Chapter 10
1. When the Family Collapses, Society Collapses, and the Empire Collapses (8)
She’d reflexively stepped forward when she was about to be branded the perpetrator of a shameless forced-marriage kidnapping.
Selena regretted it for exactly 0.1 seconds—and then didn’t anymore.
She had already scanned the restaurant thoroughly with mana before entering. At most, there were only two third-class mages present. None of them would remember her appearance.
So the truly important thing wasn’t that.
It was that ridiculous accusation, which could drag the reputation of Archmage Selena Kim, Count of the Empire, through the mud in an entirely new and far worse way.
“What kind of nonsense is that? There’s no way I’d do something like that! Forced marriage with the Empress? Kidnapping for marriage? I’d never do something so disgusting!”
“W-What?”
At Selena’s fierce outburst, the people—whose focus was slightly muddled by the cognition-disruption spell—reacted in confusion.
The man who clearly made a hobby of spreading the latest gossip hesitated for a moment but soon squared his shoulders confidently and snapped the newspaper open.
Pointing at a page of the Empire’s cheap, rough paper-and-ink propaganda newspaper, the man declared—
“You look like one of those youngsters who worship Count Kim because of that weird card gacha game. Wake up and look here. His Majesty the Emperor personally stated that Count Kim fell in love with Her Majesty the Empress at first sight and kidnapped her!”
Selena immediately read the newspaper with an archmage’s sharp eyesight.
It was real.
“See it clearly. It says that Count Kim plans to marry Her Majesty the Empress in the Aerial Fortress City, presenting a pink diamond ring as an engagement gift—and that His Majesty exposed the plot himself! ”
That insane emperor bastard.
The sheer creativity of the fabricated details made Selena’s temples throb.
Someone who had always been the one feeding nonsense to others, never the one forced to swallow it, Selena staggered under the shock. Gayeon, who had been staring blankly, hurried to support her.
Gayeon whispered urgently.
“Unni, what is that? Has the Rabbit finally lost it? Like—clinically insane?”
“That’s what I want to know, Gayeon. What kind of drugs would he have to take to say something like that? Did you maybe poison him out of rage before leaving the palace?”
“Uh… um.”
“…Gayeon?”
It had been half a lament, half a joke—but Gayeon’s reaction was strange. When Selena stared at her closely, the lake-clear blue eyes quietly avoided her gaze.
“Ahem. The past doesn’t really matter, does it? He’s a master anyway. Most poisons would be like water to him, so whatever I gave him wouldn’t be the cause.”
What a terrifying girl.
Selena quietly raised Gayeon’s danger rating from 1 to 2.
While the two of them whispered about whether the Emperor was on drugs or not, others in the restaurant began chiming in.
“My goodness. A forced marriage kidnapping? And with Her Majesty the Empress? She’s already married! How could anyone do something so horrible?”
“Indeed. Just how beautiful must Her Majesty be for Count Kim to do such a thing?”
“Hey now. Is that really the point? ”
“Then what is the point? I’m talking about the cause! If Her Majesty weren’t so beautiful, this wouldn’t have happened!”
“What nonsense! The problem is Count Kim kidnapping her!”
“Exactly! Count Kim is the bastard. Just look at that damned card game! ”
“What? What does the card gacha have to do with this?”
“You think it makes sense to pull twelve times in a row and only get five two-star cards? Pure luck, my ass! That garbage game deserves divine punishment! ”
It was chaos.
But while people initially reacted with shock and outrage, as time passed, the mood began to change.
The “news of Count Kim’s forced-marriage kidnapping of Her Majesty the Empress” gradually turned into a light gossip topic to chew on and tear apart.
When all opinions were roughly tallied, it seemed to break down like this:
- 60%: Count Kim is a bastard
- 30%: The Empress is pitiful
- 10%: Card gacha games are trash reliant on luck
Listening carefully as she regained her composure, Selena frowned.
“…Was this the goal?”
“Huh?”
“It feels like they’re trying to turn us into clowns.”
Normally, this kind of story wouldn’t spread like this.
“A Grand Archmage of unclear intent kidnapping the Empress in the middle of the Imperial Palace.”
To ordinary people, an Archmage was like a walking natural disaster. Since the founding emperor himself had been an archmage who saved the world, imperial citizens had at least a vague understanding of what kind of miracles archmages were capable of.
Because of that, the so-called Empress kidnapping incident was not something people would casually gossip about.
They should have been fearful and cautious—worried that the rogue Archmage might appear anywhere and devastate a city, afraid of a traitorous Archmage threatening the Empire.
When Selena and Gayeon first entered the restaurant,
No one had been talking about Count Kim or the Empress at all.
It was because the fear felt real—so real that, consciously or unconsciously, people avoided mentioning it.
Beings capable of overwhelming, incomprehensible power often became frightening even to speak of.
But the Emperor had extinguished all of that with a simple flame.
“A Grand Archmage who impulsively kidnapped the Empress and plans to forcibly marry her because he fell in love with her overwhelming beauty.”
Not even a fairy-tale-style evil wizard abducting a princess.
It was so absurd that it was difficult to take seriously at all.
The public initially felt anger, shock, and disbelief—then gradually relaxed.
They understood.
Ah, Count Kim is only focused on the Empress.
We won’t get dragged into this.
The Empire is safe.
Poor Empress… but if it’s love, then maybe she’ll be okay.
The Imperial citizens quickly became detached third parties—and felt safe.
Once they felt safe, they started talking freely.
After all, scandals this entertaining were rare.
Of course, this was just their own wishful thinking—but the general public in this world wasn’t exactly sophisticated.
With only two years of mandatory elementary education—just enough to read, write, and do basic arithmetic—critical thinking was rare outside the upper intellectual classes.
And more than anything, people wanted to believe claims that told them they were safe.
Especially when the source was unquestionable.
If the Emperor himself said it, how could they dare openly doubt it?
So guiding things exactly as the Empire wanted—exactly as the Emperor intended—was easy.
After exchanging looks and listening to the surrounding conversations, Selena and Gayeon quietly left the restaurant and slipped into a secluded alley.
Some thugs were already there, but after being treated to an adorable, delightful taste of 100,000 volts, they became one with the pavement.
After tidying them up, Selena declared solemnly—
“From this point on, we’ll be holding the first strategy meeting to counter the mad tyrant’s scheme. You there—Geum Gayeon, who lived with that lunatic for three years—what do you think he’s aiming for?”
“Stabilizing the Imperial citizens who are anxious over the sudden kidnapping and escape of a Grand Archmage?”
“Mm, that’s part of it—but not all. Normally, even if they saw my wanted notice, most people would hesitate to actively report it out of fear of earning an Archmage’s grudge. Rumors would spread, but people would mostly pretend they saw nothing. Not anymore.”
Fear had faded, and the reporting reward was high.
The cautious would still hesitate—but everyone else would casually tip off the guards.
“Mercenaries and adventurers will be watching closely. They know I’m using cognition-disruption magic, so if they sense even a hint of something off, they’ll report it immediately.”
“All that just because the Archmage feels a bit less scary?”
Gayeon looked unconvinced. Selena gave a bitter smile and nodded.
“They’re people who live with risk anyway. In this atmosphere, they’ll think it’s worth poking once to see what happens. I wanted to at least eat at restaurants, but that’ll be tough now.”
“…It was an absurd claim, but as absurd as it was, it was clever.”
“Right. It calmed anxious citizens and encouraged witnesses to step forward. My reputation takes a hit, and yours too—but the gains are significant. Still, that’s not what bothers me most.”
Tap, tap.
Lightly tapping her chin, Selena voiced the one question she couldn’t understand no matter how much she thought about it.
“What I really want to know is—how did he know to name Aerial Fortress City specifically?”
