94 – 94. This is Reality
Princess Siena, who had returned after suppressing the op*ium organization.
Her condition was a little strange.
I thought she would explain vividly how she had trapped the op*ium dealers, and how she had tormented them mercilessly.
But Siena didn’t say a word about the op*ium den.
“They’re things not worth mentioning.”
“…Is that so.”
“Yeah.”
Siena even subtly changed the subject.
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“Oh, there was something strange. They were also dealing with hallucinogenic mushrooms. And the herbalists who were recruited for mushroom picking were the same people you used when you first got silocibin, Alan. But the strange thing is… it wasn’t silocibin?”
“Was there a mushroom with a red cap?”
“Yes, that one.”
“That was the only one that was easy to distinguish, so they probably chose it. They probably didn’t have the skill to select only mushrooms with silocibin. There are dozens of mushrooms that look similar, and some of them are lethal even in small amounts.”
“They chose the ones that cause chills and vomiting, rather than killing people.”
This was clearly a story that Siena would like.
However, for some reason, there was a sense of only the drums crying.
If you include the customers, the op*ium den involved parties would easily reach three digits. And most of them are likely academy students or dropouts, passing by with a heavy air. I wonder why they couldn’t feel the excitement after ruining the lives of so many people.
Even the mushroom material was briefly mentioned and passed over.
It was Siena who stared at me intently and unexpectedly threw a question.
“How’s your family?”
“My family?”
“Yeah. Your family.”
I did have a family.
The Medov family. Honestly, it didn’t have the prestige to be called a family.
It was a modest household that had settled in the countryside as a result of selling all rights to the territory to the imperial family several generations ago. Unable to be integrated into the central government as bankers, traders, or soldiers after retiring, they settled as small landowners in the rural areas.
Naturally, I knew about their current situation.
“My family lives in Longkenny Province.”
“The countryside.”
“Yes. Even in that countryside, they live on the outskirts. Hiring a few laborers, they manage a small farm.”
“op*ium farm?”
“No. Just regular wheat. We can’t afford to cultivate a variety that requires a lot of manual labor like op*ium flowers. During busy seasons, even my brothers have to handle the farm equipment themselves. It’s that small of a farm.”
“And it’s probably remote, right?”
“We don’t have much interaction with the outside.”
Since the reincarnation, I had never interacted with my family.
In fact, the original owner of this body also had a strained relationship with his family. He was busy obeying Siena’s orders to take down people in Morning Star under the system.
Sienna seemed to feel a sense of camaraderie with me.
“Maybe we don’t even know if we’re normal, Alan.”
“……”
“Taking care of family only increases weaknesses, you know? It’s better to live while faintly interacting and supporting each other at the right moment. If we’re too attached to our family like Victoria, it only adds to our weaknesses.”
…There are cases where keeping a distance makes things worse, but I didn’t give up. I knew Sienna was happy to find a connection with me.
Everything was fine, but there was something slightly unsettling in the midst of it.
Why did Victoria’s name come up from Sienna’s mouth? Especially at this moment.
op*ium den, Sienna’s attitude, Victoria.
It wasn’t difficult to fit together the suspicious circumstances.
“…Sienna. Has the Wolfall family been involved in the op*ium den?”
Sienna raised the corner of her mouth as if she had been waiting.
“Involved? That’s a strange way to put it. Smoking or selling op*ium isn’t a violation of the law.”
“op*ium may not be a problem, but morphine is a different story. It’s not strange for an organization dealing in op*ium to handle morphine, but the only outlet they have to obtain morphine is the military. That’s why the Wolfall family came to mind.”
“It could be someone other than the Wolfall family, couldn’t it?”
“Then Your Highness wouldn’t have been so sparing with your words. By now, you would have exposed all the leaks and tormented them.”
Sienna found a significant piece of evidence in the op*ium den, but she postponed execution for greater enjoyment. It was reasonable to assume that the external family, the Wolfall family, was involved if Sienna showed enough patience not to send it immediately.
This assumption was not wrong.
“You truly are interesting, Alan.”
“I’m sorry, but you deliberately mentioned Her Majesty Victoria’s name, didn’t you? You wanted to see how quickly I would catch on.”
“That’s right.”
Sienna, seizing my right hand without hesitation.
Following that, she began to scrutinize my hand with a curious gaze.
Checking if all the fingers were intact, meticulously examining the size and color of the crescent moon. She even touched the calloused skin.
And then, in an excited voice.
“Victoria unnie is about to share good news.”
“Good news?”
Instead of answering, Sienna tilted her head, lightly kissed the back of my hand, and looked up at me with a playful smile.
It seemed that Victoria had caught Sienna at a significant weak point. It could be inferred that Victoria had received a challenging request in exchange for revealing that weakness. Naturally, related to me.
“Unnie won’t give up on the external family.”
Sienna’s face as she spoke carried a sense of certainty.
**
Victoria’s palace.
Officers dressed for the imperial army’s conquest were gathered.
All of them were generals or officers of lieutenant colonel rank and above.
They shared an important commonality. Either they bore the surname Wolpole or were sons-in-law married to the women of the Wolpole family. Except for the few working in the irremovable operational areas due to the family gathering, everyone was present.
Not for a family reunion, but to respond to the summons.
The one who issued that order was Victoria Kallail.
The next-in-line princess closest to the imperial throne.
“It’s clear that a trap has been set by the Second Princess! We need to respond quickly,”
“The response? What response are you talking about? There’s no such thing as a faction there. Just mere underlings whom Siena’s messenger uses briefly. Moving rashly only gives Siena’s messenger an unnecessary excuse.”
“But just for a few grams of morphine…!”
“It’s not just a few. More than 300 grams were stolen.”
“No, what about Timothy?”
“Timothy didn’t act alone. Save your words in front of the messenger later.”
Even within the Royal Guards, the members of the Wolpoff family were sharing the full story of an incident yet to be fully understood, and they were even discussing countermeasures.
This was possible due to the influence they held within the military.
A prestigious martial family with a formidable woman behind the scenes. A force that usually had nothing to fear, but tension was evident on their faces.
It was because the intentions of Victoria, who summoned them, were unpredictable.
“But still, won’t Princess Victoria protect Timothy…!”
The father of Timothy Wolpoff, who leaked the morphine, spoke with a contemplative expression.
The one who answered the question was not someone using the Wolpoff surname.
“I have no intention of protecting him.”
Princess Victoria, appearing with a stern expression.
The intermediaries of the Wolpoff family collectively closed their mouths and stared at her.
…
‘It’s surprising, but there are really a lot. All these numbers are officers.’
Victoria glanced at the adults from her maternal relatives who responded to her summons.
Regardless of gender, many were tall and handsome individuals. Before solidifying their position as a military family, they were more renowned for their good looks.
Add to that substantial wealth and connections in the military.
The powerful Walpole family had always managed themselves rigorously, so as to avoid any mention of favoritism due to their status as an external family.
Even now, there was not a single active-duty officer of the rank of Lieutenant Colonel or higher in the Walpole family, nor was there any officer belonging to the Imperial Guard.
“I even felt sorry for him.”
Thinking back now, rank and position were not important.
Just looking at Timothy, who had caused the accident this time, he was just a junior officer in the Logistics Support Unit of the Military Investigation Command. But he managed to sneak morphine away from his superiors (or perhaps they turned a blind eye). It was clear why he was able to do this.
The problem was the punishment for the family.
Should they punish only Timothy Walpole and the one cousin who helped him, and reject Sienna’s proposal?
“That won’t work. Who is Sienna anyway?”
But they couldn’t forcibly expel even those who had not committed any wrongdoing. Punishment required justification. Moreover, wasn’t it Victoria herself who had elevated the prestige of the Walpole family to this extent? She also doubted whether she had the right to punish.
As Victoria continued to worry about this…
“Your Highness.”
Her great uncle, Hayden, rose to his feet.
He was the one leading Victoria’s faction in her absence, busy with work.
Victoria thought he would defend Timothy. After all, Timothy was his fifth cousin. She thought he would present a justification for protecting the family…
“Hand Timothy over to the Royal Guards. The same goes for Henry, who supported him. And I, too, will take responsibility for improperly managing these children and leave the military. …I will resign as the commander and retire in my hometown.”
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He suddenly declared his resignation.
Victoria was momentarily bewildered, but she was actually grateful when her uncle came forward like this.
If Hayden, the de facto leader of the Walpole family, stepped down and dealt strictly with the morphine smugglers, there would be no need to accept Sienna’s proposal. They could also avoid criticism for showing favoritism due to their external family status.
Then there would be no need to give up on choosing Alan as the successor…
“No, wait.”
At this moment, a sense of discomfort arose in Victoria’s heart.
Why does Uncle Wesa give up his career so easily?
Is it truly out of a sense of guilt?
She wanted to believe that, but there was another possibility. Perhaps he had the confidence that he could maintain influence without actively serving.
‘Maybe he’s retiring early to clear his emotional debts to me. After all, there are people who know my personality better than anyone.’
To confirm this suspicion, Victoria looked at the adults.
In response, Uncle Wesa, Aunt, Uncle-in-law, and even Timothy’s father were smiling with a gentle smile, their lips trembling.
“I am willing to sacrifice if it is for the sake of the realm.”
The word ‘sacrifice’ came from the mouth of the second uncle Ian at this moment. Sacrifice.
Thanks to this, she could gain confidence.
No matter how she looked at it, this was not something that could be easily resolved by punishing one or two people. She didn’t want to admit it, but that was the reality.