Weeping Men: The Innocent Princess's Secret Delight - Chapter 2.24
***
“Aaaargh!!”
A piercing scream echoed in the underground prison of the Imperial Palace.
The representative of the Northern Tribal Alliance was suffering, tied to a chair.
His clothes were soaked in blood and sweat. Unable to bear the pain, yellow liquid was spreading at his feet.
A knight picked up another torture device and approached. He shook his head, his lips trembling.
“Wait.”
Just then, a voice came from behind. The knight immediately withdrew. The representative exhaled in relief.
But when he realized that the person who appeared next was Froyzen, who had been watching the situation with his arms crossed, his face contorted with anger.
Froyzen showed exceptional initiative and arrest rates in searching for the northern attackers, earning him the opportunity to directly interrogate them.
“I’ll ask again.”
He asked imperiously, not meeting the eyes of the subject but looking down at him.
“Who let you into the forest to assassinate a member of the Imperial family?”
“…!”
At the question, the representative flinched as if about to lunge. Though the spiked handcuffs dug into his skin, causing blood to flow from his wrists and ankles, he acted as if he felt no pain.
“…You have no right to say such things…!”
“Are there any torture devices left? Bring them.”
As he rebelled with a voice seething with anger, Froyzen immediately ordered the knight. Drowning out the representative’s words with his own voice was a bonus.
The disciplined knight fled up the prison stairs, escaping.
Left alone, Froyzen bent down to meet the other’s gaze.
“…Ugh!”
Though he hadn’t been threatened, the representative was immediately overwhelmed upon meeting Froyzen’s black eyes, deep as an abyss. His knees trembled, knocking together.
“Who, is it?”
Froyzen enunciated clearly, emphasizing each syllable like an adult teaching children to speak. The representative’s jaw began to tremble as well.
It wasn’t simply because he was overwhelmed. He had spotted a small vial that Froyzen briefly showed and then hid behind his back.
The representative immediately understood what was in the vial and why it was being shown.
Because he knew whose body the thumb inside the vial had originally been attached to.
The nail at the tip of the thumb was blackened. The assassin who had come with them also had all ten nails blackened from constantly handling poison.
Froyzen used this display as a warning.
If you give a truthful answer to this question, your body will explode like the owner of this finger.
“I, I do…”
“……”
“I don’t know, I don’t know. Please, spare…”
His whole body trembled. Froyzen sighed as if regretful, then ordered the returning knight again.
“He still has no intention of confessing. Resume.”
“Yes, sir!”
The knight saluted sharply and approached the representative again. Seeing the ominous appearance, the representative resisted, shaking his head violently.
“No, no… ugh… Aaaaargh!!”
Once again, a terrible scream echoed. Froyzen stepped back without blinking an eye. Then he crossed his arms and thought.
‘Failed this time.’
But it’s too early to give up. Opportunities will come again. There’s the upcoming political meeting, isn’t there?
He rolled the vial hidden in his sleeve, thinking of his next move. Despite knowing what was inside, he remained completely unfazed.
***
As the northerners wanted, renegotiations took place. Of course, the results of the negotiations were far from what they had hoped for.
“Due to your unilateral plan for retaliatory killings, a great mishap occurred at our Imperial family’s event. Not only that but the Imperial Princess, the Empire’s finest jewel, was almost caught up in a terrible incident.”
It was never revealed who had let them into the forest where the hunting competition took place. Investigators concluded this was an independent criminal plan by the northerners.
The northerners couldn’t protest the false truth. They sensed a vague fear but couldn’t understand the reason.
“Therefore, our Empire demands from you ten times the existing war reparations, as well as governance rights over the Atlan region.”
They could only nod to the unreasonable demands of the Imperial representative, who stroked his beard pretentiously.
Originally, they only had to pay enormous annual reparations and tributes. Now they were losing territory as well. The Northern Tribal Alliance delegation returned to their homeland with the worst possible outcome.
The Empire didn’t just celebrate either. There were still many problems to solve. For instance,
“Who should we send as governor of the Atlan region?”
Issues like personnel transfers.
The Emperor raised the matter of appointing a governor at the political meeting. No one stepped forward readily.
While everyone was just gauging the situation, one man raised his hand.
Judith smiled more brightly as she looked at the man about to make a proposal.
‘What are you going to say now, you brat.’
It was her own extreme measure to avoid picking a fight with him.
Froyzen proposed with an equally radiant smile.
“If there’s no suitable candidate, how about Kaizen?”
‘I knew that bastard would say that.’
Judith cursed inwardly. The Emperor and other nobles’ eyes lit up, however.
“Come to think of it, the Pentmian young master… He’s familiar with the northern situation…”
That’s the justification. But the real intention is different.
‘Governor sounds nice, but they’re just looking for someone to shove in a corner and fight with the northerners who keep causing trouble.’
Judith astutely grasped the essence of the governor’s proposal.
The profit-minded nobles had already done the math. And they concluded:
The governor position is all glitter, no substance. Taking the governorship means distancing oneself from central politics and only facing hardships.
‘So they’re saying my obedient Kaizen, with no family support or political backing, is perfect for the job.’
Judith harshly evaluated Kaizen. She was someone whose rose-colored glasses were detachable.
“We can trust Lord Pentmian.”
“He’s our hero, isn’t he? I agree.”
Many came out in support of Froyzen’s opinion. Judith frowned.
Absolutely not. Do you dare try to take what’s mine? I won’t let him go, even if I die.
Kaizen was equally unhappy about going north.
His steps were heavy as he went to attend the political meeting, invited again to hear the opinion of the person concerned.
Originally, he had never harbored any desire to resist the Empire’s orders. Even when he was appointed as the commander of the northern front, almost exiled as soon as he became an adult, he simply complied.
It was a knight’s duty to fulfill the given role. Indoctrinated with this belief, he had no complaints.
So now, Kaizen felt uncomfortable with his inner voice constantly shouting that he didn’t want to obey.
If asked for a reason, he honestly knew.
