'So what do you want me to do?'
She wanted to run out of the bedroom right away.
However, the sense of space consumed by fear made it impossible for her to even find the door she had opened and entered just a moment ago.
Titi walked forward without thinking.
Something like cloth caught her hand as she groped through the air.
When she pulled it, a bright light appeared like a line.
‘It’s a curtain! ’
Titi, delighted, pulled the curtain away without hesitation.
The afternoon sunlight, tinged with winter light, poured into the bedroom.
The interior that she saw with her eyes was more gruesome than she had imagined.
‘...What is this?’
Dead animals were lying all over the bedroom.
Judging from the direction she had walked, what Titi had tripped over was a dead deer.
There were long claw marks on the deer's stomach.
It was as if it had been hunted by a ferocious beast.
When she saw the dead deer with its eyes closed, Titi got goosebumps all over her body.
It was when she was witnessing a horrific scene.
A faint murmur came from the corner of the bedroom.
“...No. I am...”
“Your Majesty? Are you there?”
Titi turned her gaze and saw a crouching figure.
It was definitely the Emperor.
However, his left arm was stretched out long on his enlarged body and covered in silver fur.
Where his hand should have been, there was a beast’s foreleg, along with red, wet claws.
Half-human, half-beast.
Titi froze at the horrifying transformation that was too much to be considered a divine beast.
However, the Emperor continued to mutter something, unaware that an outsider had entered.
As if he had lost his mind.
Titi realized belatedly that he did not recognize her.
After hesitating for a long time, she approached the Emperor.
“...Your Majesty, are you okay? What happened?”
The Emperor was crouching and did not respond.
The ones who tried to condemn Titi were the powerless imperial citizens. They were lowly people who couldn't hurt her no matter what they said.
She was a little concerned about her reputation in society, but it was a problem that could be solved by shedding a few tears.
She said she didn't know anything about it.
After all, it was the Emperor who transferred the budget of the donation organization to the budget of the Repetto Palace.
"...Hmm, right. I don't think it's a lie. Right?"
"Of course."
Titi answered his doubts right away.
Blair had two conditions.
Stay close to the Emperor as much as possible.
And.
"But you'd better be nervous. It's no use if you don't give birth to a grandson."
She was a little concerned about her reputation in society, but it was a problem that could be solved by shedding a few tears.
She said she didn't know anything about it.
After all, it was the Emperor who transferred the budget of the donation organization to the budget of the Repetto Palace.
"...Hmm, right. I don't think it's a lie. Right?"
"Of course."
Titi answered his doubts right away.
Blair had two conditions.
Stay close to the Emperor as much as possible.
And.
"But you'd better be nervous. It's no use if you don't give birth to a grandson."
The tone was light as if he was singing, but his pale face was extremely expressionless.
He looked like a man as beautiful as the Emperor, but his eyes were always creepy.
"Don't worry too much. Because I am confident that I will have a child before the Empress.”
The Empress had not had a child for the past five years.
Rumors of her being a virgin were starting to spread, and the Emperor would no longer be near the Empress, so she would be the one to give birth to the grandson.
She had to do it no matter what.
Titi’s eyes burned with venom. Blair smiled as if he liked that look.
“Yes. If you give birth to the Emperor’s child, your imprint will become real.”
She pressed the area where Demios’ name would be engraved.
Titi tightly wrapped her hand around her heart as she heard those words that made her heart race.
That black snake appeared in the slums one day.
At first, when he said he was looking for an albino, she thought he was a customer who wanted flowers.
However, Blair proposed a completely unexpected deal.
“Don’t you want to be the Emperor’s woman?”
The Emperor’s woman, not a Viscount or a Baron.
Titi followed him as if possessed.
At first, she had been suspicious of Blair.
But he really made everything he had suggested to Titi real.
“Come here, pretty white deer.”
Titi sat down next to him at his gentle gesture.
When he unbuttoned her dress, the Emperor’s name was engraved on her chest. When Blair pressed down on it, a black light shimmered.
The smell of burning flesh and a stinging pain followed, but even this was clearly an ecstatic sensation.
“Yes, it’s done.”
“...Thank you.”
Titi, who had been closing her eyes in pain, reached out to the mirror.
The Emperor’s name engraved near her chest was more clearly visible.
It was a spell to engrave names.
Once a month.
For the engraving to not be erased, she had to meet Blair.
He was a strange man.
Titi had learned about the existence of magic balls when he entered the palace, and through the nobles’ stories, he had also learned how magicians cast magic.
In the empire, those who could extract the magic power of magic stones and handle them were called wizards.
Blair was also a wizard.
But strangely enough, this man could use magic without a magic stone.
Titi didn’t know if there were different types of wizards, but she didn’t need to know such detailed information.
‘Just make the name mine.’
If she gave birth to the Emperor’s child, then this fake name would become real.
Because the wizard in front of her had promised.
It was also he who connected Titi with the Count’s family.
Recently, Titi’s dissatisfaction with the Count and his wife had been growing day by day.
‘They tell me to ask the Emperor for everything.’
Since the Count’s family had settled in the capital, their demands had become more and more excessive.
All they did was lend their family’s background.
And even that background wasn’t very useful.
‘Those people are embarrassing to be called nobles.’
The Count and his wife were extremely stupid, and his son was going in and out of the imperial prison, ruining the family’s value.
Titi asked, keeping an eye on Blair.
“Um, how long should I keep interacting with the Count?”
At those words, Blair widened his eyes as if he knew what Titi was thinking.
“Pretty deer. Do you know the lizard that cuts off its own tail and runs away?”
“A lizard...? ”
Cutting off its own tail.
Titi’s brow furrowed for a moment at the disgusting imagination.
Blair laughed at her reaction and continued his explanation in a kind tone.
Among reptiles, some species cut off their own tails in times of emergency and preserve their bodies.
“You may not like it now, but someday they may become your tail. You’re smart, so you know what I mean, right?”
“...Yes. I will.”
Her eyes, shining like obsidian, shone brightly.
Titi, entranced by that strange light, nodded.
“I will definitely make it seem real.”
Along with the promise he had engraved deep in her heart, Blair personally buttoned up the unbuttoned button and whispered.
“That’s a good attitude, white deer. I like you. I like beasts that are honest about their desires.”
Titi nodded again.
She didn’t know what his true identity was or what he wanted, but it didn’t matter.
“Then, cheer up.”
Blair patted her shoulder and left.
After he left, Titi woke up from her hazy sensation after a long time.
Right after Blair left, she always felt like she was walking in a dream and had to wander for a long time.
Titi jumped up from the sofa.
'Let's go to the Emperor.'
Maybe it was because she met Blair, but her heart was in a hurry.
Titi finished getting ready and hurried to the imperial palace.
However, her unstoppable steps were stopped by the Emperor's attendants.
They asked Titi for understanding in a troubled tone.
"Lady Titi, I think it would be better not to go in now."
"Why? Is His Majesty feeling unwell? I will take care of His Majesty myself."
"That's not it, but..."
Titi blinked as if she had difficulty understanding.
The Emperor was not even absent, so they were telling her to just go back.
She wanted to push them away and go inside, but the opponent was the Emperor's attendant.
Titi changed her method of attack.
“Are you disobeying His Majesty’s orders now? His Majesty himself said that I can visit him at any time.”
The Emperor had never actually said that.
However, he had never refused her visit before either.
The servants who knew this exchanged glances with each other. The more the servants dragged on, the more anxious they became.
Unable to bear it any longer, Titi pushed through the servants.
“Then excuse me.”
“Wait...!”
A voice stopped her from behind, but she was faster.
Titi quickly passed through the hallway and opened the door to the Emperor’s bedroom.
Then she frowned.
“What is that smell?”
It was clearly daytime, but the inside was completely dark.
There was even an unpleasant smell of iron wafting from all directions.
“Your Majesty?”
It took time for her eyes to get used to the darkness.
As she suppressed her discomfort and went inside, Titi tripped over something and fell.
“Whoa!”
With a sharp scream, something sticky got on Titi’s hand.
Even before she felt the dull pain, an ominous feeling came over her.
A wet, warm liquid that smelled like iron.
It was blood.
“What, what is this?!”
Titi, terrified, got up from the floor.
Why was there blood on the floor of the Emperor’s bedroom?
And what she had stepped on and fallen over just a moment ago...
He looked like a man as beautiful as the Emperor, but his eyes were always creepy.
"Don't worry too much. Because I am confident that I will have a child before the Empress.”
The Empress had not had a child for the past five years.
Rumors of her being a virgin were starting to spread, and the Emperor would no longer be near the Empress, so she would be the one to give birth to the grandson.
She had to do it no matter what.
Titi’s eyes burned with venom. Blair smiled as if he liked that look.
“Yes. If you give birth to the Emperor’s child, your imprint will become real.”
She pressed the area where Demios’ name would be engraved.
Titi tightly wrapped her hand around her heart as she heard those words that made her heart race.
That black snake appeared in the slums one day.
At first, when he said he was looking for an albino, she thought he was a customer who wanted flowers.
However, Blair proposed a completely unexpected deal.
“Don’t you want to be the Emperor’s woman?”
The Emperor’s woman, not a Viscount or a Baron.
Titi followed him as if possessed.
At first, she had been suspicious of Blair.
But he really made everything he had suggested to Titi real.
“Come here, pretty white deer.”
Titi sat down next to him at his gentle gesture.
When he unbuttoned her dress, the Emperor’s name was engraved on her chest. When Blair pressed down on it, a black light shimmered.
The smell of burning flesh and a stinging pain followed, but even this was clearly an ecstatic sensation.
“Yes, it’s done.”
“...Thank you.”
Titi, who had been closing her eyes in pain, reached out to the mirror.
The Emperor’s name engraved near her chest was more clearly visible.
It was a spell to engrave names.
Once a month.
For the engraving to not be erased, she had to meet Blair.
He was a strange man.
Titi had learned about the existence of magic balls when he entered the palace, and through the nobles’ stories, he had also learned how magicians cast magic.
In the empire, those who could extract the magic power of magic stones and handle them were called wizards.
Blair was also a wizard.
But strangely enough, this man could use magic without a magic stone.
Titi didn’t know if there were different types of wizards, but she didn’t need to know such detailed information.
‘Just make the name mine.’
If she gave birth to the Emperor’s child, then this fake name would become real.
Because the wizard in front of her had promised.
It was also he who connected Titi with the Count’s family.
Recently, Titi’s dissatisfaction with the Count and his wife had been growing day by day.
‘They tell me to ask the Emperor for everything.’
Since the Count’s family had settled in the capital, their demands had become more and more excessive.
All they did was lend their family’s background.
And even that background wasn’t very useful.
‘Those people are embarrassing to be called nobles.’
The Count and his wife were extremely stupid, and his son was going in and out of the imperial prison, ruining the family’s value.
Titi asked, keeping an eye on Blair.
“Um, how long should I keep interacting with the Count?”
At those words, Blair widened his eyes as if he knew what Titi was thinking.
“Pretty deer. Do you know the lizard that cuts off its own tail and runs away?”
“A lizard...? ”
Cutting off its own tail.
Titi’s brow furrowed for a moment at the disgusting imagination.
Blair laughed at her reaction and continued his explanation in a kind tone.
Among reptiles, some species cut off their own tails in times of emergency and preserve their bodies.
“You may not like it now, but someday they may become your tail. You’re smart, so you know what I mean, right?”
“...Yes. I will.”
Her eyes, shining like obsidian, shone brightly.
Titi, entranced by that strange light, nodded.
“I will definitely make it seem real.”
Along with the promise he had engraved deep in her heart, Blair personally buttoned up the unbuttoned button and whispered.
“That’s a good attitude, white deer. I like you. I like beasts that are honest about their desires.”
Titi nodded again.
She didn’t know what his true identity was or what he wanted, but it didn’t matter.
“Then, cheer up.”
Blair patted her shoulder and left.
After he left, Titi woke up from her hazy sensation after a long time.
Right after Blair left, she always felt like she was walking in a dream and had to wander for a long time.
Titi jumped up from the sofa.
'Let's go to the Emperor.'
Maybe it was because she met Blair, but her heart was in a hurry.
Titi finished getting ready and hurried to the imperial palace.
However, her unstoppable steps were stopped by the Emperor's attendants.
They asked Titi for understanding in a troubled tone.
"Lady Titi, I think it would be better not to go in now."
"Why? Is His Majesty feeling unwell? I will take care of His Majesty myself."
"That's not it, but..."
Titi blinked as if she had difficulty understanding.
The Emperor was not even absent, so they were telling her to just go back.
She wanted to push them away and go inside, but the opponent was the Emperor's attendant.
Titi changed her method of attack.
“Are you disobeying His Majesty’s orders now? His Majesty himself said that I can visit him at any time.”
The Emperor had never actually said that.
However, he had never refused her visit before either.
The servants who knew this exchanged glances with each other. The more the servants dragged on, the more anxious they became.
Unable to bear it any longer, Titi pushed through the servants.
“Then excuse me.”
“Wait...!”
A voice stopped her from behind, but she was faster.
Titi quickly passed through the hallway and opened the door to the Emperor’s bedroom.
Then she frowned.
“What is that smell?”
It was clearly daytime, but the inside was completely dark.
There was even an unpleasant smell of iron wafting from all directions.
“Your Majesty?”
It took time for her eyes to get used to the darkness.
As she suppressed her discomfort and went inside, Titi tripped over something and fell.
“Whoa!”
With a sharp scream, something sticky got on Titi’s hand.
Even before she felt the dull pain, an ominous feeling came over her.
A wet, warm liquid that smelled like iron.
It was blood.
“What, what is this?!”
Titi, terrified, got up from the floor.
Why was there blood on the floor of the Emperor’s bedroom?
And what she had stepped on and fallen over just a moment ago...
She wanted to run out of the bedroom right away.
However, the sense of space consumed by fear made it impossible for her to even find the door she had opened and entered just a moment ago.
Titi walked forward without thinking.
Something like cloth caught her hand as she groped through the air.
When she pulled it, a bright light appeared like a line.
‘It’s a curtain! ’
Titi, delighted, pulled the curtain away without hesitation.
The afternoon sunlight, tinged with winter light, poured into the bedroom.
The interior that she saw with her eyes was more gruesome than she had imagined.
‘...What is this?’
Dead animals were lying all over the bedroom.
Judging from the direction she had walked, what Titi had tripped over was a dead deer.
There were long claw marks on the deer's stomach.
It was as if it had been hunted by a ferocious beast.
When she saw the dead deer with its eyes closed, Titi got goosebumps all over her body.
It was when she was witnessing a horrific scene.
A faint murmur came from the corner of the bedroom.
“...No. I am...”
“Your Majesty? Are you there?”
Titi turned her gaze and saw a crouching figure.
It was definitely the Emperor.
However, his left arm was stretched out long on his enlarged body and covered in silver fur.
Where his hand should have been, there was a beast’s foreleg, along with red, wet claws.
Half-human, half-beast.
Titi froze at the horrifying transformation that was too much to be considered a divine beast.
However, the Emperor continued to mutter something, unaware that an outsider had entered.
As if he had lost his mind.
Titi realized belatedly that he did not recognize her.
After hesitating for a long time, she approached the Emperor.
“...Your Majesty, are you okay? What happened?”
The Emperor was crouching and did not respond.
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