Kwak Jung had taught her what to say, but even without them, her efforts would have been incredible.
Why?
It was because she didnât want her beloved father, Kang Chul-In, to be an unmarried and lonely man.
In addition,
âImperial Princess.â
âYes?â
âDonât you want a younger sibling?â
âS-sibling?!â
âThatâs right. A cute little sibling!â
â...!â
âWhen his Majesty and his spouses get married, they can make your younger siblings via ovulation, fertilization, implanta⊠no, not that! I meant by holding hands!â
âGaspâŠ!â
Arshelly had been coaxed into doing as Kwak Jung had told her.
Thatâs right; letâs get a younger sibling!
With that goal in mind, Arshelly continued her persuasion.
âI wish for daddy to get married.â
âBut!â
Park Sun-Ja gave her a stern expression.
âHe canât have two wives! Thatâs bad!â
âNo, itâs ok~!â
âH-huh?! What did you sayâŠ?â
Park Sun-Ja was puzzled. She could not comprehend why this innocent little girl was supporting Kang Chul-In in polygamy.
âGrandma.â
Arshelly spoke.
âDaddy, no, Royal Father is...â
âR-Royal Father?â
âThatâs right!â
âWhat⊠do you mean?â
âWell, Royal Father is a ruler of a nation.â
âR-Ruler?â
âYes!â
âYou mean⊠over in the âother worldâ?â
âYes! Thatâs right.â
â...!â
âRoyal Father will soon be a king!â
âWhat in the worldâŠ!â
Park Sun-Ja did not even know that lords existed. The information was too much for her to handle.
A king?
Her son was a king over in the âother worldâ? Ruling over an entire nation?
âWhat do you mean? Explain to your grandma, now!â
Park Sun-Ja coerced Arshelly.
âAlright, grandma.â
Arshelly maintained her composure and explained everything from the start to finish, as Kwak Jung had told her to.
She mentioned Pangaea, lords, and what kind of character Kang Chul-In was in the âother worldâ.
âI-I see.â
Park Sun-Ja mumbled to herself, as if she was lost in her thoughts.
âDaddy would never have an affair!â
âI didnât know that⊠so, it was just a difference in culture...â
âYes, grandma!â
âItâs still difficult to swallow⊠that he has two different families...â
Park Sun-Ja muttered in confusion.
Strictly speaking, Kang Chul-In only had one family with multiple wives. Park Sun-Ja, however, saw it differently from her perspective.
âMrs. Park?â
At that moment, Lee Chae-Rin gently opened the door and peeked her head in.
âM-Ms. Chae-Rin?â
âMay I enter?â
âS-Sure. I also have something to talk to you about.â
Park Sun-Ja gave her the permission.
âIâll be leaving, grandma! Have a pleasant talk!â
Arshelly was sensible enough to leave immediately.
âYou may sit here.â
âThank you.â
âWhat are you thinking, Ms. Chae-Rin?â
Park Sun-Ja went straight to the question.
âAre you really planning to marry my son? As his second wife?â
âYes, I am.â
Lee Chae-Rin replied firmly.
âHow... Is that possible? You can appreciate this situation, Ms. Chae-Rin?â
âYes. Iâm also an Overlord, after all.â
â...!â
âThis is more than just a marriage between a guy and a girl. It signifies a unification between Laputa and Dorado.â
âH-However, there is no love...â
âNo, Mrs. Park.â
Lee Chae-Rin spoke with a slight blush on his face.
âI-I...â
She finally leaked her true rationale.
âI love Mr. Chul-In!â
â...!â
âMrs. Park, I can handle it!â
âNo,â
Park Sun-Ja shook her head.
âMs. Chae-Rin is such a good lady. It doesnât have to be my son...â
âNo!â
â...!â
âI-I⊠donât think any other guy can be my husband. Ever since I got to know Mr. Chul-In, I couldnât find anyone as supreme as him.â
âMs. Chae-Rin...â
âFurthermore⊠I myself am no ordinary woman. Iâm some sort of a queen. Who other than Mr. Chul-In could handle me? Mr Chul-Inâs the only man for me.â
âI-Is that right? Ms. Chae-Rin may end up unfortunate...â
âNope.â
Lee Chae-Rin shook her head.
âIâm confident. I will definitely be a beloved wife and a great daughter-in-law.â
âBut the jealousy...â
âI tossed that emotion out of the window.â
â...!
âThe moment Mr. Chul-In decided to become the ruler of Pangaea, he was destined to have more than one woman around him.â
It was strange logic, but not false. It was just a bit difficult for a normal Korean to comprehend.
âMrs. Park, please permit our marriage.â
â...â
âPlease!â
Lee Chae-Rin pushed on with a headstrong resolve.
Phew⊠I guess having a talented son is not always a good thing...
Park Sun-Ja, thanks to Kang Chul-Inâs superiority, had to face dilemmas that no other layman could ever encounter.
***
âHuu...â
Kang Chul-In let out a long sigh on the rooftop.
âThis is driving me nuts.â
The fact that he couldnât just go headstrong on this matter made him extremely frustrated.
Even a hundred thousand enemy soldiers didnât scare him, but his mother Park Sun-Ja was so hard to deal with.
âSon! You should not be a playboy just because you have it good! Iâve never seen a playboy who was actually decent! Thatâs not good at all!â
Kang Chul-In suddenly remembered Park Sun-Jaâs words.
âMother, thatâs not...â
He tried to explain, but,
âI have nothing more to say.â
Park Sun-Ja had already turned her back against him. Kang Chul-In was caught in a dilemma.
âMr. Chul-In.â
At that instant, he heard Lee Chae-Rinâs voice from his back.
âYou came.â
Kang Chul-In replied, with his gaze fixed on Seoulâs night scenery.
âYes.â
âYouâve done⊠well.â
âNo problem. Donât we all have to strive to get what we want?â
â...!â
âI learned that from you, Mr. Chul-In. Iâm just doing what I usually do, so donât mind me.â
âYou...â
As Kang Chul-In was replying, Lee Chae-Rin suddenly embraced him from the back without notice.
âI love you.â
â...!â
âI really, really love you.â
Her confession was as sudden as her back hug.
Thump, thump, thump!
Kang Chul-In could feel Lee Chae-Rinâs heart racing, almost as if it was going to explode.
âWhen I first⊠met you, Mr. Chul-In⊠you were a newbie whom I wanted to protect.â
â...â
âIt was amazing to see you struggle to survive in this dog-eat-dog society.â
The Kang Chul-In Lee Chae-Rin mentioned was an average employee before the Great Summoning happened.
âHence, I tried my best to take care of you. You did seem burdened by it, though.â
â...â
âAnd I began to like you since then.â
â...!â
âEven before the Great Summoning⊠for the longest time.â
Honest, heartfelt words.
Thanks to them, Kang Chul-In could recall his past memories and feelings which he had forgotten.
A newbie.
He always had that someone who was friendly to even a lowly intern like him.
âArenât you tired, Mr. Chul-In? Drink this.â
âHang in there!â
âThe boss is always like that. He is retarded. So donât pay too much attention to it.â
âWhatâs your plan for⊠this weekend?â
Lee Chae-Rin had always been displaying her feelings subtly, and Kang Chul-In had started to appreciate her caring and cheerful behavior.
âWhen the Great Summoning happened⊠I was honestly scared. Itâs true that I relied on you the most, and that I ranted a lot to you.â
â...â
âBut not now!â
Lee Chae-Rin embraced Kang Chul-In tighter.
âI no longer depend on you. Instead, I wish to be your trustworthy supporter and wife.â
â...â
âI love you! Even if I canât have you all for myself...â
At that moment.
â...!â
Lee Chae-Rinâs body was swept around.
âAre you really fine with this?â
Kang Chul-In faced and asked Lee Chae-Rin, who was now in his arms.
âOf course!â
âYou sure you wonât regret it?â
âCertainly!â
âIf you happen to regret it, then I will let you off...â
He was about to finish the sentence with âanytime you wantâ, but he couldnât continue.
âHeub!â
It was because Lee Chae-Rinâs moist lips had sealed his lips tight in a blink of an eye!
***
While Kang Chul-In was focusing his attention on domestic affairs, a coalition had gradually formed in the north, with Albrecht Vilhelm in the center.
In the land of Bifrost, the Lordâs Hall...
âFrom this moment onwards,â
Albrecht Vilhelm, wearing a luxurious cape, raised his Epic-ranked sword Balisada high up in the air.
âWe, as one, will fight against the evil Overlord Kang Chul-In, and achieve peace in this continent!â
Immediately, all the lords gave him a standing ovation.
âMy brothers!â
Vilhelm shouted at the audience.
âI, Vilhelm, have respected your wishes and became the chairman of the North Coalition! I will, however, never abuse my authority, and I promise to listen to every ruler intently! With that, let me open up the first topic for discussion!â
He spoke in a grandiose tone, but in reality, he had already grasped the whole of the North Coalition under his control.
Overlord rank 2.
An enormous amount of land, a robust economy and an endless talent pool.
A concrete alliance with Overlord Ao Xin.
In fact, Vilhelm was the one who created the North Coalition. All of his speeches were nothing but a façade.
âAs the chairman of the North Coalition, I propose to position our army to the west!â
That was the only sentence which he actually meant.
The west.
By advancing the allied troops towards the Deathwin territory, Vilhelm aimed to pressure Kang Chul-In and prevent his move in the next spring.
âI agree!â
âVilhelm, Iâm with you!â
âLetâs destroy Kang Chul-In!â
âWe canât let that demon advance to the heart of Pangaea now can we?!â
All the lords in the North Coalition supported Vilhelm.
âWait.â
At that moment, a man with pale skin and white hair stepped forward. It was Andrei Ivanovic, the vampiric Overlord.
âOverlord Andrei Ivanovic⊠any suggestions?â
Vilhelm questioned him with a slight hint of skepticism.
âIs pressuring alone enough?â
Andreiâs red eyes gleamed.
âIt seems like an overly timid move to me.â
âTimid you say...â
âWhat if we conquer Deathwin? Wonât that be more beneficial to our coalitionâs safety?â
âHmm⊠but isnât it winter, soon?â
Vilhelm opposed.
âOur coalition is still in the midst of formation. If we start a war at this point...â
âWe are an alliance.â
â...!â
âThe enemy may be strong, but he is alone. Why stop at pressuring? Even a simple war of attrition will be burdensome for Kang Chul-In.â
Andrei glanced sharply at his audiences and continued.
âI agree wholeheartedly with the chairmanâs opinion, but to merely pressure Kang Chul-In is equivalent to giving him time to stabilize. I believe that conquering Deathwin right now is a better move, even if costly.â
He had a point.
However,
This sly vampire bastardâŠ!
The problem was that Andrei intended to stand back and watch while Vilhelm and Ao Xin did the work.
A war of attrition?
As Vilhelm mentioned, an imminent war would undoubtedly cost Vilhelm and Ao Xin. The other lords didnât have the ability to participate in the war, after all.
Even if they did, they would give a myriad of excuses to contribute as little as they could.
In other words, Andrei manipulated his words cleverly to place the burden solely on Vilhelm and Ao Xinâs shoulders. The other lords were bound to agree to his suggestion as well.
âHmm⊠that makes sense, too.â
âAs Overlord Andrei had mentioned, our coalition is strong enough to strike now...â
âI agree with him.â
âChairman Vilhelm, what do you think?â
The response was immediate.
The cunning lords of the North Coalition were leaning towards Andreiâs opinion.