And when I saw him in person, all gorgeous and handsome and tall and bootylicious, I was furious that I was the only one.
In Sophie’s words, he was the white tiger everyone had wanted for so long.
I couldn’t stay like this.
I couldn’t bear the thought of Sophie, who was like a mother to me, cooped up in a small room with me.
Juicy looked forward to the next.
The Emperor will surely come again.
That’s when she would show her greatness and demand better treatment from Emperor Litain.
True to her word, the Emperor came again, secretly at night.
Then it became more and more frequent, until he would barge in on Sophie during the day.
Each time, Juicy eagerly demonstrated her bravery.
Until one day, Emperor Litain stood with his arms folded, looking down at her, his face solemn.
-It won’t work. The Empress is too fragile to be raised in a room like this.
-You’re right, Your Majesty!
-Prepare to move at once, Sophie Langrasse. Atra Palace will become the Empress’s palace.
Atra Palace was the finest palace in the southeastern part of the Penthelin Empire.
Sophie Langrasse’s voice trembled as she spoke, thrilled to finally have a place worthy of the precious Empress.
Emperor Litain, who had been watching her for some time, covered his face with one hand and sighed.
-Sophie Langrasse. Do the original cubs recognise her?
-Yes, they do, but……?
-I see. Every time those blue eyes stare at me, I feel my heart drop to the floor. She’s beautiful.
Sophie Langrasse gaped in bewilderment.
-She didn’t stare at you that long, did she?
-Is that so……?
-Yes. Is she disappointed? What can I say, she’s better than her aunt.
Emperor Litain laughed softly as he comforted Sophie. He was being condescending.
Sophie was stunned.
She knew best how cute and adorable the Empress was.
She bit and sucked it every day. She couldn’t believe such a lovely creature existed.
But she hadn’t expected the cold-hearted emperor to react like that.
Even Juicy, who heard the sound, was frightened and thumped her tail on the floor.
What a shameless emperor.
‘You neglected me, and now you’re telling me I’m mistaken! That was my frightening threat!
juicy was furious and dumbfounded.
‘I had just started to win the snowball fight.
How come he can’t recognise my bravery and just shouted at me.
So the White Tiger Empress, Juicy, was not at all impressed with the brave white tiger she was supposed to be. She eventually seduced her father, who belatedly came to his senses to look after his baby, in a cute way, only to awaken her daughter as a fool.
The empty palace of Atra became the Palace of the Empress.
The Emperor had prepared it well in advance, and it was extremely clean and newly furnished.
It was nothing like it had been before.
Entering the Palace of the Empress, which had more than fifty rooms, juicy was happy to have a more comfortable life than before.
Even the emperor was more comfortable than before, so he came to visit more often, which led to today’s incident.
***]
However, the Emperor’s daughter, the Fool, whom Juicy had awakened, became increasingly ill and bizarre.
“Look at this, Juicy. Isn’t she cute?
Huh?
Litian, who had also appeared this morning, smiled and showed Juicy isomething.
Something was dangling from the fearsome greatsword he always wore at his waist.
Juicy had an ominous feeling and took a closer look.
Dangling from the greatsword was a pendant in the shape of a white tiger cub, made of the finest dolomite.
Very cute, too.
“Ew!
Juicy’s mouth dropped open as it was obvious that it was made in her image.
“I’ve also enchanted it with a special defence spell, and I’m giving it to you as a gift. I only made two of them.”
“Ugh.
Juicy blinked at the rope and back-tiger pendant that had been crafted to fit around her neck.
She hesitated, then stuck her head in.
Normally, tiger men hate necklaces.
The tiger that commanded the world was repulsed by the choking, oppressive collar.
The emperor, who knew the tiger’s habits better than anyone, was impressed with his daughter for not rebelling and allowing him to wear the collar.
“Perhaps my daughter is a genius. She understands me.”
“Yes. That’s right, Your Majesty. She is a genius.”
Litain said seriously, and the attendant beside him replied almost reflexively.
They were used to it by now, so they automatically chimed in.
“It’s very cute. It should be preserved in a painting.”
“Yes, I am, Your Majesty.”
Since then, there has been another archivist beside the archivist.
He was a renowned court painter, but he was forced to sit here by imperial mandate, drawing a picture of a baby white tiger every day to present to the emperor.
“Draw it well. You will paint my daughter delicately but simply, realistically but mysteriously.”
It was a bizarre order…….
But it wasn’t for another day, so the court painter stroked his brush in silence.
Juicy sighed as she looked around at the people who were growing accustomed to Emperor Litain.
“They’re all going crazy.
No, actually, she was the problem.
The sight of Emperor Litain clinging to her, clowning around in his ascension, was both amusing and endearing.
So Juicy wagged her tail gently.
At first, she sharpened her vengeful claws (which were actually quite tender) at her father for leaving her in the small room, but then she lost her temper.
One day, she fell asleep.
Thinking Juicy was asleep, Emperor Litain patted her on the back and muttered.
-……I know how Brianna feels, having risked her life to give birth to you. Never forgive me for neglecting you, Juicy.
The guilt, loneliness, and sadness in his voice shook Juicy.
She felt a little like a madman, but she didn’t want him to stop loving her, so she half-forgave him.
“How did you get this, One?
Juicy looked down at the enchanted white tiger pendant necklace.
Enchanting a piece of dolomite meant commissioning the services of wizards from the Western Empire.
“That can’t have been easy.
The Sioux have no magic.
They are blessed by the gods and use the abilities they were born with.
They cannot move mana to create ‘magic’ or lock it into an object to create ‘magic tools’.
Magic is reserved for the wizards of Lilberg in the Western Empire.
A long, long time ago, those who rejected the blessings of the gods and wished to live as mere mortals travelled to the Western Continent.
Among the first humans to migrate were the archmages, who gathered and built a tower, which they called the Magic Tower.
They used magic to build the foundations of their nation.
Magic helped them develop agriculture, and they began to prosper as their population exploded.
It grew in size and became an empire.
This is the Lilberg Empire, located in the west of the continent.
Despite being neighbours, Penterin and Lilberg were very different.
Unlike Penterin, where blood relatives ascended to the throne from generation to generation, Lilberg followed the tradition of the Matriarchy that the strongest Archmage should be the ruler.
As such, the Lilberg Empire was unusually devoid of ‘royalty’.
Juicy had never heard of the Lilberg Empire, just as she could not remember the Penterin Empire in her previous life.
In fact, it was only recently that she realised that there were ordinary humans other than Sioux.
‘I don’t remember much of anything.’
Juicy made a face at her useless recollection of her former life.
“Juicy, did anything happen?”
Emperor Litain asked sweetly, and Juicy snapped out of it.
“Huh.”
“It’s dangerous out there, so don’t go out, and I’m going to take a little longer this time, so I’m telling you in advance.”
Juicy shook her head as if to say not to worry.
Litain smiled and stroked Juicy’s head a few times affectionately before summoning his handmaidens and escort knights for a long speech.
The Emperor would be travelling far from the capital to inspect it in person, he said, and would be leaving today.
“Has something happened?
