This Emperor Is Running a Marriage Scam - Chapter 201

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

Episode 201

‘True, Nuna did seem to have feelings for me. The only problem was that I’m the Emperor.’
It was then that Hailey’s voice came through Kimarise.
—Ah, I was so moved by Your Majesty’s joyous news that I couldn’t help myself…….
“…….”
—Yes, my eyes are all tears from the emotion.
“Joyous news……? But it seemed like she was jealous?”
The shock struck Bloden like a fist to the chest; he held his breath for a moment, then severed the Mental Link with Kimarise entirely. His hands rose to frame his face, and almost at once his palms grew wet.
He knew all too well that such unbidden displays did not befit an Emperor’s dignity. Yet the distance between himself and Hailey still seemed so impossibly vast that he found himself gasping for air.
A single word from Hailey sent his heart spinning without measure, thrashing now in the depths of some fathomless abyss.
After some time had passed this way, Crockel drew near and spoke.
—Master. What do you do?
“Crockel. You do come up with surprisingly clever answers sometimes.”
—Much obliged! Though that Dantarion fellow and the alpha wolf of Frediki Village both call me stupid.
“Let me ask you something. For instance—the female wolf you’ve bonded with seems to care for you quite a lot, wouldn’t you say……?”
Crockel shook his head before Bloden could finish.
—Master, you misunderstand. I have not yet bonded with the alpha wolf of Frediki Village!
Not yet—so he was planning to do so eventually?
The question flickered through his mind, but it wasn’t what mattered now.
“No, I mean—as a hypothetical.”
—Ah, an example.
“Right. So if the one you’d bonded with told you that you couldn’t be her mate because you’re an alpha, what reason would you think she gave?”
—There’s only one reason for that, so it’s far too simple. There must be another wolf vying for the alpha’s position.
Crockel burst into sudden laughter.
—Because I’m the alpha, that rival tries to intimidate me, and so I don’t look like a worthy male. Then the female is uneasy and finds it hard to bear pups.
“No, now you’re jumping straight to pups—that’s going a bit far…….”
Heat flooded Bloden’s face, and he covered his eyes with a hand, but Crockel only lifted his head all the more boldly.
—It’s not far at all. That is the law of nature.
“So, what will you do about it?”
—I shall make all the impertinent ones submit and show that I am a worthy male.
“That’s right, isn’t it?”
—Yes, indeed. I must make them too terrified even to try. In such matters, the first example is everything.
“You’re right.”
Bloden, lost in thought for a moment, then gazed toward the frontier beyond the Otixs Kingdom.
He had always meant to purge them. Only the severity of that purge had shifted from his original intention.
Moving faster now would mean seeing Hailey less often, but there was no avoiding it if he meant to secure her safety any sooner.
“I’ll make sure they don’t even dare to entertain the thought.”

* * *

A week later.
In the form of Baron, Dantarion had just finished dormitory roll call and now lay on his bed, thinking of Bloden and Hailey.
Bloden had business to attend to and didn’t return home at all that weekend.
So Dantarion had been blissful all weekend long—he could spend the entire day beside Hailey in Baron’s form.
Moreover, that weekend felt strangely tender toward Hailey; he’d trailed after her like a shadow and helped with everything she was doing.
Then, Saturday evening, Hailey brought out a new dish she’d made for Baron.
It was grilled pork ribs marinated in a sauce called soy sauce.
It was meat, but sliced thin, so it seemed hard to savor the juices. Yet it was so sweet and savory all at once.
The flavor alone was enough to drive one to madness, but as Dantarion ate, he felt the rising mana within him and came to understand something.
If this soy sauce had appeared in the world as quickly as miso had, his family name would not be Dantarion but Dantasoy.
Because Bloden was busy, the fact that Dantarion alone could eat this delicious mana recovery agent was sheer happiness—it seemed he could eat it endlessly.
‘Nuna is human, so it’s a shame she only prepared one kilogram.’
After scraping every last bit of marinade from the plate, Dantarion wanted to ask Hailey if she could make more. But the strange atmosphere she gave off as she rested her chin on her hand and gazed out the window made him think better of it.
Looking back, Hailey had been different today—staring into empty space at odd moments or throwing herself into work with manic intensity.
Bloden absent, Hailey’s mood peculiar.
‘Could they have had a fight?’
Perhaps Bloden’s pride was wounded, and that was why he hadn’t come home despite it being the weekend.
Having reasoned out an explanation of sorts, Dantarion adjusted his pillow and let out a quiet laugh.
‘If Nuna and my lord were to fight, my lord would absolutely have to eat humble pie.’
Whoever was in the wrong, that was only natural.
To Dantarion, Bloden was his lord, but Hailey was a goddess.
‘When a god and a human clash, the human must naturally kneel. Right. When my lord and a Commander Spirit fight, it’s the same—the Commander Spirit kneels without question.’
Dantarion nodded to himself, then recalled the taste of the Grilled Pork Ribs and wiped away the saliva pooling at the corner of his mouth.
‘It would be nice if they made up quickly, but honestly… I wouldn’t mind if it took a while.’
That way, he’d have next weekend with Hailey all to himself.
That was when it happened.
“Caw.”
At the sound of a raven mingled with an ominous aura, Dantarion sat bolt upright in bed. Soon a translucent phantom raven, Black Libia, phased through the wall.
“What’s going on in the middle of the night?”
—Summoning imminent. Ready. My lord.
“Huh? A summoning?”
—Prepare yourself.
Black Libia vanished like an arrow, leaving those words behind.
“Ugh, that bird’s got no patience for explanation.”
Dantarion grumbled and created a clone, laying it down on the bed. To the eye, it looked identical to Baron, but it was actually nothing more than a motionless phantom.
‘This way, even if someone happens to walk in, they won’t suspect anything.’
Moments later, a vortex of black Mana formed above his head and swallowed Dantarion whole. His vision shifted in an instant.
Before him stood a muscular Bloden, and nearby stood Raven and Crockel.
It was deep in a forest in the dead of night, but for a Commander Spirit like Dantarion, every corner was perfectly visible. Compared to the Abyss Realm, where not a single ray of light penetrated, it was broad daylight.
Dantarion started to ask where they were, but held his tongue. He’d noticed the shadows beneath Bloden’s eyes, and remembered that he hadn’t returned to Hailey’s side last weekend.
Even someone as impudent as Dantarion knew when to read the room.
‘I’m not getting caught in a whale fight—that’s a sure way to lose my back.’
So he dropped to one knee immediately, as decorum demanded.
“I greet you, my lord. What are your orders?”
Bloden called out to Raven in a low voice. Raven stepped forward and relayed the task to him.
.
.
.
After riding Crockel to the destination, Dantarion dismounted in the forest near Duke Utra’s Mansion and shifted his form to that of a man named Coccus. Coccus was the alpha of the group that had come to capture Kyle but was instead caught by Dantarion and imprisoned in Raven’s Pocket Dimension.
“Grr.”
Crockel rumbled low.
He couldn’t understand the words, but judging by the expression and mood, it was likely a warning—no, more of a threat—to do the job right.
Dantarion let out a scoff.
“You do your part, mangy mutt.”
Crockel snorted and bounded away, disappearing into the night. Dantarion slipped past the guards and made his way toward the third-floor Study window.
It was late, so the window was shut tight, but light still burned in the Study.
Tap-tap-tap. Tap-tap.
Dantarion tapped the window with the rhythm Coccus had revealed under interrogation.
The window opened, and the first thing he saw was the Butler’s sour face. Slipping inside, he spotted Duke Utra seated at his desk, with a Knight standing guard beside him.
Duke Utra looked over the figure before him with obvious displeasure and clicked his tongue.
“About time. You’ve caught the brat, I assume?”
“Of course, my lord. The Academy’s security proved somewhat troublesome, but we managed.”
“Did you interrogate him?”
“Yes. He knew nothing. He only cursed his father.”
Duke Utra leaned back in his chair.
“Fine, then. Dispose of him and wait at the designated location.”
“Understood.”
Dantarion left through the window again. The Butler watched until he completely vanished, then locked the window securely.
‘But the one who left was just my clone.’
Dantarion, having transformed into shadow form and clung to the exterior wall near the window, smiled coldly to himself and listened intently. That was when he heard Duke Utra speak.
“This should be manageable then. Butler, inform them—the operation proceeds in three days.”
“As you wish, my lord.”
“Knight, prepare for deployment. Block the Otixs Kingdom’s forces as planned, but leave the path toward Mistril Territory open.”
“How long should the passage remain open?”
“A day should be enough. Word of Count Enox’s family demise will reach us by then.”
Laughter tinged Duke Utra’s voice. The Knight chuckled softly as well.
“What tragic news that shall be.”

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