Chapter 2: (EP-2) Flower Aira #2
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002 – Evil Flower Aira #2
Following the whole fiasco with the Finance Minister Belmott and his daughter Clara.
Queen Aira left the Court and went back to her residence while languidly saying.
"Tae-oh, cancel the rest of today's schedule. I'm exhausted from taking care of the state affairs."
Aira ordered me in a comfortable tone of voice, unlike the rigid one from Court.
Did anyone else know that she, the tyrant Queen, talked and listened like a normal girl?
"I'm tired, so I'll be heading to bed early today. I think it's because I've been working so hard these days."
Tired your ass. I did all the important stuff, damn it!
Alas, even if it was unfair, I didn't dare say such a thing. On the surface, I smiled softly.
"As expected of the Queen. With the wise Queen watching over Angmar, the people will be at ease and without worry."
"Yes. It's also thanks to you, Tae-oh. The reign I created, half of it belongs to you and it's all thanks to you. You should be proud!"
"I'm overpraised."
It was okay to be proud, but not for this. What Aira created was not a reign or peace, but discord and chaos.
If one were to leave this beautiful palace right now, they would see streets overran with poor people and gangs of rebellious thieves running rampant while foreigners as well as monsters attacking the fortress's outer walls.
I was to blame for half of the problems…
Therefore, how could I be proud? I was not some sort of sociopath.
If I had to give one excuse, it would be the fact that I did my best to prevent a catastrophe in my own way.
This was the reason why I desperately stopped Belmott's execution earlier.
In my own way, I tried to do good deeds by using my position as the Queen's closest aide, like providing relief to the poor. But no one believed me and refused to accept it…
━What? Just a favor? Cut the crap. What type of burden are you trying to put on me, Tae-oh? I would rather die than hold hands with you!
━Please, take your goodwill away from me. If it was rumored that I was entangled with you, I would be driven into the streets and stoned to death!
The first impression of one's image of you, was the most frightening.
Tae-oh had already been branded as a fox-like demon that was attempting to ruin the kingdom alongside the tyrant Queen.
No matter what I did, I couldn't do anything about it.
━Look over there, Tae-oh is passing by.
━Shh, don't make eye contact. You might get executed.
━Who's that behind him? Is that Clara? Poor Clara…
Look. Even the palace maids were looking at me with fear.
To be honest, I had never executed anyone before.
━He tried to have the Finance Minister and his daughter Clara commit incest in front of people.
━Tae-oh, what a vicious bastard!
....
For some reason, my radical methods kept on being a perfect target for misunderstandings and rumors…
Anyway, as the noise of the gossiping maids grew louder and louder, Queen Aira smashed the Royal Scepter she was holding in her hand against the floor.
Surprised by the sudden shock, the maids stopped talking and ran away.
Looking at them, Aira said.
"Tae-oh, I'll have those gossiping maids be striped naked tomorrow for an Atonement March!"
Atonement March.
It was very harsh. Even more so for the court maids, who were young ladies.
The Atonement March was a punishment that made you take off all your clothes, having you 'march' around the street outside and back to the Court.
The harassment and psychological shock they would experience in the process was so severe that people would end in ruins.
In fact, Aira punished a maid who tried to poison me that way. I really didn't want to explain how the punished maid was living now…
Recalling that scene, I shook my head.
"There is no need to punish the maids. Those fools are undeserving of Queen Aira's effort to individually respond to their words and deeds."
"That's true… A gentleman should not be swayed by a small wind. However, Tae-oh, I can't stand people insulting you. They don't know how hard you're working!"
No, you don't know who I'm suffering for.
I grinned.
"Please don't mind their slanders towards me. They're probably just envious that Queen Aira favors me."
"I see. Indeed. Tae-oh's smart."
"I'm overpraised."
"Ah, speaking of slanders and stupid deeds. All the dirty bastards these days say you're a bad guy and that I have to stay away from you."
"Is that so?"
"But, of course, I don't listen to those idiots. You are the wisest man after me, the Queen."
"Going back to the previous topic, are you sure you don't want the maids to go on the Atonement March?"
"Yes, I don't like it. It's alright."
Aira nodded with satisfaction.
I had saved several lives.
Of course, they didn't know it.
The fact that I, who they cursed so much, was the one extending their lives and the life of this crumbling Kingdom.
Once Aira was executed and the order of the Kingdom completely collapsed, real chaos would ensue, destroying all but a few important characters.
As for the extras whose names were not even mentioned, such as the citizens, maids and the like, they would all fall into hell.
The maids did not know this.
It was probably better if they did not know anything.
* * *
"Then, Your Majesty the Queen, I have some business to attend to, so I'll excuse myself first."
I bid my goodbye upon arriving at Aira's residence.
Aira could now go to her room and read her favorite book or go to sleep.
As I was in charge of most of the state affairs that she had given up on, I had a lot to worry about and had to work overtime.
Knowing my hard work, Queen Aira said a sentence in a languid voice as she entered her bedroom.
"Tae-oh, you have been so busy lately. However, since you have nipped the buds of the rebellion led by the Finance Minister, you can get some rest."
"That…"
That's right.
Finance Minister Belmott probably entered the Court today, prepared for his own death. No, rather, it must have been his plan to die in the first place.
Loved by the people and nobles alike, his death would make everyone rise up and sweep everything in a wave of rebellion, like the disease that they had been suffering from.
To trigger the spark for a revolution.
That was probably Belmott's role, which he fully understood. In fact, it was the same in the novel.
However, he didn't die today.
Instead, he even seemingly swore allegiance to the Queen.
"Huhu, 'Dawn Association', huh? I didn't know that such an impure militant group was squirming around on the outskirts. The subjugation has become easier thanks to Belmott's gentle blows."
"It is all thanks to the wisdom of Her Majesty the Queen. You have cleared the band of robbers, who were trying to usurp the throne. Now, the people will be able to sleep in peace."
I said so and shook my head.
The Dawn Association being spoken about was the rebels.
Basically, in the middle of the novel, these guys caused a great amount of damage to the Kingdom's system and the Queen.
But due to the variable that Belmott survived, the Dawn Association could not even appear and was subjugated.
Thinking of this point, I felt a chill.
About the Dawn Association being subjugated.
I actually hadn't done anything.
I also didn't say anything to Queen Aira.
She only came to know about it by interrogating Belmott.
To be honest, Aira was, without a doubt, a tyrant and a tumor.
But she surprisingly wasn't terribly incompetent.
So, sometimes, when she surprised me with things like this, I would shiver without realizing it.
After all, there was no guarantee that she, who never doubted and trusted everything I said, would not suddenly turn against me.
"Ah, and Tae-oh."
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
What? Why did you call me all of a sudden? Did you notice I was cursing on the inside?
"Tonight, I will reward you for your achievements, so come and heat some water."
"…."
"Your answer…?"
"I understand."
A reward…?
Damn it, that was torture! I must have been caught swearing inside.
"Well then, I'll see you later."
I bowed my head slightly and stepped back. Next to me was a girl with her mouth gagged while a thick rope wrapped around her body.
She was Clara.
The Finance Minister Belmott's daughter.
She was the insurance that kept Belmott from betraying us.
I took her hostage and made her a maid in the palace. Perhaps, once could say that this was a safety measure for Belmott, preventing him from having any ideas of rebellion.
All of the maids in the palace were in a similar situation to Clara. They each took up the role of monitoring one another.
It was nice to have them watch each other and point fingers.
"Come, Clara. Let's go now."
"Heung."
She was like a prisoner of war, but her spirit as a high-ranking noble was still strong. Her eyes were very sharp as she looked at me.
I led her to the room where the maids were staying.
━Fool, do you think it will taste good when you pour it like that?
━If you pour it, it will become soggy!
━Hey, hey! That guy is coming!
As soon as I appeared, the chatting maids were startled and immediately pretended to work.
They got paid for this…
I wanted to say something, but I was not that petty, so I simply handed them the tied up Clara and said.
"Here, this is Clara. She will be a maid from today onwards. Please educate her step by step, starting with what she shouldn't do."
The response I got was cold.
There was pity in the maids' eyes when looking at Clara. As if they were saying, "So you've fallen too, huh." At the same time, there was also a sense of relief knowing that there was another in the same abyss (situation) as them.
"Miss Clara, the maids here are noble ladies, just like you. So don't fight and work together. Now, would you like to say hello to your new colleagues?"
Slurp. As soon as the gag on her mouth was released, Clara exclaimed. She had been waiting for this moment.
"Tae-oh, I won't ever forgive you. I will curse you to the end. You're part of Angmar's corruption. You vicious servant!"
Did you mean, "Thank you for saving me and my father's life?" I smiled brightly and gave her my thanks.
"You're welcome."
In the past, I would have been heartbroken being criticized like this. But now, I didn't even take it to heart. I guess I had gotten a little tougher.
However, this Clara was not an easy girl to deal with.
"Do you think your power will last forever? One day, you will have to bear your karma! Queen Aira's power will end soon! You know nothing!"
Pwae.
She spat on my face
I had been spat on three times this week alone. This happened so often that it didn't matter anymore, but…
I knew nothing?
Even with my patience, I was triggered by that remark.
After so long, I finally put my hands up.
Jjak.
"Kyaaa!"
I grabbed the fallen Clara by the collar and forced her to stand up.
"I know nothing? Do you have the right to say that to me? You aristocratic b*tches who lived their lives eating and wearing only good things?"
Who dared to make me shoulder the karma and fall into purgatory?
"St, stop, don't hit me-"
Despite being the one provoking me, Clara was trembling as she touched her red and swollen cheek.
I had a lot to say, but I was busy with work and decided to stop here.
"What are you doing? Get to work!"
Let's simmer the anger that was boiling inside. More than that, it was a karma thing. I was very confident about the subject I had been taught.
In fact, I had a rough idea why this lady was shouting so loudly.
She must have something to believe in.
That belief was obvious.
Was it 'their' turn to move?
Originally, Clara, who was hiding in the hideout, would have contacted 'them' and an episode would occur.
I thought of a well-balanced party crouching somewhere and sharpening their claws.
Would those claws ever reach me?
No, I would never allow that to happen.
* * *
『A Statement On The Cost Of Maintenance And Repair Of The Fortress Walls And The Appearance Of The Frontier Nobles-.』
『Disciplinary Bill For Tax Evasion Of Marquis Lioness-.』
『Rogue Band 'Black Robe' Trend Report-.』
『Wolf Spider Mass Strike. Low Silk Yield. Export Problem.』
『Horde of Rampant Michuri In The Eastern Plains. The Peasants' Cry. People's Economy Groaning.』
Sreak, Sreak.
I roughly processed all of the documents that were painful to look at. After signing the last paperwork, I smiled as I stretched myself out.
"I'm too used to this."
It was amazing to think that I was sitting here in my office with this type of work.
Even if I wanted to get a white-collar job, who would have thought that I would end up doing something like this? It was also quite a high-ranking job at that.
The Court Gardener Tae-oh.
That was my current job title.
My rank in the Court was around 75th, but there was no one in the Kingdom who didn't know that I was the second most powerful person in power after the Queen.
I was aware.
About this man named Tae-oh.
In the novel, Tae-oh was a villain who only appeared in a few lines. He had no role other than being so annoying that I wished for him to die sooner.
In fact, his importance was almost negligible. But every time he appeared, the comment section would rage.
So, in the end, this guy's story ended with just the short sentence: "One day, Tae-oh was executed according to his karma."
I couldn't remember the exact words, but it was roughly something like that. His ending was handled so simply, that it was rather impressive?
After Tae-oh's death, Queen Aira began to lose her powers, and the Kingdom eventually collapsed.
Yes.
If the story continued, I might be executed.
However, it was unknown who, when, where, and how Tae-oh would die, because it wasn't described in detail.
'One day, Tae-oh was executed according to his karma.'
My life depended on that insincere sentence that did not contain the timing or method…
Because of this, it was even highly probable that a stone thrown by an angry crowd could randomly fly through the window of the office right now and hit me to death.
In fact, there were quite a few instances where I almost died. Not long ago, I barely survived from being poisoned.
So, did the swelling in my poisoned face go away?
I stood up and looked at the long mirror in the corner of the office. When I removed the thick curtains hanging over it, my face was reflected on the dusty surface of the mirror.
No, could I even describe this as mine?
Light brown hair and blue eyes.
"After a year of seeing this face, I'm slowly getting used to it."
The face felt like it was somewhere between a boy and a young man.
But, to be honest, it was closer to a boy. Though I was not sure about the age because Tae-oh was the 'demon'{1} of the Kingdom.
Overall, he had a good definition and was quite handsome.
It was irritating to see such a good-looking boy, but when I remembered that it was me, I felt pretty good.
"Hmm."
However, there was one flaw, namely a long scar coming from the top of his right eyebrow to the right cheek.
It looked as if it was scratched by something sharp. This disproportionated scar was ruining the perfectly molded face, like a villain's scar.
He was also actually a villain.
This seemed to be the identity of the bad guy.
As I was recalling the story of this scar, someone knocked on the door of my office.
"Who is it?"
"Tae-oh, the Queen is looking for you, to 'come and heat up the water.'"
It had finally come…
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