Chapter 1

I Will Take In Some Consorts First is the 1st chapter of the Men of the Harem webnovel. It corresponds to the Prologue and Episode 1 of the webtoon.

Synopsis
Latil announces the formation of her harem. Flashback to when Latil's relationship with Hyacinth, and her finding about his eventual betrayal through marrying Aini.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Latil
 * Duke Atraxil
 * Ranamun (mentioned)
 * Raean (mentioned)
 * Hyacinth
 * Great Prophet
 * Heium (mentioned)
 * Nurse
 * The Emperor
 * Aini (mentioned)

Summary
In the spring of Year 517, Latil is having her first audience as Emperor. As she looks upon the nobles with triumph, she internally thinks if Hyacinth abandoned her for this feeling. She tells the nobles that she agrees in having a secure line of heirs to stabilise her rule, and that she understands they want her to take a Royal Consort. Duke Atraxil is happy because he supported her early in the War for the Crown, landing him in a good position, and therefore expects his son, Ranamun, to be named Royal Consort. His supporters are slightly envious, while those who oppose him or stayed neutral are upset.

Latil then proclaims that she will be taking in some consorts, and all the nobles fall silent as they look at her incredulously. She follows up saying that she wants to start with five, and a commotion starts, Duke Atraxil immediately opposes, telling her that previous empress regents have only had one husband, and that though they were rumored to have lovers, none were taken in officially. Latil then lists off past emperors, and stating even those that were romantics had at least five, with others having fifteen on average, and for the womanizing ones, over twenty. She insists there is no reason for her to not have as many, and emphasises that she will have a minimum of five.

She turns the words of the nobles against them, stating that they had advised the Emperor to take in consorts so as to prevent disproportate power of the Empress. She then says that multiple consorts would be beneficial for them, as they would have a chance for their children to marry into the royal family. This makes the nobles delighted, as Duke Atraxil's son had previously thought to be a shoe-in for the position. Latil laughs internally and thinks that she will send an envoy to Karisen requesting a consort, so that Hyacinth will have to pick who to send.

In Year 511, Raean, Latil's older brother, was the Crown Prince with support from the nobles, and their mother was the Empress from a powerful noble family. It was common knowledge that the Great Prophet had prophesised that if Raean became emperor, he would be a legendary wise ruler, while if he decided to become a scholar, he would surpass the Great Prophet himself. However, very few knew that Latil had been prophecised to be a tyrant, as she was just Raean's younger sibling. Latil also did not covet the crown as she loved her brother and did not want to fight him. She dreamt of marrying her lover, Hyacinth, and becoming Empress of Karisen, a neighbouring country of Tarium.

Hyacinth flirted with Latil in a field, and gave her a ring made of grass. After joking that the citizens of Karisen must be poor, Latil smiled happily, and the couple proclaimed their love for each other. Latil recalled when Hyacinth had visited the palace after coming to study as an exchange student in the Tarium Empire. She fell in love at first sight after he smiled at her, and to her delight, he confessed to her later. They had a peaceful relationship, never arguing, and she was certain that they would be soulmates.

In Year 513, two years into Hyacinth's studies, his half-brother Heium took the opportunity to start a revolt for the crown, beginning the Karisen Rebellion. Hyacinth cut short his expected five years at Tarium to rush back and fight Heium. Before leaving for Karisen, Hyacinth promises Latil that he will become emperor and send a lavish delegation to ask for her hand in marriage, asking her to wait for him. Latil tearfully waves goodbye.

Everyday, Latil went to Temple, where she would pray for two hours for Hyacinth's safety. In Year 515, news reached Tarium that Hyacinth had ascended the throne. Two months afterwards, Latil talked to her Nurse. She was not worried about Hyacinth being late, as she figured that he needed to stabilise his rule. She was studying hard to become a good Empress, and Nurse comments that it would be nice if she became the Empress of Tarium, since Raean only ever read and never involved himself with women.

One day, a delegation arrived from Karisen, and Latil managed to listen in from the sides of the audience chamber. The delegation announced that Hyacinth would be getting married to Lady Aini, daughter of Duke Daga, and that they wished for the Emperor to send a wedding delegation to Karisen. Latil stormed out and cried in her bed, where she was found by Nurse, who also was in disbelief that Hyacinth would be marrying someone else.

That night, while sitting on her bedroom's windowsill, Latil cursed out Hyacinth while reminiscing on their time together. She wished that she had prayed for him to be faithful instead. Nurse then arrived and after failing to convince Latil to come down from the windowsill, handed her a letter that the Karisen delegation had passed to her in secret, which was from Hyacinth.

Trivia

 * In the webtoon, Sir Sonnaught is seen standing next to her throne as she declares the harem. This is not mentioned in the novel.
 * In the webtoon, a shot of Sir Sonnuaght is also seen right before the portraits of the consorts, despite not being a consort himself