A Blend of Romance and Fantasy - Chapter 90

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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90.
Lethe Tower.
In the original story, it was said to be enchanted with infinite space magic.
While Blackwood Territory was the physical location, its interior was boundless, and the entrance existed anywhere one wished.
Unaware of this, the people of Blackwood had imprisoned James within it, but he discovered the truth early on and escaped, cultivating his magical abilities in the process.
I had worried about monsters roaming inside, but I was reassured when Leonard Blake mentioned he had eliminated them all.
Whenever I had spare time, I decided to secretly enter Lethe Tower and learn archery from Lucas.
* * *
“Say, Charlotte. How are things progressing with finding concubines?”
While I was in my office reviewing the castle and Blackwood Territory, Empress Consort Katrina burst through the door without so much as a knock.
She had lived in the Imperial Palace for over twenty years, so she certainly knew proper etiquette—yet her rudeness seemed far too deliberate.
“Oh dear, what can I do? I’ve been so pressed for time that I haven’t had the luxury of attending to such trivial matters.”
“My, is that so? I thought you might say that, so I took the liberty of preparing something!”
….
She was truly a formidable opponent. As I glanced at the documents she offered, my lips involuntarily twitched.
‘A list of concubine candidates prepared by my mother-in-law for her son.’
My mood suddenly became peculiar.
I suppressed the urge to snatch the documents from the Empress Consort with irritation and lowered my head.
“Leave them. I’ll review them.”
“Hmm?”
“I said leave them.”
At my discourteous tone, Empress Consort Katrina’s lips pressed shut.
But as expected, she could do nothing to me beyond playing the role of a gracious mother-in-law.
“…Very well, then!”
After the Empress Consort left, I stared fixedly at the documents on my desk.
Candidates for Empress after my departure.
-Please do not establish a harem.
-Do not worry. I will make the Princess my first and last love.
The image of Leonard Blake lying without so much as blinking before a weeping Aurora surfaced in my mind.
Now I understood why I had felt so terrible at that moment.
‘I had wanted Leonard Blake’s words to be sincere.’
I calmed my turbulent heart and picked up the papers.
The documents were thicker than I had expected, and the text was densely packed.
No matter how terrifying Leonard Blake, the fearsome Sixth Prince of Blackwood, might be, there were still so many women who wished to be by his side.
When all of this was over and the time came to part ways, would I truly be able to leave without hesitation?
“…Ugh, I hate this.”
Should I kidnap him instead? Try out the obsessive woman trope for the first time in a possession novel? #Obsessive Female Lead #Weak Male Lead #Crazy Woman?
Leonard Blake would never kill me, so he’d probably obediently let himself be tied to the bed.
“What on earth am I thinking?! This isn’t even a novel.”
What escaped me in the end was a burst of laughter.
I burst into laughter in the office, and Ignis, who had been curled up sleeping beside me, snapped his eyes open.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you? Have you lost your mind?”
“No.”
But he quickly caught sight of the documents in front of me, and his eyes widened in surprise.
“Hmph!”
Ignis stretched languidly, then exhaled a burst of flame from his mouth.
The small but unmistakable fireball consumed the documents in an instant.
“Ignis! What are you doing?”
“Isn’t that driving you mad? I’m telling you not to worry about it.”
“Ignis… this is the moment I’m supposed to be moved, isn’t it?”
“I just don’t want to see more women sacrificed to that garbage.”
He really was adorable.
I laughed while gently stroking Ignis’s head.
Then Ignis rolled his eyes and asked.
“You… do you really like that garbage?”
“What? Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“Because that bastard is a genius at stabbing people in the back!”
If I took Leonard Blake’s side here, he’d only sulk more.
I simply smiled and continued stroking Ignis’s head.
* * *
The forest was utter chaos.
Black blood and fragments of demonic beast flesh were scattered across the earth, while the sound of cleaving meat and the stench of blood vibrated through the air.
The battle was nothing short of a massacre.
Under Leonard Blake’s command, the division led by Nicholas allowed not a single opening for the demonic beasts to exploit, no matter where they emerged. It was perfection honed through countless battles.
Squelch—
The moment the last remaining monster was cleaved in two, a messenger, drenched in blood, came galloping forward with urgency.
“Your Highness, they’re pouring in from the right flank now.”
“They’re increasing in number more and more lately. Do you think Demian is assisting in opening the rifts?”
Nicholas sheathed his sword and wiped the sweat from his chin.
Leonard Blake’s eyes narrowed.
“That may well be the case.”
However, the monsters that escaped from the rifts were all trivial creatures, utterly powerless before the Blackwood Knights.
The problem was that these demonic beasts might slip through to where the territory’s people were. Leonard Blake mounted the horse Hilda had brought and issued orders to Nicholas.
“The 1st Division will maintain formation and follow. I’ll go ahead to the 3rd Division.”
Another war had ended.
The knights rested in the makeshift tents with the rising morning sun, catching their breath.
As Hilda was maintaining her sword, she discovered an unfamiliar item inside the Sixth Prince’s magical tool chest.
It looked more like an ornament to attach to a weapon than an item itself. Just then, Nicholas approached and picked it up.
“What’s this? You were still keeping it here? I suppose hiding a tree in the forest is the safest approach—mixing it in with everything else.”
“Nicholas, what is that?”
“Ah.”
Nicholas sank down beside Hilda with a heavy thud.
“The Black Veil. That’s why we deliberately headed toward the Lesher Desert when we went to Sincester.”
Sincester’s prized sacred relics—the Pure Gold Mirror, the Golden Flute, and the Crown of Laurel.
The Black Veil was a dangerous sacred relic that could neutralize all of them.
In the original story, Demian obtained it and invaded Sincester, so Leonard Blake moved first to prevent it.
However, he simply kept it in storage because it was difficult to explain how he’d learned of its existence.
He’d planned to return it later under the pretense of peace when he became Emperor.
He never expected to fall in love with the transmigrator, though.
Nicholas scratched the back of his head.
“Did His Highness forget about this? This is a sacred relic that endangers His Highness’s kingdom.”
“Even if His Highness forgot, surely Aide William wouldn’t have. Why is it here?”
“Because possessing it serves the national interest.”
William’s blunt voice came from behind the two of them.
“It’s fortunate that he forgot.”
“William, how can you say such a thing?”
Hilda frowned with displeasure. Yet William remained composed.
“This Empire is governed jointly with the Empress. The Emperor must be prepared to check the Empress and her nation.”
“But they seem to genuinely care for each other. What if they grow distant?”
“As long as their love remains strong, they have three children, those children don’t fight, and all of them rule Blake, it doesn’t matter. But the future is unknowable.”
“….”
Hilda glared at William, then turned her head sharply away.
“Who knows of this sacred relic’s existence?”
“Only the three of us who entered the cave to retrieve the Black Veil, and His Highness.”
“I feel terrible about lying to His Highness.”
Hilda released a small sigh, and silence fell over the tent.
Then the fabric at the tent’s entrance swayed without restraint as Leonard Blake entered.
Black blood that hadn’t yet been cleaned clung thickly to his face. William handed him a damp cloth.
“Why do you all look like that? What were you—”
Leonard Blake’s gaze, as he wiped his face with the cloth, landed on the Black Veil.
After standing there for a long moment, Leonard Blake threw the cloth, now darkened with blood, onto the table.
“I’ve lost my mind too. How could I forget that? I need to return it to Sincester.”
“Your Highness, that cannot be.”
“Did I mishear you, William? I’m not tired.”
Leonard Blake, about to settle into a wooden chair, furrowed one eyebrow.
“If relations with Sincester deteriorate in the future, it will certainly become necessary.”
“….”
“Especially since demons emerge at any time from Blackwood, Holy Knights are needed. This sacred relic makes for a good negotiating card.”
“Enough.”
Leonard Blake spoke with barely concealed displeasure, his voice laden with anger.
“William, even you—if you continue down this path, I will not stand idle.”
“Your Highness.”
William bowed his head as he spoke.
“I wished for the Princess to become Empress of Blake.”
“….”
“However, Your Highness, I do not wish for you to become merely a husband to one woman.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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