Erger was briefly at a loss for words. He’s going to let me go back to the Mage Tower? This was truly unexpected. Liard held Erger in that lake-like gaze of his and added,
“Though as Imperial Consort, I would ask that you make an appearance at imperial events at least once a year.”
“……”
“Surely these are terms you can accept?”
Interpreting Erger’s silence as refusal, Liard gave a faint furrow of his dark brows.
Erger sat with the corner of his mouth twisted, lost in thought. On the surface, it sounded as though he was being given every consideration — but the more he thought about it, the more unsettled he felt. Isn’t this less like being treated as a spouse and more like being used as a stud horse?
The haze that Liard’s appearance had cast over his mind gradually began to clear. Erger relaxed and, out of habit, crossed his legs. It was a fairly insolent posture to take in front of the Emperor.
Liard did not call him out on it, though. His chin lifted very slightly, as if he found it less than agreeable — and that expression of mild displeasure was just provocative enough to make Erger want to needle him further.
The Emperor has no choice but to put up with me. Finding another extreme-rare and waiting for them to come of age would already be too late. The fact that this noble and beautiful Emperor needed him — that gave Erger a quiet, private satisfaction. To be precise, it wasn’t him the Emperor needed — just his seed.
He felt curious and almost amused, and yet there was an irresistible urge to be contrary about it. Erger ran his eyes slowly over every inch of Liard’s face before opening his mouth at a leisurely pace.
“You said I may live freely within the palace. How free, exactly, are we talking?”
Erger’s manner of speaking was naturally provocative and unpolished. Even toned down somewhat for the Emperor’s presence, it was hardly demure. But Liard replied without missing a beat.
“You may keep a lover.”
“……Wow.”
“As long as you honor the consummation dates with Us.”
“You mean that?”
Erger let slip what came out sounding almost like a sardonic expression of admiration. The Emperor seemed to have nothing on his mind except the matter of producing an heir. Marriage was nothing more than a tool to him. Is this what all imperial family members are like?
For all his raucous group encounters, Erger had his own ideas about what marriage ought to be. In fact, it was precisely because of that — that he had raged against an arranged marriage decided entirely without his input, and in a spirit of resignation had dragged just about anyone into his bed.
The married life Liard was describing was bleak at just a glance. Every word that came from behind that polished, beautiful face had a sharp, clean line drawn through it.
“Divorce would be out of the question. I expect the Crowell ducal house would not want that either.”
“So Your Majesty’s intention is to maintain only the shell of a marriage.”
“I thought you would welcome it. Word has it you lived rather freely and indulgently.”
Liard said it without a flicker of reaction, and then actually smiled. For a moment, Erger found himself at a complete loss for words. He was looking at a man who knew exactly what kind of life Erger had lived at the Mage Tower.
“How did you…”
“The eyes and ears of the imperial house are everywhere.”
“You had someone watching me? Who?”
Erger demanded hotly, but Liard didn’t answer directly — he simply lifted his teacup with unhurried elegance. He took a leisurely sip, then spoke.
“That I’m afraid I cannot say.”
“You’ve been keeping me under surveillance all this time?”
“Surveillance is rather a strong word. I would prefer to say I received reports out of concern for my young fiancé.”
It’s the same thing. Erger felt a surge of indignation. He couldn’t begin to guess which of the people around him had been the Emperor’s. It was enough to make his skin crawl.
Having him watched all this time — and yet sending those absurdly ill-fitting clothes every year without fail. The thought of it made his temper flare. He had realized all over again that Liard had eyes only for anything that might pose a threat to the imperial house, and not the slightest interest in Erger as a person.
The people at the Mage Tower always said anyone who came from the imperial side was shifty and infuriating. And indeed, his father included, he had nothing but contempt for people who knew nothing but politics and power. Erger ground his teeth.
Liard watched him seethe, then parted his lips in a slight smile and said,
“You’re still young, aren’t you. That body of yours is enormous, and yet you’re such a boy.”
“……Excuse me?”
“It’s a compliment.”
“You call that a compliment…”
Erger was floored. Heat rushed to his face. The most infuriating part of all was that even in the middle of this rising irritation, his body below the waist was responding to Liard’s smiling face.
Maybe he really is still a child, just like the Emperor said. It was mortifying. This Emperor wanted to use people however he pleased, all for the sake of power — and yet he was this beautiful.
He had been so dazzled by that face that up until only moments ago, he had begun to think this marriage might not be quite as dreadful as he’d feared. What a shallow, frivolous mind he had.
Erger berated himself — yet still couldn’t bring himself to look away from Liard’s face. He’d been clenching his back teeth so hard that his jaw had gone numb.
Liard let his eyes curve warmly and said,
“So. Do you agree to Our proposal?”
Erger’s heart hammered as though it might burst clean out of his chest at any moment. Was it because of Liard’s unhurried, trailing tone at the end of his words — or the long fingers tapping lightly against the table?
Erger swallowed a hot, suppressed breath and opened his mouth.
“Yes. I’ll do as Your Majesty commands.”
It came out with something of a sardonic edge — but Liard smiled, fresh and satisfied.
“Good. I think you and I will get along well.”
I doubt that. Erger’s eyes sharpened.
“Then, that will be all. Haiman, the head chamberlain, will personally show you to your quarters.”
As though ten minutes of brief exchange had settled everything there was to settle, Liard rose from his seat without a trace of reluctance. Erger was so bewildered that he didn’t even think to stand and bow in return. Liard paid his lack of propriety no mind and walked straight out of the audience chamber.
Click. The door shut, and Erger was left alone.
“……Ha.”
He let out the breath he had been holding.
Wait — that’s really it? He’s just going to leave like that? We haven’t seen each other in ten years, and we’re about to be married soon — and he handles it like it’s just another item in a backlog of administrative work…
Erger pressed his palm to his overheated forehead. He had no idea why he was this irritated. His body, which had recognized its Omega, was still in a riot. Erger discreetly glanced down at the part of himself he’d been keeping hidden under the table.
“Oh, for — “
The evidence was unmistakable. He shut his eyes with the full weight of someone who had just lost something. Erger bit down hard and made himself a promise.
He would get out of this wretched excuse for a palace as fast as humanly possible. His cock was apparently in fine working order, so all he had to do was put it to use on that insufferably gorgeous Emperor, get him pregnant quickly, and be done with it.
Just picturing himself deliberately making the Emperor squirm lifted his mood — ever so slightly.
* * *
Back in his study, Liard was working through a backlog of documents — reading, approving, signing. A faint shadow had crept across his composed face. The sun had long since set; outside, everything was steeped in black.
Having had to wait in the temple for the coughing of blood to stop, he had spent far more time there than anticipated.
It was fortunate he had rescheduled several audience appointments to the following day — if he hadn’t, he would have gone without sleep until dawn. He was aware he was pushing himself. But the thought that he didn’t have much time left made him feel pressed.
There was still so much left that he had intended to plan and put in place for the Empire’s future. He wanted to see at least half of it through before the end, if not all.
So he could not afford to rest, or let himself be shaken by squandering focus on things that didn’t matter. And yet today, his concentration kept slipping. His vision blurred at the edges from time to time.
Liard tilted his head back for a moment and pressed his fingers firmly against the corners of his eyes.
“Mm……”
Unusually tired. Was it from the episode of coughing up blood earlier — or… was it because of that young fiancé?
Erger Crowell. Their brief meeting had left a fairly strong impression. The moment he had stepped into the audience chamber, his eyes had met Erger’s. The fact that Erger had kept his chin raised and neck straight even as the Emperor entered had given him a fresh sense of surprise, and something like curiosity.
And that gaze — the one that kept jabbing and prying at him. A boldness he had never felt from anyone before.
He had been told by his source within the Mage Tower that Erger had “grown quite a lot” — but he hadn’t expected quite this much. He was just as towering as the figure he had seen from behind in the prophecy. The man in the prophecy had indeed been Erger, it seemed.
Having witnessed that indecent scene before sitting across from Erger in person — the tension had been no small thing. But a seasoned emperor had long since learned not to let tension show on the surface.
Curling platinum hair and violet eyes the color of wine held up to the light. Despite traces of youth still clinging to him, the man gave off a languid, decadent air. He seemed the sort who could effortlessly enchant people without even trying.
Had he met him even a few years later, even as Emperor, he might have let his guard slip in Erger’s presence. As things stood, there was still something unfinished about him — the line between boy and man. All the more volatile for it, and impossible to predict. A pot of water at a full, roiling boil.
He had set down his pen at some point and fallen quietly into thought, turning Erger over in his mind. Just then, a knock came from outside the door.
