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Chapter 10
At the sound of the gunshot, several people collapsed where they stood. A few children who had been close to Vivian burst into tears.
“H-huaaaang! Mom…”
The child squeezed her eyes shut, wailing as she called for her mother. The mother patted the child’s back.
“It’s okay. It’s okay, Sara. Sister Rosia isn’t dead. Look over there.”
Following her calm words, the child caught sight of Vivian, still alive and unharmed, and her crying finally subsided.
White smoke rose from the muzzle of the revolver that had fired the bullet, then quickly dissipated. Everyone had expected blood to splatter. But once again, the trigger pulled by the governor had not claimed anyone’s life.
In the stunned silence born of shattered expectations, Vivian slowly lifted her head.
The dazzling sunlight forced her to lower her gaze again, but in that brief instant, Vivian saw it clearly—the man’s eyes curved beautifully as he slipped the revolver back into his coat.
The bullet that had pierced through the wooden cuffs constricting Vivian’s wrists lodged itself in the stone floor. Vivian slowly rotated her wrist, now scratched and scraped by splintered wood.
Everyone had expected the third bullet to blow the prisoner’s head apart.
“The truth is, what this woman said is correct.”
However, the governor, who had instead shattered the prisoner’s shackles, calmly turned his back on the silence he himself had created. The smile Vivian had seen was already gone. Wearing a solemn expression, the governor addressed the people of the kingdom surrounding the execution grounds.
“None of my belongings were stolen, and this woman simply wished to find her lost younger sibling. Her crime of daring to enter the governor’s office does not disappear, but it is clear that the reason she lost her sibling lies with the Trahaput Empire.”
“Your Excellency!”
Vivian stared blankly at the man’s back. The Empire had never spoken this way before, so this admission of their own wrongdoing felt strangely unfamiliar to her.
“We may have had a just cause, but—”
At the governor’s declaration that the prisoner was telling the truth, murmurs spread through the crowd, left speechless. Werner and Herald, who assisted the governor, exchanged equally bewildered glances.
After smoothing his wind-tossed hair, the governor opened his palm and gestured toward Vivian, who still had not managed to stand behind him.
“It is also true that we caused such harm.”
“Your Excellency, what is this—”
“Even if it takes time, I will set things right.”
Despite Werner’s attempts to stop him, the governor continued speaking in a calm tone from atop the platform.
“I will begin by sparing this woman, who has committed an unforgivable crime, and helping her search for her sibling. Trust me—and follow me.”
The governor stepped toward Vivian, who was staring at nothing in a daze.
When his words finally settled in her foggy mind and she understood their meaning, tears burst forth along with the overwhelming relief of having survived. With reddened eyes, Vivian looked up at him. He gave a glance to the soldier standing guard beside the still-collapsed Vivian.
“Help her up.”
The soldier, who had been standing still, unsure of what was meant, only moved after the governor’s words fell. Just minutes ago, he had kicked Vivian to the ground and struck the back of her head. Unable to disobey his superior’s order, he grabbed Vivian’s arm with an annoyed expression and yanked her up.
“Ugh.”
A small groan escaped her lips, but neither the governor nor the soldier paid her any heed. The governor had already turned back to address the crowd around the execution grounds, and the soldier had never been one to care about Vivian’s well-being in the first place.
Once she was on her feet, pain shot through her injured ankle, but held firmly by the rigid soldier, Vivian had no choice but to remain standing.
“So I hope that what happened yesterday will never happen again.”
As if his words alone could truly change this wretched life, the governor issued a gentle warning to the kingdom’s people, who were gazing at him with eyes glittering as though they had seen a ray of light.
“I sincerely hope you will not betray the mercy I have shown.”
In contrast, the imperial soldiers surrounding the execution grounds and the leadership on the platform, including Werner, exchanged unsettled looks.
“The Kingdom of Rosetea fell long ago. This land belongs to the Empire. Any act that goes against this will be deemed rebellion.”
“……”
“This includes acts of terror directed at me and the governor’s office.”
At the governor’s firm words, several of the gathered kingdom’s people flinched.
“Rebellion will be met with severe punishment, so think carefully before you act.”
He said this as he swept his gaze across the faces turned toward him.
Forget the fallen kingdom and obediently follow me, and you will be rewarded. Do otherwise, and you will face punishment befitting your defiance.
It was the declaration of Rosetea’s new master—the beautiful governor.
“Is it really necessary to go on an inspection?”
Werner said as he burst through the door of the governor’s office. After noticing Hemmel’s displeasure, he immediately bowed his head.
Shattered sunlight spilled in and struck the nib of the pen Hemmel was holding. Hemmel slowly lifted his head. Seeing Werner standing beyond the partition despite not having been granted permission, he raised an eyebrow.
“Why are there so many people who feel the need to argue with my decisions?”
Rising from his seat, Hemmel passed Werner and sat down at the table beyond the partition.
“Sit.”
Seated at the place of honor, Hemmel gestured with his chin to the seat on his left. Werner silently pulled out the chair, sat where indicated, and spoke first.
“Colonel, do we really need to go on this inspection?”
Once again, Hemmel’s eyebrow twitched. After the chaos following the speech had finally settled, he had announced his intention to conduct an inspection.
The fight with the masked intruders, and the disposition of the suspicious and audacious woman who had ransacked the governor’s office—Hemmel, as governor, had been living through relentlessly busy days.
“We need to understand the reasons for their resistance if we want to prevent further rebellions.”
“Surely you don’t intend to actually improve the treatment of those vermin?”
“Yes.”
“Colonel!”
Werner raised his voice.
“Captain Werner, I truly don’t understand why this decision is meeting such fierce opposition. You’re the fifth person today to come here about it.”
It wasn’t even past noon, yet already five people had come to the governor’s office. And how many more were there who didn’t even have the standing to come?
Hemmel tapped the table lightly with his fingertips.
A few days ago, in the midst of putting down the unrest, a witch had come to see him. She claimed that a member of the Rosetea royal family—the princess, Vivian Rosetea—that woman, was definitely still alive.
Raised as the First Prince of the Trahaput Empire that ruled the continent, Hemmel had been taught the virtues of a wise ruler—how to govern those beneath him, and how to take responsibility for the people’s livelihood.
His resolve to kill that accursed bloodline remained unchanged. He had no intention of forgiving those who had driven his mother to her death. However, his targets for revenge were the Rosetea royal family, not the common people of the Kingdom of Rosetea.
In fact, weren’t they in the same position as his mother?
Now that the kingdom had been subjugated, its people were part of the Empire as well. And he was a man destined to become a crown prince who cherished the people of his nation.
“Fifteen years.”
“Pardon?”
“Fifteen years. It’s been fifteen years since the Trahaput Empire established a governor’s office here and began ruling this land.”
Hemmel stared intently at Werner, who looked back at him with a foolish expression. Just as he was about to continue, there came two soft knocks.
“Your Excellency, this is Minister of the Interior Herald. May I come in?”
“Come in.”
With Hemmel’s permission, Herald entered carefully and immediately noticed the two men already seated.
“Captain Werner, did you perhaps already speak to His Excellency?”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
Werner lifted his chin. After asking Hemmel for permission with his eyes to sit across from Werner, Herald took a seat with a sigh.
“Your Excellency, I am in favor.”
“In favor?”
“Yes. Of going on the inspection. I heard that opposing opinions were being conveyed to you one after another, so I hurried here.”
“Hah!”
Werner snorted loudly.
“I am opposed! There’s no reason for Your Excellency to concern yourself with those vermin. Sparing that girl who dared enter the governor’s office was already bad enough. If this continues, I fear the Empire’s prestige will suffer.”
The “girl who entered the governor’s office” that Werner referred to was the golden-haired woman Hemmel had spared. Something that should have been dealt with on the spot, yet she had lived because of his decision.
At her mention, Hemmel’s thick lashes lowered.
That woman was strange. Her golden hair and golden eyes stirred a peculiar sense of déjà vu, and it bothered him that she was rumored to be timid despite having dared to sneak into the governor’s office to find her sibling.
‘Her name was… Rosia, wasn’t it?’
That night, the woman who had searched through the governor’s desk and the documents posted on the walls behind the partition had not lost that strange light in her eyes even in the face of death—timid hardly fit her.
Bold would be more accurate.
Hemmel, who had been tapping the table and smirking, slowly opened his eyes.
“Then what is it that you want, Captain Werner?”
Though he had no official engagement, Hemmel’s uniform was impeccably worn, and the insignia on his chest tilted slightly along with his slouched posture.
“Let us make an example of her. Impose severe punishment on that girl, Colonel. The inspection should come after that.”
