Everyone marched downstairs and headed toward the main entrance of the mansion. Asobi had already given everyone a heads-up about the royal summons, so the group was fully prepared to leave.
But the moment they stepped through the front gates, the entire party completely froze in absolute shock.
The courtyard wasn't just guarded like last night—it was entirely locked down. More than a thousand fully armed royal guards stood in perfect, dense military formation, their armor gleaming under the morning sun. None of them had expected the King to send an entire army just to escort them.
Haruto's single crimson eye narrowed. Without making a sound, he turned his head and shot a sharp, questioning look straight at Lilith. Following his gaze, the rest of the group shifted their eyes toward the princess as well, demanding an explanation.
Lilith just offered a sheepish, playful laugh, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Ahaha... oops? This completely looks like my father's doing. He always goes way over the top with security whenever it comes to me."
Seraphine looked at the massive military escort, her brow furrowing with anxiety. "Is it really necessary for all of us to go to the palace under these conditions? It feels a bit overwhelming."
Seraphine's question instantly triggered a recalculation in Haruto's mind. She's completely right, he thought, thoroughly annoyed at his own oversight. The summons was originally addressed to me. Why am I dragging my entire household into a high-stakes royal court when the situation is already this volatile? He immediately pulled out his notepad, scribbled down a swift directive, and held it up for everyone to see:
"Only Lilith and I will go to the palace. The rest of you should stay back and avoid any unnecessary royal attention."
Haruto figured this was the safest option. Lilith knew the layout of the palace, understood the court politics, and could easily guide him through the engagement protocols without any extra complications.
The group instantly agreed with the plan. Toya stretched his arms and sighed with relief.
"Honestly, that works perfectly for me. If I don't have to deal with royal drama, I'll just head over to the academy and catch up on my studies."
Little Aeterna puffed out her cheeks with a cute smile.
"And I'm just going to stay right here and chill at the mansion!"
Asobi shrugged cheerfully, gesturing around the grand hallways.
"Count me out too. My spirit code is directly bonded to this mansion anyway, so I can't even leave the perimeter."
Rutherford stepped up right beside the little girl, crossing his arms with an unyielding, protective stance.
"Wherever my Queen Aeterna decides to stay, that is exactly where I will be. I shall remain behind to guard the mansion."
Just as the group was about to split up, Lustra stepped forward, her expression firm.
"There is absolutely no way I am letting you and Lilith go to that palace alone."
Bellona nodded in complete agreement, stepping up right beside her sister.
"She's right. Our primary directive is to protect you, Haruto. We should be there to guard you against any sudden threats."
Ivory stood silently, her mind racing as she analyzed the situation. She knew exactly what Lilith was capable of. Lilith wasn't just an incredibly powerful Level 99 entity; she was highly unpredictable, dangerously bold, and completely shameless when it came to Haruto. On top of that, Lilith clearly retained memories from three hundred years ago—memories that the three goddesses had completely lost due to their sealed databases. If left entirely alone with Haruto, Lilith could easily use those forgotten past connections to draw him closer to her and alter the household dynamic permanently.
Seeing the three goddesses refuse to back down, Seraphine nervously looked around the hall.
"Well... if almost everyone else is leaving the mansion anyway, I don't want to be left behind either. I'm coming with you guys to the palace!"
Lilith simply rolled her eyes, completely unfazed by the sudden resistance. She flipped her beautiful, long silver-blonde hair over her shoulder and let out a confident smirk.
"Honestly, I don't care who tags along. Bring the whole army if you want! It doesn't change the fact that Haruto will officially belong to me by this evening, and there isn't a single thing any of you can do to stop it."
To prove her point, Lilith lunged forward and tightly wrapped her arms around Haruto's arm, clinging to him with a triumphant smile.
The provocative move instantly triggered Ivory. Her eyes flared with irritation as she marched right over, forcefully pulling Lilith away from him.
"Get your hands off him!" Ivory snapped, stepping protectively in front of Haruto.
"He doesn't even love you, so stop throwing yourself at him!"
Lilith didn't even flinch. She just smoothed down her outfit, her violet eyes glittering with absolute amusement.
"Maybe he doesn't love me yet. But I love him, and that's more than enough for now!"
Haruto let out a silent, exhausted sigh. His internal parameters were already flagging this argument as a massive waste of time and energy. Ignoring the bickering girls completely, he detached himself from the chaos, turned on his heel, and calmly walked past them through the front doors.
He marched straight out into the courtyard toward the massive army of a thousand royal guards, leaving the girls to scramble and follow his lead as they prepared to head into the royal palace.
As Haruto walked toward the waiting royal carriage, Sirehtea's voice suddenly echoed inside his mind, sounding completely blown away.
"Wait, hold on a second! What did I just hear?!" she exclaimed.
"You're actually going to become a King? And your engagement is happening tonight?!"
Haruto didn't even blink. I already told you, this is purely a strategic move for power, he replied in his thoughts, his mental tone completely flat. In any game, holding the highest possible rank and positioning yourself at the top of the hierarchy is the most effective way to win. It gives you absolute control over the board and all the resources.
"Are you serious right now? You are still looking at your life as if it's just some video game!"
Sirehtea sighed heavily inside his head, her tone shifting from shock to deep concern.
"Haruto, Aetheris and I seriously need to hurry up and patch your emotions. If you keep living with your feelings completely locked down like this, you're going to turn into a literal robot. It is way past time for you to face reality. This isn't a game anymore, Haruto. It's real life."
Real, fake—it doesn't matter, Haruto countered coldly. To me, it's just a game with high stakes, and my only goal is to play it through and enjoy it so I don't die of boredom.
"Oh really?" Sirehtea challenged softly, her voice turning quiet and piercing.
"Are you honestly, truly enjoying yourself right now?"
The question hit his mind like a sudden system interruption. For exactly three seconds, Haruto went completely silent. His thoughts froze, and he couldn't find an immediate answer to track in his log.
But then, he forced his usual detached logic right back into place. Yeah. Of course I am, he replied smoothly. Think about it. Tonight, I am getting officially engaged to an incredibly beautiful princess that regular people could only ever dream of. I have three other gorgeous goddesses waiting in line, practically fighting for my attention. And on top of all that, I am about to inherit the absolute power and authority of an entire kingdom. Why wouldn't I be enjoying this?
Sirehtea didn't answer right away, but Haruto could feel her lingering worry through the mental link as he finally stepped up to the carriage, ready to claim his new throne.
Throughout the entire journey in the royal carriage, Lilith refused to give Haruto any space, clinging tightly to his arm with a triumphant smile. Opposite them, the tension was through the roof. Ivory was practically vibrating with rage, shouting and cursing at Lilith for being so shameless, while Seraphine did her absolute best to calm her down and keep her from tearing the carriage apart.
Eventually, after a lot of yelling, Ivory managed to force a compromise. Under her strict orders, a thoroughly blushing and embarrassed Seraphine was pushed over to sit directly next to Haruto, finally forcing Lilith to slide over and give him some breathing room.
But despite all the beautiful girls crowding around him and the chaotic drama unfolding in the confined space, Haruto sat there feeling completely numb. The absolute, soul-crushing boredom was hitting him harder than ever. To him, this whole carriage ride was just a tedious unskippable cutscene.
After what felt like an eternity of listening to the girls bicker and argue, the carriage finally rolled to a stop. They had finally arrived at the grand gates of the royal palace.
As Haruto stepped out of the carriage, he looked up and took in the massive royal palace stretching out before him. The entire structure was breathtaking, gleaming so brightly under the sun that it looked like it was crafted almost entirely out of solid gold. Wow, this place is incredible, Haruto thought, his eyes scanning the architecture. To think this massive palace is going to be my official residence in the near future...
Hey, Sirehtea, are you listening? Haruto called out in his mind.
"Yeah, I'm here. What's up?" Sirehtea's voice echoed back instantly inside his head.
Just out of curiosity, how much do you think a place like this costs to build? Haruto asked, looking at the shimmering walls.
"Hold on, let me run a quick scan for you," Sirehtea murmured. A second later, she responded, "Alright, got it. This palace is actually made of 58% pure gold, 12% reinforced concrete, and the remaining 30% is a mix of high-grade metal, enchanted wood, and other rare materials. Based on current market data, its total valuation is roughly 19,000,000 G-Credits."
Haruto's mental expression is filled with genuine shock. Nineteen million G-Credits?! Not even regular currency, but actual gold credits? That is insanely expensive. And the craziest part is, this isn't even the main capital city—it's technically just a minor territory village!
"It definitely shows how much wealth the royal family holds," Sirehtea noted. Then, her tone became a bit serious.
"Anyway, listen to me, Haruto. Aetheris and I have to handle a sudden stability issue with your core right now, so I'm going to be completely offline and busy for the next two hours. You're on your own for a bit, so please, try not to cause any massive disasters while I'm gone, okay?"
Haha, no promises, Haruto thought back with a silent smirk.
Before Sirehtea could reply, her presence faded from his mind. Right at that moment, Lilith let go of his arm and happily ran a few steps ahead of the group. She turned around, spreading her arms wide with a proud, beaming smile.
"Hello, everyone! Welcome to my palace!"
Lilith cheered excitedly, her silver-blonde hair catching the sunlight.
"Make yourselves at home, because this is officially my house!"
The moment Lilith finished welcoming everyone, the massive golden gates slowly creaked open. Inside, rows upon rows of servants and royal soldiers stood in perfect formation, creating a long, grand pathway.
As Haruto and his group stepped across the threshold, every single person in the hall bowed deeply in unison, their voices echoing through the grand space.
"Welcome, Master Haruto!"
Hearing the word 'Master' made Haruto's jaw tighten with a flash of irritation. He absolutely despised being called that—it made him feel like some cliché character in a predictable story. But since his vocal cords were still locked, he couldn't open his mouth to correct them.
Seeing his subtle, annoyed expression, Ivory, Bellona, and Lustra couldn't help but let out soft giggles. They knew him well enough to know exactly how much that title ticked him off, and seeing him forced to swallow his pride in silence was a hilarious bonus for them.
As they walked deeper into the luxurious corridors, Lilith leaned in close to Haruto, her voice dropping to a rare, serious whisper.
"Listen, Haruto. This is going to be your very first time properly meeting and speaking with my father, the King. Are you sure you don't want to even try speaking right now so you can talk to him?"
To everyone's absolute surprise, Haruto didn't hesitate. He pulled out his notepad, swiftly scribbled down a message, and handed it to Lilith.
She leaned in to read his neat handwriting:
"No. Tell your father that I have taken a strict vow of silence today. I will not utter a single word out loud until this evening, the exact moment our official engagement ceremony begins."
Haruto had calculated this perfectly. Wasting his precious three-hour vocal bypass on boring, formal court greetings during the day was a terrible trade, but they don't know that he has a 3 hour bypass. He needed to save every single second of that timer for the actual engagement ceremony tonight, where things were bound to get unpredictable.
Lilith blinked, thoroughly impressed by his tactical discipline.
"Wow... alright. If that's how you want to play it, I'll back your play and tell him exactly that."
They finally reached the end of the grand hallway, where two towering double doors stood guarded by heavy elite knights. With a loud groan of iron, the doors swung wide open, revealing the heart of the kingdom.
The grand throne room was absolutely packed. More than five hundred high-ranking nobles, politicians, and royals dressed in lavish, glittering garments lined the sides of the hall, their eyes instantly locking onto Haruto's party.
And straight ahead, sitting high above everyone else on a massive, intricately carved golden throne, was the King himself, staring down at them with an overwhelming aura of absolute authority.
As Haruto walked deeper into the throne room, his mind immediately began sizing up the man on the throne. What kind of king am I dealing with here? he wondered. Is he a strict, iron-fisted ruler? Or is he the calm, calculating type who pulls strings from the shadows?
Seeking a clue, Haruto glanced over at Lilith. To his absolute surprise, the wild, careless princess who usually did whatever she wanted had completely vanished. In her place stood a flawless royal. Lilith was standing in a perfectly professional posture, her expression serious and her silver-blonde hair neatly framing her sharp, focused face.
Suddenly, a loud rustle echoed through the hall. All five hundred nobles and royals who were seated instantly stood up in unison. Haruto looked ahead and saw the reason why—the King had just stood up from his golden throne.
The moment he did, Lilith gracefully bowed her head in deep respect. Seraphine quickly followed her lead. Realizing he needed to keep his reputation clean and play along with the court etiquette, Haruto lowered his head as well. Seeing him bow, Ivory, Bellona, and Lustra immediately bent their knees and bowed alongside him.
The King's heavy footsteps echoed through the quiet room as he walked down the throne steps. He stopped, his sharp eyes locking directly onto Haruto.
"So, you are Haruto," the King spoke, his voice booming with absolute authority.
He knows exactly who I am, Haruto thought, his mind racing. This means he's been actively running a background check and tracking my data files for a while now.
Ivory, unable to suppress her protective instincts, straightened up and spoke out loud, her voice echoing through the silent court.
"Your Majesty, if I may ask... how exactly do you know so much about our Haruto?"
The King's expression turned incredibly serious, his gaze piercing right through them. "How could I not know?" he countered coldly.
"My eyes have been on you for a very long time, Haruto—long before you even stepped foot into that Wizard Quest. And make no mistake, I am always fully aware of exactly whose bedroom my daughter chooses to sleep in. I certainly won't ever forget the name of the man involved."
The moment those words left the King's mouth, the atmosphere in the room turned suffocatingly tense. Haruto looked up and caught the terrifying, intense glare plastered across the King's face. For the first time in a very long time, a sudden, cold wave of genuine fear rushed through Haruto's body. His emotional firewall couldn't even block it out. A bead of cold sweat broke out on his forehead and rolled down his cheek as he realized the King knew absolutely everything about last night.