The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

Mana's plan was quite efficient, and in a short time, adequate warnings had been issued to the good for nothings. Some of the political alliance concubines chose to return to their own families, and were grateful to their new young king for the chance to return. On the other hand, some of the higher ranking political alliance concubines were quite problematic. Two of them even insisted that Raven take them in as his own concubines! One was a twenty three year old man, and the other was a nineteen year old woman. Both of them were the off springs of high ranking officials of the Pearl Kingdom, and both were pampered, delicate, good looking young people.

"King Raven, we are not that far apart in age, and I am the youngest concubine of the former King Min," the nineteen year old girl said in a simpering manner, draping herself over the chair that she was seated on in a rather seductive manner. Her attire was not very appropriate either. "Why don't you take me in as your concubine, and I shall make sure that you grow into a properly robust young man…" she murmured, a corner of her lips curling up in a smirk.

Raven frowned and his face scrunched up in disgust. "No, thank you," he said.

Mana clicked her tongue and said, "Please let us know if you would like to go back to your own family, or if you would like to continue living here – if you do choose to stay in the imperial palace, however, you will have to work like everyone else. If that is what you would like to do, please let us know if you have any skills or are capable of working, and we will see if there are any appropriate tasks for you. If you have no skills, we will find you some tasks that simply require unskilled labour."

The concubine narrowed her eyes and smirked at Mana, a mocking look in her eyes. "Don't be such a mean little kid, girlie," she said. "You are far too young to be of any use to the new king, and you will never be as pretty or as skilled as I am."

Raven's rainbow eyes flashed a dark black and a purple haze began to form around his slender body.

Mana smiled and put a hand on Raven's shoulder. "Don't be angry," she said quietly. "She's not worth it."

The faces of Head Sage Yue and Regent Prince Yuki darkened as well.

"Sit up properly and show some modesty in your speech, conduct and attire," Head Sage Yue snapped at the girl. "And little Mana is absolutely right. No one is going to stay here for free. Your husband is a traitor, and in the ordinary course of things, you would have been awarded the same punishment as him. However, Raven and Yuki and Mana are kind, and are offering a chance to those who were not directly involved in the matter to redeem themselves. If you insist on behaving inappropriately in this manner, then…"

The girl raised her eyebrows. "Cousin Yue, you are an unfeeling monk – only the heavens know how you managed to sire one child. It must have been young Raven's mother who drugged you and took advantage of you, right? Otherwise, someone as frigid as you – I can't imagine that you would be able to do anything at all!" she mocked.

Head Sage Yue's face went as dark as thunder.

Mana stared at the uncouth young woman in front of her, who was so confident of her bedroom skills, and resisted the urge to cover Raven's eyes and ears and take him away from the vicinity of such a woman.

"Is that your skill set?" Mana asked the young woman. "Seducing people? If so, then we will find a brothel for you to work in. The Amber Kingdom has plenty of them, and I could ask for a favour from Big Sister Astra and Big Brother in Law Mars and have to put up at a classy one where the high ranking officials and noblemen are the regular customers. Would you like that?" Mana's voice was perfectly calm and even, and her face was impassive as if she was offering a sober, standard job like that of a librarian or an accountant.

Head Sage Yue and Regent Prince Yuki stared at Mana in shock, their eyes shining with admiration. They couldn't imagine how a little ten year old girl could have such a formidable aura! Of course, they didn't know that Mana's soul was that of a modern corporate lawyer who had seen many, many filthy things and people, and knew very well how to deal with them.

The young woman's face contorted in fury. "You little girl – how dare you speak to me like that?!" she yelled angrily, leaping up from her chair with a red face and her hands with sharp, claw like nails (although exquisitely painted) extended towards Mana, ready to scratch her.

"Oh my, I didn't realise that you were such a shrew before," Regent Prince Yuki said, quickly stepping in front of Mana and Raven protectively. There was no way he would let this horrible woman harm either Mana or Raven.

Seeing the debacle with the young woman, the young male concubine suddenly spoke up.

"Can I – can I go back to my own family?" he asked in a tremulous voice. He had initially thought that he would be able to grab some benefits out of this young pair of children, but now that he had seen how formidable Mana was, he was terrified and just wanted to go home. His family had always pampered him – and he could always go back to them and live a decent life. He could marry someone else in the future as well – someone who would be soft and gentle, not like this pair of demon children!

"Yes, of course," Head Sage Yue said. "We will make arrangements to have you sent back. You may take what you brought with you and any personal items that the former King Min or anyone else may have given you as a gift. We will also issue a contract release document, revoking your status as a concubine. You would be free to marry as you wish and start a new family."

The young man nodded in acceptance and all but fled with the attendant who had been summoned by Head Sage Yue.

The girl was glaring hatefully at Mana. "You are already like this when you are so young – no one will ever truly love you! You are completely unlovable! I would really not be surprised if your partner took a knife to your throat and slit it!" she shouted.

Mana was startled for a moment, and her mind was drawn back to the memory that she had kept suppressed in a dark corner of her mind – the memory of her death in her former life in the modern world, where she had died exactly in this manner at the hands of her partner…

Raven took one look at Mana's pale face and pulled her into his arms protectively. The purple haze around him cracked menacingly like bolts of electricity, then suddenly solidified and rushed at the despicable young woman in front of them – and she fell back, stuck with heavenly thunder, her pretty face and hair all blackened.

"Would you like me to slit your throat for you? I can't think of a better way to stop you from spouting nonsense," Raven hissed angrily.

"Indeed," Head Sage Yue said. "The punishment for threatening the Queen of the Pearl Kingdom is indeed death by public hanging. Guards!"

Imperial guards immediately rushed in when called by Head Sage Yue and dragged the young woman away. She kicked and screamed, but no one showed her any mercy. After all, Head Sage Yue had already announced that she had threatened the Queen!

Raven peered at Mana's face worriedly. "Are you all right?" he asked in a soft voice. He knew how Mana had met her end in the previous world, and he also knew that it was a traumatic experience for Mana, even though she had tried to act in a careless manner when she had mentioned the matter to him once.

Mana had already calmed down by now, after the shock of remembering something so terrible wore off. She smiled slightly at Raven. "Don't worry, I'm all right," she told him.

Raven stroked her face with gentle fingers. "Don't lie," he said quietly. "You can rely on me at times, too, you know. It isn't only you who always needs to protect me."

Mana looked up at him, startled. She found herself wondering exactly when the little seedling that she had picked up had grown up to be tall and robust. For a moment, Mana saw the shadow of a magnificent emperor behind Raven – the powerful emperor that he was destined to become!

Mana smiled.