The moment he first heard those words, Limon wondered if he had misheard her.
Li Qingwei’s smile was so bright and pure that she didn’t seem like someone who had just given a negative answer.
“You’re saying you don’t know when we’re getting married?”
“Yes.”
“…Why?”
Even if he was the Royal Son-in-law, if the bride herself didn’t know, then who would?
How were they supposed to have a wedding?
Why didn’t she know?
Li Qingwei’s response to Limon’s question—which condensed all those inquiries into one—was simple.
“Because it would be impossible for us to get married right now.”
Looking at Li Qingwei as she spoke with a beaming face, Limon blinked several times.
He set down the glass he was holding.
Scratching the back of his head, he asked tentatively, “Hey, didn’t you propose to me?”
“Of course.”
“And I agreed to marry you.”
“It was an unforgettable proposal.”
As if remembering something, Li Qingwei’s cheeks flushed a rosy red as she glanced at Limon’s lips.
To anyone watching, she looked like a girl in love—the face of a bride-to-be looking forward to her wedding.
This made it even harder for Limon to understand her.
“Then why are you suddenly saying we can’t get married?”
“Pardon? I never said we couldn’t.”
“……???”
She looked back at him with a startled expression, as if his words were utterly preposterous.
Limon stared at her with a metaphorical question mark over his head before crossing his arms.
He tapped his finger against his bicep, replaying her words in his mind before speaking in a low voice.
“So, it’s not that we can’t, but that it would be impossible?”
“Yes.”
“You mean we could get married, but we’d have to force it? Like a young couple eloping against their parents’ wishes?”
“Exactly.”
*Clap, clap, clap.*
Li Qingwei even clapped as if marvelling at his brilliant insight.
However, Limon wasn’t happy at all.
In fact, he furrowed his brow.
Now that he understood her point to some extent, the list of things he didn’t know only grew.
“I haven’t heard anything about a father or mother-in-law who would oppose us.”
“Well, that’s because my parents passed away a long time ago.”
“Then who’s opposing it?”
“Almost everyone.”
“…Everyone?”
“Yes. From the elders and the noble families to the rank-and-file members and even my own inner circle. You can assume that ninety-nine out of 100 people in the Black Dragon Clan are against it.”
Limon’s expression turned subtle at Li Qingwei’s honest answer.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand it.
Limon was originally the sworn enemy of the Seven Dragons Society.
He knew better than anyone that this marriage wouldn’t be blessed, which was why he had warned Li Qingwei about it first.
Still, there was a reason Limon found this awkward.
“Selecting a Royal Son-in-law should be the exclusive right of you princesses, shouldn’t it?”
Just as a Monarch was an absolute ruler who dominated the Iron Age, the Seven Princesses were the absolute rulers of the Seven Dragons Society.
At least within their own clans, they possessed overwhelming power.
In particular, the right to choose their own husbands was a privilege belonging solely to the princesses; in over several hundred years of the Seven Dragons Society’s history, there had never been an instance where that right was infringed upon.
In that sense, having everyone voice their opposition to a Royal Son-in-law selected by a princess—and the princess actually caring about that opposition—was unprecedented given the customs of the Seven Dragons Society.
Li Qingwei gave a simple explanation as to why she couldn’t just ignore this dissent.
“There has never been a princess before who tried to ruin her own clan like I have.”
“I suppose that’s true…” Limon sighed instinctively.
Selling off half of the clan’s assets wasn’t enough; she was now trying to marry Limon while practically handing over the remaining half.
No matter how absolute a princess’s power was in the Seven Dragons Society, it was impossible for there to be no backlash under these circumstances.
Especially since it was Li Qingwei, who had essentially brought about the downfall of the Black Dragon Clan.
In fact, the fact that it only ended with opposition was only possible because of the unique structure of the Seven Dragons Society.
If they were a typical religion, corporation, or organization, she would have been dismissed, and it wouldn’t have been strange if a full-scale rebellion had broken out.
“Actually, even I didn’t think the backlash would be this severe. I thought the elders, at least, would welcome the news.”
“Unless they all collectively lost their minds on drugs, why on earth would they welcome it…?”
“Strictly speaking in terms of profit and loss, it’s a clear gain, isn’t it?”
Li Qingwei tilted her head.
No matter what anyone said, Limon was an absolute being.
The power he used to defeat the Infinity Monarch, Lee Cheon-gi, possessed a value that couldn’t be measured in money.
To her, who believed that winning over the Seven Dragons Society’s greatest enemy for only half of the Black Dragon Clan’s assets was a bargain, the situation was incomprehensible.
She was especially confused because the elders were the ones most vehemently opposed.
“The elders couldn’t possibly be ignorant of the Sword Lord’s strength.”
She wondered why the elders, who were usually so sharp when it came to profit and loss, were rejecting such a beneficial proposal.
Li Qingwei spoke as if she were truly curious.
Looking at her, Limon let out a sigh.
“Princess. The reason those guys know my strength so well is that they’ve been utterly crushed by me just as many times.”
It was only natural.
One didn’t become an elder of the Seven Dragons Society just by being anyone.
Excluding the Seven Princesses who inherited through bloodline, the elders were effectively the pinnacle of the society.
It was a position that could only be attained by masters who had mastered one of the Seventy-two Kinds of Martial Arts and achieved distinguished service.
And before the dawn of the Iron Age, achieving merit in the Seven Dragons Society was practically synonymous with fighting Limon.
Whatever the Seven Dragons Society plotted, Limon had always been at the forefront to destroy it.
In short, every single elder of the Seven Dragons Society had nearly been killed by Limon at least several times.
Not to mention the experience of losing countless colleagues, subordinates, and superiors.
And now, they were supposed to accept Limon as the princess’s matrilocal son-in-law?
Limon clearly explained the feelings the elders must have felt the moment they heard that news.
“If a tiger walked into your house and said he was going to act like the master, would you be happy about it?”
“I liked it.”
“That’s because you’re weird…”
Limon groaned at the immediate response that came without even 0.1 seconds of hesitation.
Watching him, Li Qingwei smiled brightly.
“In any case, I think it’s better than leaving the tiger loose.”
“That would be true if you didn’t have to pull out the very foundations of the house to pay for the tiger.”
Limon’s point was accurate.
If he had said he would marry Li Qingwei without any conditions, the elders might have been slightly conflicted.
However, once she offered 49% of the Leviathan Hotel’s shares as a dowry, there was no room for negotiation.
What they wanted from Limon was a sword they could wield as they pleased, not a new master who held the reins of the Seven Dragons Society.
“Well, anyway, I understand why getting married right now is impossible.”
Limon spoke as he raised his glass again.
Li Qingwei looked disappointed at his words.
“If the Sword Lord truly wishes for it, we could force the marriage. But…”
“If we did that, the shares I receive would become useless, and I’d be kicked out before I could even touch the Seven Dragons Society, let alone take it over.”
“Yes, that’s why I said it’s impossible.”
Li Qingwei had not forgotten Limon’s declaration—that he would swallow the Seven Dragons Society whole upon taking her as his bride.
In that sense, Limon absolutely needed the shares of the Leviathan Hotel.
Even if nearly half had already been seized by other clans, it was impossible to even start a power struggle without the remaining half.
‘It certainly is a troublesome situation, but…’
After fiddling with the paper cup for a moment, Limon drained the remaining soju in one gulp.
He poured more into the empty cup and asked casually, “So, what are you planning?”
“How did you know I was planning something?”
“How could I not?”
Li Qingwei blinked as if surprised.
Limon smirked at her question.
He looked at her with calm, golden eyes and spoke decisively.
“There’s no way you’d just back down because of a little opposition.”
This was the woman who had sold half her clan, protected world peace, and overhauled the entire economic structure just for the sake of obtaining him.
Limon spoke with conviction, certain that Li Qingwei wouldn’t give up on him over something like this.
Li Qingwei gave a beaming smile.
“You know me so well.”
“I am your groom-to-be, after all.”
“I think you can leave out the ‘to-be’ part.”
“I’ll decide that after I hear your plan.”
Limon laughed leisurely.
Li Qingwei looked at him with longing eyes before letting out a soft sigh and speaking.
“It gets complicated if I explain the details, but for now, I intend to persuade the elders.”
No matter how much resentment or dissatisfaction they held, only a tiny few besides the elders could actually block the path of Li Qingwei, the princess.
If you looked at the situation from another angle?
It meant that once she gained the elders’ consent, she would no longer need to worry about the opposition.
In that sense, Li Qingwei’s plan was the best course of action.
“They won’t listen to reason, though.”
Limon pointed out coldly that if they could be persuaded with words, they wouldn’t have opposed her in the first place.
Li Qingwei didn’t deny that fact.
“Yes, words alone wouldn’t work. However, if I use other methods, it should be possible to at least extract their cooperation.”
“How?”
“For times like this, I’ve secretly gathered the weaknesses of a few elders.”
“Ah, really? Then it’s certainly possible to some degree… Wait?!”
Limon had been nodding absently at the natural response, but he suddenly trailed off.
He looked at Li Qingwei with a skeptical expression.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t think the elders would oppose this?”
“I did.”
“Then why did you dig up their weaknesses?”
It would be one thing if she had expected their opposition from the start, but Li Qingwei had originally counted the elders as part of the faction that would support her.
In other words, she had been holding onto the weaknesses of her own allies.
Limon asked in disbelief, wondering why she would waste her limited manpower on such a thing when her own position was so precarious.
She tilted her head as she looked at him.
“Pardon? Well, if I ever need to replace the elders all at once, I have to prepare the grounds for it in advance, don’t I?”
“Was replacing them the plan from the beginning?!”
“I couldn’t rule out the possibility that some elders might believe they should get rid of me quickly for the sake of the clan.”
If Limon had ultimately refused her proposal, the elders would have eventually tried to sell Li Qingwei off to another clan.
Breaking tradition was much better than losing the clan’s entire remaining fortune.
“…So you prepared to get rid of the elders before they could sell you off?”
“Exactly.”
Li Qingwei nodded readily.
The elders likely never imagined she was preparing to strike them.
Throughout the history of the Seven Dragons Society, the elders had always been the princess’s strongest supporters, and it was custom for the princess to concede to some degree if the elders reached a consensus.
In fact, if she had actually wiped out the elders, the already-fallen Black Dragon Clan would have become even more of a disaster.
But Li Qingwei didn’t care about that in the slightest.
Elders or not, she wouldn’t tolerate anyone standing in her way.
As always, she simply added one more sentence with a beaming smile, as if boasting.
“Like you said, Sword Lord, I am quite cunning.”
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