The mighty Emperor of the Decreste Empire had no wife. Yet, in his Royal Harem were 100 beautiful concubines from all around the world.
Seated inside an imperial carriage on the way to the Stone Palace to become the 101th concubine of the Emperor was Prince Villiem Reinhardt.
He had never looked so breathtaking in his entire life. His light brown hair was slicked back, his eyebrows were pruned to perfect shapes, and his long, scanty lashes were neatly curled.
His small lips were colored with rouge. Diamond earrings hung symmetrically on his ears that had been pierced the previous day. He was wearing a fitted white outfit with a low collar and a pair of polished white shoes to go with it.
Villiem was a handsome man, no doubt about that. But he had been dressed to appear as a beautiful man. One tempting enough to gain the favor of the devil's son, er- the Emperor of Decreste.
Anyone else in Villiem's place, who was an upstanding citizen, a beloved prince, and a dashing prodigy, would have killed themselves or fled from the Empire rather than accept the fate of becoming a concubine to a tyrant.
But Villiem Reinhardt was not like anyone else.
'The Empire's Saint'—people called him. All his actions were true and righteous, and he would never dare to tell a lie nor shirk off his responsibilities.
His noble character was the reason why he was paying the price for his brother's political blunder against the Empire.
The imperial carriage came to a stop in front of the Stone Palace. Disregarding its dungeon-like name, the Stone Palace was actually extraordinary in its design. The pillars plated in gold and blooming flowers curled round each corner.
This was to be Villiem's living quarters from now on, along with 19 other concubines. The Stone Palace was reserved for the unimportant and unfavored concubines.
Its name was coined from the ideology that the concubines living here, like stones, were irrelevant clumps of sand that no one cared to look at twice.
Nevertheless, there was a bright smile on Villiem's colored lips as the door to the imperial carriage was opened by a helper and he stepped out of it.
Wind blew on his face and made a few strands of light brown hair go astray. The brown shade in his hazel eyes shone amber as sunlight rested on his facial features.
"Wow, it's so quiet here…" was the first thing Villiem said, observing his surroundings.
Though, he had not been expecting a crowd of people to welcome him. The front yard of the Stone Palace was just so empty that one wouldn't be able to tell that people lived inside.
"Your presence is clearly not welcomed or appreciated." A cold, deep voice rang from beside Villiem.
Villiem glanced at his side to see his best friend/assistant/bodyguard, Felix Nonaim, scoping the area with a detached look in his deep brown eyes. Those eyes that always seemed to reflect nonchalance to every situation.
The strikingly gorgeous assistant who neither looked like a man or woman was a head taller than Villiem with broader shoulders and better defined muscles. His angled jaw and indifferent expression shrouded him in an aura that did well to keep others away.
"Clearly." Villiem said back, positioning himself to carefully study the Stone Palace.
He might not have ever dreamt of staying in a place like this in the past, but he was here now because fate had a different plan in store for him.
His second brother, Codette Reinhardt, who was the former Senior Treasurer of the Empire had recklessly gambled away about 50% of the Empire's budget for the year.
As punishment, he was stripped of his imperial position and beaten to almost death, then ordered to compensate the Empire by the Emperor.
Due to this public humiliation, The King of Everflow renounced Codette as his son and shunned him from the family, leaving nothing to his name.
Without his family's wealth, Codette had no means to pay back the money he squandered. All he had was the love of his younger brother. And he used that to his advantage, offering Villiem as collateral to the Emperor in a heartbeat.
Villiem could already be said to be the 'True Emperor of Decreste' in the eyes of commoners, so of course the people would feel more secure with him as a collateral.
That was how Villiem found himself given to the Emperor to make up for his brother's losses.
Villiem hadn't struggled or chosen to leave the Empire in the dire situation, he instead geared up (dressed up prettily) and had himself driven to the Royal Palace to take responsibility.
"Let's go in." Villiem said to Felix, then marched into the Stone Palace like it was his real home.
A short male servant with a hunched back was standing at the door when Villiem and his assistant walked through the main entrance of the palace.
"This way." The servant said indifferently without glancing at Villiem or even greeting him.
"Show respect to His Highness!" Felix was quick to pull out a sword and point at the throat of the servant.
The servant's eyes widened in fear. He looked like he hadn't expected a sword to be pointed at his neck despite his disrespect.
He had been free of worry since he was attending to Villiem Reinhardt, of all people. The humble prince's tales touched every corner of the Empire. And some of his tales painted him to be a weak pushover with no backbone.
However Felix… Felix was not like his master.
"Drop that this instant," Villiem said to Felix in disapproval.
"This disrespectful slave didn't even acknowledge you before opening his mouth to—"
"Acknowledge me for what? Who am I?" Villiem lifted his chin.
Felix's grip on the sword trembled as he said, "Y-You're the third Prince of Everflow…"
"No, I'm the concubine of the Emperor of Decreste. Put down your sword." There was no trace of bitterness or disgust in Villiem's tone as he spoke.
Once one became a concubine, their previous identity was meaningless. Villiem had accepted this. There was no need for anyone to call him a prince or refer to him as 'His Highness' anymore.
He was just a concubine now.
"... Yes, Master."
After a beat, Felix put down his sword. His jaw was tightly clenched, depicting anger which he dared not to act on.
"Apologize to him." Villiem said.
The servant's pupils shook. He had almost been killed, now he was getting an apology from a swordmaster!
"I apologize for my actions just now. Forgive me." Felix bowed his head to the mere servant.
The latter didn't say anything in response, probably too shocked to react. A different servant then appeared at that moment and offered to lead Villiem to his quarters.
No one could tell what was going through Villiem's mind as he was welcomed into a small and dusty room with low-grade furniture.
The servant left Villiem after showing him the room.
"These people really have no respect…" Felix spat hatefully as he took in the state of the room.
"A bit small, but after a few touches, it'll be okay." Villiem was optimistic, sounding as though he hadn't heard Felix's words. He looked at the guy with a gentle smile on his face. "Our things will be arriving here soon. Let's work hard to clean up this place, okay?"
Felix: "..."