Chapter 5

"Elise, sign this."

The emperor, who had finished his work early as he had declared, visited Elise's room straight away and presented something to Elise, who was writing in silence.

"Is it the usual signature again? My right hand is busy, but if you want, I can lend you my left hand."

Elise, absorbed in her writing, extended only her left hand without even turning her head. This attitude towards the emperor, known as a tyrant.

Not only did she not look up, but she also casually waved her non-dominant hand.

The emperor, who knew that Elise could become indifferent while writing, took her left hand with a mix of excitement and nervousness.

Seizing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he placed a pen in her slender hand and guided her pen to the designated spot. Elise's pen, which had no suspicions, began to move to sign.

The emperor's lips curled into a smirk.

However, Elise quickly noticed something was wrong as the pen slid.

The feel of the paper and the writing experience transmitted through the pen tip felt different from the books she usually signed.

"...Your Majesty, what kind of document is this?"

Without turning around, Elise stopped her hand and asked. The emperor responded with a sigh.

"What kind of document? You'll see when you look."

Elise, sensing something ominous, hesitantly looked at the tip of her left hand. She almost screamed.

"~!?"

What she saw was not the romance novel she was usually asked to sign. It was something more romantic and terrifying.

【Marriage Contract】

The words were boldly written on an unusually shiny and high-quality piece of paper. Below the signature line was the emperor's signature, and Elise's pen was stopped next to it.

"Y-Your Majesty... What is this? W-What does this mean?"

Elise, hastily pulling back her hand, looked at the emperor with eyes like she was seeing a beast.

The emperor, in his tyrannical and arrogant manner, looked down at Elise.

"Your father is being a nuisance, demanding that you be returned. Furthermore, the ministers are constantly advising me to welcome a queen. It's incredibly annoying. So, I came up with a good plan."

"A good plan?"

Elise, feeling an alarm ringing in her head and sensing nothing but a bad omen, looked up at the man in front of her with a frightened gaze.

The emperor smiled, his red eyes filled with only Elise.

"A way to legally obtain you without anyone complaining."

"Um...?"

The chair was spun around with Elise still in it. The emperor's hand was placed on the backrest, and Elise found herself trapped in his arms.

"Be mine, Elise."

"Huh?"

(Is this... a proposal?)

With the emperor's perfectly beautiful face right in front of her, Elise couldn't stop sweating.

"If you become the queen, everything will be resolved. I won't have to send you back, and the annoying people who keep demanding a queen will shut up. It's a win-win, right?"

"Um, well... I have a lot to say, but to begin with, me as a queen?"

Elise tried to turn away, but her chin was lifted, and the emperor's too beautiful face was pressed close to hers.

"There's no one in the world as interesting as you. I won't let you go. I'll bind you to me forever, including the novels you create, and make you mine alone."

"Your Majesty..."

The emperor smirked and leaned even closer to Elise, who was looking up at him in shock.

"So sign this marriage contract and marry me right now."

The marriage contract, visible at the edge of her vision, was shaking.

"Your Majesty, I..."

Elise trembled in this situation. She had never experienced such emotions before. Her heart was racing uncontrollably, and a tingling sensation ran through her body from her brain, with her pupils dilated.

Elise, unable to contain the intense passion within her, grabbed the emperor's collar and pulled him closer.

"I...! I just had an incredible inspiration! I can't just sit here. Let me, let me write a book!"

The tyrant emperor, with his ice-like beauty, proposing to a plain and unremarkable young lady. Forcing marriage with a chair spin and chin lift, ignoring resistance and leaning in... There was no way to let such a good material slip away.

"A new work, the ideas for a new work won't stop, right now! Can I write it right now!?"

"Ah, ah. Yes, that's fine. Write as much as you want."

The emperor, swayed by Elise and overwhelmed by her pressure, fully endorsed her enthusiasm for writing.

"Thank you! Your Majesty, you can read as many of the manuscripts piled up as you like!"

Elise released the emperor's hand, spun around, and sat back in her chair, starting to write furiously.

The emperor, completely ignored, called out to her back in vain.

"Elise, what about... the signature on the marriage contract?"

"I'm busy now, do it later."

"......"

The emperor's side profile, looking down at the marriage contract that was only partially signed, was pitifully sad.