Chapter 6
He prepared the tea. As the teapot tilted, the sound of tea pouring into the cup rang softly. The king watched the stream for a moment, then gave a subtle glance to the attendant.
Understanding the king’s intent, the chief chamberlain quietly ushered the other attendants out of the audience chamber. Once they had left, the king got straight to the point. Though this was a routine morning greeting, today he had something special to say to Rachel.
“Rahel.”
“Yes?”
“The Emperor of Nemeas will be arriving at the royal castle shortly.”
“The Emperor? So suddenly? What’s going on?”
Though Rachel already knew, she pretended not to. Her father was endlessly kind, but he didn’t particularly welcome her involvement in political matters, even as a princess.
But like father, like daughter—Rachel had been gathering information from the palace using her maids, keeping up not only with palace news but also the basics of political affairs. To avoid revealing that, she had to feign ignorance.
Her acting was so natural, she truly looked surprised. The king, entirely unaware of the truth, gently continued his explanation.
“The Empire officially announced this morning that the Emperor is touring allied nations for his summer vacation, while also seeking a potential candidate for a political marriage.”
A political marriage candidate?
Rachel had already been excited by the idea of seducing the Emperor. She nearly let out a cheer but instead, something didn’t sit quite right with her, and she asked again with a hint of doubt:
“Officially… you say?”
“Yes, officially. But according to what our spies have uncovered…”
The king’s calm expression shifted awkwardly mid-explanation. What he was about to say seemed so uncomfortable that he cleared his throat softly.
“Ahem. They say the Emperor is coming to our kingdom for convalescence due to an illness.”
“An illness?”
That was an entirely unexpected reason. If the Emperor was truly ill, Porhen would hardly be the place to go. After all, Porhen’s medical and pharmaceutical knowledge was only average at best.
But there was no way her father’s spies—known across the continent as the most reliable sources of intelligence would get something like this wrong. Rachel tilted her head, puzzled.
“Well, it’s an illness, but… the thing is…”
The king’s vague wording only deepened Rachel’s confusion. As she continued tilting her head in curiosity, he finally dropped a single word.
“They say… it’s impotence.”
“…Pardon?”
Rachel blinked, questioning her own hearing. But she’d lived for 22 years with perfectly good ears, so it seemed she’d heard right.
Next, she began questioning the meaning of the word impotence. Impotence—the dictionary definition being the dysfunction of the reproductive organs…
A complete man. In medical terms, erectile dysfunction—meaning, in short, someone who’s incapable of having s*x.
“The Emperor has erectile dysfunction? Really? With that face and that body—he’s actually impotent?”
Rachel was genuinely shocked this time, not just pretending. The king, who clearly saw through her reaction, sipped his tea in silence, waiting for her to calm down. But as Rachel remained utterly stunned, he eventually set down his teacup and laid the facts bare.
“You heard correctly, Rahel.”
“Ah… I see.”
Rachel begrudgingly accepted it. Of course, if he truly had impotence, then coming to the Kingdom of Porhen made perfect sense.
With its sexually open culture, Porhen had developed techniques and tools related to s*x that were second to none.
“How unfortunate… Still so young, and already impotent…”
Rachel genuinely pitied the Emperor. For someone with a high s*x drive like her, erectile dysfunction might as well be a fatal illness.
As she sat there solemnly, her expression clouded with concern, she suddenly noticed the king watching her carefully and a wave of anxiety hit her.
“But, Father… why are you looking at me like that? Why did you even tell me about the Emperor’s condition…? And now that I think about it, why did you send me that dress this morning?”
No… No, it couldn’t be. Rachel stared at her father with wide, trembling eyes.
The king gently took her hand. With a sigh full of concern, he began to pat the back of her hand slowly.
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