But such expensive food could appear in front of Honest every day.
"Your Majesty seems to have something on his mind recently. Is there something troubling you in the palace?"
Honest asked nonchalantly while chewing on the meat in front of him.
He didn't need to be the emperor himself. Manipulating the young emperor ensured his rule was secure.
If he ever discovered that Rivo had rebellious thoughts or would resist his control—
Without hesitation, Honest would kill the emperor and simply find a new puppet.
"Of course not. It's just that I've been a little tired lately."
"And the night raids in the imperial capital seem to have become a lot more active."
"So I'm a little worried."
Rivo shook his head and calmly forked a piece of steak into his mouth.
Now, of course, he wouldn't show any change in expression in front of Honest.
The two had their own agendas, that was certain, and this mutual use wouldn't last forever.
"These things need not concern Your Majesty."
"It's just a civilian assassination group. I'll send someone to take care of it."
"Your Majesty only needs to live comfortably in the palace."
A cold glint flashed in Honest's eyes, but he smiled gently at Rivo.
Like a kind elder—but beneath that hypocritical face hid the most vicious fangs in the entire imperial capital.
The meal between the two ended quickly. They dined together nearly every day.
With their own thoughts hidden, they both returned to their respective resting quarters in the palace.
...
In the northern streets of the imperial capital, where the nobles and wealthy resided—
There were almost no civilians in sight, and the lower class had no opportunity to even step into this district.
At this moment, night had fallen, and the sky was moonless.
But the streetlights lining both sides of the road still shone brightly.
Doma walked slowly through this silent street.
He was a demon—a being that only moved at night.
The affairs of the Elysium Dawn did not require his constant personal attention.
Once he had believers, the best method was for old believers to develop new ones.
"Blood…?"
"How interesting. Such a strong scent of blood…"
"And so foul…"
Doma sniffed the air as he walked, a gentle smile on his face.
The Elysium Dawn was still in its early stages, and its number of followers remained small.
Therefore, Doma couldn't frequently feed on disciples. But as a demon, suppressing his bloodlust was impossible.
Tonight, having come out, he naturally wanted a proper meal.
That strong scent of blood immediately drew Doma to a luxurious noble courtyard.
He entered with ease, and in this dark night, his ghostly form made him invisible to the eyes of the guards.
Doma only ate women—beautiful women.
He had no interest in the strong guards at all.
"This is it."
Soon, a massive warehouse appeared before Doma.
Although the door was shut, the smell of blood wafting from inside intoxicated him.
"Women… such pure virgin blood…"
"Just the scent is enough to make me tremble…"
Doma's expression turned blissful as he lightly sniffed the air.
From the scent, he could already tell that the blood inside belonged to a woman—and a very beautiful one at that.
What awaited inside the warehouse made Doma's smile turn playful.
In the warehouse, a naked, black-haired girl was suspended high by iron chains.
Below her stood a blonde noble girl, holding a whip with countless barbs in her hand.
One lash after another struck the black-haired girl's body.
"You filthy redneck!"
"How dare you look at me with such contempt? Just because you have straight black hair doesn't mean you can be proud!"
The blonde noble's expression twisted in cruelty as she continuously swung the barbed whip.
Her name was Arya—one of the nobles of the imperial capital.
In this empire, nobles held supreme power and protected each other's sins.
The Arya family was no exception.
In the original work, she was the noble who deceived the protagonist for money. Beneath her cute appearance hid a vicious personality.
She took pleasure in torturing outsiders, fueled by her dissatisfaction with her own curly blonde hair.
So, many foreigners who arrived in the imperial capital were imprisoned for her sadistic entertainment.
And the girl before her now was Sayo, childhood friend of the protagonist Tatsumi in the original.
In a cage on the side lay Ieyasu, half-dead and barely able to speak.
The two had come to the capital hoping for a better future—only to be met with this fate.
Whether it was Ieyasu or Sayo—
In this moment, a light of defiance still burned in their eyes. They refused to let their lives end at the hands of someone so vile.
Even though they were covered in wounds, even though the pain coursed through every nerve—
There was no trace of surrender in Sayo's eyes. She stared at Arya without fear.
That unyielding gaze deeply irritated Arya.
The superiority she always sought felt nonexistent in front of Sayo.
She even felt humiliated—looked down upon by someone she considered beneath her.
"Wretched girl! How dare you look at me like that!"
"Hey! Lower the chains! I'm going to gouge her eyes out!"
Arya's fury erupted uncontrollably. Seeing Sayo's unbending gaze—
She couldn't contain her rage and immediately ordered the guards to lower the chains.
But suddenly, a chill swept through the air, and Arya involuntarily shivered.
It was clearly spring—so why was it suddenly so cold?
Arya slowly turned her head. Her pupils trembled, and she instinctively stepped back next to a guard.
"Who are you?!"
She stared at Doma, who wore a gentle smile, her voice sharp with panic.
Just a few steps away from Doma, a guard had already turned into an ice sculpture.
"What beautiful eyes. And the young lady looks even lovelier when she's angry."
"This hysterical voice… even after eating, it makes me feel hungry again…"