13 – 13. Bono
The person I wanted to recruit as my subordinate was a man named Bono.
He was now a former knight turned whistleblower.
His life had fallen into ruin.
To be honest, the word “ruin” seemed insufficient. When I asked Erica, who was close to him, to bring a junior knight and inquire about his current situation, it turned out to be quite tragic.
“Bonno, sir… Uh.”
“Speak comfortably.”
“Thank you. Do you know that my senior’s father is a non-commissioned officer? He’s already left the military. He could have received a pension if he served for just three more months… It must have been tough to endure.”
“I heard your older brother is also in the military.”
“I have a brother working at a trading company. He probably quit too. Among the shareholders of that trading company is Viscount Dryden, who happens to be part of the Third Princess’s faction. He’s someone who suffered a setback this time.”
Not only Bonno but even the lives of his family members were collapsing dramatically.
Considering the seriousness of the matter, it wasn’t an excessive reaction.
The lord, whom they served, involved in scandal, even falsely accusing and getting caught by the press.
Strictly speaking, Bonno should have been punished for the crime of lese majeste. It was only because Sienna, who was playing with him, didn’t give the signal that he didn’t step forward in the Royal Guards.
‘Bonno himself probably doesn’t even have the luxury to think he’s fortunate.’
Actively serving in the Imperial Guard and then collapsing overnight.
He not only lost his immediate job but also faced a dark future. No matter how excellent his skills were, without the support of Sienna and Cheokji, there was no one to rescue him.
However, there was something else that truly tormented Bonno.
“He seemed distressed because of the fact that he slandered the nobility due to his own delusions.”
“Not because he’s struggling with his situation?”
“Well, it seems like… I shouldn’t say it lightly, but it seemed like he even resorted to self-harm.”
“…”
It seemed like he had to live the rest of his life as someone who ‘fabricated lies’ haunted him.
Just by overhearing Sienna’s gossip, it was clear that he was a person without tact, full of righteousness. Even going to the Third Princess and confessing was probably something he did because he thought it was the right thing to do. But since it ended in a mistaken shooting, it could easily crumble.
Of course, I wasn’t sympathizing with Bonno out of pity.
I knew that if you could control humans of this type well, they could be more useful than stubborn ones. There was no class as vulnerable as those who believed in doing the right thing but failed.
I contemplated that vulnerability.
“Erica, please. I want you to pass this money to Bono.”
I requested while handing over 2,000 dollars to my junior.
An amount equivalent to the monthly salary of an ordinary worker living by the system.
It wasn’t a huge sum, but it wasn’t an amount to be ignored.
However, I didn’t just give it away; I attached a condition. “Never let it be known that I gave the money to Bono,” I said.
“…Not let it be known?”
“If possible, I don’t want my existence revealed. I want to help because we’re colleagues, but I don’t have the intention of officially sponsoring.”
I didn’t give such instructions for no reason.
At the moment, Bono was in an extremely isolated situation. It would be difficult for him to even go outside due to people’s stares, and there wouldn’t be anyone attempting to make friends deliberately with a guy marked by two imperial princesses. Practically confined like in a prison.
Amidst this, he received anonymous support. Could he just nonchalantly pass over it?
“Probably someone will try to find out who gave the money. They’d want to confirm that they still have an ally.”
This expectation wasn’t wrong.
The next morning, a junior whom I had sent on an errand visited my house with a composed expression, dragging an unwelcome guest behind.
That guest was, of course, Bono.
His already pitiful appearance seemed even more gaunt, and blood was even clotting on Burton’s lips.
Just by looking at his appearance, one could guess the suffering he had endured. Even his hair had thinned at a young age, perhaps due to stress… This was truly pitiable.
“I didn’t expect you to come all the way to my house.”
I looked at Bono with a feigned perplexity. In response, he couldn’t bring himself to continue speaking and lowered his head. He seemed tense, even trembling hands.
Up until now, everything went as expected.
What was unexpected was that there was another companion. A middle-aged man, who looked similar to Bono, was standing there, rubbing his hands together and looking in this direction.
“He is the person who becomes this guy’s older brother. … He wants to apologize along with his younger brother.”
I didn’t expect the guardian to come along, but I actually welcomed it.
The more attached someone is to their family, the easier they are to handle.
**
I sat facing the cornered Bono brothers.
“Allen, because of my mistake, I caused trouble for you and Her Highness…!”
Bono stuttered, trying to apologize, so I just stopped him. It was strange for him to apologize to me in the first place, since it was a mess caused by falling for my trap.
“No need for excuses.”
“Huh?”
“I understand why you pushed us away from the Third Princess. … You probably wanted to prevent us from revealing the secret conversation with the Empress. If such a thing had really happened, it would have caused anger not only to Siena, but also to everyone working at Thames Palace.”
Bono’s expression brightened slightly at my words.
I couldn’t forgive him to that extent. I wasn’t trying to save a ruined life; I needed someone I could use as a pawn.
“I’m really grateful that you understand.”
“No need to thank me. I only understand the motive.”
“….”
“You created outrageous conspiracy theories based on just a few circumstantial evidences. … I don’t know what kind of life you’ve lived to have such imagination, but even now, I can’t comprehend it. You could have cautiously asked me about it, couldn’t you?”
At my words, Bono quickly lost his composure again. His frequent mood swings were evidence that his mental state had collapsed.
“Then why did you have that secret conversation in the first place?”
“I bought them to calm down the rebellious slaves, as far as I know. Our lord has been showing interest in the slave business these days.”
“Oh.”
“But you baselessly associated the poison grass and the medicine for the empress with it. Do you really think Princess Siena is that foolish? To the extent of carrying poison directly to the empress and feeding her? She is not a fool.”
“…”
From Noble mtl dot com
“In the end, your conviction that your judgment is absolutely just and right brought about this situation.”
Stopping here, Bono looked at Bonu with a contemptuous gaze.
However, he didn’t forget to sigh to express his regret. That way, the guy’s self-blame would become even more poignant.
Whether it had any effect or not, Bono stared into the empty space with his mouth agape. His brother had the same expression of a lost world.
There’s no point in pressing further here.
Now, it was time to wait for Bono’s despair to ripen.
A dismal situation where even the lives of his family were ruined by his hasty judgment…
Even so, he had to admit that it had become difficult to sustain it by saying, “I did it with good intentions. There must be something.” Because for an internal whistleblower, there’s nothing more agonizing than the collapse of justification.
“Well then, what was it all for?”
Saying this, Bono finally began to sob aloud.
‘That should be enough.’
I judged that it was time and turned my gaze to Bono’s brother.
“You’re Bono’s brother, right?”
“…I’m Jacob. And feel free to speak comfortably.”
“Okay. It’s regrettable that even the family suffered, but there’s nothing we can do. It may sound harsh, but your brother should be confined to the guardhouse instead of being here. …I tried to stop it, but this was the limit.”
“Thank you for your efforts. It’s fortunate… hehehe.”
With a pure smile, Jacob sidled up to me.
His appearance seemed like a shrunken version of Bono—small stature, short arms and legs, and glasses.
He mentioned working at a trading company. Despite losing a decent job due to his younger brother, there seemed to be lingering camaraderie.
Thanks to him, my job was about to get a lot easier. Helping a kind person was a very natural thing to do.
After sympathizing with the unfortunate brothers, I slowly opened my mouth.
“I could pave the way for both of you to make a living. Just lend me a hand with my work.”
The brothers simultaneously looked at me.
I assigned them a simple errand.
It was a task to verify if they were friends who would be loyal to me in the future.
…
That evening.
The brothers returned to me with anxious expressions. Then, they laid down the items I had instructed them to bring.
Lime contained in a bag. It was one of the things I needed for the upcoming product manufacturing.
However, I hadn’t disclosed its purpose to them.
“It’s a matter of life and death. If you help me discreetly, your livelihood will be guaranteed.”
That’s how I had scared them. They probably associated the clues of ‘lime’ and ‘life’ with corpse burial or torture.
Yet, quietly carrying out what I had ordered? It meant they were prepared to compromise and make concessions to survive.
In reality, when I saw Bono’s face, there was an air of resignation. If I just needed him for trivial errands, he could be useful as is, but what I needed was an all-around assistant who would work diligently no matter the task.
Having once fallen into the abyss, it was time to show a glimmer of hope.
“I’m going to start making medicine now. You know that I cured Empress Hwanghu, right?”
With Bonho hesitating at these words, looking in my direction, I continued speaking directly.
“You’ve worked on the front lines, so you must know. The divine magic wielded by the saint isn’t something you can witness casually; it’s not just a few people dying. …Like soldiers who lost their limbs in a chemical explosion. I plan to create medicines needed by such individuals.”
“Uh…?”
“Of course, it’s a business to make money, and maybe you’ll see some tough situations. But there will be people benefiting from what I do. Isn’t that a meaningful endeavor?”
Bonho, who was previously lifeless, began to show signs of life again. Giving at least a minimal justification to someone who expected the worst was the least I could do.
“Bonho, you can live by helping with this from now on. If you want, your brother can join too.”
The brothers stood there blankly at these words, eventually starting to shed tears. Whether it was gratitude or just repeatedly saying thank you to me. Jacob, the elder brother, seemed to realize it was a test, but still expressed his gratitude.
The moment I employed the expert’s articles as a ledger.
I was planning to provide enough money. It’s a basic principle to manage people.
Now it was time to create the product.