This Emperor Is Running a Marriage Scam - Chapter 140

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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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Chapter 140

The Monster that had descended into the sea surged upward directly beneath Bloden. This time, I could even see the massive stone platform beneath the Monster’s feet.
‘That stone platform looks like Camen too?’
The stone’s sudden ascent created another massive wave, but Bloden paid it no mind and attacked the Monster again.
“Kuweeeek!”
The Monster soon let out a terrible shriek and fell to Bloden’s blade, its massive body plummeting into the sea.
Splash!
“Argh, again!”
“Whoosh!”
The wave created by the stone platform’s rise still hadn’t subsided, crashing over the people watching near the Port and the Knights who were controlling them.
Standing at a distance with others, observing the situation, I shook my head in disbelief.
‘He’s still standing there even after being hit by that deluge.’
And then a small tsunami created by the Monster came crashing down in succession.
“Argh! Someone fell in!”
This time, several people were swept away by the waves and fell into the sea.
However, the people floundering in the sea were quickly brought back to shore. It was Camen who had lifted them up.
At the same time, stone pillars shot up and disappeared across the sea’s surface in succession, creating a path for Bloden’s return.
As Bloden rode the wolf and returned like the wind, landing at the Port, the Knights who had been observing the situation rushed forward and knelt on one knee in unison.
“We greet the Sun of the Ilpein Empire and the Eternal Savior!”
Only then did the other people, who had been standing in a daze, suddenly snap to attention and kneel on one knee toward Bloden or prostrate themselves flat on the ground.
“We greet the Sun of the Ilpein Empire and the Eternal Savior!”
Soon the situation began to settle, but the gathered crowd was reluctant to move.
“Wow, so that’s His Majesty the Emperor.”
“First time seeing him, and he’s incredibly strong.”
“I’ve never seen anything like that before. It’s on a completely different level.”
“So that’s why he can sweep away Monsters alone in the Northern Region.”
“Isn’t he a god incarnated as a human?”
The conversations around me were filled with awe and reverence toward Bloden.
I recalled the fairy tale of the Northern Gate and felt satisfied.
It seemed the Invisible Warrior was no longer invisible.
I moved my feet.
‘I should head home.’
There was no need to go back to the bar and confirm again that my words were correct.
.
.
.
It was when I had moved away from the crowd and come to a quiet place.
“Nuna, you were here.”
A calm and familiar voice suddenly rang out.
“Oh, Baron?”
I turned toward the sound and found Baron smiling with the corners of his mouth raised, gazing toward the Sea.
“I heard rumors that a Monster appeared at the Port, so I came to check, but it seems it’s already over.”
“Yeah, it is.”
As I answered uncertainly, something about Baron’s demeanor felt off, leaving me with a strange and confusing sensation.
‘What’s wrong?’
As I studied Baron, I realized what seemed amiss.
Unlike his usual upright posture, Baron stood with both hands shoved into his shorts pockets, weight shifted to one leg, looking like a ruffian.
‘Hmm… what should I call this?’
I was troubled.
Was it wrong to have his hands in his shorts pockets? No.
Was it wrong to stand with his weight on one leg? No.
So by any measure, Baron hadn’t done anything wrong. Yet somehow, I felt like I’d been struck from behind.
‘Is it because his posture looks poor?’
No, posture wasn’t the issue. The problem lay elsewhere.
After thinking for a moment, I suddenly grasped what was bothering me.
‘My Baron is acting arrogant! Why on earth has he changed?’
I thought it best to ask directly.
“Baron, did something happen?”
“Huh?”
Baron glanced at me and let out a soft laugh.
“No, nothing happened. By the way, the Emperor handled that well.”
At that moment, the ground before me bulged upward.
A Stone Pillar roughly sixty centimeters tall, with moss and sprouts on one side of its head, and sky-blue button eyes.
“Camen! You came to find me?”
Camen’s eyes crinkled with laughter as he saw me welcoming him.
Crouching down, I found myself stroking Camen’s head and offering sincere thanks.
“You were so amazing. Thank you so much for protecting us, Camen.”
Camen leaned toward me as if asking for more petting. He seemed to enjoy it so much that I couldn’t help but smile.
Then I heard a small cry from somewhere.
“Chirp!”
Looking again, I saw a Salamander the size of a palm right in front of Camen.
A coral-red body with yellow markings, a heart-shaped pattern on its crown, and large golden eyes.
I recalled seeing a Salamander that looked like this during the Orphanage Gate incident.
“Oh, you’re that Salamander from back then! How did you get here?”
As I recognized it, the flames enveloping the Salamander completely subsided.
“Chirp, chirp-chirp.”
The Salamander looked up at me with wavering golden eyes, crying earnestly. Its eyes glistened with tears, and somehow it seemed utterly forlorn.
‘Why is it like that?’
I stared blankly, unable to fathom the reason, when a small hand sprouted from Camen’s torso like a branch and gently stroked the Salamander’s head.
“Squeak!”
In that instant, the Salamander frowned and threw a tantrum at Camen. Camen’s hand quickly retracted.
The Salamander snorted and looked back up at me. It stepped forward, displaying its crown, and even raised its front legs to scratch at the air—making me wonder if perhaps it wanted something.
“Do you want me to pet you too?”
The Salamander nodded.
“Squeak!”
Though I’d never touched a lizard before, I gently stroked the small creature’s head with my fingertips.
Ah, now that I thought about it, I had something to tell the Salamander. If it hadn’t been there back then, I would have been swallowed whole by that fire serpent without question.
“Back at the Orphanage Gate—thank you for saving me from being devoured by that Monster.”
“Squeak.”
The corners of the Salamander’s mouth lifted on both sides. Its smiling eyes were utterly adorable. At the same moment, I understood why this Salamander was here.
“You’re His Majesty’s familiar too, aren’t you?”
“Squeak!”
The Salamander looked immensely pleased at my words.
“Right, so that’s why you’re here. I’m grateful to both of you.”
That was when it happened.
“If these creatures are familiars, they should be doing their duties. Why are they loitering here?”
Baron struck the back of Camen’s head with a sharp tap, his expression sour.
As Camen and the Salamander turned to stare at him in shock, and I did the same, Baron furrowed his brow and spoke to them as if issuing an order.
“The world’s at peace, so you’ve grown complacent, haven’t you?”

* * *

The Emperor’s Office within the Imperial Palace.
Bloden sat at a desk devoid of a single document, opening the drawers one by one. Every drawer lay empty.
‘What was it like during the previous Emperor’s reign?’
Bloden recalled his childhood.
Lienda would return from her endeavors in the Northern Region and handle the accumulated work in this office. Duke Beldenburo, his father, occasionally managed affairs as regent for the previous King, but this was not his place.
When young Bloden would visit, Lienda would gaze down at him with an unreadable expression, offer him a brief embrace, and then send him back to his chambers.
Those days had been marked by fleeting joy and prolonged longing. Yet Bloden harbored no resentment toward Lienda. Now he understood her in his own way.
As a child, he had believed that was simply the nature of the Emperor’s position. Now, through Raven, he understood what had weighed upon her heart back then.
Though her reign was brief, she was an Emperor worthy of respect—and a mother.
But the reality that had befallen Bloden was a different matter entirely.
Had circumstances been different, he would have walked the same path as she. There had even been a time when he considered finding an Empress to replace Anna as his most pressing duty this year.
Yet now there was no such need.
One corner of Bloden’s mouth lifted.
‘I have Nuna.’
Hailey’s ability counterbalanced his weakness. The realization made his heart race with warmth. And the fact that the person capable of this was Hailey, whom he loved, made it all the more perfect.
‘I miss her.’
Just then, a knock sounded, and Raven entered alongside the Head Attendant and the handmaidens.
After the Head Attendant and handmaidens bowed respectfully to Bloden and arranged tea and refreshments on the table, they withdrew. Raven then spoke.
“Your Majesty.”
“Hmm?”
“Are you currently sharing consciousness with Dantarion?”
Dantarion, like Kimarise, possessed the ability to share consciousness. However, the difference was that Dantarion could sever the connection of his own volition.
Bloden shook his head.
‘By now, he should be with Nuna…’
Anxiety suddenly gripped him.
“Did that bastard cause trouble?”

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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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