Chapter 847 – 847. A Tyrant For You
“This is the Golden Garden.”
The answer came from behind. It was a voice that would be considered beautiful even by a woman. Linda turned around.
There was a purple-haired witch wearing a sky-blue dress.
“It’s a gathering to kill the Emperor.”
Linda gulped. Considering the spell required to enter this place, it wasn’t hard to guess.
However, the members gathered here were all such great figures that her body tensed up.
Especially the witch at the center, Morgana, was famous as a notorious woman. Linda, who knew about Morgana through the original novel, found Morgana both suspicious and understandable at the same time.
Morgana was the enemy who killed the Emperor’s mother. And the Emperor killed Morgana’s son and mother, and was treating her daughter like a dog.
Linda thought of Ophelia. She had seen her a few times. Ophelia pursued only sexual pleasure with empty eyes, devoid of hope or anything else. She was already a tool for the Emperor’s lust, her mind broken.
“Judging by your expression, it seems you know who I am?”
“…Aren’t you Morgana Leithier?”
“That’s right. The witch being chased by the Emperor. You’re Linda Valentine, right? A candidate for the Emperor’s concubine.”
A concubine candidate.
The women chosen by the Emperor. What’s important here is that they are only candidates, not actual concubines. Currently, there are no concubines in the Imperial Palace. The reason is simple. Ernel hasn’t officially married the Emperor yet.
“…Is it okay for me to be here? I’m just a nobody, and everyone here is such a great figure…”
“Don’t worry about that. There were some objections, but most of us have already agreed to accept you. And once you’re in, we can’t easily send you back. If you really don’t want to, I’ll erase your memories and send you back.”
“……”
Linda hesitated.
Objectively, killing the Emperor was insane. Even with such great figures gathered, the chances of success felt slim. Like Linda in the original novel, she could be used and discarded.
If she thought about her safety, it would be better to lose her memories and go back. But the people suffering because of the Emperor kept holding her back.
“…What do you want me to do?”
“Something only you can do.”
“Something only I can do…? The Emperor has many concubine candidates besides me.”
“That’s right. And most of them have succumbed to the Emperor. And you are special among the concubine candidates. For some reason, the Emperor is paying attention to you.”
“……If it’s about poisoning the Emperor or assassinating him while he’s sleeping, I’ll have to decline.”
“We know that the Emperor can’t be killed with such clumsy methods. What we want from you is to monitor the Emperor’s every move. We need information about the Emperor. And when the time comes… help us kill the Emperor.”
“…Okay. But I don’t intend to just do as I’m told.”
Morgana smiled faintly and nodded.
“Thank you for your cooperation. Bernard, please guide Miss Linda.”
“Yes, Morgana.”
Morgana approached others and started talking. Linda focused her ears. She couldn’t perfectly understand the content because they were quite far away, but she heard words like military and such.
“Linda, please come this way. I’ll introduce you to some of the key figures.”
Bernard said, adjusting his glasses.
“…Um. I’m very embarrassed because I’m in my pajamas…”
“It’s alright. No one here cares about Linda’s attire. It’s common to come in pajamas. Look, that person, and those people are also wearing pajamas.”
“……”
The people Bernard pointed to were all men. There were very few women in this garden to begin with. They made up only 10% of the total. Linda was the only young woman. Morgana, despite her young and beautiful appearance, was more than twice Linda’s age.
‘If Bernard had told me beforehand, I wouldn’t have worn pajamas…’
It was pointless to complain now, so she grumbled inwardly.
With Bernard’s help, Linda greeted the people.
“This is Therman Plast. And this is Miss Linda Valentine.”
“Call me Therman.”
He was a middle-aged man. There was a lot of white in his hair. He looked at Linda with a sense of resignation and spoke emotionlessly.
“Please call me Linda. Is the last name Plast perhaps…”
“Yes. Count Plast is me. Our family rebelled against the Emperor’s demand for taxes, and as a result, we fell. My family was executed, and my daughter was raped by the Emperor and committed suicide.”
“……”
Therman spoke calmly. But the anger hidden beneath his indifference made Linda’s spine tingle.
“The Emperor didn’t chase me when I escaped. He only issued a wanted order. The Emperor doesn’t even acknowledge me as an enemy. That damned bastard. I’ll kill him someday for sure…”
“Therman, you’re getting too worked up.”
Bernard said. Therman sighed.
“Ah, right. I get heated up just thinking about the Emperor. Your name is Linda, right? I’ve heard that name too. You must be having a hard time as a concubine candidate.”
“…No. At least I won’t die.”
Linda smiled bitterly.
It sounded nice to be a concubine candidate, but what they did was no different from being a prostitute who spread their legs for the Emperor. Still, in exchange for offering their bodies to the Emperor, they could gain immense power and wealth.
“I was insensitive. It’s been quite difficult for me to be considerate of others since that day. I apologize.”
“I’m fine, but I’ll accept your apology, Mr. Therman.”
“Thank you. I’ve been working in the shadows, gathering all information related to the Emperor. As a concubine candidate, you can get close to the Emperor, so you have a high chance of obtaining information. If you find any information, please let me know. That must be why Bernard introduced you to me.”
“Okay. But I probably won’t have much information. What the Emperor does… is mostly sleeping with women.”
“Even trivial information is good. Trivial information can become the most threatening… Let me know if you find anything new.”
“Yes, I will.”
Bernard then took her to a cheerful young man with tanned skin and red hair.
“Miss, your pajamas look great on you?”
“I’m Linda Valentine. Don’t tease me too much. I’m embarrassed.”
“Yorhan Melkos. I’m the great admiral of the Empire. Would you like a drink? The alcohol in this garden is very delicious, you’ll like it too.”
Yorhan Melkos. He was a young admiral who dominated the seas of the Empire.
“Thank you, but I’ll pass. I’m not good with alcohol… If I drink now, tomorrow morning will be a disaster.”
“That’s a shame.”
Linda talked with Yorhan. It was a trivial conversation with no substance. Yorhan seemed lighthearted but was a serious man. He didn’t tell Linda what he did. But Linda could easily guess his work.
‘Being able to roam the seas freely is a huge advantage.’
There was a lot she could do with Yorhan.
Bernard introduced her to others and then approached Abel Leist. The successor of the Northern Grand Duke. With black hair and red eyes, he stared at Linda with cold eyes. Linda flinched. His red eyes reminded her of Ernel.
“Abel Leist.”
“Linda Valentine.”
“……”
“……”
The atmosphere turned cold. Linda didn’t try to continue the conversation. Knowing Abel’s personality through the original novel, she knew that forcing a conversation with him would be counterproductive.
Linda and Bernard sat across from Abel and had refreshments. Abel didn’t touch the refreshments. He hated sweets.
“I heard that Ernel is tormenting you.”
“…Among the concubine candidates, she didn’t seem to like me very much. Maybe it’s because I acted differently from the other concubine candidates.”
Ernel’s torment was nothing much. At most, it was just verbal insults. The reason was that she was a concubine candidate. If Ernel had truly wanted to torment her, all her fingernails would have already been forcibly removed.
Ernel didn’t physically torment concubine candidates or beautiful women.
“I don’t intend to apologize for what that woman did, but that woman’s origin is Leist. I’m sorry. I’ll kill that woman myself when the Emperor dies, so please wait a little longer.”
“…You’re going to kill Ernel yourself? Aren’t you siblings with the same blood?”
“That woman has hatred for the Leist family. Because she couldn’t become the successor of the Leist family. If she can’t have it, she destroys it. That’s her nasty nature. That woman is a disgrace and an insult to the Leist family, so it’s right for me to deal with her myself.”
“……I see.”
Linda chewed on the refreshments, sweating. It seemed difficult to get close to the man in front of her.
A moment later, Morgana’s voice echoed throughout the garden. It was definitely magic.
“I have good news.”
Everyone looked at the center of the garden. Morgana stood gracefully.
“The alliance has finally been formed.”
The people in the garden began to murmur. Some were impressed, and some started talking loudly. Everyone was happy.
“Alliance…?”
She couldn’t be talking about this gathering. If this gathering was the alliance, they would have said so from the beginning.
“Ah, Linda wouldn’t know since it’s her first time here. The alliance that Morgana is talking about is the alliance of nations outside the Empire. An alliance against the Empire… or more accurately, an alliance against the Emperor has been formed.”
“Have all the other countries outside the Empire allied?”
“No. The giant kingdom of Solamite in the north is excluded. Solamite is currently being conquered by the Grand General Luteon, the commander-in-chief, along with the Leist family, under the Emperor’s orders. Isn’t that right, Abel? How is the war going?”
“…The war will end soon. The Empire will win. It was significant that the Emperor appeared last time and massacred 10,000 giants of Solamite.”
“So, the countries other than the Solamite kingdom have allied?”
When Linda asked, Abel and Bernard nodded at the same time.
“The island nation in the eastern sea, the Kingdom of Grande. The King of Grande is famous for the holy sword Excalibur. The Slayde Empire, the ruler of the western desert, the Sultan who leads many beastmen, has made a decision. The Elven Kingdom of Mailord worships the Earth Mother. The Emperor is at odds with the Earth Mother, so they will naturally join the alliance.”
Three countries had allied. Excluding the giant kingdom of Solamite in the north, they were the last proper countries. This was the final resistance.
‘With the people gathered here as well… maybe they can really kill the Emperor.’
The Emperor had to face not only external enemies but also internal enemies. No matter how invincible and superhuman the Emperor was, he wouldn’t be able to handle everything alone.
If they were this prepared, the Emperor would die.
That’s what made sense logically. But Linda felt an inexplicable unease.
“The time is approaching. Everyone, do your best in your respective positions.”
Even with Morgana’s calm voice, the unease didn’t go away.
•••
Linda walked through the Imperial Palace.
The place she was heading to was the Emperor’s bedchamber. Tonight, she would be held by the Emperor. It wasn’t a strange thing. Linda periodically visited the Emperor’s bedchamber and was held by him. If she counted the experiences, it was already over 30 times.
But she couldn’t get used to it. Every time she walked to the bedchamber, her body tensed up. Even now, she was so nervous that her heart was pounding.
The closer she got to the bedchamber, the more her lower abdomen tingled. Linda blushed. She was bewildered by the bodily reactions that had recently occurred.
“Ugh.”
Linda stopped walking. Perhaps because she wasn’t wearing panties and was wearing a silk slip that came down to her thighs, her lower abdomen felt too itchy today. No, it wasn’t just her lower abdomen. She put her hand between her legs with a worried expression. Then, with a sticky sound, her hand came out. Her hand was soaked with a clear liquid.
Linda’s face was now completely red, as if it would explode.
‘This makes it seem like I’m a pervert who’s looking forward to having sex with the Emperor…’
Drip.
Hearing the sound of the vaginal fluid dripping to the ground, Linda lowered her head.
