When a Tyrant Dad Loves - Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Disaster (1)

The Emperor of the Jadad Empire. Askar did not know he had a daughter.

Not until she turned 17.

Perhaps if Lurein Antcal, the young lady of Antcal County, with whom he had once slept, hadn’t dabbled in black magic, he might never have known until his death.

But for some reason, Lurein dabbled in black magic, and thanks to the imperial family noticing this fact and unexpectedly sending a knight order to raid the mansion, the existence of the emperor’s bloodline, Ashria, could come out into the world.

The knights who stormed into the Antcal County were shocked to find her imprisoned in the basement.

Crimson hair and eyes, proving that she was a descendant of the fire dragon, Dairos.

That was proof that she was purely of the Jadad imperial family’s bloodline.

But to imprison the imperial family’s bloodline in the basement like this, anyone would be surprised.

Lurein, who had dabbled in black magic, was immediately executed, and Ashria, who seemed to have been confined to the basement, was found to have no circumstances of using black magic, so she was able to receive an acquittal without any problems.

Ashria, who was taken out of the basement in this way, was registered as a princess overnight and gained a new name, ‘Ashria de Kaisas ru Jadad’.

The surrounding situation changed rapidly at once by the knights who suddenly rushed in, but surprisingly, she was calm.

It was as if she had expected this day to come someday.

Whatever the case, the empire was in an uproar due to Ashria’s appearance.

The appearance of an abused princess and the knights’ heroic story of discovering and rescuing her.

The story was embellished and spread by word of mouth, and the people sympathized with and envied Ashria. Whatever the case, she was now a princess.

It was quite a plausible story when viewed from the outside. Like a fairy tale.

That is, when viewed from the outside.

***

“From now on, this is the room that the princess will use.”

Ashria blinked indifferently as she looked at the maid who was politely explaining the room to her.

Even though the environment had changed from a dark and damp basement to a dazzling imperial palace, Ashria did not seem to be greatly shaken.

If they were ordinary children of the same age, they would have been at a loss, making a fuss in a room so splendid that their eyes would have widened.

A strange sense of alienation was felt in her appearance, which even seemed a little dazed.

“Then, please rest comfortably.”

The maid, who had been explaining this and that for a while, carefully stepped back.

The emperor’s only daughter, and a being who could become the next emperor in the future.

That was Ashria’s position now.

Of course, it was a position that could be reversed at any time if the emperor brought in an empress, but the emperor had not been close to any woman except for a light one-night stand, so the people had given up on the expectation that they would be able to see an empress in their generation.

The imperial family with dragon blood have long lives and do not age.

That was the same for the emperor, Askar. And his daughter, Ashria.

He, who had only lived for about 39 years, was only a fledgling as an imperial family. Their average life expectancy was in the 300s.

Ashria, who was left alone in the room, slowly blinked and scanned the furniture full of gold.

The room was so luxurious that you could easily buy a small house in the capital just by selling one piece of furniture.

‘I’m tired.’

But Ashria didn’t feel anything about those things.

She only headed to the bed with difficulty, forcibly holding on to her blurry vision with her staggering body.

Her emaciated body fell weakly onto the soft bedding. The bed, which had been swaying for a while, soon wrapped her warmly.

Ashria’s breath was slightly rough even though she hadn’t done anything.

She gasped and let out a groan as if it was too much. Cold sweat was forming on her forehead.

At least for Ashria, this moment flowed very slowly. One minute was like an hour. It slowly and painfully constricted her lungs and put pressure on them.

How much more of that time, like an eternity, had passed?

“Haa…”

It was only when her complexion turned pale that she barely exhaled.

Her eyes, closed in pain, trembled faintly. Only her groans quietly echoed in the wide room filled with bright sunlight.

The average lifespan of an imperial family is 300 years.

Surely Ashria, who is an imperial family, should have that lifespan too…

Ashria clenched the white blanket tightly and thought.

‘About 320 days left…’

320 days. This was the time left for Ashria.

She knew very well the days left for herself. And she knew very clearly who had made her life so messed up.

‘Still… I’m glad Mom died.’

Her frail shoulders shrank even more.

‘Because I won’t be a sacrifice for the experiment…’

Ashria glanced at the inside of her wrist. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary dot, but it was the remnants of black magic that was eating away at her life.

The terrible remnants left by her mother, Lurein, who was now executed.

I wondered if this magic would disappear as the caster, Lurein, was executed…

‘It doesn’t disappear after all.’

Ashria smiled bitterly.

Black magic was engraved in her heart. This was controlling Ashria’s life force.

So, was Ashria greatly disappointed that the magic didn’t disappear?

No, not at all. It’s okay if it doesn’t disappear.

Anyway, she was intuitively aware that her body, which had been tattered by a long life as a test subject, would not live long even without black magic.

From the beginning, she didn’t want to live long.

There had never been a time when she had been happy since she was born. Where else would it be? There was never a time when she was happy, and there was never a life where she laughed out loud.

But if she had to live this life for 300 years, wouldn’t that be torture in its own way?

Ashria really thought so.

As she blankly looked at the splendid chandelier on the ceiling, curiosity arose about her father, who would live for 300 years buried in this splendor.

‘What kind of person is Dad?’

Whether it was by chance or by necessity. Curiosity about her father, who had taken her out of that hell, was natural.

Whatever the case, her thoughts about him did not extend negatively. At least for this moment, she was entrusting her body to the soft bed he had given her.

Looking at the room that didn’t suit her, she thought that even if it was a short life, she would be able to close her eyes comfortably at least on her last journey.

“His Majesty the Emperor will probably call the princess to the audience room tomorrow. So, please get a good rest today.”

Suddenly, she remembered what one of the maids had said earlier. It was fortunate among misfortunes. That she didn’t have to do anything today.

Ashria couldn’t overcome the drowsiness that was coming over her and closed her eyes. The warm room, where the sun was shining brightly, not the musty basement, warmly wrapped her body.

She couldn’t even remember how long it had been since she had been in the sun.

The fact that she no longer had to be thrown into terrible pain as a black magic test subject made Ashria feel relieved.

I never wanted to be happy. I don’t want to be happy.

Just because she felt like she had found a resting place where she could close her eyes comfortably.

So she was happy.

At least until she faced the Emperor.

***

Emperor Askar was outstanding.

Despite having ascended the throne only twenty-odd years ago, he had accomplished more than his predecessors, making it impossible not to call him exceptional.

However, beneath the achievements he had made, much blood had been spilled.

To be more precise, most of his accomplishments were achieved with the blood of others.

Askar had no hesitation in his actions, nor did he feel any guilt towards those who had been sacrificed for his achievements.

It was a trait of the imperial family.

A lack of empathy and an almost complete absence of emotional fluctuations.

Perhaps Ashria, who didn’t even flinch despite knowing her death was near, was also because the blood of the imperial family flowed through her veins.

“Is it today, the day the princess is assigned a palace?”

A deep, resonant voice echoed in the office. The speaker was Askar.

In the meantime, Ashria had been subjected to various investigations by the imperial mages to prove her innocence in not using black magic.

But from the start, the imperial family, descendants of the dragon, did not possess the magical power to cast spells, so it was merely a formality.

“Yes, that is correct. She entered the palace this morning.”

“I see.”

Askar replied listlessly, scanning the documents in his hand.

The appearance of a daughter he didn’t even know existed.

It was a slight amusement even for Askar, who was always indifferent to everything.

The knights who brought her from the scene said she was just like a spitting image of him. He wondered what she looked like.

Curiosity arose.

“I shall visit the princess for a moment.”

That was why. Before officially summoning the princess, he went to her chambers first.

It started with a very small curiosity.

And that was a curiosity that was no different from a disaster.

For both Askar and Ashria.

* * *

Deep in sleep, Ashria was startled awake by a sudden knock, and she raised her upper body in surprise. Her body was still buried in the bed.

‘Who is it…?’

I don’t think anyone is supposed to come.

The official meeting with the Emperor was tomorrow, and she had already finished dinner early.

Still not accustomed to the unfamiliar environment, she tilted her head and hesitated.

But the other party didn’t seem to care much about Ashria’s intentions, and threw the door open without permission.

“Who are yo—”

Before she could even ask who it was, the uninvited guest revealed himself.

A man with dark red hair, at least a head taller than Ashria, who was short from not eating properly, maybe even two heads taller.

As soon as Ashria saw the man, she couldn’t help but gasp.

She knew instinctively, even without being told.

He was her father.

It must be the Emperor, Askar.

Perhaps Askar also realized it the moment he first saw her. That she was his daughter.

His sharply slanted eyes were fixed on Ashria.