Men of the Harem (137 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 5
What should one do when the person they drunkenly caused trouble with approaches to greet them?
“Stop avoiding my gaze. Let’s just exchange greetings.”
The moment the man who had come close finally spoke as if he recognized her, La Til felt her heart drop like a stone.
“Who are you?”
The captain of the Royal Guard stood up to block the man, but the man was clearly of a status too high to be stopped by a mere guard captain.
“Klein Avishina. A prince of Carissen.”
La Til scrunched up her face and quickly smoothed it out again. Internally, she let out a silent scream. The person she’d caused trouble with was even a prince! Hyacinth’s younger brother! She’d lost her mind!
La Til hadn’t heard specific details about Hyacinth’s half-siblings, but she knew Hyacinth was the eldest son.
Until Hyacinth married or had children, the previous emperor’s offspring would continue to be addressed as prince or princess—so this prince was certainly Hyacinth’s younger brother.
‘I’m going insane.’
She’d planned to leave in such a cool, perfect manner that Hyacinth would regret abandoning her—but instead, she’d caused a scene with his brother?
‘You’ve lost it, La Til. You’ve truly lost it.’
La Til berated herself harshly, but Klein was already standing right before her.
‘There’s no choice!’
She decided to brazen it out. After all, she’d been drunk, and a large part of her memory had genuinely evaporated. Even if she had caused a scene, it was nothing more than hugging him and making a fool of herself.
She could simply pretend not to remember. In fact, since she genuinely didn’t remember, it wasn’t even pretending.
With her face thickened by resolve, La Til turned around with a bright, forced smile.
“I am Latrasil Valertaine. Princess of Tariyum and head of the wedding congratulatory delegation from Tariyum.”
Out of habit, La Til offered her hand for a handshake, then kept up a polite smile even after greeting him.
“I’m Klein.”
Klein examined La Til with an ambiguous expression. His probing gaze was unapologetically direct, but La Til feigned composure and only made irrelevant remarks.
“Carissen seems to be a truly beautiful country.”
“Yes. It’s so warm here that you won’t freeze to death even if you sleep outside.”
Klein’s lips twisted into a crooked smile.
The captain of the guard, apparently offended by this rudeness, plainly showed his displeasure. La Til discreetly elbowed his side, laughed awkwardly, and changed the subject.
“Yes, indeed. Still, it wouldn’t be proper to sleep outside—the nighttime temperature drops, and you might catch a cold, wouldn’t you?”
“Do you really think so? You seem perfectly unharmed.”
“…Of course. Ah—what’s the most famous food in Carissen?”
“Alcohol.”
“…”
La Til silently smiled and nodded her head, but inside, she was screaming.
‘That man definitely remembers! He clearly remembers I’m the woman who got drunk and caused trouble with him!’
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have randomly mentioned freezing to death outside or brought up alcohol.
But suddenly blurting out, “Oh, now that I think about it—you’re the one!” would be even more awkward. In the end, La Til exaggerated a “hehe” laugh and muttered,
“You’re quite good at jokes, aren’t you?”
“Your Highness? Why are you acting like this?”
Captain Sarnet, the clueless fool. Perhaps because she’d used a tone she never normally used, the captain turned to her with a puzzled expression.
La Til gave him a gentle, benevolent-looking smile as well, then addressed Klein again.
“The procession for your older brother seems about to begin soon—perhaps we should sit and wait?”
Fortunately, right as she finished speaking, the trumpet announcing the start of the wedding ceremony sounded.
“We’ll finish our greeting later. Wait for me.”
Klein issued a firm, warning-like statement to La Til before returning to his seat.
Once Klein had walked away, the captain asked again,
“Your Highness, do you favor that prince? Why did you suddenly use such an eerie tone?”
“If you’ve already guessed my thoughts, couldn’t you at least stay quiet about it?”
Seemingly reassured that this was a normal reaction from her, the captain sighed in relief.
La Til groaned and shook her head.
‘Just how does the captain usually see me, anyway?’
“If you like someone, don’t hide your usual personality pointlessly. If you get found out, it’ll be even more shocking. Your Highness is most charming when you’re blunt.”
“Meaning it’s easiest to mess with me when I’m being blunt.”
“Well, that’s true too, but—”
Before becoming captain, Sarnet had been Crown Prince Lean’s close friend, making him unusually young compared to other captains.
Perhaps because of that, despite his exceptional swordsmanship and leadership—enough to silence any age-related criticism within half a year—he appeared to La Til merely as an annoying older brother’s friend.
‘I’ll never understand why noble young ladies find anything impressive about this guy.’
Glaring at Captain Sarnet, who was smiling breezily, La Til grumbled inwardly.
‘Though objectively speaking… he is handsome.’
But didn’t his sharp, upward-slanting eyes make him look unpleasant?
“Still, Your Highness—do you really favor that prince?”
“Of course not.”
“You’ve made a wise decision. You two don’t suit each other at all.”
“Why not? He’s handsome, isn’t he? Wouldn’t we look perfect together?”
“Men have instincts about these things. That guy reeks of a nasty personality at first glance. Someone like that isn’t compatible with Your Highness.”
“Then what kind of personality would be?”
Just then, music resounded with a loud crash, and fireworks shot into the sky in sequence. As the fireworks exploded, dazzling colors lit up the heavens, and silver confetti began drifting down all around.
Amid the crowd’s cheers, Hyacinth appeared—tall and elegant, draped in a crimson cloak seemingly three times his height.
“You don’t mean someone like that, do you?”
La Til stared at Hyacinth with conflicted eyes and muttered flatly.
“Absolutely not.”
“Then who?”
“What about me?”
La Til, who had been gazing pitifully at Hyacinth, turned with a sour expression at this unexpected remark. Captain Sarnet leaned casually against his chair, grinning playfully.
“That’s a nasty joke.”
La Til cut him off abruptly and turned her head away sharply.
Whether by coincidence or deliberate timing, Emperor Hyacinth happened to glance toward them at that exact moment.
La Til almost raised her middle finger at him but refrained, mindful of the onlookers. Instead, she tensed her neck and stared fixedly at the entrance where the bride would appear.
Moments later, ethereal music—like fairies dancing on harp strings—began to play, and mist, soft as clouds, spread across the floor.
Amid gasps of wonder, the bride, Aini Tur La Daga, finally emerged from beneath a white arch adorned with flowers and jewels.
Wearing a dress of pale gold and white, she looked heartbreakingly beautiful.
Everyone held their breath as she walked in. La Til deliberately ignored the sharp ache in her chest and forced herself to clap with a strained smile.
Watching the man she’d believed would marry her wed another woman was utterly devastating. As the two exchanged vows, slid rings onto each other’s fingers, and shared a light kiss, La Til experienced every imaginable unpleasant emotion.
It hurt. She was sad. But she was also furious and burning with resentment. She even twitched her hand, truly tempted to shut her eyes and throw a tantrum like a madwoman.
“If you lose control here, you’ll be disgraced for a hundred years.”
“I know.”
“Your expression is frightening, Your Highness.”
“It’s already too much to ask me to smile right now, Captain Sarnet.”
As soon as the ceremony ended, La Til returned to her quarters without even glancing back. Though countless formalities remained after the imperial wedding, she had no energy left to endure them.
She’d already delivered her wedding gift, fulfilled her ceremonial duty, and clapped enthusiastically throughout the whole ceremony. Wasn’t that enough from an ex-girlfriend? La Til grumbled the moment she entered her room.
Klein’s words about meeting after the ceremony had already vanished from her mind entirely.
“Are you alright?”
Perhaps moved by pity at her overwhelming emotions, Captain Sarnet brought her freshly made, sugar-glazed donuts and asked gently.
La Til shook her head fiercely and immediately devoured five donuts in a row.
“I’m not alright. My rage has risen all the way up to here.”
She pointed to her forehead with the edge of her palm and asked,
“Can we leave now?”
“We’ve passed the mandatory attendance portion. We may go.”
“Then let’s go.”
Though it might have been an unreasonable request, Captain Sarnet asked as if he’d been waiting,
“Shall I prepare for departure, then?”
La Til was so deflated by his calm reply that she corrected herself.
“…Let’s go tomorrow.”
“We could truly leave right now. Some nations depart immediately after the main ceremony ends.”
“Only if relations between the countries are poor.”
“Then let’s pretend ours are poor. We have ample justification.”
“No. I won’t let personal matters affect state affairs, Captain Sarnet.”
La Til murmured weakly and collapsed onto the bed.
“Besides… leaving immediately now would feel like running away. …I’ll leave tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, I’ll look Hyacinth straight in the eye and say my piece before I go.”
[This is the timeline separator]The next morning, La Til bathed thoroughly in water infused with rose petals and pearl powder, then changed into a crisp, perfectly pressed white uniform.
After double-checking front and back to ensure not a single wrinkle remained, she tied her long black hair high and let it fall freely.
Studying her reflection in the mirror, she asked Captain Sarnet,
“How do I look?”
“Magnificent.”
“How magnificent?”
“May I speak honestly?”
“Yes. I need your absolute honesty.”
“You look magnificent enough that I’d consider proposing.”
“That’s all I needed to hear.”
La Til smiled proudly and fastened the ceremonial sword to her waist.
During their student days, Hyacinth had especially loved seeing La Til in voluminous blue dresses. He’d said the vivid color complemented her ivory skin, making her look like a fairy darting through the forest.
‘Back then, I wore only blue clothes for an entire week because I wanted Hyacinth to admire me more.’
But that princess who once yearned for Hyacinth’s approval no longer existed.
La Til exhaled sharply and stepped out the door.
“I’ll show Hyacinth properly. I’m an extraordinary woman even without someone like him—and that bastard will regret losing me for the rest of his life.”
[This is the timeline separator]When La Til declared she’d leave immediately, couldn’t bring herself to say “take care,” and would curse him thrice daily, Hyacinth asked with a sorrowful expression,
“Must you really go this far, La Til?”
This wasn’t the face of a groom who’d just married yesterday. His eyes, which should have sparkled, were shadowed and dull, his whole face weighed down by grief.
“He’s already regretting it,” Captain Sarnet muttered quietly, but Hyacinth didn’t spare a glance at anyone except La Til. To him, only La Til existed—Captain Sarnet might as well have been invisible.
Seeing the man she’d loved for years in pain tugged at La Til’s own heart.
But she still had to say what needed saying.
“Yes. This is exactly how far I must go.”
“Just five years. Can’t you wait for me just five years? I can settle everything within five years, La Til.”
“No.”
“La Til… you’re royalty too—you must understand. It truly was an unavoidable choice.”
“I know. I understand. I’ve already told you—I understand. But understanding you and forgiving or accepting you are completely different matters.”
“La Til… please.”
“Five years—don’t make it sound so simple. Is it really just five years? Within five years, you’ll take in Lady Aini and countless concubines. Isn’t that the quickest way to strengthen your imperial authority?”
“!”
“Then for five years, how many times must I watch you marry other women? And you still ask me to wait?”
Hyacinth’s face twisted in anguish. His entire body radiated suffering. Even in sorrow, he remained beautiful.
La Til’s heart felt wrung dry with pain.
Hyacinth had been the first man La Til ever loved—the man with whom she’d sworn eternal love, dreamed, promised, and believed without doubt.
Her words to him—that she understood—had been sincere. She truly did understand Hyacinth. Everyone talked endlessly about love, but how many could actually abandon everything for it?
Hyacinth had been forced to choose between love and the imperial throne—and rationally, he’d chosen the throne.
Perhaps he truly would have kept his promise. He was brilliant, decisive, and capable enough to accomplish anything he set his mind to.
To claim her heart wasn’t still wavering would be a lie.
Even now, she wanted to thread her fingers through his soft brown hair, rain kisses upon his smooth forehead, and promise to wait. She longed for his sorrow-filled gray eyes to belong only to her.
But La Til steadied her wavering resolve.
“Try imagining it from my side. Could you do it, Hyacinth?”
She stepped back one pace and stared directly at him. She could feel her own voice trembling. Heat gathered at the corners of her eyes.
Damn it. To keep from bursting into tears, La Til widened her eyes and asked again,
“If I married another man and took in concubines one after another, then asked you to wait for me—could you do it?”
“I…”
“No. Wait. Don’t answer yet.”
Hyacinth, who’d begun to speak, looked at her with questioning eyes.
La Til forced a smile onto her lips with sheer willpower.
“Wait. I’ll ask that question again later. You can answer me then.”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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Well, I expected that she would take concubines from other countries as they helped her with ascension.
The revenge against Hyacinth is quite harsh. A man wouldn’t expect something like that, especially one as narcissistic.
Well, it’s quite fun. It’s interesting and light to read. Feelings of the characters are exposed clearly. 👍🏻