled in his head during times of gale and fury, immediately raised his sword and rushed at it.
It was a time when his confidence in his power overflowed more than ever.
Moreover, the huge beast he encountered in the sea for the first time in his life was something that truly ignited the boy’s desire to fight.
However, his challenge was immediately blocked by his teacher’s firm words.
‘Stop it.’
‘Master, why!’
‘This is not someone you can handle. Moreover, it is an auspicious being. ‘No harm should come to the wanderer of the Great Sea who pursues an endless journey.’
Indeed, it was only after hearing it that I realized it.
The fact that it was no ordinary game.
Monsters are beasts that are different from ordinary animals and possess mana within their bodies and are hostile to humans.
A bizarre beast.
That broad title, which includes everything from the humble goblin to the great transcendent species dragon, was clearly inappropriate to refer to all beasts that possess mana.
‘Uh… ‘
The moment when Wolfgang, as a boy, made eye contact with the Wanderer of the Great Sea.
It even occurred to me that perhaps that creature was a being more delicate and greater than humanity.
Although it looks like hard leather, a knife will go into it, and if you use it for a long time, it could definitely take your life.
However, as the teacher said, such an act felt like an insult to its existence.
The feelings Wolfgang felt now as he looked at the emperor were similar.
[Raise your head]
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The emperor made eye contact with Wolfgang as if it had been a long time since he had seen each other and slowly looked into his face.
Although he was a weakened emperor, his golden eyes did not show any traces of the madness that had been seen before, but instead, one could feel the mysteriousness of a long period of time.
The emperor was obviously less than fifty years old. It was a very strange thing.
It was as if he had spent decades alone somewhere.
Wolfgang is feeling a feeling that is difficult to put into words due to his weakness, which is more clearly felt upon seeing him up close.
The emperor spoke, gently raising the corners of his mouth.
[I remembered. Jim once asked you a personal favor]
“It is so, Your Majesty.”
[I will let you both down here and now]
“Yes, I am willing to take any orders.”
The crowd was visibly shocked by the emperor’s sudden remarks.
—Noisy…
‘What does Your Majesty say now?’
‘No way, it’s related to the succession to the throne… ‘
‘Damn, maybe I should have put the line on the 3rd princess…’ !’
If the emperor had not visited this place in person, the engagement hall would probably have been filled with the screams of shocked nobles by now.
Isn’t the content too meaningful to be a conversation between a father-in-law and a prospective son-in-law?
An aging emperor and a young, strong general who would become his son-in-law.
Throughout imperial history, it was not uncommon for the emperor to personally draw his sword to appoint his favorite child as his successor.
This is especially true if the emperor’s favorite child is not the eldest son.
Considering that fact, it was not strange that bloody words such as successor, purge, and bloodshed were floating around in the minds of the nobles gathered at the ceremony.
—Put, tap…
The Emperor comes down from the podium and personally approaches Wolfgang.
The sight gave me the illusion that the density of the air around the engagement ceremony had become significantly heavier.
[First, you must make my daughter happy for the rest of her life]
Following the emperor’s words, the tension that had been building in the audience seemed to have disappeared.
—Blink blink
Wolfgang, too, seemed to have not expected this situation and just blinked.
And, before he had time to come to his senses, the emperor’s second command followed in a fluid manner.
[Second, I hope your loyalty to the empire will remain unchanged forever]
In fact, it was nothing more than an ordinary well-wishes disguised as a request.
It was a slightly embarrassing statement for Wolfgang, who was willing to pay any price as he became engaged to the princess of the empire.
The emperor tapped Wolfgang’s shoulder, who was frozen in embarrassment, and whispered quickly.
—Sogeun…
“… “Before, I thought you needed to be put on a leash somehow.”
Nurture, not maturity.
It was the emperor’s voice that I had heard for the first time since the masterpiece shared in the secret garden.
It was a whisper that passed by so quickly and secretly that even Alicia, who was right next to her, couldn’t hear it.
“Not anymore. Your efforts have paid off, and your future has also changed.”
Wolfgang didn’t miss a single word of it.
I couldn’t understand what he was saying right away, but it must be important.
That moment.
—Whaaaaah… !
[Okay then… Let’s end the congratulatory speech with this]
The emperor’s golden eyes shone brightly, and dazzling brilliance overflowed everywhere.
At some point, the emperor’s appearance suddenly disappeared.
The emperor suddenly disappeared, but it seems to have been planned, as the imperial guards protecting him also left as if they had been waiting.
And.
Under the presiding over of Cardinal Malleus, who returned to the podium.
The engagement ceremony, which left a few formalities, ended quickly.
[Under the grace of the Heavenly God, we declare that the two have officially become engaged!]
“Waaah!”
—Clap clap clap!
After thunderous cheers and applause.
The reception, which could be considered the actual main event, began immediately.
* * *
It was an engagement ceremony that was as grandiose as ever and full of surprises.
“Wow, it was a really great sight.”
“Cancer. From now on, you can watch the festival from afar using this amazing tool. “It really is something to see if you live for a long time.”
The citizens of the empire gathered in small groups in a bar or restaurant, each chattering a word or two and enjoying the afterglow of the splendid engagement ceremony.
“This… “It is difficult to guess His Majesty’s intentions.”
“In fact, isn’t it the same as showing His Majesty’s support for Her Majesty the Third Princess?”
“How dare you now misinterpret His Majesty’s words?”
The atmosphere of the nobles gathered at the engagement ceremony was completely opposite.
The atmosphere was extremely chaotic, almost reminiscent of the stock exchange immediately after the outbreak of war. Although the reception was prepared with great care, it was safe to say that there were no nobles who purely enjoyed the banquet.
Alicia smiles grimly as she looks at that scene.
“Uhuhuhu… !”
To some extent, this was as Alicia intended.
I was reluctant to use the once-in-a-lifetime engagement ceremony for political purposes, but the effect was beyond my imagination.
Alicia’s first goal is to place herself on the same level as her brothers.
She wanted to change the image of her 3rd Empress, who had been imprinted as an up-and-comer or her underdog by most nobles.
In order to win the competition, isn’t it necessary to stand at the same starting point?
Among the nobles who attended the engagement ceremony, there were no longer any nobles who took the presence of the 3rd princess lightly.
Rather, now that the excitement of her engagement ceremony has not subsided, it is safe to say that she is considered the most likely candidate to become the next emperor.
To be honest, she was Alicia who still didn’t have any particular desire for the throne.
In order to protect her loved ones, shouldn’t she be the winner anyway?
She was the type of person to do things with certainty.
“As planned.”
Inside the secret room, Alicia was smiling incongruously while holding a glass of red wine.
“Hehe…! Today’s star is this body!”
It was a wonderful engagement ceremony worthy of all the effort she had put into it, and even the planning succeeded beyond her expectations.
Alicia was in a very excited mood right now.
So to speak, narcissism.
—Ugh…
A black shadow appeared behind her.
“Huh?”
Yet.
—Pinch
“Buhhh…! Ju, Juinniim…?”
A large, rough hand stretched Alicia’s soft cheeks.
Needless to say, the person in charge was Wolfgang.
Wolfgang, who had been watching what she was doing behind her for a while, said with a chuckle.
“If someone who doesn’t know you sees it, they might misunderstand it. Just stop doing things that don’t suit you.”
“Well, not really…”
Although they became engaged, not much changed between them.
Is it because their relationship was so close from the beginning?
However, one thing has definitely changed.
“Well, shall I take a look at you today?”
“Yes?”
Could it be that Wolfgang’s gaze toward Alicia has become more affectionate?
It is no surprise that Wolfgang regards Alicia as the most special of all his lovers.
However, she could not say that those feelings contained only pure affection.
Wolfgang’s gaze at Alicia always contained a few spoonfuls of the anxiety of looking at a time bomb that might explode at any moment and the worry that another accident might happen today.
Today is literally 100% pure affection.
—Kkook
“…Thank you, Alicia.””
Wolfgang whispered to Alicia, hugging her lightly from behind.
“Hiyat! Lord, master?”
Alicia’s face immediately turned bright red at the hot breath stimulating the back of her neck and the strong smell of perfume.
Unlike usual, Wolfgang’s voice was so sexy that even Alicia was surprised.
For a moment, she was wondering for a few seconds whether she should take down her panties right now.
However, Alicia gently pushed her master away.
“W-You can’t do it here…”
Because she made up her mind.
Until her engagement ceremony is over, she will become Alicia who is more chaste than anyone else.
I still remember her clearly. Didn’t she promise her master himself?
If she doesn’t have an accident before the engagement ceremony is over, she will fuck her rear end.
For that purpose, Alicia could endure as much as her boiling sexual desire.
‘Lord, put your cock back… ‘What on earth would that feel like?’
Just like the fake Alicia in the fragments of unconsciousness, the real Alicia also had a great interest in anal sex.
Since her master rarely responded, she could only be satisfied with her imagination.
The great goal she had only dreamed of was now just around the corner.
Couldn’t she be driven by her wrong desires and go astray?
“Later, when we’re alone at night…”
“Hmm.”
Alicia closed her eyes tightly and turned her head away from Wolfgang.
She said this without realizing that Wolfgang’s red eyes were burning as he looked at her.
