This Emperor Is Running a Marriage Scam - Chapter 241

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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 241

As I held my ground near the Imperial Palace, monsters continued to pour in. But after four days of observation, I noticed something: no monsters were coming from the north.
‘This could be a trap from Nelloa, trying to drive me northward.’
I knew that, but my options were limited. The more monster corpses piled up near the Imperial Palace, the harder it would be for anyone to reach me for a rescue.
After weighing my options, I remembered another possibility: using a different gate to reach the surface above.
Most of the gates had likely been sealed by Bloden, so they couldn’t serve as escape routes. But there was one exception.
‘The Main Gate never closes, no matter what happens.’
If entering through the Imperial Palace was impossible, then Bloden would ultimately have to come rescue me through the Northern Gate.
Just then, a red light shimmered across Heart’s body. Heart scrunched his brow and shook his form, and the light faded just as quickly.
At first, I didn’t understand why that light appeared, but seeing the same phenomenon occur and disappear in turns among Heart, Camen, and Serch every day, I began to grasp the reason.
‘Could that be a signal from Bloden, searching for me?’
For some reason, the spirits seemed reluctant about that signal, but the light looked to me like Bloden insisting I stay alive—and I was grateful for it.
‘Alright then! I’m getting out of here!’
After making up my mind, I told Serch, Camen, and Heart my plan: we would escape through the Northern Gate.
Heart nodded in agreement, then transformed to a size comfortable for me to ride and offered his back. Camen climbed onto Heart’s back first, then morphed into a saddle so I could sit comfortably.
“Thank you, you two.”
“Squeak.”
Once Heart confirmed I was settled properly, he signaled, and Serch shot ahead, lighting our path. Then Heart began moving northward at tremendous speed.
At that same moment, I discovered something unexpected.
‘Heart is even faster than a horse……!’

* * *

As we headed north, the air in the passage grew colder, and monsters pursued us several times from the passages behind, but none of them frightened me.
The cold was easy enough to handle by taking a coat from my Pocket Dimension. And the spirits took care of the monsters.
Whoooosh!
Most of the monsters were either bitten by Heart, who was engulfed in flame, struck by his lashing tail, hit by fireballs he spewed, and then reduced to ash as they convulsed.
Crack! Boom!
The monsters that managed to evade Heart’s flames were pierced by the Stone Spears that Camen summoned, or flattened beneath boulders.
Zzzzing—
The monsters that survived even the attacks of Heart and Camen were bisected by Serch’s beam without so much as a scream, and the threat was annihilated.
“Squeak.”
Once everything fell silent, Heart doused his flames and came to me, crying out. It was his way of saying I should climb on.
Camen scrambled back onto Heart’s back and transformed into a saddle once more.
“Thank you, Heart. Camen.”
I entrusted my movement to Heart and opened my Pocket Dimension. I wanted to clean myself of all the smoke and dust I’d gathered.
Cleanliness Magic Stone.
I’d found this purely by chance.
A few days ago, I’d wished for bathing supplies to appear in my Pocket Dimension—soap, toothpaste, anything to keep myself clean. Along with toiletries, a strange box came out, and it seemed Raven had packed it along with everything else.
Inside the box was a Cleanliness Magic Stone and instructions for use, so I quickly understood its purpose.
The moment I gripped the Cleanliness Magic Stone in my hand, a refreshing sensation spread through me, and from head to toe, I felt perfectly clean and fresh.
I felt genuine gratitude toward Raven and steeled my resolve once more.
‘I’m going to survive this place and get out, no matter what.’

* * *

By this point, the monsters should have brought the printed handbills, but nothing had happened.
Sensing something was amiss, Nelloa led her monsters toward the Roan Times Branch at the outskirts of Utra Territory, where Clark and the typesetters were being held.
The journey was quick. Thanks to Nelloa having already opened a Derivative Gate nearby in a secluded spot.
After arriving, Nelloa spotted the building from a distance and noticed the glass window was broken.
‘Did the monsters kill the typesetters?’
She had ordered them to kill if the typesetters resisted, so that was certainly possible. Yet something felt off.
Even though this place was somewhat isolated, she should have been able to see the silhouettes of workers beyond the window, but now there was nothing.
‘That’s strange.’
Nelloa stopped in her tracks and issued an order to the monsters.
“Go. Open the door.”
As the monsters advanced without hesitation, Nelloa concealed herself behind a tree and observed the situation.
Her instinct had never led her astray.
Crash!
The wall crumbled with a deafening roar, and the mangled monsters were hurled violently outward. Through the billowing dust that rose in its wake, a figure emerged.
The moment Nelloa recognized it as Raven, ice ran down her spine.
How Raven had discovered this place was beyond her understanding. But one thing seemed certain.
‘Clark betrayed me.’
Meeting Raven could only end badly. He was Bloden’s right hand—a Deathknight capable of cutting down several monsters in a single stroke.
The instant they clashed, she was as good as dead.
“Stop him! Use any means necessary—stop him!”
Nelloa barked orders to her monsters even as she bolted toward the Derivative Gate, their cries echoing behind her.
Monsters loitered around the Derivative Gate’s entrance. Only then did Nelloa feel a measure of relief, and she glanced back just before diving into the gate.
She saw Raven, who had pursued her, hurl something in her direction.
“Block it!”
At Nelloa’s cry, a handful of monsters threw themselves into the projectile’s path.
Shriek—Splatter!
With a sound that split the air, the monsters standing between Raven and Nelloa were torn to pieces. Nelloa hurled herself into the gate, but it was already too late.
“Ahhhhh!”
A pain unlike anything she had ever felt seared through her left arm.
Screaming through the agony, Nelloa still managed to shout orders to the monsters inside the gate.
“Stop the intruder! Block him!”
Using her monsters as a sacrifice to buy time, Nelloa fled in blind panic.
After what felt like an eternity, silence fell, and her mind finally cleared.
Looking back, she couldn’t remember how she’d escaped at all. The fact that not a single Derivative Gate Seed remained suggested she’d used every one in her desperate flight.
“What a waste.”
Nelloa examined her throbbing left arm. Blood still seeped from the gash that had split the withered, wrinkled flesh.
“Heaven help me.”
She tore at her tattered sleeve and hastily stanched the wound. Only then did the reality of her near-death crash down upon her.
“It hurts. God, it hurts.”
Tears came unbidden, but Nelloa did not forget to summon a winged monster. Weeping helplessly would mean bleeding out, and she had no intention of dying that way.
She made for the Capital, went to a hospital at its outskirts, and using her monster to coerce the doctor, obtained painkillers and had her wound treated.
“How is it?”
The terrified doctor scarcely managed an answer as he handed Nelloa a supply of painkillers.
“The wound is quite deep. Without proper treatment, you may lose use of your arm. You’ll need to return for regular care.”
“I see. I’ll have to come back then.”
Nelloa nodded in agreement, and the doctor let out a breath of relief. In that instant, she caught her monster’s eye.
The doctor collapsed lifeless in seconds, and Nelloa smiled coldly.
“Because you’d betray me just like Clark did and slip away, wouldn’t you?”
Nelloa waited for the pain to subside, then gathered the supplies and medicines she’d need for treatment and left. She pulled a robe low over her head alongside her escort monsters to avoid drawing attention.
‘I should buy something to eat in the city before heading back.’
Yet as she entered the city, Nelloa sensed something amiss. The main road had been cleared, and an unusual crowd had gathered thickly on either side.
Reading hope and anticipation in their expressions, Nelloa grabbed a passing youth and asked.
“What’s drawn such a crowd?”
“Oh, you haven’t heard? There’s been all this talk about whether His Majesty abdicated or not.”
“Yes.”
“Everyone was worried, but His Majesty is in perfect health!”
The certainty in his voice made Nelloa’s skin crawl.
“How do you know that?”
The youth pointed eagerly toward the Imperial Palace.
“Everyone knows now! His Majesty is departing on a military campaign at this very moment!”
“A, a campaign? Where?”
“The Northern Gate, naturally! He’s going to exterminate the monsters forever!”
It was then.
Boom! Bang-bang!
Signal cannons thundered, and cheers erupted from the direction of the Imperial Palace.
“Wahhhhh!”
“Long live the Emperor!”
Countless imperial banners and the Knight Order’s standards fluttered in the distance, drawing ever closer.
Startled, Nelloa quickly buried herself in the crowd, erasing any trace of her presence.
“Long live him! Eternal savior of the Empire, grant us victory!”
“May the Ilpein Empire endure forever!”
Bloden and the Knight Order’s grand procession passed beneath the people’s roaring acclaim.
Leading an armed contingent of knights and sweeping his purple cloak before him, Bloden cut a figure of magnificent authority as he rode out to war.
The vivid crimson of his eyes burned with fierce intensity, and the sight of it threw Nelloa into confusion.
‘But Hailey is missing.’
Bloden should have been shattered, his mind broken and his spirit spent. That was what the male lead of any novel became when he lost the woman he loved.
‘That’s how it should be.’
That’s when she would strike—when he was vulnerable—and devour the Empire whole.
‘So why does he look so… intact?’

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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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