The Empress' Beast Selection (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14
The one entering the banquet hall was unmistakably Roxan.
He crossed the carpet with measured steps.
His tall, solid frame was accentuated by a white ceremonial robe adorned with gold trim.
Unlike his usual habit of letting his bangs fall forward, today his black hair was swept back, revealing his forehead clearly up to his eyebrows.
She nearly stood up from her seat.
‘Roxan was Duke Leofort?’
But the duke’s name was Claude.
The moment she thought this, she realized her mistake.
After all, she had only overheard the red-haired knight call him Roxan—he had never actually stated his own name.
Sophia was still lost in confusion.
Roxan reached the dais and looked up.
He knelt on one knee right before the stairs.
This was the first time they faced each other as empress and duke.
Was it her imagination?
The corner of Roxan’s mouth had relaxed slightly. That fleeting smile felt like a signal meant only for Sophia to perceive.
Soon after, his expression returned to its former composure as he reported to the emperor.
“Claude Leofort. I have returned after subduing the barbarians.”
The duke, who had departed for the battlefield long ago, could only return now—after the imperial throne had already changed hands.
Though banquets were fundamentally arenas of power, many had attended this victory celebration simply to catch a glimpse of the duke.
Even among the old nobility, most were seeing his face for the first time.
After all, he had left for the barbarian lands immediately after receiving his ducal title.
Roxan’s and Demios’s gazes met in midair.
At the moment their opposing auras clashed like oil and water, every attendee held their breath.
“We welcome your return.”
Demios offered a perfunctory greeting.
Everyone knew the emperor had ordered the punitive expedition to stand by.
Yet hadn’t the city gates been opened just a week before the victory celebration began?
The nobles suspected some sort of arrangement must have been struck between the emperor and the duke during that period of waiting.
“We are currently surveying mana crystal mines within barbarian territory. Six have been discovered so far, and uncharted regions are still being explored.”
The barbarian lands consisted of vast, dense jungles.
This ancient land, where primordial life still breathed, was saturated with ancient mana, producing rare mana crystals throughout.
Mages were those who possessed the ability to wield mana.
All the mana they manipulated originated from mana crystals.
Discovering even a single mana crystal mine could yield an astronomical fortune.
Yet now, six mines had already been found.
The barbarian lands were not merely a goose that laid golden eggs—they were far more valuable.
Though this fact was known, the region had remained untamed due to the persistent raids by barbarians.
Beyond mana crystals, the land held infinite worth.
Hadn’t the duke just stabilized the western region—a lawless zone long ravaged by barbarian invasions?
He had accomplished what everyone coveted yet deemed impossible.
The nobles gazed at him with eyes full of admiration.
“…Well done. We commend the duke for his service.”
Even the emperor could not ignore such a victory.
Demios, resting his chin in his hand, looked down at the duke and asked,
“What reward do you desire for your triumph?”
Having brought such glory to the empire, the duke had the right to request anything.
All eyes were fixed on what he might ask for.
He had already been granted partial rights over the mana crystal mines and newly explored territories.
Might he now demand full authority over the barbarian lands?
Or perhaps the prime western territories left undeveloped due to past invasions?
Yet amid the envious stares, the duke’s request was unexpected.
“I wish to receive a blessing from Her Majesty the Empress.”
At his sudden remark, Sophia’s eyes widened.
Everyone’s attention, previously fixed on the duke, now turned toward the empress.
‘Me… bless him?’
Blessings and benedictions were sacred rites performed by priests who possessed divine power.
Though Sophia had become empress of the Merfolk Empire by divine oracle, she herself held no divine power.
Demios’s eyebrow twitched.
Barely suppressing his irritation, he replied,
“…Shouldn’t you ask the High Priest instead? If the empire’s hero truly desires it, perhaps he’ll come ashore soon enough.”
The vast ocean.
Even imperial authority yielded deferentially within the goddess’s embrace.
All merfolk of the sea worshipped only the goddess, and only those who received a special baptism could become priests.
The Grand Temple lay submerged deep beneath the sea, connected to an island beyond the eastern coastline.
The sea folk came ashore for only one reason:
to convey the goddess’s will.
Yet despite the emperor’s sarcastic reply, the duke remained unperturbed.
“She who bears the Star of Ishtar is akin to the empire’s saintess. Thus, she is more than qualified to bestow a blessing. Moreover, if she accompanies it with a benediction, it would hold greater power for me than any divine grace granted by the High Priest.”
At the duke’s words, the emperor’s expression twisted fiercely.
Yet Demios had no grounds to refuse the duke’s request.
In fact, it was wise to draw the line here before the duke asked for something excessive—but his sour mood showed no sign of improving.
Silence equaled consent.
Now only Sophia’s permission remained.
After a brief pause, Sophia spoke.
“Very well.”
Accepting Roxan’s request, she rose from the empress’s throne.
Though she merely needed to descend the dais steps, she was already tense.
After all, she had never blessed anyone before.
Sophia recalled a memory from the past.
When she first arrived in the Merfolk Empire, the sea’s High Priest had blessed her.
She remembered the gentle light enveloping her entire body—
feeling as though she were underwater, or like a fetus swimming in amniotic fluid.
It had been one of the most mystical experiences of her life.
That had been the first and last time she’d received a blessing.
‘So perhaps I can at least mimic it.’
Though the stairs were few, they felt unusually long.
The reason, she supposed, was the gaze that followed her every step.
His golden eyes, brimming with radiance, captured each of her movements.
Having descended the dais, Sophia stood beside him on the same floor.
Since Roxan remained kneeling on one knee, Sophia naturally looked down at him.
‘Was concealing his identity related to his relationship with Demios?’
If his approach toward her had been for the sake of the punitive expedition—
yet he had never once mentioned the stand-by order or anything connected to it.
Thus, her confusion only deepened.
But for now, the blessing came first.
Hesitating in front of everyone might invite yet another scandal.
Sophia placed her hand upon his shoulder.
“As the bearer of Ishtar’s Star, I bestow my blessing upon Duke Leofort.”
Without divine power, her blessing carried no special effect.
Yet her wish to bless him was genuine.
Unlike his secrecy toward her, the time he had sacrificed and the suffering he had endured for the empire were undeniably real.
‘May he finally receive recompense for all he has endured.’
Next came the benediction.
As she pondered what words to speak, she recalled something he had once said by the lake.
“May you find your rightful place in life, free from loneliness.”
In the silent hall, only Sophia’s voice resonated clearly.
At the end of her benediction, Roxan’s pupils trembled. Soon after, a bright smile spread across his face.
“Glory to the Merfolk Empire.”
Surprised, Sophia withdrew her hand from his shoulder.
Though his words clearly honored the empire, they sounded as if addressed solely to her.
Roxan gently enclosed her hand in his.
His white lace glove was so thin that she could feel his warmth clearly through it.
It was unlike bare skin touching bare skin.
With the lace between them creating a strangely distinct sensation, his lips brushed against the back of her hand.
It lasted only a fleeting instant—yet still.
‘So warm.’
Beneath the glove, where no trace remained, the spot his lips had touched throbbed faintly.
Precisely because it was unseen, it felt like an indelible mark.
The blessing was over.
The opening act of the victory celebration had begun.
Following the ceremony honoring the duke’s achievements, a ball commenced.
At grand banquets such as this, it was customary for the emperor and empress to open the dancing.
Sophia took Demios’s arm and stepped into the center of the hall.
As the two faced each other, the imperial orchestra began to play.
Rich orchestral music enveloped the surroundings as Sophia and Demios began to dance.
It was a familiar tune, so their steps flowed together seamlessly, as expected.
Only Demios appeared awkward and uncomfortable.
‘It wasn’t this bad before.’
Even before the consort appeared, their interactions had been strained.
But never before had she felt such palpable discomfort.
As Sophia tried hard to hide her unease, he spoke.
“Is he here?”
“Pardon?”
The music was loud—perhaps she had misheard.
When Sophia asked, his cold gaze returned with his words.
“I mean the empress’s consort.”
Again.
He was reproaching her for a consort who didn’t even exist.
Her heart, which she thought had finally calmed, began throbbing painfully once more.
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.”
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
Most Commented This Week
The Villain Has Gone Mad For Me (Completed Main Story)
I’m The Lowest-Ranking Daughter Of A Martial Arts Villain (2 Chapters Left to Complete)
I Became the Assassin Family’s Foster Daughter (Completed Main Story)
Men of the Harem (137 Chapters Left to Complete)
The Duke Only Needs My Child (Completed Main Story)
At the End of Ruin, There You Are (56 Chapters Left to Complete)
She’s a Villainess but her Husband is Handsome (Completed Main Story)
People Aren’t Meant to Be Fixed! (4 Chapters Left to Complete)
My Discarded Fiancé Returned (Completed Main Story)
Summer Must Die (16 Chapters Left to Complete)
I Received The First Time Of My Extraordinary Superior (9 Chapters Left to Complete)
Regret With All Your Might (Completed Main Story)