Ryuzaki Haruto sat on the stone bench, his chin resting on his hand, looking at the woman standing before him with amused indifference.
He took a moment to appraise Princess Suzaku.
She was undeniably a stunner. Her face was flawless porcelain, her skin radiated a healthy, rosy glow, and her legs—visible through the slit of her phoenix-feather dress—were long and slender. In particular, the cinnabar dot between her eyebrows burned like a tiny, condensed sun, hinting at her potent fire-elemental lineage.
'Her aptitude isn't bad,' Haruto analyzed silently. 'She possesses the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire. If she were obedient, she would make an excellent pawn to manage the Fire Province for me.'
However, reality was disappointing.
The woman standing before him was a classic "spoiled princess." She was used to men fawning over her, used to the world revolving around her beauty. She genuinely believed that her request for a priceless treasure was a gift to him, allowing him the "honor" of saving her father.
'If I were a typical protagonist from a lowly background, I might have licked her boots for a chance to smile at her,' Haruto thought, shaking his head inwardly. 'Unfortunately for her... I am Ryuzaki Haruto.'
He possessed invincible talent, an invincible background, and the face of an immortal. In the hierarchy of the Yamato Empire, he was the sky, and she was the dirt.
"Princess," Haruto asked, his smile not reaching his eyes. "How long have we known each other?"
Suzaku blinked, taken aback. "Why... this is our first meeting, Young Master."
"Exactly," Haruto's voice dropped a few degrees, becoming colder than the winter wind. "We are strangers. You ask a stranger for an Immortal Elixir—a treasure worth cities—as casually as asking for water. Did I ever promise to give it to the Vermilion Bird Kingdom for free?"
He stood up, taking a step toward her. The pressure of his Sacred Body weighed down on the garden.
"Furthermore, what does the survival of your kingdom have to do with me? Does your father's life or death matter to the Ryuzaki Clan?"
Suzaku's face turned pale, then flushed a deep, embarrassed crimson. Haruto's three questions struck her like slaps to the face. She opened her mouth to argue, but no words came out.
It was true. Ryuzaki Reika had only said a prodigy was willing to provide the elixir. She had never said it was a gift.
But Suzaku couldn't let go of her pride. She gritted her teeth, clinging to her moral high ground.
"But Young Master... you are not short of elixirs!" she argued, her voice trembling. "You have so many. You could easily save a life—save millions of subjects! Why are you so unwilling? Is your heart made of stone?"
Haruto looked at her with pity.
"It is very simple," he said, his voice flat. "Because the elixir is mine. I can feed it to a stray dog if I wish. That is my right."
'A... dog?'
Suzaku's body trembled violently. A sense of humiliation welled up from the bottom of her soul. In this man's eyes, was her royal father—the King of the Fire Province—worth less than a dog?
Anger eclipsed her fear. She glared at him.
"Why make excuses?!" Suzaku blurted out, her voice shrill. "Stop pretending! You just want me, don't you? You want my body in exchange for the medicine! But unfortunately for you, I already have a fiancé! Prince Seiryu of the Azure Dragon Kingdom! I cannot accept your dirty conditions!"
Silence.
Ryuzaki Reika, standing behind Haruto, turned pale. She looked at Suzaku as if looking at a corpse. 'She actually said it...'
Suzaku realized her mistake the moment the words left her mouth. The garden fell into a deathly stillness. A chill permeated her bones.
"Heh..."
Haruto chuckled. It was a soft, melodious sound, but it terrified Suzaku more than any scream.
"You think I want... you?"
Haruto walked closer, stopping inches from her face. He looked at her with pure amusement, his obsidian eyes reflecting her terrified expression.
"Princess, have you looked in the mirror lately? Do I, the Divine Son of the Ryuzaki Clan, need to force women?"
Boom.
Thunder struck Suzaku's mind.
Her legs gave out. She collapsed onto the gravel path, her beautiful dress staining with dirt.
'Divine... Son?'
Her mind spun in turmoil. She had assumed he was just a talented prodigy, perhaps a high-ranking disciple. But the Divine Son? That title belonged to only one person: the Heir Apparent. The future Emperor of the Clan. The one the Eighteenth Ancestor threatened to burn the world for.
Compared to the Divine Son, a princess of a declining Ancient Kingdom was nothing. Even her fiancé, Prince Seiryu, was nothing.
"Oh Kami..." Suzaku whispered, her arrogance shattering into a million pieces. "I... I accused the Divine Son..."
She scrambled into a kneeling position, pressing her forehead into the sharp stones. Her fiery hair, usually her pride, dragged in the dust.
"Your Highness! Please forgive Suzaku's rudeness! I was blind! I was foolish!"
Haruto looked down at the weeping woman. His expression remained indifferent.
"You reap what you sow," Haruto said coldly. "Even a three-year-old understands this principle. It seems you do not."
He flicked his sleeves, turning his back on her. "Reika, send the guest away."
"No! Please!" Suzaku lunged forward, trying to grab the hem of his robe, but pulled back at the last second, afraid to soil it. "My father needs the elixir! He won't last another year! Please, Divine Son! I will do anything!"
Haruto didn't stop. He walked into the palace, the heavy cedar doors closing behind him with a final thud.
Reika sighed, looking down at her former friend.
"I cannot help you," Reika said softly. "You insulted him to his face. You accused him of lust. There is no coming back from that."
"I... I ruined everything," Suzaku sobbed, tears streaming down her face. "My arrogance killed my father."
She looked at the closed doors. A glint of desperate determination appeared in her tear-filled eyes.
"I won't leave," Suzaku declared. "I will kneel here. I will kneel until the Divine Son forgives me, or until I die."
She adjusted her posture into a formal dogeza, facing the Ten-no-Kura.
Reika shook her head. "Suit yourself."
As the sun began to set, casting long shadows over the Ryuzaki Domain, the sight of the kneeling princess drew attention.
Disciples passing by whispered, pointing at the figure in red.
"Is that... Princess Suzaku?" "Why is she kneeling outside the Divine Son's palace?" "Shh! I heard she offended His Highness. Accused him of trying to steal another man's fiancée." "Is she insane? Who does she think she is?"
The disciples gave her a wide berth, treating her like a plague victim. Suzaku heard every whisper, every insult. Her knees bled on the stone, her legs went numb, but she didn't move. She couldn't. This was her only chance.
Inside the Ten-no-Kura, the atmosphere was warm and fragrant.
Haruto relaxed in the spirit pool once more, steam rising around him. He played with a floating wooden duck, looking completely unbothered.
"Your Highness..." Reika walked in, hesitating.
"What? You want to plead for her?" Haruto asked without looking up.
"No," Reika said firmly. "She brought this on herself. However... Linglong thinks that the Vermilion Bird Kingdom behind her still has value. If she dies of exhaustion outside your door, we lose that connection."
Reika was smart. She knew Haruto's ambition.
"Heh," Haruto smirked. "Don't worry. I have my own plans for her."
He crushed the wooden duck in his hand, splinters floating in the water.
"Her personality is rotten. She needs to be broken," Haruto explained coolly. "If I gave her the medicine immediately, she would think she earned it. By leaving her out there to kneel, I am stripping away her pride layer by layer. Only when she is completely hollow can I fill her with loyalty."
"With her as a broken bridge, I can control the Vermilion Bird Kingdom effortlessly," Haruto concluded.
Reika shivered. 'The Divine Son is only eight... yet his grasp of psychology is terrifying.'
"Your Highness's thoughts are profound," Reika bowed respectfully.
"As for her fiancé..." Haruto's eyes narrowed slightly. "Prince Seiryu of the Azure Dragon Kingdom. Let's hope he has some self-awareness."
Haruto didn't care about some remote prince. In the Yamato Empire, geniuses rose and fell like tides. Unless this Prince Seiryu was a "Child of Destiny" with a golden cheat, he was just another bug to be crushed on the road to the throne.
"Let her kneel for three days," Haruto commanded, closing his eyes. "Then... we will see if she is ready to be a proper servant."