It was a Political Marriage, But I’m Being Loved - Chapter 111

At the Emperor’s signal, an attendant stepped forward and handed Marquis Leroy a document with a single line written on it.

He was speechless.

[Begin the ritual immediately.]

That was all it said.

Marquis Leroy looked down at the paper, then slowly raised his eyes.

“But, Your Majesty! The High Priest said my daughter’s arm would have to be severed!”

“And do you think I wasn’t informed of that?”
The Emperor’s voice was stern, unwavering.
“If there were another way to save your daughter, we’d take it. But if we delay any further, even her life won’t be spared. Did you not hear that part?”

“I… I didn’t hear that she might die…”

He had heard warnings, yes—but not in those terms.

He had interpreted the High Priest’s words as: “If she keeps wearing the bracelet, her health will decline.”
But his daughter looked healthy, vibrant—nothing about her appearance had warned him of imminent danger.

“Is it really that serious?” he asked, his voice hollow.

The Emperor looked at him with pity but still clicked his tongue in disappointment.
He sighed and shook his head slightly.

“Why else would I have broken so many formalities for this? I hold House Leroy in high regard—that’s why I’m pushing so hard.”

Flustered, Marquis Leroy snatched a pen and hastily signed the document.
In his rush, he smeared a bit of ink across the parchment—but no one said a word.

An attendant immediately stepped in to dry and seal the document, making sure it couldn’t be tampered with, and handed it off to the royal courier, who sprinted out of the audience chamber without delay.

Marquis Leroy swayed where he stood, overwhelmed.
The high-ranking cleric beside him caught his arm and helped him stay upright.

The Emperor gave a wave, and an attendant brought over a chair.

“Would you prefer to rest here for a while? Or return to your daughter?”

It took Leroy a moment to answer—but no one accused him of disrespect.
His face pale, he finally spoke.

“I… I’ll return to her.”

He had weighed the risk against his daughter’s future. But he had never truly believed her life might be the cost.

In his mind, there had always been more time. Another option. Someone else who could fix it.

“Please forgive my lack of proper courtesy, Your Majesty.”

Even through his dazed state, he gave a deep bow.
The Emperor silently waved him off.

The cleric helped him out of the chamber. Crown Prince Oscar watched as the doors slowly closed behind them.

“The Tower Master handed Susanna Leroy over to the High Priest just last night.”
Oscar tapped his finger lightly on the armrest.

Even allowing time for preparations, the fact that the ritual still hadn’t been carried out was frustrating—especially considering how urgent the situation was.

“He may have accepted things for now,” the Emperor said, watching the doors, “but once he calms down, he’ll resent that the Imperial family allowed this to happen.”

Oscar silently agreed.
Even if Susanna died during the ritual, the Marquis’s grief wouldn’t last. He wasn’t the kind of man to grieve long.

“I’m more curious about how Marquis Leroy found out about any of this so quickly.”

People often said that the ladies of the Imperial palace were prone to gossip, especially in the Princess’s wing— But even then, that information was only passed between royal quarters.

If it had leaked outside the palace, heads would have rolled long ago.

“Y-Your Majesty! Urgent news!”

The doors flew open again.
A soldier burst into the chamber, panting and kneeling before the throne.

The Emperor didn’t move.

They’d just had an “urgent matter” not five minutes ago.
He was unmoved.

“Speak. What now?”

The soldier’s face was pale.

“A massive number of monsters… They’ve appeared outside the capital!”

“Monsters? No… Roughly a third of them are demons.”

Since dawn, additional mages had been summoned from the Tower to strengthen patrols around the capital and the outer walls.
They hadn’t just stood watch—they had used detection magic every hour to sense for any incoming monsters or demonic presence.

Eliza had predicted the approach would likely come from the north.
The east, south, and west sides of the capital were all relatively flat, which made it easy to spot approaching threats several days away—3 to 4 days in some cases.

The northern region was difficult to monitor fully. Towering mountains and dense forests made it hard to detect incoming threats.

And as expected, it was from the north that the demonic forces and monsters began to appear.

“At that pace, they’ll reach the city in… two hours? No—maybe even half that.”

He had already warned the soldiers stationed along the outer walls.
He had also ordered a subordinate mage to summon the Tower Master.

The number of personnel assigned to him by the Tower Master should be enough to hold the walls for at least half a day. But…

“Flying monsters.”

They weren’t just dealing with ground-based threats.

Winged beasts, led by winged demons, soared over the mountains and began darkening the northern sky.

To stop them, a large-scale aerial barrier would be necessary.
But defending an entire capital wasn’t like protecting a village.

The scale was incomparable, and the conditions were worse—
They couldn’t possibly cast a dome large enough to cover the entire sky.

At best, they could raise a towering magic wall that reached into the air.

“Damn it… what do we even do?”

The capital’s defense forces were already in motion.
Even before the Emperor or Crown Prince issued commands, the generals stationed at each wall section had already started deploying soldiers and positioning archers.

While many mages lived within the capital, only a portion of them were assigned to the military—and their skills were far below Tower standards.

Those who had been summoned to the north wall now hesitated, glancing at the mage from the Tower for cues.

“Will they even be useful?”

Against normal monsters, yes—mages could be a great asset.

But the real problem was the demons hidden among the swarm.

Only knights capable of using mana could even hope to injure a demon.
Typically, it took three mid-tier knights to bring down a single low-level demon.
Alternatively, a knight would hold the demon at bay while a mid-tier mage launched the killing blow.

“…We don’t have the power to deal with this.”

Even if they requested more backup from the Tower, there was no guarantee reinforcements would arrive in time.
Teleportation magic could be used, but it consumed a large portion of the caster’s mana just to arrive.

“There are just too many. The Tower Master might be able to protect the royal family, but the citizens of the capital…”

Even a rough estimate put the number of monsters above ten thousand.
And the number of demons mixed among them easily reached into the hundreds—maybe more.

It was hard to even count.

Eliza’s face darkened as he recalled the destruction of his village—wiped out in a similar demonic assault.
As a senior mage, he knew he shouldn’t show fear. But right now… it was hopeless.

“Erect the barrier, Eliza.”

The sound of robes brushing the air made him lift his head.

The Tower Master had arrived—standing beside him.

Eliza looked up into calm, unwavering golden eyes.
The Tower Master looked colder than ever.

In his hand, he held a staff—something he rarely used.
He only carried it to amplify magic.
Eliza had hardly seen him wield one since they were young.

“I’m going to wipe them out in one strike. The wall will be hit by the shockwave, so make sure the barrier is strong enough to withstand it.”

A flicker of light returned to Eliza’s eyes.
He opened his mouth, then shut it, and nodded quickly.

“Y-Yes, Tower Master! I’ll begin the preparations right away!”

Achilles didn’t pay much attention to Eliza’s relief.
He turned back to face the horde of monsters and demons in the distance.

They were many. That much was true.

But—

“I’ve grown stronger too.”

Watching Charlize train had given him clarity.
The way she manipulated mana had taught him something fundamental—
Even just helping her practice had opened his eyes to new possibilities.

“Lize… my rose.”

Achilles remembered being with Charlize just a few minutes ago.

He had passed off his report to Oscar, then gone straight to find her.

“What should I even say to her…”

After leaving the underground prison, one of her maids had told him that Charlize was in the Empress’s residence.

As he listened to his mage’s report, he headed there.

Surely, by now, word had reached the upper court about Valter’s escape and the skirmish between him and the Crown Prince.

So there was no point in explaining that he had let Valter slip away…

“No. They might assume I fought him and captured him again.”

When he arrived, one of the Empress’s attendants was already waiting for him.

They led him to a quiet interior room where Charlize was currently with the Empress.

His thoughts were still a mess, and he had no idea what he wanted to say.

As they arrived at the room’s entrance, the attendant seemed to ask something from the other side of the door—
But Achilles wasn’t paying attention.

Soon after, the door opened.

He instinctively composed his face—but what he saw was Charlize rising to her feet.

“Welcome, Achilles.”

She stepped toward him without hesitation.

His arms opened on reflex.

Perhaps because they were in the Empress’s palace, or maybe because emotions came first this time—
Charlize ignored the gazes around them and embraced him tightly.

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