"......"
The princess scrutinized the man from head to toe. Nothing stood out about him. Had it not been for the small horn protruding from the back of his head, she might have mistaken him for an ordinary man.
Up on the stage, the man had been whipped and violated by the handlers.
The spectacle of a cruel and merciless king of monsters being sodomized by a mere human male certainly had a certain something to stir the hearts of noble ladies. His skin was fair and his body slender, making him pleasant to look at. The screams the Demon Lord let out were delightfully shrill as well.
Though she felt nauseated by the show, the princess—who had studied statecraft her entire life—calmly assessed the product's value.
The "special performances" accessible only to the highest-ranking nobles in the Imperial Capital were not held exclusively at this opera theater. The empire's upper class was morally depraved beyond measure, and they opened their wallets without hesitation for anything that might jolt their tedious but affluent daily lives.
The theater owners competed to develop programs in order to secure noble patronage and money. This venue had recently claimed the top spot in popularity by leading with the slogan: "Watch a Demon Lord be raped."
The stage did not feature only the Demon Lord. As time went on, elves, mermaids, sirens, and other high-ranking fairies—species that slave hunters burned with avarice to track down—appeared one after another. They were subjected to orgies or torture before being removed from the stage. They had been chosen by the patrons.
The appeal of this opera theater was that you could not only watch the show but also have intercourse—or something even worse—with the species of your choice on the spot.
"Yuria. Would you pay to watch this performance?"
The princess spoke in the private viewing box, where no one else should have been. When no answer came, she spoke again.
"Answer me. That's an order."
"......Your Excellency."
A woman materialized from thin air. She was draped in a black cloak.
"I've said it many times, but as shadows, we really must not have mouths."
"But you're human. How could you not have one?"
"......Having private conversations like this is beneficial to neither Your Excellency nor to us shadows. If a personal relationship develops between the two of us, then when a dangerous situation arises, Your Excellency may find yourself unable to cut us off coldly."
"Hmm," the princess regarded the woman.
"Yuria, I'm asking purely out of genuine curiosity."
"Please, go ahead."
"Do I seem like the type who would do that?"
The woman called Yuria fell silent.
The girl before her.
At four, she had mastered ancient imperial language. At five, she was fluent in the ancient republic's tongue. At seven, she had comprehended all existing geometry. At ten, the entire Imperial Academy had hailed her as "the greatest genius of the imperial household since the founding of the nation." Now, at sixteen, she was a 4th Circle mage and a 3rd Class swordsman, and simultaneously an honorary member of the Imperial Academy—a monster of the imperial household who embodied the civil and martial arts, combined wisdom and courage, served as general and minister alike, and was without precedent or equal.
Elisabeth Athanasia Evatrie von Habsburg.
She was already participating in the Imperial Council under the formal title of Count, where she had vigorously advocated for strengthening the nation and its military, building up her own faction in the process. Though the empire was thoroughly rotten, a handful of competent officials remained, and they invariably gathered under Princess Elisabeth's banner. They were called the "Imperial Princess faction." At present, state affairs could not properly function without them.
'......There are also rumors that the assassination of the Third and Fourth Princes was orchestrated by Her Highness the Princess.'
The imperial family had four princes and three princesses. Among them, Princess Elisabeth was the Third Princess. Her elder sisters had died of consumption in childhood, and her third elder brother and younger brother had died in succession. The third elder brother had contracted a sudden epidemic, while the fourth prince—who was also her younger brother—had been attacked by a monster during a hunt.
Rumors had once circulated that Princess Elisabeth was deeply involved in her brothers' deaths. It was hard to believe that the third prince, who had always been in good health, would suddenly die of illness, and it was equally difficult to accept on common-sense grounds that a monster like a minotaur would appear in the forest that imperial family members frequented. With the deaths of the third and fourth princes, Princess Elisabeth's claim to the throne had risen by two full ranks—wasn't this all part of her scheme? That was what the conspiracy theorists had railed.
But very few people took those rumors seriously.
At the time, Princess Elisabeth had been merely thirteen years old.
Moreover, the princess had been morally flawless since childhood. Her virtue of caring for her parents and loving the people was well known. The imperial household was mocked even by common prostitutes, but whenever such gossip arose, the caveat always followed: "But the princess is the exception."
An unrivaled genius with a powerful faction of her own.
Morally impeccable, receiving the full support of scholars and the common people.
Crucially, the other heirs to the throne—the First and Second Princes—were known as the worst of the worst scum.
Though the princess was currently only third in line for succession, those who could see into the future all predicted that she would ascend to the throne by one means or another. If she used no schemes at all, the people themselves would rise in revolt to crown her as Empress.
"......"
Yuria ultimately could not answer. She simply could not imagine a scene where the princess would be restrained by personal sentiment. The princess shrugged as if to say, "That's exactly how it is."
"That's enough. It's sufficient to know the kind of person you guard."
Yuria bowed her head.
"My apologies, Your Excellency."
"I forgive you. But you still haven't answered my question. I asked whether you would willingly pay to watch this performance."
"I have no taste for secretly watching others being raped."
"Hmm. Aren't you a mage who feels curiosity about everything in the world? The sight of a Demon Lord being raped should be quite enticing."
......And yet, Your Excellency the Count is also a 4th Circle mage.
Swallowing that thought, Yuria spoke.
"Since Your Excellency said you would attend today's performance, I conducted a personal investigation into the Demon Lord Dantalion."
"Oh?"
The princess showed a sign of interest. Yuria gathered the information in her mind and, in an instant, judged the most effective way to deliver it.
"For a being who calls himself a Demon Lord to have been easily captured by humans is, by common sense, difficult to understand. As you know, a Demon Lord can command monsters at will and can hole up inside his Demon Lord's Castle to fortify it, making him extremely difficult to capture. In other words—"
"You mean to say that particular Demon Lord had some special circumstances."
"Precisely."
The princess took a sip of her black tea. It was a sign for Yuria to continue.
Yuria was somewhat worried about coming across too chatty as a shadow, but she thought it was better to win the princess's favor this way than to try to override this genius princess's will. Yuria was a 7th Circle high mage, but she was half-demon, half-human. No one was more despised in human society than a demonkin hybrid.
Staying on the princess's good side would be to her advantage in many ways.
With that thought, she continued.
"According to my intelligence, the Demon Lord Dantalion foolishly appeared in a human city in person. It was apparently a northern city in the Kingdom of Sardinia. I don't know the reason why, but Dantalion entered that city's slave market."
"In a human slave market?"
"Yes. And what's even more surprising..."
A smile crept onto Yuria's lips. It was a sneer.
"I don't know the reason for this either, but he attacked the slave market to liberate a single sex slave."
"A sex slave? Did you just say sex slave?"
"Yes. Your Excellency, are you familiar with the Farnese family?"
The princess nodded.
"Of course. The ducal house that once divided the Kingdom of Sardinia in two."
"The Farnese family had daughters renowned for their beauty. When the Farnese family fell during the Hydrangea War, the second daughter was reduced to a sex slave. It was precisely to obtain her that the Demon Lord Dantalion made his move."
The princess's fair brow furrowed.
"What a fool. A sovereign who moved for a single sex slave."
Yuria nodded.
"I agree entirely. He truly could not be more foolish."
"A Demon Lord is the enemy of all humanity, regardless of nation or city. He must have known full well that if his identity was exposed, he would not escape unscathed, yet he moved so carelessly. He may have thought he was taking sufficient precautions for his own safety, but being captured like this and reduced to a mere spectacle in a theater only proves the Demon Lord's foolishness. Hmm, I truly cannot accept it."
The princess stroked her lips. After a moment of thought, she asked.
"Was the Farnese daughter so peerlessly beautiful that even a Demon Lord was moved to act?"
"I dared to anticipate Your Excellency's curiosity."
Yuria smiled brightly.
"A few days ago, I went to see the Farnese daughter myself."
"Oh?"
The princess let out a small exclamation. She had thought Yuria was merely a capable mage, but now she saw that the woman before her understood the basics of politics.
The basics of politics meant sensing what the other party wanted in advance and providing it faster than anyone else. To sense it in advance required information networks and intellect, and to provide it faster than anyone else required connections and decisive action. Politics was a battle of information, intellect, connections, and action.
'Too valuable an asset to leave in the shadows.'
The princess enjoyed overwhelming support from her subjects, but equally many factions resented her. The chief offenders were the First and Second Princes. They continuously sent assassins.
Among the shadows, being assigned to defend the princess was the most dreaded duty. The reason was simple: people kept dying. No matter how individually skilled the shadows might be, the assassins sent by the First and Second Princes were equally formidable, and ultimately a bloody battle of blood for blood ensued.
The princess thought. She would have to bring this mage from the shadows into the light. It would be a waste to leave the woman as a sacrifice in the darkness. The princess cherished and loved talent.
Yuria vaguely sensed she had scored points, and spoke.
"The Farnese daughter was also bound to a high-end brothel in the Imperial Capital. She was indeed a beauty to rival the nation! To speak my honest feelings, Your Excellency, I had been certain that after seeing Your Excellency, I would never again marvel at another woman's beauty."
Yuria bowed at the waist.
"But I must confess that my faith was shattered a few days ago. The Farnese daughter possesses a beauty such that, placed beside Your Excellency, she would not be completely overshadowed."
"So the Demon Lord lost his senses and acted accordingly."
"Yes. It is certainly pathetic that a sovereign was ruined by mere beauty... but given that there are numerous such pathetic sovereigns recorded throughout history, I do not think the Demon Lord Dantalion is without precedent in his foolishness."
The princess rose from the sofa.
Her face showed that her interest had cooled.
"I came here because I heard the rumor that a Demon Lord could communicate with monsters. I thought perhaps this Demon Lord could be of use in my future endeavors. If I could gain the cooperation of monsters, it would certainly be a great asset to the grand vision I have."
She shook her head.
"But hearing your words, it is utterly disappointing. Also, look. At that man's face."
The princess gestured with her chin toward the stage beyond the glass wall.
There, the Demon Lord was being impaled on the handler's rod. Wretched moans, amplified by magical equipment, echoed all the way into the private box.
"Does that not look like the face of someone who has lost all hope? It is the face of a man exhausted by despair and defeated. I do not wish to keep someone who does not know hope under my command. All the more so if that man ruined himself over lust."
What a waste of time, the princess said as she left the private box.
To follow her, Yuria cast an invisibility spell. Just before stepping out of the box, Yuria glanced once more at Dantalion on the stage. There he was—an ordinary man steeped in pain and moaning.
'I too am half-demon, so I do have a mission to help you, but... I have no desire to serve a fool like you as my lord. I'm sorry, but I intend to follow someone better.'
Yuria left the room without looking back.
In the empty private viewing box, the man's feeble moans continued to echo for some time.
— Ending No. 02 (Bad Ending): ★The Theater's Popular Idol★
— An ending album has been added.
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