Tyrant

Early morning. My room in the Star Palace. I had risen before dawn and was surrounded by dozens of servants, caught in the midst of a fashion show. Washing, getting makeup done, hair being trimmed… At the same time, I was trying on this tuxedo, that suit, and even that evening coat, glancing at my…

“…” Serenade was staring at the stack of documents on her desk. The papers were messily written with encrypted text, and she had just decrypted and read them. “Whew.” Serenade swept the approaching sweat from her forehead with her fingertips. The information-gathering ability of Silver Winter Merchant Guild was more formidable than she thought. She…

“One, two, three. One, two, three.” In time with Serenade’s rhythm, the two of us waltzed. There were no mistakes anymore, and I found myself keeping a decent rhythm. Serenade grinned. “You’re dancing quite well now, my lord, aren’t you?” “…” I quietly looked at Serenade. Fernandez’s words kept ringing in my ears. — This…

It’s a story from a very young age. In the Star Palace where the Second Empress Dustia and the Third Imperial Prince Ash resided. Today, the Countess of Silver Winter Merchant Guild and her daughter, Serenade, visited again. While the Empress and Countess were sipping tea and chatting, Ash and Serenade were playing in the…

“Lost your memory?” The Emperor’s deep and dark, bottomless-like gaze scanned me. For some reason, I felt as though I was being scanned by an advanced machine, and my body shuddered involuntarily. “…Hmm. Well, that’s fine. Memory is something you can find gradually.” Fortunately, the Emperor did not probe deeply. Was it that he trusted…

Emerging from the Imperial Parade, Prince Lark spurred his horse and started approaching the carriage I was in. “Ah, dear me. His Highness Lark is at it again…” Alberto, rubbing his forehead, grumbled as if he had a headache. I was annoyed and snapped at him. “Why, why is he doing this?! He’s coming to…

It was on the brink of developing into a romantic atmosphere. But, as always, that sort of thing didn’t happen in my life. Not even 10 minutes after we started dance practice, I stepped on Serenade’s foot four times. “Ugh… Uh…” At first, Serenade laughed it off, saying it was fine, but after her foot…

“Sigh…” Margarita, with a disheveled face, sat hunched in the temple’s backyard, clutching a cigarette butt. ‘How did it come to this…’ She had become a priestess because she wanted to heal the sick. If there was a problem, it was that she had been too enthusiastic about it. As a result of performing healing…

At the same time. South end of the continent. Monster Frontline. The Fortress City of Crossroad. Western part of the city. A graveyard. “…” In front of one grave among many neatly arranged tombstones, an officer dressed in imperial military uniform stood solemnly. He was the Commander of the Imperial Magic Brigade, also the leader…

Imperial Palace. Ash’s Star Palace. In the dead of night, as dawn drew near, within the dimly lit reception room. “…” Sitting on the sofa, I slowly brought the wine glass to my lips, lost in thought. It was about Prince Fernandez, the second prince, who had escorted me to the Star Palace, and the…