Die If I Can't Marry Off My Favorite (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 12
10 PM. The time when Asperan, the sovereign of Loakin, officially finished his duties.
Asperan, having just completed his review of the final document, rose from his seat.
“That’s enough for today.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Led by his chief aide, Kiara, the aides began gathering the documents.
The attendants waiting by the door entered, draped a coat over Asperan’s shoulders, and straightened his attire.
“Please go ahead, Your Grace. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Very well. You’ve all done well.”
Asperan left the Princia Palace, where state affairs were conducted, accompanied by the respectful farewells of his subordinates. Only one escort accompanied him—his most trusted confidant and captain of the royal guard, Canis.
Walking a step behind, Canis spoke up.
“You seem in good spirits tonight, Your Grace.”
“Hmm. Several matters turned out quite satisfactorily.”
The troublesome issue of the juvenile monster had been resolved, and he had also acquired a promising talent.
Now, all he needed was to return to his chambers, attend to his personal affairs while maintaining this pleasant mood, and retire for the night—thus concluding what had been a long and eventful day.
Yet, it seemed the world had no intention of letting him end his day in peace.
Asperan quietly stared at a dark silhouette staggering toward him from afar.
“…What is that? A monster?”
Canis narrowed his eyes and asked. After briefly sensing its magical energy, Asperan shook his head.
“It’s not a monster.”
“Then what is it? Could it be… a ghost!?”
“Don’t be absurd.”
After chiding him, Asperan fell silent for a moment before replying.
“It’s Prom.”
“Eh?”
Startled, Canis craned his neck to scrutinize the shadowy figure more closely. Indeed, the approaching figure was none other than Prom, director of the Beltraum Research Institute.
Their keen hearing picked up Prom’s labored breathing and his repeated cries of “Your Grace, Your Grace!”
Asperan rubbed his temples. Merely listening to it brought a sudden wave of exhaustion.
The sedentary researcher’s pace was excruciatingly slow. Finally, Asperan used spatial teleportation magic to bring Prom directly before him.
Looking down coldly at Prom sprawled at his feet, Asperan mocked him in an icy tone.
“Have you taken up a new hobby of roaming the palace like a drunkard in the dead of night?”
Prom kept his face buried in the floor and offered no reply. Asperan crossed his arms and tilted his head sideways.
“Why are you silent, Prom? If this is your wordless way of saying you no longer need your tongue, I’d be happy to remove it for you myself. Just say the word.”
At that moment, Prom suddenly grabbed onto Asperan’s trouser leg.
Asperan frowned. When Prom finally lifted his face, it was smeared with tears and snot.
Prom burst into loud sobs.
“Your Grace! Yooour Grrrace—!”
“What is it?”
“That woman—that woman is a demon! A demon, I tell you!”
Please, for the love of all that’s holy, get rid of her—save me, I beg you—!
Asperan callously shoved Prom away but raised an eyebrow at those words.
“That woman? You mean Shuria?”
Prom didn’t answer—only wailed as if his soul were being torn from his body.
Asperan and Canis exchanged puzzled glances. While researchers acting strangely was nothing new, this was unprecedented.
‘…I suppose I’ll have to go see for myself.’
Asperan sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead.
The young sovereign’s frown deepened further as this unexpected new incident descended upon him.
[This is the timeline separator]Asperan immediately picked up the still-sniffling Prom and headed straight for the research institute.
The moment he entered the room Prom indicated, he was met with an utterly bizarre scene.
“It’s too hard… so hard. I’ve never had anything this difficult happen in my life before.”
“It’s all… because I’m trash….”
“I just want to sleep….”
The researchers—who normally found everything outside their studies a nuisance—were each clutching cleaning tools, frantically scrubbing and wiping the room as if their lives depended on it.
Even more shockingly—
“Stop whining! The more you complain, the less time you’ll have to sleep or do research! Understand?”
“Hic… sob…”
“Stop crying already! All that does is drain your energy. Use that strength to scrub harder!”
“Sob… y-yes…”
“Good. Now then—Sec, you finish mopping the floor; Titira, clean the puppy pen; Kiri, wash the dog bowls! Let’s hurry and get this done!”
“Yes, y-yes…!”
These same people, who wouldn’t so much as blink without a direct order from their sovereign, were now moving in perfect unison at someone else’s sharp command.
Dazed, Asperan turned his gaze toward the small attached washroom from which the charismatic orders were emanating.
Suddenly, someone burst out of the washroom. For a moment, Asperan couldn’t believe his eyes.
It was none other than Shuria, the new retainer he had just taken into his service today.
Just a few hours ago, she had been cheerfully greeting everyone as the institute’s newest recruit—how on earth had she ended up making senior researchers roll around like this?
And what was with these obedient lumps groveling on the floor?
“I only have one more pup left to bathe! So until then… Huh? Your Grace!?”
Shuria, holding a soaked puppy wrapped in a towel against her chest, leapt up in surprise upon spotting Asperan.
At Shuria’s exclamation, the researchers crawling on the floor instantly lifted their heads and cried out in unison.
“Your Grace, save us!”
“Quiet.”
Asperan kicked aside the researchers clinging to his feet with ruthless indifference.
He turned to Shuria and asked,
“What’s going on here? Why are they acting like this?”
Shuria glanced around at the chaotic room and the researchers sobbing on the floor, then sheepishly scratched her cheek.
Finally, she opened her mouth to speak.
“Well, you see….”
[This is the timeline separator]“Dust and fur rolling in the corners. Cobwebs on the ceiling. That awful stench.”
My finger swept across the interior of the kennel.
“Empty, filthy water bowls! Stale dog food! Pens overflowing with waste—and puppies trapped inside for nearly two months!”
I pointed at the kennels where the puppies were confined, then shook my fist in the air and demanded in an impassioned voice,
“Now, looking at all this—what do you think!?”
The line of researchers standing before me wore blank expressions. Tilting their heads in unison to the right, they replied together,
“We want to leave this place…?”
“That’s not it at all!”
Frustrated, I pounded my chest with my fist.
My chest felt as if I’d swallowed a hundred dry chicken breasts in a row, while my head burned as though filled with magma.
“Think about it—if someone locked you in a cramped, stinking place for two months, gave you no water, barely fed you, and didn’t even provide a toilet—how would you feel?”
“Well…”
Sec glanced at the other researchers as if seeking agreement.
“We already live pretty much like that~. Trapped in filthy, cramped rooms all day, barely drinking water or eating properly.”
“T-that’s true…”
Titira nodded hesitantly. Kiri and Prom looked just as sheepish.
Watching them act like this made my neck stiff with irritation.
Right then, I wanted nothing more than to carefully rescue a puppy from the smaller pen and then bash their heads against the empty steel kennel.
But I couldn’t let my favorite sovereign brand me a murderer.
Summoning every ounce of patience I had, I barely suppressed my boiling anger and spoke slowly, enunciating each word.
“The difference is—you chose that lifestyle yourselves! You neglected everything because you were too busy or too lazy with your research! These puppies were forcibly confined and neglected because of you!”
The researchers shut their mouths sullenly. Kiri, who had briefly snapped out of her daze when I yelled, closed her eyes again and mumbled to herself.
I parted my lips to further emphasize the severity of this facility’s neglect.
But just then, our ever-so-wise institute director spoke up in an exasperated tone.
“So what exactly do you expect us to do about it?”
“…Excuse me?”
“What right do you have to lecture us like this? Are you our superior now? Just because His Grace showed you a bit of favor, you’ve grown arrogant. Tch…”
“…”
“If you spotted problems, fix them yourself. That’s your job, isn’t it? We’re busy people. Stop bothering us and use your own brain for once. It’s not as if I’m showing incompetence or anything…”
‘…Ah.’
I let out a soft chuckle. So our director had officially started throwing his weight around.
He was outright refusing cooperation and acting petulant.
My boiling anger cooled instantly. I forced my momentarily frozen mind back into motion.
‘These people aren’t normal. Appeals to common sense or empathy won’t work.’
I needed to make them realize this situation would directly harm their own interests.
Only then would they voluntarily cooperate with me.
I lowered the hand that had been resting on my hip and nodded as if fully understanding.
“You’re absolutely right. From now on, this is my responsibility… and I’m certainly not your superior. You’re all very, very busy.”
“Hmph! Seems you finally get it.”
Prom flapped his lab coat and started to leave the room. I called after him,
“Since you’re so incredibly busy, I’ll submit all my work reports directly to His Grace from now on. Let me see… First, I’ll document exactly what the conditions were like when I first arrived, then request the supplies needed for improvements.”
“…What?”
Prom froze mid-step and let out a dumbfounded sound. I gave him an innocent look, as if puzzled by his reaction.
“What’s wrong? Please go ahead! I truly apologize for disturbing you during such a busy time. I’ll be extra careful not to bother you researchers again, even by accident.”
“Huh?”
“Of course, His Grace did instruct me to learn from you all and consult thoroughly before making decisions since I’m still inexperienced—but clearly, you’re far too busy to spare any attention for trivial matters like monsters.”
“Eh?”
“So if any problems arise, don’t worry—I won’t trouble you for help and cause inconvenience. I’ll just ‘handle it myself,’ as you so wisely advised. After all, it’s ‘my responsibility,’ isn’t it?”
“Wait.”
“Don’t worry! I’ll make sure to give His Grace a ‘thorough’ report today about the great insight you’ve given me!”
I finished with a sly smile. To sum it up:
His Grace clearly told you to assist me properly in managing the monsters. But you’re saying you’re too busy and bothered, so I should just handle everything alone?
Fine. I will. But remember—if I ‘handle it myself’ and something goes wrong, it’ll be entirely your fault, and you’ll bear full responsibility.
And don’t even think about blaming everything on me later. I’ll report every single word you’ve said and every attitude you’ve shown to His Grace without omission.
Oh, and that’s not all—I’ll also report exactly how you’ve been managing the puppies up until now. I wonder what His Grace will say about that?
Any intelligent researcher would have instantly grasped my meaning. True to form, Prom exploded in anger.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
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Oh my, I understand Shuria’s stressed feelings.. I also often do it when doing assignments..
is canis the second male lead? because the aura of the second male lead is very strong…