Michael #1

 

“Whew, ugh.”

The dragon hurried his steps.

For the past few years, my only exercise has been a short walk in the evening, and I am an old man.

I was out of breath and my knees were aching, but now was not the time to relax.

“Your Majesty, I think you’re pushing yourself too hard. Slow down a bit….”

“Don’t talk nonsense, Heuk. It’s like a fire underfoot.”

The dragon took a deep breath and gazed at the streets of the imperial capital.

Everyone called it the most glorious and prosperous city under heaven, but now to the Droger, it looked like a hellish apocalypse destined for destruction.

“There’s no turning back now. Soon, the empire will be torn apart into a thousand, ten thousand pieces.”

The Drauger had several options. But no matter how you calculated it, most of them were negative.

Even if you wanted to side with Michael, Michael would have no intention of taking the existing power structure, including the Drogers, under his wing.

The moment Michael reveals his true colors, the Droger will be cut off without even being able to put up a proper fight.

However, directly opposing Michael wasn’t a good idea. There was no guarantee Estelle would defeat him.

Even if they win, the Drogers will remain as sinners in history.

The infamy of having betrayed humanity and sided with the terrible Lich will follow them for generations to come.

So there is only one answer.

‘I prepare for the aftermath of the empire’s fall.’

Whether it’s Michael or Estelle, the winner will ultimately shatter the empire.

The wheels of time had already begun to turn uncontrollably. Droger decided not to forcibly stem the tide.

“A new emperor, a new order. The old must be abandoned.”

There was a nephew of the emperor whom I had been keeping an eye on for a long time.

Although young, he was intelligent and obedient. Unlike the indolent current emperor, he showed signs of becoming a great ruler.

‘The new emperor, assisted by my hand, will put an end to the chaos and establish an even greater empire.’

In Droger’s mind, a grand blueprint that could not be fully expressed on a single piece of paper was already unfolding.

General Julius was also a part of that plan.

Although he’s a somewhat old-fashioned warrior, he’s someone who puts the greater good ahead of his own safety. If Drogue could persuade him, he’d undoubtedly accept.

“We must hurry, as quickly as possible. We must safely move all the assets we can to my territory, and secure soldiers and equipment.”

If it had been normal, Drauger’s unsettling movements would have been immediately detected by Michael’s surveillance network.

But things were looking up for now. Remnants of the Lich were causing unrest on the border.

It was a perfect excuse to move troops from the imperial capital.

“I’m lucky. ⋯I wonder. Maybe Richie set this up in the first place. It’s kind of frustrating.”

Drauger is a cunning man who has lived his entire life amidst the intrigues of the palace. He had guessed Estelle’s true intentions.

While Michael had been manipulating his subjects through force and coercion, Estelle was far more intelligent.

He laid out an irresistible table and made everyone dance on it.

“It doesn’t matter. From now on, everyone is on the gambling table. The only thing that matters is who will ultimately win.”

Drogue braced himself again and walked briskly. He had a mountain of work to do.

***

“It’s quiet.”

Michael got up from the bed naked, not wearing a single thread.

Under the covers of the bed, Anna, still in her original form, was lost in the afterglow of ecstatic pleasure.

“Well, it’s night.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

Anna pouted when Michael scolded her.

“It’s so calm. Like the calm before a storm.”

Everything went smoothly according to plan.

These days, the emperor rarely comes to his senses.

I was drugged, falling asleep, waking up, and repeating this cycle all day long. It was to the point where I had to be fed and even have attendants take care of my bowel movements.

Everyone had a premonition that the Emperor’s lifeline was running out.

Then, who will take over after that?

The emperor had no children. No, he had planted many seeds, but he had no legitimate successor.

The eldest son, who had been weak since childhood, died of illness at an early age, and the rest were only children of concubines who were not recognized by the ministers.

Vacancy in the throne.

Those in the know were whispering that the vacancy would belong to Michael. In the past, they’d been wary of the Emperor’s ears, but now they were free from any hesitation.

“The flies aren’t buzzing. The old men in the back room who used to spit out every word I said are quiet these days.”

“Isn’t that great? Now everyone knows the topic and has their heads down.”

“That’s foolish. What bothers me is that the change wasn’t brought about by my own will.”

Michael paced around the room, his brow furrowed.

The room he’s in is the emperor’s private chamber. Naturally, the bed Anna is lying on is also the silk bed the emperor once used to hold his concubines.

Michael had long since crossed the line to the point of using the Emperor’s possessions as he pleased.

There was no one to point it out. So, the line was effectively meaningless.

“These thorns in my side, the ministers who were once a thorn in my side, have been leaving the capital without a word in the past few weeks. They seem to be citing the excuse of subduing the Lich forces on the border, but I’m not happy with it. It’s clearly an excuse.”

“Get out of here. It’s good for us.”

The only soldiers left in the capital at present are Michael’s soldiers.

Anna’s words weren’t entirely wrong.

In this way, the empire would effectively fall into Michael’s hands.

All the central facilities responsible for the empire’s core functions are located in the capital. To abandon them and flee means to have no intention of restraining Michael.

“Are you planning on taking a handful of soldiers out to the countryside and doing some farming, old men?”

Michael snorted.

There’s no paradise where you run. If you were thinking of building up your power in the borderlands and attacking Michael, you were sorely mistaken.

‘Even so, they will just be defeated one by one.’

Michael had no intention of turning a blind eye to the losers scattered throughout the empire.

Not a single rat will survive. It will be too late to regret it.

“If you were going to take action, you should have done it sooner, while the Emperor was still mentally unstable. That’s why you’re losing, and I’m winning.”

Michael was confident of victory.

The ministers fled, their tails tied. Richie, too, made a fatal miscalculation and found himself in their hands.

All variables have disappeared, and only one thing remains: Michael’s coronation.

“Anna.”

Anna responded to the call immediately, her eyes wide open like a faithful dog.

The night is long. The two passionate lovers still have plenty of energy and time left.

Anna’s face was clearly filled with anticipation, as if she might be given another hug.

“The new sealing device is ready.”

Her anticipation immediately turned to disappointment. A hint of disappointment crept into Anna’s lips when she learned that Michael had called her to discuss work.

“Uh. This one’s completely different from the flimsy seals of the past. No matter what I do, I can’t escape.”

Anna’s words were true.

The seal known to Estelle, the possessed ‘player’, is the previous version.

The seal Anna had just created was something entirely new, something even Estelle didn’t know about. With her existing gaming knowledge, there was no way to escape.

If Estelle had been there with me, a cold sweat would have run down my spine and my face would have turned pale in an instant.

The world of “Nine Stars” is organically changing.

As a veteran player, Estelle boasted an overwhelming advantage in knowledge that was incomparable to anyone else in this world, but that advantage did not last forever.

“Can I use it right away?”

“They are being transferred to prison now.”

“Seal the lich immediately without delay. Then the variable will disappear completely.”

“Yes, yes- I understand-”

Anna playfully saluted.

***

The next morning.

Anna yawned and went down to the dungeon.

Michael seemed to be in a good mood yesterday. He seemed to be quite relaxed, which was unusual for him, who was always sharp as a well-honed sword.

‘That can’t be helped. Now there’s no one left to bother me.’

Anna praised her choice to follow Michael again.

Michael was perfect: as a party member, as the new emperor, and as a man.

‘So, am I the queen now?’

A bashful laugh came out.

Of course, Michael never made such a guarantee. It was simply Anna’s one-sided expectation.

However, Anna prided herself on being Michael’s most intimate partner.

Now that the stupid Eden has fallen down without even doing what he was told, isn’t the only person Michael can trust him?

‘Besides, Michael is completely in love with me.’

Anna strode briskly towards the dungeon.

I was planning on quickly sealing that stubborn lich guy and then going back up to sleep.

however.

“hey.”

I noticed articles scattered all over the place.

“What are you guys doing?”

Isn’t this a bit too much?

Even Anna knew that working all night was hard work. Even if she saw me dozing off against the wall, she was willing to turn a blind eye.

But it’s not like you sleep openly like this.

Anna opened her eyes wide and kicked the knights with the heel of her high heel.

“Aren’t you going to wake up? What are you doing, really?”

Only then did a knight, barely able to open his eyes, recognize Anna. He opened his mouth like a goldfish and spoke in a faint voice.

“About⋯about⋯.”

“Oh, now what? You want medicine too? What should I give you? A hangover cure? Or a sleep aid?”

“That, that’s not it… There’s a sleeping pill in our meal…”

The knight muttered with difficulty and pointed to a corner of the prison with a trembling finger.

“uh?”

By this point, Anna had already noticed that something was off.

Leaving the article behind, he hurriedly ran to the prison where Richie was being held.

“That’s ridiculous.”

The prison was empty.

As if no one was trapped in the first place.

No, was it even properly imprisoned? Perhaps the dungeon, from which not a single ant could escape, was meaningless from the start.

A small note lay on the bed. Anna picked it up with trembling hands and read it.

—Have a good rest.

For some reason, there was a single nail clipper lying underneath the note.