I've Become Stronger!
I've become stronger! The thought rang clear as I stared at the corpse with a dagger buried in its throat. “It suits you perfectly.”
Guilt? Regret? None of those feelings stirred inside me. If anything, I felt refreshed. Good riddance.
I strode over to Liana, who stood watching with wide eyes from behind us.
“Liana, make yourself presentable.”
I fastened each button of her uniform with deliberate care.
“Your Highness….”
She clearly had much to say, yet Liana spoke not a single word. She probably doesn’t want to ask.
I gently brushed my fingers across her swollen, reddened right cheek.
“Liana, bind these wretches and summon the nearest guards. This lady shall keep watch here.”
“...Understood, Your Highness.”
Using the rope from the dead man’s pocket, Liana tied the two traffickers’ legs together and departed. That left only the two still-unconscious traffickers, the girl who had nearly been sold at auction, and me. Four souls in total.
“Who... who are you?” The girl’s lips trembled as she spoke.
The emotion shining in her eyes was one I knew intimately. Pure terror. It was the exact same look the ministers had given Kalian on the first day of my possession.
“This lady is Iris Barshain, princess of the great Barshain Empire.”
Since the guards would learn my identity soon enough, I saw no point in hiding it.
“Thank you…. I will never forget this kindness….” The girl exhaled in relief.
“If you wish to repay the favor, devote yourself to Liana and to the empire. Shamefully, this lady had intended to flee.”
“I would have run too… out of fear. It isn’t Your Highness’s fault. Anyone would have done the same.”
Despite my confession deserving harsh judgment, the girl offered warm sympathy instead of condemnation. She has a truly kind heart.
“What is your name? This lady wishes to know it for herself.”
The girl flinched at my question.
“Eh…. For a slave like me, even having a name is too much of a luxury….”
Ah. I recalled it now from royal lessons. If even one parent was a slave, the child became a slave as well. An archaic, outdated system.
I’ll need to revise that law later as well. With Kalian away, I intended to reshape many parts of the Barshain Empire.
“That is… inconvenient. Would you permit this lady to bestow a name upon you?”
“Y-yes! It would be the greatest honor…!”
Golden hair, purple eyes, and those sharp elven ears.
My naming sense really is terrible…. Damn it, what should I call her? Before the possession, my pet dog’s names had been Ppong and Ppongi. I clutched my head in frustration.
Drawing from the countless heroines I’d read about in novels, I finally settled on one name.
“……Diana. This lady grants you the name Diana.”
It was technically the name of a game character rather than one from a novel, but it was undeniably beautiful.
“Diana…. I like it very much, Your Highness.”
At that, Diana’s shoulders began to shake, and she burst into tears.
“W-why are you crying so suddenly?!”
“Your Highness… please watch over me. I will become someone you need and return without fail…!”
The moment she finished speaking, Diana bolted away. I had been about to suggest she work alongside us in the palace, but…
She didn’t run off because she was scared of me, did she…?
With Diana’s abrupt departure, I was left alone with the two unconscious traffickers. Ugh, how utterly despicable. Just looking at them made rage boil up inside me.
I stomped over and kicked one of the men square in the face.
“Aack!”
The man’s eyes flew open in pain.
“Are you awake now?”
He immediately lunged at me, but—
THUD!
“Ugh…!”
Thanks to Liana’s tight bindings around his ankles, he toppled spectacularly.
“You truly resemble a monkey performing tricks.”
“Shut your mouth! I’ll kill you! Let me go while I’m still asking nicely?!”
The same feeling I had felt earlier surged up again, drawing on memories of my old self.
“Be silent. Consider this lady’s ears.”
“…….”
You have created a skill through your own will.
The passive skill Majesty of the Tyrant is being separated.
You have acquired the active skill Obedience.
The skill is evolving.
You have acquired the unique skill Absolute Obedience.
Absolute Obedience
Description: Command while infusing your emotions.
Effect: Bestows an irresistible coercive force.
※However, this skill cannot be used on Kalian Barshain or on individuals with exceptionally strong mental fortitude.
The sudden notification of a new skill didn’t surprise me much. If I had to pick something surprising, it would be the unique skill rank. In most hunter stories, skills usually just leveled up…
I really want to read the author’s setting book.
Since it was now an official skill, I might as well test it. Questions… questions… Ah! One question immediately came to mind.
I addressed the trafficker at once.
“Speak the name of the auction house you tried to sell Diana to.”
“Heh heh… and if I don’t want to?”
“Speak.”
Each time I used the skill, my eyes ached. Did such an overpowered ability come with a corresponding drawback? I felt like pouring artificial tears directly into my eyes. As I blinked furiously, the man finally opened his mouth.
“...I don’t know the name. But I know the location.”
“Then tell me the location.”
Right after, the trafficker spilled everything without hesitation.
“I’ve told you everything, so let me go…! I’ll live honestly from now on!”
“How could this lady believe such words? Look beside you.”
“Beside me? Why… fuck! What the hell is that…!”
Next to the man lay the corpse with its dead eyes. The moment he saw it, his face twisted in horror.
“If you do not wish to end up like him, stay silent and wait. This is this lady’s small act of ‘mercy.’”
“…….”
A few minutes later, Liana returned with two guards. The moment the guards saw the scene, they clamped hands over their mouths in shock. The alley was a mess of blood, and a cold corpse lay with a dagger lodged in its throat.
“Y-Your Majesty the Regent! What in the world….”
“These are human traffickers. One killed himself. The other two had their ankles bound by Liana—take them into custody.”
“What?! You were the Regent this whole time?!”
No need to be so shocked. I’d been speaking in this formal tone the entire time, yet your head still couldn’t process it? I feel genuine pity for your brain, buddy.
As the guards moved to drag the men away, I added one more instruction.
“Ah, do not kill them. Lock them in the dungeon. There is still much information this lady has yet to hear.”
“Yes! Understood!”
I watched until the traffickers were completely taken away, then reached up to stroke Liana’s hair.
“Liana, is your cheek all right?”
“It’s fine…! Actually, it still stings a little….”
The perfectly fine Liana from moments ago suddenly clutched her cheek and began acting as if in pain. She clearly wanted something. She had done excellent work, so rewarding her with one small thing wouldn’t hurt.
“Tell this lady one thing you desire. As long as it is within this lady’s power, anything is acceptable.”
“T-then….”
Liana’s face rapidly turned scarlet.
It’s not what I’m thinking, is it?
“...Speak quickly. Do not keep this lady in suspense.”
“P-please kiss me here…!”
Liana pointed to the cheek she had been struck on and squeezed her eyes shut. It was more or less what I had expected. After all, this was the same Liana who clung to me and rubbed against me every night beside my bed.
“The location is hardly appropriate. This lady shall do it once we return to the palace…. Let us return at once. The sun has already set.”
I could give her a kiss a hundred times, a thousand times, but…
Isn’t that a bit too direct…?
“Yes, Your Highness! You absolutely have to, okay?”
I had hoped she might forget if I delayed, but it seemed there was no escaping it.
The moment we returned to the palace, certain people greeted me with excessive enthusiasm.
“Your Majesty the Regent~?”
“Hiccup….”
Who else but the ministers.
“You said you would return before sunset…! This is no time for leisure. Quickly, to the office! What are you all doing? Escort Her Majesty the Regent to the office at once!”
Ah. So this was what they called an ‘escort.’ I might have stayed out a little later to enjoy myself. Why were they so strict?
Practically dragged to the office against my will, I found myself facing a mountain of documents.
“Your Majesty the Regent, you may not leave this office until these documents are finished.”
“T-this is torture…! C-can this lady not finish them tomorrow morning?!”
My near-scream of protest only made the minister smile.
“Tomorrow has its own tasks. Now, please begin. I shall cheer you on from the side.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the minister closed the door.
“They are all too cruel…. This lady is still growing…. This lady must grow taller…!”
I didn’t even bother reading the countless stacks of papers that reached my waist. I simply took a document, stamped it, took the next document, stamped it. An endless cycle.
Wouldn’t it be more efficient to just run a macro at this point?
“This lady has done nothing wrong! It is all the ministers’ fault!”
Any matter that reached the highest authority—me—must have already been reviewed by the ministers before being passed upward. If anything went wrong, it would be their responsibility, would it not?
The endless repetition took only two hours to complete. With all the work finished, I threw open the office doors with gusto.
“Your Majesty the Regent, have you truly finished already?”
The ministers were blocking the doorway. The healthiest-looking one among them spoke.
“Of course this lady has! If you doubt me, verify it yourself!”
It seemed they really didn’t trust me. I told them to check, and they actually did.
Couldn’t you at least do that when I’m not watching…?
“Oh… you really did finish everything. You didn’t just stamp them without reading, right?”
I flinched. This was exactly why I disliked quick-witted people.
“Naturally this lady read them all before stamping! Ah, and inform the senior ministers that we will hold an unofficial meeting tomorrow.”
The minister tilted his head at my words.
“Pardon? What meeting are you referring to?”
“This lady will explain tomorrow, so simply do as instructed. It is a matter of great importance.”
The minister pondered for a moment before nodding.
“Understood. You have worked hard today, Your Majesty the Regent.”
“You have labored hard as well.”
After bidding the ministers good night, I finally reached my bedchamber. There, I found Liana waiting shyly atop my bed.
“Ah! Your Highness, you’re back?”
“This lady has completed today’s tasks perfectly!”
With a soft thud, I sat down beside her. Liana rubbed her eyes and spoke.
“Your Highness, you haven’t forgotten, right?”
She must have fought off her drowsiness just to receive her promised kiss.
“...Of course not. Close your eyes for a moment.”
Hah, it had been over ten years since I last kissed my mother’s cheek, and now I was doing it at this age. Still, if Liana wanted it, I had to give it to her.
After taking a deep breath to steady myself, I leaned in.
“Chu.”
I gently pressed my lips to Liana’s soft, pale cheek.
“Is that sufficient…?”
“Your Highness.”
With those short words, Liana suddenly pounced on me.
“Your Highness is too wonderful! Now it’s my turn to kiss you!”
“T-this lady declines…! Ack! This lady orders you to stop the kisses!”
Only after enduring Liana’s storm of kisses could I finally fall asleep.