Prologue: I Love Power
I love power. Because the one who controls power controls everything.
The vast fortunes amassed by billionaires the world over rise and fall on a president's single word. They're respected wherever they go, yet even the chairmen of colossal corporations—ones that manage assets rivaling a small nation's annual budget—can't escape the U.S. President's grip on their life and death. That's why we worship those who wield power. No, everyone in this world has no choice but to worship those with absolute power. One moment out of a power holder's favor, and it could spell the end for me, my family—our very lives and social standing. But a sliver of their goodwill? Instant riches.
So from the moment I came of age right up until the brink of death, I devoted my entire life to reaching the pinnacle: becoming president. I wanted to seize control of power itself and claim everything in this world with my own hands.
Though I couldn't become president in Korea, in this rotten 17th-century Holy Roman Empire, I ought to try being emperor at least once.
In my previous life as Kim Sumin, I'd poured everything into that goal of the presidency too. From middle school, I buried myself in studies to get into a top university, kept up steady volunteer work and student council gigs. In high school, I even convinced my teachers to rally the whole school for a donation drive to help victims of a devastating natural disaster.
The second I hit university, I jumped into youth committees and such, popping up in the news now and then as the hero of some feel-good story. It paid off—I got elected to the National Assembly in my early thirties. But then some senior party hack slapped me with a bullshit frame-up and threw me in prison.
Now this emperor bastard's lying that I'm a traitor just to purge me?
I'd never plotted a single rebellion against the emperor. Half-ass a coup and get caught? I'd lose every scrap of power I held. No, I focused solely on enriching the lands under my influence, showering prosperity on the people there. Over decades, amid the Holy Roman Empire's war-ravaged desolation, the only livable spot was the Bohemian Crown Lands—the one place my reach extended.
This current emperor punk was dumber than even the worst kings of old. I was dead certain that if I just proved myself the far superior loyal servant, he'd hand me the perfect pretext on a platter.
Stuck in solitary with nothing but time, at least binge-reading all those isekai fantasy novels paid off.
Freshman congressman or not, they gave me a cushy cell—no real hard labor, just kicking back on taxpayer-funded meals. With nothing to do but read fantasy novels and history books all day, I lived like a total shut-in for years.
You never know how the world turns, huh?
Right on cue, my office door flew open as nobles from the Bohemian Crown Lands poured in.
"Even a mad emperor couldn't purge Your Grace like this!"
"Who was it that held up the Holy Roman Empire single-handedly...?"
"Your Grace, make the grand decision! We'll follow you with our lives!"
A smile crept across my face. The moment had come to take that final step toward my dream of lording over everyone as the ultimate power holder.
"I, Albrecht von Wallenstein, for the sake of you all, for all the subjects of the Holy Roman Empire, to glorify the God of justice and bring peace to every Christian..."
In real history, Albrecht von Wallenstein had clawed his way from low noble to imperial duke and army commander through moneymaking schemes, only to get betrayed by the emperor and assassinated by his own men.
But that wouldn't be me. No, I'd become the Holy Roman Emperor—the sun illuminating the empire. Revered eternally by all, basking in power and glory while I lived.
"I shall crush the tyrannical emperor, ascend his throne, and right the world's chaos."
Thanks for the dirty work, you emperor bastard. Couldn't snag the presidency, but thanks to you, I'll wear the Holy Roman crown.