Volume 2 Chapter 11.4
“Open the door!”
Hillakin urged his subordinates, rolling his eyes back into his head as he only rarely did. Legs shaking, the person who was guarding the storehouse threw themself at Hillakin’s feet.
“You sons of bitches, what are you doing?! I said, open the door!”
Drawn by the commotion, two of his subordinates ran out of the storehouse and knelt before him.
“P-Please forgive us!”
“It’s all our fault! Please, spare our lives at least…”
“Haa…”
Hillakin reeled and slowly rubbed his face with his hands.
“All of it?”
“Wh-What?”
“Is all of it rotten?!”
“No! No! Only about half…”
“Then what are you doing?! Bring the rest of it out!”
Hillakin shrieked in anger, and his subordinates started scurrying about as though he had lit a fire under their feet. Sacks of grain were carried out of the storehouse in a stream.
“What exactly happened?”
“The storehouse flooded when it rained a couple days ago…”
“You useless maggots!”
Hillakin kicked the man in the shin. When the man dropped to one knee and hunched over, he kicked him in the stomach.
“Dammit!”
Hillakin ruffled his hair, then clutched it like he was about to rip it out. Then he squatted on the floor. His face down to his neck was flushed, and he hissed out a string of curses.
“Still! This doesn’t make any sense! For this to happen to this much grain in this short amount of time.”
He wasn’t any closer to learning the woman’s identity. Even when he had put a tail on her, they always got shaken off.
That was the situation he found himself in, but he was growing more and more dependent on her money. He believed in the plan but… Half of the grains he was going to sell when prices skyrocketed were rotting. That meant he had no way to pay her back. Dammit, dammit!
He could still force the bastards whose homes and family he was holding as collateral to buy it – rotten or not – but as long as someone out there was handing out food to the slum-dwellers, it wouldn’t be smooth sailing.
If things turned south, the people might throw caution to the wind and charge at him. He couldn’t let that happen when he could still milk them for more with sweet words and fists.
“Haven’t you found that bastard yet?!”
“That’s… He noticed we were trying to find him and covered his tracks…”
“If you get a hold of anyone, just tear into them! That’s all you know how to do, so what are you trying to use your brains for! Fuck, find him even if you have to kill!”
“Y-yes! Understood!”
“…You over there, make the preparations.”
“What?”
Hillakin stood up. He gradually calmed his breathing.
“I need to… go see that person. So make the preparations!”
“…Understood!”
***
He was walking down a barely lit, narrow passageway. Hillakin’s nervousness was plain-as-day. Each wall was lined with sliding doors, and intermittently, strange sounds could be heard from within.
“…!”
Right then, Hillakin stumbled over something. When he looked down, he saw a hand clutching his pant leg so tightly the knuckles had gone white.
“Help… help…”
“Fuck, giving me bad luck.”
Hillakin wrenched his leg away and used his foot to shove the hand into the half-open sliding door. Then he quickly closed it.
“What are you doing over there?”
A man was standing at the end of the hallway, arms folded, a displeased look on his face.
“I apologize! I’m coming now!”
Hillakin ran toward the man in a hurry.
“He is waiting.”
Just before he turned around, the man spoke again.
“Consider yourself lucky.”
“Thank you!”
Hillakin bowed his head so low he was almost bending over. The man clicked his tongue and went into the room. Hillakin went in after him.
***
“A red-haired woman?”
When the man showed interest, Hillakin quickly added,
“Yes! That’s right, a-and I think she had blue eyes…”
“Red hair and blue eyes? About how tall was she?”
“About this… tall.”
“And you say she paid you in goods, and most of it was decorative jewels?”
“Y-yes!”
“…When did she first appear?”
“Uh, probably right after the princess’s birthday celebration… Yes, I think so. I mean, yes, she did!”
“I see… Interesting. In exchange, what will you offer me?”
“I-I’m already bringing you children off the streets, both girls and boys. And if you could help us out a little more, we would be able to buy land to expand the business…”
“I am under investigation.”
“P-Pardon?”
“I can’t have anyone catching on right now… and yet, here you are.”
“…”
“Silence everyone who knows about you and me.”
“B-b-but, I-I’m…”
Suddenly, the man’s eyes flashed and he laughed out loud.
“What are you so shocked for? Obviously, I meant everyone except you.”
“…Yes. I will make sure of it.”
***
“There’s been a problem.”
Those were Sieger’s first words to me when I spotted him waiting for me, back against the wall.
“What kind of problem?”
“…”
Looking at his face, I felt my stomach drop into a bottomless pit.
As I walked with him, even the alley’s air felt unfamiliar. Neither of us spoke. We just walked.
When Sieger came to a stop, it was in front of a familiar wall.
I locked eyes with a townsperson who was squatting in front of the front door. He threw the cigarette he had been smoking onto the floor and put it out with his shoe. Then he stood up and walked away.
“He tried… to take his family and run at dawn.”
“And then?”
Sieger grabbed my wrist to stop me from going into the house.
“You don’t have to go in.”
Firmly in his grasp, I looked up at the house. It was cold and still, not a sob to be heard.
I turned back to him. Sieger sighed and let go of my wrist.
I went inside the house alone. The bodies in the yard were covered with a sheet. Blood mixed with the soil of the yard in dark splotches while used things spilled out haphazardly from a tear in the side of a packed bag.
I hadn’t even asked anything yet when Sieger stopped next to me and spoke up.
“We still don’t know who did it.”
“What about the patrol?”
“…They came by. It seemed like they couldn’t identify any suspects.”
“…”
“The word around town is, he was an informant for Hillakin. He kept a watch on other families and collected money from them. He got a lot of hate, but he didn’t have any trouble getting by.”
“And yet he suddenly attempted an escape…”
“I don’t know.”
“…We’ll know once we catch those sons of bitches and mess them up. Who killed them, and why.”
“It’s too risky.”
“I’m not saying I’m going to do it right away.”
“Then?”
“…I have that much patience.”
“Hey.”
Sieger grasped my hand and made me look at him.
“Hillakin isn’t the type of person who would go to this much trouble. And it’s definitely not your fault either.”
“How do you know that?”
“It could have been one of the guy’s henchmen who had their own reasons for doing it, or someone with a personal grudge…”
Sieger hesitated and finally came clean about his real theory.
“I’m guessing there’s someone behind Hillakin. We already suspected he was getting money from someone other than us. It’s pretty doubtful that he’s been running an illegal business with guys like these.”
“So?”
“They’re covering their tracks. The bastards have caught on.”
That was probably it. But that’s why it was so hard to stomach.
“…”
When I didn’t respond, Sieger grabbed my shoulders.
“So what I’m trying to say is…”
“Is?”
“This is too dangerous. If we just wait a couple months, it’ll get easier. Once you get your status back–”
“We can’t go back now. You’re the one who said it. These people believe in me.”
“Hey, but…”
I turned around.
Then I found myself locking eyes with a man standing in the front door. His face was familiar. I remembered him as one of the people who had been secretly coming to the basement storage room.
“What are you doing here?”
“Do you know of any witnesses? Someone who would agree to stand witness…”
He spat on the dirt floor.
“This man’s got nothing to do with us, hasn’t he?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Why do we have to care about bastards who aren’t even cooperating with us? He must’ve died for a reason.”
“…”
“Now our necks are on the line too! If we keep on trusting you and waiting like this.”
The man went silent then looked at Sieger and me in turn before spinning around and stumbling away. Only then did I smell the alcohol.
***
From the beginning, our goal had been to threaten Hillakin’s gang. We were going to push up the loan payment date and threaten to draw on all of our connections at the palace to punish them if they failed to pay us back.
They would be driven into a corner since the patrol, with whom they’d strengthened their relationship through routine bribes, wouldn’t help them anymore.
When their apprehension became premonition, and finally, certainty, they wouldn’t be able to sit still. There wouldn’t be anything more terrifying if they weren’t innocent.
But whatever happened, there would be discord. The group would either self-destruct, or the real mastermind would come to light.
If they happened to risk running away at this point, that would be a great help. Everyone under their thumb would be free.
But instead, they had taken action. They had killed people. Undoubtedly.
I had to admit it. I had underestimated Hillakin.
“It reeks of blood.”
Those were Sieger’s first words after he’d kicked the door open. Hillakin was standing with his back to the door, but he soon turned around to face us, with his characteristic laughter.
“Of course people like me smell like blood. Don’t tell me you were expecting me to smell like honey?”
Hillakin threw the windows wide open.
“Is that better?”
I pulled up a chair, and Hillakin went to stand opposite me in front of his desk.
“What brings you here?”
“You don’t know? People died across the street.”
“Ahh. That’s unfortunate. But what does that have to do with me?”
“You didn’t kill them?”
“…Me? Whyever would you think that?”
Hillakin asked, with a relaxed smile.
“Just, the thought occurred to me. But more importantly, didn’t you assure me you would multiply my money, so why is it I haven’t heard anything back? I’ve been told I’m pretty patient, but… I don’t think I can let this go anymore.”
“I’m sorry. But it will only be a little longer! We’re almost there.”
“How many times have you told me those exact words?”
“…I’m telling the truth. Besides, you really don’t have any choice but to trust me unless you want to lose your money.”
His response was oddly stiffer than the last time. Because he has nothing to lose? As I was thinking this, I discovered something behind Hillakin.
“And if that money was clean, you would have reported me by now.”
“What did you say?”
I put a hand in front of Sieger who, temper flaring, had taken a step forward.
“Of course, we’re in the same boat, but you have all these secrets… I said that out of disappointment. Please don’t take it to heart.”
“You have until tomorrow. If you don’t triple my money by tomorrow, someone from the palace will come. I think you understand what I mean.”
I stood up.
“Are you leaving already? I’ll escort you to the door.”
Sieger led the way out of the room with a strange expression, and Hillakin spoke to the back of my head.
“You told me then. That a bastard who has a lot to lose can’t win against someone who doesn’t.”
“I did.”
I turned around halfway and looked at him.
“But did you know?”
His face was friendly, but there was a darkness there.
“The one who laughs last is the one who has more.”
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
At that, he gave an exaggeratedly low bow. It was a sign that the conversation had ended.
As we left the building in silence, Sieger asked,
“Is this enough?”
I stopped in my tracks. I looked around.
“There’s no one else here, right?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Hurry home. For now, take the kids somewhere safe.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Hillakin knows where you live.”
“So?”
“The reason we’ve been fine until now despite the tension with Hillakin is because he thought we were on the same side.”
“…Are you saying that’s not true now?”
I took a breath. And then I asked,
“Do you trust me?”
He looked at me. Despite not grasping the meaning behind my words, he still answered me.
“Yeah.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. And I was sure of one thing.
“The fact that he’s tied up the loose ends means he has no intention of leaving this place.”
“But–”
“He’s prepared himself. Unlike yesterday. Something’s changed from then to now.”
I gripped Sieger’s wrist.
“There was a body.”
“What?”
“In Hillakin’s office.”
“…”
“I think it was the boss.”
The pale foot that had been peeking out from beneath the desk behind Hillakin. It hadn’t looked like a living person’s.
The stench of blood that both Sieger and I had smelled. Hillakin, who had been standing with his back to the door even though he would have heard us coming up the stairs. Hillakin, who hadn’t stepped away from the desk once during our entire conversation.
I had met the “boss” with Hillakin several times, but he’d always had a weak presence. Almost as if he was a puppet put there by Hillakin. And even if that wasn’t it…
“Hey, instead of standing here–”
“I think he looked into me.”
“What?”
“I can’t be certain… but it’s only a matter of time before he finds out. In fact, he might know already.”
“…”
“But why did he just let me go?”
He could have at least threatened me, so why?
I murmured,
“Is there really a hidden mastermind?”
“Go back to the tower this instant.”
“What? I can’t–”
Sieger shook off my hand and grabbed my arm.
“I’ll take care of the rest, so go back.”
“…Even if he’s caught on, he doesn’t have any proof so it’s okay–”
“What do you mean, he doesn’t have proof?!”
His voice rang out in the alleyway. I raised my voice, too.
“If I go, what can you do by yourself?!”
“You think you being here increases our options?”
“I thought you trusted me!”
“That’s not the issue, princess, what if you get hurt?!”
“I’m not going to get hurt.”
“How do you know that.”
“You’ll just have to protect me.”
“…I swear, are you trying to drive me up the wall?”
He let out a sigh and released my arm. I kept speaking.
“What you should be doing right now isn’t yelling at me. You need to hurry home and take the kids somewhere safe. The old couple next door, too. Once that’s done, come back to me.”
“Are you telling me you want to separate right now?”
“That’s right. There’s no time. We have to split up and each do what we have to.”
Sieger’s breathing was irregular, like he was holding back his anger.
“…I’d have more luck talking to a wall.”
“Took you long enough to realize.”
“You think this is funn–”
“And the same goes for me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I wanted to live as the princess.”
“…”
“I didn’t go to the tower in order to free myself from criticism by doing just enough to atone for my sins. And it definitely wasn’t to escape from the people who hate and loathe me.”
“…”
I had wanted to take responsibility.
“I wanted to do my best. As the princess. It was for that.”
I had forgotten my initial goal which was to survive.
I had gotten this body and this position completely against my will, but at some point, I had started wanting them for myself. I had been preparing a me who couldn’t be stolen by Yuriel, a me who would live on in this place.
Until God foretold my death.
“But you want me to go back? To the tower, because it’s dangerous?”
“You want to do your best, fine. Then go back without a fight. Back to the place you’re supposed to be! Then do that!”
Seeing the tangle of anger and confusion in his eyes, I couldn’t help but ask.
“It hurts you to look at me, doesn’t it?
“…”
“Do you think it’s easy seeing you like that?”
“What are you trying to say.”
“Hearing you tell me to go back is embarrassing.”
So don’t tell me to run away.
“Just because you like me, I don’t think you’ve forgiven me. And you shouldn’t. There’s no need for you to. So don’t hurt so much. You understand me?”
I saw something flash across his eyes. It might seem like the two emotions couldn’t coexist, but there was no denying that they existed together as two sides of the same coin at times. So I didn’t want him to make an effort to drive one of them into a corner.
Not only would it not work, it would only leave a scar.
“That doesn’t matter! Whatever I do, you just…!”
“When I thought of people whose forgiveness I wanted, you were the first.”
From the start, none of it was things I had done. I pitied their scars, and I felt sorry for them and like I should take responsibility, but it didn’t matter if they didn’t forgive me. I thought there was nothing I could do. It wasn’t my problem.
But at some point, seeing him scowl when I smiled at him, I had ended up wanting it. I had started wondering when he would forgive me, and when he would be able to smile back at me without difficulty.
And so, I became attached.
“To be honest, I do have ulterior motives.”
I wanted him to see me in a positive light.
“But don’t forgive me.”
Even if my identity was revealed, and I was criticized again, it didn’t matter. From the beginning, there was no paying for sins and getting forgiveness through a punishment that I had wanted and decided.
I couldn’t go back when he told me to, and I only understood the reason now.
“The reason I was locked in the tower, and wanted to do my best after I came back is this.”
“…”
“Even if no one wants me or believes me.”
Even if they say I need to die.
“I don’t want to run away. That’s the reason.”
In the end, the truth was simple. Wherever it took me, I needed to see it to the end. I needed to know how far I could go.
“But you want me to run away to the tower? So that I won’t have to run away anymore? That’s not even funny.”
“I understand what you’re saying. I do, but…”
“I’m doing this out of my own will.”
Of course, I was afraid of dying. Deeply.
But dying while trying not to die wasn’t the least bit impressive.
“…You realize you’ve wronged me to the point you need my forgiveness?”
Sieger grabbed my shoulders. He brought his face right in front of mine. He scanned my face and lowered his head. His yellow eyes were darkened.
“Then… If that’s true, then just, listen to me, just this once.”
He took a breath.
“…”
I caressed his face with my fingers. This was the face of someone who had feelings for me. It wasn’t the face of someone who would forgive me. It was the face of someone who had pushed down the hatred and resentment he couldn’t erase all so he could protect me.
I pitied him. And maybe that’s why I found him lovable.
And then he said,
“Wait for me.”
I promised,
“I’ll make sure you’re not too late.”
Translator’s note: I want to apologize because this is so, so late, but the next update will be next week, promise
Get notified about new posts –>
jujubb translations 
Damn, I hope their plan will still succeed, but most importantly, I hope those kids will be alright o.o
Thanks for the chapter! ♥
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The “Capeesh” killed me😭😭🤣🤣…
ps Thanks for translating💕💕💕
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