138 – 28. Absolute Power
The inside of the emperor’s office was surprisingly ordinary.
Of course, it meant that it was ordinary for an ’emperor’s’ office.
“I’ll listen.”
“…You also drink instant coffee.”
“Just because he’s an emperor doesn’t mean he drinks only luwak every day.”
“There are also traces of construction on the floor.”
“You probably know that down here is my daughter’s private room. A fortune teller was running rampant, so I had no choice but to break the floor and jump in.”
I drank instant coffee from a high-quality ceramic cup, and the chair was made of high-quality cowhide leather, but the table was an ordinary wooden table.
Rather than saying it was placed that way on purpose, it doesn’t seem to be too much about luxury itself.
However, that did not mean the emperor was frugal.
‘You can have everything you want anyway, so why not be obsessed with luxury items?’
It is natural that the more powerful and wealthier a person is, the more obsessed he or she is with luxury goods, but the emperor is the pinnacle of the wealthy class.
To him, who can have anything, whether high-quality or low-class, with just a word, this or that seems like fifty or a hundred steps.
What happened before he reached that position?
After looking for a moment at the portrait of the Empress that the Emperor had hung on the wall, I opened my mouth.
“I heard you can see the future.”
“…It was like that from the beginning.”
“Really?”
It was simply considered a ‘rumor’ within the imperial castle.
The emperor showed such insight into the future that such absurd rumors circulated, and everyone in the imperial palace had complete faith in him.
‘I guess that’s where the oppressor’s confidence came from.’
If he really could see the future or had that level of insight, there would be no reason for him to lose against a young prince.
But at least in this case, the emperor did not show much ability.
That means he does not have enough insight to predict the future.
At the same time, it means that even if you can see the future, you cannot see it when you want.
“Have you already come to a conclusion in your mind?”
“……………….”
“You’re in bad taste, knowing that you’re asking this.”
“Answer me.”
“……Ha. Hearing those words made my defeat seem very bitter. I, the emperor of the Korean Empire, could not believe I heard such words from a mere fortune teller.”
“Isn’t it inevitable that you were fooled by a mere fortune teller?”
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not belittling you or ignoring you. I’m just… Scared.”
“………?”
“Well, I have to answer. That’s right, I can know the future.”
“…I see.”
“To be more precise, listening would be the correct word.”
Listen to the future.
That means.
“Do you know? A being with cracks all over its body, whispering in my ear.”
“………!!”
“Looking at your reaction, I guess you know. Don’t answer in particular. Didn’t I tell you yesterday?”
──Even if we want to talk about what we know, it is not the time yet. If we say it now, it won’t be surprising if our heads explode.
“So, cluck.”
The emperor, who was fine, suddenly vomited blood.
The emperor coughed harshly and spat out red blood, and his expression hardened as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth as if he was used to it.
“What I just did…!”
“Don’t worry too much. This is a cheap restriction.”
“Restrictions…?”
“Instead of listening to the future, don’t mention its existence. Isn’t that a very profitable business?”
Cough.
The emperor spat out blood again and glared at me.
It meant that we could not communicate beyond this point, even physically.
“It’s a shame. If only I had found that diary…”
“A diary, you mean?”
“I can’t tell you the details. It can really make your head explode.”
“…Are you talking about something like this?”
“……Hmm?”
[
This is a sign of arrogance.
Traces of her trying to do whatever she wants with you. Traces of hypocrisy for your sake.
Keep it precious. Even if there is nothing to write about.
* Deflects mental interference from ???? Once. It disappears after use.]
During summer vacation, the day Jisoo interfered with my mind.
A diary containing the process of my being broken, which I received after solving a problem that almost made me an idiot.
I knew who gave me this diary and who wrote the explanation.
‘A being covered in cracks mentioned by the emperor.’
It must be him.
As soon as I took out the thin notebook from my pocket, the diary began to glow.
Charralalalak!
[ Is used.]
[Repels mental interference from ????!]
“This is…!!”
The diary spread out violently, emitting a strong light, and eventually it came out in a dome-like shape and covered the emperor.
A small dome spread out as if to protect me and the emperor.
The emperor, who confirmed this with trembling eyes, looked determined as if he had made up his mind.
“……The reason you advised me to find the diary.”
Kuung.
The dome is shaking.
There was no change in the office, but the dome was blocking something, as if there was something invisible to the eye.
And then, before long.
“This is a woman who opened a door and appeared out of thin air, introducing herself as ‘Namgoong Jisu.'”
Wow!!
It broke as if it couldn’t hold on any longer.
Was mentioning the name the biggest limitation?
As soon as the emperor said ‘Namgung Jisoo’, the dome broke, but contrary to the thoughts of the emperor with a hard expression, nothing happened to the two of us.
[Mental interference has been deflected! Will disappear!]
It’s just that my diary that opened the dome burned down and disappeared.
“Do you mean the door?”
“Do you know how surprised I was? I was in my office when a door suddenly appeared out of thin air and opened. I was speechless.”
“……………….”
“More than that, where did you get that diary?”
“I received it for some reason. It’s a diary I wrote.”
“Huh, my choice to search the slums was wrong from the beginning… I never would have thought you already had it.”
“…The name is.”
“The dome has already been broken, and the diary has been burned. You wouldn’t know it, but I can’t mention that name any more. She threatened to make my head explode if I mentioned it directly.”
“……………….”
“She referred to you as if you were very important. It was so amazing. Even though Namgoong Min, who looked exactly the same and had the same name, was kidnapped by me.”
“…How much do you know?”
“I don’t know anything. Just that I am called a usurper rather than a name?”
“Usurper…….”
“That being, Cough Cluck! I mentioned it.”
Usurper.
I think the cracked being we talked about during vacation also called Jisoo that way.
What on earth has Ji Soo usurped?
“……After.”
If I had to guess.
Repelled her sister’s interference.
Just now, the emperor put Namgung Jisoo in her mouth and her head almost exploded, but he saved it with his diary.
In other words, the ‘????’ In the description will be the Namgung index.
‘A being made of cracks, and the index.’
What on earth is the relationship between that unknown being and my damn sister?
It is contradictory that an unknown being gave me a diary to call it a cooperative relationship, and it is contradictory to say that it is an antagonistic relationship, as if we knew each other well.
More than anything, what on earth has Jisoo been through, and how can she interfere with her mind by living with such a being?
Still, I found out something.
‘Just as Manderick met, the Emperor met, and I met.’
First of all, Namgoong Jisoo is in this world.
And, because it came out of a door that appeared out of thin air.
‘I’m sure Jisoo is in the developer’s room.’
I was even sure where this guy’s younger sister was.
Finding it is another matter, but the important thing is that what was just a guess has become clear.
Of course, this did not end all conversations.
“There’s still more I need to hear.”
“You mean I kidnapped you? Oh, to be exact, I guess I kidnapped you again.”
“…That’s right.”
“It’s no big deal. That being…Cough, was what he said. Kidnap a fortune teller named Namgoong Min from the slums.”
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“Blood…”
“Don’t worry about this. To be honest, I didn’t know why after the kidnapping, but what was this? Do you know how surprised I was when I heard that another Namgoong Min showed up at the Romance Academy?”
“……………….”
“I immediately interrogated another Namgoong Min, but he didn’t say anything. Then, one time, he spoke loudly about a being who whispered the future in my ear.”
“Another me too, you mean?”
“Then I realized why I had asked him to be kidnapped. It was clear that he was no ordinary fortune teller. Still, he didn’t open his mouth until the end.”
The other me I met in a lucid dream was quite chatty.
Have you remained silent to the emperor?
…… If another me hadn’t opened my mouth during the continued interrogation.
“So you changed your target to me?”
“…Yes. That being whispered. On the first day of Chuseok, a fortune teller named Namgoong Min would come. That’s why I tried to get rid of you.”
“Have you not even considered capturing him alive?”
“It was another piece of advice from you.”
“……Yes?”
“I said I would tell you the whole truth if I killed you.”
What?
“Didn’t I tell you earlier that she cherished you very much?”
“……….”
“However, what she cherished was the Namgoong Min in front of me, not the Namgoong Min I kidnapped.”
…… That’s right.
Does Jisoo know about another me?
In the first place, what is the other me?
My head is complicated, but…… First.
“You’re hiding something.”
“…You’re really quick to notice. Is this a fortune teller?”
“I think you know quite a bit more about me.”
“……………….”
“What are you hiding? The other me—”
“──There’s only one thing I can say, fortune teller.”
When I made eye contact with the emperor, who reacted decisively, I inadvertently stopped speaking.
There is only one emotion visible in those eyes.
It was ‘longing.’
Because he desperately wanted something, he kept his mouth shut even as a loser.
…… What on earth do you want?
“Beware of the other one.”
“……………….”
“I won’t say anything anymore, even if my head explodes.”
Because I felt that it was a clear order to congratulate the guests and the emperor’s sincerity.
Instead of asking any more questions, I looked at him silently.
As if that was a satisfactory answer, the emperor raised the corners of his mouth.
“Of course we can’t end the conversation with this.”
“…Are you being unreasonable when you know that well?”
“If something comes, something must go.”
Because you listened to my insistence.
“I, too, am ready to hear as much of your stubbornness.”
“……It’s going to be quite expensive. It includes the cost of my life.”
“I’ll take it all, so.”
A sign of surrender, telling us not to ask any more questions.
I nodded quietly.
*
“It was a gamble.”
“Considering all that, he was robbed very cleanly of the imperial treasure, the position to be given to his son, the faction, and the money.”
“…Since that fortune teller came last night, he hasn’t come even though I called him so much.”
“……………….”
“Are you trying to say that I was stupid?”
“…The usurper.”
“……………….”
“That’s only as long as I do your favor.”
“Remember, someday I will slit your head off.”
“……Shameless guy.”
“With this…”
“Go away now.”
It’s unpleasant.
The being disappeared without any warning, just as it had when it appeared.
Only after the playful yet stern voice in his ears disappeared did the emperor fiddle with the promised item.
“Sky…”
The fortune teller also has feelings of guilt. Because he didn’t tell the whole truth to get what he wanted, mixed up lies, and deliberately let someone else go.
But the emperor also had something he desperately wanted.
I was willing to risk anything for him.
And, even for him.
“……Kim Ha-neul.”
The emperor’s eyes turned to someone’s photo on the table.
The revival of a concubine that even members of the imperial family are not familiar with.
The wife he loves more than anyone else and the royal family with the same name.
“The time is coming…….”
Below the carefully hung portrait of my wife.
The emperor sighed as he caressed the pure white skull, with only one piece remaining.
He closed his eyes for a moment and picked up the receiver.
Beep.
“It’s me. It’s time to keep your promise, Principal.”
“────”
“I’ve done everything you asked for. There will be no complaints, right?”
“───”
“What I want is exactly what I said the first time.”
“────”
“…Expel Kim Ha-neul from school.”
“The usurper has his eyes focused on me.”
“The arbitrator must have arrived at the academy as well.”
“Now, it’s your turn to move.”