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IWTGHFW CHAPTER 48

IWTGHFW

Episode 48

By the time I reached for my second piece of bread, Marian broke the brief silence.

ā€œAm I going to die now?ā€

ā€œMm. That depends on how much you’re willing to cooperate.ā€

ā€œHow kind of you. But I know already. No matter how much I cooperate, it’ll be hard to keep my life. Selling out a prince is a crime you can’t repay even with your life.ā€

Cough, cough.

I almost spat out the bread I was swallowing. I barely managed to keep it from coming back up, choking and reaching for something to drink. Marian poured juice into a glass and placed it in my hand.

Once I drank it, the lump of bread stuck in my throat went down. Thumping my chest, I tried to think quickly without letting Marian notice.

Sell out… who? A prince?

There’s no prince in the Empire — the emperor’s sons are called imperial princes (hwangja). A prince would be the son of a king. It’s not like some other king’s son would suddenly appear here.

ā€œA prince of Aint?ā€

Did she mean she sold off the prince of Aint? For real?

If my guess was correct, then I had found the right Marian after all. And I’d stumbled onto an unexpected jackpot.

I calmed my excitement. I needed a few more questions to be sure.

ā€œWhen did you work at Carrie’s Bar?ā€

It was a gamble. If this Marian was the Marian, she’d think I really knew everything. But if she’d been talking about something else entirely, I’d be exposed right here.

Marian quietly met my eyes, then let out a small sigh.

ā€œI worked there for three years, starting from when Carrie’s Bar first opened ten years ago. Sounds like an excuse, but at first I didn’t know it was a slave-trading den. I thought it was just a tavern. They paid good money even to hire a commoner like me, so I took the job.ā€

ā€œā€¦And when did you find out about the prince?ā€

ā€œI knew of the boy’s existence from the start. You couldn’t forget such a beautiful child, even in passing.ā€

ā€œDid you know he was a prince?ā€

ā€œNo. I swear, I had no idea at first. None of us did. If we’d known, we never would have touched him.ā€

My heart thumped hard. The more Marian spoke, the more the pieces fit together perfectly.

The prince of Aint really was sold as a slave from Carrie’s Bar!

I felt a step closer to the truth — though that didn’t mean I felt good about it. If she’d known he was a prince, she wouldn’t have touched him? So that meant all the other children who weren’t princes were fair game? She saw them sold into slavery and didn’t bat an eye?

And this woman had been at Mishi’s side? What had she been thinking?

I shivered involuntarily.

ā€œBy the time I learned he was a prince, he’d already been sold. There was nothing I could do.ā€

ā€œSo you entered the Imperial Palace for that reason?ā€

ā€œYes. Because the place that bought him was the Imperial Family.ā€

The place that purchased the prince was the Imperial Family.

If that’s true, it’s obvious who bought him.

If anyone in the palace would buy a slave, it was the same name that had come up when I first dug into Carrie’s Bar — the emperor.

No wonder ten years had passed without incident after the prince’s disappearance.

The one who hid him was the emperor himself, who could make the whole thing disappear. Maybe he’d only realized the boy was a prince after buying him… or maybe he’d known from the start and bought him on purpose.

One thing was certain — the emperor had the prince of Aint in his hands, yet never used him to demand trade advantages or tribute from Aint. It could have been an overwhelming diplomatic weapon — just as Aint was now leveraging Mishi to form a pact with the imperial crown prince — but instead, the emperor had chosen to bury the matter entirely.

The reason was obvious: either the prince was dead… or the emperor was keeping him for some other purpose.

Other purposes… I shook my head before my filthy imagination could run wild.

Marian continued.

She said the reason she’d entered the palace to look for the prince was that she feared if it were ever revealed she’d been involved in his sale, she’d face severe punishment. So she’d joined the palace staff hoping to spirit him away first. While serving at Mishi’s side, she’d used her spare time to search for him.

But no matter how hard she searched, she never saw the boy — of course not. The emperor would have kept him locked deep inside the palace.

Eventually, the years passed, no child appeared, and she heard no rumors of a prince at all. Realizing the empire wouldn’t erupt into chaos, Marian left the palace to open this bakery and live quietly.

Watching her look relieved after spilling everything, I fought back my nausea. Maybe at the very start she hadn’t known Carrie’s Bar was a slave den. But she soon learned everything.

And the only thing that had troubled her conscience was the fear she might be punished for selling the prince. All those other children, sold like chattel, didn’t matter to her.

I swallowed my urge to curse her out and finished my juice instead. Now wasn’t the time for insults — there was still more I needed to know.

ā€œYou were so afraid of punishment you searched for the prince inside the palace — yet now you’re telling me everything. You’re not afraid anymore?ā€

ā€œNo. I feel relieved. Even if they sentence me to death, I have nothing to say.ā€

No.

If she’d gone so far as to enter the palace to look for the prince, this sudden enlightenment made no sense. Baron Barel’s man must have said something to her yesterday. Promised to save her life? Told her all the records about Carrie’s Bar were erased?

Whatever it was, Marian couldn’t be allowed to think she was safe. I set down my empty glass and fixed her with a steady look.

ā€œIf you’re trusting Marquis Barel, I’m afraid I have bad news.ā€

ā€œWhat?ā€

ā€œHe’s already been stripped of his title — he’s no better than a commoner. No power, no wealth, nothing. Soā€”ā€

ā€œā€¦ā€¦ā€

I let my lips curl into a small smile.

ā€œLet’s not make fools of each other.ā€

I couldn’t tell how much my threat got through, but she did look pensive. Leaving her with the remark that she could come find me at the Marquisate of Metailor if she remembered anything else, I headed back to the palace.

She’d flinched at the name ā€œMetailor.ā€ Power really did matter in this world.

Once back in the palace, I went straight to see Marquis Orion. For some reason, the man who normally exuded an almost irritating air of composure was now frantically rifling through files.

ā€œSomething happened?ā€

ā€œYeah. Something big.ā€

ā€œWas it during Sir Reinolf’s trial today?ā€

With a sigh, Orion recounted what had happened in court.

Trying to nail Sir Finance by interrogating all the maids had backfired badly.

Now that the name of Count Poison had been mentioned, the incident could no longer be dismissed as a mere personal misconduct among knights. One count accusing another of backing a crime — this was now a direct confrontation between the emperor’s faction and the crown prince’s faction.

ā€œWhat about Marian?ā€

Even though he was clearly swamped, I couldn’t hide what I’d learned. After I explained everything from start to finish, Orion frowned and swore under his breath.

ā€œDamn it. That’s messy. So you’re saying the prince of Aint was sold from Carrie’s Bar to the emperor?ā€

ā€œThat’s just my theory.ā€

ā€œYeah. Just a theory… a damn convincing one, though, and that’s the problem.ā€

The emperor was currently staying in the Inner Palace — deeper inside the main palace, a place only members of the imperial family could enter. Not even I, let alone Marquis Orion, could investigate it freely.

ā€œI’ll report this to the crown prince. The Inner Palace is off-limits to anyone who’s not royalty anyway.ā€

ā€œGot it. I’ll dig further into Barel. If he still had enough sway to influence Marian despite losing his title, his connection to the emperor might still be intact.ā€

ā€œRight. But, Ailā€”ā€

ā€œYes?ā€

Just as I was about to leave, having said and heard what we needed, Orion stopped me. Sitting back in his chair, he studied me.

What now? I tilted my head slightly, and he suddenly asked:

ā€œEver thought about working for the Intelligence Bureau?ā€

ā€œā€¦That’s sudden.ā€

ā€œYou topped this year’s palace exams. Don’t you think it’s a waste being stuck in the knights? If you want, I could get you into Intelligence.ā€

First the crown prince had offered to make me his aide, now Orion was trying to recruit me into Intelligence.

Being competent was exhausting — everyone wanted a piece of you.

I shook my head firmly.

ā€œNo thanks. Intelligence isn’t for me.ā€

ā€œThe way you’re working now, it’s a perfect fit.ā€

ā€œNot really. I’m only doing this because of Mishi.ā€

ā€œMishi?ā€

ā€œAh, His Second Imperial Highness.ā€

Orion’s eyes narrowed, as though he’d spotted a curious animal. I turned away quickly.

ā€œI’m not interested in Intelligence.ā€

I made sure to hammer the point home. Behind me, I heard him chuckle.

ā€œYou really are interesting.ā€ I thought I heard him mutter. I pretended not to notice and left the Intelligence Bureau’s office.


Click, click.

The small cannon in his hand made a metallic clink as parts knocked together. Pull the trigger, let it go. Pull it again, let it go. Ron examined the palm-sized weapon that had attacked him, turning it over in his hands.

ā€œHow do you even make something like this?ā€

The fact that he’d been attacked had already spread so widely it couldn’t be hidden — but what he’d been attacked with was a closely guarded secret. Outside, people believed Narein had pulled a hidden dagger on him.

Only a handful knew it had actually been this strange weapon — Ron himself, the attending physician, and Sean and Ail.

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I want to go home from work

I want to go home from work

ķ‡“ź·¼ķ•˜ź³  ģ‹¶ģ–“ģš”
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?

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