“Haha, hahahaha…”
The Emperor, who let out a hollow laugh without realizing it as she stared at the indescribable being before her, slowly began to step back.
“…Damn it.”
But since she had already been sitting halfway on the bed, there was no escape route for her to begin with.
Only the soundproof wall, which had now turned into a trap, welcomed the Emperor.
“Puppeteer.”
The Emperor, who had backed all the way against the wall, broke into a cold sweat as she called for her ally.
“Ki, kihihit….”
“Puppeteer!”
“W-wait! I still have control…!”
At those words, the bear puppet that had been smirking unpleasantly suddenly began flailing its arms and muttering a spell when the Emperor shouted.
—
Sha-ra-rak…
At the same time, black threads spread out from all sides and began digging into Whitney.
“Hehe… I’ve got enough mana. I can just leech off the life force of the people in this shop…”
As the threads wrapped around Whitney, the bear puppet, which had crept up beside the Emperor and was watching her reaction, covered its mouth and whispered with another creepy giggle.
“Hmph.”
“Kik? Wh-what?”
But for some reason, Whitney, who was gazing down at the bear puppet, suddenly smiled—a smile far more unsettling than the puppet’s.
—Whip…
Then, moments later, Whitney flicked his finger upward with a light motion, before either the Emperor or the Puppeteer could react.
“!?”
“!?”
“Kit!?”
That one simple motion flipped the entire situation.
“No, no way…”
The black threads that had been binding Whitney squirmed like snakes and began to slither toward the Emperor and the bear puppet, who were both still on the bed.
“Gah! T-this is my thread! It’s made from the perfect fibers extracted from my masterpieces…!”
A deeply aggrieved voice came from the bear puppet as it looked up blankly, but it was already too late.
“Kiiek!”
The black threads had already betrayed their master, capturing the bear puppet and binding it tightly in mid-air.
“Huh.”
And the Emperor was no exception.
“…They’re wrapped around tight.”
The Emperor struggled for a moment, trying to break free from the black threads binding her, but she soon realized it was futile and let out a sigh as she relaxed her body.
“But tell me—what’s the deal with those eyes of yours?”
Then, lifting her head calmly, the Emperor asked Whitney the question directly.
“When did you start hiding that kind of power?”
“……”
“Is that what they call the ‘Power of Domination’?”
Though the words came from a place of defeat, the Emperor’s question hit the mark.
Ever since Whitney became aware of the strange power dwelling within him, no matter how hard he tried for the past few days, he hadn’t been able to use it properly.
That suspicious aura Whitney had been unconsciously releasing all this time—just possessing it allowed him to control every monster and darkness in the world at will.
It was the overwhelming force of the Demon King’s power, long vanished from the world, now embodied by Whitney.
“I always suspected you were like me, but I never imagined you could activate that level of power with such a simple trigger…”
“…Haah.”
Though she wore a faintly bitter expression, the Emperor still kept a smile as she muttered—but soon, even that smile faded from her face.
“You sure talk a lot.”
Whitney, now completely serious and no longer speaking politely, suddenly grabbed the Emperor’s chin.
“Not used to being treated this way?”
“……”
“Hah, well, Your Majesty has always been the one standing above everyone.”
Forced to look up, the Emperor made a slightly humiliated face but still met Whitney’s gaze straight on.
“But tell me—what happens when that noble status of yours gets a little tainted?”
—
The moment those words left Whitney’s lips, a flicker of emotion crossed the Emperor’s eyes.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“…Haha.”
Watching closely, Whitney lowered his voice and began to whisper with scornful eyes.
“Your Majesty. I can see right through you. I’m also ready to bring your time to an end, whenever I please.”
Though he had returned to speaking politely, Whitney’s voice was laced with an eerie chill unlike his usual tone.
“If you don’t believe me, I’ll prove it with my own hand.”
“…Wait!”
“I apologize for laying a hand on the imperial body, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor, who had instinctively flinched, shouted out as she saw Whitney reaching toward her thigh—but it was already too late.
—Zzzz…
The moment Whitney’s hand touched her, a black brand rose vividly on her thigh.
The same brand once worn by Runiel, who had been treated as a slave after her fall from grace—the Slave’s Mark.
Naturally, this was a grotesque symbol that should never be on the body of the Empire’s most noble person.
“A mere former slave rising to the Empire’s highest seat…”
“……”
“Your Majesty is truly the boldest cuckoo to have ever landed in the Empire’s nest.”
Whitney gently stroked the mark and whispered with a voice full of amusement, and the Emperor, who had been silently glaring at him, finally spoke with a resigned expression.
“…The former Emperor—my brother—was not truly related to me by blood.”
But Whitney wasn’t interested in hearing her story and continued speaking over her.
“Of course not. You were his shadow, the servant he raised personally from a young age, right?”
“……”
“But once you awakened the ability known as ‘Mind Domination,’ everything changed.”
Hearing that, the Emperor looked dazed as she stared at Whitney.
“The royal palace has always been a closed-off place. Just tampering with a few people’s memories—especially the former Emperor’s—and you could easily claim the title of First Princess.”
Whitney, now standing right in front of her with his head slightly lowered, really did seem to see through everything, just as he said.
“And it didn’t stop there. You even succeeded in a carefully planned coup. Truly, what glorious days those must have been.”
“…Yes, they were.”
“But then someone learned your secret—a leader of the black mages, who began approaching in secret.”
The Emperor, who had been cowed by Whitney’s pressure until now, finally scowled and opened her mouth as the conversation reached that point.
“You know far too much…”
—
“I’m not blaming you for ending up like this. But… how do you know all this?”
Whitney looked down at the Emperor in silence, then asked.
“Do you want to know?”
“…Not necessarily.”
Sensing an ominous air about him, the Emperor shook her head quietly, and Whitney, watching her closely, let out a small chuckle.
“Haha… a wise choice.”
“…?”
“I almost had one more reason to eliminate you right here.”
Only then did the Emperor realize the reason for the ominous feeling she’d been having for a while.
“…What are you talking about, Sir Whitney?”
“Are you pretending not to know, Your Majesty?”
Whitney, with both eyes wide open, lowered his head even further and locked eyes with the Emperor’s narrowed gaze as he whispered.
“Today, here in this place, you and I have fought with everything we had. We each bet everything in a battle of wits.”
“…”
“As a result, Your Majesty’s days of glory have come to an end. The play is over, and the curtain has fallen.”
From Whitney now emanated a bloodlust she had never felt before.
It went beyond mere chills or spine-tingling fear—it felt like he had turned into something evil altogether.
It was a drastic transformation for something as simple as opening his eyes, yet it was undeniably real.
“If you kill me here, you’ll be in trouble too.”
“…Haha, are you serious?”
Even though the Emperor, having realized the core of the situation, was breaking into a cold sweat, she still tried to calmly reason with Whitney.
But his answer was icy cold.
“You’re sure this incident will just be written off as one of the Empire’s many unsolved mysterious deaths?”
“Hahaha… Your Majesty, you do understand now’s not the time for arrogance.”
Normally, the Emperor wouldn’t even blink at such threats, even with a blade at her throat.
But now, her only trusted ability—her most powerful technique, the ‘Eye of Brainwashing’—had been neutralized.
And she had been gradually worn down by the overwhelming fear that Whitney’s awakened presence radiated.
Even the iron-blooded ruler, Lilia Winter Klaus, was reaching her limit.
—
—Swoosh…
Then suddenly, Whitney’s hand slipped around the Emperor’s neck.
“…Kuh?”
The Emperor flinched, thinking he was trying to strangle her, but when she realized she could still breathe, she looked up at him, confused.
“Looking at you like this… Your Majesty actually has a bit of a cute side.”
Still holding her neck, Whitney smiled gently and murmured.
“You dare…”
“…But I never said I’d let you go.”
‘…Hhk.’
The Emperor, who was about to snap back in anger at the blatant mockery, fell silent the moment Whitney’s hand tightened just slightly.
“Good.”
Whitney didn’t squeeze as if to choke her—but he also didn’t loosen his grip.
It was a calculated move—one that made her constantly aware he held her life in his hands—and the Emperor’s expression deepened with humiliation.
“…Sir, I admit defeat.”
But the Emperor, just like her questionable origins, was perceptive—and capable of putting her pride aside.
“What is it that you want? I’ll grant it, whatever it is.”
Realizing her life now hung entirely on the whim of the young man before her, she immediately shifted to a submissive negotiation.
“You still don’t seem to understand.”
It seemed Whitney intended to completely crush even her last shred of dignity.
“Rather than teaming up with a snake like you, wouldn’t I benefit more from placing the sweet Princess Katarina on the throne?”
Whitney, once again with a terrifyingly serious face, squeezed the Emperor’s neck harder, and her face began to grow pale.
“Don’t you agree, Your Majesty?”
“……”
“Please… this time, grasp the situation properly. Before that lovely white neck of yours snaps.”
With that final blow, Whitney pushed her to the edge, and the Emperor, eyes closed, finally whispered in a barely audible voice.
“…Fine. Please, let me live.”
At her voice, filled with resignation, Whitney’s lips finally curled upward ever so slightly.
“If you want to live, prove your worth.”
……
“Give me something more valuable than the satisfaction of killing you here and now.”
The Emperor, silently calculating, bit her lip and glared at Whitney.
“Right now.”
But when Whitney coldly whispered back with those awakened eyes fixed on her, she let out a sigh and opened her mouth.
“…There’s only one thing I can offer you at this moment.”
“And what’s that?”
“That would be… the feeling of betrayal.”
In the next moment, Whitney’s lips curled into a wide, satisfied smile as he looked down at her.
Cliche Novel 