Forced to Sell Myself to the Female Lead After Killing the Male Lead

"Leave it alone for now. Let them take Lady Yumo."

After ending her call with Xiao, Qiu Mingtong spoke in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.

The moment those words left her mouth, several members of the Black Rose Family standing behind her immediately looked both outraged and confused.

"How can the Duke do this? Are we really just abandoning Lady Yumo?"

"It's not abandoning her," Qiu Mingtong corrected. "It's simply... not acting yet."

"What do you mean?"

"The Duke's thinking is almost exactly what I told you before. Now isn't the time to openly reveal our hand. We can't make a move in front of everyone. Besides..." A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "These Royal Knights are about to do us a very big favor."

"Huh?"

The family members exchanged puzzled glances.

"Commander... what do you mean?"

"It's simple." Qiu Mingtong folded her arms. "Lady Yumo has been looking forward to meeting the 'male lead' for a very long time. She probably has quite a favorable impression of Xue Tianao. Before we make our move, we need to wear down as much of that goodwill as possible."

She continued leisurely,

"To those Royal Knights, Lady Yumo is nothing more than the granddaughter of a criminal, and a northern barbarian at that. They certainly won't treat her kindly. As for the servants traveling with her... they won't even bother hiding their contempt. And since they're all Xue Tianao's subordinates..." She let out a mischievous giggle. "If Lady Yumo ends up thoroughly disgusted~ hehehe~"

As she spoke, an oddly sinister smile slowly spread across her face.

The several "great geniuses" beside her nodded as if they understood... though it was obvious most of them didn't.

Qiu Mingtong had long since grown accustomed to that. She had no intention of explaining further.

Turning around, she stepped off the rooftop.

"Commander?! Where are you going?"

"To carry out another mission assigned by the Duke," she answered calmly.

"Huh? What mission?"

"The Asumos Church has lost two Braves. Naturally, they want to uncover what happened, so they've dispatched an investigation team. The Duke hopes we'll uphold the Black Rose Family's fine traditions of being 'warm and welcoming' and 'always willing to lend a helping hand' by... helping the Asumos Church investigators search for clues regarding the missing Braves."

"Oh ho?"

After staring at one another for several seconds, every member of the Black Rose Family slowly broke into warm, friendly smiles.

Cracking their knuckles, they eagerly prepared themselves for the task ahead...

—

Meanwhile...

Inside the Sky Palace of the Snow Night Empire's imperial capital.

A handsome man wearing a royal crown and possessing a magnificent head of golden hair sat leisurely upon the imperial throne.

Standing beside him were dozens of golden-armored knights whose very presence radiated overwhelming authority.

At this very moment, every one of them had unleashed their terrifying battle aura.

The crushing pressure filled the entire throne hall, causing guards outside the palace and passing servants with insufficient strength to shiver uncontrollably, their bodies trembling in fear.

At the center of the hall, locked beneath the icy gazes of those knights, knelt several southern noble lords who had once supported the late Emperor Luojie-Valedin.

When the Demon King-class Abyss Demon Flame Prison had descended upon the empire, the southern territories had suffered catastrophic devastation. Their power had already been severely weakened, and after the old emperor's death, their influence declined even further.

They had been captured without the slightest ability to resist and dragged back to the imperial capital by Xue Tianao's subordinates.

Their original plan of fleeing abroad had completely fallen apart.

Feeling the knights' frigid stares and the suffocating pressure bearing down upon their bodies, the nobles felt as though their hearts would burst from their chests.

It was as if the terrifying aura filling the throne hall were slowly crushing their very souls.

As their psychological defenses finally collapsed, one rotund noble desperately crawled toward the throne, repeatedly smashing his forehead against the floor without the slightest trace of dignity.

"Your Majesty! It was all a misunderstanding! I never helped the late emperor seize your mines! Someone framed me! I was wrongfully accused, Your Majesty!"

...

...

The once-arrogant lord continued frantically begging for mercy.

However...

Xue Tianao merely let out a cold laugh.

His blue eyes narrowed, openly displaying his contempt.

After a brief scan and analysis, the evaluation produced by the System appeared within his mind.

The instant he saw the result, the last shred of patience vanished.

'Heh... only C-rank...'

Completely worthless.

No point wasting time recruiting him.

Better make an example out of him.

The empire needs to understand exactly what happens to those who oppose me.

With that thought, Xue Tianao looked down coldly at the man sprawled on the floor.

"Count Ambonoen. Corruption. Abuse of authority. Personal profiteering. Assaulting members of the royal family. By imperial law..."

"I sentence you to death."

"All family assets are to be confiscated. Your relatives will be reduced to slavery and transferred to the laboratories to assist with experimentation."

?!

"N-No! Your Majesty, you can't do this! I'm a descendant of one of the empire's founding heroes! You can't—!"

The moment the sentence was pronounced, Count Ambonoen erupted into hysterical screams.

He even attempted to rush toward the throne and cling to Xue Tianao's leg, desperately begging for mercy.

Unfortunately...

With merely Fourth-Tier strength, approaching Xue Tianao was utterly impossible.

The instant he moved, the overwhelming wave of magical power released by Xue Tianao slammed into him.

Foam poured from his mouth as he collapsed unconscious.

At the same time...

Xue Tianao shifted his gaze toward the remaining richly dressed nobles.

"Count Kaboen. General Weixi. Viscount Keluo. Attempting to assassinate members of the royal family."

"The sentence is likewise death."

"Confiscate all property."

"Send their families and personal servants to the laboratories."

"Extract whatever needs extracting."

Xue Tianao's emotionless judgment instantly filled the nobles with overwhelming terror.

Just like Count Ambonoen, they desperately tried to beg for mercy.

But to Xue Tianao, these people possessed no value whatsoever.

With a casual wave of his hand...

The Royal Knights immediately stepped forward and dragged the pleading nobles straight out of the throne hall without the slightest hesitation—

Even though several of them were descendants of the empire's founding heroes.

After the noisy cries had finally disappeared...

Xue Tianao leaned lazily against the throne once more.

"How boring."

After all this time, they're nothing but worthless trash.

Not a single one is worth recruiting.

What a waste of my time.

Just then, a military officer with short orange hair slowly entered the hall before kneeling on one knee.

"Your Majesty. Reports have arrived from the diplomatic envoys dispatched to the Sadik Empire and the Crimson Leaf Empire. They have successfully met with both emperors. Each nation has agreed to send a delegation to Sky Palace to attend Your Majesty's coronation ceremony."

"Good." Xue Tianao nodded with satisfaction. "Though I must admit, I didn't expect the Sadik Empire—our sworn enemy—to agree so easily. I thought it would take considerably more effort."

"That is only because Your Majesty accurately predicted the preferences of their new emperor."

Chuckling softly, Xue Tianao waved dismissively.

"Enough flattery."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The officer respectfully lowered his head.

"There are also two more pieces of good news."

"Oh?" Xue Tianao raised an interested eyebrow. "Let's hear them."

Smiling slightly, the officer reported,

"Commander Aiqinuo has sent word from the northern border. The suppression operation has been successfully completed. All important members of the Duke Family have been arrested and have already begun their return journey to the royal capital."

"Everything proceeded exactly as Your Majesty predicted. We secured control of the northern territories with almost no losses."

"Oh?" Xue Tianao burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Now that is excellent news."

"And the second?"

"The Asumos Church's Holy Headquarters has responded."

"The Pope has approved allowing Miss Mengxi, the Child of Destiny, to attend Sky Palace as one of the Church's official representatives for Your Majesty's formal coronation ceremony."

"...What?!"

The instant he heard those words, Xue Tianao froze.

A heartbeat later, overwhelming ecstasy spread across his face.

Slamming both hands onto the throne, he shot to his feet.

"Haha... hahaha... HAHAHAHAHA!!"

"Just as I thought!"

"I knew those people wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of the Mana Fission Bomb!"

However...

One of the nearby golden-armored knights couldn't help but speak up.

"Y-Your Majesty... but... revealing information about the Mana Fission Bomb to the Asumos Church just to bring the Child of Destiny to the royal capital..."

"Even if they're our allies now... isn't that... dangerous?"

"It doesn't matter."

Xue Tianao casually shook his head.

"The truly essential raw material remains completely under my control."

"And with their current capabilities..."

"Even if they possessed every single ingredient, they still couldn't produce one."

"But... if they somehow do manage to build one... wouldn't that risk be—"

"Heh."

Xue Tianao simply smiled.

"Even then, it wouldn't matter."

"As long as Miss Mengxi comes to the royal capital..."

"...that little bit of risk is well worth it."

As he spoke, an unmistakably greedy smile slowly spread across Xue Tianao's face.