S'lva was walking happily on the dimly lit corridor anticipating the delicacies he'll enjoy later.

"Damn, just thinking about it makes me hungrier."

In the middle of his food delusion, he saw a blue-haired woman walking towards him. She has eyes as beautiful as sapphires and a face that could make men and demons across the nation to go wild.

"Hey, sister A'rta! Long time no see." S'lva happily greeted as he moves towards her.

The beautiful woman standing in front of S'lva was A'rta, the daughter of the current King of the House of Beleth.

She smiled and waved towards S'lva while teasingly greeting, "Oh, it's my lovely S'lva, or should I call you Emperor S'lva from now on?"

"It's embarrassing for you to call me that. You can stick to the usual when there are only two of us. Besides, it is still tomorrow when I'll officially become the emperor." S'lva felt uncomfortable on the way A'rta address him but he let her continue doing so.

"By the way sis, I didn't see you compete for the Throne. If it was you, I think you have a big chance of winning the whole thing."

"You're overestimating me too much, S'lva. I'm in no condition to fight unlike before. That's why I gave you my Candidate position for you."

In the midst of A'rta's reply, S'lva was able to catch a glimpse of sadness in her eyes before she before returns to her cheerful self.

'Her condition is much worse than before. Upon closer inspection, the red marks that were located at her hand the last time I saw her have already expanded so much that it can be visible at her neck.'

'It has been three years since a disease struck sister A'rta during a secret expedition. I only noticed that she went on a dangerous mission after learning that she was bedridden for weeks due to an unidentified illness that deteriorates her body as time passes by. She's coping it up in some ways but for some reason, sister A'rta seems to be hiding something from me.'

S'lva went silent, trying to understand A'rta's situation more. Noticing the worrying gaze of S'lva at her neck, A'rta was able to determine what S'lva was thinking, and she felt little touched over the concern of his little brother.

*Ahem*

"The emperor should not worry too much, especially when there is a big event tomorrow." S'lva was flustered by the sudden interjection and his sister's face near him.

"But your conditi-"

"No buts. As I said, you should give all of your focus for tomorrow's enthronement. I can handle my problems. But if I need someone, an emperor will be able to help more."

A'rta stopped S'lva for answering and only showed him her smile, a smile that contains a lot of mixed emotions. She wants to share the truth to the few people she trust, but A'rta knew herself that nothing good will happen if she includes S'lva on her situation right now.

'Knowing S'lva, he will probably use his authority immediately to try and cure me. I appreciate it, but it is not as simple as it seems. Having more enemies just for me is not worth it, S'lva.

"I guess you're headed to the dining hall." A'rta tried to change the subject of their conversation.

"Eh? Ah yes. I can't wait for my first meal as the emperor, but technically I'm not yet so..." S'lva awkwardly answered her question, not anticipating the change of topic, but sensing that A'rta doesn't want to tackle her problem more, he went on with the conversation.

"Don't fidget like that. Be more confident, my Emperor. Speaking of which, many high-class Demon will be present for the enthronement, including the House of Balrog and House of Azazel that barely join in such occasions. Even the prince of the hell, Lucy, will be visiting the Demon Realm. You sure you can handle it?"

"It's not like I have a choice, sis. Besides, you know me pretty well. If there was one person who couldn't care less, that would be."

Time passes by, and the night goes deeper. Both S'lva and A'rta have continued with their conversation mostly about minor stuff. After a while, they finally finished their long yet short reunion and went on their separate ways after bidding farewell to one another.

S'lva resumed his way to the dining room with a greater desire for the feast that was on his mind a while ago."Food at last!" His excitement can't be contained when he saw the door of the dining room.

S'lva swiftly opened the door and went it in but was quickly stopped when he bumped over something sturdy and fell on the floor. S'lva cursed out loud towards whatever hit him and expecting the other party to apologize.

It took a few seconds for S'lva to recover his senses and looked towards the person on the way. What he saw was a very familiar ogre-like face with a humongous metallic coloured body.

"Hey, N'rva... Good to see you." S'lva uncomfortably greeted while moving a few steps backward.

Standing before him is one of the strongest demons among the Houses and the one who was the most favoured Candidate for the position of the Emperor.

'Such bad luck to run over someone like N'rva now. What is he doing here? I bet he is still mad about the result and came to challenge me for a .'

The atmosphere in the room turned cold over the meeting of two Candidates. Feeling like a battle may occur any second, the guards stationed in the dining area were startled and frozen in place. N'rva walked towards the direction of S'lva. Everything seems to pause and the only sound that can be heard in the spacious room was the sounds of breathing and heavy footsteps. N'rva doesn't have any intention of talking until he was close enough for only both of them..

"Don't die before I can even fight you for the throne"

"?"

S'lva didn't expect N'rva's remark so he tried to get an explanation. But before he was able to talk, the towering figure of N'rva was already gone from the shadows of the long corridor.

'He really is a battle maniac. I'm not officially the Emperor yet, but he's already planning to fight for my throne. But I'll never accept a duel against him, surely I'll lose against him.'

S'lva didn't really care about what N'rva said. His focus was back on his original intention of eating. Sitting on the chair that was more grandeur than the rest, S'lva immediately requested the servant assigned to prepare the food that he wants. It took quite some time but nevertheless, everything was written down.

After the servant left, S'lva noticed that besides him sitting at the table, there were no other people on the table joining him for his first dinner at the castle. Even the assigned guards and maids were lesser than the usual.

'It's obvious that they don't accept me as their new ruler.'

Looking back on how he ended up here, he thought it was quite funny. Becoming the emperor overnight all because of pure luck. Coming from someone who was houseless, the current situation was too good to be true.

'Ever since I met sister A'rta, my life has totally changed. I should probably thank her while ago. Maybe next time we meet, surely I'll be able to help her as the Emperor.'

It was only when a knock at the door was heard that S'lva went back to the present.

'