Chapter 75: Palace

‘Finally, we’ve arrived.’

As soon as I heard the news about the Emperor, I immediately set out for the capital.

After days of tirelessly riding in the carriage, I was finally able to reach my destination.

This was the heart of the Empire.

The place where the imperial family resided.

The Palatino Imperial Palace.

Receiving the salute of the soldiers guarding the entrance to the massive palace, I took in the sight before me.

‘Damn, it’s really huge.’

A long row of enormous buildings.

Without exaggeration, the Develion family’s mansion looked small in comparison.

But as I surveyed the palace, I noticed something peculiar.

Despite the Emperor’s rapidly deteriorating health, there was no sense of genuine sorrow among the palace members.

‘Huh. The atmosphere is really strange.’

Only a perfunctory, businesslike sadness lingered in the air.

While scanning the surroundings in that odd atmosphere, the blue-haired woman standing beside me spoke up.

“Are you looking for something?”

“No. I was just observing the surroundings for a moment.”

“I see. The mood isn’t very pleasant. It must be because His Majesty is critically ill.”

Endless said, tilting her body slightly.

We had met in the capital just a short while ago and had come to the palace together.

Honestly, I thought she would arrive much later, so it was surprising to meet her so soon.

I immediately asked what I was curious about.

“By the way, I thought you left the academy because you had business to attend to. Thanks for coming to the capital so quickly.”

“You left me a personal letter, Your Grace. I heard Princess Justia arrived at the palace separately?”

“Yeah. I sent her ahead to bring you to the palace.”

“That was wise. It’s a critical time, so it’s important for the princess to hold her position.”

Endless nodded gently.

All the while, she didn’t seem to mind my informal speech.

I wondered if this was really okay, but I decided to just go with it.

Lately, it’s been getting harder and harder to use honorifics— nowadays, I can’t even bring myself to do it unless I’m speaking to the Emperor.

Especially after my recent breakthrough in cultivation, it’s become even more pronounced.

Anyway, that’s how I ended up continuing the conversation in informal speech.

“Well, since we’re on the topic— where the hell were you while you were gone?”

“Ah, that’s… kind of complicated to explain.”

“Can’t talk about it?”

“Not right now.”

“I even agreed to the request for you to become a visiting professor.”

“Ah, well…”

As I pressed her for answers, Endless hesitated.

Hmph. What’s going on?

I was curious, but I wasn’t seriously trying to interrogate her, so I was about to casually change the subject.

Then Endless leaned in close and mumbled quietly.

“Actually, I was in heat…”

“…”

“It usually only happens once every hundred years, but it just had to hit recently… so I had no choice but to leave.”

Endless blushed as she rubbed her nipple against my arm.

What the hell.

No wonder she’s been wearing more revealing clothes and making those seductive expressions.

But that wasn’t even the most important part.

‘Damn, look at that body.’

Her large breasts were softly pressing against the muscles of my arm.

Looking down, her outfit was so revealing that her smooth, bare midriff was on full display.

What a damn lewd female.

And on top of that, it felt like her gaze kept drifting toward my lower half.

‘What the hell am I supposed to do about this?’

I’d never met a horny female dragon before, and I was caught off guard.

Meanwhile, Endless gently traced her fingers down my chest.

“It’s okay. I don’t plan to embarrass myself in the Imperial Palace.”

“Uhm… really?”

“Yes. The Empire’s fate is on the line right now. I’ll show you the dignity of a true guardian dragon.”

“Well… I’m not entirely reassured, but alright.”

I gently pushed Endless off me as I spoke.

The emperor had collapsed— we couldn’t just stand around chatting like this forever.

Even as I thought that, Endless kept staring at my face like she was trying to burn a hole through it…

But, well, I decided not to worry too much about it.

As we stopped chatting and stepped into the imperial palace, a beautiful woman in her thirties, dressed in a maid’s uniform, approached us.

“I offer my greetings. I am Rebecca, head maid of the palace, assigned to assist you both.”

“I see. We came as soon as we heard the news. How is His Majesty’s condition?”

“He is currently receiving treatment from the priest. However, since he must remain at rest during the treatment, it may be some time before you can visit him.”

“Understood. Where has Prince Justia gone?”

“He is in the central hall with Prince Maximilian.”

“Then let’s head to the central hall first.”

“Yes. I will guide you there immediately.”

Rebecca bowed respectfully as she spoke.

Her breasts, though not particularly large, didn’t show much movement.

Feeling no reaction in my groin, I turned my head away.

Then, together with Endless, I began walking down the corridor.

Click, clack—

Our footsteps echoed through the hallway, adorned with lavish decorations.

Even though it was daytime, the chandelier hanging from the ceiling sparkled brightly.

Why do these noble folks always waste so extravagantly?

Even though I had become one of these nobles myself,

there were still times when I couldn’t understand the other nobles or royals.

‘Especially that bastard Maximilian.’

He wasn’t just a war maniac, but a scumbag with a personality as vile as Albireo’s.

No, to me, he might even be worse than Albireo.

Because it was essentially his fault that the previous Grand Duke and Duchess died.

‘In the end, the reason Behirit turned dark was because of that bastard.’

Years ago, when the northern tribes launched a large-scale invasion,

the imperial family refused the Divelion family’s request for support.

Behind that decision was Maximilian’s firm opposition.

As a result, the Divelion family, unable to get timely reinforcements, barely held the front line thanks to the sacrifice of the Grand Duke, the Duchess, and the Black Lion Knights.

Behirit, who was still a minor at the time, came to hold a grudge thicker than blood against the imperial family because of that incident.

‘Ugh. Just thinking about it pisses me off.’

Even if I’m just possessing this body, I am Behirit, after all.

Naturally, I couldn’t help but feel anger toward Maximilian, my parents’ nemesis.

What should I do with this bastard?

While I was lost in thought, the head maid, Rebecca, spoke.

“We’ve arrived.”

Guuuuu—

Right after hearing Rebecca’s voice,

The door that had firmly sealed the entrance to the central hall began to open.

And from the crack in the door, a powerful energy leaked out.

‘He’s inside.’

Maximilian.

In the original story, he had blond hair, red eyes, and kept his eyes half-shut.

I wonder what he looks like in real life.

As I was thinking that, the door fully opened.

Hundreds of gazes shot straight at me and Endless.

“……”

The people waiting inside the hall fell silent.

Their expressions were split into two clear categories.

Some looked genuinely pleased.

The others clearly radiated hostility.

For reference, the former were part of my faction.

The latter were under Maximilian’s influence or remnants of Albireo’s forces.

“Pfft.”

I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at their blatantly obvious reactions.

Seriously.

Couldn’t they at least try to manage their expressions?

It was especially funny how they were pretending to be formal toward Endless, who was still officially neutral.

At that moment, someone in the center of the crowd began walking toward me— Justia, dressed as befitted an imperial princess.

“You’ve arrived, Grand Duke.”

“Yes.”

“You successfully brought the Guardian Dragon.”

“Mhm. Looks like we made it just in time.”

I brazenly spoke in informal speech in front of the imperial princess.

But Justia, riding the carriage to the capital, had gotten used to it and didn’t react much.

It was actually the others who opened their eyes wide and started to freak out.

“What, what are you doing, Duke? How dare you speak informally to royalty?!”

“Ha! Are you going off the rails just because His Majesty is gravely ill?”

“This is an act of defiance against the Imperial Family! Your Highness Maximilian, punish this man!”

The retainers aligned with the First Prince raised their voices in a clamor.

They looked like they had unexpectedly found something to latch onto.

The person concerned was just staying still, so who the hell are they to be throwing a fit?

But in the midst of the noisy shouting, a snake-like voice cut through the crowd.

“Silence.”

“……”

“Duke. It seems you’ve grown quite arrogant since we last met. You weren’t like this before, were you?”

The hall was instantly wrapped in tension.

A man with dazzling golden hair and red eyes walked toward me.

The greatest antagonist in the original story, aside from Behirit.

The First Prince of the Empire, Maximilian.

His expression as he approached me was quite striking.

While radiating his signature arrogance, his eyes showed a glimmer of curiosity as he looked at me.

I raised an eyebrow as I looked back at him.

‘Has he noticed my rise in power?’

He seemed to have reached a fairly refined state himself.

But no matter how I looked at it, it didn’t seem like he had quite reached the level of a Swordmaster.

Just as I was about to respond to Maximilian, I suddenly felt a sharp and intense killing intent.

It was so strong, it felt like someone here genuinely wanted to kill me on the spot.

I immediately turned my head in the direction the killing intent was coming from—and saw an elderly man with a head full of white hair glaring at me, his eyes gleaming sharply.

‘Who the hell is that?’

As if dealing with Maximilian wasn’t annoying enough.

Now someone else was openly picking a fight?

I tried to recall who he was, but even with my knowledge of the original story, his appearance didn’t ring a bell.

In the end, I decided to just ask him directly.

“Who are you, old man?”

“Hmph… An old man, you say? That arrogant attitude of yours hasn’t changed, Grand Duke.”

“Enough with the pointless talk. I’m asking you— who am I right now?”

“…Gildart Lampercen.”

“Lampercen? Ah, right.”

“Do you remember now?”

“Yes. You’re the maternal grandfather of the Second Prince. But why are you radiating killing intent toward me?”

“…What?”

Marquis Lampercen was taken aback by my words and fell silent for a moment.

The other officials around us, sensing the gravity of the situation, also kept their mouths shut.

As a heavy silence settled over the room—

Before Maximilian could open his mouth,

I broke the silence first.

“Hey, Marquis Lampercen.”

“W-What is it?”

“If it had ended with just ruining your family’s business, you could’ve lived out your days quietly. So why the hell did you foolishly crawl your way here?”

“What are you—”

“Oh, please. It’s obvious. You came to get revenge on me, didn’t you? I bet your grandson would be thrilled to hear that. He really wanted to kill me, after all.”

“Enough! If you insult my family and my grandson any further—”

“Shut up. If your family is that important, you should’ve stayed quiet and lived peacefully with your retainers. Why are you making things complicated? Can’t you read the room?”

“W-What?”

“It’s not just Marquis Lampercen. All of you— remember what I’m about to say.”

As I spoke, I walked past Maximilian.

The guy looked at me in uncharacteristic confusion.

Looking at the stunned faces of both Marquis Lampercen and Maximilian,

I thought to myself—

I wasn’t planning to go this far.

But I might as well give them a proper warning while I’m at it.

So that no one dares lay a hand on my women.

So that no one can ever steal away their happiness.

Even the First Prince.

The princess and the guardian dragon.

And the hundreds of officials who run the empire— all had their eyes on me.

And I climbed the invisible steps toward the Emperor’s throne.

“Gasp!”

“He’s floating in midair…!”

“No way. The rumors were true?!”

“That’s not even magic. It’s like… he’s a god!”

The ministers gasped in awe at the display of my power.

All their gazes were fixed on me.

Standing before the imperial throne, I opened my mouth to speak.

“Do not oppose me or my women. This is your final courtesy… and your last warning.”

I imbued my deep, low voice with mana and let it echo.

The mana-infused voice swept through the hall in an instant, reaching every corner.

The expressions of those who received my warning froze like statues.