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Chapter 14
It was clearly different from when the place had been empty.
Perhaps it was because of the unprecedented incident in which the governor’s office had been infiltrated; security had been tightened even further.
In any case, the sharp gazes of the guards densely stationed throughout the building never left Vivian.
Now I see why they just let it go.
With security like this, even without Angela and the male soldier, they would know exactly where Vivian was and what she was doing at all times.
After a brief body search, a large door opened before her.
“This way.”
Following the guide, Vivian passed through the reception room and reached the inner conference room. The seat at the far end of the long table seemed to be hers. She stood demurely for a moment before finally lifting her head—only to find it difficult to meet the frost-edged eyes staring back at her, and she quickly lowered her gaze again.
“I greet His Excellency the Governor.”
Even after all this time, he was a man whose face seemed to shine. A straight forehead, a sculpted nose bridge, and sharp eyes combined into a near-perfect visage.
Vivian decided to simply call this nameless man Pheron Edwin for now. She could change it later once she learned his true name.
Holding her breath, she waited for him to speak first. The governor was staring intently at her. No one uttered a word; the conference room was wrapped in silence. After leaving her standing there for a while, he finally opened his mouth.
“It’s been a while.”
It was a brief greeting, but Vivian’s mind raced furiously.
They were not close enough to exchange pleasantries.
“There’s no need to be that tense. I told you before—I’d let you live.”
“……”
“Sit.”
He gestured toward the end of the long table. From that seat, the governor seemed impossibly far away—beyond more than ten officials seated between them.
If they hadn’t been facing each other, she wouldn’t even have been able to see the tips of his shoes. And yet she was supposed to figure out his identity?
At the sudden memory of her captain’s order, she barely managed to suppress a sigh.
“For what reason did you summon me?”
“Watch your mouth! It’s your place to answer quietly when the lieutenant colonel asks you something!”
The suffocating silence was unbearable. She wanted to get straight to the point, but Werner, inexplicably bristling with anger, barked at her instead.
What is wrong with him?
Vivian bowed deeply toward Werner. She couldn’t trust herself to manage her expression while apologizing to someone she felt like shredding to pieces.
“I’m planning to go on an inspection.”
The governor, who had been watching Vivian with interest, spoke again, cutting through the silence.
“An inspection… you say?”
“Yes. And I’d like you, Miss Rosia, to serve as my guide.”
At the unexpected words, Vivian briefly widened her eyes like a startled rabbit and looked up at Pheron Edwin. But she quickly lowered her gaze again—Werner might seize on anything to hurl more abuse.
She was used to insults by now, but she was still human; she had no desire to smile sweetly while being cursed at.
“May I ask the reason?”
“This insolent wench—!”
“Captain Werner.”
As expected, the governor stopped the incoming insult.
“There’s a reason for everything. If you curse at her like that, how is it any different from before?”
Different from before?
Vivian pricked up her ears at their exchange.
“But, Lieutenant Colonel—”
“I thought this was already settled at the previous meeting.”
“Yes, but sparing her life, going on an inspection, and allowing a citizen of the kingdom to address Your Excellency so freely are clearly separate matters!”
Werner glared wildly as he pointed at Vivian.
“She dares to ask for reasons! In the governor’s own office, no less!”
Pheron calmly watched the seething Werner, resting his chin on one hand and tilting his head lazily.
“Captain Werner, I understand your position.”
“……”
“Is there anyone who agrees with him?”
Most of the officials seated around the long table cautiously raised their hands—and soon, every single one of them did. It seemed that the impudent woman who dared to speak to the governor was enough to offend the pride of these haughty officials.
The governor let out a shallow laugh and pointed toward the reception room Vivian had just passed through.
“Then I’d like all of you to leave.”
“Your Excellency—”
“What is the meaning of this—”
“For such a trivial reason—”
Despite the flood of complaints, he remained firm.
“So, to you, punishing a single citizen of the kingdom is more important than obeying my order not to interfere?”
“……”
“I said leave. What are you waiting for?”
His voice carried a chill, like a winter steeped in blue.
Herald, seated to the governor’s right, rose first. After giving a respectful bow to Pheron and leaving, the officials on the right followed him with reluctant expressions. The military officials seated along the left side of the table couldn’t withstand the governor’s stern presence and stood as well.
Left alone, Werner seemed ready to explode in protest, but since he was already half-standing, the governor personally dragged him out of the office.
“That was an unsightly display.”
After easily chasing out Werner—who had stubbornly planted his feet and refused to leave—like disciplining a child, he straightened his rumpled shirt cuffs and sat back down in the seat of honor.
“I’ll say it again.”
Even after driving out all his subordinates, he looked no different from before.
Judging by the flow of the conversation, it seemed the governor had pushed through the decision to spare her life. Even if he calculated that it would reduce resistance from the kingdom’s citizens, it couldn’t have been an easy choice.
“I’m going on an inspection. I want you to be my guide.”
“Do I, by any chance, have the authority to refuse?”
Vivian adjusted her posture. A man who steadfastly pursued what he believed was right, regardless of opposition.
“Do you think you do?”
On the night she infiltrated the governor’s office, he had completed his calculations in an instant beyond that partition and pressured her. And what was the result?
The citizens of the kingdom, hoping their lives might change after seeing a benevolent governor. And as a result, Vivian now received cold stares from those who had grown sympathetic toward the Empire.
The longer she survived, the more praise the governor would receive from the people.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t need to be kind to you, Rosia.”
In an instant, his demeanor changed—just like that night when he had aimed his gun at her from above.
Unconsciously, Vivian fiddled with the silver bracelet on her left wrist.
Those eyes that had forced her to spill the truth without hesitation now pinned her down sharply.
“You are under my jurisdiction—yes, a mere woman.”
He paused briefly, choosing his words, then smiled lightly. Vivian’s lips, which she had forced upward, trembled at the excessive insult.
“I’m sorry, but I’m neither an employee of the governor’s office nor a soldier of the Empire.”
“And?”
“So isn’t it unreasonable to say that I’m under Your Excellency’s jurisdiction?”
She traced the engraved rose on the bracelet with her fingertips. Her heart was pounding violently, as if she had just sprinted at full speed, and this was the only way she could calm herself.
“Do you think that distinction means anything?”
“Yes. I think it does.”
At her trembling but resolute reply, he snorted. Suddenly standing, the governor began walking across the long table toward her.
“With a single word from me, you could become a noblewoman, or the wife of an official in the governor’s office—”
By the time he reached her, Vivian was already staring straight up at him. Then it happened—he seized her chin firmly.
She shook her head and grabbed at his hand, trying to pull it away, but his rough grip only tightened. The governor didn’t budge.
“Or you could become a tavern whore, selling your body with that pretty face.”
“……”
“Do you really think that distinction matters?”
Vivian glared at him with blazing fury. As he looked down at her flushed face, the corner of his mouth curled upward as if drawn.
“Let go.”
At her words, he readily released her chin, as though it were all a joke.
“So wouldn’t it be fair to say you’re a woman under my jurisdiction?”
An urge surged to punch that smirking face.
“Sir Herald said you were quite clever, but seeing you in person, I’m not so sure.”
Instead of returning to his seat of honor, the governor pulled out the chair to the left of Vivian’s seat at the end of the table and sat down.
“Did you ask earlier why I was going on this inspection?”
“……Yes. I did.”
“I’m curious what exactly the citizens of the kingdom are dissatisfied with that makes them commit acts of terror.”
“Terror?”
At that word, Vivian’s throat tightened. So this is what you call our struggle to survive.
“Yes. We brought advanced technology to a backward country and made it a more livable place. Of course, there must have been some… friction in the process. But was it enough of a loss to warrant terrorism?”
The arrogant governor spoke of things he had never personally experienced. He had no idea how much blood and tears were packed into those two syllables—friction.
“They should be grateful, if anything.”
She barely managed to suppress a hollow laugh at the word grateful.
“And there’s one more thing you seem to be mistaken about—there’s no such thing as a choice for you.”
“……”
“This is an order.”
Fine. If anything, this worked out.
She had needed to uncover the identity of this nameless governor anyway, and she’d been at a loss as to how to approach him. She would think of this as him helping her mission.
And while she was at it, she would make sure to show this arrogant man exactly how the “minor friction” he spoke of had been an enormous catastrophe for the people who actually lived through it.
