My survival instinct returned like a ghost.
If I beg like a dog, I might avoid being executed in hell fire.
“Your Majesty!”
I lay flat at Cardan’s feet and grabbed him by the ankle.
“I must have been crazy for a moment with fear!”
Cardan’s face, when I looked up, showed no emotion.
“I’d be forever grateful if I could avoid the fires of hell…”
The words that I would be executed did not come out of his mouth, so I eventually changed my words.
“I’ll rot here forever with joy!”
However, contrary to my expectations, Cardan’s face only distorted terribly with every word I added.
I felt like I was about to faint right away.
He was so serious about hellfire!
“Please consider our friendship in the past, and exclude anything related to fire!”
How diligently have I served him as his foot wiper?
Hellfire, hellfire! I couldn’t bear the injustice.
“The affection of the past.”
A small voice fell over my head.
Under pressure, I suddenly realized.
Long before, the Duke of Baloa held Eleanor hostage and put a leash on the neck of this unruly tyrant.
Duke of Baloa, you punk.
Considering the Duke of Baloa’s misdeeds, I fully understood why Cardan was able to consider the thought of grilling me slowly like the finest Korean beef.
But that doesn’t mean I’m willing to let myself be grilled.
I glanced at the door of the dungeon, which was still half open.
Cardan stood between the open door and me, but it was worth the risk.
With my determination, I picked up a handful of hay and immediately flew toward Cardan.
Throwing hay on his face to block his view and then escaping through the open door.
That was my plan.
However, even before I could throw the hay, Cardan grabbed me by the wrist.
“Ugh.”
I twisted my wrist, trying to pull it out, but my hand only turned numb.
Cardan gave a low laugh.
As Cardan approached one step closer, I was pushed back naturally.
“Will you run away again, Duke Baloa?”
My terribly shaped pupils lost their focus and became dilated.
“Why…”
Cardan clenched his lips.
“Why the hell are you trying to leave?”
It was not difficult to figure out.
He wasn’t just asking because I was trying to escape prison.
When I didn’t say anything, Cardan’s lips twisted bitterly.
“Don’t even think of running away.
Foolishly, my hand that was still holding the hay loosened.
“Yes.”
There was no way out anymore.
When I gave up running away, I gave up on other things.
“I was going to leave for the East.”
“So why the hell……!”
Cardan yanked me as he pulled.
The red eyes that stared at me persistently were overflowing with anger.
I felt like my skin was going to burn.
But I couldn’t lift a finger like I was caught in his eyes.
I decided to put everything down.
Now that this had happened, it didn’t matter if Cardan became even more angry at my answer.
I thought I would have less resentment if I was destined to die anyway, and I would solve everything coolly.
“There seems to be no hope for this empire.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your Majesty knows, too.
I swallowed.
“And.”
Cardan, who quickly noticed my hesitation, flashed his eyes and rushed me.
“And what, Duke.”
After a while of silence, Cardan pressed me again.
“Isn’t it okay as long as the Duke changes the empire? As we have done, we will be able to fill the treasury, punish the corrupt nobles, uproot the slave traders. r e ad o nly at s a l mon l att e . com Th is ann oyin g watermark is not t he re.Or are you afraid to die at the hands of the Empress Dowager?”
He can tell just by looking into my eyes.
As I stood silent, Cardan’s voice gradually grew.
“Then why, why!”
Cardan, who suddenly stopped talking, swept up his hair and cursed.
For a while there was only a harsh breath between us.
It was long before he spoke again.
“Why… are you running away now?”
The sounds from his mouth were thin as if he was choking.
Strangely enough, he looked very small.
It’s confusing whether he’s looking down at me or I’m looking down at him.
Cardan was right.
Although they have not completely saved the empire, so far, they were able to safely avoid the issue with the slave traders and the Empress Dowager’s tricks.
However, it was not enough to ensure the safety of the Empire.
As long as there was only one thing left that I couldn’t change that would cause the Empire’s destruction, I wasn’t confident about changing it.
“The emperor of the empire is a tyrant, so what can I do?”
The words rolled off my tongue with surprising ease.
There was nothing more to lose anyway.
“The owner of the empire appears drunk at the Cabinet meeting, profligate enough that there is no woman in the capital who has not been touched by His Majesty, and punishes his subordinates for not immediately giving the answer they want. re ad onl y at sal monla tte. com Th is an noy ing waterm ark is not ther e.I’m also a person who has limitations.”re ad onl y at sal monla tte. com Th is an noy ing waterm ark is not ther e.
Cardan’s lips twisted bizarrely at my words.
Cardan, who held my chin lightly, tilted my face to look straight at him.
His face was wrinkled like a cut marble, but it was difficult to read his expression because it was smooth, but his fiery red eyes were filled with mixed emotions.
Soon he whispered in a calm voice.
“You’re the one who made me do that, Duke Baloa.”
***
I immediately recognized the meaning of his words.
It was about the contract.
“So the contract makes me let you do what you want…….”
When I couldn’t speak because of the shock, Cardan ended it instead with his lips twisted.
“You threatened me to act like a tyrant.
By doing so, it was not difficult to infer what the Duke wanted.
Absolute power, complete and utter.
From the moment I took over Eleanor, I was no different from the Duke.
No matter how much he was the emperor, he could not be completely free from the voices of the nobles and the imperial people.
If he was a normal emperor.
But what if he’s a tyrant who can subdue everyone in a word?
And what if the tyrant was just a puppet?
I will be able to play with the empire in my own way without touching it.
I swallowed my breath.
That means that all the evil deeds in the original work are not the work of a crazy tyrant…….
Cardan smiled beautifully.
“Yes, Duke Baloa.”
A callus-stained thumb swept across my lower lip.
“The tyrant was you, not me.”
As I was breathing hard without saying anything, Cardan let me go.
“What’s the use of arguing now?”
He let out a self-deprecating laugh.
“As you say, if the empire is destined to be destroyed, so be it.”
While discussing the end of the empire, Cardan, the emperor, only seemed insensitive.
As if from the beginning this empire wasn’t his.
“I was a fool who misunderstood for a moment that the Duke had changed.”
“…….”
“You still want this empire so much, but if it’s broken, you will throw it away relentlessly.”
His voice was calm as if he expected it, but there was deep resentment in his eyes.
“So I…….”
I opened my mouth then closed it.
I couldn’t bear to answer.
I didn’t hesitate to do any evil to take over the empire and then defect immediately when the empire was about to fall.
That was me.
My only excuse was that I lost my memory.
There will be no way to avoid execution.
As soon as I realized that, my legs relaxed and I sat down.
As soon as my body collapsed, Cardan grabbed me by the waist.
And after a moment of hesitation, he untied the handcuffs that were still dangling like a bracelet on one of my wrists.
“Do as you please, Duke.”
He then opened the steel door wide.
I looked up at him because I didn’t know what to say, but I only looked at him with dry eyes without any emotion.
“I will give you freedom, so run away to the East continent or hide from the Empress Dowager’s eyes.
At the end of the sentence, Cardan left.
I stared blankly at where Cardan was for a long time.
The touch of iron, which weighed heavily on my arm, disappeared, but despite what he said, it did not seem I had gained “freedom.”
It was rather the opposite.
“I…… I’m not the Duke of Baloa…….”
I’ve never felt so stifled as I did today.
A despondent laugh broke out.
The sound of the wind falling out echoed hollowly in the remaining dungeon, making it many times as large.
“The Duke of Baloa is really…….”
Whenever I thought I had cleared up the Duke of Baloa’s past, something new popped out and weighed on me.
“Ha…Ha…Ha…….”
I trembled at the sudden cold.
“It’s not even my fault.”
Holding Eleanor on the threshold of death and threatening Cardan, encouraging Cardan to live a life of nothing but a skit, and killing anyone who defies him.
“It’s not me.”
Why do I have to suffer from other people’s karma?
Why should I feel guilty for other people’s sins?
I rubbed my eyes roughly.
“Human beings are all selfish.”
I muttered low and began to squirm toward the dungeon exit.
If I’m swayed here, I’m the only one who’s stupid.
As I stepped up the long stairs, I thought that I might not be much different from the Duke of Baloa.
As the Duke of Baloa did, I was the most important to myself.
My survival instinct returned like a ghost.
If I beg like a dog, I might avoid being executed in hell fire.
“Your Majesty!”
I lay flat at Cardan’s feet and grabbed him by the ankle.
“I must have been crazy for a moment with fear!”
Cardan’s face, when I looked up, showed no emotion.
“I’d be forever grateful if I could avoid the fires of hell…”
The words that I would be executed did not come out of his mouth, so I eventually changed my words.
“I’ll rot here forever with joy!”
However, contrary to my expectations, Cardan’s face only distorted terribly with every word I added.
I felt like I was about to faint right away.
He was so serious about hellfire!
“Please consider our friendship in the past, and exclude anything related to fire!”
How diligently have I served him as his foot wiper?
Hellfire, hellfire! I couldn’t bear the injustice.
“The affection of the past.”
A small voice fell over my head.
Under pressure, I suddenly realized.
Long before, the Duke of Baloa held Eleanor hostage and put a leash on the neck of this unruly tyrant.
Duke of Baloa, you punk.
Considering the Duke of Baloa’s misdeeds, I fully understood why Cardan was able to consider the thought of grilling me slowly like the finest Korean beef.
But that doesn’t mean I’m willing to let myself be grilled.
I glanced at the door of the dungeon, which was still half open.
Cardan stood between the open door and me, but it was worth the risk.
With my determination, I picked up a handful of hay and immediately flew toward Cardan.
Throwing hay on his face to block his view and then escaping through the open door.
That was my plan.
However, even before I could throw the hay, Cardan grabbed me by the wrist.
“Ugh.”
I twisted my wrist, trying to pull it out, but my hand only turned numb.
Cardan gave a low laugh.
As Cardan approached one step closer, I was pushed back naturally.
“Will you run away again, Duke Baloa?”
My terribly shaped pupils lost their focus and became dilated.
“Why…”
Cardan clenched his lips.
“Why the hell are you trying to leave?”
It was not difficult to figure out.
He wasn’t just asking because I was trying to escape prison.
When I didn’t say anything, Cardan’s lips twisted bitterly.
“Don’t even think of running away.
Foolishly, my hand that was still holding the hay loosened.
“Yes.”
There was no way out anymore.
When I gave up running away, I gave up on other things.
“I was going to leave for the East.”
“So why the hell……!”
Cardan yanked me as he pulled.
The red eyes that stared at me persistently were overflowing with anger.
I felt like my skin was going to burn.
But I couldn’t lift a finger like I was caught in his eyes.
I decided to put everything down.
Now that this had happened, it didn’t matter if Cardan became even more angry at my answer.
I thought I would have less resentment if I was destined to die anyway, and I would solve everything coolly.
“There seems to be no hope for this empire.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your Majesty knows, too.
I swallowed.
“And.”
Cardan, who quickly noticed my hesitation, flashed his eyes and rushed me.
“And what, Duke.”
After a while of silence, Cardan pressed me again.
“Isn’t it okay as long as the Duke changes the empire? As we have done, we will be able to fill the treasury, punish the corrupt nobles, uproot the slave traders. r e ad o nly at s a l mon l att e . com Th is ann oyin g watermark is not t he re.Or are you afraid to die at the hands of the Empress Dowager?”
He can tell just by looking into my eyes.
As I stood silent, Cardan’s voice gradually grew.
“Then why, why!”
Cardan, who suddenly stopped talking, swept up his hair and cursed.
For a while there was only a harsh breath between us.
It was long before he spoke again.
“Why… are you running away now?”
The sounds from his mouth were thin as if he was choking.
Strangely enough, he looked very small.
It’s confusing whether he’s looking down at me or I’m looking down at him.
Cardan was right.
Although they have not completely saved the empire, so far, they were able to safely avoid the issue with the slave traders and the Empress Dowager’s tricks.
However, it was not enough to ensure the safety of the Empire.
As long as there was only one thing left that I couldn’t change that would cause the Empire’s destruction, I wasn’t confident about changing it.
“The emperor of the empire is a tyrant, so what can I do?”
The words rolled off my tongue with surprising ease.
There was nothing more to lose anyway.
“The owner of the empire appears drunk at the Cabinet meeting, profligate enough that there is no woman in the capital who has not been touched by His Majesty, and punishes his subordinates for not immediately giving the answer they want. re ad onl y at sal monla tte. com Th is an noy ing waterm ark is not ther e.I’m also a person who has limitations.”re ad onl y at sal monla tte. com Th is an noy ing waterm ark is not ther e.
Cardan’s lips twisted bizarrely at my words.
Cardan, who held my chin lightly, tilted my face to look straight at him.
His face was wrinkled like a cut marble, but it was difficult to read his expression because it was smooth, but his fiery red eyes were filled with mixed emotions.
Soon he whispered in a calm voice.
“You’re the one who made me do that, Duke Baloa.”
***
I immediately recognized the meaning of his words.
It was about the contract.
“So the contract makes me let you do what you want…….”
When I couldn’t speak because of the shock, Cardan ended it instead with his lips twisted.
“You threatened me to act like a tyrant.
By doing so, it was not difficult to infer what the Duke wanted.
Absolute power, complete and utter.
From the moment I took over Eleanor, I was no different from the Duke.
No matter how much he was the emperor, he could not be completely free from the voices of the nobles and the imperial people.
If he was a normal emperor.
But what if he’s a tyrant who can subdue everyone in a word?
And what if the tyrant was just a puppet?
I will be able to play with the empire in my own way without touching it.
I swallowed my breath.
That means that all the evil deeds in the original work are not the work of a crazy tyrant…….
Cardan smiled beautifully.
“Yes, Duke Baloa.”
A callus-stained thumb swept across my lower lip.
“The tyrant was you, not me.”
As I was breathing hard without saying anything, Cardan let me go.
“What’s the use of arguing now?”
He let out a self-deprecating laugh.
“As you say, if the empire is destined to be destroyed, so be it.”
While discussing the end of the empire, Cardan, the emperor, only seemed insensitive.
As if from the beginning this empire wasn’t his.
“I was a fool who misunderstood for a moment that the Duke had changed.”
“…….”
“You still want this empire so much, but if it’s broken, you will throw it away relentlessly.”
His voice was calm as if he expected it, but there was deep resentment in his eyes.
“So I…….”
I opened my mouth then closed it.
I couldn’t bear to answer.
I didn’t hesitate to do any evil to take over the empire and then defect immediately when the empire was about to fall.
That was me.
My only excuse was that I lost my memory.
There will be no way to avoid execution.
As soon as I realized that, my legs relaxed and I sat down.
As soon as my body collapsed, Cardan grabbed me by the waist.
And after a moment of hesitation, he untied the handcuffs that were still dangling like a bracelet on one of my wrists.
“Do as you please, Duke.”
He then opened the steel door wide.
I looked up at him because I didn’t know what to say, but I only looked at him with dry eyes without any emotion.
“I will give you freedom, so run away to the East continent or hide from the Empress Dowager’s eyes.
At the end of the sentence, Cardan left.
I stared blankly at where Cardan was for a long time.
The touch of iron, which weighed heavily on my arm, disappeared, but despite what he said, it did not seem I had gained “freedom.”
It was rather the opposite.
“I…… I’m not the Duke of Baloa…….”
I’ve never felt so stifled as I did today.
A despondent laugh broke out.
The sound of the wind falling out echoed hollowly in the remaining dungeon, making it many times as large.
“The Duke of Baloa is really…….”
Whenever I thought I had cleared up the Duke of Baloa’s past, something new popped out and weighed on me.
“Ha…Ha…Ha…….”
I trembled at the sudden cold.
“It’s not even my fault.”
Holding Eleanor on the threshold of death and threatening Cardan, encouraging Cardan to live a life of nothing but a skit, and killing anyone who defies him.
“It’s not me.”
Why do I have to suffer from other people’s karma?
Why should I feel guilty for other people’s sins?
I rubbed my eyes roughly.
“Human beings are all selfish.”
I muttered low and began to squirm toward the dungeon exit.
If I’m swayed here, I’m the only one who’s stupid.
As I stepped up the long stairs, I thought that I might not be much different from the Duke of Baloa.
As the Duke of Baloa did, I was the most important to myself.
