Ch.302Chapter 302 – Father, Please Give Me Your Daughter!

Though it’s not my first time meeting His Imperial Majesty, I feel unusually tense standing before the Emperor today.

The reason for my nervousness is that the words about to leave my mouth might be the most important ones of my life.

“Your Imperial Majesty. After thorough discussions with both of my fiancées, I have reached a final decision.”

I assumed a formal posture before the Emperor to report what the two of us had ultimately decided.

Yet with each word I speak, I can feel my mental energy being extremely depleted.

“Very well. I too am curious about your decision, so please proceed.”

His Imperial Majesty seemed quite interested in the decision I had made, wearing an expression of excitement as he waited for me to continue.

“Your Imperial Majesty. Would you grant me the honor of marrying Princess Karen?”

Rather than stating it directly, I phrased it as a request for permission to honor the Emperor’s authority.

Marriage to a princess isn’t something that can be done by Karen’s and my will alone.

Ultimately, the permission rested on the will of the Empire’s Emperor.

That’s why I deliberately answered in a way that preserved His Imperial Majesty’s authority.

Now all that remained was to await the Emperor’s response.

“I see. Is that so?”

His Imperial Majesty seemed to ponder something, then his face lit up with an “Ah!” as if realizing my intention, followed by a smile.

The Emperor’s smile directed at me was the kind one would only see when hearing a very satisfactory answer.

“Is the scribe present?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I have been waiting for your command.”

The scribe summoned by His Imperial Majesty was responsible for recording the imperial family’s history, including the Emperor’s decrees.

His Imperial Majesty called for him to document his response to my request, ensuring that no one could deny it.

“Scribe, record my words. I hereby grant permission for the marriage between my daughter, Karen Lucien Decart, and Gelebrio Aurelius and Pathos Severio, Marquis.”

His Imperial Majesty deliberately mentioned Karen’s and my full names while granting permission for our marriage.

This meant that anyone who questioned or objected to this would be opposing the Emperor himself.

According to the laws of the Gelebrio Empire, an order given by the Emperor in the presence of a scribe took precedence over imperial law.

That’s what it means to be Emperor. His Imperial Majesty is the one who decides everything in the empire and bears all responsibility.

“Marquis Severio. You have now become a member of the imperial family. How do you feel?”

Hmm, how do I feel? To be honest, I don’t have any particular thoughts.

“I’m not sure.”

Though I received approval for marriage, I didn’t feel anything special since I already knew it would be granted.

However, I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to say this in front of the Emperor, my future father-in-law…

“Hahaha! I appreciate your honesty! Yes, a man of the Empire should have such spirit!”

Fortunately, His Imperial Majesty seemed to laugh it off.

“Now that I’ve approved your marriage to Karen, we will hold the engagement ceremony within this month. Needless to say, the ceremony will take place in the Imperial Palace.”

I’ve heard that nobles hold a simple engagement ceremony before marriage, but it seems the imperial family makes even engagements quite grand.

“I should tell you in advance that other imperial family members besides my immediate family will also attend that day.”

…What? Wait a minute, that wasn’t mentioned before!

“As you may know, only the Emperor and his direct family are allowed to live in the Imperial Palace. In other words, all my siblings live outside the palace.”

“So, it will be a family gathering in the name of an engagement ceremony?”

“Precisely. I experienced this myself during my time as Crown Prince. The previous Emperor didn’t inform me of this, and I remember feeling quite perplexed.”

So he’s telling me this in advance so that I won’t have to go through the same awkward experience.

“I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty’s consideration.”

“The scribe has left, and you’re no longer a stranger to me, so feel free to address me more casually.”

“Um, then… Father-in-law?”

“That’s right. I am your father-in-law, son-in-law.”

His Imperial Majesty, or rather, my father-in-law as I should now call him, seemed quite pleased that I addressed him as such.

“Sigh, do you know how much I’ve worried because of that child Karen?”

“Why is that?”

From Black Feather’s information, Karen was actively serving as the reliable eldest sister everyone depended on. What could possibly be the problem?

“As you may know, the princesses who will soon be your sisters-in-law have reached marriageable age. But they kept using Karen as an excuse to avoid finding marriage partners.”

Ah, so they used the excuse that they couldn’t get married before their eldest sister did?

“Typically, royalty and imperial family members are betrothed around the age of 10, have their engagement ceremony after turning 18, and marry before reaching 20, as is customary. However, cases like Karen’s that ignore these customs occasionally arise.”

His Imperial Majesty explained the customs of royal and imperial families to me, and at that moment, he looked remarkably aged.

“The problem is that the other children admire Karen so much that they declared they wouldn’t marry until she did. When I heard that, I felt as if the sky was falling.”

Then he looked at me.

“But now that you’re taking Karen away, the others can no longer use her as an excuse not to get married.”

He approached me, took my hands in his large ones, and began shaking them up and down.

“I’m truly grateful. Thanks to you taking my eldest daughter who had no intention of marrying, I can now arrange marriages for my other children. This is all thanks to you.”

Well, if that’s the case, I have nothing more to say.

Using Karen as an excuse to avoid marriage? In any other noble family, such behavior would probably get them disowned.

“Don’t worry about the engagement ceremony arrangements. I and my Empress will take care of everything, so you just need to show up.”

“But might Her Imperial Majesty dislike me?”

“What are you saying? The Empress has been the most anxious about Karen not getting married.”

Ah… Then I really have nothing more to say.

“We have an old saying in our empire: ‘When a son comes, slaughter a chicken to serve him, but when a son-in-law comes, slaughter a cow.’ Moreover, haven’t you resolved a major concern for me and the Empress? The Empress may not welcome other in-laws so warmly, but she will certainly welcome you with great joy.”

After hearing the Emperor’s explanation, I could finally breathe an inward sigh of relief.

If only the Emperor had welcomed me, I would have worried about receiving cold glances from the Empress when meeting her later. But if my future mother-in-law also welcomes me, I can now feel at ease.

“You may call me ‘Your Imperial Majesty’ in official settings, but in private, call me ‘Father-in-law.’ I won’t allow this for others, but I’ll make a special exception for you.”

His Imperial Majesty said, sweeping back his golden hair that resembled a lion’s mane.

Perhaps this privilege was granted because I had cured His Imperial Majesty’s baldness.

“Hahaha. When I first met you, I never imagined it would come to this, but now you and I have truly become family. I look forward to our future together.”

“Likewise, I look forward to it too, Father-in-law.”

“Hahaha. That’s right. I am your father-in-law! Come visit the Imperial Palace often, son-in-law.”

Though we’re still only prospective son-in-law and father-in-law, my relationship with His Imperial Majesty was exceptionally good because I had treated his baldness.

After paying my respects to His Imperial Majesty and leaving, I encountered Karen and several women who appeared to be princesses in the corridor.

“Pathos? What brings you here?”

“I came to the palace briefly by His… I mean, the Emperor’s command.”

Karen seemed quite surprised to see me here, as if she hadn’t imagined I would be present.

But why do the people behind her seem so delighted by this?

“Who are the people with you?”

“Now that I think about it, is this your first time meeting them? These are my younger sisters.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Princesses.”

For reference, as I am semi-officially the future husband of a princess, I don’t need to use the title “Your Highness.”

This is possible because Karen is the eldest daughter, and I am essentially being treated as her equal in status.

“Hmm, so this is the person sister has been showing interest in?”

“Say it correctly. Not ‘showing interest in,’ but ‘your future brother-in-law.'”

Karen corrected the facts. I am indeed going to marry her, so her statement was accurate.

However, upon hearing Karen’s words, despair descended upon the faces of the other princesses.

“What? Is that true? Really? Really?”

“That can’t be. Karen is getting married? For real?”

“Oh no. This will disrupt our plans…”

I knew why they were despairing.

They had made plans based on Karen not getting married, and now those plans were falling apart.

I looked into Karen’s eyes, and she gave me a gentle wink as a signal.

I responded to her signal with a nod.

Indeed, teasing younger siblings is what older siblings do best.