DMEC | Chapter 26

Hearing those words, Joel continued reading the book he was holding, [What is the Start of Romance? Just Like This~ At Least a Hundred Women Have Dated Baron Andrean~], and said, “I’m not reading these books for romance.”

Alexander’s expression was filled with disbelief. From an outsider’s perspective, the emperor seemed desperate to win the queen’s heart, to the point of clinging. He hid his identity and visited the Emperor’s Forest and the Water Palace daily to approach Queen Lute, vehemently refusing to allow a divorce and desperately trying to establish a relationship under the guise of revenge.5ef369fecf4d12e0

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Because that way, e42835f885 divorce would be a4315ad5a5 impossible.7776cf230815af17

But could he completely 50ff48f869 prevent the divorce this 54e218930a way? The emperor was forgetting a60051b741 something.5fe3ac27c42b2dda

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“Your Majesty, then why did you suddenly bring all these romance books from the Imperial Library?”c66c00ba71d95ced

“I want to find evidence of whether I really like that child.”4a2ca4104549e62d

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He closed the book bbe35d15ce with a loud snap 2141c08cda and placed it on b8af58aa6c the desk, then hummed fe3f15da2b thoughtfully. Placing his 5247668b5f hand on e7f0de0783 his heartless c007e1f8aa chest, he 32af446ebd spoke in 9535ca0419 a serious f6bc4eb323 voice.4be1100fd108f5d9

“I knew something was off when I felt aroused.”9c8f62895a48698e

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Alexander’s jaw dropped.8a801dc0332a7f78

“Uh, no… What are you saying…?”4c3f18ece7c2a71a

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Joel crossed his hands, rested his chin on them, closed his eyes, and muttered, “But arousal happens with any beauty with black hair, blue eyes, white skin, and red lips…”2ef98fd8998b5127

“That’s Queen Lute, isn’t it!”43a53999080a2be9

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Joel slowly opened his eyes and looked at Alexander. “Yes, that’s right. But? It could just be a coincidence, or a preference. It just happens to be Lute. Of course, the books say that when two things overlap, it’s the start of romantic feelings.”bebefd191ab8e1e5

The emperor paused for a moment, then pulled out the book [Marriage Before Romance] and spoke. It was a bestseller, a novel about raising a child, appreciating the small things in life and the importance of family, and feeling affection for the child raised, providing warmth and insight into love.

“I’m happy as if I’ve returned to the past. They say feeling happiness is love. Of course, being with cute animals makes you happy and loving, but… I can’t deny love when I get aroused looking at the queen. So, after reading all these books, I can conclude that ‘Joel Ragnus loves Lute Synthsis.'”9ef53aea5c60572a

“Your Majesty, as I’ve said before, you need to reveal your identity and apologize for your wrongdoings.”01b589d845b49bfa

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“Wrongdoings? What did I do wrong?”83d3d4237704186c

For ten years, he had placed a magical shackle on the child, preventing him from leaving. The child had willingly submitted, saying he would bear his parents’ sins, but Alexander’s opinion hadn’t changed.fba11161a3e8b149

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“Your Majesty, at that time, Queen Lute was fourteen years old. You confined a fourteen-year-old child in the Water Palace and even placed a magical shackle on his ankle, preventing him from leaving. The palace staff, thinking you had forgotten the queen, treated him poorly, not even providing proper food or clothing. For ten long years, he survived with just a maid and a knight, struggling to live. You need to apologize for that…”fffafa9803f502e3

But the emperor had only understood basic human emotions intellectually, not felt them. Based on past events, the emperor felt he should apologize, but he couldn’t gauge the extent of his wrongdoing.4587ec2b8394e3ed

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Initially, the wrongdoing was Lute’s, the prince of Synthsis. Dressing as a woman and coming in place of his twin sister. Deceiving the emperor was a grave offense. The emperor’s rational scale tipped towards Lute’s wrongdoing over his own.369ea409269d097c

“Can’t I just treat him well from now on? Besides, the wrongdoing was the child’s reckless act. Marriage between nations isn’t something a fourteen-year-old can decide on a whim, so he should be grateful for this leniency.”3de8fc7fae6f4ecd

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Saying that, the emperor frowned, recalling Lute from back then. The child hadn’t just come to disrupt the national marriage. Lute had come with a purpose, asking for forgiveness for his parents’ sins…2d1b16c6eca04504

The emperor rubbed his 670cffe5bb aching head, suppressing a 32486c0896 groan.c1a85ee62e0700ab

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“Your Majesty!”5f910f20935a7ddb

Alexander couldn’t hold back and raised his voice, but the emperor remained unfazed.57f461da4b7a68a8

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“That child was mine from the start. Who can say anything if I want to do as I please with what’s mine? The child’s parents? They only gave birth to what’s mine; the ownership is mine.”ec5427c0baeb8b4e

Alexander felt darkness closing in. He knew Joel was eccentric and somewhat unreasonable, but claiming a living person as his own, saying the ownership was his… It was absurd to see him assert that ‘Lute is mine’ after raising him for eight years.802125da6b295c66

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“Lute can’t go anywhere. He must stay by my side, just like when he was a child.”7af323fd6ff7f581

He even laughed confidently, like a child solving a difficult problem. Laughing out loud, the emperor added, “But how did I come to love Lute? I don’t have a heart. It’s still a mystery. This might not even be love.”c0a3dfee1a547296

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The emperor seemed 52445de03d to be in 9460b25228 a state of d5352afb21 confusion. Alexander, recalling the e6e61ac036 past that led 7393e55efa to this complicated f19f8ac9f9 situation, let out bf49bbe33d a heavy sigh.6a677d3b05936ed1

Due to the terror politics of Emperor Eliana, offering citizens as prey to the basilisk, Joel’s father, overwhelmed by guilt, couldn’t hold on long after Joel was confirmed as a tribute and passed away. Thanks to his parents, who genuinely loved their two sons, Joel, who lacked a heart, could understand human emotions of good and evil. The memories of living freely and happily before being taken as a tribute shaped the current Joel.91e4948127942d03

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So how could Joel’s feelings towards Synthsis be at ease? Alexander, feeling suffocated by the tangled emotions between the two, asked, “Your Majesty, what about an heir?”68ec8bfd3699f677

At Alexander’s question, the emperor fell silent. Furrowing his brows, he asked, “What?”8a1fe96853c614fb

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Alexander stood before Joel, speaking in a serious and resigned voice, “Just following Article 10, Clause 1 of the Royal Law won’t prevent the divorce. There’s Clause 2, isn’t there?”906b74416784d65d

The emperor looked at Alexander with a face as if he’d been struck, then stood up abruptly. Swallowing dryly, he blushed and spoke excitedly. It was indeed about his member.bd5a467bc76fde97

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Quickly, tell that child to bear your child. Because it’s your child, it’s okay to impregnate him.b7e29c39014ffca4

“Tell the child I raised to bear my child?”540233d525dd2c4e

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“Yes, can you do that?”95330d5a76709c5b

Of course, he couldn’t, if he had a conscience. It would be thievery, not humanity, to impregnate a child he had nurtured and cherished for eight years.c340f2826d2557d4

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“I can. Why wouldn’t I?”4aec6e5a048e91ab

But the words from the emperor’s mouth were entirely different from Alexander’s expectations. Seeing Alexander’s shocked, pale face, he smiled smoothly.41f88d079b0ebcbd

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“Royal Law Article 10, Clause 2. Even if the couple has relations, if no heir is born within five years, the wife can take half the husband’s property and file for divorce.”a369672729dd12d9

Confidently reciting the Royal Law he’d memorized since his prince days, Joel tapped the romance books in front of Alexander.2eb5b75aa5459cf4

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“I see it even explains how to lead to the bedroom. It’s meaningless for someone like me, but it was interesting to read.”fdf9cfb423c87ac2

Alexander felt dizzy. The man who couldn’t reveal he was Joel Ragnus, fearing Lute’s hatred, read a few romance books and was now imagining marriage and children, smiling happily. Alexander, trying to remain calm, spoke to the emperor, who had missed another crucial point.5597d7ac4c30393e

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“…Queen Lute is a man.”7867515c63139020

“So what?”2dcf462faaa63881

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The emperor replied as if it were nothing. Pulling out a new romance novel from the pile of books, he said, “I can use life magic to create a womb inside. It doesn’t matter if the child is male or female. As long as there’s a child…”017c6da6d6d03b80

The emperor’s words abruptly stopped. Covering his mouth at the fishy, nauseating smell wafting in, he rushed to the window. Alexander frowned at the familiar scent entering the palace.015dee5ed140ddb1

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It was the smell 12dba6169d of a decaying corpse.8f0d90132449a263

“Necromancer?”13d862bae4a9b845

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The emperor opened the window wide and spoke in a sharp voice, “How dare you summon a deadman where Joel Ragnus is?”068c3b747ca1d30c

Joel Ragnus a331587537 swiftly drew 4532b4ff97 the holy c6c0d466c7 sword, Peridexion, 7647685a34 from his 9310223d7c waist. Unlike other swords, as 9c9e5f49e8 he ran his gloved 9a4a574183 hand along the blade, 50fabf437f a mysterious mix of c131807f39 silver and gold hues 2278bdbeac began to envelop it.c8bbcc6e2cefb64a

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“Darkness cannot cut through light, but light can cut through darkness.”5d8cf4067c84d75a

Looking at the black 582e6e6b1b clouds covering the sun, 77ee4da526 the emperor spoke. He leaped from 73d7bde45c the study, landing 39e2f59eee on the ground. Alexander, watching the 8a2bfbfd76 emperor fall from b1c49bcc64 the third floor, 63e7d62157 swallowed dryly.491b1becf13d3c0b

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Holding Peridexion in his de2f48e97b right hand, the emperor 004074143f smiled confidently. His cloak billowed in 4dcdbb0ee3 the fierce, fishy wind.c4cbc4503392c5b9