Chapter 17
Shit...
The room assigned to Kim Yeomjin in the royal palace was far too luxurious for him, considering the nature of his crimes.
It was fully equipped with everything needed for living, including a bathroom and toilet.
The furniture was also of the highest quality, befitting the royal family, so there should have been no discomfort in staying there.
...Except this room had no windows.
The lock on the door was on the outside rather than the inside, so anyone who wasn't a fool could easily guess what kind of room this was.
A prison for distinguished guests.
A prison for criminals who couldn't be released but were too important to be thrown into the underground dungeon.
Kim Yeomjin realized this on the second night.
When he tried to leave the room to discuss financial matters with the king, he was blocked by knights and pushed back into the room.
What would happen to him now?
He didn't think the royal family would kill him or do anything to him right away.
In his mind, he hadn't committed any crime against the royal family.
No, in this situation, they would surely keep him alive because he still had value to them.
Thinking this way made him feel a bit more at ease, but it also irritated him.
Yeah, I haven't really done anything wrong, have I? So why am I being kept in a place like this?
He was angry that they had assigned him to this luxurious guest prison because they were too busy to deal with him properly.
Kim Yeomjin's social skills were rock bottom because he had never experienced forming relationships with others in normal ways, either in his previous life or his current one.
If he felt that someone was beneath him, he would immediately cross the line and make them uncomfortable.
This tendency hadn't changed at all even after he lost all his power.
Even if they couldn't kill him as he thought, that didn't mean they couldn't do other things.
His light-minded thinking, along the lines of ‘They wouldn't torture me, would they?’, made him increasingly agitated.
During his confinement, Kim Yeomjin thought about his rights that he couldn't assert due to the unfavorable situation.
He believed he had the right to be compensated regardless of the outcome, as he had acted according to the contract.
This way of thinking would have made people question his sanity even in the 21st century, but to him, it seemed perfectly right.
As time passed, these thoughts grew stronger.
Thinking they couldn't hit him, he even provoked the knights by banging on the door.
Then one day.
About a month after Elang left the royal palace, King Germis suddenly summoned Kim Yeomjin and his former lovers.
"Ugh!!"
Perhaps because of what had happened before, the knights roughly dragged him to the audience chamber.
Of course, the special mask never left his head for even a moment, as his identity must not be revealed.
This mask was a heavy magical tool made of iron, so heavy that one might worry about breaking their neck if worn continuously.
Damn it, making me wear something like this...!!
Doesn't it make him look like a criminal?
To treat him like this when they'd be in trouble without him—he'd definitely complain about this later.
When he arrived at the audience chamber, dragged by the knights, King Germis was nowhere to be seen.
Only the Holy Saint Alencia and Princess Meria had arrived first and were waiting for the king.
"...!"
The two who had arrived first reflexively turned their heads when someone entered from behind.
They were startled for a moment by the sight of someone wearing an iron mask, but upon realizing it was Kim Yeomjin, they immediately lost interest.
Dissatisfied with their reaction, Kim Yeomjin also averted his gaze as if imitating the two.
During this, Kim Yeomjin noticed that Karin and Elang were not present and said:
"Elang's not here?"
"...Elang left."
Meria answered the muttered question.
Just as Kim Yeomjin was about to ask what she meant, the door opened again, and the one who had summoned them appeared.
"...Sorry to keep you waiting."
King Germis, whom they met after about a month, looked very haggard and couldn't even walk alone, needing support from the chancellor and other knights.
The wrinkles on his face had deepened, making it look as if it were carved from rock, and his complexion was so dark and pale that he resembled a corpse.
Behind King Germis, who was barely walking with the support of the chancellor and knights, was a familiar shadow.
Karin, her face as pale as King Germis's and with small lacerations here and there, walked silently with her head bowed low like someone who had committed a great sin.
Her appearance, showing humility like a pilgrim or a sinner, momentarily made Kim Yeomjin and her former lovers unable to recognize her.
It wasn't because her appearance had changed greatly. Although there were numerous small wounds, even these only made her seem more pitiful and not at all ugly.
If anything had changed, it was her spirit.
She who had always walked with her back straight and proud now hung her head like a criminal.
Posture might seem trivial, but like appearance, it greatly affects one's impression of a person.
The current Karin looked so powerless and pitiful, like a bird with broken wings, that even the two people who disliked her couldn't help but feel sympathy.
...I'll definitely make them pay
Of course, this was just her outward appearance.
Her nature, honed over a lifetime, wasn't broken by just a month's experience in prison.
Even now, closing her eyes, the memories of the humiliation she endured over the past month flickered before her.
Those days she spent in the damp, filthy underground.
The moments when rats fell on her head or when she groaned from being scratched by sharp walls wouldn't leave her mind.
Her pride, built up over a lifetime, was still unbroken and waiting for the moment of revenge.
As she hesitated, grinding her teeth inwardly, her steps slowed, and Leius urged her from behind.
"What's wrong? Hurry up and go in."
"Ugh, urk!!"
Karin's body instinctively shrank at the sound of Leius's voice from behind.
She hadn't given up on revenge.
But the memory of being helplessly dragged underground was deeply etched in her heart.
Every time she heard the word "prison" or saw Leius, her body would curl up like a spinal reflex.
"Hoo..."
Meanwhile, King Germis, who had barely sat on the throne, took a deep breath and caught his breath.
As King Germis was catching his breath, Karin, who had joined the group, glanced sideways and said:
"...Where's Elang?"
"He left."
"...What?"
Once again, it was Meria who answered.
Meria, the only one who had watched Elang leave, gave a short answer and immediately closed her mouth.
Meanwhile, King Germis, having caught his breath, barely lifted his heavy head and looked around.
Seeing the pathetic faces that were far too inadequate to be called a fighting force, King Germis squeezed his eyes shut.
He had called them all to discuss future matters, but what could he possibly discuss with these people?
If only that damned Elang had stayed, it would have been better.
"As you all know, due to the ongoing war and the Hero Coins, the kingdom is now facing an unprecedented crisis."
He had called everyone to discuss this matter.
It wasn't just King Germis who found his own words ridiculous.
He, as well as the chancellor, ministers, and knights gathered here, all harbored the same doubt.
What could they do now?
As everyone kept their mouths shut in a situation where even a superhuman would be helpless, there was one tactless person who dared to open his mouth.
"Um..."
"...What is it?"
When Kim Yeomjin cautiously raised his hand as if he wanted to say something, Germis coldly responded.
"If you have something to say, say it."
"...What are Hero Coins?"
"Shut your mouth!!!"
And he immediately regretted it.
Germis lost his temper and shouted, veins popping on his neck.
Of course, Kim Yeomjin was innocent of everything else, but not when it came to Hero Coins.
However, even though Germis knew this fact, he didn't want to hear anything about Hero Coins from his mouth.
When Hero Kim Yeomjin first came to the kingdom, he was far from a polite guest even in the loosest sense.
He had laid hands on Germis's concubine, and if that wasn't enough, he had used royal property for his own luxury without permission.
He was largely responsible for the kingdom's poor front-line situation compared to other countries.
If he had been an ordinary noble instead of the Hero, his head would have flown off ten times over.
The only reason he could keep his life was because he was the Hero chosen by God.
The reason he was still alive now was that he still had some useful value.
"Let me make this clear right now!! You're not alive because you have any merit!!! If you want to keep your life, watch that vulgar mouth of yours!!"
Now that the power that no one could approach was gone, Kim Yeomjin was nothing more than a mere criminal.
As if trying to engrave this firmly in his mind, Germis shouted, his body shaking:
"If I had my way, I'd tear you limb from limb, cut off your head, and hang it in the marketplace right now!!!"
"Hii, hiiik...!!!"
"Your Majesty... We didn't gather here to discuss such things."
As Kim Yeomjin was shrinking back in terror, the chancellor stepped in to stop him.
Seeing him looking as if he might die, blood spurting from every hole in his body, anyone would have felt compelled to stop Germis.
"...And isn't Your Majesty's anger due to that other matter?"
"...That's right. That damned bastard, I told him to subjugate the bandits, and he dares to do such a thing?"
Germis glared as if looking at the person he referred to as "that."
"...Did Sir Elang do something wrong?"
When the Holy Saint Alencia, who didn't know the situation, cautiously asked, Germis and the chancellor frowned deeply and kept their mouths shut.
Strictly speaking, Elang hadn't done anything wrong. It was something worthy of praise, but it completely deviated from Germis's intentions.
Did someone tip him off? And that maid...
That maid who went with Elang.
I will definitely kill that maid!!
Vowing this, Germis recalled the report from earlier.