Switch Mode
🎉 Novelish Coin Shop Sale! 🎉
💰 20% Off at $100 Bundle
💰 10% Off at $70 Bundle
💰 10% Off at $50 Bundle
Enjoy your extra coins and happy reading!
Join Novelish Universe at Discord

Dear Readers!

Now you can request your favorite novels' translations at our Discord server.

Join now and share your requests with us!

IWTGHFW CHAPTER 43

IWTGHFW

Episode 43


“We must disband the knights and reorganize them!”

Rozen rubbed his temple as he looked at the pro-emperor nobles raising their voices.

As if the Ron matter wasn’t headache enough, now the imperial knights had gone and caused yet another mess.

They’re just begging me to go to hell, aren’t they.

If he wanted to bring Mishi over, the knights needed to still function as an organization and be absorbed into his own faction—but these people were doing an excellent job of sabotaging that plan.

It was enough to make him wonder if the knights were secretly working for the emperor’s side.

“If you disband the knights, what will you do if a foreign power invades?”

“Then are you saying we should leave them as they are? Do you think the knights are running properly right now? These are the Imperial Knights! The commander is lying in bed after being stabbed by his subordinate, and juniors are stabbing their seniors. What kind of knights are these? They’re like street thugs!”

“Street thugs?! How dare you—!”

Before the pitch of their voices could climb any higher, Rozen slammed his palm down on the table.

The dull thud echoed through the chamber. At first, the nobles looked around as if to ask, “What was that? Who did that?” Then, spotting the crown prince at the end of their gaze, they fell silent.

His cold golden eyes seemed to say, Go ahead, say one more word. I’ll kill you all. And the split wood under his palm made it very clear that raising their voices further could end very badly.

Once the room had quieted, Rozen swept his gaze around at the gathered nobles.

Once I become emperor, the first thing I’ll do is get rid of this round table. I’ll raise the emperor’s seat—higher, as high as possible—so at least my ears get some protection.

“Count Rev.”

The count flinched at the low, drawn-out voice that called his name. He had been one of the loudest, barking like a pig about dissolving the knights.

“What do you think is the problem with the knights right now?”

“Ah
 w-well, first and foremost, it’s a matter of Commander Metailer Marquess’s competence. If he can be attacked by a mere trainee knight, then as a commander leading the others—”

“You’ve forgotten what Sir Ron did during the continental war ten years ago?”

“T-that was
 well, that was ten years ago.”

Ron’s achievements in the war were immeasurable. No one here could deny them, so Count Rev tried to stress that things were different now.

Or at least, he would have—had Rozen not spoken faster.

“So what you’re saying is that only someone who can dodge a vital-point attack from a trusted junior, without wearing any armor, inside a cramped carriage with only the two of them present—only such a person can be commander?”

“Pardon? Ah, no, that’s not—”

“If you can find someone like that, I’ll gladly give them Ron’s position. Go ahead and recommend a candidate. I’ll personally test them—under the same conditions as Ron.”

A test where you never knew when or where an assassination might happen. No noble would be foolish enough to throw their son into something like that.

Count Rev thought of his son, gifted with swordsmanship, and quietly sat back down. If the crown prince was speaking like this, there was no helping it. No ambition was worth getting his son killed.

With one mouth shut, Rozen’s gaze turned to another noble.

“What was it you said earlier? Oh, that a junior stabbed a senior? You said that was the problem, right?”

The pro-emperor nobles who supported disbanding the knights (which was most of them) all avoided his eyes.

They couldn’t even meet his gaze, yet they’d dared to shout so much? Rozen let out a mirthless laugh.

“Sir Reinolf will be punished according to military law without any special treatment. However, Sir Pynance—who made a disgusting
 no, inappropriate remark to a palace staff member—will also be punished according to military law.”

“Your Highness! Sir Pynance only said that because of administrative business—”

“‘I heard she’s gotten quite pretty. Makes you curious, doesn’t it? A maid would feel different.’”

“

”

“That’s exactly what Sir Pynance said. The witnesses are plentiful—the other knights present at the time—so don’t think of denying it.”

“But over something so trivial—!”

“Trivial?”

Rozen barely held back a curse. He scanned the faces of the nobles who always sided with the emperor and opposed him at every turn.

You. You. You.

The first thing on his list as emperor: purge the rotten nobles. (Getting rid of the round table would be second.)

“Article 5 of the military code clearly states that a knight must watch their words and actions and set an example for others. Trivial?”

“But, Your Highness—”

“Shut your mouth before I sew it shut. Can’t you see how much I’m holding back right now? Huh? Do you lack even that much sense? And since the subject’s come up—‘different from a maid’? That means he’s touched maids as well. Marquess Orion!”

Finally, Rozen snapped. As the nobles who had been about to argue shrank back, Marquess Orion slowly raised his hand.

“Conduct a full investigation into whether any maids have been harassed or molested by that Pynance bastard. Let’s see whether Sir Reinolf attacked him out of chivalry or if he was just an insolent junior who didn’t fear his senior.”

“

”

“Come to think of it, ten years ago that same Pynance bastard saved his own skin by using a junior as a shield, didn’t he? How was he punished for that?”

“He was docked two months’ pay.”

“I see. Marquess, investigate everyone who handled that trial as well. To let a knight who betrayed chivalry off with only a two-month pay cut—there’s a high chance corruption was involved.”

“Understood.”

With every word Rozen spoke, the pro-emperor nobles’ faces grew paler. They’d thought they’d found an opportunity to attack, but who could have guessed they’d end up stabbing themselves in the foot?

And now Marquess Orion—recently returned to politics—was clearly siding with the crown prince.

The nobles racked their brains and decided to remain silent for now. It would be better to meet later and discuss countermeasures than to speak carelessly now.

That was why none of them even dared to point out that the crown prince had referred to Pynance as a “bastard” and told a count to “shut up.”


Later, when I learned that Reinolf had attacked Pynance because of me, I went straight to see him in his quarters, where he was under house arrest, the moment I returned to work.

Reinolf refused to open the door at first, but after I pounded on it hard enough to nearly break it, he finally surrendered and let me in.

He looked rough—worn out, like he’d been through a lot.

You know, if you don’t take care of yourself starting at twenty, you’ll age in no time.

“It’s been a while, Sir Reinolf.”

“I’m ashamed.”

“Ashamed? For stabbing Sir Pynance, who harassed me?”

At my blunt words, Reinolf bowed his head deeply.

Why was he so apologetic over something like that? I actually felt refreshed about it. Sure, pulling a sword without thinking about the consequences was reckless, but judging by the crown prince’s reaction, this was going to end well enough.

“Let’s sit. My legs hurt from walking here.”

He gave me his only chair and even brought me a drink. I accepted without hesitation and downed the juice he handed me. While I drank, he fetched a bandage. When I asked what it was for, he handed it to me carefully and said, “It seems you hurt your hand knocking on the door earlier.”

Only then did I notice my reddened, scraped knuckles. I quickly took the bandage and stuck it on.

“I came here for two reasons. One was to scold you for your rash behavior. But now that I think about it, I’m sure plenty of other people have already done that, so let’s skip it.”

I spread my fingers as I spoke, and Reinolf kept his head bowed, listening like a guilty man. Feeling a bit sorry for him, I tapped his thigh lightly with my fist. That finally made him look up and meet my eyes.

“There’s another reason?”

“Yes. Your younger brother—Ray—”

“Reynald.”

“Right, Reynald. You said he’s been working at Carrie’s Bar for a long time, right?”

“Since the day it opened. Ten years.”

“That’s a long time. I’d like to meet him—because of the prince of Aint.”

Prince of Aint? Reinolf tilted his head, eyes wide.

Very few people knew that secret talks were going on between the Kingdom of Aint and the Empire. Reinolf was one of those few, but no matter how he thought about it, he saw no connection between his brother and the missing prince.

I let out a small sigh and told him everything that had happened since I returned.

Even if the commander of the imperial knights was incapacitated, the vice-commander, Sean, could handle the corps’ duties. But the search for Aint’s prince was a job only Ron could be trusted with. If the crown prince went himself, it would give the pro-emperor nobles ammunition; if the knights handled it, Sean was busy, Heppy was away on assignment, and Reinolf was under house arrest.

Marquess Orion was gathering information through the intelligence bureau, but ever since the crown prince had spoken up at the nobles’ meeting, Orion had been focusing more on investigating the maids than on finding the prince.

Whether he became emperor or gained authority equal to the throne, until the crown prince could conduct an open investigation, someone needed to keep searching in secret. The crown prince had finally called me in.

“I’ll share all the information Orion brings. I’d like you to personally track down the prince’s trail.”

If he was asking me for help, he must have been desperate. Besides, no matter what agreements the crown prince and Aint’s king had made, the fact remained that I had left Mishi alone in enemy territory. I felt bad about that.

 

Anyway, as I went through the reports Orion had given me, the name I’d grown sick of seeing popped up yet again—Carrie’s Bar.

At Novelish Universe, we deeply respect the hard work of original authors and publishers.

Our platform exists to share stories with global readers, and we are open and ready to partner with rights holders to ensure creators are supported and fairly recognized.

All of our translations are done by professional translators at the request of our readers, and the majority of revenue goes directly to supporting these translators for their dedication and commitment to quality.

I want to go home from work

I want to go home from work

í‡Žê·Œí•˜êł  ì‹¶ì–Žìš”
Score 10.0
Status: Ongoing Type: Author: Released: 2022 Native Language: Korean

Synopsis

"What's your dream?"

Ever since I was a kid, whenever someone asked me that, I always had the same answer:

"A rich bum."

To fulfill my childhood dream of being a wealthy slacker, I’ve been working for 16 years straight!

Finally, I set my D-day and have been counting down the days to throw my resignation letter in my boss’s face...

"Ail, aren’t you leaving work?"
"I should. I really should
 but there's just way too much to do. Hahahahaha."

Suddenly, I find myself starting over in a world I've never even heard of.
And I’m a brand-new 20-year-old recruit?!

Well, it can’t be helped. I’ll just have to run toward retirement all over again!

 

A new office life begins, using my Korean work experience as my only weapon.
This time
 will I be able to retire in peace?

Comment

Leave a Reply

error: Content is protected !!

Options

not work with dark mode
Reset