It Seems Like I Fell into a Reverse Harem Game V1 C2.3

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Volume 1 Chapter 2.3

So, this was something I’d only seen in the movies.

“Does the food suit your tastes?”

“Ah, yes.”

I was sitting at the end of a table that seemed to be at least three meters long. And at the end of those three meters was the emperor.

“What a relief! I called for you because it has been such a long time since we had a meal together like this.”

Could this really be put in the same category as having a meal ‘together’.

“Is that so.”

“It is wonderful seeing your face after so long.”

The emperor had red hair tinted with yellow like fall leaves, and because his face was so lean, his eye seemed to glitter. His long hair flowed over a black cape adorned with a gold insignia, and his eyes were clear blue like the princess’s.

His deep-set eyes had a sharpness and strength in them that made me think he resembled the princess. I wondered if it was a common trait of powerful individuals with a long family history.

But the expression he was making now was so far apart from his overall first impression that it was bizarre. Whenever our eyes met, the emperor would grin like an idiot. He looked like a fool with a few screws loose.

But the princess was his only blood relative. If he realized that a completely different person had taken over her shell then he could completely flip.

“I specially ordered for them to throw a feast! It was worth the effort.”

Of course, there was zero indication so far that he would.

“……Thank you.”

“I was always worried that you were picky. But how wonderful is it to see you eating well?”

He looked more pleased than anything.

I mean, it was only normal to be suspicious if someone was acting differently. But since they were siblings who barely saw each other despite living together, I supposed there was no way he could be sure.

“Of course! I shall send the head chef to your palace. If you like their cooking, I would be more than happy to give them to you.”

“No, it is fine even if you don’t -.”

“From now on, I will have them be responsible for all of your meals.”

….Does he even hear me? I had begun to doubt since a little while before. Could the table be any longer?

Despite that, the emperor continued to be all smiles quite obliviously.

“Ah, yes, I heard that he is returning.”

Although he was speaking as casually as if he was bringing up the weather, I felt instantly that he had been waiting and waiting to get to this, his real reason for calling me here. I couldn’t help it and began to feel nervous.

“Since he is returning home after having done a great military service, I was thinking of opening the largest and most lavish victory celebration for him. What is your opinion on the matter?”

He was talking about that man. ‘The second concubine.’ Eclot Pacis. Did that mean he was an important enough figure for the emperor to pay attention to him? It seemed that the situation was different from Nadricka.

“Well, I suppose so. He should be adequately rewarded according to the extent of his contribution.”

“Exactly so!”

Once again, the emperor seemed to jump with joy as he slammed his hand down on the table, startling me.

“Because you did not bring it up, I thought that you had forgotten about him.”

“How could I forget?”

“Of course, since you were also the one to chase him out into war.”

He was my concubine after all…. What?

“Indeed, if it had not been for the disagreement between you two, there would have been no war. Back when he first set off, no one anticipated his victory. It was too far and perilous a road.”

“…….”

Without my knowing, my mouth had dropped open in surprise before I quickly shut it closed. It wasn’t enough to obliterate a country in order to obtain a prince who’d rejected her, but she had started a whole war where she could send her concubine to his death just because their relationship was bad?

And that concubine was returning home in glory bearing news of victory.

To the original princess, it would have been incredibly insulting. She would not have been able to stand it.

What a piece of work. If you want to know how much power rots a person, let’s all stand up and look at the princess.

And now, that princess was me.

“Does not time pass quite quickly? Has it been five years now…. Looking back at the years, how differently I feel about everything.”

“Five years…”

“Yes, as he left for war soon after becoming your concubine. It has been almost exactly five years.”

Suddenly, I remembered the princess’s age. Since five years had passed, she would have been eighteen.

But age made no difference. She was still so wicked at that young age.

“And so I was thinking, Ria….”

Ria. His nickname for the princess dripped with affection.

She was like this, but it looked like he still cherished her. Although I wondered what he had been doing not helping her fix her habits until things got to this point.

Wasn’t this neglect? It was possible that he was the culprit who had encouraged her bad habits by letting her do whatever she wanted just because she was his only blood relative.

Or perhaps it was that she wouldn’t change no matter how hard he tried.

No matter what the answer was, it was useless to think of it now.

“When he returns this time, do you think you will be able to greet him graciously?”

“……”

The emperor was looking at me with serious eyes.

…..He was far away so I couldn’t be sure but anyways. The atmosphere had completely changed.

“I’m talking about the mercy you showed yesterday.”

Mercy.

In other people’s eyes, it seemed that’s what it had looked like.

“I don’t expect much. However, when I heard what happened yesterday, I wondered if you had had a change in attitude.”

I supposed you could call it a change in attitude. Since it was a different soul in her body.

“Show him some of that compassion. He is too talented to be wasted.”

Right then, I realized why the emperor was in such a good mood.

It was because the princess had changed.

And because it was something he had wished for so sincerely he didn’t want to think it was suspicious.

“I understand what you are trying to say.”

It was quite the ironic tragedy. The real princess was gone. But only now was she the person others wanted her to be.

I tried smiling at the emperor.

At the very least, I was going to live as the princess. I’ll promise you that. It’s the best way I can think to express my condolences towards you who have lost your only sister.

“But will he still want to stay my concubine?”

“What does that mean? As long as you do not personally dismiss him from the position, there is no way for him to do so.”

“……But he probably hates me.”

The emperor rubbed his chin with his thumb and tilted his head.

“You know him well too, do you not? What kind of person he is.”

So does that mean he hates me or not?

After hearing that I should know him well, there was no way I could ask for further clarification.

“On that note, you know that we entered into a treaty with the Rothschild Empire to the far east during this war. And that this temporary treaty is scheduled to expire at the end of this month.”

I idly let the emperor’s words go in one ear and out the other. I was sure this matter had nothing to do with me.

“As the defeated kingdom of Bourne has collapsed underneath the burden of massive war reparations, our two empires came to an internal decision to divide up the Bourne Kingdom between ourselves.”

“……..What is your point?”

“I am thinking of entrusting full authority over the matter to you.”

I tucked my hair behind my ear and after a long pause replied,

“…….I think I may have heard you wrong.”

“Do not worry too much, since Sir Pacis will be assisting you. This should also be a good opportunity to strengthen your relationship with him.”

Could you please not say that with such a contented smile on your face? Is he treating a negotiation between nations as an event to repair a couple’s relationship, or what?

“I don’t want to. Why should I?”

If I accepted, there was a possibility I might be discovered.

“You don’t need to find it too bothersome. You just do what you want during the negotiations.”

“It’s not that I find it bothersome – . “

“I remember you wanted to take a trip abroad to the east. You can take advantage of this opportunity and go. It is a good thing, no?”

I lost my words. It sounded like he was saying to take advantage of a territorial negotiation in order to go on vacation.

What was this person, even. How was the country not collapsing with him as the emperor? They say that a millionaire can hang on for years after going bankrupt. But this might be the last year for him.

“It doesn’t seem like that good of thing to me.”

“This will be a new and different breed of entertainment. The climate there is different from our country’s so it would be wise to prepare ahead of time.”

“…….”

I had begun to think that the pointlessly long table had been built expressly so that the emperor would only be able to hear what he wanted. Otherwise, how did it make sense for him to be so selective in his hearing? It was as if his ears were filled with cotton.

By the time I realized it, I was standing out in the middle of the empty hallway.

That man…. In the end, he had really pushed it onto me.

I didn’t have a single desire to return to my room. It was me, not Essen, who should have run away in the middle of the night.

“I want to go outside.”

“Where…”

Thinking that the voice that answered was a little shaky, I turned my head to look and spotted a white-faced maid. What exactly did this princess do when she went outside?

I sighed.

“I meant I wanted to go for a walk. So everyone may leave now…. Except for you.”

The maid I was pointing to swallowed courageously and took a step towards me.

“I shall escort you!”

…. It seemed she was a little too enthusiastic.

Ding!

As we were walking, the system window appeared.

You have discovered the note that Essen left in front of your room. ‘I’ll be waiting in the usual place.’ You were in the middle of looking for Robia. Who will you choose?

A. Essen

B. Robia

It was only yesterday that everything had happened, but it seemed she was quite the hard worker. Already she was looking for Robia.

“We have arrived, Your Highness.”

At those words, I looked away from the selection screen. The maid flung open the heavy door in one move. Instantly, the breeze swept in, carrying with it a refreshing and crisp scent.

I had been staying in my room all this time in order not to unnecessarily drop hints about my identity. The sunlight couldn’t feel any better on my skin.

Meanwhile, as though her concentration was faltering the maid’s footing was unfocused and haphazard. She could trip at any moment.

“Hey.”

“Yes!”

“You….”

Now that I thought about it, I didn’t know her name.

“What is your name?”

“Yes?……It’s Daisy, Your Highness.”

“I see, Daisy. Are you maybe-.”

“Kyaa!”

Just like that, Daisy stepped on my hem of my dress and fell forward. I also stumbled before regaining my balance. Because the result matched my predictions so exactly, I couldn’t even be angry.

If I hadn’t caught myself, I would have fallen ungracefully fallen on top of Daisy. If it had been the original princess, Daisy would have been a dead woman.

Either way, it seemed that I had just barely kept my dignity as a princess. Daisy looked up at me.

“I- I- I- I apo- I apologize! Your Highness!”

“It’s alr-.”

“I- I- I- I’ll- I’ll compensate you! Compensation! Your Highness!”

Without giving me a chance to speak, Daisy walked over to me on her knees and clung onto my ankle. She was shedding tears like her tear ducts were malfunctioning.

“How about you let go first….”

Her grip was much stronger than I had imagined. I was unable to pull her off. Using her hands, Daisy tried to erase the conspicuous footprint she had left on my dress.

But the more that she rubbed at it, the more the mark spread out into an unsightly mess. It seemed Daisy realized there was nothing she could do because she quickly gave up and bowed her head to the ground.

“Please spare me, Your Highness!”

“…..Pfft.”

Daisy was so surprised by the sound of my laughter that she jerked her head up. Her eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of her head.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

I felt embarrassed for laughing at someone so desperate, so I crouched down in front of her and looked her in the eyes. I used my fingers to sweep away the tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes.

“I’ll spare you so stop crying.”

“What? Is this real? Th- Then… will you punish me?”

“No.”

I couldn’t help myself and started chuckling again. Because she was so sunny. She was the first person like this I’d met here. That might explain why I felt so refreshed.

“Does it hurt where you fell? Are you okay?”

“Yes? Oh, yes! I’m okay!”

Daisy quickly covered up the wound on her knee with both hands.

“Go back and get yourself treated. I can go by myself.”

“But-.”

“But?”

As I purposely hardened my face and repeated after her, Daisy stumbled backwards in panic.

“Th- Then I’ll call someone else.”

“You can’t.”

“Yes!”

Daisy scrambled away without looking back.

“…….”

After that, I was completely alone.

Although the chilly breeze slipped past my clothes, the feeling of cold seeping into my bones wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

The garden was peaceful. In between skinny trunks, I caught glimpses of evergreens desperately guarding their leaves. I slowly followed the path lined by the trees.

Feeling much better than before, I slipped off my heels and tossed them to the side without a second thought. I gathered my long, dragging skirts and lifted them up. The dirt that pushed up between my toes felt soft and ticklish.

Had the princess done anything like this before? I slowly started into a run.

The tip of my nose felt cold with the wind hitting my face. Just as I was thinking of letting out a satisfying yell, I saw it.

Someone was sitting with their back leaning against a massive tree that looked over two hundred years old. With the spotless gray sky behind them, both the tree and the man’s hair were tossing in the wind.

As if he had felt my presence, the man turned his head in my direction. Our eyes clashed.

It was Essen.

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Translator’s note: Next update in 3 days? maybe 4? I have midterms for the next two weeks after this week so I might not update for a bit

If you’re curious about names, if not feel free to skip!!:

In the novel it looks like “Pace” is sposed to be “Pacis”. Korean isekai webtoons/novels choose some weird names sometimes but with “Pacis” google says it’s a surname derived from the latin word for peace “pax” which is super cool. As for “Eclot” vs “Ecklot” I couldn’t find anything so I’ll use “Eclot” from the webtoon cuz the novel has it as ‘ee-clot’. I’m also considering using “Robia Juranne” instead of “Robia Juran” bc I think it’s a little closer to the novel pronunciation! Again, it’s hard to tell bc it’s not like these names are common in real life, but the romanization of the name in the novel is “jyu-ran-neu” and “an-neu” I think is commonly “anne”! (I’m p sure the author wanted a french name.) Finally! A note on “Yuriel”: “Yuriel” seems derived from “Uriel”, which is the name of an archangel of God – an angel of repentance – in some Christian denominations; it translates to “God is my light”. “Yuriel” is a Russian spelling of “Uriel”. The female spellings of “Uriel” are “Urielle” or “Eurielle”. “Uriel” and “Yuriel” on the other hand are primarily male names. I don’t think the gender distinction matters of course. I do have the sneaking feeling that “Uriel/Urielle/Eurielle” is probably correct; I personally like “Eurielle” cuz it looks closest to the novel’s pronunciation. (It should be noted, however, that the korean pronunciation of “Uriel” is different from the english – “Oo-ri-elle” instead of “Yoo-ri-elle”). Nevertheless, since the webtoon translation team uses “Yuriel” which still retains its connections to “Uriel” I’ll probably keep it as such to keep from confusing people!

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