Chapter 109: Confessions, Jealousies, and the Executioner’s Spectacle

At the unexpected remark, Karlahee glanced at her face for confirmation. Lara scratched her cheek and cautiously began to speak.

“I can’t afford to lose Lord Robes either… Besides, the proposal was inherently unfair from the start. I’m sorry for causing trouble. I know all too well how hard it is to give up a devotion.”

“No… It wasn’t that hard. I can endure this much for you.”

“You don’t have to lie. So, I’ll be honest myself.”

What about what? Karlahee swallowed nervously, hoping there wouldn’t be a shocking confession about finding a new love interest or even a promised marriage. In the brief pause waiting for Lara’s next words, his throat felt parched.

“…Well, the truth is…”

“The truth is?”

After a long hesitation, Lara closed her eyes and spilled the truth.

“I said that Lilica is my forever girlfriend out of a tinge of jealousy. You don’t have to give up your devotion… Hmm. I know it sounds childish…”

In a barely audible voice, Lara confessed. Taken aback by her uncharacteristic shyness, Karlahee was so stunned he couldn’t even blink, remaining utterly frozen.

“Still, I was a bit touched… I never expected Rahi to give up his devotion and hold back this much. You even sold your Dakimakura on the second-hand market, didn’t you?”

“How did you know that…?”

“The otaku second-hand market is so small. I saw a sale post for the Lilica Dakimakura before and secretly bought it. It’s now in my room, so take it.”

“Lara…”

Karlahee’s eyes, which had been fixated on Lara, began to glisten. Overwhelmed by the intensity of that gaze, Lara slightly looked away before continuing.

“And Magical Girl Lilica is the masterpiece that brought us together—you can’t just abandon her. Sure, I may yield to Lilica as your favorite, but in my heart, you are my girlfriend! Understand?”

Before Lara could finish, she was suddenly swept into a huge, enveloping embrace. When his hands pounded gently on her chest, stifling her breath, Karlahee finally loosened his grip a notch.

At the same moment, he bent down and pressed his lips against her ear. His warm breath and soft whispers sent a flush of heat coursing through her.

“You don’t need to say that—Lara, you are already the one I love most.”

“…I’m so embarrassed.”

“Don’t be embarrassed. I feel the same…”

Though he had whispered tenderly to his pillow many times before, it was the first time he did so to a person. His body was as warm and soft as nothing else could compare to. Karlahee then pulled Lara in close again and spoke in a gentle tone.

“There was a time when I treated Lilica as my eternal girlfriend, as if I were tending to a real one. But… things have changed. This warmth, after all, can’t be offered by Lilica.”

The plush bed caught the two as they toppled backwards. His steady, affectionate warmth and the pleasant scent of his body swept over Lara completely.

Lara slowly sucked in his soft, overlapping lips. Wrestling his swept back hair gently, she summoned every scrap of knowledge gleaned from that 18+ fan comic to take charge.

Arguing over whether it was 2D or 3D had long become meaningless.

4D was supreme.

* * *

That night, Lara had a dream.

‘Where am I?’

As the sound of turning wheels echoed and she struggled to open her eyes, she beheld the grand ceiling of an opulent ballroom.

Lara found herself lying on a massive silver train car. The train, wide enough to comfortably hold ten adults, bore a weight that required four attendants from the Forbidden Imperial Palace to drag it. The gathered nobles buzzed with anticipation, all eager to reserve a spot as the train came to a halt.

Before Lara could fathom what was happening, her heavy eyelids fluttered in drowsy confusion.

“Freshly captured and presented to the Crown Prince—behold, a living giant octopus!”

“My word, such rarity…”

“Its size is monstrous. With those tentacles, it could easily tie up two people.”

Following the boisterous exclamation, the nobles let out low murmurs. Lara realized the comments were directed at her, and she was utterly shocked. The moment she regained her senses, a piercing chill overwhelmed her.

Her ‘body’ now lay atop the train, uniformly covered in ice. In fact, she now resembled an octopus, about the size of a grown person, with eight thick tentacles dangling limply. As a tentacle twitched slightly, it sparked another round of astonished gasps from those around.

‘W-what on earth is this?’

At that moment of bewilderment, deep, blue eyes like the midnight moon locked onto her.

Not far away, seated in the second-lowest dais, a young boy stared down at her with an imperious gaze. Though his face looked much younger than now, Lara immediately recognized him.

With hair that shimmered in a gentle crimson glow, neatly trimmed with a stylish cut and adorned with elegant gold accents on his attire, the boy was none other than a young Karlahee—her childhood version. Unlike his current self, his demeanor was far more nonchalant as he rested his chin on his hand.

Once the Forbidden Imperial Palace attendants brought the train to a full stop, Count Schlad, standing proudly with a contented smile, looked up at Crown Prince Karlahee.

“On your seventh birthday, I sincerely congratulate you. Do you like this specially arranged giant octopus?”

Count Schlad and the gathered crowd awaited the young prince’s reaction with bated breath. Karlahee’s small lips parted.

“How insolent.”

With that brief remark, Count Schlad’s eyes blazed like lanterns. Regardless, Karlahee only continued to lock his dark eyes steadily with the staring octopus.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but my hearing isn’t the best—could you repeat that?”

“I said you’re extremely insolent, Count Schlad.”

Only then did Karlahee’s sharp, penetrating gaze shift toward Count Schlad. Despite being merely seven, his eyes shone with a fierce, unyielding glare.

“Tell me, why would you show me something that dares to meet my gaze without so much as blinking? Are you challenging my authority? Ah, I see—it must be a rebellion in the making.”

“N-no! Absolutely not. There’s been some misunderstanding—I would never!”

Count Schlad protested wildly, his booming voice contrasting sharply with the sudden, stifled murmurs that fell over the crowd.

“If that’s what you say, then see to it that the execution by fire is prepared immediately.”

At Karlahee’s cold command, Lara’s eyes widened in shock, mirroring the looks of the attendants whose heads hung low in deference.

“Yes…?”

Before an astonished attendant could speak, Karlahee, his voice controlled yet firm, placed his elbow casually on the heavy, golden armrest.

“Didn’t you hear me? Quickly, commence the execution by fire.”

“How can we possibly do that here…?”

“The Imperial Palace magicians are on standby—what’s the issue? Do you take offense at my orders?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Then move it. What’s taking so long? Are you defying my command as Crown Prince? In my sight, roast that insolent creature until it’s perfectly done!”

As Karlahee slammed his small fist onto the armrest, the attendants scrambled to spring into action.

‘Rahi! It’s me. Please, notice me! I’m your girl! Your girlfriend!!’

Lara locked eyes with the young him, pleading with desperate intensity, but in the meantime, a horde of about fifteen attendants had bound her tightly with ropes and hung her from a heavy wooden log.

An attendant, well-prepared with oil, slicked the octopus’s tentacles until they shone, and with the Imperial Palace magicians at the ready, the execution by fire commenced.

“Execute that octopus!”

The chief attendant shot a sidelong glance, urging the others to swiftly follow suit. They resembled uncles kindly indulging a mischievous child.

The attendants raised the log even higher and began to signal the surrounding nobles, their eyes full of supplicatory pleading. Moved by their pitiful looks, some kind-hearted nobles shouted, “Execute!” “Execute!”

Occasionally, young noblewomen even hurled desserts at the octopus’s face, intensifying the atmosphere. Its face, soon smeared with sticky chocolate and cream, looked utterly pathetic.

At that moment, Crown Prince Karlahee leapt down from a high chair. Scanning the crowd, he fixed his gaze on the central log and issued his heavy command.

“Recite the charges.”

“…?”

“The charges.”

“Yes, yes… The charges are: for desecrating what should serve as an exemplar to other octopuses by parading in a thousand shards of ice, for creating a lewd impression by baring oneself before many eyes, and lastly for insulting and slandering Your Highness the Crown Prince—this vile octopus is hereby sentenced to death…”

“Nothing more?”

“…Do you wish to add something else?”

“Yes, add a fitting reason for its execution. Otherwise, won’t I be seen as the tyrant snatching away a defenseless octopus’s life?”

In his typical tick-tocking, petulant tone for a seven-year-old, the chief attendant loudly recited the charges.

“For coming in with extravagant airs despite setting an example for other octopuses, for parading naked in front of many by not wearing even a scrap, and for insulting and defaming Your Highness the Crown Prince—thus, the death sentence is hereby pronounced!”

The hastily concocted charges held surprisingly well; the attendant’s verdict fell like a guillotine’s blade. Simultaneously, flames conjured by magic descended upon the wooden pillar.