This Emperor Is Running a Marriage Scam - Chapter 231

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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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Episode 231

“Snarl!”
“Ahhhhh!”
The cry of some unknowable beast sounded out, followed by a guard’s scream.
Sensing that something was amiss, the knight drew his sword with a grim expression and seized the cord hanging from the wall, pulling it with all his strength.
Ding-ding-ding!
The alarm bells throughout the prison began to ring out loudly.
After sounding the alarm, Clark quickly grabbed the knight’s arm just as he was about to rush inside.
“We have to escape!”
“What?”
“I don’t believe it myself, but that sound we just heard—it’s a monster’s cry.”
“A monster? That’s absurd!”
“If you go in there now, you’ll die for certain! We need knights trained to handle monsters to assess the situation!”
The knight clenched his jaw.
He’d never imagined such a thing. But now that Clark had spoken, the sound reminded him of something he’d heard faintly in the distance while serving near the Northern Gate, and fear crept into his chest.
Still, something extraordinary had happened—he couldn’t simply ignore it and fail to check inside.
Noticing his attempt to move, Clark shouted urgently.
“Don’t go in yourself, sir! Alert those outside about the situation!”
Just then, several knights who had heard the alarm bells came rushing over.
“What’s happened!”
“A guard and food distribution officer who entered the Special Management Area screamed! We haven’t confirmed the scene yet!”
“Is it an escape attempt!”
“And you’ve just been standing here without checking?”
“This man claims there’s a monster inside.”
“That’s nonsense! Get in there now!”
The rushing knights rebuked the one guarding the Special Management Area and charged inside. Then came their screams.
“Ahhhhh! Monsters!”
“A Gate—there’s a Gate!”
“Report to Your Majesty! Ahhhhh! Help us!”
“Reinforcements! Request reinforcements!”

* * *

When Bloden heard that a Derivative Gate had appeared in the prison where Utra had been held, he and Dantarion—disguised as Raven—rushed over and sealed the Gate first.
Bloden had the Knight Order secure the scene and examined the surroundings carefully.
The cell bars where Utra, Aer, and the other prisoners had been held were grotesquely warped, and the corpses of a food distribution officer and a guard, killed in the monster attack, lay scattered about.
“My lord, that mad woman seems to be plotting something cunning.”
Bloden nodded, his heart heavy at Dantarion’s report.
Most of the knights guarding the prison had survived, but it didn’t take long to understand why all the prisoners, including Utra and Aer, had vanished.
The knights present at the scene stood in a ragged line before Bloden and testified about how they had been caught by the monsters and then released.
“A man who had been doing food service work came and went these past few days, claiming he needed to extract confessions from the traitors on behalf of Your Majesty.”
The knight, though admitting he had violated protocol, made excuses about having permitted it for Bloden’s sake, and continued trembling as he spoke.
“When that fellow heard what he claimed was a monster’s cry, he tried to go inside and check the situation himself. I tried to stop him, telling him to leave immediately and report what was happening outside.”
The other knights added their testimonies.
“An old woman—a witch—appeared alongside the monsters and dragged all the prisoners away.”
“She promised to spare us and give us a story worthy of a scoop. That food service assistant called the witch ‘Princess’ and followed her of his own accord.”
“It seemed the two of them knew each other well.”
Taken together, the knights guarding the prison today had nearly died, and it was the food service assistant who had saved them.
And Bloden and Dantarion easily deduced that the witch the knights spoke of was none other than Nelloa, and that the food service assistant was Clark, a reporter for the Roan Times.
“Was there anything else unusual?”
At Bloden’s question, one of the knights who had been tilting his head in confusion spoke up at once.
“Now that you mention it, the old woman’s movements seemed young.”
Only then did the other knights nod in agreement.
“Her appearance was like that of a woman over ninety, but her movements were remarkably swift compared to that.”
“That’s right.”
The moment Bloden returned to his study after hearing all the testimony, Dantarion spoke.
“My lord, I suspect the master of that Special Ability applied its effect only to appearance, just as it did with Your Majesty.”
Before sealing the Derivative Gate, Dantarion had examined the interior. But at that moment, he saw neither Nelloa nor any monsters inside the Gate—they had already all fled.
“If I only knew where she was, I’d go and sever her head myself. But now she can summon monsters and even create gates to wherever she pleases—it seems we’re in for considerable trouble ahead.”
Dantarion sighed and slumped onto the sofa.
“After your Birthday Festival passes, my lord, it looks like that witch will keep us in chaos. Will you even have the capacity to attend to state affairs?”
Bloden’s mind churned. He leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling.
Today marked the beginning of the Birthday Festival. Only a week remained until Bloden could devote himself fully to state affairs. Yet gates were now appearing without warning even within the Imperial Palace.
This meant the first priority was no longer legal reform—it was eliminating Nelloa.
Bloden recalled the counterattack on the Northern Gate.
Though they’d achieved a victory without precedent in history, they hadn’t penetrated to the deepest reaches of the gate. He’d only purged what he deemed necessary to keep things quiet for a time.
With Hailey’s Special Ability to support them this time, he could pour forth far greater firepower.
Yet how long it would take to fight monsters within those depths and capture Nelloa was impossible to predict.
Just as Dantarion feared, attending to state affairs seemed nearly impossible.
If he ventured into the Northern Gate to pursue Nelloa, someone would have to remain in the Imperial Palace and manage affairs of state.
As Lienda had received aid from the Imperial Chamberlain Duke Beldenburo, Bloden too would need the Empress’s assistance—and failing that, it was plain that Anna would be forced to handle state affairs again.
‘What a headache. Ideally, if Hailey took on the state affairs, that would be perfect.’
Yet he had made Hailey a promise.

‘I swear on my name—I’ll render your marriage record completely void.’

Bloden intended to begin his first presiding council meeting with legal amendments on that very matter.
‘Even if I court Hailey again, it must come after the Marriage Annulment is finalized.’
Having reached this point in his reasoning, Bloden fell into gloom. If things went this way, he had no idea when he and Hailey could be together.

‘I could always make an example of a few and threaten to execute them all—that would push it through immediately.’

He found himself reconsidering methods he’d never wanted to employ, all for the swift passage of the Marriage Annulment bill.
Then it came.
—My lord. We’re preparing to disembark now.
The moment Kimarise’s message reached him, Bloden felt his stress evaporate entirely.
He immediately shared Kimarise’s vision.
He saw Hailey and Raven standing on the deck of the Regalia, moored at the Capital’s port. The pale green sundress suited Hailey’s platinum hair perfectly.
When Hailey smiled in Kimarise’s sight, Bloden found himself smiling as well.
—Good. Tell Raven to come straight to the Imperial Palace. I’ll be right there.
“My lord, you’re smiling brightly despite the current situation?”
Dantarion’s bewildered question drew a response as Bloden covered his mouth with his hand.
“What can I do? Hailey’s beautiful.”
“Hailey, you say?”
Dantarion’s expression softened at once, and he began to chuckle.
“If it’s her, I have no objection. Is she arriving well?”
“Yes, she’s disembarking now. I’ve told Raven to come directly.”
Bloden rose from his seat, positioned himself before a mirror, and checked his appearance, making his already impeccable clothes even neater. Then he began lifting his bangs back and letting them fall again, repeating the motion several times before asking Dantarion.
“Which way looks better?”
“They’re the same.”
…….
Dissatisfied with Dantarion’s flat response, Bloden clicked his tongue and shifted his hair to sapphire blue.
“You stay as I am. When Raven arrives, brief him on the situation and handle everything related to it yourself.”

* * *

Vendor stalls decorated with flowers and ribbons, garlands strung about, balloons hanging everywhere.
The Capital already brimmed with the distinctive festive atmosphere of Bloden’s Birthday Festival.
“Commanders! Slay the witch!”
As Kimarise and Bloden descended from the Regalia, voices of children shouted from one side of the port.
A child with cloth draped like a cloak around his neck was wielding a wooden sword, striking a pile of cargo stacked to one side.
“Your Majesty! We shall lend our strength as well!”
“Exterminate the monsters!”
Other children joined in with toy swords and bows, attacking the cargo. It seemed the pile served as both monsters and Nelloa in their play.
The Derivative Gates that had sprung up throughout the Empire had filled its citizens with dread, yet they equally magnified Bloden’s deeds.
The number of imperial subjects who had witnessed Bloden’s strength with their own eyes grew constantly.
Moreover, thanks to reporters who lingered near the most recently sealed Derivative Gate, the story had spread considerably.
Now that influence had even reached the children.
“Close the gate!”
The child, with cloth wound around his neck, stretched out both hands toward the bundle of supplies and waved them. Then he cried out in a loud voice.
“With the lords’ aid, the Empire has triumphed! In recognition of your valor, I shall buy ice cream for you all!”
“Hurrah! Long live the Emperor!”
The children squealed with delight and rushed in a throng toward one side, where a vendor stall bearing what appeared to be the Imperial Palace’s insignia had just raised its sign and begun operations.

[Commemorating the Emperor’s Birthday Festival — Free Ice Cream]

“This year they’ve even added something like that,” I said with a smile to Kimarise, when another voice—sweeter to hear—rang out.
I turned around. Eyes of crimson sparkled back at me. Bloden, his hair tinted the color of sapphire, was smiling warmly in my direction.
“He’s twenty now, after all.”

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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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