44. Soi

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“L-Let go of me!!!”

 

The women were being dragged away.

Unable to even put up a meager resistance, they were seized by the soldiers and taken away.

 

There were hundreds of them, so there was quite a commotion on the way to the prison, but in the end, they all went to hell.

 

 

“Mother.”

 

Soi approached.

 

“As I said, I’ll take them. Just keep them here for a while.”

 

Soi had a complicated look on her face.

 

“Ah. Are you worried because they’re Baemguneul? You don’t have to be. They have no choice but to obey my orders anyway.”

 

Their lives were over now.

They had become Baemguneul of Seorae, who could be said to be one of the worst humans ever, so how could their end be smooth?

She even said she would turn them into prostitutes, so the future was obvious.

 

 

Soi tried to say something, but Seorae spoke first.

 

“Ah~ I’m tired after using my power for the first time in a while. I’m going to get some sleep, so let’s talk tonight or tomorrow.”

“….”

 

She said what she wanted to say and walked towards the room she used to use.

A few maids hurriedly followed her, but she waved them away.

 

“…She’s really…doing as she pleases.”

 

 

 

 

+++

 

 

 

 

Soi went to her bedroom after finishing her work.

She wondered if Seorae would be there, but she wasn’t. She was probably sleeping in her own room.

 

 

Lying on the bed, she fell into worry instead of sleep.

This was because what she experienced today came as a bigger shock than she thought.

 

The men she had gathered to oppose Aran, and to develop the Empire as a bonus.

The firepower demonstration they had shown her before was enough to surprise her, and even the two nobles who followed her around had no objection to its power.

 

Soi had hope.

If they were here and developed, maybe she could defeat Aran and get her sister and mother back.

 

But the result she experienced today was completely different.

 

 

The biggest shock was Seorae’s power.

She knew she was strong, but she didn’t know she would be so ridiculously strong.

 

The Seorae’s skill that she properly knew was Tier 5. No, Tier 4 skill.

Even when Seorae was in the Empire, she had not broken through her limits, and her pure skill was located at the end of Tier 4.

 

And since she had become Aran’s Baemguneul at some point, she vaguely thought, ‘She must have gotten a little stronger.’

 

But that was a complete miscalculation.

 

First of all, Seorae had reached complete Tier 5, and in addition, she was able to exert the power of Baemguneul as well.

Not only that, Soi didn’t know, but there were also various magic spells that Aran had cast on her, so if she wanted to, it wouldn’t be difficult to run in alone and destroy a country.

 

 

That’s just Seorae.

Seorae, who was only Tier 4 (?), had become so strong, so what about the rest?

 

Cornelia and Terrin, who were relatively underestimated because they were called barbarians only a few years ago, were, in her opinion, martial artists who were hard to come by in a century. If it weren’t for Aran, they would be much more famous now.

 

And of course, they were much stronger than Seorae.

 

So how strong had they become?

 

 

“Haa….”

 

A sigh came out.

A feeling of stuffiness.

It felt like all sides were an endless ocean.

 

“…Is it…impossible?”

 

Before today, she thought that even Aran could be defeated if she used the power of the entire country.

And in fact, she was thinking of doing that if all the other methods didn’t work.

 

But what a surprise. After seeing what happened today, it felt like a kind of delusion.

No matter how she thought about it, no matter which way she thought about it, she couldn’t find an answer.

A way to defeat Aran seemed impossible, at least as a human.

 

Even the men she thought were her hope were taken care of by Seorae. If she was that strong, the rest must be even stronger. Aran was out of the question from the start.

 

So she had no choice but to worry deeply.

 

She couldn’t fall asleep, and only countless worries filled her head.

 

 

 

 

+++

 

 

 

 

Soi ended up having a sleepless night.

 

She unusually abandoned her state affairs and met Seorae.

 

“Wow. I heard you declared you’d take a break today? Not bad. Our Soi.”

“…What’s not bad about it.”

 

Looking at her face, which was smiling without a care, she somehow sighed.

 

“That’s how all emperors become lazy.”

“I have no intention of doing that.”

“Everyone says that.”

“…Okay, what’s your business?”

 

Soi went straight to the point.

She wasn’t in good enough condition to chat, rambling on about this and that.

 

“You, you should marry our Jagi after all.”

“Okay.”

“It’s no use refusing. This mother can’t back down on this matter…… Huh? What did you say?”

 

Did I hear wrong?

Seorae doubted her ears for a moment.

 

“I said okay.”

“….”

 

What’s going on all of a sudden?

When Seorae looked at Soi with wide eyes, she had eyes of complete resignation, or enlightenment.

Was she just going to let things be?

 

“What’s wrong? I prepared a great logic, but it’s a letdown.”

 

Soi turned her head to the side.

She had a face as if she was looking at the distant horizon.

 

“I roughly realized it. The meaninglessness of resistance.”

“Oh my.”

 

She had to get married someday anyway. And every single one of them was a marriage she didn’t want.

Since she was born as a princess and became an emperor, love only existed in her dreams.

 

Then the only choice she could make was to be thoroughly practical.

If she couldn’t get love, she would get her own safety.

If she couldn’t get affection, she would get the strength of the country.

 

Aran happened to be an unparalleled genius that the world would never see again.

His personality was trash, but his abilities were incomparable to anyone else. No, even trying to compare him was an insult.

 

 

“Are you serious? You didn’t hire those losers to kill our Jagi, did you? I was quite shocked.”

 

Seorae showed a reaction of disbelief.

Of course. She had done such a thing, and she had said countless times that she hated him.

 

“Don’t you believe me? Then make me a Baemguneul right here.”

“….”

 

Only then did Seorae have a serious face.

 

“Are you sick somewhere?”

“My heart hurts a little.”

“Our Soi wouldn’t do this.”

 

“That’s right,” Soi said, agreeing and continuing.

 

“I’ve thought about it a lot. I still hate that person, but…I can’t marry someone I want anyway, right?”

“That’s right. Basically, the emperor doesn’t have the right to do that.”

“…I don’t want to hear that from my mother, but anyway…if I can’t love him anyway, I might as well get some practical benefits…that’s all I thought.”

“You can’t beat our Jagi when it comes to practical benefits. And you’ll fall in love too.”

“Hmph. I can’t believe that.”

“Your sister is head over heels for him too.”

“No way.”

 

She denied that, no matter what else.

Fall in love with that trash? It’s more credible to say that this continent is a living person.

 

“It’ll all be over if you poke it.”

“…Don’t say such vulgar things.”

“Why is it vulgar? How sacred is it.”

“Sacred my ass.”

 

Soi sighed deeply.

She said she would do it, but seeing Seorae’s reaction, she somehow regretted it.

 

“Hmm~ Well, anyway, it’s a relief. The nobles won’t be yelling anymore, right? That’s good.”

“They’ll probably yell even more.”

“Why?”

“That human is only good at his abilities, but everything else is shit. There’s probably going to be a riot. And….”

 

She paused for a moment and continued.

 

“I’m not going to have children.”

“…Huh?”

 

What was that supposed to mean? The emperor wasn’t going to have children?

 

“There will probably be a lot of talk about that too.”

“No, what do you mean you’re not going to have children?”

 

Soi looked straight at her.

 

“That’s the condition. I’m not going to have children, and I’m going to rule this country forever.”

“….”

 

Seorae felt so much cunning ambition that she lost her words.

 

“Should I change the name to Soi Empire while I’m at it?”

“…Our Soi, you’ve become more ambitious since I last saw you.”

“I’m just making a deal. Instead of doing something I don’t want to do, I’m doing something I want to do to some extent.”

“I’m saying it because it’s not just to some extent.”

“Why, do you hate it?”

“No. Not really.”

 

There was nothing wrong with it.

How many parents would object to their daughter ruling the country forever?