Chapter 1

Mona Lewin helped me up from the cold floorboards. Tears were streaming down her face, but the look in her eyes was bright. She was staring at the man next to her, whose forehead had a shiny, golden word on it… [Emperor]

"I'm sorry, Cole… I'm so sorry… But Sean can't be an [Unemployed] forever. He is talented, and he deserves the best!"

Sean stood by her side, admiring the new label on his forehead in the mirror. He tidied his collar, and his chin lifted slightly as he seemed to emanate a natural air of arrogance. He turned to look at me and said in a deep voice with a fake tinge of pity, "Don't worry, Cole. I'll take good care of Mona on your behalf from now onward."

He seemed to have forgotten that he was the one who had his knee on my chest a minute ago, while Mona, who was my wife, gagged me with a towel so that I could not call for help. They had no idea that I had exhausted all ideas trying to get rid of the curse of [The Last Emperor] for several lifetimes, and now, my wish had come true.

After suffering through intense pain, I felt relief that I had never experienced before. A gray label appeared on my forehead, [Loafer]. Mona looked at the new label on my forehead, and she was instantly filled with guilt. "Honey…" Her voice was soft, and she choked back a sob.

"I know this isn't fair to you… If you need anything in the future, Sean and I… We'll make sure to give it to you as compensation…."

My voice was as calm as dead water when I told her my demand. "I want five hundred thousand."

The room became silent instantly.

Mona's guilt froze on her face, and she looked at me in disbelief, as if I shouldn't have made such a crude request. "Cole, why would you…"

Sean interrupted her. He came up to me and looked down at me with an air of superiority, as if I were a dog begging for food. He took out a stack of cash from his wallet and threw it in my face. "Five hundred thousand? Now that you're a [Loafer], you've become pretty thick-skinned."

He burst out with laughter. "Take this. It's two thousand. Get out and buy me a proper suit. After that, take my Salvatore Ferragamo leather shoes for maintenance. I'm an [Emperor] now. I can't be wearing cheap clothing."

Sean paused before continuing condescendingly, yet matter-of-factly, "You can work as my assistant and driver from now on. I can't let a [Loafer] like you die on the streets. It will only make Mona sad."

Mona nodded vigorously, and the guilt in her eyes vanished. It was replaced with a proud look of 'just look at how great he is to you'. "He's right, Honey. Sean's status is different now. You won't stand to lose anything if you stick with him. You're just a [Loafer]. You won't be able to find a good job with that label."

I looked at them chattering away like they had practiced this speech. They sounded pretentious and were pretty long-winded, but all I did to respond was quietly pick up the money from the floor.