A few days before this incident.

When Forcite went to see the Emperor, he was holding a document with something written densely on it.

“…Sit down.”

Although it was a scheduled visit, the Emperor gestured toward the sofa with a somewhat displeased look.

It meant for him to sit there.

After seating Forcite far away, the Emperor himself showed no intention of getting out of bed.

“I hope you haven’t come to babble about Saint Merrien or whatever again.”

He asked dryly without even looking at his son.

It didn’t take much for Forcite to fall out of his favor.

Even when going to subjugate magical beasts, he would just send a formal document and leave.

How long had it been since he was registered as a prince, yet he was already acting as he pleased.

“With Saint Charlotte right beside you, I really don’t understand why you keep obsessing over that Saint.”

“……”

There was no reply.

The Emperor realized his assumption was correct. With a deep sigh, he got up and slowly sat down across from Forcite.

The document in Forcite’s hand trembled slightly at the Emperor’s arrogant posture, leaning back against the backrest as if lying down.

“So, what is that document?”

The Emperor’s wrinkled hand pointed at the document.

That must be the reason he had been pestering for a private audience for days.

“If that document is related to Saint Merrien, don’t even think about the successor position.”

The Emperor firmly warned Forcite.

Compared to the incompetent First Prince who was lost in women’s charms, the Second Prince Forcite was much more suitable for the Crown Prince position, but he didn’t want to hear any more about that irritating Saint.

In fact, when he realized that Forcite, who had received the title of the Empire’s hero, was his illegitimate child, he was as happy as if he had gained the heavens.

However, as soon as Forcite was registered as a prince, he became like a different person, going crazy whenever Saint Merrien was mentioned.

Strange rumors spread instantly, and even the Empire’s prestige was in danger of collapsing.

“…Just take a look first.”

The trembling hand from earlier must have been an illusion, as Forcite handed over the document quite calmly.

The Emperor, who had been staring at Forcite with burning eyes, slowly unfolded the document.

[The late Duke and Duchess died the year Duke Ariel Hartez turned ten.

That was when the Duke first met the dragon.

The Duke, who contracted with a dragon that controls the minds of magical beasts, became sickly as a result.

The Duke’s goal is to use magical beasts to dominate the Empire.]

And below, even a photo of Ariel with a small dragon.

It was an exact copy of the article that would appear on the front page of the newspaper a few days later.

The Emperor’s wrinkled hand holding the document began to tremble slightly. Soon, he threw the document away.

Thud-. Having hit Forcite’s face directly, it came apart due to the impact, scattering several pages across the floor.

“Again, again with Duke Hartez! Isn’t this also something you’re doing to get Saint Merrien back!”

“Father.”

“Don’t call me father!”

He raged furiously.

Forcite, who had received a long cut on his left cheek from the corner of the document grazing him, didn’t move at all.

Even as blood trickled down and barely hung at the edge of his chin, his red pupils remained eerily calm.

“Someone like you, who is swayed by a mere person, can never become the Crown Prince. Get out!”

Still not having vented his anger, the Emperor couldn’t help but twitch his body while breathing heavily. He pointed at the tightly closed door and turned away sharply.

But that was all.

He couldn’t move any further.

His feet felt rooted to the floor, unable to budge.

A chilling voice came from behind.

“Father.”

“……”

No matter how much strength he applied, the Emperor’s head wouldn’t turn.

A black aura that had crept up from the floor climbed up the Emperor’s back and soon covered his cheek.

“Uh…. Uh….”

All the Emperor could do was roll his eyes while barely letting out a groan.

He strained to open his mouth wider with his remaining strength, but the faint groan that seemed to scrape his vocal cords didn’t reach anyone outside.

The black aura was about to envelop his entire body.

Forcite, who had approached without notice, whispered in the Emperor’s ear.

“I will proceed with a noble trial to strip Duke Ariel Hartez of his title. If possible, it would be good to brand him a traitor and have him killed.”

Cold sweat poured down the Emperor’s entire body. By rolling his eyes, the only part not consumed, he could barely see Forcite.

Forcite’s teeth looked strange as he smiled brightly. The canines embedded on both sides of the upper jaw were too long and sharp to be human.

Black aura swirled violently within Forcite’s pupils.

“Please stay quiet for a while, Father.”

The black aura that seemed to completely devour the Emperor instead seeped into his body.

The Emperor closed his eyes, losing consciousness.

But his body moved creakily, controlled by someone else’s will.

The body sitting at the desk wrote a letter.

[Tower Master. I apologize for contacting you again so soon.

Strangely, the number of magical beasts within the Empire has increased exponentially.

My son is suddenly suffering from a high fever and can’t get out of bed.

I’m sorry to ask, but could you check on this today?]

Forcite, who had been watching him with a strange gaze, smiled with satisfaction and headed to his room.

“I decided to take even just the shell, I did.”

He muttered to himself.

***

‘If the Emperor is the culprit….’

Merrien, who had been deep in thought for a while, pulled over a stack of blank paper and began to scribble something.

[War between the Debereu Empire and the Magic Tower?]

The pen that had been moving quickly across the paper, almost like doodling, stopped.

“If a war breaks out between the Empire and the Magic Tower, wouldn’t the Magic Tower obviously win?”

“I suppose so. Although the Magic Tower is originally a research group.”

The butler’s answer came without a moment’s hesitation.

Merrien put down her pen and held her head. In fact, there was no need to ask.

Though it was just a single line mention, it was written in chapter 3 of the original work that the skills of the Magic Tower wizards, including the Tower Master, were beyond what the Debereu Empire could handle.

Unless it was Forcite, the protagonist… No, no. Even then, it would be too much for Ariel.

Merrien pressed firmly from her temples to her forehead several times.

But no matter what she did, her throbbing head wouldn’t calm down. Since it was due to mental stress, even Holy Power probably couldn’t help.

The pen she picked up again spun around in her hand without writing a single letter.

“Since Ariel is quite a madman, I can understand why the Emperor dislikes him. I heard he even brought a highest-grade magical beast when meeting the Emperor…”

“I’m sorry to say this, but His Majesty the Emperor is not the type to make an enemy of the Magic Tower.”

Although she referred to Ariel somewhat aggressively as a madman, the butler didn’t object to that at all. Instead, he focused on a different aspect.

“…Really?”

Then could there be someone else behind the Emperor?

Behind the Emperor of the Empire? Is that even possible?

“Should we reveal that Ariel is the Tower Master?”

Yes, now that he’s fully recovered, it wouldn’t be bad to just reveal it all.

All of this could be resolved very simply by just revealing that Ariel was the Tower Master.

“…No.”

Merrien crossed out what she had written with several lines.

Below that, she scribbled something else.

[What if this isn’t the Emperor’s doing?]

That made it even more strange.

“Could the culprit’s goal be to reveal that Ariel is the Tower Master? If the Emperor isn’t the culprit, then the contract with the imperial family would be nullified, and children born without the Hartez name in the future might be exposed to danger.”

“Couldn’t the Saint heal the next generation’s children? Like in that… extra chapter of 『The Duke’s Secret Circumstances』?”

“……”

Hey, you’re saying that without even blinking an eye, butler.

Merrien stared at him with cold eyes instead of answering.

The extra chapter of 『The Duke’s Secret Circumstances』 that he mentioned was about the female protagonist giving birth to the Duke’s child and then healing his genetic disease.

He was indirectly suggesting that she should marry Ariel, have children, and heal the hereditary ‘magical power rampage.’

“Butler. Life is unpredictable.”

“What?!”

The butler was shocked and covered his mouth.

“Are you saying you’ll abandon the Duke?”

What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden?