The maids of the Queen's palace, including Sophia, were startled and opened their eyes wide when they saw Erdene bring three of the empire's ragtag soldiers.
Not only did they all look fierce, but one of them even had blood flowing from her mouth.
"Your Majesty, what the..."
"Sophia, take the children out. You don't have to come until I call you, so go and rest."
Sophia was a bright woman. She knew exactly where to go and where not to go, and where there was no need to go.
"Understood, Your Majesty."
Without asking twice—without even handing a rag to Thelma, who was bleeding profusely—Sophia led all the maids out and closed the door.
The moment the lingering thud... was heard, full-blown fear came over Thelma, Merton, and Ayman’s faces.
“Ha...”
Erdene, who had brushed her hair back, turned around and glared at the three of them, one by one.
“What are you all doing?”
“...Yes?”
“Fuck.”
The giants, who were almost bears compared to Erdene, all fell to the ground in unison and banged their heads on the floor.
They groaned as they supported their heavy bodies with their foreheads, and their arms behind their backs.
“Oh, Princess, you really are bleeding...”
“Shouldn’t you keep your mouth shut?”
Thelma kept her mouth shut obediently. It hurt so much that tears almost welled up, but she was more scared of being hit by Erdene.
“Thelma.”
“Yes.”
“Are you a back-alley thug?”
“Ayip... No, no.”
Erdene turned her head toward Merton and Ayman.
“Merton, Ayman. What are you guys doing? Have you seen that guy acting like a thug for a day or two? On the battlefield, he can kill one or two enemy officers with just his mouth, so you just leave him alone. You brought the messenger here and just watched him act like a thug?”
“I’m, I’m sorry.”
“Is that all? These guys are falling out, just like that!”
After that... there was the sound of something heavy being struck.
Those who didn’t know the situation well would have thought someone was wrestling with a sack full of sand in the Queen’s palace.
Erdene, who had been beating up the three men, pretended to shake her hand and rubbed her sweaty forehead.
“Stop joking and get up quickly.”
Merton and Ayman jumped up. Both their eyelids were bruised, and their lips were swollen and swollen.
The most outrageous of them all was, of course, Thelma.
She groaned while holding her elbows, then twisted her head around, whining.
“It’s been a while since you've beaten me, and you have no mercy.”
Erdene’s brow furrowed.
“Impeachment? What is the basis for it?”
Ayman stuck out his thick lips.
“He are obsessed with position and war, and are driving the people and officials of the empire to their deaths.”
Merton sighed.
“Ayman, Thelma, and I all maintain our positions as grandmasters, but we do not command the knights like we used to.”
“Alright?”
For the first time, humiliation crossed Merton’s face, which was always heavy.
“...Each of us is leading a security force under the pretext of strengthening the security of the capital.”
Ayman added.
“Rather, he did not transfer us to the border or other regions.”
Of course. Erdene snorted.
“Don’t you know why, Ayman? Tenek is afraid of you. In places where his sight cannot reach... He is afraid that the respected officers like you will gather those who still have their balls and plot a plot.”
Thelma’s face turned red. Merton seemed to have guessed the truth, and his expression remained blank.
Merton continued.
“That does not mean that the Empire’s military power has been reduced. The knights have been scattered, but their size has been increased, and private soldiers have been recruited from Atelgadis, the father of Her Majesty Loelica, and his flatterers. And among the officers... He especially treated those who turned to His Majesty Tenek with great generosity and formed a guard.”
“They must be so scared that they’re about to get stabbed in the neck while they’re sleeping.”
Not only did they all look fierce, but one of them even had blood flowing from her mouth.
"Your Majesty, what the..."
"Sophia, take the children out. You don't have to come until I call you, so go and rest."
Sophia was a bright woman. She knew exactly where to go and where not to go, and where there was no need to go.
"Understood, Your Majesty."
Without asking twice—without even handing a rag to Thelma, who was bleeding profusely—Sophia led all the maids out and closed the door.
The moment the lingering thud... was heard, full-blown fear came over Thelma, Merton, and Ayman’s faces.
“Ha...”
Erdene, who had brushed her hair back, turned around and glared at the three of them, one by one.
“What are you all doing?”
“...Yes?”
“Fuck.”
The giants, who were almost bears compared to Erdene, all fell to the ground in unison and banged their heads on the floor.
They groaned as they supported their heavy bodies with their foreheads, and their arms behind their backs.
“Oh, Princess, you really are bleeding...”
“Shouldn’t you keep your mouth shut?”
Thelma kept her mouth shut obediently. It hurt so much that tears almost welled up, but she was more scared of being hit by Erdene.
“Thelma.”
“Yes.”
“Are you a back-alley thug?”
“Ayip... No, no.”
Erdene turned her head toward Merton and Ayman.
“Merton, Ayman. What are you guys doing? Have you seen that guy acting like a thug for a day or two? On the battlefield, he can kill one or two enemy officers with just his mouth, so you just leave him alone. You brought the messenger here and just watched him act like a thug?”
“I’m, I’m sorry.”
“Is that all? These guys are falling out, just like that!”
After that... there was the sound of something heavy being struck.
Those who didn’t know the situation well would have thought someone was wrestling with a sack full of sand in the Queen’s palace.
Erdene, who had been beating up the three men, pretended to shake her hand and rubbed her sweaty forehead.
“Stop joking and get up quickly.”
Merton and Ayman jumped up. Both their eyelids were bruised, and their lips were swollen and swollen.
The most outrageous of them all was, of course, Thelma.
She groaned while holding her elbows, then twisted her head around, whining.
“It’s been a while since you've beaten me, and you have no mercy.”
“Be thankful I didn’t bring a sharp club.”
Thelma’s mouth fell open. Merton coughed and bowed his head politely, even after being beaten like that.
“I’m so glad you’re healthy, Your Highness.”
“When have you ever seen me sick? Sit down instead of standing there with your ugly face.”
After being beaten like dust, the three finally sat down, groaning.
Erdene stuffed a handkerchief into Thelma’s mouth, which was still bleeding profusely, and sighed, leaning back in her chair.
“Tell me what’s going on.”
The three looked at each other. Erdene urged irritably.
“How long has it been since I got married and this is already happening? Rolls, I was about to snap that rat’s throat. Why are you coming here all of a sudden? Are you kidding me?”
Merton, the more eloquent and cautious of the three, licked his dry lips once with a serious expression.
“Your Highness, it seems His Majesty Tenek planned this from the beginning.”
Erdene turned his head to Merton.
“From the beginning?”
Merton continued.
“We will take what we must, no matter what, and secretly pressure our allies so that Her Highness’s position in Vetor and within the inland area becomes narrower...”
“He plans to turn the tables on Vetor and demand something more, is that what you mean?”
“...It seems so.”
The expressions on the three of them sank into a gloomy state.
Erdene, who had been staring at them with her lips parted, laughed sharply.
Her gaze seemed as if it would pierce the sky beginning to turn red and split it in half.
“I should have cut that son of a bitch’s throat.”
Erdene muttered while gnashing her molars, then frowned and turned her head towards the three of them.
“What did you do instead of stopping him?”
Then Thelma took the handkerchief off her tongue, which had barely stopped bleeding, and cried out in frustration.
“That’s right, we couldn’t stop him either!”
“What are you talking about?”
Ayman said, rubbing his bumpy bald head with his hand.
“Your Highness, right now... The truth is that in Hirschsten, the positions of Captain Merton, Captain Thelma, and I are not so good. It’s not just us. Everyone who followed Your Highness has become like that.”
Erdene frowned and sat up straight.
“What are you talking about? You are the captains who have been in charge of the Empire’s most elite knights since the Emperor was alive, and now your positions have become narrow. What kind of nonsense is that?”
Merton, the most calm of the three, bit his lips with a complicated expression.
“After Your Highness the Princess was kicked out and taken to Vetor, we and the other officers formally protested to His Majesty Tenek. However...”
Merton hesitated for a moment and asked again.
“Your Highness, do you know that Her Majesty Roelica is pregnant?”
Erdene nodded.
“I heard. Does that have something to do with it?”
Thelma suddenly interrupted.
“Of course! When Her Majesty Roelica became pregnant, her father, Atelgadis, became very powerful. He even expelled all the officials who had been loyal to the empire since the previous Emperor’s time or sent them to distant border regions and replaced the empire’s golden castle with people who were fawning over him. He used to shower the bureaucrats with money and murmur, “How long are we going to have to live oppressed by the officers and not be able to pray?”
Erdene, who had laughed in vain, turned her head back to the window.
Merton continued.
“Her Majesty Tenek... Since our officers were a thorn in his side, he used the changed atmosphere of the empire as an excuse to disperse the entire knights. He split the units and especially cut off all the limbs of those who had been loyal to Your Highness the Princess. The bureaucratic nobles who could not be promoted because they were not officers also impeached the officers with the protection of Atelgadis and His Majesty Tenek.”
Thelma’s mouth fell open. Merton coughed and bowed his head politely, even after being beaten like that.
“I’m so glad you’re healthy, Your Highness.”
“When have you ever seen me sick? Sit down instead of standing there with your ugly face.”
After being beaten like dust, the three finally sat down, groaning.
Erdene stuffed a handkerchief into Thelma’s mouth, which was still bleeding profusely, and sighed, leaning back in her chair.
“Tell me what’s going on.”
The three looked at each other. Erdene urged irritably.
“How long has it been since I got married and this is already happening? Rolls, I was about to snap that rat’s throat. Why are you coming here all of a sudden? Are you kidding me?”
Merton, the more eloquent and cautious of the three, licked his dry lips once with a serious expression.
“Your Highness, it seems His Majesty Tenek planned this from the beginning.”
Erdene turned his head to Merton.
“From the beginning?”
Merton continued.
“We will take what we must, no matter what, and secretly pressure our allies so that Her Highness’s position in Vetor and within the inland area becomes narrower...”
“He plans to turn the tables on Vetor and demand something more, is that what you mean?”
“...It seems so.”
The expressions on the three of them sank into a gloomy state.
Erdene, who had been staring at them with her lips parted, laughed sharply.
Her gaze seemed as if it would pierce the sky beginning to turn red and split it in half.
“I should have cut that son of a bitch’s throat.”
Erdene muttered while gnashing her molars, then frowned and turned her head towards the three of them.
“What did you do instead of stopping him?”
Then Thelma took the handkerchief off her tongue, which had barely stopped bleeding, and cried out in frustration.
“That’s right, we couldn’t stop him either!”
“What are you talking about?”
Ayman said, rubbing his bumpy bald head with his hand.
“Your Highness, right now... The truth is that in Hirschsten, the positions of Captain Merton, Captain Thelma, and I are not so good. It’s not just us. Everyone who followed Your Highness has become like that.”
Erdene frowned and sat up straight.
“What are you talking about? You are the captains who have been in charge of the Empire’s most elite knights since the Emperor was alive, and now your positions have become narrow. What kind of nonsense is that?”
Merton, the most calm of the three, bit his lips with a complicated expression.
“After Your Highness the Princess was kicked out and taken to Vetor, we and the other officers formally protested to His Majesty Tenek. However...”
Merton hesitated for a moment and asked again.
“Your Highness, do you know that Her Majesty Roelica is pregnant?”
Erdene nodded.
“I heard. Does that have something to do with it?”
Thelma suddenly interrupted.
“Of course! When Her Majesty Roelica became pregnant, her father, Atelgadis, became very powerful. He even expelled all the officials who had been loyal to the empire since the previous Emperor’s time or sent them to distant border regions and replaced the empire’s golden castle with people who were fawning over him. He used to shower the bureaucrats with money and murmur, “How long are we going to have to live oppressed by the officers and not be able to pray?”
Erdene, who had laughed in vain, turned her head back to the window.
Merton continued.
“Her Majesty Tenek... Since our officers were a thorn in his side, he used the changed atmosphere of the empire as an excuse to disperse the entire knights. He split the units and especially cut off all the limbs of those who had been loyal to Your Highness the Princess. The bureaucratic nobles who could not be promoted because they were not officers also impeached the officers with the protection of Atelgadis and His Majesty Tenek.”
Erdene’s brow furrowed.
“Impeachment? What is the basis for it?”
Ayman stuck out his thick lips.
“He are obsessed with position and war, and are driving the people and officials of the empire to their deaths.”
Merton sighed.
“Ayman, Thelma, and I all maintain our positions as grandmasters, but we do not command the knights like we used to.”
“Alright?”
For the first time, humiliation crossed Merton’s face, which was always heavy.
“...Each of us is leading a security force under the pretext of strengthening the security of the capital.”
Ayman added.
“Rather, he did not transfer us to the border or other regions.”
Of course. Erdene snorted.
“Don’t you know why, Ayman? Tenek is afraid of you. In places where his sight cannot reach... He is afraid that the respected officers like you will gather those who still have their balls and plot a plot.”
Thelma’s face turned red. Merton seemed to have guessed the truth, and his expression remained blank.
Merton continued.
“That does not mean that the Empire’s military power has been reduced. The knights have been scattered, but their size has been increased, and private soldiers have been recruited from Atelgadis, the father of Her Majesty Loelica, and his flatterers. And among the officers... He especially treated those who turned to His Majesty Tenek with great generosity and formed a guard.”
“They must be so scared that they’re about to get stabbed in the neck while they’re sleeping.”
Erdene, who had been mocking her brother coldly, furrowed her brow and let out a breathy laugh.
“By the way, Atelgadis, he was quite the fool, but now I see that he’s a loser. He must have scraped off several pillars of the Golden Castle to feed Tenek’s concubines, and yet he wags his tail like a dog at Tenek’s feet while looking at that filthy mess?”
Thelma grumbled.
“A loser? He only thinks of selling his daughters to fill his own stomach. More than half of His Majesty the Emperor’s concubines are the daughters or sisters of the new officials recommended by Atelgadis, and even the two most favored these days are Atelgadis’ illegitimate daughters. They are the half-siblings of Her Highness Roelica.”
Erdene, who had been listening to her story, suddenly fell forward.
In an instant, the three people stood up with a bang, throwing their chairs around.
“Her Highness!”
“Her Highness, what is wrong? Where does it hurt?”
“Her Highness, please raise your head! My goodness, what should I say when calling the palace doctor?”
Thelma, who was flustered, tried to really run out, but Erdene kicked her ankle hard.
Thelma, who was throbbing in place while holding her foot that was stinging, swallowed dryly when she saw Erdene’s expression as she raised her head.
Her face was terrifying.
Even Thelma, who was her closest confidant and aide, had rarely seen Erdene’s expression like this.
Tenek, should I have killed that bastard?
Erdene thought. Should I have cut off his head on the spot, thrown him under the gate, and then forced myself to sit on the throne?
‘No, if I had, there would have been great chaos.’
Two conflicting thoughts were fiercely fighting in her head.
If Erdene had killed Tenek then, she would have become a tyrant, whether she liked it or not.
Since it was unclear exactly what had happened between the death of the former Emperor and Tenek’s ascension to the throne, there had to be a justification for killing her brother who had ascended to the throne right away.
Justification...
Erdene clenched her molars so loudly that they made a cracking sound, resting her hand on her forehead and sighing.
“And...”
The moment Merton began to speak cautiously, Thelma poked him in the ribs with a frightened expression.
“By the way, Atelgadis, he was quite the fool, but now I see that he’s a loser. He must have scraped off several pillars of the Golden Castle to feed Tenek’s concubines, and yet he wags his tail like a dog at Tenek’s feet while looking at that filthy mess?”
Thelma grumbled.
“A loser? He only thinks of selling his daughters to fill his own stomach. More than half of His Majesty the Emperor’s concubines are the daughters or sisters of the new officials recommended by Atelgadis, and even the two most favored these days are Atelgadis’ illegitimate daughters. They are the half-siblings of Her Highness Roelica.”
Erdene, who had been listening to her story, suddenly fell forward.
In an instant, the three people stood up with a bang, throwing their chairs around.
“Her Highness!”
“Her Highness, what is wrong? Where does it hurt?”
“Her Highness, please raise your head! My goodness, what should I say when calling the palace doctor?”
Thelma, who was flustered, tried to really run out, but Erdene kicked her ankle hard.
Thelma, who was throbbing in place while holding her foot that was stinging, swallowed dryly when she saw Erdene’s expression as she raised her head.
Her face was terrifying.
Even Thelma, who was her closest confidant and aide, had rarely seen Erdene’s expression like this.
Tenek, should I have killed that bastard?
Erdene thought. Should I have cut off his head on the spot, thrown him under the gate, and then forced myself to sit on the throne?
‘No, if I had, there would have been great chaos.’
Two conflicting thoughts were fiercely fighting in her head.
If Erdene had killed Tenek then, she would have become a tyrant, whether she liked it or not.
Since it was unclear exactly what had happened between the death of the former Emperor and Tenek’s ascension to the throne, there had to be a justification for killing her brother who had ascended to the throne right away.
Justification...
Erdene clenched her molars so loudly that they made a cracking sound, resting her hand on her forehead and sighing.
“And...”
The moment Merton began to speak cautiously, Thelma poked him in the ribs with a frightened expression.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment