Meeting With The Emperor

"Have you lost your mind?" The Emperor looked at Harriet, who didn't immediately respond to his words. Meanwhile, Harriet didn't look like she wanted to argue about this. "Your brother turned into a Lycan, alright. But why did you have to tie the knot with an Almandine? Didn't I warn you about them?" Harriet was now facing the Emperor and looking him straight in the eye. "My brother became an Alpha," replied Harriet. "And now, he has become the only Alpha on the continent who does not have the name Almandine and its patronage." Knowing the Emperor, Harriet was sure the man already knew what her words meant. "This is what compelled me to come to you today, Your Majesty," said Harriet. "And considering that you were the one who sent my brother on that expedition, I hope you are willing to take full responsibility for making a fair decision for everyone." Silence. The Emperor glared at Harriet but then clicked his tongue in annoyance.  "Why did Almandine have to snatch Harri from me?" he mumbled softly. Harriet raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?" asked Harriet suspiciously. "AAH! Irritating!" The Emperor shouted in annoyance, startling everyone in the hall so that his voice echoed in all directions. "Even though I was planning to make Harri my daughter-in-law! If I meet that old wolf, I will make him pay!" Harriet narrowed her eyes in confusion and disgust. So he was upset not because he worried about her but because he wanted to make her his daughter-in-law? The emperor stomped his feet towards the dining room. He looked very annoyed, leaving Harriet still standing there with the same disgusted expression. But the man turned to Harriet at the end of the hall.  "If anything happens to you, call me, and I will come and mess up that Almandine Castle for you," the man said. Harriet sighed. She walked after the Emperor. While walking with the middle-aged man, Harriet said, "I can take care of myself." She didn't want the Emperor to worry. ***  A handsome young man dismounted from his horse and handed the horse's leash to the servant. The man stepped up the steps into the Imperial Castle to be greeted by a line of maids. The sun had set a few minutes ago, and he had just returned from his duties. His hair was a sparkling light blue, looked transparent, neatly cut short, with one part of his bangs covering one of his eyebrows. His eyes were pitch black, staring intently at everyone. "Welcome, Your Highness," said a butler. The young man nodded coldly. The servants followed the young man's steps towards the dining room. "Has my father finished the work today?" he asked. "Yes, Your Highness. He's eating dinner now," replied the butler. Arriving at the double doors to the dining room, the young man heard his father's loud laughter. He stopped walking. His hand also stopped on the doorknob. He opened the double doors slightly and looked inside without saying anything. The young man saw his father laughing happily and a woman sitting on the chair to his right. Seeing the pale, lavender-haired young woman and how happy his father was with her presence, the young man furrowed his brows in displeasure. "Marchioness Goldlane arrived this afternoon to visit His Majesty, Your Highness," the butler said quietly. The young man clicked his tongue and closed the door slowly. He walked away from there.  "Just bring my dinner to my room," he said flatly. The young man's azure robe waved as he turned towards the stairs. His expression was disgusted and displeased. That woman again. Again and again. Why did she appear again when he thought he had gotten rid of her? The young man's black eyes flashed a deep hatred. ***  "BWAHAHAHA! Oh, I see! Good, good! Isn't this a good result?" asked the Emperor, listening to Harriet's story about her brother. He was relieved hearing Heath became an Alpha and married the daughter of Amaryllis Pack's Alpha, who had become their enemy before. "You speak as if it's simple, but the Old Duke and I worked hard to reach this settlement…" said Harriet, relieved that the Emperor didn't seem to feel that accepting Amaryllis Pack was a complicated deal. "This is not simple, but if the Old Duke has said that he will take responsibility, then as the Emperor, who cannot interfere with his autonomy and right to rule as the sole ruler of the Lycan continent, what can I do?" explained the Emperor. The middle-aged man glanced at Harriet. "Moreover, it's about you. Of course, I'll make it easy." Harriet believed the Emperor did this because he felt guilty for causing Heath's misfortune. But it also couldn't be denied that the Emperor had always been on her side. "So what offer will you make in exchange for the empire?" asked the Emperor then. And, of course, Harriet knew the Emperor would charge a fee. Harriet stopped eating and put her knife and fork on the table. She looked straight at the Emperor and took a deep breath.  "The West is attacking us," said Harriet, reminding the middle-aged man of the issue of war. The emperor raised his eyebrows. "Almandine and Amaryllis will fully support border defense should a large-scale war break out. Not only that, on behalf of Goldlane, I will also give everything I have to participate," continued Harriet. Previously, a prince from the West Continent had used the Lycans to attack the western border of the Euclase Continent sneakily. Since Lycans was involved, Old Duke had to get involved. But of course, if the Lycans weren't involved, the Old Duke and the Lycan race couldn't just go into the war. Lycans were a race of monsters. Deploying monsters in human warfare was… cruel. The emperor nodded. He thought in silence. This was what kept him from sleeping for days. War was at hand, and he could not ensure victory without the loss of thousands of lives on his side and his people. But if Lycans got involved, he could save more lives and better protect his people. Of course, that would also mean killing a lot of souls on the enemy side. If he accepted Lycan's help, his conscience would still be. However, this was how to coexist with monsters. Moreover, the enemy was the one who used a sneaky attack and secretly used Lycan's help unfairly, namely through intimidation and hostage-taking. "Is that all you can offer, Harriet Goldlane?" asked the Emperor. Harriet shook her head. "What about your plans?" asked the young woman. The Emperor smiled tiredly and shrugged his shoulders. "The West Continent has yet to respond to our inquiries, and I still have all my soldiers on standby at every corner of the ocean frontier. I armed every battle fleet and even took out every cannon and javelin. Even though everything seems calm, you know we're boiling beneath the surface, right?" Harriet sighed at that. "So the peace era is over, huh?" asked Harriet quietly. "Well, I hope there won't be war. That's why I asked if you have any other offers," explained the Emperor flatly. "You seem to expect too much from me, Your Majesty," said Harriet. The emperor nodded.  "I had wished you to be the Empress accompanying my son. So, of course, I expect great things to come from you," the man continued seriously. Harriet leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. She fell silent. Finally, Harriet replied, "Give me some time. Tomorrow at the meeting, I'll say something if I have an idea." Harriet got up from her chair. The Emperor sighed. "Why don't you just stay in the palace? You must have booked a hotel, right?" Harriet nodded. "Since I came with the Old Duke's people, of course, I have to stay in a hotel with them," she replied.  Harriet bowed respectfully and said, "I will come on time tomorrow with them too. Thank you for your time." The emperor allowed Harriet to go. He looked at his glass with a blank stare. Slowly, a disappointed expression appeared on the middle-aged man's face. Too bad, he thought. He already considered Harriet Goldlane, his daughter, but he had to give her to the monster. Besides, that was not the worst part. The emperor knew about the man Harriet married. The dying Alpha, Liam Almandine.