3.

Unable to find a place for himself in the tearful, touching exchange between the man and the woman, Kallis simply watched in silence.

Even to him, the princess's tears were unfamiliar.

He had watched her growth without missing a beat as her swordsmanship instructor since she was a child, yet the princess had never shown tears even once. He hadn't even heard rumors of her crying in secret.

That was how strong a woman she was.

She was a child who didn't cry even when the skin of her slender, fragile hands was stripped away from swinging the sword thousands, tens of thousands of times, or when the friction of the wooden sword against her raw flesh tormented her every day.

She was a warrior who made him constantly wonder what it would have been like if she had been born a man.

Of course, she lacked absolutely nothing simply because she was a woman. He could be certain that she would have done well even if she had actually ascended to the throne. Nevertheless, there were unavoidable disadvantages that existed simply because of a female body.

The princess's tears were the result of running harder and more viciously to overcome such gazes.

The tears she had swallowed even at the moment she watched the Emperor and Empress die with her own two eyes were now pouring out for the first time.

Kallis also raged silently.

Towards the traitors of the Empire. Towards the Allied Forces.

He would take revenge no matter what. He would not leave this world, even in death, until he resolved his deep-seated grudge.

As he made this firm vow, Kim Buja asked him a question.

"So, what was your plan once you got to the Kingdom of Akanda?"

Kallis answered calmly.

"I intended to meet the King and speak with him."

Of course, he had no clear countermeasure.

"And if he refused to meet you?"

"The princess possesses the token of His Majesty the Emperor. If we showed that…"

"And if he still refused to meet you even after showing it?"

Kallis remained silent.

He knew. He knew it wasn't a wise method. But it was a situation where he had no choice but to try even that.

"If I were the King of Akanda, whether I felt sorry or guilty, the moment I heard the princess had arrived, I would have immediately contacted the Allied Forces. With what face could he look at her? And the grace of the Empire? What grace is there from an Emperor who has already collapsed and died?"

Kim Buja thoroughly excluded sentiment.

Humans are ultimately selfish animals. They turn away and turn their backs when things get difficult. You would be lucky if they didn't stab you in the back while pretending to help. Even if one lends money, the reality that the power dynamic shifts the moment the money is handed over is no different here than in the real world.

"Listen carefully."

Separating the princess from his embrace, Kim Buja bent at the waist to meet her eyes and spoke seriously.

"For a human to establish their identity, the most important thing is consistency."

She nodded. The princess was smart. She realized what he was trying to say and wiped away her tears.

"Whether you are good or evil. It doesn't matter. Believing in God or not? If that was important, all atheists would be dead by now."

Just like in reality, there is one characteristic shared by people who are always criticized and fall into trouble due to their own actions: taking an attitude that is neither here nor there.

Once a direction is decided, one must push through to the end even if it is inhumane.

The moment one denies their established convictions and acts contrary to them just to keep up appearances, they stagnate. They become unable to achieve what they desire.

In reality, this is quite restricted. If you commit evil acts, you are condemned and suppressed. To avoid that, people sometimes display behavior that appears good on the surface.

But not here. No, at least the princess should not do that.

"You've already been branded. You are the villainess of the century who has already contracted with a demon. If such a villainess disguises herself, comes carefully, and asks for help while presenting a token of an Emperor who isn't even an Emperor anymore, what will the opponent think?"

"They would think I have some ulterior motive, or they would look down on me."

He nodded, satisfied with the answer. Since she understood, there was no need to say more. All he had to resolve was to give her the power suitable for the image known to the world.

"From now on, you have genuinely contracted with a demon."

A wicked smile, the kind one might see on a real demon, formed at the corners of his mouth.

* * *

A few days later.

Bizarre rumors began to circulate in the capital of Akanda.

"Did you hear screaming from the royal castle?"

"Someone passing by at dawn saw it; they said they saw blood-red smoke."

"I heard many people are collapsing with unknown symptoms."

Rumors are baseless stories. Naturally, baseless stories tend to just flow by and vanish. However, if those rumors accumulate not from one person, but from two or three, they are no longer just rumors.

Above all, people who had seen it firsthand and people who had experienced it directly began to appear.

"Did you hear the woman next door suddenly vomited blood and collapsed?"

"I heard the blacksmith is the same."

"Someone said they saw the prince walking around the castle covered in blood."

And those malicious rumors were directed at the Royal Castle of Akanda.

A situation where the royal castle would cry out in injustice! No, before they could plead injustice, the King vented his anger first.

"How dare they! Such nonsensical rumors! Catch whoever started this immediately!"

The Kingdom of Akanda was a kingdom established after many twists and turns. It had gone through countless events, and looking at the current state of the continent, it wouldn't have been strange if it had collapsed at any moment, yet it survived in the end.

Naturally, the King of Akanda's anxiety and nervousness amidst the sensitive tension were only natural. To think that the word he hated hearing the most would be directed at him, of all people!

"Black magic. Black magic in the Kingdom of Akanda, and in this royal family at that! Find the source of the rumor immediately, dig it up, and confirm the truth of the matter!"

Starting with the Royal Knights, the army mobilized.

It was important to confirm the source of the strange rumors immediately, but they also had to verify the root cause of the people actually vomiting blood, collapsing, and dying within the castle.

"Why at a time like this…"

It was a moment where they had to be more careful than ever. They had been on the side of the Empire, and although they had betrayed the Empire to preserve their lives, it was a situation where it wouldn't be strange if they were cast aside at any time.

Even if it wasn't true, if strange rumors spread, the Allied Forces could find fault with them at any time and destroy the Kingdom of Akanda.

He had to eliminate these terrible rumors before word leaked out.

Deep in the night, taking advantage of the lax security, the root of the rumors came to the King of Akanda while he was thinking just that.

"Hey, wake up."

"What the—!"

The King, who met with disaster while sleeping in his bed, couldn't even think of how to react to such an absurd situation.

This was his bedroom. The center of the Akanda Palace. To think an intruder had appeared in a place where security was stricter than anywhere else!

He instinctively reached out towards where his sword should be, but unfortunately, the sword was already gone.

"Intruder!"

After a brief moment of panic, he shouted calmly, but unfortunately, no one came running at his cry.

"Are you done?"

Only a devil with a wicked smile approaching him existed there instead.

The King, sprawling on the floor and backing away, could not make any response. What could he do? It was hard enough to even grasp what was happening right now. For him, this was a situation worse than a bolt from the blue.

Kim Buja showed mercy to the King, who wore an expression of soul-shattering terror.

"You're curious about who I am, right?"

A rough nod.

Smiling, he pointed behind him.

Only then was the King of Akanda able to look around the interior of his room. A familiar scene. A strange face standing behind him.

However, the face—beautiful enough to make one swallow dry saliva—made it hard to look away once eyes were laid upon it.

"Don't know who it is? Ah, you probably don't. Since she has never shown her face to the world."

The King's eyes widened in shock.

Then, at Kim Buja's words, he gasped.

Because he realized who it was. At the same time, he clearly grasped the situation.

"P-princess?"

"Why would the princess come here?" Buja asked him.

At the question asked as if to confirm, the King of Akanda's face turned even paler.

The man in front of his eyes who came with the princess. He was too young to be an escort knight assigned by the Allied Forces. Then who could be the man accompanying the princess? A man who could penetrate the heavy security of the knights and enter this place at such a late hour.

"D-Demo—"

"Shh."

Before he could get the word out, Kim Buja's hand covered his mouth. One corner of his mouth curled up wickedly in a smile that seemed to enjoy the current situation, but to the King of Akanda's eyes, it looked like anything but that.

"Mmph!"

'A demon!'

At the same time, he begged the princess for forgiveness.

"I-I am sorry, princess. I just..."

"Shh!"

Kim Buja covered his mouth once again. When he held out his hand behind his back, the princess handed him the Emperor's token.

"You know what this is, right?" Buja asked the king.

"I will help unconditionally. If you just say the word, anytime…!"

"Why would we trust a bastard who betrayed us once? Based on what?"

Kim Buja, shaking his head firmly, snapped the token in half right then and there.

"I didn't come here to ask for a favor."

The King gasped.

"I just came to tell you."

Throwing the broken token away randomly, he stood up and moved beside the princess. Placing a hand on her shoulder and pulling her into an embrace, he spoke.

"The way for you to live. And the way for this kingdom not to be erased from the map."

Kim Buja's unique method. A unilateral notification.

If this were reality, he could never have done this. It was an infinitely unethical, cruel, and inhumane method.

But it was possible because this was the world inside the Gold Mission.

No, there wasn't exactly any other option.

As Buja told the princess, a person must be consistent. Having already killed tens of thousands of people in the gorge with a wave of his hand, he shouldn't feel guilty about a difference in methodology. He shouldn't stop just to check what lay at the end of the chosen path. Even if he had chosen a different path, a similar situation would have unfolded, with only the severity differing.

"As the rumors say, your son has already contracted with me. A way to reverse it? There is none. You just have to pay the price for your choices."

The princess came to make the Kingdom of Akanda an ally in this fight.

But Kim Buja did not.

The Imperial Army and the Allied Forces. In a continent already divided into black and white, it is impossible to dye black into white again. The side of the Empire, which was black, had already been torn to shreds beneath the feet of white.

All that remained was an uncompromising war.

"Announce that the princess of the Empire is going around spreading darkness across the continent and that your son is the first victim. And execute your son, who has been stained by darkness, with your own hands. Tie a definite knot on the path you chose. Live the rest of your life feeling to your very bones how the Empire turned out because of your choice, what path the princess walked, and what that feeling is like. Or fight. To protect your son. Feel it. The loneliness the princess felt because of your betrayal."

Just as the Allied Forces did, this time the Imperial Army would create it. The hole in the giant dam started from a very small crack.

Understanding the meaning of the words spat out and the intentions of the demon and princess who boldly intruded at this late hour, the fear disappeared from the King of Akanda's expression.

The king, who had been reluctant to even get close, clung to Kim Buja's leg and begged.

"Please, just spare my son!"

It was no different. Whether it was the king of a kingdom or a commoner. Everyone has a weakness.

It was a cowardly and mean method, but if you targeted that, you could easily get what you wanted.

Buja warned, "Think when you act. About the price that will return for your choices."

But unfortunately, there was nothing he wanted from the Kingdom of Akanda.

There was only one thing to gain from the first destination.

He needed a flashy and massive loudspeaker to announce their presence to the continent.

* * *

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