Chapter 1012 – #99. The Story of the Three Thousand Concubines and the Emperor (70)
When the work of the Kingdom of Geos was coming to an end.
Preparations to return to the home country, which had been progressing little by little, were finally completed.
“Free all the priests. Let them know that they are being released because they have completed their part of the work.”
It is true that the priests have truly completed their work.
Many soldiers were injured during the war, and the priests used all their strength to heal them until they fainted from exhaustion.
Since they said they would only release him if he paid the ransom, it was impossible to cheat.
If you cheat, your time here will only prolong.
Since I wasn’t treated well, every day must have felt like hell.
Of course, it wasn’t that there were no dead soldiers at all, but a much larger number of soldiers were able to be saved than if there were no priests.
And the priests who were first taken to the current empire will take their place.
‘Until they come back.’
These are priests who leave with the goal of causing chaos in the temple.
I told the crown prince everything I talked to them about, what preparations we should make until they return, and how we should provide support.
Even without me, they would finish their work and return to our empire as if running away.
‘The chances of them succeeding by turning things upside down are extremely rare.’
Although I saw the research that the subjects had done about the temple, I could not say that I knew everything about the temple based on the research.
It has been operated in a closed manner for a very long time, so there was a lot of information that could not be known unless you were involved with it.
But just a few priests band together and return to the temple, turn it over and take power?
‘In the end, they will be the ones who lose.’
Are those in the vested interest so willing to give up their positions?
The reason I didn’t expect them to completely devour the temple was because I knew that was impossible.
‘It’s important to get it out before you die.’
The crown prince will take care of it, but their future will not be very bright.
At least if our empire delays it a bit, it will last longer.
‘It would be a good thing for us if we went deeper and retrieved information.’
I asked the crown prince to use them well.
The Kingdom of Geos was also hastily sealed, and its wealth was scraped away, leaving just enough to keep the country from ruin.
How the remaining people would lead the Kingdom of Geos was none of our business.
Still, isn’t it a merciful decision? Because they gave a grace period of as much as a year.
Of course, from one year onwards, war reparations must be repaid step by step.
The reason why they were left with so much light was because their growth was suppressed during the period of repaying the light.
‘The country is so messed up that there is nothing to eat.’
It’s not something I can say as someone who came from a long way away, but in any case, this was still not enough to recoup the costs incurred in fighting a major war.
“Abama. It’s noisy outside.”
“That’s definitely true.”
I had finished the work of the Kingdom of Geos, but there was no reason to continue staying in someone else’s country.
I was leaving the capital of the Kingdom of Geos with the crown prince.
Since I had to travel for a long time, I took a carriage considering my physical condition.
Since there were soldiers surrounding us, I don’t believe there would be a big problem if something commotion broke out, but I felt like I needed to know what was going on.
“What’s going on?”
As if the prince had read my thoughts, he slightly opened the window and asked the guard.
“It’s no big deal.”
“It seems like there’s a constant commotion.”
I was curious as to why they couldn’t stop the commotion even though they said it wasn’t a big deal.
“It’s… Crying.”
“Crying? Who?”
“The people of Geos.”
“What? Why are they?”
Could it be that you are crying because you have a grudge against us?
But what the article said was completely different from what I expected.
“It seems that His Majesty wishes he would not leave.”
“… Don’t leave? Us?”
According to common sense, it is a situation where another country has invaded and entered the country’s capital.
It wouldn’t have been strange if we spit on the way, but it was ridiculous that the people of Geos saw us going and cried and told us not to go.
The article seemed to be confusing and did not understand this part, so it disappeared, saying it would find out the reason.
And after some time.
The driver who asked the people involved why they were crying explained the reason to us.
“It seems there was a rumor going around that once His Majesty leaves, they will no longer hand out free food.”
“Ah, that.”
I immediately understood why they were doing that, and the crown prince asked back as if it was absurd.
“Are you crying just because of that?”
Grains that the crown prince distributed to the people for free.
For the people, it may have been the only hope for survival in the harsh reality.
“The land was devastated by the war, and there was no one to work, so the people suffered a lot due to the unusually poor harvest. Moreover, since we were away, the nobles who had run away will flock to the imperial palace, saying they will find their way back to life. They will try to persecute the people and take away the losses they have suffered.”
No matter how uneducated the people are, there is no one who does not know that their lives will become more difficult when the nobles return.
Since it was clear that the free grain we had been giving out would soon run out and end up in the warehouses of various nobles, the people probably thought it would be better for us, foreigners, to remain here.
‘Even though the fundamental reason why the nobles exploit the people is because of us.’
The people cannot dig deep into the situation.
Just grasp what is revealed on the surface and consider whether it will benefit you or not.
“… I don’t feel good.”
“It’s just a minority opinion anyway. Don’t take it too seriously.”
“Yes, Abama.”
The people of Geos may have shed tears because their means of making a living are tight…
“Still, it won’t be a very bad experience for you. Remember that one decision you make can make so many people cry and laugh.”
This is why the position of emperor and politics are so scary.
A wrong decision will bring many people to tears.
I thought that if the crown prince knew that fear, she would be able to do well as emperor in the future.
The crown prince looked closely at the crying appearance of the people of Geos outside the window.
Your mind is probably quite complicated.
“The more I learn, the more I feel afraid.”
“It is a right feeling. In the future, never forget the fear you feel now. And brace yourself to face your fear.”
When I return to the empire, there will be more people than the people of Geos who will gather to welcome the crown prince and me.
“Live in return for the respect and love they give you. Make them smile happily rather than shed tears at every gesture you make. Then people will follow and praise you, and history will call you a saint.”
“Abama is truly a saint. I have a long way to go to follow her.”
Gradually, the cries of the Geos people become fainter.
Even if they caught us, we really couldn’t remain here forever.
“Whoa…”
I sighed deeply, as if it was too much to keep my eyes open.
Then, the prince’s eyes, who could not get away from the window, hurriedly turned and moved towards me.
“Abama! Are you okay?”
“I’m tired of hearing that now. As always, you can still hold on, so don’t worry.”
The prince had grown so well, there was no reason for me to continue to hold on to this position.
Now I also have to prepare to leave this place.
While the crown prince watched with apprehension, his body was laid down on the soft bed installed in his carriage.
‘I feel a little motion sick.’
It’s not difficult to pretend to be sick.
I just happened to get motion sickness.
“I guess I should get some sleep.”
“Yes, Abama. Don’t worry and rest well. I will be by your side.”
The prince seemed to be talking about waking up after a short sleep, but unfortunately, I had no intention of waking up for a while from now on.
The war is over, and all that remains is to return to the empire and hand over my position to the crown prince.
Although I failed to lose my life on the battlefield as I had planned because of the temple, I had no intention of going back and occupying my position for a long time.
I closed my eyes for the last time to see the prince’s face full of worry.
When you wake up again, you will not be in a carriage, but in the imperial palace of the empire.
⁘ ⁘ ⁘
Was it a bad choice to forcefully move in the emperor’s physical condition?
The emperor could not wake up for a very long time after falling asleep in the carriage.
A comatose state where one is not dead, but cannot be considered alive.
The crown prince also woke up at the end and realized that sorting out the affairs of the Kingdom of Geos would be a very difficult task for Abamama.
I felt regret later, but there was no way to undo that regret.
All the crown prince could do now was to return to the empire as quickly as possible and find a way to save Abamama.
In fact, all kinds of elixirs had already been used on the emperor in the Kingdom of Geos, but to no avail.
Nevertheless, the crown prince did not break his will to save the emperor.
The crown prince, who vowed that he would save Abamama, held the emperor’s hand tightly.
‘Can we really save it?’
The cost of using unknown power was too great.
His father, who used his power to save himself, was very reassuring and dependable, but the emperor’s body was gradually becoming thinner and older.
‘When did you get so many wrinkles?’
The therapist said that the reason Abamama’s physical condition was getting worse was because her organs kept not doing their job.
It’s as if something has robbed him of his vitality.
Isn’t the reason why the medicines Abamama took showing no effect is because they are pouring water into a bottomless poison?
The Crown Prince frowned as if the wrinkles on the Emperor’s face were showing that his end was not far away.
I still had a strong desire to be under Abamama’s strong mantle, but it seemed like there were not many days left before I could do that.
‘But still… I’m not giving up.’
The crown prince had the reckless idea that if he continued to pour water into the bottomless pot, he might be able to fill it up even a little.
