I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 164

“Your… Imperial seed. Give it to me.”

At Serenade’s words, my jaw dropped. What the heck?!

‘Oh my goodness! What is this woman saying right now!’

Young lady, men and women shouldn’t sit together after the age of seven!

I don’t know if the Red Dragon is the boss in this fantasy world, but hey?! In my old neighborhood, the Confucian Dragon was the boss! You can’t just say lines like that, it’s a big deal!

The amount of cold sweat pouring down my back doubled in an instant.

I avoided Serenade’s earnest gaze, sweating profusely. Oh my, this is embarrassing! I can’t even make eye contact!

And as I avoided her gaze, Serenade’s voice suddenly became heavy.

“…It’s always like this, my lord.”

“Huh?”

“You, a libertine who has scandals with other noble ladies almost every day, have never once held me in your arms.”

Serenade’s two fists were clenched tightly as she lowered her head.

“No, not just holding me, you even hated looking me in the eye, just like now.”

“No, this is…”

This is just because I’m a clueless idiot…

“Do you hate me that much?”

“No, I, it’s not that I hate you…”

“Is it because I’m from a lowly merchant family? Because I bought my way into being your fiancée with money? Are you afraid that if you hold me, you’ll smell the disgusting stench of metal?”

Something flowed down Serenade’s pale cheeks. Huh?

It was a clear teardrop.

Serenade… she was… crying.

I froze.

Oh my god! I have absolutely no idea how to deal with this!

“I never expected your love from the beginning.”

Serenade looked up at me, sobbing, without even trying to wipe away her tears.

“I know. You wouldn’t want to mix the noble blood of the Imperial Family with a lowly and dirty woman like me. But even if it’s a contractual relationship, even if it’s something the adults decided, we’re still promised to be husband and wife.”

“…”

“I’m giving you everything I have, my lord, but why… why won’t you even look at me properly?”

I wanted to comfort her, but I couldn’t easily speak.

The relationship between Ash and Serenade was a strictly personal one that I didn’t know about.

Should I, a mere possessed player, interfere in this relationship so rashly?

What if it comes back to hurt her even more later?

While I was hesitating and frozen, Serenade wiped away her tears and turned her head.

“I’m tired of begging for your attention and affection like this…”

“…”

“I’m sorry, I just got emotional and started crying and complaining, and I’m sure you’re even more disgusted now.”

“No, that’s, I mean, I…”

“It’s been a while since we met, so I guess I got carried away and my emotions got the better of me. I’m sorry.”

Serenade, having calmed down, waved her hand.

The captain, who was steering the yacht, turned the bow towards the harbor.

“It’s quite late. Even if the Imperial City is relatively safe, it’s dangerous for a member of the Imperial Family to walk around alone. I’ll prepare a carriage, so please go back in it.”

“…”

“If you need anything, please send me a message. The festival is just around the corner, so the Imperial City will be chaotic. Please don’t wander around at night like this for a while…”

Serenade, who was about to say something more, stopped abruptly.

“Oh, right, you didn’t like being nagged.”

“…”

“Haha. How can I be so out of sync with my lord’s tastes in every single way?”

I remained silent, and the ship returned to the harbor before long.

“I’m sorry for saying such presumptuous things today, my lord.”

Serenade bowed deeply towards me.

“Please forget about today, and feel free to come to me whenever you need anything… money or alcohol.”

“…”

“Then, please go back safely.”

Serenade smiled, her face still marked with tear stains.

“I was happy to see you, my lord.”

***

Inside the carriage returning to the Imperial Palace.

I was still lost in thought.

I had secured the architect and merchant line I was trying to find in the Imperial City anyway.

The Winter Silver Merchant Guild, the largest merchant guild in the Empire, was trustworthy enough to handle it.

The Crossroad’s tourist city plan and the independent magic stone distribution line would be able to proceed smoothly.

However.

‘People.’

An unexpected problem had surfaced.

‘It’s always people who are the hardest.’

I had never thought about this problem in Crossroad.

Because almost all of my relationships with people started from zero and were built up by me.

Because they were relationships of ‘me,’ not ‘Ash.’

But here in the Imperial City of New Terra, all relationships belong to ‘Ash.’

Not only the Emperor and the princes, but also the chief of staff and the servants, and even the fiancée I met today. They are all human relationships that Ash has built up.

Is it okay for me to interfere with this?

Even if I do, can I lead it in the right direction?

The relationship between people is like a Jenga puzzle.

It’s not about endlessly stacking up, but about taking out the pillars in between and placing them on top.

If you stop after stacking it as high as possible, the human relationship will be maintained stably.

But now, I’m hesitating whether to touch the precarious Jenga puzzle that Ash has left unfinished.

Whether the tower gets higher or collapses completely, problems can arise either way.

‘What should I do…’

I racked my brain and pondered.

– Why… why won’t you even look at me properly?

The image of Serenade, with tears streaming from her silver eyes, crying out sadly, came to mind.

‘Haa,’

It’s not just Serenade’s problem.

I’ve come to the Imperial City, and I have to keep clashing with Ash’s people. Then I have to clearly define my stance.

Either not touch it at all.

Or…

‘Should I… bear everything that belongs to Ash?’

I pursed my lips.

Anyway, until now, I had considered Ash as someone else. I thought of him as a separate human being from me.

Can I truly accept that other person’s life as my own?

Do I truly have the resolve to do that?

That’s when it happened.

Thud!

The carriage suddenly stopped.

“Huh?”

I looked out the window, puzzled.

The Imperial Palace was not in sight. This was a secluded back alley. What was going on? Did the carriage break down?

Then, the coachman who had gotten out of the driver’s seat walked back.

“Hey, what’s the mat…”

Bang!

Before I could even ask the coachman what was going on, he suddenly yanked open the carriage door, grabbed me by the collar, and dragged me outside.

“What-?!”

At the same time, he threw me.

For a moment, I was suspended in the air, and I couldn’t help but scream.

“Waaaaaah?! What the heck?!”

Thump, thump!

Still, thanks to my experience wandering through dungeons and fighting in defense battles, I managed to regain my balance in the air and landed on the ground. Thud!

“You, what impudent bastard dares-!”

I stopped speaking as I looked ahead.

Whoooosh…!

In front of me stood a maid-uniformed woman carrying a huge coffin.

Elise.

She was Serenade’s subordinate, and the coachman who was taking me to the Imperial Palace.

And a terrifying fighting spirit was emanating from her entire body.

The materialized aura created a wind that fluttered the hem of her maid uniform.

“Prince Ash.”

Elise’s hollow, dark blue eyes were filled with a chilling sharpness.

A sharpness like a freshly sharpened blade.

“You are trash.”

“Y-yes?!”

I unconsciously replied with honorifics. Why, why are you suddenly doing this?!

“For the past ten years, since your engagement, my mistress has devoted herself to you. She lent you money whenever you needed it for gambling, and she presented you with fine wines from all over the world whenever you wanted to drink them. Most of the atrocities you committed in the Imperial City were covered up with money by our Winter Silver Merchant Guild, not the Imperial Family.”

Clack.

Elise’s teeth ground together menacingly.

“I hated seeing you like that, but I endured it. Because it was the wish of the previous guild master to break free from the stigma of being a lowly merchant family by forming a connection with the Imperial Family, and…”

Whoosh-!

Elise pointed the huge coffin she was carrying on her back forward.

“Because my mistress, Lady Serenade, was in love with you.”

“…”

“But I can’t tolerate it any longer. You only cause harm to our guild. More than anything, you only hurt my mistress.”

The aura emanating from Elise’s body became even more distinct.

“To repay the kindness I received from the previous guild master, and for the sake of my beloved mistress’s remaining life.”

And Elise said,

“You will have to die here.”

She was declaring that she would kill a member of the Imperial Family.

I didn’t know if this was an expression of twisted loyalty or what, but I quickly pulled out my staff from my pocket.

‘Damn it! How do I calm this situation down?!’

I had already identified Elise as an SSR-grade character from the mercenary guild. She must be quite strong.

‘Let’s subdue her for now!’

But I had also defeated countless monsters and grown stronger through all the hardships in the dungeon under the lake.

I should be able to easily subdue an SSR-grade character who has been living comfortably in this Imperial City without any real combat experience.

…Or so I thought.

Bang!

Elise slammed the coffin she was holding like a blunt weapon into the ground.

I widened my eyes. Huh? What is she doing?

And,

“Sword Coffin, unfold.”

At Elise’s murmur, the coffin opened to the left and right.

Shhh-!

And inside the coffin were all kinds of swords, categorized by type.

Greatswords. Longswords. Shortswords. Rapiers. Curved swords. Broadswords. Long blades. Katanas…

All of them were weapons of at least SR grade or higher.

‘What the heck?!’

Only then did I realize Elise’s true identity, and my jaw dropped.

I thought I had never seen Elise in the game. But that wasn’t true.

It was just that I didn’t recognize her because of her unfamiliar maid uniform.

‘Why is the Funeral Swordsman Elizabeth here…?!’

A monster who is definitely in the strongest line among all the sword characters in [the game name].

The undertaker of swords, Elizabeth.

In the game, she appeared in a black undertaker’s outfit and a undertaker’s hat, so I didn’t recognize her at all in her maid outfit now…!

‘Damn it, Lucas! You should have said it properly!’

The natural disaster wasn’t my fiancée, Serenade.

It was Serenade’s bodyguard, this woman Elizabeth!

“I will send you off without pain.”

Elise muttered ominously as she chose a sword to use from the sword coffin.

“That is the consideration for the man who was almost my mistress’s husband.”

Immediately after, Elise pulled out a serrated sword with jagged teeth.

“Ah, this will do.”

No, that looks incredibly painful-!

Whether I was horrified or not, Elise pulled out the serrated sword and charged at me.

She was truly intent on killing me.