Chapter 9: One Who Understands

The hour had come when the word ‘day’ lost its meaning.

The sun had set some time ago.

One by one, the lights in the surrounding buildings began to go out.

I remained alone in my office.

I had to finish some paperwork and prepare for my house calls to the Union Guild, which would begin next week.

“…It’s really coming down.”

Rain was falling outside the window.

Patter, patter.

It was heavier than I expected. Much heavier.

I didn’t know why. But isn’t that just the nature of weather? It always arrives unexpectedly, without warning.

I sat alone in the empty office, simply listening to the sound of the rain.

And that night, the rain wasn’t the only thing to arrive without warning.

Creeak….

The door to the waiting room outside my office opened cautiously. I normally kept it closed, but I had left it open today.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say I had been expecting this.

“……”

I slowly rose from my seat.

Then, the door to my office opened just as carefully.

A rush of cold night air swept in.

The lobby was completely dark.

And in the middle of that darkness… stood a figure, drenched in rain.

FLASH!

Lightning split the sky.

For a fleeting moment, the flash illuminated the woman standing in the darkness.

Black hair, soaked through and plastered to her face.

Black eyes, unfocused and empty.

It was Ja Hwa-yeon.

She wore the exact expression I had expected to see.

I called out to her gently.

“Heavenly Demon.”

[Ja Hwa-yeon]

[Main Stance]

[She is in a mentally precarious state.]

[Optimal Response] [Satisfaction Rate: 90%]

[Provide the most comfortable environment possible.]

A comfortable environment…

That shouldn’t be too difficult.

At the sound of my voice, her empty eyes slowly began to find their focus.

Without another word, I walked over to her and gently took her cold, rain-soaked arm. She offered no resistance, her body following my lead like a puppet with its strings cut.

I carefully guided her to a plush chair and sat her down.

My actions flowed one into the next.

First, I picked up the remote and turned on the office heater.

Whirrr.

With a low hum, warmth began to spread through the damp, cold air.

Next, I took off the thick, white doctor’s gown I was wearing. I draped it over Ja Hwa-yeon’s shoulders, which were trembling faintly from the cold and damp.

At the touch of the thick, dry fabric, still holding my body heat, her shoulders flinched.

Next…

I immediately headed to the small kitchen in the corner of the office.

I placed the brownies I had baked earlier into the small oven, warming them just enough to be pleasant.

I hesitated for a moment. For someone in her state, caffeinated black tea could do more harm than good. She needed to sleep soundly. What she needed was calm, not stimulation.

I poured some milk into a small warmer, added a spoonful of honey, and stirred it slowly.

Ding!

The cheerful sound of the oven announced that the brownies were ready.

I quietly placed the items on the table in front of her.

A warm brownie and a cup of steaming honey milk.

Swiftly, but without any fuss.

I had built her a small sanctuary—perfectly safe, warm, and sweet. A shelter where she could forget everything, if only for a little while.

“……”

I sat down across from her and said nothing.

Now, it was her turn to speak.

[Ja Hwa-yeon]

[Main Stance]

[She is contemplating… where to begin.]

[Optimal Response] [Satisfaction Rate: 90%]

[Wait patiently until she begins to speak.]

Waiting is not difficult. It is a fundamental virtue of a counselor.

A few minutes passed.

Just as the raindrops clinging to her clothes began to dry, one by one, in the warmth of the heater…

Ja Hwa-yeon’s lips parted.

“Physician.”

I didn’t answer, simply meeting her gaze.

Her eyes were trembling.

“…You were right.”

Her voice echoed with emptiness.

I waited calmly, allowing her to continue.

“I… I thought everything had been resolved. The Left Protector… he wasn’t just a simple subordinate to me. He was like an uncle, someone I had trusted and followed since I was a child.”

Her voice trembled minutely.

“So, I wanted to believe. That he was just momentarily blinded by his lust for power. That if I corrected everything and admonished him, it would all go back to how it was. That he would return to the loyal man he once was. That’s what I thought.”

She lowered her head.

“But I was wrong.”

Ja Hwa-yeon looked down at her own slender hands.

“I saw his eyes in his final moments. There was no pity or regret. Only the fury of a man who had failed, and a hatred directed at me.”

I listened to her words, my expression unchanging.

She whispered, her voice barely audible.

“So. I.”

“……”

“…killed him.”

“The Left Protector. With my own hands.”

I simply listened to her calm confession, my expression remaining neutral.

‘It is better to be feared than loved.’

That was the lesson from The Prince that I had shared with her.

In truth, that wasn’t the book’s original meaning.

‘It is best to be both loved and feared, but if you must choose one, it is better to be feared than loved.’

That was the full extent of the advice I had given her.

Perhaps she could have achieved both if she had been surrounded by righteous and loyal retainers. But all she had was an old tiger coveting her throne and a horde of fanatics burning with blind vengeance.

They might have been useful at times, but not now.

In the end, Ja Hwa-yeon, prevented by others from becoming a beloved monarch, had finally… willingly accepted my advice.

And so, she became a monarch who was feared.

It wasn’t something I had created. Nor was it something she had become on her own.

She had simply made the best choice in the environment she was given.

She spoke softly.

“I can’t forget it.”

“Forget what, Your Majesty?” I, too, opened my mouth.

“The look in their eyes as they watched me.”

She slowly raised her head and met my gaze.

“Physician.”

“Yes.”

“Are you… afraid of me, too?”

The question revealed just how cornered she felt. It was a desperate plea.

The Heavenly Demon, survival of the fittest, the strong reign supreme—these were the laws of the Demonic Cult, which she must have taken for granted, as natural as breathing. Having grown up there since childhood, Ja Hwa-yeon would have understood them.

But understanding something and becoming it yourself are worlds apart.

She was also, at the same time, a young woman.

It is no easy thing to become an object of fear for all. It’s something one can only get used to.

But surely, there had to be people who supported and respected her.

If I pointed that out…

[Optimal Response] [Satisfaction Rate: 5%]

[Bolster her confidence by mentioning her loyal subordinates, such as Geumgang.]

5%…?

That’s not it.

[Optimal Response] [Satisfaction Rate: 95%]

[Reassure her by ‘clearly’ conveying what ‘you’ think, not what others think.]

The system presented a better option more clearly.

Is my opinion that important?

I didn’t avoid her gaze. Instead, I moved a hand’s breadth closer, bringing my face nearer.

“Are you looking at my expression?” I asked in a whisper. “I’m curious. Does it hold the same fear you saw in your retainers?”

I smiled faintly, meeting her eyes.

Ja Hwa-yeon’s eyes slowly widened. The black pupils within them gradually dilated.

And then, Ja Hwa-yeon’s head very slowly shook from side to side.

“Of course not.” My lips curled up further as I spoke slowly. “But in your expression, Your Majesty… I can see a trace of fear.”

“What are you…!”

Just as she, flustered, was about to say something, I gently cut her off.

“Do not be afraid.”

If she wanted my support, I would give it. I would be the one who understands her.

Ja Hwa-yeon’s sole confidant.

“I will never be afraid of you either. Even if the entire world fears you and keeps its distance, I will not fear you, Heavenly Demon.”

I looked into her eyes and declared quietly, “I will love you as my monarch. Ah, I am speaking of the loyalty a subject offers their ruler, of course.”

This wasn’t about romance. It was about the principles of rulership.

Her pupils trembled violently, as if an earthquake had struck.

I watched her reaction, then added with a small smile, “In that case, would you not, Heavenly Demon, be a monarch who is loved by at least one person?”

Ja Hwa-yeon gave no reply.

It would be more accurate to say she couldn’t.

She simply, slowly, lowered her head and stared at the glass of milk on the table before her.

Silence once again filled the office. Only the soft sound of the rain outside the window and the hum of the heater filled the space.

How much time had passed?

As if my last words had just occurred to her, she glared at me, her face flushed red, and stammered, “H-How insolent. I am a being akin to the heavens themselves. How dare you speak of such trifling emotions….”

It was as if she were scraping together the last vestiges of her monarchal dignity.

“I see. In that case, I take it back.”

“……”

[Ja Hwa-yeon]

[Main Stance]

[However, she does not want you to take it back.]

[Optimal Response] [Satisfaction Rate: 100%]

[Cancel the cancellation.]

I see.

But I think there’s a better way than simply canceling the cancellation.

Using a small spoon, I carefully cut a bite-sized piece from the brownie on the table. I dipped the spoon ever so slightly into the steaming glass of milk and pulled it out, just enough to lightly moisten the pastry.

A brownie, now even more moist, having absorbed the sweet milk.

I gently pushed it between her small lips, which had opened urgently as if to make some excuse.

“That’s not what I… Mph!”

Her eyes, at first colored with surprise, widened like a rabbit’s at the sweetness that touched her tongue.

It was probably quite delicious.

In that fleeting moment, while she was lost in the taste of the brownie, I whispered quietly, “Please forgive my rudeness.”

A drop of white milk clung to the corner of her mouth.

Very naturally, I raised my thumb and gently wiped her lips.

Her shoulders flinched once more at the touch.

“I will provide you with delicious refreshments from time to time.”

“……”

Ja Hwa-yeon couldn’t offer any reply.

She could only nod her head slowly.

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Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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