Chapter 30
To me, this place looked utterly insignificant.
Corrupt officials united tightly among themselves, lazy commoners. Wasn’t this the South—a place with nothing done properly?
The land was vast for no reason, but it was all mountains, and the nobles of the South only played within the South since the capital was far away.
Like stagnant water in a puddle, like an isolated small island.
If it weren’t for the Crown Prince’s orders, I wouldn’t have bothered coming back to this trivial place.
Duke of the South, huh.
Wearing ill-fitting clothes felt like my whole body was tightly squeezed.
If only I could catch the murderer, I’d leave this place without any regrets.
Wasn’t that why I married Eileen?
She was a woman coveted by Hillias, the Duke of the North, suspected of murdering the Duke of the South.
A woman who ran away on her own from Hillias’s grasp.
The only person who knew Hillias well but refused to cooperate with him.
She must have known something, which is why she called off that marriage.
Otherwise, how could the Edgar family, who maintained friendly ties with the Duke of the North, have refused that marriage proposal?
There must be a reason she came down to the South.
Not just because she disliked him but for something deeper—at least, that’s what I thought.
But the more I observed Eileen up close, the more it seemed she genuinely wished for the revival of this place.
She had no interest in politics and purely enjoyed the attention of the people—an attention-seeker in the purest sense.
That was not so much suspicious or uncomfortable as it was…
“There’s something lovable about her.”
…What am I thinking right now?
Florian slightly shook his head, as if trying to dispel such distracting thoughts.
Meanwhile, at the residence of the administrator who had just kicked out Eileen and Florian earlier.
The administrator was busy drinking with guests he had invited to his mansion late into the night.
“Come to think of it, wasn’t there something really funny earlier?”
His awkward speech seemed to restrain the Southern accent on purpose.
He didn’t want the administrator who came from the East to call him “rustic.”
“What happened?”
“Don’t even mention it. Some couple—might have been lovers or who knows—came around claiming they were the Duke and Duchess of the South and begged to be let in for the night. So I told them, ‘If you two are dukes, then I’m the emperor!’ and chased them off.”
Everyone gathered around the table burst into loud laughter.
“The country’s in turmoil, so even street beggars pretend to be nobles, you see. These days, with riots and all sorts of disgraceful events, the worries are endless.”
The administrator from the East spoke, and another administrator who seemed his colleague chimed in.
“Everyone’s full, though. There’s never been such peace and prosperity. Those born noble dare challenge us—so they get punished by droughts and floods. Have there been no riots in the South yet?”
“Oh, as you know, even the street beggars act like they’re nobles. By the way, that woman looked scruffy but was really quite pretty. Her accent was definitely Eastern.”
“Ah, I heard many patients escaped from the Eastern mental hospital during the last riot. She might be one of them. You better catch her just in case.”
“But you said she was quite pretty?”
“Oh, you’re at it again. Anyways, that woman sure brightened the mood.”
“What did I do? I’m just worried and feel sorry for her. What if a pretty woman has gone crazy? Maybe a kind man like me embracing her could bring her back to her senses! Ha ha ha!”
“Hey, don’t cause trouble here for no reason.”
Then the Southern administrator rubbed his hands together like a fly and interrupted.
“Well, trouble? I’m the one holding this place tight. Ha ha. The Duke of the South has been neglecting his duties for a long time now. Thanks to that, I’m able to share joy like this with all of you.”
The Southern administrator curled his thumb and index finger into a circle—a gesture that seemed to indicate power—and gave a sly smile. The Eastern administrators smiled as well.
“There was a big guy beside that woman, but don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of all the arrangements. Ah ha ha ha.”
The administrators exchanged dirty looks among themselves.
Corrupt officials existed everywhere, but the current empire was especially filled with such people.
Wealth and honor had been inherited for far too long.
More people believed it was natural to monopolize all wealth and prestige for themselves rather than genuinely serve the people.
The emperor was not a tyrant who oppressed the people through harsh rule, but he was no wise ruler who cared for the people either.
He was simply someone lucky from birth.
He became emperor without particular hardships and later saw his heir grow up safely—a life completely uneventful.
If there were floods somewhere and people died or suffered,
“How can I manage this vast land? Don’t ask me this and that; handle it yourselves,”
he would say—a laissez-faire type.
Naturally, groups like these corrupt officials formed, living off the backs of the people.
They were one such group, profiting hugely through control of the distribution of agricultural products and various other goods cultivated in the South.
Administrators from the East who came down to the South to forge such alliances exchanged sleazy jokes with sinister smiles.
“I think this is the first time I’ve seen a crazy woman. What should we do? Should I just play along and say, ‘I’m the Duke of the South’?”
They laughed wickedly.
“By the way, have you seen the Duke of the South himself? Nobles say he’s a handsome man.”
“Pfft, he never shows up here. I’ve never seen him. For some reason, he always wears that iron mask, but suddenly started going around without it recently. We have a lot of rumors about that.”
“What rumors?”
“You know, the Duke of the South had a son. There’s a reason both the previous Duke wore an iron mask and his son followed suit.”
“I thought it was because of illness? Some say it’s leprosy; others say it’s a curse that makes his face burn red if exposed to sunlight.”
“Apparently, there’s another reason. The Duke who wore the iron mask had a reason why he couldn’t reveal his face.”
Everyone looked curious as the Southern administrator continued.
“Actually, there’s talk that the current Duke of the South isn’t really the son of the previous Duke.”
“Who would say such a thing?”
“Well, suddenly wearing the mask and then taking it off suggests that he’s not the son who inherited the same illness as his father.”
“Couldn’t the illness have been cured?”
“The timing is odd though. It just happened around the wedding, right after the Duchess of the South rejected the North Duke’s marriage proposal. There are rumors that the three are caught up in some sort of love triangle or political fight.”
The Eastern administrators nodded as if interested.
If this goes well, there might be some juicy scandal, they thought, then raised their glasses again.
