When I raised my head, I saw the luxurious interior of the royal palace, a chair larger than the average man's build, and a young man sitting in that chair.
"Ho-oh.. You really brought her in."
The young man with dark navy hair and amber eyes rested his chin on his hand, stared intently at me, and then smiled faintly.
Roblon VIII. As he's likely the Emperor, he might be the male protagonist of this novel I've been transmigrated into. He was the character I suspected the most strongly.
But I don't like him.
From his appearance, speech, voice, and overall look, everything about him is unpleasant.
Like the protagonist of a BL manga. He looks like he enjoys homosexuality.
"Let's get straight to the point. As this is a crime of treason and national insurrection, I, Emperor Roblon VIII, will pass summary judgment and proclaim it without a trial."
"What?"
Summary judgment? Right here? Right now??
Come to think of it, wasn't Ertel's father, the head of the Yulisia family, also executed by the Emperor's summary judgment?
Looking around, there was no one else in the enormous royal palace except for me, the Emperor, and the giant.
Thwack!
"Ouch!"
The giant holding the chain kicked the back of my knee, forcing me to kneel.
"From now on, I will pass judgment on the national insurrection and treason, as well as the state conspiracy crime, committed by the Yulisia family this time." "That's laughable."
Even looking back through Ertel's memories, there was no instance of committing national treason or insurrection.
That's naturally because the Yulisia family is one that established itself in the barren northern region, expanded territory by defeating magic beasts, and grew by cultivating the land,
and despite being a ducal family, their territory's population was significantly lower than other families', but they accumulated capital based on excellent magic stones and raised a knight order to counter magic beasts, making them a somewhat special family.
Of course, this is a fact known to the previous emperor as well as the current one, no, a fact that even young children in the empire's border regions would know.
"Originally, the Yulisia family, as the shield of the empire since its founding, achieved illustrious merits, such as repelling magic beasts beyond the border, but it has been revealed that for the past 5 years, they have abnormally accumulated military funds and that the empire's shield has become a sword, preparing for war."
"Stop bullshitting! The accumulation of military funds was legitimate..."
I tried to refute the absurd fabrication of words, but the giant holding the chain tripped me with his large foot and then stepped on me, cutting me off.
"I will continue my statement."
"Accordingly, the royal family intended to abolish the Yulisia family, execute the head of the family as the main culprit, and also execute Yulisia Ertel, the daughter of the head of the family, but the royal family judged that all charges rested solely with the head of the family."
"However, according to imperial law, the principle for treason is the execution of all members of the family, as well as all individuals associated with the family and even the territory's residents. However, judging this to be harsh, I hereby rule the dissolution of the Yulisia family's knight order and an increase in the proportion of local specialties and taxes collected annually."
That the survival of the territory's residents and knight order members is guaranteed is a silver lining in this misfortune.
"However, as many families have requested that punishment be carried out on the core members of the family due to the crime of treason, I, the Emperor, shall deliver a judgment after careful consideration."
"Under imperial law, members of the royal family are granted immunity from prosecution. As this also applies not only within the empire but also to other races allied with the empire, such as elves and dwarves, I will grant a suspended sentence for the disposition of Yulisia Arandel, the daughter of the Elf Queen who has formed a friendship with the Yulisia family, and a member of the Elf Queen's Council."
I breathed a sigh of relief at the good news about Ertel's mother that followed.
If the punishment is like this, perhaps I too will receive a suspended sentence.
"However, Yulisia Ertel is of the human race. Although she is said to have half elven blood, Yulisia Ertel is affiliated with the Yulisia family, not the Elf Queen's Council, so the privilege does not apply."
"What...?"
What is this nonsense?
Was it a hallucination that the Emperor, who had been reading the judgment indifferently, suddenly seemed to smile?
"However, considering the situation that she has the blood of the Elf Queen, being a half-elf, the judgment for Yulisia Ertel is... Hmm... Yes, I highly value her high mana operation ability and her aura usage ability, which is comparable to a Sword Master, so I sentence her to servitude as a royal exclusive slave."
What? Servitude?
"The empire doesn't allow slavery, this is an absurd punishment!!"
The empire does not allow slavery.
In the memories of Yulisia Ertel, who studied law, it is clearly known that slavery is not allowed.
"Unfortunately, this is a matter revised just a few days ago at the High Noble Family Council meeting. Still, isn't it better than death?"
"Well, at most it will only involve physical labor or participation in magical experiments."
Can this guy, who's the Emperor, do this? Isn't he supposed to be the novel's protagonist?
"Then let's conclude the judgment here and move there."
"What? Go where! The judgment is what? Servitude? I'd rather be executed no, this novel that has execution but no slavery seems like a piece of trash??? What kind of novel is this? Can there be such a trashy novel, such a trashy story?? As expected, such a novel shouldn't have existed! Shit!! Shiiiiiit!!!"
"Haha.. Looks like the judgment drove her crazy. I wonder if this is the cold Ertel. Especially this angry expression, I think it's the first time I've seen it."
"Anyway, let's go, quickly, to that place."
At the Emperor's words, the giant dragged me, pulling the chain, like a dog being dragged to a slaughterhouse.
I tried to resist, but it was useless.
The Emperor moved somewhere without a guard.
He moved to a room I had never seen before in the royal palace, and there, dark red mana emanated from the Emperor's right hand. The magic circle on the floor shone, and that bundle of light pulled me, the Emperor, and the giant in. When the light disappeared, it had changed to a space I had never seen before.
A space I had never seen before.
It was like an old castle built of bricks, whose interior seemed unmanaged.
More than that, the magic the Emperor used, the dark red aura...
"Black magic?"
Forbidden sorcery in the empire, and a lost magic known to no one.
"Why? Seeing it for the first time? You have eyes like you've seen something that shouldn't exist?"
"I understand black magic is forbidden and a forgotten sorcery."
"Well, our slave doesn't need to know that, do they?"
The Emperor, who had been speaking unpleasantly, turned around and approached me step by step.
One step, two steps. From the Emperor approaching me, a strange fear seemed to seep in little by little.
"First, since you've become a slave, we need to make a contract, right?"
The Emperor, who had come right in front of me, let black mana flow into his right hand, and soon a single pen made of black color was created.
"Now then..."
The Emperor's hands, which had approached me, slowly undid my clothes layer by layer.
"Wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute what are you trying to do...!!"
Naturally, I violently resisted, kicking the Emperor.
"My slave... Ertel, you don't know what situation you're in now, do you?"
- Bang!
"Augh!!"
Suddenly, an intense pain surged through my abdomen.
"Does our Lady need a little beating to come to her senses?"
The Emperor, who had grabbed my hair, looked at me with those amber eyes as if he would pierce my eyes.
"Well, that's enough, strip her."
The giant's large hand roughly stripped off my clothes as if tearing them.
"S-Stop it!! What are you doing!!"
"As expected, the resistance is strong..."
- Bang!!
"Urgh!!!"
Once again, a fierce kick struck my abdomen.
So painful that it was difficult to breathe.
Why do these bastards only hit the stomach? Are they belly-punch enthusiasts?
As I wheezed and took short breaths, the giant roughly stripped off my clothes again.
With each layer stripped off, my skin was exposed, making me feel so ashamed that I didn't have the confidence to look at the Emperor, to raise my head.
"The smell is strong... But still, your figure is truly amazing..."
As the Emperor squatted down and looked me up and down, I was so embarrassed that I twisted my legs to cover my important parts, but the Emperor forced my legs open, fully exposing my private area.
"Wh-What are you doing...!!!"
"...The smell of piss is strong... Well, I guess I'll have to overlook this much?"
Perhaps because I hated the Emperor, who looked like the protagonist of a BL manga, bringing his face close to my vagina and staring intently, or perhaps because I didn't want him to notice my burning hot face, or perhaps it was both, but I was so embarrassed that I turned my head away.
"Our Lady... No, our slave, seems very, very embarrassed?"
His wheedling voice was disgusting, so I didn't even respond.
"Even so, it's not like it's not going to be seen anyway..."
As I turned my head and watched the Emperor out of the corner of my eye, he was drawing a magic circle below my navel with the black pen in his right hand.
"Wh-What are you doing now!!"
When I shrieked, the Emperor looked at me again and smiled faintly.
The Emperor's smile was so disgusting. His voice, his appearance, everything about that bastard was like the protagonist of a BL manga, and it was sickening.
"Just wait a moment, you'll see."
When he completed the magic circle below my navel with the black pen, black light shot out, and my vulva, or what is commonly called a womb tattoo, flashed intensely and then
disappeared.
"A, a, a womb tattoo?!"
"Oh.. You seem to know a bit, don't you?"
Above the vanished womb tattoo, the Emperor patted his hand, then made the black pen disappear. He took out something like a black choker from his pocket, forcibly put it around my neck, and then deactivated the restraints.
"Ah, I guess I should loosen the restraints on your wrists too?"
When the giant applied force, the restraints that had seemed so sturdy broke into dust.
I tried to draw out mana, wondering if I could use it, but no mana was generated.
"Haha.. That choker around your neck has black magic cast on it that prevents you from drawing out mana. And... just in case, if you run away... Yes. I will kill the 4,000
dissolved knights and 300,000 residents of the territory."
"...What?"
"If you run away, I will kill the territory's residents. All of them. Not a single one will be left out."
"Is... isn't this bastard crazy..."
"Yes, I am a madman. You have to be mad to become an emperor."
Crazy mad lunatic bastard.
"More than that, there's a bit of a bad smell. I need to wash as soon as we get there."
"Go where?"
In a state of complete nudity and smelling bad, going anywhere like this would be the worst.
If someone saw me, I'd be so ashamed I couldn't even lift my head, and on top of that, rumors would spread.
That Yulisia Ertel is walking around completely naked.
"Yes, shouldn't a slave follow their master home? Don't worry, of course, we're going to the palace, not going outside. Not yet."
Immediately, the Emperor unfolded a dark red magic circle again, and a bundle of light enveloped us. My eyes were so bright that I squinted, and when I opened them, I was back
inside the royal palace.