The Villainess Proposed a Contractual Marriage

Harte contained the divinity swirling in his palm as he added:

"I said power, but I\'m not trying to intimidate the demons with force. That would definitely get me killed this time."

"You speak as if you\'ve died once already."

"Well, about that... Ahaha."

Elphisia shot Harte a sharp glance then. It clearly wasn\'t a topic to be joked about.

Cardi muttered his own understanding:

"I suppose... lying like a corpse for a year would do that."

Cardi looked strangely tired. Harte was struck by the sudden realization that even this man could get wrinkles on his forehead.

Soon after, Cardi indicated his approval.

"Huh, even that cunning old Chandler acknowledges your cleverness... but you\'re not overdoing it, are you?"

"Don\'t worry, Father. I won\'t be a burden."

"...Alright. Go on then. At the very least, I won\'t interfere with your plans."

"That\'s enough. Thank you, Father."

Elphisia expressed her gratitude casually. But Cardi stood there slack-jawed, as if he\'d witnessed a rare sight.

When a quiet exclamation escaped his parted lips, Elphisia\'s face flushed red.

"Let\'s go, Harte."

"Huh? Oh? Elphisia?"

"Enough. Hurry up."

"Ah, okay! Well then, we\'ll be going now, Your Grace!"

Harte hastily bowed and was forcibly dragged out by Elphisia. Left alone in the closed room, Cardi muttered his inner thoughts aloud.

"To think I\'d live to receive thanks from my own daughter..."

He suddenly felt he\'d made the right choice in taking Harte as his son-in-law.

The marriage proposal had been a half-impulsive decision. But it seemed Elphisia\'s temperament had changed for the better during their time together.

From childhood, she\'d been so flawless that people heaped praise on her without a single criticism. That\'s why Cardi never bragged about his child; others did it for him. He often found this reality paradoxical.

She was certainly praiseworthy in every way, but he never felt like boasting.

There was a stark disconnect - she was his child, yet didn\'t feel like his child. Sometimes the feeling that she wasn\'t quite human sent a chill through him.

"Still... well."

Perhaps she\'d grown to resemble her mother a bit.

Her looks took after her mother completely. But her behavior had been the complete opposite. Yet just now, when she blushed in embarrassment, he was struck by how much she resembled her sleeping mother.

"She\'s grown up well while I wasn\'t looking..."

Cardi knew he wasn\'t a good parent.

Of course, the ducal family was materially wealthy. So he could give Elphisia anything she wanted in the Empire.

But that was all.

As a parent rather than a duke, Cardi had nothing else to give Elphisia. Or more accurately, he didn\'t know what else to give her.

His late wife hadn\'t been much different in that regard.

That\'s why Harte was so impressive. Not only had he changed Elphisia, but he gave and received trust and affection from all sorts of children.

If he\'d been even half the man his son-in-law was, perhaps Elphisia\'s changes would have come sooner.

\'Getting old makes me dwell on the past instead of the future. How useless...\'

It was fortunate.

The current state of affairs was truly fortunate.

Cardi sank into contemplation, ruminating on the current atmosphere of the household.

---

---

The matter of the ceasefire agreement with the demons was decided after the conversation with Glen ended.

When asked if he wanted to meet his birth parents, Glen, raised as a human, hesitated. But that didn\'t last long; the boy soon showed signs of growing curiosity. He seemed especially keen on demanding to know why they\'d abandoned him in the human realm.

If they were going to do this, there was no need to delay.

Having made that judgment, Elphisia separated Tina and Echo, then summoned Glen alone to her room. Glen came to us with a look that suggested he\'d already guessed the purpose.

"Hello, you two."

"...Hello, Glen."

Elphisia returned Glen\'s greeting. This too was part of the changed daily life. If it had been the old her, she would have just nodded slightly or answered with a curt \'...Yeah.\'

Still, the awkward atmosphere was hard to hide, and silence quickly took over.

As a result, Harte had to clear his throat unnecessarily to break the ice.

"Ahem. As you\'ve probably guessed... we called you here separately about meeting your birth parents."

"...Yes, I\'m prepared."

"Don\'t feel too pressured. If you\'re unsatisfied, you can always slap them once and run back here."

The joke must have been too extreme, as Glen laughed awkwardly. As the atmosphere lightened somewhat, Elphisia slowly opened her mouth.

"By now, there should be talks at the Imperial Palace about making a ceasefire agreement with the demons."

"Did Yulian help with that?"

"Something like that."

"But Yulian lost his father to the demons..."

Glen trailed off, clearly feeling guilty. Elphisia continued speaking in an even tone.

"Not exactly. That child hated the Emperor. The Emperor was the one who gave him such a miserable childhood."

This was from before the regression.

Just once, Elphisia had experienced a private audience with the Emperor as a duke of the Empire. At that time, she asked the Emperor a question she\'d been genuinely curious about.

[Did you not love the Second Empress?]

Yulian had no backing. This was because the Second Empress was a commoner from an insignificant family with no proper background. If Court Count Arwel hadn\'t taken pity on the Second Empress and taken in Yulian, both mother and son would have met a terrible fate.

Despite this, the reason a Second Empress with no strategic value became part of the Imperial family...

Elphisia had guessed it was because she was the first woman the Emperor had ever loved.

[How would now be any different.]

This was the Emperor\'s answer to Elphisia\'s question. His rather embarrassing confession that he still loved the Second Empress was delivered with remarkable composure.

[Why did you stand by and watch her die?]

[Because I am the Emperor.]

[That\'s not a very understandable reason.]

[I suppose not. Just as others don\'t understand you, Duke, and you don\'t understand others.]

It was a cutting remark.

He was implying that Elphisia, who exploited people without an ounce of empathy for others, couldn\'t understand anything.

Caught off guard, Elphisia fell silent for a moment. During this pause, the Emperor set down his silver cutlery and spoke in a slightly cracked voice.

[...An Emperor wears a garment woven from the blood and flesh of his people. This feast, this vast Imperial Palace, the luxury envied by all nobles - it\'s all just a byproduct extracted from ordinary people.]

[...]

[How dare I, with such a nature, try to become human? The seeds of kings and nobles are ultimately an illusion, and if I, no different from them, sit in this seat, shouldn\'t I fulfill my duty?]

[If you preferred such a puppet-like existence, you shouldn\'t have taken in the Second Empress in the first place.]

[I agree. It was probably the first and last mistake this puppet made in coveting a human.]

The Emperor readily admitted his own contradiction. Yet not even the slightest change could be detected in his facial muscles, making it difficult for even Elphisia to read his true feelings.

So, intending to test the Emperor, she offered advice.

[The First Prince is incompetent. The Second Prince\'s health is concerning, and the Third Prince is clever, making him a suitable candidate for Emperor. Then, whether as a human or a puppet, hasn\'t the choice already been made?]

[Let me ask you in return. Would you support that child?]

[You\'re being mischievous.]

How long had it been since her relationship with Askalion had soured? The Emperor nodded once at her expected response.

[No matter how much I try to protect him, it will only intensify the opposition from the Empress and yourself. Surely the impact of that will have to be absorbed by those below. In that case, my role should be to quietly transfer imperial authority. Even if Askalion meets an unfortunate end...]

[The empire you managed as a puppet will fall into the hands of an incompetent, you know?]

[Even if the person at the top is incompetent, if those around them are wise, things can be sustained. Isn\'t that the case with the faction led by the Empress? By the way, seeing you worry so much, I\'d say the Empire will muddle through somehow. If things really start to look dire, you could always stage a rebellion.]

[...Your Majesty.]

[Ah, if it comes to that, please spare the temple at least. If you turn your eyes in that direction unnecessarily, you might find your wicked eyes blinded.]

Elphisia still found it difficult to distinguish whether the Emperor\'s parting words had been sincere or a joke. But she had to admit that his curse had been realized in some form or another.

Indeed, in just a moment of looking, she had been blinded. She had experienced that. Thanks to none other than a foolish holy knight...

"Elphisia...? Did I do something wrong?"

"...No."

"Hmm, okay. Your eyes just narrowed, so I asked."

While this meaningless exchange took place, Glen seemed to have steeled his resolve.

"If Yulian is okay with it... I won\'t hesitate anymore. I\'ll take the chance I\'ve been given."

"That\'s a good attitude."

Harte ruffled Glen\'s hair approvingly. Glen smoothed his messed-up hair back into place as he asked:

"But how can we meet them? Do we negotiate with the demons at the border and then enter the demon realm?"

"There\'s an easier way."

Glen quickly realized what this easier way might be. He thought of the miracle Harte often abused.

A miracle that folded space to move to a specific location.

Using that power, they could step right into the Demon King\'s castle.

"Um... but isn\'t this..."

Not allowed?

Just as Glen was about to express his concern, a golden radiance was already shimmering softly.

"It\'s okay."

Harte smiled brightly.

All of Glen\'s worries had been within the expected range.

Whether it was the principle of separation of church and state or the demons\' hostility, it was all fine.

\'This will be the last time I use miracles anyway.\'

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