Natalie had often heard that the Southern King’s palace was filled with all manners of evil from the world—such as corruption, bribery, etc. But in reality, it was no different from a normal palace. If she were to give her honest opinion, she thought that the palace, which had a lot of golden furnishings and decorations, was gorgeous. To put it simply, the place was flashy. However, when she thought of the owner’s—Rufus’—face, it made sense.

After she had cleansed her muddy self in a hot bath, she was escorted to Rufus’ private chamber. Upon arriving, she saw a spacious, round, and luxurious canopy bed in the middle of the room. She found it unnerving. On the contrary, the servants calmly served tea and sweets before instructing her to sit on the sofa.

If I pay it any mind, it’ll be my defeat.

Thus, Natalie relaxed her back.

“Hey, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. This is my first time having to dress formally in a while. As a result, I took a lot more time than usual.”

Before she could compose herself fully, Rufus casually entered the room. Natalie stood up and bow, deciding to not care about anything else.

“Oh no, cease all the formality. This is my first time meeting my son’s fiancée, I’m truly excited.”

“…Eh?”

“He didn’t say anything to me, at all. Terrible, don’t you think? I see that he has grown up. Back then, Faelis was all he could think about.”

Natalie could only nod awkwardly.

…About Geraldo’s engagement with the lady of the Saber family, is he unaware of it? Or, did Prince Geraldo keep it from him?

As long as the uncertainty remained, just listening to him would be safer.

“Now, what should we do? I don’t have much time, so we have to be quick.”

“Do you have some matters to attend to?”

“Well, my son will come to fetch you, just as a prince would his princess.”

 As Rufus sat down on the sofa before her, Natalie tried to do the same. However, upon hearing that, she stopped briefly. While crossing his long legs, Rufus said cheerfully.

“By the way, I have no intention of letting you go easily. As to how long you’ll last, it’s up to you.”

The bed with fierce assertiveness was diagonally behind Natalie. Then, Rufus grinned.

“My son is a serious child, you see? If he doesn’t reclaim you before anything happens, it’ll lead to an international dispute with the Rave Empire. I’d like to avoid that, as well.”

“…Well, if Your Majesty were to send me to the royal capital, the crisis would be averted.”

“Why would I do such a boring thing?”

Mysteriously, his smile got even wider.

“More importantly, why don’t we speak with each other a little more? You know the Dragon Emperor, right?”

“Eh? O, of course…”

“What’s that guy like?”

Even if Rufus was a king, to refer to the emperor of the neighboring country as ‘that guy’…

—Well, it’d be useless to fuss about it.

At the dubious question, Natalie frowned.

“…Even if you were to ask me that—”

“—Anything’s fine. When he speaks, how does he usually refer to himself?”

Natalie was confused upon hearing his first statement. In confusion, she began to ponder.

Then, she noticed something.

In what manner does that half-brother of mine usually speak?

After all, her terrifyingly beautiful half-brother rarely held conversations with her. Usually, they just passed by each other.

“Certainly, with… ‘me’ (boku)?”

Natalie managed to remember. In response, Rufus beamed.

“That’s correct! Well, aren’t you glad?”

“…C, correct?”

“Yes, by that, I mean that your answer is correct! Then, how about his attire? How does he dress?”

Where’s he going with this?

Gradually, a feeling of dread began to outweigh her confusion.

Why did the King of Kratos care so much about the Dragon Emperor? The cursed emperor who grew up in the frontier of the Rave Empire. Her half-brother who was now being accused of being a fake emperor.

I, I don’t know, perhaps—maybe…

…Maybe it was because she had committed a terrible mistake.

She felt an intense chill under her skin. However, Natalie managed to reply.

“He—… His Majesty has black hair and a pair of golden eyes. As for his attire, I think the color is entirely different from yours.”

“Well, that’s only to be expected. He’s the Dragon Emperor, so it’s only natural that his tastes would be the opposite of mine.”

While scooping up his golden locks, Rufus uttered dejectedly. That was when she realized it.

Both that man and Geraldo had golden hair and black eyes. They were the opposite of Hadith, who had black hair and golden eyes.

…What is he trying to say?

It wasn’t a rare color. In the first place, those who possessed black hair and golden eyes were said to be the reincarnation of the Dragon God. The colors of the Dragon Emperor. Regardless, it was a story of the Rave Empire. It had nothing to do with Kratos.

“The other day, the Dragon Emperor seems to have visited the royal capital for my son’s birthday. I’m not supposed to tell you this, by the way.”

Rufus spoke without care, leaving Natalie speechless.

“What a terrible son that child of mine is. He went to see the true emperor on his own. How sly of him, don’t you think?”

“…Sly—”

“Yes, sly. Afterwards, he even called me a rip-off of the Dragon Emperor. Well, I have no problem with that. After all, the Dragon Emperor hasn’t found himself a Dragon Princess, yet. Right, about that, are there any Dragon Princess candidate in the Rave Empire?”

“D, Dragon Princess…? No, none that I’ve heard of… My half-brother—His Majesty the Emperor has just succeeded the throne. As a result, he’s still acclimating himself. There has been discussion about an engagement, however—”

“—Speaking of which, there’s a civil war going on right now. He must’ve been bored.”

While nonchalantly saying that, Rufus picked up a cookie from the plate.

“Still, the courage to challenge the true emperor is commendable. …Ooh, maybe that’s why my son has been busy recently. He’s too serious. He should go out more often and have some fun.”

That was a difficult topic related to national affairs. Therefore, Natalie had to choose her words carefully. She thought of her uncle’s face.

“It’s not a pleasant matter for the Rave royal family, either. It’s a matter of who will make the better emperor—my uncle or my half-brother.”

“…Who will make a better emperor?”

Upon hearing her words, Rufus was taken aback. The the next moment, he burst out laughing. Natalie began to feel angry.

“I, is there something with what I just said!? Why are you laughing—”

“Oh, I see, now…! I thought that you’re merely bracing yourself, but apparently, you’re just oblivious! Without a single clue, you allowed yourself to be sent here…! Was it a form of mercy, I wonder? I never knew Georg had it in him! The impostor is also capable of cruelty, it seems!”

“I, ‘impostor’, you say… Again, what’s so funny—”

“—I’m into children, now.”

What is he talking about, suddenly?

She wanted to yell back, but Rufus’ grin made her flinch.

“Do you know why?”

She managed to shake her head to the bizarre question. Rufus laughed as he spoke.

“Because they are oblivious to anything. To them, the world is a kind and beautiful place. They believe that there is justice and fairness in the world. They believe in hope. As such, when those innocent eyes are dyed with despair, I can’t help but enjoy it.”

“…”

“When they are offered to me by their own parents, when their pleas for help are ignored, when even their cries are unheard. In the end, they wish to have never been born. You see, their despair comforts me. It reminds me that reason is powerless without love.”

—Scum. A freak. The lowest of the low. Various curses bubbled in her chest. Still, she was terrified of that man who showed a crescent smile. As if frozen, her lips refused to move.

“I’ve decided how to play with you.”

Rufus’ eyes gleamed as he looked down on her.

“Despite being a dignified princess, you’ll be defiled in turn by strangers. I’ve considered this, but such a classic development just won’t do. Instead, I thought of giving my son a test.”

‘Son’—by that, he surely meant Geraldo.

But Geraldo had promised to ensure her safe return.

I’ll just hold on to that for now.

…There’s no way I can just die here.

She mustn’t yield to that man. She understood that at least.

Don’t fall for his ploy or words—

“—You aren’t a member of the Rave royal family. You haven’t inherited the blood of the Dragon God.”

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***T/N: I’m feeling so dreadful rn. The flow of conversation is bizarre and yet dread is creeping up on me.

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