A Famous Traitor and Treacherous Genius

4 – Return to the Beginning (3)

“Let’s see.”

There might be a war.

At least if my father knows the truth.

Poorly enough, my father had a keen sense for the sword, but a terrible sense for women.

Perhaps it’s because he loved my mother so much.

That’s why he thinks ‘it can’t be true,’ and doesn’t even consider investigating.

I know.

At this point, my father doesn’t know what happened in the palace.

-As a courtesy of a Sword Master, I’ll tell you one thing before you die. Your wife committed adultery with the king.

On the day my father died, the emperor of the empire told him the truth directly.

-That’s impossible! Charlotte would never do such a thing…!

-She was a foolish woman. She believed that when we conquered the kingdom, we’d dethrone the king for real and save her.

-Ha, aargh!! It’s a lie!!

-Why are you so angry? Oh, I see. Is it because you finally realized the reason your wife committed suicide?

The emperor was a cruel man.

He knew well how to make a person weakest.

-…Kill him.

-What a pity. It seems you’ve given up. You lost your children and now you lost your deceased wife once again.

The blade of my father’s sword, which had not broken despite being chipped and worn, broke in that moment.

-Even if we had left it alone, this country would have been ruined.

That’s how my father died.

Based on his reaction back then, my father obviously didn’t know the details of this story.

So, before a serious accident happens, I needed to check my father’s awareness once more.

I sneaked into my father’s study.

The family was preoccupied with unexpected guests who suddenly appeared.

It’s not like anyone would say anything if I entered the study.

My father might warn me, ‘Why did you go in?’, but a suitable excuse would suffice.

hehehe.

I opened the door to the study and approached my father’s office desk.

The drawer was filled with number locks.

1130.

‘Such an easy password.’

It was a number filled with Byungbaek’s love for his wife.

It wasn’t my mother’s birthday, but rather the day my father first met her.

On the day I inherited this study, I heard it directly from my father himself.

If I were to be caught later-

-I thought my father might have set the password as the day he first met my mother as a way to commemorate their meeting.

-…You opening the drawer without permission doesn’t make your crime disappear. Go to your room and reflect for a day.

-Yes.

If I gave my father some space and made an excuse, he would probably let me off the hook.

There is no information about the rebellion here yet, after all.

Thunk.

I unlocked the lock and opened the drawer, revealing a stack of crumpled parchment inside.

[Report on the circumstances of the ‘indecent contact’ incident at the Royal Social Party Terrace. -Robert Seville.]

“Oh.”

A familiar name appeared.

‘Was it Lord Robert who reported this?’

A loyal subject of the diligent kingdom, and my father’s subordinate.

The report written in his neat handwriting was filled with painstaking efforts to be as objective and neutral as possible.

-…Therefore, we can cautiously conclude that there is a possibility we cannot rule out the king’s hand touched the countess’s chest.

‘Safe.’

I was lucky.

In summary, the report was filled with parchment front and back.

1. The king and my mother were alone on the terrace at the royal party.

2. The king caught my mother when she lost her balance and fell.

3. The king embraced my mother from behind with a bad hand, like a lover.

‘It’s a perfect pretext for starting a domestic dispute.’

It would have been too much of a simple mistake and too daring of the king’s hand in the past.

After all, according to the report, he supposedly stayed still for a full 5 seconds in a subservient position, and even the king had embraced him once more.

Several nobles saw this and at this point, it would be foolish not to get angry as a father.

However-

‘Those who want to laugh will laugh.’

This would cause quite a stir in the social circles of the monarchy.

Perhaps they thought of him as a coward, sitting in his room, having anger over his wife’s harassment by another man.

A coward who couldn’t even raise his voice against the king.

That laughter returned as rebellion after 10 years.

For 10 years, the father recorded those who were speaking in such a way in his mind, and executed or tortured them all into funeral prongs.

They were all going to die.

Even if not for the father’s sake, they were destined to die for any reason because they casually insulted him.

Nothing can be said about their lives-

‘[Princess] certainly has a unique story.’

She is a concern.

The Princess.

Would she really come here?

If the queen follows him here, she might also come to this place.

“Ah.”

Then, I remembered.

‘The queen and father used to be romantic partners.’

…..

“It’s a disaster.”

I put the parchment back into the drawer, and locked it again.

‘Realizing how scary political disputes are.’

Nothing creates a more extreme situation than human feelings.

And particularly when those feelings mean passion and love, it is like a rampaging beast, recklessly running wild.

When it explodes, it will cause significant damage, and that is currently happening between the supreme power of the kingdom and the back changers.

Although it is a bomb that could explode at any unknown moment, surprisingly, the stitches were better than I thought.

The father does not know the truth.

The king and mother will try to beg for forgiveness from the father in order to hide the truth, somehow avoiding the situation.

People had seen up to the embrace, but they were desperate to hide any unknown misdeeds thereafter, even if it meant risking their lives.

What if they get caught?

Then, my father would instantly blow off the king’s head.

‘Well, that might be fine.’

Even if I become a traitor and get executed, it might be better than the kingdom being dominated by the empire.

‘If the incompetent king disappears now, the future might be bright.’

Considering that this king will ruin the country for the next ten years, it’s better to die now.

‘What will the queen do? That woman is a bit…’

The queen is not someone to be close to, either.

The queen is dangerous in many ways, enough to send shivers down one’s spine just by thinking about her.

‘How come only the princess is normal?’

The princess.

Come to think of it.

“Is today our first meeting?”

If, as history dictates, the queen was following my father to persuade him, she must have brought the princess with her.

“…Huh.”

As everyone in the family was tense, I started to feel a little tense as well.

The savior of my life.

She fell into ruin because of me and was devastated because of me.

And my-

“Princess Nariya.”

If there is a god, let history unfold as it should, at least this once.

Desperately praying for my encounter with her, I left the library.

* * *

My father has gone mad.

He’s mad enough not to go out and greet a visiting king of another country.

“I am here to greet the king.”

So, I went out.

“Hmm.”

Saint Geo Nostrum.

This country, [Nostrum], is ruled by its king.

A middle-aged handsome man with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a thick beard.

Though he may be considered middle-aged, this man has invested all of his abilities in his appearance.

“Who are you?”

“If you would allow me to introduce myself, I am here to speak on behalf of the Gibraltar family.”

With proper manners, a mere child, ten years old, comes forward to greet the king as a representative of his household.

“No matter how angry Lord Byun Gyung-baek might be, sending such a young child…?”

Would a man who has been called an ‘inept king’ from the time of his ascension until now know?

“Regardless, this is quite disrespectful, to insult a noble with-“

“Your Majesty.”

Next to the inept king, a raven-haired beauty with a sharp expression cuts off Saint Geo’s words as she unfolds her fan.

“…….”

She speaks quietly enough not to be heard, but one can guess the content of her whisper.

Assisting the king in the politic skills he lacks.

‘Carmen Morgania Nostrum. The only child of the Duke of Morgania and the Forbidden Golden Fruits.’

Among those I know, she is one of the top politicians in political power.

It is not without reason that people secretly refer to her as the ‘Queen’ in the world.

“Ahem. …Are you perhaps ‘Gray’?”

“Yes. Gray Gibraltar. I am honored to meet Nostrum’s golden sun.”

“…Ha ha ha!”

King Saint Geo suddenly burst into laughter.

“Yes, you surely resemble Charlotte’s…your mother’s eyes. Your eyes remind me of her.”

“Thank you. And, I’m sorry.”

“Apology?”

“I have mentioned it to my father several times, but he said he would see you ‘from above.'”

“Uh-huh…!”

Even if he is the landlord, one does not say ‘come up’ to the king.

“You must go. Your Majesty.”

However, even the queen supports the king’s back from behind.

“At least this time, Your Majesty has made a grave mistake.”

“Hmm…!”

“Clearly, when you were about to leave, you said that if it weren’t for others watching, you’d even get down on your knees before Byung Gyeong-baek.”

Is it alright for me to hear such words?

‘No. This is meant to put pressure on me.’

Since the king came with the determination to kneel, don’t expect more.

‘But why do that to a 10-year-old kid?’

Even though it’s my father’s request, there’s no reason to put up with Queen Carmen’s malice-

‘There is.’

I am the son of my father and mother.

To the king, I am still the son of the woman he carries in his heart.

And to the queen-

‘The son of the woman who stole her first love.’

I’m in the same position as King Saint Geo.

‘What a total mess, a complete mess.’

When I personally sponsored a theater troupe, their scriptwriters had once come up with such a story.

-What happens when the supporting characters get together after the lead characters do?

The answer is as follows.

The supporting male character projects the woman he loves.

And the supporting female character also projects the man she loves, and at the same time, the woman who took him away.

‘Personally, I’d rather be on the queen’s side.’

I’m used to someone sending glances filled with hatred and contempt.

Those eyes that look at me but see my mother instead are truly, disgustingly unbearable.

“I will guide you this way.”

“… Who taught you the etiquette of the kingdom?”

Suddenly asked so formally, I thought it wasn’t directed at me for a moment.

“I know you’re the same age as the princess.”

I know that there is a lot of meaning behind those words.

-Byung Gyeong-baek and the Countess must not have cared about etiquette education, right?

-You already know that you’re 10 years old, don’t you?

“Among the tutors entering the Byeonkyeong Baek family, there wouldn’t be anyone who knows the etiquette of dealing with royalty, would there?”

“And yet, they know the etiquette of dealing with the king so perfectly?”

“Since when did they learn such etiquette?”

‘Somewhere in our intelligence network must have been overlooked. They seem quite worried.’

Though it was a bit of a headache, one must endure for the sake of assisting the incompetent king’s intelligence.

This is the path they’ve chosen as queen.

Until the kingdom is destroyed, they will have to bear the weight of supporting the crown at their side.

‘I would tell anyone else to have a headache, but since I have debt from the future.’

I bowed my head to Queen Carmen in a different manner.

“… Imperial etiquette?”

“Fortunately, there were books on etiquette in the family’s library.”

“…… You secretly read and learned them by yourself? Why?”

“Carmen.”

Saint Gio pointed upwards with a sullen face, as if annoyed.

“She probably learned it while skimming through old books. Let’s go up. It’s a bit… awkward to go alone.”

“…….”

Carmen still harbored doubt toward me, but I did my best to mimic ‘his’ innocent smile.

“… Tsk.”

Although she despised the child of that woman,

“Let’s talk again next time.”

He’s also the son of the man she loved.

“Ah, right. You don’t need to guide me. I know the way to his room.”

“Huh?”

Queen Carmen suddenly blocked my way.

“You have a different role to play. Over there, behind.”

Behind where Queen Carmen pointed with her hand,

“Please escort the princess to the rose garden and see that she rests there.”

I wanted to question how she knew about the existence of the rose garden, but my words were momentarily caught in my throat at the sight of the girl in a white dress, holding a knight’s hand as she descended from the carriage.

“Grey Gibraltar?”

“… You resemble Her Majesty the Queen so much that you look truly beautiful.”

“…Crimson doesn’t usually say things like this.”

It’s different from being praised by my father, but I suppose it’s not bad to feel like I’m being complimented by him.

“Alright.”

“I will follow your command.”

After the king and queen began ascending the central staircase of the earl’s castle, I slowly walked forward.

More formally than ever before.

“Princess Naria.”

The moment I had thought about countless times since returning to the past, has come now.

“It’s our first meeting.”

The girl I saw again was more beautiful than anyone else.