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Anyway, that was why the Emperor thought Iris would truly love this room when he first brought her to this castle.
How much would a woman who lived in a hut covered in dirt love it? There was a vegetable garden and glass windows with great lighting.
Upon entering, she was greeted not by a shabby hut, but by a beautiful room with three fireplaces.
However, she did not like this room. She loathed it.
"Iris."
The Emperor called her name once more and approached the bed. But the woman, who had turned away, still didn't move. The man sat on the edge of the bed.
The tips of Iris's ears and shoulders trembled slightly at the presence of him sitting down.
"Why don't you turn around and look at me while I'm being nice."
Instead of an answer, what gathered at the tip of her shoulder was a faint radiance. The Emperor smirked.
"You know that doesn't work on me, Iris."
He had clearly told her to turn around while he was being nice.
He gave her a chance, but she refused. The Emperor immediately reached out, grabbed Iris's shoulder, and pulled her toward him.
"...Let go!"
Iris resisted, but it was useless. The Emperor was a robust man, and the woman was thin to begin with and had been starving for two days.
She was pulled instantly and found herself facing the Emperor's face.
"Iris. If I call you, you should look back."
The Emperor, Elio, smiled broadly.
Iris glared at him with a feeling of horror.
"I told you to let go. I'm not in the mood to see your face right now."
"Were you ever in the mood?"
Elio smiled and lightly gripped her chin, fixing her gaze toward him.
"You look a bit better than a few days ago. I guess the Count Palatine wasn't a complete waste of food?"
"..."
"Or perhaps my threats worked."
Before the Count Palatine arrived, Iris Achen looked like a completely mad woman. Unable to stand the sight of her lying on the floor wearing only a piece of underwear, the Emperor called him and ordered him to dress and feed her properly.
At first, it seemed to have some effect. Because the old Count Palatine begged and pleaded, she did eat.
However, since she still refused to dress properly, Elio visited her quarters a few nights ago. And he whispered into the ear of the woman pretending to be asleep.
'You know, are you perhaps trying to seduce me, and I'm just being oblivious?'
And Elio was certain that his single word had worked better than the Count Palatine in getting her to dress as if she were the most precious woman in the world.
The beautiful purple gown was embroidered with gold thread, and the surcoat she wore over it was incredibly ornate.
The pearls around her neck were beautiful, but the hair ornament, neatly braided and wrapped in lace, was the pinnacle of luxury.
But as expected, the prettiest thing was those light green eyes glaring at him.
Ah, this is driving me crazy.
Elio smiled brightly.
"Isn't it nice to be dressed up prettily? I like it."
It wasn't a question he expected an answer to. The man, still gripping her chin, pressed his lips down. Or rather, he intended to.
Slap.
Before the man could kiss her, what flew toward him was the woman's palm. His face burned hot. It was inevitable that he lost his grip on her chin.
"Don't touch me."
At those words, Elio felt a chill and goosebumps. It wasn't that he felt bad or scared. It was so good it gave him goosebumps.
He had decided to court Iris Achen even before the Saintess woke up.
The advent of the Saintess at Wind Rock Monastery. It sounded good, but there was immense chaos at the time.
When the typhoon ceased and the surroundings were revealed, there were over three hundred corpses piled up. That was counting only humans, excluding the magical beasts.
At the time, while wondering what on earth was happening, his thoughts first turned to the fact that he had to secure Iris Achen. Thus, Prince Elio gathered the unconscious Iris Achen and the priests.
It was much later that he learned the 'Sanctuary' had spread across the entire continent.
Prince Elio nearly fainted then.
Out of joy.
A Saintess who had instantly defeated the Archdemon resurrected to plunge the continent into a pit of pain and destruction.
Furthermore, thankfully, the Saintess lost consciousness and could not wake. The Abbot of Wind Rock Monastery also failed to regain consciousness and died two weeks later.
All that remained were the Archbishop who worshipped gold, the naive country priests, and the foolish House of Ahen. Well, Akim Norwich was there too, but he was an exception since he had supported Prince Elio from the start.
After that, things were so smooth it felt like a dream.
It took only about 50 days to tidy up the surroundings and ascend the throne.
The Emperor offered up the throne himself. He claimed he was too old, but he likely felt he could not defeat Prince Elio.
The Electors, one and all, agreed to the accession of Prince Elio, who put the Saintess forward. All that remained for him upon ascending the throne was a single Saintess who would not wake.
There was no need to ponder long over the Saintess's fate. If she didn't wake, she would be enshrined in the temple; if she did wake, he would make her his Empress.
Once she was washed and dressed, Elio’s only impression upon looking at the sleeping Iris Achen was that her face wasn't so unsightly that he would be ashamed to have her standing by his side.
Surprisingly, however, the awakened Iris Achen proved to be immensely entertaining.
Immediately after waking, she was confused, unable to grasp the situation. Once her memories returned, she tried to rise, crying out for her 'husband.'
The Emperor debated whether to go to her himself or not, but ultimately chose the easier path. He summoned Priest Marid—the one who had survived with her at Wind Rock Monastery—and had him explain everything.
Iris Achen could not accept any of it. This was expected. He had tasked Marid with the explanation precisely because he knew she would react this way.
However, her lack of acceptance did not mean he intended to be lenient with her.
On the tenth day after Iris Achen woke, the Emperor visited her in person.
At first, Iris Achen knelt before him and pleaded. It was clear that for ten days, everyone in the detached palace had told the screaming girl that she could only leave with 'His Imperial Majesty's permission.'
"Prince—no, Your Majesty. Please, let me go. I have to find Rahan. Rahan is innocent. My husband... that man..."
The Emperor replied with an incredibly gentle smile.
"No."
What did Iris Achen say in response? Ah. She simply let tears stream down her face while remaining on her knees.
"Why? Please... he did nothing wrong. The contract with the demon was all a misunderstanding. I can explain."
"I'm not curious."
"Your Majesty! Please!"
Why was it?
Initially, he had intended to simply threaten her with words like, 'You are the Saintess, so it's easier if you just listen to me,' and then leave.
He had neither the time nor the patience to watch a girl who had grown up in some rural backwater for twenty years wail and beg.
Yet, for some reason, the Emperor looked down at her until she collapsed from exhaustion after sobbing at his feet.
After that, the same events repeated daily. Iris Achen pleaded, and the Emperor repeated that it was impossible.
Occasionally, with great patience and persistence, he would explain that 'it would be problematic to let the Saintess outside.'
He wasn't sure when he began to find that weeping face cute and lovely.
The face where the capillaries had burst from so much crying and screaming, leaving it bruised yellow, swollen, and barely able to open its eyes.
Just as he began to find it a bit boring, he spoke as a test.
"That man is dead."
And for the first time, he saw anger dwell upon the woman's face. Simultaneously, he felt a surprisingly vulgar thrill.
He wondered if he had such tastes. Thus, the Emperor added one more sentence.
"I tore that corpse to shreds with my own hands and threw it into the sea. The fish flocked to it greedily."
"Aaaaah!"
"I'm lying."
Truly, it was entertaining.
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i want to kill him
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