136 – 28. Absolute power
Power.
The power to manipulate others as one pleases, and the power to dominate and manipulate others──
“It’s a little different.”
── Many people think that.
Kim Eun-ha, the princess of the Korean Empire’s imperial family who enjoys the highest level of power, had slightly different thoughts.
“Power is a convenient power.”
“That’s right, princess.”
“The fact that you can treat me so comfortably is part of power. .”
“……Yes, yes.”
Kim Eun-ha and Continue a light(?) Conversation across a table.
For Kim Eun-ha, who gave up the race for the throne and declared political neutrality, Is her only political ally and ally.
The orange hair that has become scattered due to lack of care, the hoodie that is somewhat stained, and the jeans that have become baggy due to how much they have been worn.
The dictator was truly a man who lived as he pleased.
He was also a person with enough ‘power’ to allow it.
Because he was the head of the dark department.
“Aren’t you going to work today?”
“…The subordinates do all the work anyway, so why should I bother? In fact, since I don’t touch them, the subordinates definitely follow me.”
“It must be difficult to manage your subordinates.”
“Don’t worry, we’re doing enough weeding out.”
One of the three consuls of the imperial family, .
She commands all the shadow departments except those under the direct control of the emperor, and has stronger real power than the other consuls Or .
Unlike the , Who was in charge of the court, and the , Who had police powers, the Shadow Department, which specialized in assassinations, kidnappings, threats, and appeasement, had a slight chance of launching a coup and succeeding.
For this reason, the position of consul in charge of the secretariat was often vacant. Although she has taken over that position now.
“Anyway, Princess, why did you call me to talk? Why don’t we get to the point now?”
“……As I said before, I think power is the power of convenience.”
“Huh?”
Power. If you think about it, it is a somewhat abstract power.
It is also power for superiors to control subordinates, it is power to receive money in return, and it is power to be considered by others. There are as many people as there are people who want power, but do they really know what power is?
Actually, it was a somewhat useless idea. Even if you don’t know how power is defined, there is no problem in wielding it.
But right now, it was a pretty important issue for Kim Eun-ha.
This is because I thought that the best way to secure the hand of ‘him’, who was already legally married, was to show a taste of power.
‘It’s okay to love me because of my power. It’s okay to be corrupted by power and lose your reason. There’s no problem with causing accidents to keep power out of your hands.’
As a result, Namgoong Min, if he loves her.
Because there was no problem.
Although Kim Eun-ha herself did not notice it, her values and thoughts were gradually changing after she regained
.
“People with power can live a comfortable life without having to think about things in a complicated way. If there’s something you want, you can say it, and if there’s something you want to have, you can say the same. It’s a good life.”
“…What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”
“And what should we do to give power to a fortune teller who has lived a life without ties to power?”
“……Wait a minute, no way.”
The dictator who was listening to Kim Eun-ha’s words soon hardened.
It was the exact opposite reaction from Kim Eun-ha, who had a bright smile.
“Are you telling me to do the fortune teller’s favor for Namgoong Min?”
“To be exact, it’s one of the back boats. Because my brother’s power will be the main one.”
“No, is there any reason for me to get involved? The shadow department must show political neutrality as much as its characteristics. If you look after Namgoong Min here—─”
“Political neutrality went astray when I went along with my brother’s surprise attack.”
“……….”
If Ambu really wanted to maintain political neutrality, she would not have assisted the dictator in suppressing the emperor’s faction.
Of course, if you say that the princess who the dictator serves is involved, you can take care of the cause.
Just looking at it, Kim Eun-ha didn’t seem to have any intention of using it just as an excuse.
“…Are you trying to combine forces?”
“By the way, there isn’t a single consul on your brother’s side, right? Even if that person is a dictator, it’s very reassuring.”
“There will be a lot of criticism. There will be a lot of noise even within the imperial family. It is for no reason that His Majesty, with so much imperial power, did not attract me and Ambu from his power and remained neutral.”
“I know.”
“Even though I know all that…”
“……….”
“…Is that fortune teller named Namgoong Min your priority?”
If she, who is truly a consul, joins the prince’s faction, her imperial family’s political battle will virtually come to an end.
Since the emperor also lost to the prince, there is no fool in the imperial family who would want to disobey Prince Kim Seong-il, who has seven ministers and a dictator under his command.
Of course, it is a method with strong side effects.
If it was a reason to push for something that didn’t need to be done, there was at least one thing that came to mind.
The princess she serves always looks at her with her honey-dripping eyes…… A fortune teller.
Kim Eun-ha smiled like a flower blooming at the dictator’s guess.
“This is why I like quick-witted people.”
“……….”
“Will you cooperate…?”
*
What is it?
What is this?
“This is Chateau Pontet Canet. Why don’t you quench your thirst?”
“How did you know I was thirsty? Thank you.”
“Additional dishes have been served.”
“I never told you this…?”
“I’m sorry. I added this dish after seeing Namgoong Min’s eating pace. Shall we put it away?”
“No, no. I just wanted to eat more, so it turned out well.”
“I will replace the tablecloth.”
“Yes?”
“It seemed like you were concerned about the stains here from earlier.”
“Okay, thank you.”
I was just hungry after talking with Kim Eun-ha.
I didn’t say a word, but I was frankly appalled when I entered the room with a perfectly prepared high-end course meal.
Afterwards, even when eating, about two maids were there exclusively to take care of anything I felt uncomfortable or needed.
Even if you never verbally ask for it, they bring you drinks, dishes you want more of, and clean up uncomfortable places.
At the same time, I try not to look or talk too much and don’t feel burdened by having to eat while standing in the back, out of my line of sight.
Is this an imperial meal?
…… Now that I think about it, there’s something I’m curious about.
“Excuse me, how much does this food cost?”
“Currently, Namgoong Min is a distinguished guest of the royal family, so there is no need to worry.”
“It’s just a personal interest.”
“In that case… The total cost of the course meal and wine you ate would be about 2.3 Million won.”
“Thank you.”
One meal costs 2.3 Million won, 2.3 Million won……
‘Not much.’
The 30 billion won that Lily Whiterose paid in the first semester is enough money to last for over 10 years even if she eats this type of meal every time.
Considering the artifacts given to him as a gift by Rio, even that 30 billion is the price of gum.
…… I feel like something is destroying my sense of money, but I can’t help it.
From Noble mtl dot com
‘The debt already borrowed from Liu is over 1 trillion won.’
1 Trillion, 1 trillion, 1 trillion.
I understand why people react sensitively to money worth tens of millions or hundreds of millions of won, but become insensitive to money worth hundreds of billions or trillions.
It’s just that if the unit is too big, it doesn’t feel real.
‘How long have I been here now?’
I roughly remember that it was about 100 billion won, including the fortune and other money.
It’s definitely an overwhelming amount of money, but all you can do with it is buy one more copy of .
So, for 1 trillion, there are 10 …… Is it worth paying back? The more I think about it, the more I feel like I’m falling into a swamp.
Well, Liu is not urging me to pay the debt, and of course I have no intention of taking too much money, so let’s pay it off slowly.
Can you at least threaten me with that?
“Hmm…”
“Here it is.”
“…Thank you.”
I didn’t say a word, but I immediately opened the quest window while wiping my mouth with the handkerchief that was in my hand.
To be exact, the ‘reward’ I received this time.
There is a saying that absolute power corrupts absolutely.
What about you?
* You can influence the power of characters whose favorability rating is ‘Best Friend’ or higher.
* Instead of a drop in favorability, you can use the faction as you wish.
* If your affinity is ‘Lifelong Companion’, you can use the force as you wish.＞
Honestly, it’s a bit…… It was a mysterious skill.
‘What does it mean to have power at your disposal?’
If you interpret it the way it is, it means that I can also use the forces of Rio or Lucas, characters who are more likeable than my best friend, right?
But isn’t that still the case?
There has never been a time when we did not receive help from companies under the great wealth, the Arthur family, or the imperial family………
Hmm………
Uh…………
…… There isn’t any? This is a dog-killing skill.
When I think about what happened so far, I did it on my own or received help from Rio, Lane, Lucas, etc., But I never received help from a powerful force.
But now I can do whatever I want?
Let’s try an experiment.
‘Perhaps one of Kim Seong-il or Kim Eun-ha is more likeable than a best friend?’
I don’t know about Kim Eun-ha, but Kim Seong-il will definitely become her best friend. Maybe.
Okay then.
General skill .
“Excuse me.”
“Please speak.”
“[Can you please bring me 100 billion right now?]”
“I understand.”
…… Huh? Immediate answer?
For a moment, I was embarrassed for asking the question because the answer came without a single thought.
The maid who left the room came back in less than a minute carrying about five heavy briefcases.
It must be painful to ask what’s inside.
‘100 Billion…… You’re giving it to me right away?’
It seems like Rio’s sense of money is paralyzed, but even for Rio, 100 billion is a lot of money. And unlike Liu, whose assets are all her own, a prince or princess would naturally use imperial assets.
It is possible to withdraw 100 billion won from the imperial assets, which are public funds, and give it directly to a fortune teller, but it is possible, but it could face a big political backlash.
You are solving this at the maid level without reporting it to the prince or princess?
Is this called “Absolute power”?
“…Where is this money?”
“Of course it’s the imperial treasury.”
“You said you just took what was there?”
“Because it was Namgoong Min’s order.”
Just as Showed abilities at the level of time reversal, Was a subspace movement, and Was at the level of reality manipulation.
Was actually a skill similar to mental control.
Even though there is a limitation of ‘limited to the power of characters with a certain level of favorability’, it is a powerful skill that can truly order anything.
That’s why.
“……………….”
“Nam Goong Min?”
“…It’s nothing. Please put it back.”
“Yes.”
…… It was also a fairly unpleasant skill for me.
Is it because the act of manipulating the minds of others with a single word is similar to what a certain pseudo-bastard used to do?
It’s something I’ve done countless times, but I felt uncomfortable manipulating others in the name of skill.
‘The fortune teller…… ‘I don’t manipulate others.’
It just leads to the outcome the fortuneteller intended.
It was also something said by a cult that he hated.
‘Put this skill on hold for now.’
The maximum number of general skills in Is 2.
There is no problem with As it is an additional skill, but I already have And , So I have to give up one to get .
[Time remaining until skill decision: 5 days, 23 hours, 43 minutes]
As if to tell you to decide leisurely, you are given time to use all three skills, but after the given week has passed, you must discard one of the three.
…… And you won’t be able to get that skill again. Because it was impossible to re-acquire a skill once acquired.
‘Let’s think carefully.’
Even though I trembled for a moment due to the effects of , I finished eating and wiped my mouth with my handkerchief again.
Immediately after that, I inadvertently burst into laughter when I saw the dessert being prepared as if I had been waiting for it.
‘Power is a good thing.’
It’s really convenient even if you’re just having a meal.
What I want is ready right away, and the dessert that comes out right now is coffee ice cream that I don’t know how it knew I liked it.
It’s similar to the treatment I received when I went to the airport with Rio in the past, but much better.
If this is all I can do to eat, how convenient would it be in everyday life?
I felt like I could understand why those in power are corrupt and corrupt.
But, there was one thing Namgoong Min didn’t know.
“…What are the special features of the distinguished guest?”
“Nothing special yet, but strangely enough, I feel like I’m used to the gaze.”
“Familiar?”
“Rather than a gaze, she seems very accustomed to secretly watching or watching. The guest of honor is obviously an ordinary , But is she being watched as a voyeur or something?”
“…It is not a matter for us to get involved in. This is the order of His Excellency the dictator, so that all secret parts of the imperial family should keep an eye on the distinguished guest.”
“Yes.”
One of the conditions for those in power is that one must get used to being looked at.
Namgoong Min, who has already been trained through numerous background investigations and surveillance, is the perfect talent for that.
He was the only one who didn’t know.