He felt like biting my tongue out from the sheer humiliation, but he had to endure it for the sake of the greater good.

“Hahahahat!”

The Emperor burst into a loud fit of laughter once again.

“…This is quite bold. But interesting...”

The Emperor tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingertip. As the sound echoed through the audience chamber, a chilling atmosphere settled over the room.

“However.”

In an instant, the look in his eyes completely changed.

“Young Lord Friedrich, do you realize just how perilous your request is?”

He gave his broad shoulders a light shrug and slowly continued.

“A marriage with the Crown Prince is no simple union. It would be a momentous event that shifts the destiny of the Empire and the very flow of power.”

Beneath the suddenly lowered voice lay a manic sense of intrigue.

“Hmm... It has been quite some time since I’ve seen such an audacious attempt, so my heart does flutter, but this is far too excessive a reward for your merit. The ‘price’ for this request…… will be beyond your imagination.”

The Emperor looked down at Richard slowly, a frigid smile playing on his lips.

“Can you handle it?”

“…….”

What would happen if I answered ‘Yes’ here?

‘Hmm... You really think you can handle it?’

The Emperor would narrow his eyes in intrigue. And then....

‘Then go and die.’

Slash!

Richard’s head would fall.

End of the 49th regression.

‘…….’

Then, what if I answered ‘No’?

‘Hmm... You don’t even have that much spine?’

Immediately, the Emperor’s smile would twist. And then....

‘Boring.’

Slash!

Once again, Richard’s head would fall.

End of the 49th regression, again.

“…….”

Richard slowly curled the corners of his mouth.

‘I can’t die yet.’

This was only the beginning; it couldn't end in such a hollow fashion.

“I shall dare to ask Your Majesty just one thing.”

Richard held his hands neatly together, raised his head straight, and spoke. Polatley, yet without a hint of servility.

“Do you truly believe a ‘price’ is necessary?”

A brief flash of brilliance crossed the Emperor’s red eyes. His eyes sparkled as if this were unexpected.

“Is that not obvious?”

He didn't slice Richard’s throat. Instead, he chose to ask back.

“A male Crown Princess? That is absurd. In the past thousand years of history, such a thing has never occurred.”

“…….”

“There must certainly be a fitting ‘price’.”

However, Richard did not waver at the retort and gave a beaming smile.

“...Well. If I may be so bold as to share my thoughts……”

He daringly stood up and took a step closer to the Emperor. Overcoming the overwhelming pressure that seemed to crush his entire body, Richard opened his mouth.

“Is this marriage not actually a gain for Your Majesty?”

The Emperor jutted out his lip.

“And why do you think so?”

“Because,”

Richard looked directly into his eyes and spat out each word clearly.

“Your Majesty does not like the Crown Prince.”

The red eyes cooled chillingly for a brief moment. Richard did not miss the opportunity.

“Your Majesty hates the Crown Prince. You do not wish to pass the throne down to him.”

“…….”

“If the Crown Prince’s reputation is ruined through a marriage to a man like me, doubts will naturally be raised about whether he is fit to be the next Emperor. Could there be a more perfect opportunity for Your Majesty?”

The frigid air weighed down on the banquet hall.

“……Hmm.”

The Emperor’s smile turned icy.

“Your words have merit, but there is a major flaw.”

“What is it?”

“Why do you think I hate the Crown Prince?”

The Emperor also stood up. He took a single step toward Richard.

Tap. The sound of a cold boot rang out, and a wrinkled hand snatched Richard’s chin.

“Caelus is my only biological son, born to my beloved Empress.”

The Emperor, gripping his chin, brought his face close to Richard’s.

“There is absolutely no reason for that.”

It was as if he were cornering a mouse he had been toying with.

However.

“Did you say ‘only’?”

Even with his head forced up by the grip on his chin, Richard looked up at the Emperor with an unwavering gaze.

“That is correct. He is the ‘sole’ biological child.”

He didn't get caught in the pace.

“How could there be any other biological child?”

“…….”

“When Her Majesty the Empress passed away while giving birth to the Crown Prince.”

“……!”

The red eyes, which hadn't budged an inch, showed agitation for the first time. Richard slightly pulled up the corners of his mouth.

“The Crown Prince was born by devouring his own mother. In the end, it was because of the Crown Prince that the Empress you loved so dearly passed away...”

He wasn't originally a madman.

A sage king. He was a sage king who ruled the Empire capably and was the first in Imperial history to never take a single concubine. The reason he became a madman was.......

Because he lost his beloved Empress due to the Crown Prince.

“Do you truly not hate the Crown Prince?”

“…….”

“…….”

A cold silence followed. After a long stillness.

“……Ha, hahahaha!”

The Emperor threw his head back and laughed.

“Hahahaha, quite interesting indeed!”

Mad laughter burst forth from between his lips, which were stretched wide. It was like the roar of a beast.

“…….”

Richard did not laugh.

“Yes. You know quite a lot.”

“…….”

“So, what is it that you truly want?”

The Emperor’s red eyes flashed.

“No matter how mad I may be, I know that what you truly want isn't marriage with the Crown Prince.”

He had only been playing along because it was interesting.

“Does it not make no sense from the start?”

“…….”

“You claim to love the Crown Prince, yet you wish for him to walk the path that leads to the abyss?”

He pulled up one corner of his mouth in a sneer. As if to say such a thing wasn't love. If the two were to marry as Richard intended, Caelus would lose his position as Crown Prince and fall.

“…….”

Correct. That isn't love. Love is sacrificing oneself for the other, not breaking the other for one’s own sake. As he said, Richard did not love Caelus.

However....

“That is not the case.”

Richard’s eyes flashed like those of a madman.

“Please think again, Your Majesty. I am a man.”

“…….”

“If I do not go this far, how else could I ever reach the Crown Prince?”

If he couldn't convince him with logic, it was better to pretend to be a lunatic.

“It does not matter to me what happens to the Crown Prince’s standing. What matters is,”

Richard smiled brightly.

“That the two of us are joined.”

Like a madman twisted by an unmanageable love.

“…Hmm.”

With half-suspicion and half-belief, the Emperor’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“And, Your Majesty.”

Richard smiled leisurely. He lifted his heels slightly.

“I know your secrets far better than you might think.”

Richard whispered into his ear.

“Secrets?”

The Emperor arched an eyebrow. Richard curled the corners of his mouth and said.

“Your Majesty,”

After a brief pause,

“Are you not searching for the corpse of Her Majesty the Empress?”

He struck the opponent’s blind spot.

“…….”

“…….”

A brief silence.

“…Ha?”

The Emperor’s eyebrow, which had been relaxed throughout, shot up.

Twenty-one years ago. On the day of the Empress’s funeral. Her body went missing. Since then, the Emperor had been desperately searching for her corpse.

“How could you possibly know that...”

“Is that important?”

Richard said with a soft eye-smile.

“I shall find it for you, so why not grant my request?”

“…….”

The Emperor let out a sarcastic scoff.

“Ha, do you even know where it is?”

“Of course.”

Richard spoke without a hint of agitation.

“The basement of Duke Chesica’s estate.”

Naturally, Richard was not unaware. The Empress’s corpse was hidden in the basement of Duke Chesica’s estate.

“Does Your Majesty not also know?”

He was also not unaware that,

“That Her Majesty’s corpse is hidden in the Duke’s estate.”

The Emperor also knew this fact.

‘He simply hasn't been able to retrieve it because the circumstances aren't right.’

“…….”

The Emperor’s mouth twitched.

“Just how much do you know?”

“…Well.”

Richard’s water-colored eyes sank coldly.

“...Perhaps, even more than Your Majesty knows.”