Chapter 36: Vol. 2 – Episode 11
Seyzo II was crazy. He was a mad man, and people were scared of him because he was unpredictable.
Even a king shouldn’t take others’ land away without a good reason. Sungjin took away the heroes’ land because all of them were traitors who were standing on the Blood Ruler, Riad’s side, who became his prisoner after his victory.
There was a lot of resistance although Sungjin had a good reason, so naturally, Seyzo II shouldn’t do something without having a reason to do so.
But the mad king didn’t care. And since no one was trying to rise against him, nobody could say anything about it.
“Leave now.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Count Satirus had no choice but to leave while Eustasia tried to hide the smile on her face.
“Your Highness. Who would you like to assign the development of your new hunting ground?”
“Do you have a recommendation?”
“Nobody could be good enough in your eyes, Your Highness.”
“I know.”
“However, it is such humble work that doesn’t suit you, so maybe Marquis Gariel would be a suitable person to do it.”
“Good. I will follow your advice.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. May I leave now?”
“Sure. A war is coming, get ready.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Right after her meeting with the king, Eustasia went to meet Marquis Gariel.
Marquis Gariel was on her side, and he was happy to hear that Eustasia helped him to get the job to build king’s new hunting ground on Mountain Angril.
“Hahahaha. I wanted to see the look on Count Satirus’ face. Too bad I missed it.”
“It was quite a scene.”
“I will give you half of the profit.”
“I just made a suggestion. The king thought highly of your abilities.”
“Haha. Don’t be modest and take my offer.”
“If you say so... I will take it.”
Both were happy with the result. They could make a lot of money by changing a few numbers on the book. It was a typical way of corruption, however, Eustasia didn’t look ashamed.
“Let’s keep our good relationship for a long time.”
“Sure. If I get a promotion, I will remember your support.”
“Hahaha. You are generous to say so.”
After her meeting with Marquis Gariel, she headed to her mansion.
She laid her tired body down and closed her eyes.
I just stopped the king from harming too many people.
The innocent people killed by the king would be cremated. And she was able to save many people from harm because unlike Mountain Egrel where ten thousand people were living, Mountain Angril was the private land of Count Satirus.
Moreover, she gave the job to her ally and got some money. Politics were real, and in reality, she needed money.
She needed allies to get rid of Count Satirus.
And she needed money to take care of the people because the king wouldn’t do anything for them.
It was easier to tell the king the truth and to live a life of integrity; being an upright knight was not a difficult task. But if she tried to do so, she couldn’t protect anyone from the king or keep her country going.
She had to become messy in order to fight against the corrupted treacherous people.
She had to hide her loyalty to the king so that she could lead him toward a Merciful Rulership because people would see that as a weakness.
That was her way of stopping the king from making more mistakes.
A wicked witch. An ass-kisser. A leader of partisan politics. An embezzler of the national treasury.
There was nothing she wouldn’t do. That was her way to be loyal to her country.
Sungjin and Ereka. This is me. What would you say now?
She wondered what her friend Ereka, who was in danger while she was trying to pursue her dream with integrity, would think of her.
What about Sungjin, who was supporting Ereka. What would he think of her?
But whatever they would say didn’t really matter to Eustasia. She was not pursuing a noble dream itself. She wanted to protect as many people as possible from her king’s tyranny and make her king be as merciful as possible.
So Sungjin and Ereka had a different goal from her. She had to stop them in their next fight.
* * *
Chapter 7
At her mansion, Eustasia greeted the adjutant general.
He looked like a hard-working, honest, middle-aged man.
“Welcome back. How did it go?”
“Yeah, I achieved half of my goal. I couldn’t defeat him, but now I know enough about him.”
“So we can’t avoid the war.”
“Don’t worry. We will win.”
“With our military force, it is clear that we will win, but I’m worried about what will happen after our victory. And although we have the upper hand, the king is building his new hunting ground while preparing for a war.”
His complaint made her smile bitterly.
He was right. Even though they had the dominant force over their enemy, they should be spending their money studying up on the enemy or building a wall to protect themselves from other countries. But the king was spending the money on his vanity.
“That’s enough. Finding solutions to those problems are also a part of the duties of a servant.”
“I’m just worried about you working too hard...”
“Don’t say such things to anyone else.”
“Of course. Should I prepare your bath?”
“No, it’s okay. I will be in my room. Don’t let anyone in until I tell you to do so.”
“Sure.”
The adjutant general left quietly, and Eustasia went into her room and locked the door.
“Ugh.”
She fell onto her bed, knowing she was finally alone.
She was the greatest general of her country. She had a lot of enemies and eyes on her every move.
This was the only time she could let down her guard.
I’m tired.
A meeting with the king and then a dinner with the marquis.
That was not too bad. The fight with Sungjin was what really exhausted her.
This... is too much.
Whenever she felt like this, she had a way to fix it.
She opened a box under her bed. The box was locked with magic, and only her fingerprint could open it.
It was a golden box decorated with platinum lining, and it looked like it was hiding forbidden treasure, or if someone touched it without permission, it would self-destruct with fire.
She slowly opened the box.
Inside the box...
There was... a forbidden...
Cream cake.
The box was able to keep things fresh for an unlimited amount of time with magic, so the cake still had the same taste as when it was freshly baked.
She used a spoon to take a bite.
“Oh...”
She enjoyed the taste and fell back onto her bed.
Oh, this is the taste of heaven.
She closed her eyes and forgot about everything for a moment.
The cream melted in her mouth like snowflakes; this was her guilty pleasure.
Ohhhh
It was delicious. It was so delicious.
Army food had nothing like this cake, so she couldn’t show her being so happy and excited by cake to anyone.
This was the only time she allowed herself to let down her guard. This was the only time she could loosen up and forget everything about the military or politics.
Ah... this is... really my only pleasure.
But... it didn’t take long for her to finish the cake.
I wish I could have another...
She cleaned up the plate, not leaving any crumbs.
She didn’t need more than one forbidden pleasure, because she knew if she did, she wouldn’t be able to escape it.
Just like that man.
Hmph... I’m thinking about him again.
She tried not to, but after her fight with him, he was embedded in her mind, and she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
“Cha Sungjin.”
Quietly, Eustasia pronounced his name.
The man who beat her for the first time in her life.
Hmph. I was so sure that I wouldn’t marry a tedious guy.
She never met anyone her age who made her feel like she wanted to spend the rest of her life with them.
It was not just guys her age—even guys from other generations seemed tedious.
They all had a bit of level, but they didn’t have any ambitions.
When the elders pushed her by telling her that she had to continue her family, she even thought of having a baby with a random guy and raising it. She would tell them it didn’t have a father.
But I finally met someone.
She finally met a guy who deserved her.
She was already curious about him when she heard that Sungjin helped Ereka get rid of the Blood Ruler, Riad.
It was clear he was an extraordinary guy because he confidently decided to stand next to Ereka, who had no chance of winning, and actually led her to victory. And the fact that he was a guy around her age made her more curious.
I imagined what kind of guy he would be.
But she was a bit disappointed when a painter brought in his portrait. He looked like a ridiculously ambitious and sly wildcat...
Ha. That is not ambition, that’s a dream. He is more dangerous than I thought.
He was not a wildcat but a lion, the king of the jungle.
Schools...
What he wants was not just a Merciful Rulership. He wanted to reorganize the world to the level beyond imagination.
If he became an Arc Master, that wouldn’t mean that the world would have a new ruler. It meant a whole new world.
A creator who would define the world before and after.
He would destroy the current world, or he would be executed. He would be a god of destruction who would destroy either himself or the world.
His manly spirit.
His great ambition.
His amazing abilities.
He was a man with both great abilities and great ambition.
I want to meet him again.
I want to fight him again.
And...
“Will you join us?”
She thought of Sungjin’s offer again.
Joining him...
She rejected with some hesitation, but she couldn’t stop herself from imagining it.
If my king... wasn’t mad... and at least half the man of Sungjin, maybe I could have more pride when I fight for him.
Maybe she wouldn’t have to play politics to make her allies.
She wouldn’t have to tell people about this cruel reality and crush their dreams.
Maybe she could be a proud soldier with true loyalty.
She thought there was no such thing as a country where people could achieve rightful dreams with rightful acts.
But he was trying to take the bull by the horns.
She knew that he was running to his own destruction.
But I can’t stop thinking about him.
Just thinking about him sped up her heartbeat.
She didn’t think he would accept her challenge for a duel.
She didn’t even imagine that he would defeat her.
But when he did, she was thrilled.
But...
He was an enemy.
He was an enemy of her country, that one she had to protect.
He was an enemy of the king she made an oath to be loyal to.
She had to defeat him in the upcoming war.
I tried to convince you and Ereka with my realism.
She tried to convince him because she knew Sungjin also wanted to help his people. If he accepted her offer, then they could coexist, but he didn’t. There was nothing left but a war.
She had to react to her situation. Now she had to defeat him with her power just like any other general from the other kingdoms.
So having a crush on him was a sin that she had to overcome.
But... he was just like cake...
No, even worse than cake...
She couldn’t stop thinking about Sungjin.
If she met him in a more friendly circumstances like on a team, they would have been lovers. Or if he was a hero, the alliance of the four kingdoms could have been kept, and their romance over the border would have been accepted.
Then they would have fought back to back in battlefields and enjoyed more things in bed.
What would he like?
He looked like a wild man who could be aggressive.
Sungjin ripped her clothes off and threw her on the bed.
“I liked my clothes.”
“I will make you forget about your clothes.”
His hands grabbed her body roughly.
He tasted her body like a wild animal.
He overpowered her and took her without hesitation.
He was so powerful, he didn’t even need any techniques.
He was just like a general who easily jumped over a moat to break a castle gate in a single blow.
She was conquered without a chance to resist.
But maybe it would be the opposite.
While he was meticulous with his perfect calculations, maybe he would treat girls like that as well.
He started to touch her from her fingertips.
She didn’t imagine a man with such a wild body could treat her so delicately.
Little by little but more and more, he made her want him more and more.
He was controlling himself perfectly, even in this difficult situation and finding perfection.
He slowly conquered her as if he were conquering a castle.
He cut off her reasoning as if he was laying siege to a castle and cutting off their supplies, and he played with her senses as if he was deploying an infiltration team to manipulate the people inside.
Either way would be good to me.
She picked up the plate to clean up.
But I will never know how it would be.