## Chapter 156 – Collusion (2)
Just before heading out to the streets, Aselle ordered people to gather in the plaza. The plaza wasn’t a well-maintained space for people to mingle like other districts. Rather, taking advantage of its wide-open space, it was mostly used as a gambling arena for gamblers.
As expected by Charlotte, the gazes of the people watching Aselle as she stepped into the plaza weren’t favorable. Rumors spread from mouth to mouth easily become distorted, with unnecessary additions obscuring their essence. The rumors about Aselle were no different.
She went to District 3 to create a better district, but from the perspective of people who didn’t know the detailed circumstances, or couldn’t accept them even if they did, she was nothing more than a leader who abandoned her duties to go play. Some even spat on the ground and threw sarcastic remarks at Aselle as if to make sure she heard them.
“Ah, some people are dying in fights because they don’t have money, while others are lucky enough to go on trips.”
Starting with that remark, words mocking Aselle began to pour out from everywhere. It wasn’t easy to identify the people spewing malice from within the dense crowd. They knew that fact better than anyone else, so they borrowed the faces of others to say things they wouldn’t normally say.
“I mean, the previous Demon King wasn’t like this. What’s going to happen to the district like this?”
No one stopped them from insulting their own king. Rather, they added vile laughter as if agreeing with them. Number 25 was taken aback by their attitude, which was much worse than before going to District 3. Even if they didn’t like her, wasn’t she still their king? She never imagined they would openly show such malice.
Not everyone was like that, but a trend was hard to stop. The psychology of the crowd was such that someone who was holding back and watching for cues could be at the forefront, storming into the mansion tomorrow. While Aselle was away seeking answers, their dissatisfaction had already reached the sky.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t understand their psychology. They probably didn’t want to live like this either. Did they genuinely resent Aselle? Not really. Even if they were given a knife and the opportunity to cut off Aselle’s head and hang it in the plaza, they would all refuse.
They were weak. Lambs who couldn’t even properly resist, forced to follow their king.
That’s why they didn’t change themselves but just vented their dissatisfaction. They just hoped that everything would go back to the good old days when they woke up. Yes, they were just reminiscing about the golden age and choosing someone to bear the burden of their downfall. The king who deserved respect had disappeared, and the immature Aselle who took the next position seemed to them not as a king, but as a sacrifice.
Charlotte glared at the gathered people and gamblers, sending a silent warning, but Aselle held out her hand and shook her head as if to say it was okay. Until the moment she left the castle, she thought of her as an immature girl who didn’t know the ways of the world.
At the same time, she realized.
Why hadn’t she known, even after watching her for so long? Why hadn’t she realized sooner the darkness in Aselle, who tried so hard to feign brightness to calm her restless heart? She had already taken a step towards change.
Number 25 looked at Aselle with worried eyes. She was clenching her fists tightly, but she smiled as if she had expected it.
“It’s okay.”
A short word uttered so quietly that it was unclear who she was saying it to. Taking a deep breath, Aselle slowly moved her feet as everyone watched.
She could do it. She repeated that in her mind, trying to suppress the constantly rising negative thoughts.
‘I can do it. Let’s believe in myself.’
Aselle, who thought she would never use it again, went up onto the platform and slowly opened her mouth, looking at everyone.
“Is everyone here?”
It was, after all, a royal order. Everyone in District 7 had gathered, as they didn’t know what disadvantages they might face if they disobeyed. Aselle spoke in a voice that wasn’t trembling, but more calm and powerful than anyone else, and everyone in the place focused their attention.
People’s reactions were all different. Some hoped Aselle would make some kind of mistake, some were ready to sneer at any moment, some were not interested in everything that was happening, some were just passing by, and so on. Everyone had different purposes for gathering in one place.
Perhaps there would never be another opportunity like this again.
“I’m not used to talking for a long time, so I’ll be honest from the start.”
Now she had to admit it.
“I’m not a king who can bring smiles to everyone like my mother.”
She was different from her mother. She didn’t have the heart to embrace anyone, and she certainly didn’t have the spirit to make noble sacrifices for complete strangers. She was still a child who was jealous when her things were taken away, wanted to go out and play more, and needed time to laugh and chat comfortably with someone, still longing for her parents’ love.
But she couldn’t stay a child forever. She couldn’t use her immaturity as a shield forever. Now was the time to step out from behind the shield that had been protecting her and face them directly.
Aselle closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them, taking in the faces of the people gathered in front of her one by one. Who was the king who framed them as troublemakers who didn’t listen to her and turned away from them? From the beginning, the problem was with her, not them. Weren’t they all her people to rule? Maybe people had known from the beginning. That the king had abandoned us. She was disgusted with herself for knowing that simple fact and constantly turning away from it.
“I know how shameless it is to say this now.”
Not anymore.
She had the courage to face them.
She couldn’t rely on those who believed in her and followed her forever. Because they believed in her and followed her, she had to become a great tree that couldn’t fall. Her firmly held heart didn’t break easily, and words she could never normally say were coming out of her mouth.
“Until now, I kept turning away from my immaturity. I thought that all the bad things were because of you who didn’t listen to me, that I wasn’t wrong, and I was dividing the walls even within District 7, rationalizing myself like that.”
Building walls and forcibly dividing districts to receive people who were favorable to her was clearly wrong. Only now did she realize that it wasn’t the kind of behavior a king should do. Aselle chuckled at the thought. Had she ever thought about the alienation they must have felt in the process? No. Aselle was the same as them. She had only resented them for not following her. There was no difference.
That’s why she could accept the insults they were throwing at her now without showing any reaction.
Now Aselle had put down all prejudices and was facing her people properly for the first time. Without borrowing the strength of her mother, Charlotte, or Number 25, without hiding behind anyone, solely with her own strength.
The only thing Aselle could feel in District 3 was
Sincerity.
A king placed under a crown without sincerity is just a hypocrite.
It was only natural that the empty words spoken by such a king would not reach the hearts of the people.
Aselle was finally able to admit her shortcomings.
The problem of the district stemmed not from the people who made up the district, but from the head who ruled them, herself.
At the same time, she could understand. What her people truly wanted was not to regain the previous golden age, nor for the dead king to return, nor better welfare and benefits.
Just like Arwen did, to be seen as people with the same personality, not as the king and the people… It was a small thing, but that alone was enough.
Why had she come so far for such a simple answer?
Aselle bowed her head before the people and continued to speak. Charlotte, who would normally have stopped Aselle from bowing her head immediately, just watched silently with her arms crossed.
She had no intention of interfering with the child who had always played under her skirt, now trying to change properly for once.
“I promise that such a thing will not happen again. Until now, I only chased my mother’s shadow, and I thought that I had to become a great king like my mother… I seem to have had an obsession without even knowing it. And my shortcomings were borne by my people. I will take responsibility for that. If you don’t like me, you can leave at any time.”
Nevertheless, she couldn’t keep her head down forever.
A king should be one who displays overwhelming majesty and embraces everyone. Aselle, who raised her head, gazed at the people who were now concentrating on her words with eyes that shone more brilliantly than ever before.
“I’ve never been good at talking since I was young, so I don’t know what else to say in this situation. But I have to do everything I can. Please believe in me. I need you on the path I’m about to walk.”
After finishing her words, Aselle paused for a moment and looked around the plaza.
The malice from the beginning had disappeared quite a bit, but the murmuring in the crowd was gradually increasing.
It was an understandable reaction, as this had never happened before.
Even if a bad reaction came out, she could accept it.
But Aselle’s sincerity moved their frozen hearts. A woman who came forward as a representative scratched her head and made a circle with her finger, answering in an awkward voice.
“…The pay is enough, right?”
She wasn’t stupid enough not to know their true intentions hidden behind the mask of pay.
Only then did Aselle show her people a bright smile for the first time.
