Chapter 3

“That’s…”

When Trisha hesitated to answer, Rivera clung to her even more.

“Hmm? Tell me! How can I become like you? I want every man in the world to kneel at my feet. I want them all to kiss the tops of my feet and cry out that they can’t live without me.”

“Instead of that, why don’t you just meet a good man?”

“It seems like good men don’t exist in this world. Every man I meet turns out to be trash. If I had known it would be like this, I should’ve just built a harem. At least then I wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

“…What?”

Trisha’s face cracked slightly.

“Why are you so surprised? Is this the first time you’ve met a woman who wants to build a harem?”

“N-No. But why suddenly a harem?”

“I’ve thought about it for a long time. I can’t even make a relationship last longer than five days, and even then, I carefully picked those guys. If I just brought random men into a harem, enjoyed what I wanted, and gave them what they needed, wouldn’t that be better for both sides?”

“But wouldn’t building a harem cost a lot of money?”

Rivera answered as if it was a silly question.

“No matter how poor the Iaron family may be, it’s still an Earldom. Do you know how many handsome commoners there are in need of honor in this world?”

“Would the Earl allow it?”

Trisha tried to dissuade her, but Rivera answered without hesitation.

“If it comes to that, I’ll just say I’m inheriting the family. I’m the only child, so there wouldn’t be a problem if I asked for the headship.”

“Rivera.”

Trisha spoke with a serious expression.

“That’s absolutely not allowed.”

“Why not? Doesn’t it sound like a good idea?”

If she wanted to kill everyone in the area, it was indeed a great idea. But Trisha didn’t want to see innocent people die.

“If you build a harem, everyone here will die.”

“What do you mean? Who’s going to die just because I build a harem? Don’t tell me my father would kill them? No way.”

Rivera brushed it off, thinking her father would never do such a thing, but from Trisha’s perspective, it was frustrating.

“Is the Earl the only man around you?”

“…Huh?”

Trisha sighed deeply, pressing her forehead with her hand.

“Haa… I didn’t realize how serious this was until I heard it directly.”

Trisha had sworn loyalty to one man: Adrian Risen Bartman, the protector of the Empire.

In this Empire, those who fell out of his favor didn’t have many options. They were either exiled, killed, or disappeared without a trace.

“Think whatever you want. But a harem is absolutely out of the question.”

Trisha firmly emphasized her point. Rivera’s casual words could decide the lives of many.

* * *

In the southwestern part of the Empire lay a small city called Barlin.

Within its collapsed buildings were the corpses of people who had once wished for peace. Despite the gruesome sight, Adrian remained unbothered as he trailed the man he was pursuing.

As night fell, the wind grew fierce. The gusts that blew between the buildings sounded like the anguished cries of the dead.

Step. Step.

As the sound of footsteps approached, the man clinging to the crumbling wall of a building began to tremble violently, as if having a seizure.

“D-Don’t come closer! Don’t come closer!”

The man’s name was Aksha, the eldest son of the barbarian chieftain.

The final moments of a man who once led a great tribe were pitifully wretched.

“Is this the end of the line, Aksha?”

Adrian, who should have been in the Imperial capital, had come all the way to this remote territory because of this man. Aksha was slowly dying from the blood loss of a wound on his abdomen.

“P-Please spare me!”

Hearing the pathetic plea for life made Adrian feel disgusted.

“If you wanted to live, you shouldn’t have committed crimes.”

Slaaash—

Blood spurted from the long gash made by Adrian’s sword.

“Gaaahhh!”

Aksha’s left arm was severed. Adrian stared at the blood-stained blade and asked in an emotionless voice.

“Where are the missing women?”

“I-I don’t know! I really don’t know!”

In recent years, barbarian attacks on the Empire had increased. They expanded their forces and grew in size. Innocent citizens suffered as a result, and many women were kidnapped.

The barbarians attacked at night, killing civilians and even newborn babies in their cradles. Despite this, the Emperor could only watch.

The nation was in turmoil, and with the war against another kingdom, the Empire couldn’t afford to divide its forces. Left unchecked, the barbarians had grown bold enough to invade cities.

Aksha gritted his teeth, clutching his bleeding wound. He was desperate.

‘Of all people, Duke Bartman himself came after me!’

On this continent, there was no one who didn’t know the name of Duke Bartman. Within the Empire, he was called its protector, but outside its borders, he was known as the Grim Reaper, the Black Lion.

His signature was the black armor and helmet made of special alloy. His jet-black hair seemed capable of swallowing everything, and his crimson eyes appeared to pierce into one’s very soul.

‘I thought they’d just send a knight squad at most!’

Born as the eldest son of the barbarian chieftain, Aksha had lived an unchallenged life. From birth, he held a position of power, sitting at the highest seat without envy.

Any threats to him were beheaded and displayed, and he believed this was the natural order. He feared nothing in the world.

That is, until he faced Duke Bartman.

‘How did they find out? We kept our information completely secret!’

Gripping his severed arm, Aksha desperately sought a way to survive. Adrian seemed to know exactly what Aksha was wondering as he gave the answer.

“Did you think we’d never find out after you colluded with Viscount Henri? How foolish must you have thought the Emperor to make such a stupid decision?”

“……!”

The fact that he had conspired with Viscount Henri was known.

Aksha was shocked.

“You seem curious about how I know.”

It was a direct hit. When Aksha remained silent, Adrian answered in a chilling voice.

“Because I killed him. A man who grew fat off the Empire’s taxes, who betrayed His Majesty the Emperor, and who toyed with the innocent citizens of this land deserved to die, don’t you think?”

Adrian recalled the night he dealt with the traitor within the Empire.

That night, Viscount Henri’s mansion was silent. Adrian had intended to approach in secret to identify the traitor. If the situation escalated, the traitor might flee, complicating matters.

Thus, late at night, without anyone noticing, Adrian approached Viscount Henri’s bedroom. Up until that point, nothing had seemed unusual. That is, until the sound of someone crying echoed through the hallway.

– Please… Please don’t do this… Kyaaah!!

It was the desperate voice of a woman begging for her life.

Viscount Henri was panting heavily as he climbed on top of a woman. There were other women in the room as well.

The sight of three nearly n*ked women made Adrian’s patience run out.

“How did you manage to avoid getting caught all this time? That’s what I’m most curious about.”

“W-Wait a moment.”

“Even if you’re shameless enough to not care, Viscount Henri was dangerous just for keeping the missing women.”

The kidnapped women had been erased from the world.

Witnessing humanity’s cruelty once again, Adrian felt his blood run cold. He wanted to rid the world of someone so utterly useless.

So he threw Viscount Henri to the ground and cut off his g*nitals.

– Aaaahhh!!

It was a night that suited such a wretched scream.

The arrogant Viscount Henri, who had only relied on his noble status, screamed at the top of his lungs before going pale upon seeing Adrian’s face.

– H-How dare you… think you’ll get away with this… Duke Bartman?

Even in his delirium, Viscount Henri recognized Adrian.

Blood poured from his lower body, and without immediate treatment, he would surely die from excessive blood loss. Adrian needed to act quickly.

– If you want to live, confess everything you know about your dealings with the barbarians.

– I-I don’t know anything. Why are you doing this to me?!

It was clear that scumbags like him had an unspoken rule to deny everything. How was it that ten out of ten of them always started with “I don’t know”?

The women in the room were witnesses. Their tear-streaked, terrified faces were evidence enough.

“What do you think? If you tell me where the women are right now, at least you won’t die painfully.”

Seeing Adrian’s cold, emotionless eyes, Aksha regretted everything.

Aksha’s reason for attacking the Empire wasn’t complicated. The Helios Empire was still engaged in conquest wars and had declared war on another kingdom, so he assumed they wouldn’t have the resources to divide their forces.

‘It’s just 200 women! Why is this such a big deal…?’

For Aksha’s tribe, the number of women was crucial. Harsh desert life, combined with the toll of childbirth, meant women had short lifespans. There were many men but few women, leading some to steal others’ wives.

In their survival-of-the-fittest world, women equaled power. Rewarding loyal subordinates with women ensured their unwavering loyalty.

For over a thousand years, his tribe had survived this way. Until Adrian appeared.

‘I knew something felt off about the last woman we brought!’

One of the women he had taken had cursed him after witnessing her husband’s death. Even as she died, she glared at him with wide, bloodshot eyes, laughing maniacally and declaring that he would suffer even in death. Feeling uneasy, he had fed her to the beasts… only to end up like this.