Haruto took a deep breath, cleared his mind, and stepped out of the holding room. The seven queens followed right behind him. The moment he crossed the threshold, the royal guards standing along the corridor immediately snapped to attention, saluting him with absolute precision.
As he walked down the long hallway, Haruto's analytical mind began trying to predict the flow of the upcoming event. Since this is just an engagement ceremony and not an official wedding, what exactly are the protocols? he wondered. At least it means I won't have to deal with a wedding kiss, which is a massive relief for my system. But still, what is the actual sequence of events here?
When he reached the grand entrance, the massive double doors swung open, revealing the ceremonial hall. The room was breathtaking. Brilliant, warm chandeliers illuminated the entire space, reflecting off the polished marble floors. Rows of high-ranking nobles and officials lined the sides of the hall, their eyes immediately locking onto Haruto as he entered.
Haruto maintained a perfectly calm, regal posture as he walked down the center aisle toward the royal thrones at the front. Standing near the main stage was the King, looking sharp and imposing in his full ceremonial robes. Right next to him stood Fredrick.
Why is Fredrick standing up there directly next to the King? Haruto thought, noting the tactical positioning. However, he didn't let his expression waver. He walked straight up to the stage and approached the two men.
The King looked Haruto up and down, a proud smile breaking across his face.
"Well look at you, Haruto. You look absolutely magnificent. My wives truly outdid themselves." Haruto gave a respectful, calm nod of his head in response.
Fredrick chuckled softly, stepping forward with a warm smile.
"I figured I shouldn't miss out on seeing such a historic moment firsthand, so I decided to join His Majesty up here." He extended his hand toward Haruto. "It's good to see you."
Haruto reached out and firmly shook Fredrick's hand, keeping his composure entirely intact.
The King then gestured toward an elegant, high-backed chair arranged near the front of the stage. "Take a seat, Haruto. The ceremony is about to begin."
Once Haruto took his seat, the chatter in the grand hall instantly died down. The King stepped forward to the edge of the stage, raising his hands to command the attention of the entire room. Everyone present—the nobles, the officials, and the guards—stood up out of absolute respect, waiting for the sovereign to speak.
The King's voice boomed across the brilliantly lit chamber, filled with royal authority.
"As you all stand here today to witness this historic occasion, I officially announce that Haruto is entering into an engagement with my daughter, the Crown Princess Lilith. He is the future King of this realm. I have already personally bestowed upon him the three sacred crests of our royal family, and his bloodline is now officially elevated to the highest tier of royalty."
A low murmur of astonishment rippled through the crowd of nobles, but the King raised his hand again, silencing them instantly as his expression turned incredibly serious.
"However," the King continued, his sharp eyes scanning the room,
"you must understand that while this engagement is binding within these walls, it is not yet officially public. The time for the grand announcement has not arrived. Therefore, I command every single one of you to keep this information strictly confidential. Not a single breath of this alliance, nor a single rumor about Haruto's royal status, is to leak outside this palace. The village of Allesta and the world beyond must not catch wind of this until the proper time. Guard this secret with your lives."
Every noble in the grand hall immediately went silent. In unison, they brought their right hands across their chests, pressing their palms flat over their hearts in a formal royal salute.
"We will guard this secret, Your Majesty!" they shouted together, their voices echoing off the high ceilings. Once their solemn vow was made, the crowd gracefully sat back down in their seats.
Suddenly, a resonant, clear bell chimed through the hall, and an absolute hush fell over the entire audience. The King leaned slightly toward Haruto, a knowing smile on his face.
"I believe your heroine has arrived," he whispered.
Hearing those words, Haruto's eyes narrowed. This is it, he thought, his analytical mind executing a quick calculation. The timing is perfect. If I am going to walk out there and command this ceremony, I need to claim my voice pack right now. I can't play the future King if I'm totally mute.
The exact moment that thought finalized in his brain, a sleek, digital notification window violently flashed into existence right in front of his eyes, hovering in the air.
[ SYSTEM ALERT: SYSTEM VOICE PACK AVAILABLE FOR CLAIM ]
[ CLAIM ]
Haruto flinched slightly. Where did this layout come from so suddenly? He looked around the room, but the nobles, Fredrick, and even the King completely ignored the floating text. No one else could see it.
To test his new privacy filter, Haruto closed his single crimson eye for a split second. Instantly, the holographic alert window vanished from his mind's eye. When he opened his eye back up, the glowing screen reappeared exactly where it was.
Perfect. It's tied directly into my hidden system matrix, Haruto thought, a confident smirk playing on his lips. Without hesitating any further, he extended his index finger and firmly tapped the [ CLAIM ] button. The notification window shattered into a burst of digital particles and dissolved into nothingness, finalizing the download.
The moment Haruto's finger pressed the claim button, a violent, unforeseen shockwave rippled through his entire nervous system. It wasn't just a simple audio patch or a voice file being downloaded into his throat. It was a complete, structural system override.
The heavy, absolute emotional blocks that had kept him perfectly calm, detached, and numb for so long were suddenly torn wide open.
Instantly, a massive, overwhelming tidal wave of pure human emotions flooded his consciousness. All the feelings that had been completely deleted from his life—nervousness, acute shyness, stage fright, and vulnerability—slammed back into his mind all at once. Looking out at the hundreds of high-ranking nobles staring directly toward the stage, Haruto felt a sudden, sharp knot of anxiety tighten in his chest. His heart began to race violently. What... what is happening to me? he panicked internally, his hands trembling slightly against his royal robes. Why am I suddenly feeling so terrified?
Before he could even attempt to process this sudden emotional system error, the grand double doors at the very back of the hall swung wide open.
The entire room seemed to instantly drop into absolute, breathless slow motion.
Walking through the threshold was Lilith. She was wearing a breathtaking, pure white ceremonial gown that flowed elegantly behind her like a cascading waterfall. A soft, ethereal mist seemed to float gently around her feet with every step she took, catching the golden light of the chandeliers and making her look completely otherworldly. She had always been undeniably beautiful, but right now, the sheer radiance she exuded was blinding.
The entire audience of nobles stood completely frozen, their mouths open in stunned silence, utterly paralyzed by her beauty. Not a single person could even find the words to speak.
Haruto stared at her, his wide crimson eye completely fixed on her approaching figure. With his emotional blocks entirely gone, the visual data hit him with maximum impact. The warm light dancing across her face, the soft smile on her lips, and the sheer purity radiating from her entire presence felt completely overwhelming. For the first time, he could feel it with absolute clarity—this girl genuinely, truly loved him.
She is... the absolute reincarnation of beauty itself, Haruto thought, his mind completely short-circuiting as his analytical defenses crumbled. There is no way anyone in any world can be more beautiful than her.
The sudden realization sent a massive rush of heat straight to his face. Haruto—the cold, unbothered gamer who had faced gods without flinching—turned completely, bright crimson from head to toe. A violent wave of pure, intense shyness took over his system, and he felt a desperate urge to hide his face. He sat there, trembling and blushing furiously, completely helpless against the terrifying, beautiful chaos of his newly restored emotions.
Haruto's internal processing grid was spinning completely out of control. Desperate for a system override, he violently pinged his internal link, his thoughts practically screaming. Sirehtea! What on earth is happening to my system?! Hello?! Are you there?!
Hearing the sheer panic and stuttering hesitation in his thoughts, Sirehtea quickly answered, her tone surprised. "Whoa, Haruto! I'm here, I'm here! What's wrong with you? Your mental wavelength is completely fluctuating!"
The emotions! Haruto shot back, his hands gripping the arms of his chair as he stared at Lilith walking down the aisle. Why am I suddenly feeling all of this? The shyness, the anxiety, the racing heart... it's completely throwing off my calibration!
There was a brief pause on the other end before Sirehtea let out a sharp gasp.
"Wait... Haruto, did you just manually claim that hidden Voice Pack notification without checking the patch notes?!"
Yes! I needed my voice back for the ceremony!
"Oh my god, you dummy! You were supposed to let me finalize the deployment first!" Sirehtea cried out, hitting her forehead internally.
"I didn't just code your vocal cords into that file—I explicitly packed your sealed emotional parameters into it too! I did it because I was worried you were turning into a completely emotionless, cold machine. I wanted you to be human again!"
But this is a massive system malfunction! I feel completely weird and exposed! Haruto panicked, his face burning a deeper shade of crimson as Lilith drew closer.
"Okay, okay, don't freak out! Run a diagnostic diversion!" Sirehtea instructed quickly, trying to stabilize him.
"Do what you always do! Think about your core strategy. Remind yourself that this is just a game, just a visual novel simulation!"
Haruto tried to lock down his thoughts, staring at the realistic light bouncing off Lilith's white gown. I'm trying... but a game isn't supposed to feel this terrifyingly real! Every single sensory input is hitting me at 100% capacity!
"Ah, right... basic psychological latency," Sirehtea realized, her voice softening with genuine sympathy.
"Because you kept your emotional files heavily locked down for so long, your consciousness has zero tolerance built up. Skipping straight from absolute numbness to raw human emotion has made you hyper-sensitive to everything around you. You just need to breathe and calm down, Haruto."
Haruto's chest heaved slightly as he sat under the glare of the entire royal court, completely trapped in his own body. Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down?! This is my engagement ceremony! My actual engagement! He mentally facepalmed in absolute chaos. I am such a complete fool!
The moment Lilith stepped onto the stage and looked over at Haruto, her eyes widened, and a deep flush instantly crept up her cheeks. She had never seen him look like this before. Instead of his usual messy, unkempt hair, his locks were styled and neatly braided by the queens, making him look like a legendary, high-tier prince.
In a single day, Lilith had encountered Haruto in three completely different avatars: first his regular self, then a strikingly beautiful palace maid, and now, this incredibly handsome, royal future King. The sheer visual impact made her heart race, and she quickly looked away to hide her blushing face.
Seeing Lilith blush only made Haruto's own face burn even hotter. His newly unlocked emotions were haywire, making him more sensitive than ever. However, as he watched her take her final steps toward the thrones, he noticed something incredible. Lilith suddenly took a deep breath, and with absolute mastery, she completely locked down her expressions. To the entire crowd of nobles, she suddenly appeared entirely calm, poised, and professional—acting like a flawless Crown Princess.
She walked straight up to the stage and elegantly took her seat in the royal chair right next to Haruto.
As she sat down, a soft, incredibly soothing fragrance wafted over from her ceremonial gown. The gentle scent hit Haruto's senses, acting like a natural stabilizer that slowly brought his racing heart down and helped him calm his mind. But even with the soothing aroma, having her sitting just inches away from him, looking absolutely breathtaking, sent a fresh wave of nervous shyness straight through his system.
Leaning in just a fraction of an inch closer, Lilith kept her eyes fixed straight ahead on the crowd of nobles, maintaining her perfect, professional princess posture. But her lips barely moved as she whispered to him in a soft, concerned voice, "Hey... what's wrong? Why is your face so incredibly red?"
Haruto's heart did a sudden flip at the sound of her voice right next to him.
"I thought your emotions were completely locked away after that intense wizard quest," Lilith continued under her breath, a faint trace of worry slipping into her tone.
"You've been acting like a total stone wall for weeks, but right now... you look like you're about to completely melt. Are you feeling okay, Haruto?"
Her words hit his hyper-sensitive system with full force. Standing or sitting this close to her while his newly unlocked emotional files were completely uncalibrated was pure torture. He desperately wanted to explain that his system had just suffered a massive, unexpected patch error because of Sirehtea's voice file, but his vocal cords felt tight and completely frozen with nervousness. He could only sit there, staring straight ahead while blushing furiously, trying to find a way to speak without his voice cracking.
Haruto shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his fingers gripping the edge of his robes. His throat felt completely dry, but with his newly claimed voice pack fully installed, he forced the words out.
"Y-You..." Haruto stammered, his voice trembling and locking up in a way it never had before.
"You look so... incredibly beautiful, Lilith. I... I completely lost my train of thought."
Lilith's eyes widened instantly. A massive wave of deep crimson flushed across her face, her composed princess facade instantly shattering. Hearing Haruto—who had been a total emotionless stone wall for weeks—honestly call her beautiful completely threw her off guard. But then, the reality of what just happened clicked in her mind.
"W-Wait..." Lilith whispered urgently, her eyes darting to him. "You can speak?!"
"Yes," Haruto replied softly, keeping his eyes fixed forward to maintain a shred of dignity.
"I'll explain everything to you later, I promise."
Lilith quickly tried to regain her professional composure, though her cheeks were still burning hot. She looked away, clearing her throat lightly.
"Well... you don't look too bad yourself. Honestly, you look incredibly handsome in that royal attire."
Hearing her direct compliment, Haruto's face violently redlined. He turned so bright red that he looked like a glowing beacon on the stage.
Up in the royal viewing balcony, the seven queens were leaning over the railing, sharply tracking every single movement. The moment they saw both Haruto and Lilith blushing furiously and whispering to each other, they exchanged knowing, ecstatic smiles.
"Oh, look at them! They need a little privacy," the main Queen in the gold-trimmed red gown smirked.
Without warning, the seven queens marched gracefully onto the main stage. With authoritative yet polite gestures, they smoothly nudged the King and Duke Fredrick to step back. Understanding the hint, the King chuckled and nodded, while Fredrick smiled warmly and stepped aside, leaving the stage to the ladies.
The queens immediately fanned out, forming a dense, elegant circle directly around Haruto and Lilith, completely shielding them from the prying eyes of the crowded nobles below.
"Alright, you two," the main Queen whispered, leaning in with a playful, mischievous glint in her eyes. "What exactly are you guys whispering about over here? Why are you both as red as tomatoes?"
Haruto took a deep breath, stabilizing his newly unlocked vocal metrics, and looked up at them. "Hello," he said simply.
The moment his voice echoed within the small circle, all seven queens gasped in absolute unison, their hands flying to their mouths. It was the very first time they had ever heard him speak.
"Woah..." all the Queen murmured, their eyes sparkling.
"What a deeply rich, masculine voice! You sound like a true King, Haruto!"
Before the queens could tease him any further, the heavy double doors at the back of the grand hall swung open yet again.
Haruto snapped his head toward the entrance. Walking into the venue was the rest of his elite faction. Seraphine, now fully dressed and recovered, Ivory, Bellona, Lustra, Toya, Aetherna and even Rutherford had arrived to attend the ceremony. The only one missing was Asobi, who had chosen to stay behind to guard the perimeter of the mansion.
The group walked with absolute confidence, navigating through the crowd of whispering nobles. The moment they reached the front of the hall, they didn't hesitate—they climbed straight up the steps and joined Haruto on the main stage.
The seven queens shifted their stance, looking at the formidable group standing behind the future King. The main Queen smiled proudly, her eyes scanning the powerful figures of goddesses, warriors, and mages.
"Ah," the main Queen murmured, her voice filled with immense royal satisfaction.
"So, this is it... this is Haruto's official party."