Chapter 1 - Part 1
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***
“If it’s true that you tricked Princess Julianna by disguising yourself as a man, then there would be no escape from severe punishment.”
Emperor Perseus raised his chin.
“…”
Thanks to Donatelli’s paintings, Lelia had never been directly suspected. She was embarrassed and didn’t know that the emperor would ask the question so openly.
Perseus had a strange gaze.
Looking into his eyes, Lelia was convinced.
[You suspect that I was the woman you encountered that night.]
Perseus stared at Lelia, and he was half convinced that it was the woman he had seen that day.
The slender ankles he had grabbed, the voice he heard before he fainted, and the small scream.
It was definitely a woman’s.
The emperor remembered everything that had happened before he lost consciousness.
He didn’t know what method the young ‘man’ had used. A slightly lower voice could be heard from this person, but Emperor Perseus was sure. The real identity of this person disguised as ‘Sir Raymond’, must be a woman.
With what intention did she break into the Imperial Palace?
Why did she hide her gender and approach Princess Julianna?
He also had to figure out how she stunned the knight who entered the cabin that night. Even after ordering the Imperial Wizards to investigate, they couldn’t find any traces of the intruder.
This person even had a face similar to that of his dead wife, Elizabeth.
Emperor Perseus couldn’t understand the intention behind all of this, but judged ‘Sir Raymond’ to be a suspicious person trying to take advantage of his weakness.
“What…”
Lelia pulled away for a moment.
Seeing her hardened expression and her tensed lips, Emperor Perseus was even more convinced.
“I wonder what your intentions are in approaching me.”
“…”
There was a strained atmosphere between the two of them, as they stared at each other without saying a word.
Kalix, who was eavesdropping on the conversation from outside, clicked his tongue.
‘He finally found out.’
Kalix was leaning back right next to the arch, and listening to the whole conversation.
The tea which was in front of him was cooling down, but it was not the time to sit back and have a cup of tea.
Kalix pondered what to do.
The Emperor will not leave Lelia alone.
But then what?
As long as Kalix and Romeo protect her, the emperor cannot tamper with her. At best, all he has to do is kick them out of the Imperial Palace. It was time to take this opportunity and go talk to the emperor instead.
“It’s unpleasant!”
Suddenly, Lelia’s angry voice was heard from inside.
Kalix turned slightly in surprise and glanced through the archway.
“Unpleasant?”
Emperor Perseus laughed and sat down.
“Yes, it is unpleasant. Although you are the Emperor, this insult is outrageous.”
“Then can you prove it?”
He asked in a relaxed manner, he seemed to be very sure.
Lelia didn’t show it outwardly, but on the inside she was fidgety.
[If I get caught, it’s over.]
The emperor seemed to be convinced that she was the one who broke into his Imperial palace.
She would be in a lot of trouble if those facts came out.
Once she’s proven guilty, Romeo and Kalix will suffer as well.
The Holy Relic, which was in Ruth’s possession, will be lost to her forever.
She had to clear this up immediately.
[If I avoid this moment, all my plans will fall apart.]
Lelia gently opened the lid of her medicine bottle, which she had been hiding up her sleeve. Through the silently opened lid, an invisible mist flowed out of it.
<Medicine that makes people mistake you for a man>
This drug was made for ‘Phantom Thief Lupin’, a regular customer of the ‘Alchemy Lottery’ game. There were all sorts of medicines in a similar vein, so Lelia made several of the ones that might help her.
You used the item <Medicine that makes people mistake you for a man>!
For 10 minutes, you look like a man! (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
Lelia saw the small floating message, and she stood up.
“I will prove it. Once you are certain that I am a man, how will you compensate me for the insult ?”
When Lelia stood up proudly, Perseus replied with a twist to the corner of his mouth.
“I’ll grant one thing that you want.”
Fog of Illusion Activated! The effect of the medicine is ongoing. ✧*.◟(ˊᗨˋ)◞.*✧
The smoke from the medicine will show the other person a perfect illusion.
It was such a perfect hypnosis that no one would doubt that it was real.
The problem is that Lelia doesn’t know exactly what the other person is seeing.
“….”
Emperor Perseus stared blankly at her.
He was currently seeing an illusion.
In the Emperor’s eyes, Lelia took off the cravat, unbuttoned her top, and took off her shirt and sat back. Angular, hard chest muscles and strong abs were revealed. It was obviously a man’s upper body.
Perseus clicked his tongue without realizing he was being tricked with an illusion.
He had to admit his mistake.
‘I must have lost my mind over that day..’
Perseus sighed and rubbed his face with his palm.
Meanwhile,
‘Is he crazy? Why is he taking off his pants?’
Another person was in the same illusion caused by the mist.
From where Kalix was, Lelia could be mostly seen through the archway.
In front of him, Lelia was now taking off her pants.
Kalix tried to jump in right away to stop her, he was convinced that Lelia was crazy.
But he froze on the spot and he couldn’t move another step.
‘No, that’s crazy…’
‘What is THAT?’
No… No…
Even after rubbing his eyes, it’s still there…?
He was sure Lelia said she was Leo’s sister.
His younger sister….
But dangling between her legs… By any standards that was a one-eyed snake…
[Editor: SOO many fun names to choose from!]
He was shocked that she was willing to strip naked in front of the emperor, saying that she’ll prove herself to be a man.
It was even more surprising that it actually worked.
Kalix turned his back and walked toward the sofa as if he had seen something that should never have been seen.
‘No, no, no..’
He was thrown into confusion.
***
While the two of them were lost in the illusion of Lelia removing her cravat or trousers, she stood still.
This should be enough.
“Is this proof enough?”
Lelia spoke forcefully, and sat back down.
She didn’t know what kind of vision the emperor saw, but she had to brazen it out.
“…”
Perseus was speechless.
He had to admit his own mistake.
But the facial features and atmosphere around the ‘Sir Raymond’ in front of him looked so similar to his wife…
When he reined in his impulsive thoughts, it didn’t really make sense.
The eyes of the woman he saw that day were green, just like his wife. But Sir Raymond’s eyes are light brown.
It’s rare for a wizard to be able to change their eye or hair color.
If Sir Raymond in front of him was a sorcerer, he would have received some news from the Imperial Wizards. It was strange to imagine Prince Romeo, a great wizard, helping him with magic.
It was important to maintain a friendly relationship with the Roseberry Empire for a long time.
Prince Romeo had also just returned from the Dragon subjugation, so it was hard to believe that he held a grudge against him.
He wasn’t even an alchemist either.
An alchemist has energy similar to magic, but he couldn’t feel anything like that coming from Sir Raymond.
Because of that energy, alchemists usually disguised themselves as wizards. If it was too difficult to manage, they would often hide away from people.
So… all his suspicions were caused by his conceit or feelings of victimhood.
Lately, he seems to be making more mistakes. His head was feeling muddled by various problems.
Emperor Perseus apologized frankly to ‘Sir Raymond’.
“I’m sorry for insulting you, I must have misunderstood something.”
Lelia breathed a quiet sigh of relief, and said that the situation was terribly sad and unfair.
“ I have often heard similar suspicions… It is a very shameful accusation.”
“You don’t need to mince your words, say what you want.”
“…”
Lelia’s eyes lit up.
Maybe this was an opportunity.
[An opportunity to obtain the relic that Ruth has.]
Lelia slowly opened her mouth.
***
As she and Kalix left the Emperor’s room, she looked down the nearby hallway and saw Ruth. He seemed to have been waiting for Lelia.
Lelia turned to Kalix, who was following behind her.
“Kalix, thank you for coming with me. You can go back first, I will follow you soon.”
“Uhh…?”
Kalix had a look of disappointment. What’s the matter with him?
Lelia realised that Kalix was sitting on the sofa when she used the illusion medicine on the Emperor. She never imagined that he would have heard or seen what was happening inside.
No matter how simple Kalix was, she did not think that he didn’t know the basic etiquette about not eavesdropping on the emperor’s conversation.
Her belief was influenced by Kalix wearing a neatly tied cravat to meet the emperor.
“What happened? You don’t look very good…”
[No way…]
Just in case…
She asked if he was also affected by the illusion, Kalix shook his head.
“No… I just feel a little dizzy all of a sudden.”
Lelia was surprised at that. She became anxious again because she wondered if he was about to have a seizure.
“If you are not feeling well, go back and take the medicine I gave you. I will be there soon.”
“Uh…”
With those words, Kalix hurried away like he was being chased.
[What if he’s really having another seizure?]
Seeing Kalix’s pale complexion, Lelia was worried.
It reminded her of the scene she saw last night, and she felt sad.
He has always endured such pain alone…
Lelia decided to quickly handle the matter with Ruth and go back to Kalix.
With that in mind, she strode towards Ruth.
“…”
Ruth was still glaring at Lelia as if she was his enemy.
If looks could kill, Lelia would have been dead already.
Lelia sighed deeply.
“Sir Ruth, I have a story to tell.”
“ Of course there will be one…”
Ruth twisted one corner of his mouth and smirked.
As he walked away, motioning with his chin with blazing eyes as if to follow him, Lelia followed him.
***
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