Dungeon Defense (WN)

“…….”

The imperial princess examined the man thoroughly. There was nothing unique about him. If it weren’t for the small horn sticking out of his head, she might have mistaken him for a normal man.

The man was whipped on stage and violated by the trainers.

Something about watching the brutal lord of monsters get his rear penetrated by a mere human male was capable of stimulating the hearts of the young daughters from royal families. His white skin and slim body were appealing. The Demon Lord’s screams were fascinating, so it added an extra flavor.

While feeling disgusted by this display, the imperial princess, as someone who had studied the disciplines of kingship all her life, also calmly evaluated the value of the subject. 

A ‘special performance’ which could only be viewed by the highest of imperial nobles wasn’t something that was unique to this opera theater. As the ethics of the empire’s upper class degraded endlessly, if something that could stimulate their luxurious but boring lives exists, then they would throw their gold coins at it without reserve.

Theater owners scrambled to develop programs that could obtain the patronage and money of aristocrats. A Demon Lord is sodomized here, with this catchline in front of them, this theater has been monopolizing all of the fame recently.

The Demon Lord wasn’t the only one that appeared on the stage. As time passed, elves, mermaids, sirens, high-ranking fairies, etc, rare races that slave hunters would die for appeared one by one. They were violated or tortured before leaving the stage. It was up to the choice of the spectators.

Not only could they view the show, but the fact that you could have intercourse⎯⎯or something more than that⎯⎯with whatever race you wanted was supposed to be one of the reasons behind this opera theater’s fame.

The imperial princess asked while in the glass room that should be occupied by only her alone. Once she didn’t receive a reply, the imperial princess asked again.

“Answer me. This is an order.”

“……Your Excellency.”

A woman appeared out of thin air. She was enshrouded by a black mantle.

“This one has advised Your Excellency several times before, but shadows must not have mouths.”

“How could humans not have mouths?”

“……Having personal conversations with a Shadow is not good for Your Excellency nor is it good for us Shadows. If a personal relationship were to be formed between us, then Your Excellency would be unable to calmly cut us off when in danger.”

Hm, the imperial princess mused before turning to look at the woman.

“Yuria, allow me to ask you something out of sincere curiosity.”

“Inquire anything.”

“Do I seem like the kind of person who would do that?”

The woman called Yuria closed her mouth.

The girl before her.

At the age of 4, she mastered the Ancient Imperial Language. At the age of 5, she mastered the Ancient Republic Language. At the age of 7, she became well versed in every form of geometry that currently exists. At the age of 10, she was praised by all members of the Royal Society as ‘the first prodigy of the imperial family since the founding of the country’. At her current age of 16, she had become a Fourth Circle mage and a Rank 3 swordsman, and she was known as the monster of the Empire’s imperial family that had mastered both literary and martial arts as an honorary member of the Empire’s academy which was something that had never been achieved before.

Elizabeth Atanaxia Evatriae von Habsburg.

With her title as a countess, she was already taking part in imperial councils. She actively managed to create her own faction in the council with the goal of national prosperity and military power. Although the Empire was rotten to its core, there were still a few competent people who thought for the sake of the nation, and they unquestionably gathered under Imperial Princess Elizabeth’s wing. They were referred to as the ‘Imperial Princess Faction’. These days, government administration has gotten to a point where they almost can’t function properly without the presence of the Imperial Princess Faction.

‘……There are also rumors that the assassination of the Third and Fourth Imperial Princes was Her Highness the Imperial Princess’ stratagem.’

There were 4 princes and 3 princesses in the imperial family. Among them, Elizabeth is the third imperial princess. Her sisters passed away due to tuberculosis when they were young and both her third brother and biological little brother died one by one. Her third brother abruptly caught an infectious disease. Her third brother was the fourth imperial prince and her biological little brother was attacked by monsters while out hunting.

There was a period of time where rumors of Elizabeth’s deep involvement in her brothers’ deaths circulated. Not only did people find it hard to believe that the third prince, who was normally healthy, would die to an illness, but it was also difficult to rationally believe that a monster like a minotaur would appear in the forest the imperial family often frequented. Since the Imperial Princess Elizabeth went up two steps in the succession of the throne due to the demise of both the third and fourth imperial princes, was this not all her a part of her ploy? The conspiracists theorized.

However, no one took these rumors seriously.

The Imperial Princess Elizabeth⎯⎯was only 13 years old at that point, after all.

Furthermore, the imperial princess has been ethically perfect since she was little. She’s renowned for acting for the sake of her parents and her benevolence and love for her people. Although the Empire’s imperial family would even get ridiculed by random street harlots, every time these sorts of exchanges happened, ‘except for the imperial princess’ would always be added at the end.

Not only is she a peerless genius, but she has her own powerful faction as well.

She’s ethically perfect and receives the full support of scholars and her people.

Ultimately, the other successors of the throne, the first and second princes, are known as human garbage among human garbage.

The imperial princess may only be third in line to succeed the throne……but anyone with the slightest bit of wit could easily predict that she will do something to become the empress. Even if she doesn’t resort to anything, the people will most likely revolt on their own and make her the Empress.

“…….”

In the end, Yuria didn’t respond. She couldn’t imagine the imperial princess getting held down by some trivial attachment. She shrugged with an expression that said ‘if the imperial princess says so’.

“Never mind. It is enough as long as you know what sort of person you are protecting.”

Yuria lowered her head.

“My apologies, Your Excellency.”

“You are forgiven. More importantly, you have yet to answer my question. I asked whether you would willingly pay money to watch this performance.”

“I do not have a hobby of secretly watching another person get raped.”

“Hm. Are you not a mage that holds a curiosity towards all things in the world? Does a Demon Lord getting violated not attract your interest?”

……You say that, but Your Excellency is also a Fourth Circle mage.

Yuria swallowed those words before speaking.

“Your Excellency said that you would see this performance today, so I had personally looked into Demon Lord Dantalian.”

“Oh?”

The imperial princess seemed interested. Yuria organized the information she had in her head. She instantly concluded what would be the most effective way to give an explanation.

“It is difficult to understand how a Demon Lord could be caught by humans so easily. As Your Excellency knows, Demon Lords can control monsters however they want, and since they shut themselves in their Demon Lord castles and reinforce their defenses, they are extremely difficult to capture; therefore.”

“That Demon Lord had a special reason to come out.”

“Correct.”

The imperial princess took a sip of her tea. This was her way of gesturing for Yuria to continue.

Talking this much bothered Yuria as a Shadow, but she judged that it would be better to earn the genius imperial princess’ affection than to try and dissuade her. Yuria was a Seventh Circle high-class mage, but she was a half-breed between a demon and a human. There was nothing in human society that was disdained more than a demon half-breed.

That’s why there’s no harm in getting on the imperial princess’s good side.

While holding this thought in a corner of her mind, Yuria continued.

“According to the information I gathered, Demon Lord Dantalian foolishly made an appearance in a human city. They say it was a city in the northern region of the Kingdom of Sardinia. The reason why he went there is unclear, but Dantalian entered that city’s slave market.”

“A human slave market?”

“Yes. There is an even more surprising piece of information…….”

A smile appeared on Yuria’s lips. It was a smile of ridicule.

“As expected, the reasons are unknown, but he assaulted the slave market in order to let a single sex slave escape.”

“Sex slave? Did you just say a sex slave?”

“Yes. Is Your Excellency perhaps aware of the House of Farnese?”

The imperial princess nodded.

“Naturally. Were they not once a distinguished duke family of the Sardinia Kingdom?”

“Daughters of the Farnese Household were rumored to be beautiful. After the House of Farnese fell to ruin after the Hydrangea War, their second daughter ended up becoming a sex slave. Demon Lord Dantalian had acted for the sake of acquiring her.”

The imperial princess knitted her fine brows.

“How foolish. For a monarch to act for the sake of a mere sex slave.”

Yuria nodded.

“I agree full-heartedly. It is unquestionable that he is truly an unintelligent individual.”

“Be it a nation or a city, Demon Lords are the arch enemies of all humans. He acted without much restraint despite knowing that he would not be able to escape safely if his identity were revealed. He himself must have thought that he took precautions for his own safety, but the fact that he was captured and being displayed like this in some theater proves this Demon Lord’s foolishness. Hm, I truly fail to comprehend his actions.”

The imperial princess brushed the corners of her mouth. After pausing to think for a moment, she spoke.

“Is the esteemed daughter of the Farnese family sincerely that much of a beauty? Is it to the point of touching a Demon Lord’s heart?”

“I predicted that Your Excellency would be curious.”

Yuria beamed.

“I personally went to see the daughter of the Farnese family myself a few days ago.”

“Oh?”

The imperial princess was slightly impressed. She thought the woman in front of her was simply a talented mage, but it seems now that she also knows basic politics.

Basic politics include knowing what the other party wants beforehand and acting before anyone else to provide the other party with what they want. An information network and wisdom are required to learn these things beforehand, and both the ability to act and connections are required to provide it before anyone else. Politics is a battle of information, wisdom, connections, and action.

‘It would be a waste to leave her as a mere shadow.’

The imperial princess may receive the complete support of the people, but there are a lot of factions that don’t think of her favorably as well. The representatives of those factions would be the first and second princes. They dispatched an endless amount of assassins.

Among the Shadows, protecting the imperial princess was a task that was avoided the most. The reason was simple. It was a dying job, after all. No matter how talented the Shadows may be, the skill of the assassins sent by the first and second princes wasn’t something to laugh at. Therefore, bloody battles where blood is washed away by blood have occurred.

The imperial princess believed that she should pull this mage out from the shadow and to the light. She felt that it would be a waste to let her be sacrificed in covert battles. The imperial princess valued and loved competent people.

Yuria vaguely felt as if she had earned some points as she spoke.

“As expected, the daughter of the Farnese family was confined to a high-class brothel in the Empire. Sure enough, she emitted a beauty that could cause the downfall of a country! If I were to give Your Excellency my sincere opinion, then I was certain that I would never be in awe of another woman’s beauty after meeting Your Excellency.”

Yuria bowed.

“But I must confess that my belief was broken a few days ago. Her Ladyship Farnese has a beauty that would not lose in radiance if placed next to Your Excellency.”

“So you are saying that it is enough to make a Demon Lord lose his rationality and act.”

“Yes. It is pathetic that a monarch would be tempted by beauty and fall into ruin……but if you consider that there have been several monarchs throughout history that had met the same fate, Demon Lord Dantalian is not a fool of unprecedented proportions.”

The imperial princess stood up from the sofa.

Her face looked as if it had lost interest.

“I came here because I heard that Demon Lords could communicate with monsters. I figured a Demon Lord might be helpful in future revolts. Obtaining the cooperation of monsters would be greatly beneficial to the nationwide image that I am drawing.”

She shook her head.

“But after hearing your information, my disappointment is immeasurable. Look at that man’s face.”

The imperial princess pointed towards the stage beyond the glass wall with her chin.

The Demon Lord was being pounded by the trainer’s rod there. His pitiful groans were being amplified by a magic tool and broadcasted to the glass rooms.

“Does it not look as if he had lost all hope? It is the face of a defeated man tired by despair. I do not wish to make a person who had lost all hope my subordinate. Especially if he is someone who had ruined his life because of a girl.”

This was a waste of time, the imperial princess concluded as she left the glass room.

Yuria cast an invisibility spell in order to follow after the imperial princess. Before leaving the glass room, Yuria turned to look at Dantalian one last time. A normal man groaning in pain was all she could see.

‘As expected, I am partially a demon, so it is my duty to help you……but I do not wish to serve someone as foolish as you. I apologize, but I will be following a slightly better individual.’

Yuria left the room without any lingering feelings.

Even after they left, the man’s faint cries continued to fill the empty glass room for a while.

***

⎯⎯ Ending no.02 Bad Ending: <Popular Idol of the Theater★>

⎯⎯ An ending has been added to your album.

─ Would you like to replay the game?

***

Author’s Note

The reason why Lapis’ affection is the condition of this ending is due to the fact that Lapis would help Dantalian while he is in a predicament in the slave auction if her affection is high enough and run away if it were too low. Different from the main story, this Dantalian failed to escape the slave market.

***

TL note: Thanks for reading the chapter. After this ending, I don’t think there are any more ‘what if bad endings’. I know there is a section with another ‘what if’, but that isn’t a bad ending. It’s just another route. We got introduced to a new character here, so maybe we’ll see her again in the main story.

Nothing much else to say, so I’ll see you guys in the next release.

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