Chapter 373
Side Story – Memories of an Imperial Princess (89)
Princess POV
Ast’s mind was still incomprehensible.
What was even more chilling was that these incomprehensible things kept succeeding.
“How was the Kingdom’s reaction?”
“They seemed to resist fiercely, but they’re in a state of resignation, Your Highness.”
“I see, good work.”
“Not at all, Your Highness.”
The nobleman who went as an envoy to the Kingdom showed me extreme respect.
No, it wasn’t even extreme respect.
He couldn’t even raise his head to meet my eyes.
“This is a reward for your work this time.”
When I turned my attention, Ast handed over a famous silk, renowned even in the Empire, to the nobleman who carried out the envoy mission.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
After receiving the silk, the nobleman left the tent with a satisfied expression.
“What do you think?”
“Given that the envoy’s head is still attached, it seems what he said is true.”
“What’s the possibility he’s lying?”
“For someone so openly greedy, that seems unlikely.”
“That’s true.”
I nodded at Ast’s words.
That made sense.
“A traitor to their homeland has nowhere else to go.”
“Where one settles becomes their homeland.”
This was because he was a nobleman of the Merdea Kingdom and a traitor who defected to us.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect your strategy to succeed this much.”
“Everything was meticulously calculated. Success was inevitable, Your Highness.”
“…It’s even more frightening that you can plan something so thoroughly, Lord Ast.”
Ria looked at Ast like a devotee of the Goddess of Compassion and Devotion looking at an evil god.
“Plans should always be thorough. We have a close example of what happens when plans aren’t thorough, don’t we?”
“Did we have any failed plans?”
“Yes, Sir Ria’s marriage plan was a failed one.”
“I-it didn’t fail! It worked out quite well in the end!”
“But didn’t it fail?”
“T-that was all because of the Merdea Kingdom’s evil schemes…!”
“That’s right. Sir Ria’s last chance… Was all lost because of the Merdea Kingdom .”
“The evil Merdea Kingdom …”
“Yes. The Merdea Kingdom is evil. Eliminating evil is justice. Therefore, any action taken to overthrow the Merdea Kingdom is justice.”
“I see…”
“That’s how it is.”
Ria’s eyes were filled with hatred and anger.
She had fallen.
It was like watching a devotee of the Goddess of Compassion and Devotion, who had set out to defeat an evil god, become corrupted and turn into an apostle of that evil god.
“Sigh…”
Though I sighed at the sight of Ria dancing in Ast’s palm, it couldn’t be helped.
After all, it was Ast. After all, it was Ria.
Unless you change a person’s fundamental nature, there’s nothing you can do.
“Well anyway, since things are going well. What’s the next phase of creating this ‘pro-Empire faction’ plan?”
Ast had no intention of fighting the Merdea Kingdom anymore.
He even persuaded my brother, who had been growling about destroying the Merdea Kingdom, sending him to another battlefield, and while pretending to wage war by surrounding the capital, they only attacked from a distance with magic.
It wasn’t about reducing the enemy’s numbers or doing anything to the enemy.
It was just like a signal to let the enemy know we were at war.
The real main task was recruiting the captured Merdea Kingdom nobles.
The soldiers and nobles in the Merdea royal fortress wouldn’t know.
What was happening to the captured prisoners.
Those inside the fortress wouldn’t know.
They would think they were standing at the crossroads of life and death, feeling fear about not knowing when war would break out, facing occasional bombardments.
But the ones truly standing at the crossroads of life and death were the Merdea nobles here.
They were going mad or dying while enduring all sorts of torture.
Those who wanted to live had to be persuaded by Ast and appear in magic projections alongside Duke Raisha to denounce their homeland and praise the Empire, which would be shown to the enemy.
To those who resist until the end to protect their Kingdom, it might look like betrayal, but if they experienced it directly, they would never say such things.
After all, Ast pushed the Merdea Kingdom nobles to the edge of a cliff and dangled the rope of salvation before them, as if he had personally experienced the Kingdom’s downfall.
“Ah, it really fell, didn’t it?”
Come to think of it, Ast wasn’t born in the Empire.
He was from the fallen Harken Kingdom, which had once attempted to raid the Empire and was destroyed in an instant.
“What fell?”
“Did something else happen?”
Ast and Ria’s attention focused on me at my inadvertent words.
“The Merdea Kingdom.”
Though it was a mistake, when I passed it off casually, both Ast and Ria nodded and moved on.
After all, the Merdea Kingdom was as good as fallen anyway.
“Hmm…”
Watching Ast and Ria talk to each other again, I narrowed my eyes and looked at Ast.
Did Ast remember when his Kingdom fell?
Even though it was from his childhood and ten years had passed, those memories might still remain.
After all, Ast would have been no more older than I am now at that time.
Ten years ago, one was certainly old enough to think and act on those thoughts.
Stories of people who experienced bad things in childhood and lived for revenge were common after all.
So there’s a possibility that Ast remembered the fall of the Harken Kingdom and what happened afterward.
But.
“That can’t be.”
The battle between the Empire and the Harken Kingdom ended overwhelmingly.
Although some fortresses pledged to fight to the death, they turned into a sea of fire overnight, and the Kingdom itself was erased in months, let alone a year.
The Empire never made the Harken Kingdom suffer for long, nor did they bother to create traitors or leave pro-imperial forces behind.
We can do this now because we don’t care about military achievements.
Other units would have crushed the Merdea Kingdom’s throat and moved to other regions.
Usually, wars aren’t dragged out to inflict pain on the enemy like this.
“It must be because it’s Ast.”
Ast’s experience of his homeland’s destruction likely has no connection to how he’s treating the Merdea Kingdom .
Such actions were unthinkable even for the Howling, the Empire’s most powerful evil organization, let alone other countries.
It was simply Ast being Ast.
“Did you call for me, Your Highness?”
Perhaps he heard my quiet mumbling.
Ast turned his head slightly and looked at me.
“Ah, I just had something on my mind.”
“What is it that you’re curious about?”
“The reason for not finishing off the Merdea Kingdom and leaving it like this.”
“Didn’t I explain that before? The fact that they can’t come out even in this desperate situation means that the forces in that fortress are Merdea Kingdom’s last strength.”
“That’s right.”
“The forces of those trying to save them and the few nobles conducting guerrilla warfare with militia are pathetically weak. This means this Kingdom can no longer threaten the Empire as it did in the past.”
“That’s right.”
“I’m just taking revenge for Sir Ria, Your Highness. Rather than letting them die honorably, I’m making them suffer humiliation before death. Except for slightly reducing military achievements, it’s the best way to make the enemy suffer.”
“Yes. And you said you’re planting seeds of pro-imperial forces internally so they can’t resurrect. The worst weeds that can never be eliminated. Weeds that will devour all beneficial plants around them.”
“If you remember all this, why are you asking?”
Well, obviously.
“Because normal people don’t think like that.”
“…”
“Ast, only you could think of such things.”
Ast fell silent at my bone-crushing words.
Perhaps because even he knows this is insane.
“So, finish it thoroughly until the end. If that’s the best revenge you can give for Ria.”
“…Understood, Your Highness.”
I gave a satisfied smile while watching Ast nod emotionlessly.
And the next day.
Ten more nobles who betrayed the Merdea Kingdom were added.
#114 Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of a Villain
“Arggghhhh…!”
The smell of burning meat wafted up with the screams.
Of course, it was completely different from the appetizing smell of pork, which could be called a life companion.
The smell of human flesh burning.
The smell of a living person being burned.
“Even if you do this…!”
“Yes, yes~ How many times have we heard that? Let’s skip that part.”
“Arggghhhh!”
Traditional torture method, Chapter 1.
It was a torture method that often appeared in historical drama films, but its effectiveness isn’t very good.
Even in historical dramas, everyone endured it, and to think it would be the same in reality.
I’m confident I would confess everything I know the moment heat approaches me.
“If that resolve lasts until the end, we’ll bury ten people together, and if you can’t endure, you can enjoy a party with Duke Raisha.”
“Arggghhhh!”
The noble who was screaming his throat out actually burst his throat and coughed up blood.
“I, I… Even if you do this… Arggghhhh!”
“Yes~ yes~ We’ve been hearing that too. Couldn’t you say something more original?”
Perhaps because it was branded several times on the thigh, feeling the heat diminishing slightly, I took out a new branding iron from the brazier and started branding again.
“You, you devil…”
“The victorious nation naturally appears like a devil to the defeated nation. Why did you fight in the first place?”
“Arggghhhh!”
Press. Press. Press.
When I press the branding iron harder, only screams come out.
“This is tough.”
I frowned looking at the fallen noble.
The smell was terrible, and although the body was restrained, branding someone who was writhing in pain with a branding iron required quite a bit of attention.
If the branding iron went astray and fell on my foot, it would be troublesome for me.
“After all, the best torture is the Apsulhyeong. Woah.”
Apsulhyeong is a torture where heavy objects are placed on the thighs of someone kneeling.
Sometimes it appears in comics or anime as a cute punishment that female protagonists inflict on male protagonists after embarrassing experiences, but in reality, it’s not such a cute punishment.
In historical dramas, they are constantly using Jurie (leg torture), but in reality, Jurie was an illegal form of torture that was not officially recorded in legal codes and was secretly carried out. On the other hand, Apsulhyeong was one of the officially recognized traditional torture methods during the Joseon Dynasty.
Once subjected to it, the after-effects were severe, and with high mortality rates, it was torture reserved for serious criminals!
Despite this, it was frequently used because while inflicting continuous intense pain, once the weights were placed, no additional effort was needed, making it the most efficient form of torture.
In actual historical records, there are many stories of those who wouldn’t confess under regular beatings readily confessing when subjected to Apsulhyeong torture.
“Ah, no!”
I’ve never experienced it myself, but seeing the state of those undergoing it, those stories seem true.
Of course, that doesn’t mean we won’t do it.
“Yes!”
Lifting the stone slab, I place it on the noble’s knees where a flat stone plate was already placed.
“Urghk!”
As the noble gasps for breath from the added stone plate, I whisper in their ear.
“When we first met, didn’t you say you were from a noble family with tradition? Since I’m from a commoner background and haven’t properly learned the noble’s dance yet… Would you help me learn?”
“Ah, no! I’ll, I’ll do whatever you command, please… Please!”
“Ah…”
Though I click my tongue in disappointment, the soldiers conducting the torture wouldn’t allow precious resources to be wasted.
Quickly removing the stones from the knees, two soldiers expertly assisted the noble from the Kingdom of Merdea, whose pants were now wet, and led them outside.
“Tsk, at this rate, I’ll embarrass myself at the social gathering.”
I only know the basics, but that’s literally just the basics.
Since the organization’s goal was to insert me as an ordinary servant, I hadn’t learned dancing separately.
So I wanted to show it to the nobles who would have learned since childhood and check if I was doing well…
“Well, there are still many people left.”
“Eek!”
The person who suddenly made eye contact with me trembled.
When I slightly shifted my gaze, other nobles also couldn’t meet my eyes and just trembled.
“Hmm… There are still many normal people left.”
The torture they were receiving was very gentle torture.
One might ask how torture can be gentle, but it truly was gentle torture.
To their bodies, at least.
“Since you’ve watched, you should know what to do, right?”
The torture they received was watching torture scenes.
Though it’s mental rather than physical torture, it’s quite effective.
“Ah, since there might be too much to remember, let me explain again step by step…”
“Long live the Karan Empire! Long live the Karan Empire!”
Just as I was about to explain the torture devices and their uses one by one, the nobles who first made eye contact with me started praising the empire at the top of their lungs.
“Lo-long live!”
“The Kingdom of Merdea is already a fallen nation!”
Soon after, other nobles around also started praising the empire and condemning the Kingdom of Merdea at the top of their lungs.
“You… Weaklings… and you call yourselves Mer… Arghhhh!”
“How dare a newcomer try to lecture seniors?”
Though they hadn’t been tortured directly, they had watched torture scenes for almost a week.
During that time, dozens had died or broken mentally, and they had watched these scenes for a week straight with barely any sleep.
One couldn’t help but go mad.
“Take them away.”
“Yes, sir.”
When the soldiers who had taken away the noble who underwent Apsulhyeong torture returned, I nodded toward the nobles who were shouting praise.
Soon the room fell quiet, and only I and the noble undergoing torture remained in the underground torture chamber.
“You… Devil…”
“Sigh, you think I want to do this?”
“Li…ar…”
I let out a small sigh watching the noble who fainted after uttering those words.
“But it’s true.”
Who would want to do this voluntarily?
I’d like to just push through and end it quickly, but then I’d be dragged to another battlefield.
The Kingdom of Merdea was fortunate to have Duke Raisha, but on other battlefields, unexpected events could lead to death.
Plus, the organization keeps trying to give me troublesome tasks.
So I need to sell out Sir Ria here, drag out time as much as possible, and lose credit.
Those who have nothing envy those who have something, but those who have things live carrying the weight of what they possess.
I knew well how my past life master’s disciples, who were Korea’s best S-rank ability users, worked like dogs and got beaten down by public opinion over trivial matters.
One of them even cried while emptying boxes of soju in my room.
Knowing this, I had no desire to climb higher.
Right now, this position is just right.
A place neither too high nor too low.
A position where I can receive adequate bribes from being around very important people, but can escape if needed!
But recently, the Princess keeps threatening to either make me a Count or marriage, and the organization keeps pushing me to achieve more merit and enter the empire’s core.
Really, I feel like a shrimp getting crushed in a fight between whales!
So I will endure, endure, and endure more.
Drag out time until someone else achieves more merit!
“…I accept all conditions.”
“…What?”
“I accept all conditions. This is complete surrender.”
…Ah, life.
