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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Proof of Manhood
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As expected. It was a good thing I hadn't taken the potion out of my inventory beforehand.
In front of the main castle’s reception hall.
The Emperor’s attendants lightly searched Lellia and Calix.
Cedric, Damian, and Lute glared at Lellia before the three of them went off somewhere together.
Lellia sighed inwardly.
In any case, Lute must have certainly won the favor of those two princes. For now, they were practically on the same side.
“This way, please.”
Following the attendant’s lead through a large door, she saw ornate furniture.
A magnificent carpet was spread across the spacious area that appeared to be a reception hall, with a sofa and table arranged harmoniously.
When she turned her head, she could see the edge of a sofa through a large, open archway.
That place seemed to be an audience chamber, for slightly more private use than the reception hall.
“……”
Lellia clenched her trembling hands.
Calix, on the other hand, looked perfectly at ease.
The attendant guided the two into the audience chamber beyond the archway.
The Emperor, who had been sitting on the sofa reading documents, looked up.
“You’ve come.”
“……”
Lellia gulped.
This was her second reunion with the Emperor since she had fled the Imperial Palace as a child.
The first had been the night she went to the cabin to find ingredients. The sensation of the drunken Emperor grabbing her ankle was still vivid.
Perhaps because the shock of that moment came flooding back, Lellia found it hard to calm her pounding heart.
“……”
Seen in a bright place and in a sober state, Emperor Perseus didn't look much different than before.
Despite the considerable time that had passed, he still looked young. Though he had lost a bit of weight.
Emperor Perseus’s brow furrowed.
The real Sir Raymond, whom he had only heard about…
Yes, he rather resembled the painting his secretaries had once reported as being popular.
But seeing him in person, he resembled someone else even more.
‘Elizabeth…?’
Why did this young man, whom he had never seen before, resemble his dead wife?
Their eye and hair colors were completely different, yet he was overcome by a strange feeling.
He even began to wonder if his late wife had a secret son.
All sorts of doubts instantly took hold of him.
That was how similar their aura and expressions were.
Then, he suddenly remembered the woman he had seen at the cabin on that drunken night, the one who resembled Elizabeth.
He had locked down the capital to find the woman with green eyes, but she had vanished without a trace.
So he had concluded that he must have been drunk and mistaken.
And yet…
“Your Majesty?”
The silence had stretched on for too long.
Unable to watch any longer, Calix called out to the Emperor in confusion. The Emperor still wore a dazed expression.
Calix turned his head toward Lellia, questioning her with his eyes.
‘Has he figured out you’re a woman?’
Since it was conveyed through a look, there was no way she could understand. Lellia awkwardly forced the corners of her mouth into a smile. The barely-there smile trembled.
Lellia, too, was flustered by Emperor Perseus’s persistent stare.
Just then, Emperor Perseus, having regained his senses, spoke.
“…Sir Calix. You came with him.”
“I accompanied him as he is in a fragile state of mind and body.”
“…I see. Thank you. But would you mind waiting over there?”
At those words, Calix glanced at Lellia, then bowed and exited through the archway.
Fortunately, the archway was wide open, so they weren't left alone in a sealed room. Reassured by this, Lellia sat in the seat the Emperor offered.
“……”
Even after seating Lellia, the Emperor continued to gaze at her with a peculiar expression for a long time.
Lellia had no way of knowing what he was thinking.
Just then, Emperor Perseus abruptly stood up and began pacing back and forth near the window like a troubled man.
‘Is he trying to wear me down?’
Lellia seized the opportunity to open her inventory window and take out an item.
She had a feeling she might need it.
‘He might suspect something is off because I look so much like my mother. He might even suspect I’m a woman.’
Lellia hid the potion vial inside her sleeve, waiting for a chance to open the cap.
After pacing by the window for a while, Emperor Perseus turned and looked at her.
It seemed he finally remembered why he had summoned ‘Sir Raymond’ in the first place.
“I heard that Princess Yuriana has taken a liking to you.”
“…It’s awkward for me to say this myself, but my relationships with women are quite complicated. I’m grateful for the Princess’s interest, but…”
“Complicated relationships with women?”
Emperor Perseus frowned and asked.
Well, he had been summoned as a potential son-in-law, so for him to speak so bluntly must have been absurd.
But Emperor Perseus brought up something else.
“…You bear a strong resemblance to someone I know. You’re from a noble family in the Rosebery Empire?”
“Yes… Everyone seems to say that when they see me. Something about resembling a painting…?”
Lellia forced a smile and played dumb.
But Emperor Perseus crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side.
“Are you hiding anything from me?”
“Pardon? What do you…”
Emperor Perseus seemed to consider his words for a moment before speaking.
“I would prefer it if Princess Yuriana’s partner were someone without any flaws. But you…”
“……”
What, who said I wanted to be her partner?
Lellia waited for the Emperor to finish, a sour expression on her face.
“I’ll ask you frankly. Are you really a man?”
“……!”
“To my eyes… you look like a woman who has infiltrated this place while hiding her gender.”
“If it’s true that you deceived Princess Yuriana by hiding your gender… you won’t be able to escape severe punishment.”
Emperor Perseus lifted his chin.
“……”
Lellia, who had never been directly suspected before thanks to Donatelli’s painting, was simply flustered.
She never expected the Emperor to ask so bluntly.
Perseus’s gaze was strange.
Looking into his eyes, Lellia was certain.
‘He suspects I’m the woman he ran into that night.’
Lellia’s guess was correct.
Perseus stared intently at Lellia, half-convinced she was the woman he had seen that night.
The slender ankle he had personally grasped, the voice he heard before passing out, the small scream that had escaped.
Those were undoubtedly a woman’s.
The Emperor remembered everything that had happened before he lost consciousness.
He didn't know what method she was using now.
Though a slightly lower voice was coming out, unlike back then, Emperor Perseus was sure.
The true identity of this person wearing the mask of ‘Sir Raymond’ had to be a woman.
With what intention had she infiltrated the Imperial Palace, and why had she hidden her gender to approach Princess Yuriana?
He also had to find out how she had knocked out the knight who had come to the cabin at the time.
Despite his orders, the imperial mages had found no traces.
And to top it all off, with a face so similar to the deceased Elizabeth.
Though her intentions were unknown, Emperor Perseus judged ‘Sir Raymond’ to be a suspicious individual trying to find a weakness to exploit.
“What are you…”
Lellia started to deny it.
But seeing her stiff expression and tense lips, Perseus grew even more certain.
“I’m curious as to what your intentions are in approaching me.”
“……”
A tense silence hung between the two as they exchanged nothing but glances.
Meanwhile, Calix, who was outside listening to the entire conversation, clicked his tongue.
‘So, she’s finally been caught.’
Calix was standing right next to the archway, leaning against the wall, and had heard everything.
A cup of tea was growing cold for him just ahead, but this was no time to sit comfortably and wait.
Calix wondered what he should do.
The Emperor would not let Lellia go.
But so what?
As long as Calix and Romeo were protecting her, the Emperor couldn't touch her recklessly.
The most he could do was kick her out of the Imperial Palace.
He was about to step in at the right moment and speak to the Emperor on her behalf.
“This is unpleasant!”
Suddenly, Lellia’s angry voice came from inside.
Startled, Calix turned slightly and peeked into the room beyond the archway.
“Unpleasant?”
Emperor Perseus sneered and sat down.
“Yes, unpleasant. Even if you are His Majesty the Emperor, this is an utterly preposterous insult.”
“Then can you prove it?”
He asked with a relaxed demeanor. It seemed he was truly certain.
Lellia didn't show it on the outside, but inwardly she was on pins and needles.
‘If I get caught, it’s over.’
The Emperor seemed convinced she was the person who had infiltrated the palace.
It would be troublesome if the truth came out.
Not only would she become a criminal, but Romeo and Calix would also be harmed.
Moreover, Lute’s sacred relic would be lost forever.
She had to make things clear right now.
‘If I can’t get through this moment, all my plans will collapse.’
Lellia stealthily opened the cap of the potion vial she had hidden behind the back of her hand.
From the silently opened cap, an invisible mist flowed out.
This bluntly named potion was one she had made in the ‘Alchemy Lottery’ game for a regular customer of her shop, ‘Phantom Thief Luping.’
There were all sorts of similar series, but Lellia had made several of this particular potion, which she thought would be useful to her.
[You have used the item ! For the next 10 minutes, you will appear to be the ultimate man! (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧]
Seeing the small message pop up, Lellia stood from her seat.
“I will prove it. But in return, if it is certain that I am a man, how will you compensate me for the insult just now?”
As Lellia came out so confidently, Perseus twisted one corner of his mouth and replied.
“I will grant you one thing you desire.”
[Mist of Delusion activated! The potion's effect is in progress.✧*.◟(ˊᗨˋ)◞.*✧]
Now, the smoke flowing from the potion would show her opponent a perfect illusion.
It was a perfect hypnosis, one that would be impossible to doubt as not being real.
The only problem was that Lellia had no way of knowing exactly what illusion the other person was seeing.
“……”
Emperor Perseus was staring blankly into the air. He was seeing the illusion.
In the Emperor’s vision, Lellia was removing her cravat, unbuttoning her shirt, and whipping off her clothes.
Revealed were chiseled, hard pectoral muscles and, below them, firm abs.
It was, by anyone’s standards, a man’s torso. Perseus, never imagining it to be an illusion or hypnosis, clicked his tongue.
He had to admit his mistake.
‘It seems I lost my reason over what happened that day…’
Perseus let out a low sigh and wiped his face with his palm.
Meanwhile.
‘Has she lost her mind? Why is she whipping off her pants?!’
Another person had fallen into the illusion caused by the Mist of Delusion.
From where Calix stood, he had a direct view of Lellia beyond the archway.
In front of him, Lellia was now whipping off her pants.
Calix was about to rush in and stop her. He concluded that Lellia had gone mad.
But he couldn't move a single step and froze on the spot.
‘No, this is crazy… what is that?’
No… no…
No matter how hard he rubbed his eyes, was that…?
Lellia had definitely said she was Leo’s younger sister. Younger sister, younger sister…
But that thing dangling there… was unmistakably a man’s reproductive organ.
It was surprising enough that someone would whip off their pants in front of the Emperor to prove they were a man.
But it was even more surprising that he actually had one.
Calix turned his back as if he had seen something he shouldn't have and walked toward the sofa.
‘No… no…’
He was thrown into chaos.
