As I promised to Iris, I acted as soon as possible.
Firstly, I used my abilities to send my voice to Marana in the headquarters of the Red Skull Gang. I asked her to investigate the people spreading these rumors and kill them.
This way, I can send a message to the Carmell family, telling them to not touch my people.
To be honest, If not by the fact that the Carmell family's days are already numbered, and that they are still useful, I would have taken more drastic actions.
I don't mind their attempts to smear my name, but I can't deny I'm a bit angry by the fact they tried to smear Iris's reputation.
Even though Iris is truly related to Bryan's 'murder', the fact that someone is making her so troubled makes me mad.
After all, I'm planning to spend an eternity with her. Thus, I want to make her live with as few regrets as possible. That way, we can live as long as possible as carefree immortals, exploring several galaxies and dimensions and sightseeing the wonders of the universe.
Moreover, the closer I am to completing the soul contract, the most invested I am in my feelings in this life. I'm very sure that I had never been so invested with the people I met during one of my lifetimes in a very long, long time.
To be honest, I have not felt so alive in several tens of lifetimes.
After I instructed Marana about the situation (she was exasperated by the fact I gave her even more work), I waited until it was late at night to make my next move.
Stepping across space, I appeared in Iris's house, the mansion of the Siris family.
Then, I walked inside.
Strangely, none of the people I passed by noticed me. It was as though they could not see me despite me being just a few steps away from them.
A small trick like this is of no trouble to me. Plus, it will make my next conversation much easier.
Like that, I arrived in front of Iris's father's office.
Without hesitation, I knocked on the door twice. Almost instantly, I heard a voice coming from inside the office.
"Come in."
As soon as I heard that voice, I entered the office and closed the door behind me.
Iris's father was seated in front of his desk when I entered the office. He was looking down at some documents with a focused look, not even bothering to look up at me.
"What is it?" He asked hurriedly, probably confusing me with a servant.
I curved my lips up with a playful smile and spoke up.
"Good evening, father-in-law."
As soon as he heard my voice, Iris's father jumped from his chair.
"You…" He looked at me with a pale face, as though having seen a ghost.
I smiled and nodded at him. I then sat down in a nearby chair and looked around the office with a relaxed expression.
"It's a nice office. You have good taste."
My words served to calm down Iris's father. Taking a deep breath, he tried to put the most solemn expression he could and looked at me with a frown.
"Your highness Claus… How did you reach here? What happened to the guards?"
I grinned. "Why, I just walked inside. Don't worry, your guards are alright. They did not even notice me when I came in."
Iris's father's expression turned grave.
Even although the guards of this mansion were not the strongest of the capital, they were not weak either. Plus, this mansion was warded with several powerful and expensive magic circles. He was sure that not even a twelfth-layer powerhouse would be able to invade it without being noticed.
However, I'm here in his office, but neither the guards nor the wards reacted.
Iris's father thought about the implications of it. In the end, he reached the conclusion that I probably used some powerful magic tool that allowed me to do this.
After all, the idea of me being strong enough to reach here just by relying on my own strength was too unbelievable for him.
That conclusion made him let out an inward sigh of relief.
"I see… Why are you here then, your highness? I don't remember inviting you so late at night."
I grinned. "I think you already know the reason, right, father-in-law?"
Iris's father tensed up when he heard that.
"So it's that after all."
"What else?" I shrugged. "Did you think I was going to do nothing as I watched you destroy the happiness of my woman?"
"… Your woman?" Iris's father raised an eyebrow in surprise. But soon, an expression of realization appeared on his face. "You and Iris…"
I just smiled without answering, but it was enough for Iris's father to understand.
Iris's father was surprised. But one second later, he glared at me with an angry gaze. He then clenched his fist tightly and gritted his teeth in rage.
"Bastard… How did you dare to do that to Iris!? Do you know the consequences of it? If someone learns of it, she can be executed!"
"Really? Woah, I did not know it." I feigned an expression of panic, but my words were filled full of sarcasm.
Iris's father turned even angrier. But after several seconds, he calmed down and heaved a long and tired sigh.
"That Iris… So it ended like this in the end…"
"... It looks like you are not too surprised."
"Why should I be surprised?" Iris's father looked at me with a wry smile. "That silly daughter of mine has been completely in love with you since you were children… To be honest, if I would have known about her love beforehand, I would have not engaged her to your brother. Unfortunately, I'm not powerful enough to rescind a marriage engagement with the imperial family."
Iris's father then looked at me and sighed again.
"Do speak, your highness. I think you must understand the danger our family is currently facing due to the two of you. I'll be honest with you; I don't mind if you marry my daughter. I will be happy even. But I can't sacrifice the Siris family for that."
I looked at Iris's father with a bit of admiration. This guy…
He is truly a great example of a good father.
Simply the fact that he agreed to hear me shows that he doesn't mind agreeing with me as long as the plan has a certain chance of success.
The fact he is ready to go this far for his daughter shows how much he loves her.
I sighed in disappointment. I was even prepared to intimidate him until he peed his pants.
Shaking off these thoughts of my mind, I explained my plan.
"It's simple," I said after looking at him for several seconds. "You only need to wait a while before proposing the posthumous marriage to the emperor. I'll take care of the rest."
"… A while?" I narrowed my eyes. "How much."
"A month or so, everything will be resolved by then."
Iris's father fell silent. He tapped his desk several times before sighing.
"You know about the current undercurrents in the capital… If I wait for so long, I fear the emperor will make use of this as an excuse to kill the chickens to warn the monkeys."
"You don't need to worry about that," I said calmly. "How about it? Tomorrow, let out word that you have fallen ill. Then, sent someone to bring the proposal of the marriage to the emperor. Something like a posthumous marriage is not something the emperor can agree to if you are not personally present, so he will have to wait until you are recovered to agree with the marriage and at the same time he will not have any excuse to move against you."
"… That will not work for long."
"You only need to stall for one month. After that, everything will be taken care of."
Iris's father fell silent. He considered my words for a while before sighing.
"… Okay, I'll take the risk. But you have only a month… I can't risk my family for longer than that."
I looked at him briefly before chuckling. "Iris has a good father."
Iris's father looked at me with a complicated expression.
"Just take care of my daughter."
...
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