"Wh-who is it?"
Ryan, who had been silent for a while, suddenly frowned and turned around.
"Where is 'Big Brother'! Who are you calling 'Big Brother'?!"
...Are you kidding me?
"But why did you come?"
He immediately changed the subject, stammering.
I crossed my arms and trudged toward him.
"I think you came for a reason?"
"You aren't looking for me, are you? Why? I told you I'd just finish up the last business and go back if you waited."
"Why did you bring Diana's kids?"
"..."
Ryan flinched.
"Don't tell me. Are you going to show their Mom, who will live a miserable life in a place like this for the rest of her life?"
"Yeah."
"Good heavens."
I was shocked by Ryan's immediate answer.
"It's because of the salvation medicine, isn't it?"
"..."
"I knew it. But you know I can make it too. If Diana says she doesn't want to, just leave her alone. Don't threaten her with the kids."
"..."
Ryan remained silent. Then, he subtly nodded the way he had come.
Let's go outside and talk for now.
"Good."
I was trying to follow Ryan along with Nike.
"B-Brother!!!"
Surprised.
When I turned around, the people with their heads bowed were still calling out to Ryan.
"Are you still banging your head?!!!"
We stared at Ryan blankly.
"..."
As I bit my lip as if I were furious, he smiled brightly and said, as if he had finally given up on hiding his identity.
"Alright~ Keep banging~ Unless you want to get beaten to death~~~"
***
Whether it is fortunate or unfortunate, at least the children are staying in the guard's night duty room.
I was following Ryan and Nike as they headed to the night duty room.
"How did you know I spirited the children away?"
"I was informed because it was written on the system's visitor log."
Ryan was dumbfounded by Nike's words.
"Excuse me. Just because you are a member of the royal family, is it okay to monitor every move of the citizens of the empire like this?"
"I only get reports on suspicious activities. And if you're not planning to do anything bad, why would you be afraid of being monitored?"
"Ha."
Ryan, who had been grumbling, flung open the door to the night duty room. At that, the children inside hurriedly stood up.
"..."
"..."
Nike, speechless, turned to look at Ryan and asked.
"Kidnapping. You know it's a crime, right?"
"I didn't kidnap them. They followed me of their own accord."
"Are you kidding me? If you threaten them, they have no choice but to follow, so what kind of wordplay is this..."
"It's true that I followed him myself!"
Then a boy shouted.
I sighed immediately upon seeing that kid's face, which I was seeing for the first time since the regression, yet felt familiar.
That kid is Diana's eldest son, Jeremy. He is my nephew, three years my junior.
Jeremy sent his younger siblings behind and bravely came and stood in front of Nike.
"I, I brought my younger siblings and followed my uncle myself."
“I see.”
"Yes. And I heard from my uncle why my father passed away."
Looking at Nike's face, Jeremy spoke clearly, as if he had prepared for it.
"I think it couldn't be helped."
However, tears quickly welled up in his eyes.
Thirteen, no, fourteen since the year changed.
If his father were hanged overnight, he's at an age where he would have no choice but to be consumed by grief rather than trying to understand the crime.
"I heard Mother's story as well. I understood that she, too, deserves to be punished for her wrongdoings, just like Father. B-but... but... could you please spare her...?"
Eventually, Jeremy burst into tears. Wiping his eyes with his sleeve, he continued speaking.
"My uncle said that if I follow him and just show my face to Mother once... he will save her... Please..."
I couldn't bear to look, so I turned my eyes away.
Actually, out of all my nephews, I least wanted to run into Jeremy.
It was because I didn't want to see him live a miserable life after losing his parents, unlike before the regression.
If the child had looked exactly like their parents, I wouldn't have felt this way.
However... it wasn't Jeremy.
That kid is Annie, kind enough to have asked me for help before my regression while suspecting her mother's hidden side.
"Auntie, Mom is acting strangely. She keeps making medicine at home these days, and I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about it."
Diana's medical cartel that paralyzed the capital's healthcare system by mass-producing salvation drugs.
The reason I was able to suspect and respond quickly was all because of Jeremy.
"Do you really have to go this far?"
Seeing Jeremy crying, Nike asked Ryan, as if shocked.
"It's a win-win, isn't it? It guarantees the mother's right to survival for the children, and the mother provides the labor."
However, Ryan merely shrugged his shoulders as if it were no big deal.
"It seems like you don't know because you haven't been to the Abyssinian."
He looked back at Nike and me together and added.
"If a human living in the sky were to fall miserably, would they want to live?"
***
Diana, the Princess of Wassenberg who had lived her entire life without lacking a single thing, became a prisoner overnight.
As soon as she was dragged to Abyssinian, dressed in a prisoner's uniform and turned into a prisoner, she discovered the face of her younger brother whom she wanted to kill.
Ryan.
"Hey!"
However, Diana ran toward him with a look of delight.
"Why are you here? It's good to see you."
"..."
"Can you kill me?"
"Oh, I knew that would be the first thing you say. How is it that you never miss the mark?"
It was easy to predict Diana's change of heart, as she had feared nothing but death.
A life barely clinging to life at the miserable bottom, having lost everything one has enjoyed since birth—home, money, status, and special treatment.
Because she must have slowly realized that it was worse than death.
"My older sister was sentenced to death, but I pulled some strings and barely managed to get you life imprisonment. So you should be grateful."
"Gasp. Do you think I wouldn't know your ulterior motive for sparing only Gabi and me?"
Healing-type superpower users were a resource simply by their existence.
Regardless of the severity of the crime, it is much more advantageous to have people provide labor to the country rather than execute them.
"You bastard. Am I supposed to make the medicine here until I die?"
“You don’t want to do it?”
"Yeah. Why should I do that?"
"You've done a lot of bad things, sister. Shouldn't you at least repent to some extent before you die?"
"Do you think I'd be crazy when I'm already on the verge of death? Why would I waste my energy doing good for bugs?"
Diana let out a hollow laugh and added.
"You know that arrogant little brother you've been hiding away. If you want to act nice, I'll squeeze that kid dry for the rest of your life."
"Yeah, he does it on his own without being told. But it's more efficient with two people. It's also a job that requires equal physical stamina."
"Hey. Let's stop the nonsense. If you're not going to kill me, get out of the way. Do you think I can't die without you?"
“Hey.”
Ryan grabbed Diana's arm as she passed by.
"Speaking of my brother-in-law, his neck is dangling from the gallows. Did you hear?"
"Ha. So what? Are you trying to provoke me with words like that?"
As Diana laughed dismissively, Ryan let out a deep sigh.
"I expected it, but as expected, it was a relationship completely devoid of love. I'm definitely going to have a love marriage."
"Were you waiting for me just to crack jokes? If I play along, will you send me off painlessly with an instant kill? Then yeah, I'll put you up. Sob sob. I'm so sad, honey. What do I do? Your neck is dangling!"
"Phew, you won't back down even a little. You've lost your mind."
Ryan shook his head, and his eyes gleamed fiercely.
"Know that I'm not joking; I'm being considerate. This is the last time I'm saying this. Don't think about dying; just quietly make the medicine."
"No, you bastard."
"Do you still not know what you did wrong? There are more than a few charges, but let me just mention one. You. Why on earth did you take on the Elliott human trafficking business and run it together?"
Ryan added in disgust.
"Didn't you think anything when you saw the kids being sold there? You have children of your own, so surely you felt some pity?"
"..."
Diana paused.
He wondered if she felt something.
She quietly walked in front of Ryan.
And then she leaned her face right in.
"Whatever."
She grinned.
"Is it my child? Hahaha!"
"..."
"Hahahaha! Hahaha!"
"..."
"Haha, ha..."
Diana's mocking laughter slowly came to a halt.
It was because she saw them behind Ryan.
Three young children, led there by the guard's hand.
Her own children.
"..."
"..."
Diana, speechless and frozen, turned her eyes to Ryan. He was smiling cruelly.
"You crazy bastard..."
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