Men of the Harem (137 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 14
Did you really come because you had something urgent to say? Or did you come to stop Prince Klein from drinking? Given how suspiciously perfect your timing is, La Til couldn’t help but be suspicious even as she followed Duke Atraxi.
Yet, surprisingly, the news he delivered truly was urgent and important.
“Your Majesty. We’ve discovered evidence that Prince Tulla attempted to bring in foreign powers to oppose you.”
“Foreign powers?”
La Til exclaimed sharply in shock.
“Which nation?”
“We don’t know the exact country yet. However, neighboring nations have already pledged support to Your Majesty, and Carissen immediately sent their prince as a concubine—so it’s highly unlikely to be any of those countries.”
“Ha. That’s infuriating.”
La Til let out a deflated sigh.
“He tried so much within just half a year. Did he use the ‘Sovereign’s Seal’?”
“Yes. Since the Sovereign’s Seal remained inside the imperial palace all along.”
The Sovereign’s Seal held the same authority as the Emperor’s signature, making it absolutely binding in diplomatic affairs and treaties with foreign nations.
‘This is serious.’
La Til frowned with worry.
“If he went so far as using the Sovereign’s Seal to bring in foreign powers, he surely signed official documents and promised something in return. That lunatic.”
“Yes. The nations that contracted with Prince Tulla might now demand Your Majesty honor those agreements, citing the Sovereign’s Seal as proof.”
La Til groaned and held her head in her hands.
“You really left behind a colossal mess right up until the end, Tulla.”
Friendly nations wouldn’t make the outrageous demand that La Til honor a treaty arbitrarily signed by Prince Tulla—it would irreparably damage relations between the two countries.
However, since most friendly nations had already aligned themselves with La Til, it was highly probable that the foreign powers Tulla tried to bring in were hostile nations.
Would such nations truly understand Tarium’s circumstances at the time and accept that the Sovereign’s Seal had been misused by someone unauthorized?
Unlikely. They’d probably pretend ignorance and act as if they had no idea.
“Duke Atraxi. First, find out which country signed what kind of treaty. Even if it wasn’t formally recorded, since the seal was used, there must be documents somewhere.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
La Til nodded.
“…….”
“…….”
“……?”
But Duke Atraxi seemed odd. He’d clearly finished his report, yet he stood there silently without leaving.
An awkward silence filled the room.
La Til had nothing else to say to the duke, nor could she keep repeating details about the foreign powers when nothing new had been discovered. Eventually, she stared blankly at Duke Atraxi and asked,
“Is there anything else you’d like to say?”
Upon hearing her question, Duke Atraxi seemed to gather courage. With an even more serious and cautious expression than when giving his initial report, he asked nervously,
“Um… Your Majesty. When would be a good time to bring in our Ranamun?”
Though the question itself didn’t sound overly grave, La Til narrowed her eyes and gave an awkward half-smile.
‘So Duke Atraxi is really determined to make his son an imperial consort.’
She’d already been surprised when he was the first to submit official documents nominating his son as a concubine. But now, coming in person and clearly implying eagerness to have him accepted immediately was even more astonishing.
His flushed face suggested he felt embarrassed asking such a thing himself, yet…
‘But what am I supposed to do?’
La Til rolled her eyes. Now that he’d asked, she had to answer—but Chief Attendant hadn’t even selected the other three concubines yet.
Moreover, La Til had no intention of admitting Ranamun until all the other concubines were chosen.
Given Ranamun’s obviously high status and position, if he entered the harem first, the others would inevitably be overshadowed by him once they arrived.
Only someone as high-born and headstrong as Prince Klein might retain some dignity amidst that.
‘That won’t do.’
This harem wasn’t made to establish hierarchies—who did he think he was, trying to sort ranks already?
The concubines needed to fiercely compete for noble attention until La Til herself felt ready to receive an official consort. She absolutely could not allow any hierarchy to form within the harem.
Having made up her mind, La Til answered honestly.
“I plan to admit all five on the same day, once they’ve all been selected.”
“But Prince Klein has already…”
“He’s a foreigner. We merely provided special temporary lodging out of courtesy since he traveled from afar—but he hasn’t officially entered the harem yet. He hasn’t even formally taken a concubine’s seat.”
Duke Atraxi looked displeased but reluctantly nodded in agreement.
“I see. Understood, Your Majesty.”
[This is the timeline separator]Upon returning to his mansion, Duke Atraxi immediately went to find Ranamun.
“Ranamun! My son!”
Though it was late, Ranamun rarely went to bed early. He was certainly still awake tonight as well.
“My lord.”
“Where is Ranamun?”
“The young master is in the study.”
As expected, Ranamun was fully awake. Duke Atraxi handed his cane to the butler and unfastened a few stiff, uncomfortable collar buttons with one hand as he headed straight for the study.
Ranamun was seated comfortably with a footrest beside his desk, reading a book. Though the book’s title was outrageously lewd, from a distance—except for the words themselves—he appeared serene and scholarly.
Duke Atraxi stood there for a moment, briefly comparing his son to Prince Klein whom he’d seen earlier that day. Their faces were evenly matched…
“Father?”
Noticing his father’s gaze, Ranamun looked up from his book and met Duke Atraxi’s eyes.
“What are you doing?”
Without a word, Duke Atraxi walked straight to the desk where Ranamun sat.
“Was there something at the palace?”
Leaning against the desk, Duke Atraxi stared seriously at his son before replying.
“Another concubine who’ll enter the palace with you has already been admitted today.”
Ranamun closed his book, lowered his feet from the footrest, and slightly furrowed his smooth forehead.
“He became a concubine already?”
“No. He’s staying under guest treatment, claiming he has no place to stay since he’s from abroad.”
“Guest treatment? Who is this person receiving such treatment?”
“Prince Klein of Carissen. He’s Emperor Hyacinth’s half-brother.”
Ranamun raised one eyebrow skeptically.
“I’ve never even heard of him.”
Duke Atraxi nearly snapped, ‘Have you ever heard of anyone?’ but swallowed his words and explained instead.
“He wasn’t involved in state affairs. Probably never stood out as a prince even within Carissen.”
“Then it doesn’t matter. A foreign concubine was surely brought in for strategic diplomatic reasons. A dull-witted concubine with nothing but nationality as an advantage isn’t even competition.”
At Ranamun’s firm reply, Duke Atraxi clicked his tongue.
“That’s precisely the problem.”
“Does he have other advantages?”
“He’s very handsome—comparable to you.”
“…….”
“As you said, his nationality is indeed an asset. Being foreign, he has an exotic charm.”
Ranamun, who always believed himself the finest wherever he went, grew gradually stiffer and more displeased as his father unexpectedly praised the foreign prince so readily.
But Duke Atraxi believed it essential to assess rivals coldly and report honestly, so instead of comforting his son, he revealed Prince Klein’s decisive strength.
“He’s incredibly cunning. He arrived today and was already lying in wait in the hallway, trying to spend the night with Her Majesty on his very first day.”
“What…!”
“He seems to have twelve tails—stay on high alert. Understood?”
Having spoken, Duke Atraxi grew even more worried and looked at Ranamun. His eldest son was flawless in status, intellect, and looks—but precisely because of that, his pride was excessive.
That towering pride had become a wall. Ranamun struggled to approach others easily or accept those who approached him. His strengths had converged into a single flaw.
And now Prince Klein, matching him in looks and status, was an extraordinarily aggressive fox. If personality became the deciding factor, Ranamun might lose.
“…….”
Just then, after a moment lost in thought, Ranamun sighed and stood up.
“If Father speaks so highly of him, I’m growing curious.”
“You’ll see him daily once you both become concubines, whether you like it or not.”
“No. Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
Why suddenly tomorrow?
“Tomorrow, I’ll go and see for myself what kind of person he really is.”
[This is the timeline separator]The Chancellor, Duke Atraxi’s de facto rival, had remained entirely neutral during the recent imperial succession struggle and supported neither La Til nor Tulla.
As a result, while he preserved his position when La Til purged Tulla’s inner circle, his power had slightly diminished compared to Duke Atraxi.
Perhaps due to this narrowing influence, the Chancellor had also nominated his second son as a concubine—and La Til granted immediate approval without hesitation.
The heir of the Perfume Rose Guild Master had applied with such obvious and blatant intent that approval was inevitable.
Even nobles, after all, always needed money. In fact, nobles required even more money than commoners—to maintain staff, uphold appearances, manage vast mansions, and retain knights.
Wealthy merchants exploited this need, arranging marriages between their daughters or sons and impoverished nobles to elevate their social standing—even pushing them into remarriages with much older partners.
But this wasn’t just any noble—it was an imperial concubine position for an emperor without an empress.
If fortune favored them and a child was born to the emperor, a commoner could instantly become imperial royalty—and with even greater luck, they might become the maternal family of the next emperor.
Any shrewd merchant would certainly try to place their heir in such an opportunity.
But Mercenary King Calain…
La Til stared at Mercenary King Calain’s application for nearly thirty minutes, lost in thought.
“This one feels a bit odd.”
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t figure out why he’d applied—leaving her utterly baffled. Why would the Mercenary King suddenly volunteer to become a concubine?
“In that case, Your Majesty, shall we reject him?”
Seeing La Til unable to decide and fixated on just one document, Chief Attendant asked again.
“We’ve already chosen the next candidate in case he declines—an outstanding talent from the Magic Academy.”
“Well… I’m not sure. It feels uneasy, yet rejecting him outright doesn’t feel right either…”
La Til glanced down at Mercenary King Calain’s portrait and swallowed hard. He was sexy—extremely so. And as a Mercenary King, wouldn’t he possess a beastly kind of charm?
Ranamun and Klein were legendary beauties, the Chancellor’s second son a gentle beauty, and the guild heir likely refined and intellectual. In that case, maybe a rough kind of charm for the last spot wouldn’t be bad…
Reading La Til’s thoughts, Chief Attendant covered his mouth with his fist and asked tactfully,
“Shall we go with him, Your Majesty?”
[This is the timeline separator]The next day, after Ranamun left home claiming he’d personally meet Prince Klein, Duke Atraxi spent the entire day pacing anxiously around the mansion’s living room, waiting for his son.
Prince Klein seemed extraordinarily willful. Duke Atraxi grew more worried the more he thought about what might happen when such a personality met Ranamun—who treated everyone except himself as less than human.
“He’ll probably just exchange brief greetings and come back. Stop pacing already—it’s driving me mad!”
Although the Duchess scolded him irritably, Duke Atraxi merely paused briefly in the corner but couldn’t bring himself to go inside the room.
Finally, shortly after lunchtime, the awaited Ranamun returned.
“How was it, my son?”
Duke Atraxi rushed to the front door the moment he saw his son and pressed him immediately.
“Did you meet that fox? What did he say?”
Ranamun’s perpetually cold and expressionless face gave no clue whether the conversation had gone well or not, which was maddening.
“Yes. I met him.”
But Ranamun gave only a brief reply and walked straight across the hall, heading up the spiral staircase.
Wait—what did he even talk about? Why won’t he say more? Duke Atraxi quickly followed beside him and kept asking.
“What did he say? Did he speak rudely?”
Ranamun answered calmly.
“He claimed Her Majesty had been secretly in love with him for years.”
Though his tone was composed, Duke Atraxi staggered in shock—barely catching himself on the railing to avoid tumbling down the stairs.
He stared blankly at his son’s retreating back, already far ahead on the stairs. What?
“In love? Her Majesty? With him?”
Duke Atraxi hurriedly caught up to his son again.
“No, where could Her Majesty have even met him to fall in love?”
“He didn’t elaborate that far.”
“Then? What else did he say?”
“He said that even if I became a concubine, I’d just be another floral backdrop.”
“Floral backdrop?”
Duke Atraxi laughed in disbelief. His son—a floral backdrop? He’d sooner be a carnivorous plant than mere decoration. Huffing angrily, he snapped,
“You fool! You just came back after hearing that?”
“…….”
“No, right? You must’ve said something back, didn’t you?”
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
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MANGA DISCUSSION
1 Comment
Chapter Comments (4)
How can she be so blind and not see a really worthy man near her?
But.. on the other hand.. he will be out of that crowd for now – an exception.Such an unpleasant feeling is hovering after this part. I wish for some enjoyable moments soon.
I can’t wait for latil and her son to meet
Inline Comments (23)
La Til had one foot already in the corridor but turned her head to look back at
Did she just curse the Captain Sarnet to betray her?The sensation of that touch remained vivid—but was it really just a dream? Still
Scary. What is this? Ghost? I don’t think he’s one of the concubine. Either La Til was dreaming or he was a ghost.
Gesta hadn't always been this dense. Back when they were younger, he'd shown fla
On the contrary, Gesta is smart. He chose the style of I’m nice and weak and poor in order to win everyone’s pity.
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