I immediately pulled up the character information.
Last time, I had been so tense that I hadn’t properly checked the Emperor.
‘There might be some hidden intention.’
If it was the enhanced system status window, it should be able to reveal his ulterior motives.
I stared at the window with expectant eyes.
But only words I had never seen before appeared.
「Information of a transcendent being cannot be viewed.」
「To pierce through the target, you must possess the corresponding stature.」
What kind of bullshit is this?
This had never happened before.
Come to think of it, I kind of understood.
‘I’ve never met anyone truly extraordinary until now.’
This is a brutally dark fantasy world.
There must be Aura Masters, high-ranking mages, and the like.
Yet I had never encountered a single one.
In any case, what the system message meant was clear.
The Emperor was a monster on par with those beings.
‘If I had even the slightest disloyal thought, I really would have been torn to pieces.’
Needless to say, I had no great interest in power.
What I already had was more than enough.
How could a mere Earth precinct sergeant ever obtain a mansion the size of an apartment complex?
And how could he employ so many people?
I had not the slightest intention of coveting a higher position.
Perhaps sensing my true feelings, Emperor Karon gave a rotten smile.
“I suppose it could feel like I’m driving you into the limbs.”
“T-There’s no way that could be true.”
“No need to be modest. It’s written all over your eyes.”
“…”
“To get straight to the point—no, that’s not it. Your governing ability looks good, so I simply intend to make use of it. If not you, who else could I entrust with such an important task?”
It’s nice to be trusted, but…
I don’t need this twisted trust from the Iron-Blooded Emperor at all.
‘Can’t we just go back to being coldly distant like before?’
I sent him that kind of look, but the bastard interpreted it differently.
“As expected, you’re the only one I can trust.”
No! That’s not it!
I wanted to scream that inside.
But I couldn’t possibly do so.
If I earned this man’s displeasure, it wouldn’t end with just death.
Remember how many people bled when Karon ascended the throne.
He didn’t earn the nickname Iron-Blooded Emperor for nothing.
‘Still, there might be a clue… Wait, the Empress might work?’
I immediately pulled up the information window.
To avoid meeting her gaze, I glanced over her shoulder.
It still applied somehow.
<Character Information>
Name: Cecilia Sierre
Status: Empress
Position: Imperial Family
Relationship: Indifferent, ????
Condition: ?? suspicion ???
Overall Ability: SS
「The opponent’s level is somewhat high.」
「To pierce through the target, you must possess the corresponding stature.」
Again, the system failed to properly load the information.
‘Wow. This woman is no joke either.’
All the important parts were question marks, so there was nothing useful.
But I noticed something crucial.
‘Sierre.’
A surname that had come up quite often.
From the very first trial, it was the noble faction that constantly clashed with me.
Naturally, their leader would be Duke Sierre.
‘So the Empress is his blood relative.’
No wonder she had been subtly pushing me toward treason from the start.
The only saving grace was that Emperor Karon wasn’t swayed by the Empress’s words.
His twisted personality aside, our relationship was fairly good, wasn’t it?
As long as I faithfully carried out his orders, no matter how much they checked me, they couldn’t frame me for rebellion.
Now only one problem remained.
‘I really, really don’t want to go.’
But I had no choice.
“I shall faithfully carry out Your Majesty’s command.”
“Heh heh heh! I’m counting on you.”
“However, to do so, there is one condition.”
“Hm?”
At the unexpected remark, the Emperor’s brow furrowed.
It meant: just do as you’re told, why bargain?
I hurriedly explained before the strange man could explode.
“The defense of the Carius Duchy currently relies solely on my personal martial strength.”
“You could just recruit knights. You haven’t.”
“I have not yet met anyone to my liking…”
“You’ll be with them for life, so being cautious isn’t bad. And?”
“Please provide troops to defend the duchy. Then I can leave with peace of mind.”
“A perfectly reasonable request. I will dispatch some of my imperial guards. Will that suffice?”
Emperor Karon nodded readily.
But my demands were not finished.
“May I personally select the personnel to be dispatched?”
“…”
Both the Emperor’s and Empress’s expressions turned peculiar.
For a moment, I thought I had made a grave mistake.
I didn’t know imperial etiquette well, so I might have misspoken.
After a chillingly cold silence, the Emperor spoke.
“Pffhehe! Is that all you call a request? They are men who will protect my brother’s land—of course you should choose them yourself. Do so.”
“Your grace is overwhelming.”
I bowed deeply and backed away with small steps.
‘Let’s see if I ever come here again.’
I ground my teeth inwardly, but if he summoned me, I had no choice.
He was a monster who could throw a guillotine party anytime—what else could I do but obey?
‘Don’t touch me. If you piss me off, I might actually aim for the throne. Got it?’
Of course, with my current power, that was impossible.
Why hasn’t some ghost dragged that lunatic away yet?
***
Surprisingly, the Emperor granted me the authority to select imperial guards myself.
A full thirty men—defending the Carius Duchy would be easy.
Of course, I had no intention of picking just anyone.
“No matter how many times they’ve been vetted, there are always rotten apples.”
And that wasn’t the only issue.
Anyone whose loyalty to the Emperor was too strong was also excluded.
Imagine thirty Cordel McNeills.
They’d rummage through my bedroom and report every tiny detail to the Emperor.
Of course, that wouldn’t actually hurt me.
I had lived far too upright a life until now.
‘Still, moderation is best.’
I just needed people who would diligently stand guard as ordered.
That alone was enough.
The imperial guard interviews were over in an instant.
I scanned their faces once and immediately decided yes or no.
Just looking at their current status and overall stats gave me the answer.
Returning home with thirty imperial guards in tow, the mansion erupted into chaos.
“W-What on earth is going on? Imperial guards out of nowhere, Your Highness?”
“That’s how it turned out.”
I sat the wide-eyed butlers down and explained everything.
As expected, the reaction was… not good.
No.
“It is regrettable, but this is actually a great opportunity.”
“Just as you pacified the north, establish great merit this time as well. Even greater rewards will follow, won’t they?”
“If Your Highness departs, the mansion will be quiet for a while. We will focus on maintaining the status quo.”
Is this real life ping-pong?
Miller and Tobias exchanged opinions with excited faces.
It felt like they had already planned everything ahead in their heads.
It was absurd, but in a way, natural.
‘They’ve had it pretty rough until now.’
How many projects had I pushed through?
From building proper dormitories for every formally contracted worker, to the textile factory, to the Midias commercial district.
The butlers had literally been running around with fire on their feet.
Things had improved now that we were in a stable phase, but the workload was still immense.
Compared to before I possessed Abel Carius—when they did absolutely nothing—it was night and day.
“You’re already thinking about playing around? I’m a little hurt.”
“H-Haha! As if we would!”
“Ahem! It must be your imagination.”
When I hit the nail on the head, the butlers broke into awkward cold sweats.
But I had no intention of scolding Miller and Tobias.
Hadn’t they faithfully served as my limbs until now?
Only one person was more diligent than these two.
Paul, the textile factory manager.
He followed me almost blindly, so that was different.
In any case, the butlers deserved proper rest and reward.
“You’ve truly worked hard all this time. Take a proper vacation while you can.”
That’s why I decided to give them generous rewards.
Two luxurious-looking pouches.
I hadn’t prepared them in advance, but my office was full of such things.
“Y-Your Highness?”
“Goodness, something like this…”
When Miller and Tobias opened the pouches, they couldn’t hide their shock.
Though they were nobles, these two weren’t particularly wealthy.
Fallen houses that barely kept their names, so to speak.
So they were stunned by a mere hundred gold coins each.
“As I said, there won’t be any business expansion for a while, so take turns going on vacation. Consider it vacation pay. Visiting your family homes would be good too.”
“Sniff! Your Highness!”
“Thank you! I will devote my eternal loyalty!”
I smiled warmly at the butlers bowing repeatedly.
As long as they continued working well, I planned to provide various rewards.
Salary increases, better housing, and so on.
‘If they stay loyal, what wouldn’t I give them?’
Buying people’s hearts is far harder than making money.
After sending off the butlers, I made a final check of the entire business.
Maintaining the status quo isn’t easy.
As soon as winter comes, the textile factory will have to stop.
There will be no more flax.
Then we either switch to another fabric or overhaul the whole business.
“I need to look into textiles that can be harvested in winter instead of flax.”
If that’s truly impossible, I can redirect the workers elsewhere.
With the butlers’ abilities, they’ll handle it fine on their own.
I visited the porcelain workshop, the tool workshop, and the Midias commercial district in turn.
There were no major issues with production or sales.
Several days passed like that, and finally the day of departure arrived.
“I swear I’ve felt this somewhere before.”
A bleak atmosphere with dust swirling everywhere.
The smell of moving farther from civilization.
The day when even delicious food tasted like nothing.
That exact feeling from back then.
The day I enlisted in the army.
‘I really, really don’t want to go.’
But what can I do?
It’s the Emperor’s command—I have to at least pretend to be dead and go.
Dragging my feet, I boarded the carriage.
Soon my body, against my will, sped steadily westward.
Yet not even a full day after departure—
The carriage suddenly slowed down.
Then the coachman opened the small window with a troubled face.
“Your Highness…”
“What is it?”
“The road is blocked.”
“Why?”
“I think you need to see it for yourself. It’s hard to explain in words.”
Nothing was going right.
Obstacles from the very first day.
I let out a long sigh and stepped down from the carriage.
Then I walked to the front of the procession.
And there unfolded an absurd sight.
“You cannot pass the gate without paying the toll.”
They were blocking the procession even after seeing the Carius ducal flag flying at the lead?
‘Ahh, in this world everyone from the Emperor to the bandits is completely insane.’