Return， Control， and Eat 235

Chapter 235 – Records Expunged

“Record… Expunge?”
“Mister, I’m taking out the zucchini in two noodles.”
“Okay. Get out soon!”

The waitress who was giving orders to the kitchen approached the emperor who muttered in dismay.

“Uh, I think I cleaned it up earlier, but why is it messed up again?”
“Eek, this! Don’t push, isn’t there a person sitting there! …Oops!”

The waiter pushed the emperor off the chair and tidied up the table.

There was no malice towards him. He hadn’t even thought of dealing with people in the first place.

Her shoved emperor tumbled across her floor, making her thud, but still no one looked at her.

“Now I’m clean. Have you been forgetful lately?”
“How dare you, this lowly fellow! Do you know who he dared to lay his hands on! I won’t let you live!”

Her jump-started emperor inflamed her murderous intent at her servant who pushed him, but it only left her feeling helpless.

[Cannot harm others without permission]

“Kuh… Ugh. Just this much…”

Neither magical power nor poisonous air responded. I can’t even punch.
The current emperor is more harmless than a passing puppy.

“Damn it… Princess!!

-Growl

“…”

The emperor shut his mouth.

When you’re really hungry, you don’t even have the strength to vent your anger. She realized

“You must eat first.”

Eat to live
The emperor who made a decision like a living creature.

But how do you eat?

If you are ignored by the waiter, you cannot place your order.
For the same reason, I couldn’t even buy ingredients at the store.

“It’s two noodles minus the zucchini, right? Enjoy your meal.”
“Thank you~”
“Hehe, that sounds delicious.”

At that time, the food ordered at the next table was served.

Two bowls of steaming noodles, savory and salty.

The emperor’s gaze moved by itself.
His mouth is salivating, and after a while he gurgles.

And I realized
You can’t even see it anyway, but it’s okay to steal someone else’s.

At best, one bill.
It was an act of selling pride for a bowl of cheap food that was so looked down on, but now I was very hungry.

“What… What is it?”

The emperor approaches the two women and extends his hand. There is still no sign that they notice the emperor.

However, if the movement of the emperor himself stops, it is a joke.

The hand that was trying to take the noodles did not budge.
He couldn’t steal

[Cannot harm others without permission]

The words the princess said flashed through the mind of the emperor who groaned while holding his hand.
And she got the answer right away.

“Sir, you can’t believe that harm… Means that it includes property damage?!”

It is impossible to injure or kill others, and it is also impossible to touch or trip others.

You can’t steal money or food, and you can’t even pick melons in the fruit field like the kids in the neighborhood.

Text seen in the status window. The emperor gradually realized what ‘living ghost’ meant.

“The noodles here are really good.”
“Sure. Shall we order some kimchi dumplings to share?”
“It’s so good. Aren’t you a genius?”

– My daughter and daughter

“Goodbye… Huh? Why did the door open alone?”

The emperor walks weakly through the crowds.

She realized that the princess was far more cunning and thorough than expected.

He wasn’t letting the emperor go easy on him.
It’s never that I’m not interested.
No matter where she went, she had already written her hand so that eventually she would have to come back to her side.

Far more thorough and vicious restrictions than handcuffs or shackles.

Because of the ban imposed by the princess, the emperor cannot buy or steal anything. Neither water nor food.

As for water, even if you drink rainwater or stream water, you will die of starvation in a few days because you do not have the ability to self-sufficient food in the wild.

Then, forcibly revived with miasma collected over several days, suffering from hunger and dying of hunger over and over again.

Forever.

If you don’t like that fate, you have no choice but to return to the princess.
As a princess, she must be an exception to the effect of her ban.

“Do you know how to… Do what you want…”

A weak step.
There was no strength in the body.
With a staggering gait, the emperor walked towards the imperial palace.

The surroundings are crowded with people.
However, surrounded by crowds, the emperor felt rather lonely.

None of her recognize her.
The man who knocked her over by bumping her shoulder, he walked past without even realizing he did it.
A middle-aged woman walking away hugging her puppy was ashamed to see her own dog growling into the air at her.

The Emperor was alone in this world.

“Your purpose is obvious. It must be to make me depend on myself…”

The only person in the world who looks after you.
Without that person, he cannot live.

Just as a dog recognizes the human it feeds as its master, the princess intends to slowly depend on and train the emperor.

Until she sees herself as the only thing left in her world.

“I know everything. I won’t fall for your ulterior motives. Never… Never…”

It’s okay if you know the trick.
She pretends to be tricked and has to yield up to her heart.

With that in mind, the emperor walked to where the princess was.
He said that when the sun rises, he gets into his car and leaves for the front line.

You must arrive before dawn.

“What are you? Where are you from?”

However, before reaching the place where the princess was sleeping, a woman jumped out of nowhere and blocked her path.

Dog ears and dog tail. It was Kang Ji-ah, the enemy of Cheolcheon who killed her older brother, Gray.

It is very alert with its tail erect.
He was thinking about whether the emperor would attack him.

The emperor was trembling with joy as he saw Kang Ji-ah.

“You…”
“You?”
“Do you see me?”
“What kind of crazy bitterness is this? It turned into a toilet and then turned.”
“Haaa…”

The Emperor felt extremely relieved as he was reviled by his brother’s enemies.

There was one who recognized her besides being her princess!

“That’s right. You guys got miasma from the princess, and you guys are usually the ones with huge magical power. You have resistance!”
“What… Please answer my words. Until now, where…”

– Growl growl

Kang Ji-ah widens her eyes.
The emperor blushed.

“…Foot. Did you go hungry? You were the emperor?”
“…Shut up.”
“What? Say it one more time.”
“Ah, no. No. You’re right. I’ve been starving for a while and my body’s not feeling well. Do you have any food left?”
“I’m going to eat it.”
“Then give it to me.”

The emperor bowed his head.

Ji-Ah Kang is a good cook and is in charge of the meals for her party, being her princess.
She probably wouldn’t fit the emperor’s mouth, but she was confident that now she wouldn’t complain no matter what food was served.

“What? Why me?”

She bowed her head and begged.
As an emperor, she gave in as best she could.
If it weren’t for this situation, she couldn’t even imagine it.

However, Jia Kang denied the Emperor’s request with her single sword in her cold voice.

“Without dying anyway. Just live like that.”
“That, like that.”
“Did you seriously think I’d feed a bitch like you? That’s disgusting.”

Despair enveloped the Emperor’s body.
It was an even more unbearable despair right after her hope of finding someone who recognized herself in a completely unexpected place.

“I’m still depressed, but I’ve only seen things I shouldn’t have seen. Go anywhere and disappear.”

Jiah Kang spat at her. She made her move, frowning.

Be alone again
The emperor’s heart sank.

“Now, wait. Don’t go! Don’t leave me alone! Me…”
“Muppet.”

Voice at that time.
It’s that hateful voice.

Looking up, I saw the princess sticking out from the window on the second floor.

“Master!”
“From now on, give him one meal a day.”
“Yes?”

It was Kang Ji-ah who spoke in a bright and charming voice that was completely different from when she met the emperor.
This time, it seemed that the princess’s behavior was not understood.

“Does it have to be?”
“Uh. It won’t be noisy if you keep giggling around. Just enough so you don’t starve to death.”
“Aha. I see.”

Kang Ji-ah and Gongju-in’s cynical laughter.

The emperor trembled at the smile of the princess who looked down at him and laughed at him.

However, after a while, a plate with butter and two slices of bread fell, and there was no time to think about that.

Every cell in his body was screaming to devour it at once.

“…”

However, the emperor did not rush immediately.

Feeling the princess’ cold gaze, she waited for his permission.

Who is the ruler of this seat, and whose mercy is this bread given?
It was because he knew that this small salvation could disappear like snow melting at any time due to the whim of the princess.

It’s not about giving in. I can only live like this now.
It’s not going to go your way. I lower my head for a while, but I don’t give in to my heart.

The emperor desperately repeated.

“Eat. In front of my eyes.”

– Hurry up!

Finally, the princess gave permission, and the emperor hurriedly lifted the bread and put it in his mouth.

“Well, heu, oops, haap…”

It’s good.
It wasn’t baked, it was just a slice of bread with butter on it, and it was so delicious.
It was the best of any mountain delicacies I had ever eaten.

To the point of tears.

The bread that came into my parched mouth was sweet as if it had been coated with honey.
It had nothing to do with carbohydrates containing glucose.
It was as if the crumbly pieces of bread were melting in my mouth and seeping into my soul.

“Ugh, turn it off, keup, keup…”
“Hey, eat slowly. Then you’ll choke to death.”
“Beep, haak, well, ugh…”
“I can’t hear you. Master.”
“Puppy. Bring him a glass of water.”

I ate two slices of bread in almost three bites.
Even the butter on the plate was licked clean, and it made me want to eat the plate as well.

She showed the princess how she ate greedily, even how she licked the plate in an inelegant way.
But she didn’t care at all.

She almost choked to death on the way, but even if she died, she would have no regrets.
Fortunately, Jiah Kang poured water into her mouth and saved her life.

“Ugh, uhhh… Uhhhhh…”

When I finished eating the bread, I felt my body rejuvenate.

The extinguished fire of life is rekindled.

Feeling the cold smile and gaze of the princess.
The emperor banged his head on the floor and burst into tears.
I don’t know why or why.

The emperor greeted the moment when the morning was bright, shedding tears.

@@@

“…You must be using my power anyway.”

The next morning.
The emperor murmured as he watched from a distance the princesses and their party busy preparing for departure.

“It’s not your will. I will never depend on you or use my power for you.”

From now on, even one meal a day by the side of the princess was fine, so he had to get her meal.

Let’s forget the ugliness we saw yesterday.
Still, things aren’t the worst.
Because I am not left alone in the world.

At least the Princess and his women remember and recognize the Emperor.
Even if it is hostility and contempt, it is more tolerable than complete indifference.

You can’t understand that solitude unless you’ve experienced it.

Ironically, the emperor was gaining strength from the enemy princess and her party.

“Shall we have a meal first?”

The emperor found Ji-ah Kang stuffing all sorts of supplies into the trunk.

Kang Ji-ah absolutely obeys Gongju-in’s words.
She hates the emperor, but since she was ordered by the princess herself, she will provide at least one meal a day.

If you can only eat once a day, breakfast is the most efficient.
It would be nice to be able to eat a hearty meal if possible.

She approached her and talked to her.

“Jia Kang. Give me breakfast. It doesn’t matter if you give me the ingredients if it’s annoying.”
“…”
“Huh?”

However, Kang Ji-ah did not answer. She is eager to organize her luggage with her torso tucked into the trunk.

She, whose five senses are so keen, did not feel the presence right behind her?

For a moment, the images of those who were at the restaurant yesterday overlapped with Ji-ah Kang.
A cold chill passed by.

“Kang Ji-ah? Kang Ji-ah!”
“…Ah, I’m surprised! Why are you coming without a sound!”

No.
Rather, in the hope that someone would notice the sound of his footsteps, he walked with a loud noise.

The emperor asked desperately.

“See me?! Can you hear me?!”
“Unfortunately, I can see and hear well. Why are you doing this since yesterday…”
“I’m glad. I’m glad…”
“Don’t cling to me. You crazy bitch!”

The emperor hugged Jia Kang and let her sigh in relief. If there is no malice, it seems that this level of physical contact is acceptable.

But it wasn’t such trivial things that mattered now.

Jiah Kang did not forget herself. The emperor felt a greater sense of security than anything else in that fact.

But the emperor did not know yet.

[Status Abnormality- Record Expunged: Presence gradually fades. It becomes invisible to others, cannot be heard, and eventually becomes an unrecognizable existence and living ghost to everyone.]

Gradually, the presence fades.
Slowly.

It all starts from now on, and even if you can resist the princess’s magic, it won’t last forever.