The Emperor
A vote was held in Palma.
To be precise, it was a revote.
A vote to determine the most beautiful woman in Palma.
The previous vote had been canceled due to a certain incident, so they decided to reschedule it.
However, there was one problem.
“Are those two the only candidates?”
“Hmm….”
People were disappointed to hear that the previous candidates, Bruna and Lupina, were the only ones running again.
They still had vivid memories.
Before they suddenly fainted from a strange energy, a number of beautiful women appeared before them.
The women were undoubtedly more beautiful than Bruna and Lupina. Moreover, each of them exuded an intense color.
Originally, the vote was supposed to be between one of the two women chosen by Hera and Aphrodite. So no matter how beautiful the other women were, they couldn't have said anything at the time.
But the two Goddesses were gone.
No one knew what had happened, but Hera and Aphrodite had left Palma, leaving behind Bruna and Lupina, whom they had supported.
Perhaps someone in Palma had angered the two Goddesses. The citizens trembled in fear, but nothing changed as time passed.
The two Goddesses just disappeared. Without a trace.
Without the Goddesses, the forces that had been moving under the guise of the Goddesses disappeared, Bruna and Lupina had no reason to fight each other, and the fervor of the vote, which had been prepared for the position of God, had completely cooled down.
And in the midst of all this, the vote began again. There was no way the citizens' hearts would flutter.
However…
“Is this where I stand?”
…Not until they knew of the woman who had secretly applied to officially participate.
On the day of the vote, there were three beauties standing side by side. Naturally, two of them were Bruna and Lupina.
The moment the remaining one stepped forward, the citizens knew the outcome of this vote.
“Hmm, it was a bit hectic last time, so it’s nice to be able to participate officially.”
Sybil Forte.
She brushed back her long pink hair and simply sparkled.
‘Frondier.’
However, behind that confident attitude and self-satisfied smile, there was a deep anxiety.
She had heard about the situation from Gregory.
Azier was dead. Frondier had left to confirm it. And not long after, Elodie had followed.
‘I don’t know what the situation is like over there right now.’
Frondier had left Sybil in charge of this place. He wanted her to win in Palma City.
But he couldn’t have predicted Azier’s death.
Frondier does not predict tragedies. The moment he predicted one, he would do everything in his power to stop it.
So the fact that he wanted Sybil to win this vote must have had nothing to do with Azier.
Frondier had said that he was interested in the prize, so that must have been his original goal.
But she was here now.
She was Sybil Forte.
‘There must be a reason I’m here.’
Fate is on her side. Ever since she became convinced of that, Sybil's way of thinking had been different from others.
Caw─
At that moment, a crow cried.
Sybil had a hunch and raised her head.
As expected, the crow landed on her shoulder.
[…Report.]
“Yes, tell me.”
The crow whispered in a low voice into Sybil's ear.
So that no one else around them could hear.
Sybil's eyes gradually sank as she listened.
“…For now.”
Sybil quietly spoke, as Lupina and Bruna watched her from either side.
“If I don’t like the prize, I’ll do as I please.”
* * *
Palma Royal Palace, the King’s private quarters.
The King of Palma had been in deep distress lately.
Aphrodite wouldn’t see him.
There was no doubt that she was in the annex. She always answered him.
But all of her answers were roundabout rejections. It had been a long time since the King of Palma had seen Aphrodite’s face.
After the incident, Aphrodite had disappeared from the public eye.
Everyone believed that she had left Palma altogether, but she was actually still in Palma, in the very heart of it.
“Your Highness.”
Sinha came to the King’s office and gave a long report.
The King of Palma barely listened. What was important to him now was not the monarchy or anything like that.
How could he win back Aphrodite’s heart…?
“And the results of the revote are out.”
“…The revote?”
The King of Palma, who had been letting most of what Sinha was saying go in one ear and out the other, perked up at the word.
That’s right. There was a revote. The beauty contest had been interrupted midway, so they decided to hold a revote.
In fact, that was also because he had started it hoping that Aphrodite, who had given Lupina her divine power, would show her face again when the revote was held.
But Aphrodite did not appear on the day of the revote either, so it was meaningless.
“So, who was chosen?”
The King of Palma asked in a voice that had lost interest.
“Sybil Forte.”
“…Who?”
It was a name the King of Palma had never heard before, neither Lupina nor Bruna.
“You will remember her, Your Highness. The woman with pink hair.”
“…Ah, that woman.”
Originally, during the vote, there was a woman who stole the eyes of everyone in the square in the middle of it all.
The vote had become a mess ever since that woman appeared.
“So that woman’s name was Sybil Forte.”
The King of Palma recalled Sybil’s appearance.
She was certainly beautiful. Lupina and Bruna were also the most beautiful women in Palma City, carefully selected. Moreover, they had become even more beautiful after receiving divine power.
‘…Her beauty was close to that of a God.’
This was not an exaggeration or a formality. Especially since the King of Palma knew Aphrodite's face. He was just saying what he saw.
“But there is a problem.”
“A problem?”
“We were originally going to give the winner a golden apple as a prize, but it was stolen and we haven’t been able to find it yet.”
Frondier already had the golden apple. The Nine’s heads had stolen it and given it to him.
It was now fused with his body, so it no longer existed.
A golden apple that couldn’t possibly exist. So they had to give her another prize.
“So we tried to give her gold at first, but she refused. We promised her a position, but she refused that too.”
“Then what does she want? Does she need a man, perhaps?”
If this contest had been for men, there would have been such a method.
But it was a beauty contest, and it was hard to imagine that the woman who won this contest would need a man.
“She says she wants to meet Your Highness.”
“…Me?”
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