Breakers SS #1 – Anastasia’s Day
It was afternoon, two days after the coronation of the new demon king. The three queens of the new demon king, who were the princesses of the former demon king, had gathered in one place.
They were in a well-decorated room. The ceiling was high and had a little bit of a dreary look, but the thick carpet and various decorations gave it a cozy feeling. As the princesses sat opposite each other on a round table filled with sweets and tea, two of them were arguing.
4th Princess Anastasia Nekrion, who was to be the 1st Queen, watched her sisters with a somewhat relaxed face.
“Since Anastasia unni is to be 1st Queen, shouldn’t the next oldest be the 2nd?”
Felicia said with a smile. However, Caitlin immediately puffed up in response.
“Unni is petty.”
It was because being 2nd was better than being 3rd, just like being 1st was better than being 2nd. The dark elves and the lycanthropes had forces of almost equal size, and they also had a similar degree of influence in the Demon King’s Palace. Therefore, it wasn’t easy to set the order of the king’s favour.
‘The other person is Shutra.’
‘Shutra’ was the magic word here as well.
Anastasia reached for her teacup elegantly and sighed.
“Just do rock paper scissors. Or draw lots.”
Both Felicia and Caitlin puffed up at Anastasia’s suggestion. In fact, they had good reasons for it. Anastasia had suddenly taken the spot of 1st Queen. The reason why Anastasia was the 1st Queen was simple.
One, the power of the nightmares was stronger than the dark elves and lycanthropes. Two, 3rd Queen Sylvia and 4th Queen Elaine had accepted 2nd Queen Titania’s offer. In other words, the queens had discussed among themselves and made Anastasia 1st Queen.
Felicia and Caitlin wanted to protest, but it couldn’t be helped. This was what a royal marriage was; a royal marriage couldn’t be established with affection alone. Anastasia ignored her younger sisters’ disgruntled eyes and asked again,
“Do Silvan and Chris have any opinions on this?”
“They wanted to duel with each other to decide.”
Felicia answered with a sigh, causing Caitlin to sigh as well. Anastasia laughed.
“Those children.”
Chris, who was normally cold, was losing his rationality for Caitlin’s sake. There was no need to mention Silvan. Anastasia thought about how Silvan and Chris earnestly wanted to duel and couldn’t help smiling again.
“Princess Caitlin, it is ready.”
A maid, Aphrasa, emerged from behind a curtain and said politely. The reason why the new queens had gathered here wasn’t to decide the 2nd Queen and 3rd Queen but to prepare Caitlin’s new wardrobe. It was significant since the dimensions would also be used for her wedding dress.
“Go.”
“Yes.”
Felicia said with a wide smile, causing Caitlin to nod. Caitlin was very glad to be picking new clothes without Chris’ intervention.
‘They fought so hard until now.’
Anastasia covered her mouth with the teacup. In fact, this wasn’t an issue in the first place because the relationship between the two people was too good. It was highly likely that the order of the 2nd Queen and 3rd Queen would be resolved soon enough.
As Caitlin moved beyond the curtain, Felicia sighed once again. She took a sip of the tea, straightened her posture, and gazed at Anastasia. Caitlin wouldn’t be back for a while. It was time for political talk, not a chat between sisters.
“Do you know?”
Anastasia said as she lowered her cup. Felicia raised her eyebrows and replied carefully,
“Draconian… the 4th Queen?”
Currently, it was set that Anastasia, Felicia, and Caitlin would be queens. However, it was easy to guess that there would soon be a 4th Queen. Among the species which already had queens, the draconians were the only ones without a queen.
“The most likely candidate for the 4th Queen is Leticia. Do you know who that is?”
“Baikal orabeoni’s cousin?”
“Yes, the only child of the draconian king’s eldest son.”
At present, the draconians were led by King Zanskal, Baikal’s and Zephyr’s grandfather. If it was the daughter of his eldest son, it wasn’t an exaggeration to call her the best draconian candidate. However, Felicia frowned and complained,
“But she is too old.”
According to what Felicia remembered, Leticia was 33 years old. In-gong was only 15, so that was more than double his age. However, Anastasia just laughed.
“The draconians are long-lived. It isn’t like us mixed-bloods, but their growth is slow… Just looking at appearance, she isn’t much different from Caitlin.”
Felicia’s eyes widened at Anastasia’s words.
“Have you seen her?”
“Yes.”
Anastasia was the leader of one of the three factions, so she couldn’t miss out on any information about the draconians.
‘If Baikal orabeoni or Zephyr orabeoni had become the demon king… Leticia would probably have become the 1st Queen.’
The draconian king had calculated that both the demon king and queen would be from his own blood. However, all those plans had been broken abruptly because of Shutra.
“So, is she pretty?”
Felicia asked with a hint of irritation in her voice. Anastasia smiled gently and said something else instead.
“The story is still below the surface, but it will soon be formalized. Since the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Queens were decided at almost the same time, they don’t want the 4th Queen to be too late.”
“Pretty?”
In the end, Anastasia couldn’t hold back her laughter.
“Don’t worry, you are the prettiest.”
Realizing she was acting like a child, Felicia quickly covered her face with her fan at Anastasia’s words. Anastasia changed the direction of the story instead of embarrassing her little sister more.
“Baikal orabeoni and Zephyr orabeoni also need to be given new titles.”
“Like Grand Dukes?”
“Yes, otherwise there will still be people who think they deserve to be the demon king.”
“But Baikal orabeoni and Zephyr orabeoni both stepped down.”
“They did. But that is just their opinion. The draconians, including the draconian king, don’t want to accept the situation.”
Felicia understood their feelings, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Shutra saved the Demon World. He killed Abamama’s enemies.”
As Felicia spoke in a voice filled with suppressed anger, Anastasia shrugged.
“That’s right. That is a fact. But… ironically, the problem is that the red dragon was defeated too quickly.
It didn’t make sense at first glance. However, Felicia understood right away and bit her lips.
“The red dragon would’ve surely destroyed the Demon World. Without Shutra, the Sanctuary would’ve been eliminated and the Demon World destroyed.”
Felicia tried to protest, but it was useless. Anastasia closed her eyes gently and responded,
“But very few people know about the Sanctuary. The whole fight against the red dragon was too small for everyone in the Demon World to see, especially the draconians fighting at the Aegis Gate.”
The red dragon had certainly been a mighty enemy. He had murdered the demon king and destroyed the Demon King’s Palace. If left alone, he would’ve surely destroyed the Sanctuary and turned the Demon World back into a barren land.
However, the destruction of the red dragon had been limited to the Demon King’s Palace. The damage had been minimized by defeating the red dragon early, but the problem was that only a small number of people had felt the threat of the red dragon.
This was the reason why the draconians were reacting this way. They didn’t know how strong the red dragon had been, nor did they understand how strong In-gong was to have defeated the red dragon. Most of all, they had no idea about how great the battle that day had been.
“Then… is Unni saying there should be more destruction of the Demon World?”
Felicia asked in a sharp tone. However, Anastasia went on to reply with an affectionate tone, like she was trying to soothe Felicia.
“I don’t want it. But it would’ve made dealing with the draconians easier. That is just the way it is.”
Anastasia finished talking and gazed at Felicia quietly. Felicia’s expression was bad, but she eventually nodded. It wasn’t Anastasia’s fault anyway. The draconians were the ones who were thinking like this.
Anastasia opened her mouth again and said briefly,
“Baikal orabeoni and Zephyr orabeoni will do their best to help. Even in the worst case scenario, a civil war won’t happen. But we need to throw a carrot to the draconians. Even if we refuse to give the title of Grand Duke, we can’t refuse a 4th Queen. Maybe they thought about it and that’s why they brought up the story about the titles.”
“Hah…”
Felicia understood. She understood, so she couldn’t refute it, which made her more frustrated. Anastasia gently brushed back Felicia’s hair and smiled slightly.
“Felicia, this is just the start. I don’t know about queens, but won’t there probably be more concubines in the future?”
The previous demon king had over 10 concubines. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the fate of the demon king was to make an alliance with the leaders of each species. All the previous demon kings were like that.
Felicia’s face creased even more, but Anastasia continued.
“Well, it is still a long time away.’
The age of the demon king was only 15 years old, while according to his mental age, he was only in his early 20s.
“Unni.”
Just then, a youthful voice was heard from beyond the curtain. Caitlin, who had changed clothes, twirled in front of Felicia and Anastasia. Felicia and Anastasia examined Caitlin’s clothes with serious eyes. It was a blue dress with a radical design which revealed some cleavage, unlike Caitlin’s usual dressing.
Felicia narrowed her eyes and said,
“It is too much. What did you place on her?”
“Why? It’s cool and looks good. Cute.”
‘Can you say that when you are wearing those clothes? Just that piece of cloth?’
Anastasia swallowed the words in her throat. Caitlin’s dress was essentially similar to what Felicia was wearing. There was cleavage and the shirt was short, revealing her thighs. The back was also open.
However, Felicia shook her head with a stern expression.
“You can’t. It is dismissed.”
“You are just like Chris oppa.”
Caitlin muttered with a dissatisfied voice, and Felicia’s eyes sharpened.
“Caitlin, do you really want me to be like Chris? Do you want to cover up your shoulders?”
At Felicia’s threat, Caitlin shut her mouth and went back behind the curtain. Anastasia let out a small laugh.
“It is really good.”
“Caitlin is cute.”
Felicia answered as she hid her face behind the fan and leaned back in the chair. There was still something she had to talk about with Anastasia.
The draconians weren’t the only problem. It was important to figure out how to deal with the gandharva, who were the demon king’s family. It was natural for the new demon king to release them, but it wasn’t that easy. The current queens of the Demon King’s Palace knew what the gandharva were guilty of.
This was a sin that couldn’t be easily dismissed. Moreover, there could be a bigger mess if the demon king’s birth secret was revealed. Of course, letting them stay imprisoned was unreasonable. If the gandharva were left alone, then In-gong would be seen as a puppet of the late demon king.
“We’ll have to handle this properly. It is impossible to release them instantly.”
Felicia nodded in agreement at Anastasia’s words. Shortly after, Caitlin appeared in a new outfit. Felicia was satisfied because her shoulders were revealed while her chest was covered. Caitlin just pouted with a vexed expression.
Anastasia looked between the two people and lifted her cup back up with an elegant posture.
&
After Caitlin’s fitting was over, Anastasia returned to her home and called in a woman who had been waiting. It was the succubus Nayatra, who had the honour of being the 1st concubine.
There would be three queens and one concubine half a year after the coronation. It was truly happening at an unprecedented speed.
‘There are two others.’
Anastasia smiled as she thought about Green Wind and the white woman, but she hid her expression. Nayatra was nervous as she seemed to have misunderstood the smile.
“Sit down.”
Nayatra was older, but in the first place, age wasn’t important in the palace. Nayatra bowed politely and sat in front of Anastasia.
Thanks to Anastasia and Titania working in the background, Nayatra had been able to climb to the position of 1st concubine. It was obvious that the influence of the nightmares would become stronger if the 1st concubine was a nightmare.
The queens and concubines weren’t necessarily enemies. Anastasia and Nayatra both understood this, which was why they were facing each other in this position.
Anastasia had already drunk enough tea at the previous meeting, but tea couldn’t be left out from a meeting. She took a sip from her teacup, while Nayatra also lifted her cup.
The conversation between the two succubi began.
&
In no time, it was sunset. After Nayatra left, Anastasia changed clothes and headed to the residence of the demon king.
The first place to be rebuilt in the Demon King’s Palace was the demon king’s home. Although the construction time was only a month, it could be perfectly completed thanks to the amazing craftsmen called. It could almost be called a piece of art, not a castle.
The demon king—In-gong turned around on the balcony, where he had been waiting for Anastasia. Anastasia appeared elegantly and went to stand close to him. Count Carack, who was the closest to the demon king, bowed and closed the door of the balcony, leaving In-gong and Anastasia alone.
After looking back, In-gong sighed suddenly and turned to Anastasia.
“Noona, is it really okay?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Marrying me.”
There was no doubt about it. Anastasia held back her smile and widened her eyes.
“Then is it okay for Felicia and Caitlin?”
“The two of them like me.”
In-gong said with a blush. Anastasia once again smiled and deliberately tilted her head.
“Hrmm… is it like that?”
In-gong’ eyes narrowed. He looked both embarrassed and disgruntled, causing Anastasia to finally laugh.
“Both of them love you enough to die for you. Actually, I just want to restrain them.”
Anastasia shrugged and passed by In-gong to lean against the balcony. A cool breeze was blowing, and she could see the sunset. Anastasia slowly turned around and said,
“Anyway, this is an arranged marriage. But I still like this marriage quite a bit.”
She meant it sincerely. Anastasia smiled at him.
“Isn’t it possible for me to become the demon king’s 1st Queen? Moreover, the other person is you.”
In-gong blushed at her last words, causing Anastasia to laugh again.
“In fact, if you agree, then it won’t be an indifferent arranged marriage.
An arranged marriage was literally a marriage for politics. In the first place, she didn’t have anyone she loved deeply and she wasn’t dissatisfied with In-gong, who she felt quite favourable toward.
“So, you don’t have to worry. Oh, do you dislike it?”
“What about Noona?”
As In-gong replied, Anastasia slipped closer to him slowly. There was a mischievous and dangerous look in her eyes, unlike her usual self.
“Hmm, okay. There is nobody here. Then should I check if you really do taste delicious?”
“Huh?”
As In-gong was confused, Anastasia moved quickly. She moved into In-gong’s arms and kissed him. Although she was normally quite passive, she was an incredibly active kisser. In-gong didn’t sit still either, so the kiss lasted quite long. After almost 10 minutes, Anastasia moved back with a bemused expression and panted.
“D-Delicious.”
Her face was extremely red, and she seemed like she would explode at any moment. In fact, Anastasia hadn’t intended for such an active kiss. She had just intended for a small touch of their lips. As Anastasia suddenly felt a sense of kinship with Amita who was addicted to the Heavenly Wine, In-gong coughed with a red face. Thanks to that, Anastasia quickly regained her spirit, and both In-gong and Anastasia started laughing.
“Will it work well?”
Anastasia asked frankly, and In-gong immediately nodded.
“I will treat you like Felicia noona and Caitlin noona.”
In-gong said confidently. Therefore, Anastasia felt safe in confiding her secrets to In-gong. Anastasia smiled and shook her head.
“That is my condition. You tend to be too close to the two of them.”
“Like this?”
“Huh?”
Anastasia blinked, and this time In-gong stepped forward. Like the wind, he grabbed Anastasia’s waist and kissed her once again. Anastasia closed her wide eyes slowly.
&
The sun set and night fell. Anastasia, who lived alone, took out her diary instead of falling asleep immediately.
As she wrote in her diary with elegant handwriting, Anastasia turned and looked out the window. Gazing out at the night sky, she suddenly remembered the former demon king.
“Going forward, I wonder what will happen?”
The coronation of the new demon king… The opening of a new era had occurred decades earlier than Anastasia had expected.
“Well, it isn’t bad.”
No, it was very good.
Anastasia looked back at her diary and started writing down the last part of her day. After confirming that nobody saw that, she moved her pen again with slightly red ears.
Then one month later…
The wedding ceremony between the demon king and 1st Queen Anastasia was held.
Here is an image provided by the author. From left to right: Anastasia, Caitlin and Felicia.