episode_0002

Temple Palace.

The palace where my predecessor, Princess Sienna, resides. It was bestowed upon her by the Emperor when she turned sixteen.

It housed over five hundred people, a grand scale befitting a royal palace. It also served as Sienna’s hideout for her misdeeds.

Nevertheless, it was still my workplace.

As soon as I entered the spacious office, I let out a sigh. Memories of Alan Maydoff’s disgusting life kept resurfacing in my mind.

“This guy is truly garbage.”

He was a murderer who killed or crippled over eighty people without any wartime experience. His business card might as well have said “violent thug.” When issues arose in Sienna’s covertly owned businesses, I was the one who stepped in to resolve them.

Still… it wasn’t the worst yet.

After possessing this body, I made one of the imperial princes into a half-wit, and it was ridiculous to say such things about the subject. But it actually happened. Sienna hadn’t fully embarked on her wicked deeds yet, so even my notorious reputation as her closest confidant was still manageable.

“Alan Maydoff, what a disappointment. Turning a defenseless prince into that form? I’m not criticizing you just because of this incident.”

Suddenly, a knight in uniform stared at me as if I were filth. His appearance seemed unjust, reminding me of a dachshund.

It was Bonno, my fellow academy classmate.

A diligent knight who, despite being of common birth with slightly above-average talent, had been selected as a noble’s bodyguard through tremendous effort.

But perhaps due to his inherent nature being kind and naive…

He resisted internally against Sienna’s actions and eventually suffered retaliation. Not just being driven away, but witnessing his entire family being massacred before dying himself in a pitiful manner.

“The person who annihilated his family was Alan Maydoff.”

The fact that such a person stood before me was a positive sign.

“I’m relieved.”

Upon hearing these words, Bonno smirked and took a step closer to me.

“Luck, huh? …Alan. Wasn’t it different back in the Academy days? Why did people change like this?”

“I only followed the Lord’s orders.”

“Orders can vary…! Even when I was working on the front lines and transferred to be a bodyguard for the Second Princess, acquaintances were all worried. I’ve heard plenty of ominous rumors about her too.”

“You dare speak ill of the Lord in front of me?”

“Well, you have your share of involvement in my coming here. Despite hearing about your tarnished reputation, I believed it was intentionally destroyed by someone.”

“But now, because of what happened today, it seems everything is true.”

Bonno nodded silently instead of answering. The anger in his swollen eyes seemed genuine, as if he was truly upset by his friend’s corruption. From my perspective, I had nothing to say.

“Should I try to divert the situation?”

Smart.

A timid knocking sound was heard at that moment.

Though Bonno was seething with rage, I couldn’t ignore it. I wondered who could be knocking on the door. Could it be a servant sent on an errand? Or another colleague coming to reprimand me for my misdeeds? Or…

“There’s no need to go on an adventure.”

Assuming Siena was eavesdropping from outside, I spoke.

“At first glance, my actions may seem contrary, Bonno.”

“Don’t call that an excuse…!”

“But there’s one fact you overlooked. The person I punished this time was a noble from the faction loyal to the First Princess. I received a sum of 800 talers worth of gold from them… In a situation where the purchase is suspicious, I cannot avoid responsibility, can I?”

“Just for that amount.”

“Just for that? You call it ‘just’ now?”

“….”

He stiffened his expression and stood up.

“The Emperor has shed plenty of noble blood to ascend the throne. Half-brothers, step-brothers… He even killed several obedient retainers in his own house. After that, he ascended the blood-stained throne.”

All of this is true.

The current Emperor was a man who caused bloodshed to become an Emperor.

At that time, so many nobles had died that only a few palaces remained. The three step-sisters, who were princesses, each claimed a palace and became independent because of that. The person who came to power in this way is now living as a doting father, though.

“Why are you suddenly talking about that?”

Bonno’s momentum slightly diminished, perhaps due to the sensitive topic.

“That bloodstain hasn’t been erased even now.”

“……”

“Each of the three princesses, who are mothered by different queens, fiercely compete for the position of Crown Princess. But during this sensitive period, ‘we’ have close ties with personnel from the opposing camp who serve Siena-sama. Isn’t that a crime?”

“Whether it’s a crime or not should be determined by the investigation of the Royal Guards. Just speculating…”

“It seems like Siena-sama has concluded that an unjust person has been caught. I don’t know if that’s a justified attitude towards our lord.”

Unable to retort, Bonno averted her gaze.

She must have been taken aback since she came in a fit of anger and was suddenly being doubted about her qualifications as a bodyguard. Honestly, it’s not something to be proud of to badmouth one’s lord to a colleague. If I let it go, she might shoot back at me with a word.

However, he wasn’t given a chance to escape.

“Allen, are you here?”

Siena suddenly burst open the door and appeared, with a faint smile on her face.

“My liege.”

“You didn’t answer the knock. Was there a seer?”

“I apologize.”

I naturally greeted her. After all, I’ve been suspicious since earlier.

On the other hand, Bonno’s complexion turned pale.

“My liege…?”

Her lips trembled without any courtesy. By now, all sorts of grim situations must be coming to mind.

Siena didn’t even glance in that direction.

It’s only natural not to pretend not to hear the king’s insults behind his back… This woman wouldn’t do such a thing.

‘Perhaps she saw it as a mistake to rush to the scene immediately. She might slowly dry up Bonno while cornering her to death.’

I decided to adjust it appropriately to Siena’s sinister intentions.

“Your Highness, this friend shared an interesting perspective on personnel management at Thames Palace. If you permit, may I bring up the matter later?”

“Very well. But Alan, as far as I know, isn’t Bono’s father…?”

“He is a veteran non-commissioned officer of the 7th Infantry Division. Though his rank is low, his loyalty to the royal family is exceptional. I know this because I am acquainted with him.”

“So, the son of an army non-commissioned officer became a knight. Quite an extraordinary event.”

Siena nodded with a proud smile.

Bono glanced around with a pale face, only paying attention to the situation. Fortunately, it seemed that Siena had no intention of provoking his temper by giving incorrect instructions in front of her. It was probably already too late for that.

“Alan, I need your advice. Will you accompany me?”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

We left Bono with a blank expression and departed.

“P-Please take care!”

His expression, bowing hastily with his knees trembling, clearly showed a sense of impending doom. It was a pitiful sight, but there was nothing we could do about it.

*

The place Siena took me to was the vast garden on the outskirts of Thames Palace.

For a normal noble, it would be typical to create facilities where they could enjoy flowers from all over the world throughout the seasons.

However, there was only one type of flower growing in Siena’s garden.

“What do you think?”

“It’s impressive.”

It was none other than poppies.

With black spots on the flowers and round fruits, it was a poisonous variety.

I’ve seen my grandfather, who lives in the countryside, grow poppies in a greenhouse for about 20 weeks to make liquor, but this scale was too large.

No matter where I looked, it was all poppies. If you squeeze the unripe fruits, juice will come out. If you collect and dry it, it becomes opium.

Naturally, Siena said she didn’t grow opium for flower viewing.

“When I first entered Thames Palace, the first thing I did was to change the garden. I didn’t want to pay a salary to ten gardeners and bother with flowers… But now that I see this barren garden, I feel a bit regretful.”

“So you decided to cultivate opium poppies.”

“They have various uses, don’t they?”

A garden specifically designed for opium production.

It was difficult to consider this alone as a heinous act.

Even in a fantasy novel, there existed sacred magic that could reattach severed limbs.

However, only a few chosen saintesses were able to use their divine power, so the benefits were limited. Obtaining potions was also extremely difficult.

For those with average economic means, even for most bourgeoisie, opium was considered a good medicine. It was like the 17th century, maybe even with people unable to obtain opium.

The problem was that the opium produced here was related to the original work’s episodes.

Sienna was talking about it now. She seemed proud and pleased.

“Alan, as you know, the empress is from the Eastern Empire. She tried to seize the imperial treasure right after her father ascended the throne. But she has been suffering from severe nostalgia disease for a few years now. It’s probably because she left her hometown and lived in isolation for a long time.”

“She must be going through a lot of hardship.”

The current empress was an Easterner, precisely a princess from the empire that held sway over the East. She was also the birth mother of one of the two heroines in the original work, the Third Princess.

When she first married the emperor, she was the Third Empress, but now she was the only empress. The mothers of the First and Second Princesses had already passed away at different times.

“But to me, she’s no different from a mother. We haven’t completely cut ties. I’ve been thinking about what I can do for her.”

“You’re truly considerate.”

“Thank you. This is the result of my contemplation.” Sienna showed a small bottle while speaking.

It was a medicine containing a moderate amount of opium dissolved in wine, just enough to get addicted. It was an invention by Sienna that didn’t exist in this world originally.

“If you actually drink that, the symptoms of nostalgia disease should alleviate.”

In return, they would encounter a world of boundless joy that resided in the abyss and suffer from side effects, of course.

Siena’s intention was not to offer opium wine as a cure for the empress’s nostalgia, but rather to deceive her. What we should be more concerned about is that this incident prompted Siena to become interested in the opium business. The original plot unfolded as Siena observed the empress’s rapid descent into addiction and drew inspiration from it to pursue an organized opium operation. Eventually, they began distributing opium wine under the name “Ambrosia” at the academy. If left unchecked, it would become a world where students, professors, and graduate students easily encounter opium. Unfortunately, I had a high likelihood of becoming involved in managing that business. If various incidents occur at the academy due to opium in the future, the protagonist with a broad mind will track me down and start a fight. Then it’ll be the end for me. “She’s a pitiful woman, so I have to do this much.” Siena seemed already excited about the idea of giving opium to the empress. It was evident from the way she lovingly gazed at the fully bloomed flower. “Crazy bitch.” It was the moment when I realized what kind of woman she was.