Chapter 4
An Emperor’s Obsession
The Emperor glared fiercely at his attendants, who were standing around cluelessly.
*What are you all doing?*
“Oh, where could she be~?”
“My, my? How strange. Where could she have gone~?”
“Has my eyesight failed me?! Ack, something’s wrong with my eyes. I can’t see the princess!”
A strange game of hide-and-seek, all born from the Emperor’s misunderstanding.
Jusie, who had suddenly become an invisible white tiger, felt her small jaw drop.
*What is this!*
***
The reason the Penterin imperial family was able to subjugate the beastmen and rule the empire was thanks to their outstanding abilities and belligerent nature.
But there was another reason.
It was said that their strange obsession, the way they would fixate on something like a madman, also played a part.
A peculiarity so eccentric one could hardly call it normal…
*That’s right. The Penterin imperial family is not normal.*
Jusie had come to this conclusion after gathering all the information she had overheard.
Her own father, Emperor Ritain of the Penterin imperial family, was no exception.
He had received a strong blessing from the Divine Beast Ganash and had shown great promise from a young age.
As a man with an unprecedented supernatural ability, he was appointed Crown Prince over his older brother.
But receiving a potent blessing also meant having a more combative personality.
In other words, it was an accepted fact that their mad tendencies also grew stronger.
Yes, Emperor Ritain was a little mad. The problem was the target of that madness…
To put an end to the situation, Jusie deliberately rushed toward Emperor Ritain.
“Kyahng!!!”
“Whoa, there you are, my baby! I found you!”
Looking up at Ritain, who gently lifted her into his arms with a sweet voice, Jusie sighed inwardly.
*Of all people, why did he have to go crazy over me?*
Jusie had just been trying to calm her mind in a quiet corner.
But Emperor Ritain had mistaken it as her wanting to play hide-and-seek.
So he had summoned every attendant he had brought, along with any employee of the Princess’s Palace he could find, and forced them into a ridiculous 1-versus-35 game of hide-and-seek.
And the bizarre premise was, ‘The baby princess is in plain sight, but we can’t see her at all.’
It was a game of hide-and-seek that required a high level of acting, and everyone was struggling.
To save the weary souls, Jusie sacrificed herself, rushing at the Emperor once more to forcibly end the game.
“Since Jusie won, shall we play one more time?”
Emperor Ritain beamed.
*Please, let’s just stop.*
Jusie let out a small groan.
There was only one way to stop Emperor Ritain.
So, Jusie deliberately gave his index finger a gentle bite. Then his middle finger, too. Nom, nom.
Ritain’s golden eyes widened before curving into a smile.
The way his facial muscles slackened so readily, a stark contrast to his usual stern and intimidating expression, was quite a sight.
“Oho. Is my baby hungry?”
Jusie stopped biting Ritain’s fingers, nodding her head and perking up her ears.
Emperor Ritain raised a hand and solemnly declared.
“The game of hide-and-seek is now over.”
The Emperor clicked his tongue as he looked around at the exhausted beastmen.
“I am disappointed in you all. Your acting is atrocious.”
“We are sorry, Your Majesty.”
“We are sorry, Your Majesty.”
The employees and the Emperor’s attendants bowed their heads deeply. They then reported that they would summon actors from a troupe to receive acting lessons.
*The worst actor today was you, Emperor.*
Jusie clicked her tongue, recalling Emperor Ritain, who had given the most awkward performance of all.
But in her little tiger cub form, she had no way of telling him that.
Besides, he was the Emperor.
*Position and power are everything.*
Having gained another profound insight into the ways of the world, Jusie, now genuinely hungry, was cradled by the maids and eagerly sucked on her milk bottle.
Then she glanced at Emperor Ritain, who had summoned a scribe and was now reading her growth journal for the day.
A handsome but arrogant and incredibly intimidating man. To think such a fearsome tiger beastman was really her father.
It was hard to believe even as she looked at him.
Just then, Emperor Ritain, who was reading the growth journal, let out a soft chuckle.
“…Ha. As expected of my excellent judgment.”
He touched his forehead and shook his head.
“So, you’re saying Jusie liked the rattle made of Arpina gold and silver the most?”
As the scribe nodded and explained the situation in detail, Emperor Ritain’s expression suddenly turned serious.
“It was a good thing I dragged that craftsman out of his hovel in the raccoon village. To think she likes it this much… Wasn’t there also a famous fox beastman craftsman in the western Tiobe Desert?”
“Yes, that is correct. But he is known for loving the desert and refusing to leave it.”
“He can hardly defy an imperial command.”
Emperor Ritain replied nonchalantly.
“If he defies me, I’ll just have to send the army to capture him. He has to make toys for the princess, just like the raccoon beastman craftsman.”
The Emperor’s tone was light, but his words were heavy and chilling.
A silence fell over the room at the inescapable imperial command.
When the Emperor commanded it, you did it. If he told you to bring someone, you had to bring them.
*But those mad fox beastmen will surely fight to the death.*
The Tiobe fox beastmen had a vicious streak and would undoubtedly fight until their last breath.
Even if the empire won, discontent with the cruel Emperor would erupt from all corners.
Emperor Ritain was belligerent and fearsome, but since his ascension, he had ruled the empire with admirable stability.
But in the end, that Penterin imperial obsession and eccentricity were about to cause a disaster.
On the spot, Ritain snatched the scribe’s pen and began writing an order on a blank piece of paper.
While the attendants, their faces pale, wrung their hands, wondering what to do.
*Jingle, jingle.*
Princess Jusie, carrying the Arpina gold rattle in her mouth, toddled over and stood before the Emperor.
Ritain’s facial muscles, which had been expressionless until now, automatically softened.
“What is it, daughter?”
He knelt on one knee to meet her gaze. As his eyes met Jusie’s, a gentle smile spread across his face.
It was hard to believe this was the same man who had just issued such an absurd and tyrannical command.
*Jingle, jangle.*
Then Jusie, making the bells chime, managed to place the rattle on top of her head.
The sight was so cute and lovely, like she was wearing a tiara, that Ritain let out a faint laugh.
Everyone stared, mesmerized by the white tiger princess’s adorable, almost acrobatic display.
Seizing the opportunity, Jusie quickly darted forward, snatched the written order to attack the western Tiobe fox village, and tore at it with her mouth.
“Jusie!”
As Ritain raised his voice in alarm, Jusie looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes.
Since she had only used her gums, the paper wasn’t torn, but the saliva-soaked order was a mess.
Ritain hurriedly took the order from Jusie’s mouth, tossed it aside, and used a handkerchief to wipe the black ink from her pink tongue.
“That is not for eating.”
“Kyahng.”
“…Don’t tell me. Are you saying you don’t need the craftsman from the fox village?”
Impressed that Emperor Ritain had understood immediately, Jusie nodded and gently tapped his cheek with her forepaw.
Then she picked up the Arpina gold rattle that had fallen from her head and began to run around happily.
“She seems to like that rattle.”
“I-It would seem so!”
“Hmm. It appears the raccoon beastman has perfectly matched the princess’s taste. Tell him I will supply him with any materials he needs, and he is to create and present only the finest quality goods.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“And since we don’t know when the princess might try to lick paper again, have the scribes supplied with safe, edible ink.”
Jusie shook her head, feeling sorry for the raccoon beastman who would now be trapped in his workshop, doing nothing but work.
But what could she do?
The Penterin imperial family was bound to be mad in some strange way. Who would have thought Emperor Ritain’s particular brand of insanity would be that of a doting, foolish father?
She should be thankful it was only this.
In truth, Emperor Ritain hadn’t always been this obsessive, doting father.
No, honestly, at first it was hard to even consider him a father.
If anything, she had been closer to being abandoned and despised by him.
For about a month after she was born, Jusie had lived in a place completely different from this Princess’s Palace.
The shabbiest room in a separate wing of the Penterin Imperial Palace.
For the long-awaited white tiger of the imperial family, the treatment was not just poor; it was a deplorably harsh environment.
