The Demon Prince goes to the Academy

Chapter 680

Central Palace Tetra, the Emperor's office.

"…You've got to be kidding me."

Harriet and Reinhardt, who had arrived first thing in the morning.

That was all Charlotte could say in response to Harriet and Reinhardt's words.

At Charlotte's icy response, not only Harriet, but also Reinhardt turned pale.

"Well, I guess we have to do it. It's the right thing to do. It's obvious. Marriage is your duty, your job, your state affair. I'm glad you understand that."

Marriage.

Just as Reinhardt had insisted the day before, it had to be done.

There was no longer an option not to.

The only uncertainty was how many more times it would have to be done.

Charlotte, too, was fully aware of this and might have thought she needed to do even more than agree.

"You, of course, have to do it with Olivia Lanze, and with Airi, too. It might be a bit difficult, but you might have to force yourself to do it with Liana, too. It's a situation where even if we created nonexistent people and forced them into a marriage alliance, it still wouldn't be enough…"

"What are you talking about! Li, Liana is not included!"

"If it needs to be done, it will be done."

Reinhardt was startled by Charlotte, who was adding fuel to the fire, and Harriet's face began to turn blue.

"But… still… still…!"

"You're saying you're going to pick and choose your duties now? According to your circumstances?"

As Charlotte's expression grew colder, Reinhardt froze.

Just as she said, Reinhardt might now have to marry someone he hated so much he'd rather die, regardless of whether it was a good or bad match.

So Reinhardt never really had a choice.

If it had to be done, it would be done, and if it shouldn't, then it couldn't.

"Th, that… that's… not it, but…"

"Well, Liana was just an example. There's no need to go that far. Anyway, you have to get married. Quite a lot."

Charlotte didn't say she was shocked because Reinhardt said he was going to marry them.

The part that shocked Charlotte was something else.

Charlotte's cold gaze was directed not at Reinhardt, but at Harriet.

"But what, you want to go first?"

"Is… is that not okay?"

Harriet hesitated and cautiously added to Charlotte's words.

Marriage.

She could bear the idea of him marrying this person and that person.

But she wanted to be the first one he married.

That was, arguably, Harriet's last shred of pride.

"Didn't I just say marriage is a state affair?"

"Ye, yes, you did…"

"A 'ceremony' of state affairs, right?"

"Yes…"

"Of course, 'expenses' are involved in such ceremonies, right?"

At that point, both Harriet and Reinhardt had no choice but to understand what Charlotte was getting at.

"Do you think we can afford to hold this event multiple times, considering our circumstances? Do you want to ruin a country that hasn't even begun by holding separate weddings?"

"Then, how about a simple…"

Charlotte's expression distorted at Reinhardt's cautious suggestion.

"…Do you think the wedding of the Emperor of the New Empire can be held in a simple way? Do you want rumors to spread that we're a frugal empire, a worthless empire?"

"Is… is that how it is?"

"Fortunately, given the current circumstances, it's not a flaw to hold such an event on a smaller scale. It's fine even if it's modest. However, the reason the Emperor's wedding is a national affair is not because it signifies the union of two individuals, but because it announces the alliance of two powers. It's all about making that known. Do you think an Emperor or a King would hold a wedding ceremony in a modest manner, inviting only known individuals, or secretly on a small scale? What do you think this is, some covert operation?"

Charlotte sighed, as if even thinking about it was giving her a headache.

"How many years do you think we'd need to hold a proper wedding ceremony with each and every one of you?"

"I have no idea......"

"We'd first need to restore the economy to a state where the Emperor's wedding ceremony wouldn't impact the national economy, right?"

"Are you saying... we'd die of old age while preparing for the wedding?"

"You got it."

Charlotte gave Harriet and Reinhardt a frosty look.

Saying you want to go first means you want to do it separately. But that wasn't possible in our current situation.

"Well, good. Since it's been brought up, we need to sort this out now."

Charlotte pulled out a blank piece of paper and began to write something.

After completing the writing swiftly, she handed the paper over to Reinhardt.

As expected, it contained a list of names.

"Go and deliver the message."

"Message...? What message?"

"...Stop playing dumb."

At Charlotte's threatening demeanor, Reinhardt asked again, his face pale.

"So, you're saying... right now... announce the wedding? Go find these people? Right now?"

Reinhardt bulged his eyes, looking at the names written on the document.

As Charlotte saw the bewildered Reinhardt and Harriet, she tilted her head in confusion.

"Are you two getting married?"

"Well, uh......"

"Are you marrying me as well?"

"Well, uh... yeah... yes."

"And others as well?"

"Uh......"

The wedding was inevitable. And it was going to be with many others. And the parties involved understood and accepted this.

And having separate ceremonies was incredibly challenging under the current circumstances.

So what exactly was the problem?

"Then, if we're going to do it anyway, we should do it all at once."

All at once, with everyone.

At that statement, Harriet and Reinhardt's mouths slightly dropped open.

"No, but... that's......"

Seeing their expressions, Charlotte smirked.

Charlotte pointed at the door with her finger.

"Once you understand, go and deliver the message to the people listed there."

"We're all getting married on the same day, at the same time, at the same place."

"Let's make the day of the ceremony the founding day."

"Especially, tell this to Olivia Lanze."

"If she wants to grow old and die while preparing for separate weddings, she can refuse."

Charlotte's bold decision to hold the wedding and founding ceremony simultaneously left not only Harriet but also Reinhardt unable to think of anything else but that this was absurd.

Even so, holding the multiple weddings of the Emperor, which were necessary, separately during this perilous time would only waste national resources unnecessarily, and it wasn't even possible.

The economy would collapse because of the wedding.

Charlotte's judgement was economic and rational.

The problem was only that it was inhumane.

Reinhardt and Harriet came to discuss the future wedding plans of the Emperor, but all they got was a response asking if they wanted to die waiting for separate ceremonies.

"We're all getting married at the same time on the same day."

That was Charlotte's response.

"But... that means..."

"What?"

"No matter how you look at it..."

Certainly.

Reinhardt's gaze was stuck on one of the names written on the document, unable to look away.

Watching Reinhardt's shock, Charlotte's expression turned icy.

"What did I tell you about marriage just now?"

"You said it was a state affair."

"Do you want to neglect your duties?"

The newly appointed emperor, who came to discuss marriage and ended up receiving a list of people he needed to marry, left the office looking as if he'd lost his soul.

Looking at the bewildered Harriet in the face of the oncoming storm-like situation, Charlotte smiled.

It was a subtle smirk.

"Hmm, if the financial situation had been better, you could have monopolized him for a year. What a pity."

"Well..."

Harriet couldn't help but blush even more at Charlotte's blatant comment.

"You're cheeky. But you certainly have the right to be."

"..."

Harriet knew that the emperor, who was not just a simple king, would inevitably face such situations, and even Reinhardt had directly discussed it.

However, neither Reinhardt nor Harriet expected all of these things to come crashing down at once.

However.

The reason for Reinhardt's pale face.

"But... is this okay?"

Harriet had also seen the names written on the paper. That's why Harriet was also looking pale.

This seemed a bit out of line.

Because there was such a name.

"It's a duty, so we have to do it. What can we do? This might be the end? Depending on the situation, we might have to do it a few more times."

Not three times, not four times, but several times.

They couldn't know how many more marriages they would have to have in the future.

Of course, it was a necessary thing to do.

But because there was also a side where it seemed like she was being mischievous.

"Shall we follow him around and watch in secret?"

"Don't do that!"

Charlotte laughed for a while, imagining the scene.

------

Under the command of Charlotte de Gardias, who was virtually acting as the emperor, the new emperor, Reinhardt, roamed aimlessly around the central palace Tetra.

He had to get married.

A lot.

Often.

Quite a bit.

For anyone else, marriage for the emperor had to come with those qualifiers.

He knew it, and he knew it was something he had to do.

But without any mental preparation, all at once.

All together.

The emperor hadn't anticipated that.

The first person the emperor visited was Olivia Lanze.

"..."

When his half-dead-looking, babbling explanation ended, Olivia Lanze's expression had turned icy.

"I've often thought that I might not be able to marry you. But I never imagined it would happen like this. Group marriage? What is that?"

She looked like someone so upset that she wanted to break something.

For the first time in a long time, Olivia Lanze was truly angry.

"Since I'm going to tear apart and rewrite the doctrine of the Holy Order according to my taste, whether or not I get married is up to me."

As long as she understood that the gods and doctrines were just accessories that could be used as earrings or nose rings, she could easily do away with the old-fashioned custom of the High Priest of Purity not being able to marry.

Reinhardt was apprehensive, wondering if he was about to receive a resounding slap on the cheek.

Olivia scanned Reinhardt's face quietly.

"Do you feel sorry?"

"…"

"Why are you sorry? In fact, it's inevitable, isn't it? I'm just in a bad mood. There's nothing we can do about it......"

It was, in the end, a matter of fate.

"Haah… Yes. It's lucky that it turned out this way, no one died. We shouldn't be too greedy... And, if I refuse now, I might grow old and die…? Is this some kind of nonsensical threat?"

Upon hearing Charlotte's message, Olivia scowled as if displeased.

If she insisted on doing it separately, she might be able to do it later when they could afford it.

"By then, the child might have even enrolled in the temple......"

Olivia seemed to imagine what would happen if she did not accept this proposal.

It was not something that Olivia could stop by asking him not to do it, nor was it something that could happen just because she asked for it.

But it was inevitable to feel bad.

Even though she accepted it as something inevitable.

It was a fact that Olivia Lanze was in a very bad mood at the moment.

"I'll be watching how you handle this."

Olivia Lanze looked at Reinhardt with a chilly gaze.

Although it was inevitable now.

"If you upset me in the future, I'll make you regret being alive. Got it?"

"Uh, yes... I understand..."

The cold look in Olivia Lanze's eyes told him that her words were far from false.

She would make him the most tired and difficult person in the world.

Even before they were married, Olivia had declared she would scratch him at every opportunity.

------

The Demon King, who had been half-dead in the morning, was squashed by afternoon, knocking on Airi's door.

"Demonkind may follow the Archdemon, but that doesn't mean we're devoid of feelings."

As if it were a matter of course, Airi commented and nodded her head at Reinhardt's explanation.

"So, if your wives are filled with humans only, it will also work as a dissatisfaction for the demons. So, it's certainly meaningful that I'm included."

Airi nodded lightly as if she understood what it meant.

"Are you... making this decision too easily...?"

Reinhardt was at a loss for words at Airi's reaction, which seemed to be not accepting the marriage but justifying it.

"Charlotte's right. You need to get married more. But filling it with humans alone isn't balanced. Wouldn't it be better to consider looking for suitable people among the demons?"

"Huh...?"

"What about Sarkegaar? Since the fall of Darkland, he's been playing a decisive role, so there's nothing to criticize. He can transform into any form you want anyway."

"Uh, uh... Sarkegaar...?"

Reinhardt's face turned pale at the mention of a name unrelated to the one Charlotte had written down, an utterly unexpected name.

That side might respond too fiercely, which could be a problem.

"Or how about looking for the surviving Dreadfiend clan? If you gather the demons left in Darkland, it should be good. The Mermaid Queen too... though physically it might be a bit difficult? I've heard that there are some mermaids who can live on land occasionally..."

"Um, uh... Excuse me...?"

"There was an Archdemon who married an Orc."

"Just... Just swear at me!"

"Come to think of it, there's Eleris too."

"…What?"

"Valier, aren't you technically the closest to Eleris among us?"

In actuality, only a handful knew that Eleris was an ancient Archdemon, and Airi was not one of them.

Reinhardt could only turn as pale as a vampire.

"Do, don't talk nonsense! That, that's... That's absolutely not possible!"

"...Because she's undead, it's not possible?"

"No, no, it just can't be!"

"…?"