Chapter 51 - A Kept Man? Really?

“...”

Limon fell silent for a moment. It wasn’t merely because Li Qingyu had spoken of her own cunning as though it were something to boast about. She was the Black Dragon Princess, after all. To the Black Dragon Clan, who excelled at schemes and conspiracies and made a trade of assassination and covert operations, cunning was a point of pride, not shame.

What truly left Limon speechless was her smiling face. The elders had tried to sell her off, so surely she was free to cast them aside in turn. As she made that claim like it was only natural, the face that had always looked so fresh and innocent bore a strangely alluring, sensual smile.

‘This girl...’

The smile was proud as a thousand-year flower in full bloom, dazzling as a seven-colored bird spreading its wings, and all the more beautiful for its eerie quality, like the first snowflake catching the last light of sunset. The moment Limon saw it, he knew. No—he was finally certain of something he had sensed vaguely ever since meeting Li Qingyu.

‘She has what it takes to bring down a nation.’

The phrase “beauty that brings down a nation” had been coined long ago for peerless beauties who captivated kings and emperors and brought their countries to ruin. But Limon’s assessment wasn’t based simply on Li Qingyu’s looks. He was judging how dangerous she was. Just as a peerless beauty could shake a nation, she had the capacity to turn the whole world upside down single-handedly.

‘I knew she was extraordinary when I heard she’d practically sold off half the Black Dragon Clan to preserve world peace, but...’

Was it only possible because she was a princess of the Seven Dragons Society? Was there no reason to think highly of her for it? Ridiculous. Would everyone travel around the globe just because they could? Would they readily pull the trigger on a war? Would they donate everything they owned? There was an enormous gulf between being able to do something and actually doing it. The fact that no princess in the history of the Seven Dragons Society had done what Li Qingyu had was proof enough.

That was the difference in their capacity: the power of someone who placed no limits on her own possibilities and embraced anything she believed she could accomplish.

And in Limon’s experience, people with that kind of capacity never led uneventful lives.

‘Born in an age of turmoil, she’d unite the world. Born in an age of peace, she could bring a perfectly sound country to ruin.’

It was different from the makings of a hero. Different from the makings of a king. Whether through beauty, charm, strategy, military talent, or scholarship, such a person would wield enough influence to overturn a nation, regardless of how that power was directed. That was why he thought she could bring down a nation. Her gift could be a blessing or a calamity, depending on how she used it.

And that was what troubled Limon.

‘... So why is she pouring all that potential into keeping watch on the constellations?’

He was certain that if Li Qingyu hadn’t been plotting for world peace, she could have outmaneuvered the other princesses and taken control of the Seven Dragons Society. Yet she was spending all that talent on securing one man: Limon. What a colossal waste.

‘And why does she trust me so much?’

She had even dug up compromising information on her clan’s elders. Yet she hadn’t tried to find a single weakness in Limon, the person she had the most reason to distrust. Instead, she had offered him the rest of her clan’s assets and actively supported his goal of swallowing the Seven Dragons Society whole. He couldn’t help wondering what on earth she was thinking.

“More importantly, how much have you figured out?”

“Hm? About what?”

“What the constellations want.”

Limon gave her an odd look. The question had come at such a perfectly timed moment that it was almost as if she had read his mind. Still uneasy, he answered honestly.

“Not enough to say I’ve figured it all out.”

It might have been different if he’d managed to capture the serpent and interrogate it. Its grudge had run deep and it had fled fast, leaving Limon regretting that he’d never had the chance to torture it. He couldn’t even be sure whether the serpent had targeted him on its own initiative or on behalf of all the constellations.

“But there are two things I’m sure of.”

“What are they?”

“First, if things continue as they are, players will certainly prosper.”

“And the second?”

“... That the prosperity of players won’t necessarily mean the prosperity of humanity.”

Limon recalled Park Hyeon-gun, swallowed by the serpent, robbed of his body, and consumed even in soul. What if that was the price of contracting with a constellation? What if the time simply wasn’t ripe yet, and every player would someday meet the same end?

However much wealth and glory players enjoyed, however far they advanced the world, humanity would have no place in it. All that would remain were constellations wearing human skins and human-shaped livestock raised to serve as their vessels.

“That’s a relief.”

“What is?”

“It seems you also feel the need to change the world, Sword Lord.”

“... I’d prepared myself for that long ago.”

“But you weren’t as certain as you are now, were you?”

Perhaps because she had hit the mark, Limon was silent for a moment before reluctantly speaking again.

“I haven’t decided to fight the constellations yet. And I’m not confident I can beat them ‘right now.’”

Limon wasn’t a fool so steeped in arrogance that it had rotted his brain. The serpent hadn’t even been a monarch-class constellation, yet despite the unusual circumstances, it had wielded power surpassing Lee Cheon-gi’s. What if a monarch-class constellation stepped in? What if he had to face thousands upon thousands of other constellations at the same time?

He had no intention of going down easily, but he couldn’t promise he would win. All the less so in this Iron Age, when the world revolved around players and it had become difficult to find allies willing to fight the constellations beside him.

“That’s enough for me.”

Li Qingyu wasn’t disappointed by his answer. Instead, she smiled.

“If you decide to fight, Sword Lord, then as your bride-to-be, it’s my job to improve your chances.”

Whether she had to threaten the elders or hand him the Seven Dragons Society, she said with a bright smile that supporting Limon was her role. He regarded her with an odd expression for a moment, then gave a soft laugh and nodded.

“Well, if you’re going that far, I suppose I can drop the ‘in name only’ from ‘groom-to-be in name only.’”

“I’d prefer it if you dropped the ‘to-be’ as well and let me call you my husband.”

“Oh, really? Why not ask me to put my seal on it while you’re at it?” Limon asked, incredulous.

Li Qingyu took him at his word with a cheerful smile. “I’d be grateful if you did.”

“... Forget it. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

For a moment, he looked at her as though she were a thief trying to walk off with the goods without paying, then shook his head. He had a feeling that if he said, even as a joke, “All right, I will,” she would have him by the scruff of the neck and make him press his thumbprint onto a marriage certificate.

She was a bride-to-be he couldn’t afford to let his guard down around. Then again, that only made her more dependable.

‘Hmm. At least I can trust her with the wedding preparations.’

He would have been a little worried with anyone else. Given the Black Dragon Clan’s talent for schemes, its elders weren’t the sort to fall into line just because someone had found a little dirt on them. But if Li Qingyu was the one holding that dirt? To his surprise, he wasn’t worried at all. A woman who had made even Limon raise the white flag wasn’t going to be defeated by a handful of elders. If anything, he ought to pity them.

“So what should I do?”

That was why Limon could ask so casually. It would be one thing if she had no plan, but since she had already made her preparations, he figured he would only need to lend a hand here and there.

Then he heard her answer.

“You don’t have to do anything.”

“... What?”

“Hmm. To be precise, I’d rather you didn’t do anything.”

Li Qingyu repeated herself with a cheerful smile. Limon stared at her, dumbfounded. He looked up at the sky, down at the ground, then back at her. Once he realized he hadn’t misheard, he asked uneasily, “So you want me to sit around doing nothing while you persuade the elders?”

“What marvelous insight, as always.”

“I’d rather hear why I shouldn’t get involved than get the sort of empty praise only a three-year-old or a senile old man would be pleased with,” Limon said.

Not to boast, but he was a Sword Master: an absolute being beyond anyone’s reach, a strategic-class human weapon whose very existence was a threat. People of this day and age might not understand that, but to elders of the Seven Dragons Society who knew his power well, a single word from him could carry enormous weight. Why, then, did she want him to stay out of it rather than help?

Li Qingyu’s answer was simple.

“Because you aren’t interested in plotting conspiracies and schemes, Sword Lord.”

“So scheming is a given?!”

“That’s how we do things in the Black Dragon Clan.”

The whole point of persuading the elders was to get them to recognize her marriage to Limon. By winning their support first and then the support of the rest of the clan, she would take the first step toward building a foundation for controlling the Seven Dragons Society. Having Limon intervene would be a poor choice. Threatening them with force might work in the short term, but it would only deepen their resentment.

Was threatening them with their weaknesses acceptable, then? Amazingly, yes! They would even admire her for it. The Black Dragon Clan prided itself on plots and stratagems; they considered a cleverly delivered threat a genuine feat of strategy. To them, the shame lay in letting someone discover your weakness.

‘Honestly, this damn Black Dragon Clan...’

Limon marveled once again at the Seven Dragons Society’s nature, so far beyond common sense. They really were descendants of dragons.

Li Qingyu spoke to him calmly. “I won’t stop you if you insist on getting involved, but you dislike showing off your strength when there’s no need, don’t you?”

“... Don’t you know a little too much about me?”

“I’m your bride, Sword Lord.”

“Add ‘to-be.’”

Though Limon quibbled with her smiling reply, he didn’t deny her point.

He never hesitated to use his sword when necessary, but he didn’t draw it when it wasn’t. By Limon’s own principles, this was clearly the latter case. He had only wanted to help as the groom; if Li Qingyu could manage alone, he had no desire to flaunt his power.

Besides, he could guess at something she hadn’t bothered to explain.

‘Is this about who takes the lead?’

Limon was marrying into her family. If he took a stake in the Leviathan Hotel as a dowry and then took charge of the wedding on top of that, an outsider might think he was coercing Li Qingyu into the marriage. In that respect, it was surprisingly important that she take the lead in persuading the elders. It would prove that she herself supported the marriage.

“More importantly, I already made you a promise.”

“Hm? What promise?”

Limon, who had been nodding to himself as he worked through the situation, looked puzzled. Li Qingyu smiled at him.

“That if you married me, I’d make sure you could spend your life doing nothing but enjoying yourself.”

“... You were serious about that?”

“Of course I was.”

Not making him work had been a condition of the marriage, she pointed out. Wouldn’t asking him for help before they had even held the ceremony be a breach of contract? Limon gave her a complicated look as she said it with a perfectly straight face.

“I appreciate the thought, but if we do things your way, I’ll just be a kept man, living off the woman I’m marrying and lazing around.”

“Would that be so bad?”

“You’re really trying to make me a kept man?!”

“You’re our secret weapon against the constellations, Sword Lord. You don’t use your trump card carelessly, do you?”

“Well, you’re not wrong about that...”

Limon’s expression grew complicated. Strategically, it made sense to keep someone who was practically a human weapon ready to deploy at any time. But was it really all right for him to marry a woman so much younger than himself and live as her kept man?

Seeing his discomfort, Li Qingyu said matter-of-factly,

“Besides, you’re currently suspected of treason in this country. It would be better for you to avoid public activity, wouldn’t it?”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that.”

“What?”

“It’ll be taken care of soon.”

“...???”

Question marks might as well have appeared above Li Qingyu’s head. Limon hadn’t merely been falsely accused; he had taken the president hostage and made a spectacular live broadcast of the whole affair. Even she, for all her skill at plots and stratagems, had thought there was no way to smooth that over. Yet he said it would be taken care of. How could she not be puzzled?

But her puzzlement didn’t last long.

“Hmm... So you’ll be able to go about in public freely?”

“At the very least, I don’t expect anyone to come arrest me.”

It was a vague answer with nothing to back it up. Even so, Li Qingyu didn’t press him. As though certain the problem would be resolved simply because Limon had said so, she thought for a while and smiled.

“Then there may be something I can ask you to help with after all.”