Chapter 1
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Aquitaine's Tyrant #1
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Imperial Palace, Audience Chamber.
The heart of the empire.
Fittingly, everyone gathered here was a heavyweight.
Palace Chamberlain, Prime Minister, Minister of Justice...
Each one wielded massive influence over the empire.
Yet right now, they were all bowing their heads and trembling in fear.
"Ha."
I let out a deep sigh at having been saddled with this unwanted role as a tyrant.
That alone made these power brokers who pulled the strings of the empire flinch and shudder.
"Palace Chamberlain."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Lately, I've been hearing some nasty rumors about you."
"Your Majesty, those are nothing but the schemes of wicked factions trying to deceive you... Who dared whisper such vile lies into Your Majesty's ear, sullying it? I shall punish them myself."
The Palace Chamberlain bowed even deeper and unleashed a torrent of flattery.
Normally, I'd have let it slide with a nod.
But not today.
"How strange."
"What do you mean, Your Majesty?"
"You're saying everything I've heard is false? Are you calling my eyes and ears worthless?"
"......"
The Palace Chamberlain shut his mouth.
This bastard—why the sudden change?
Until yesterday, I was the dumb, muscle-headed emperor who did whatever he asked, so why this murderous vibe?
Because, fuck, you're the mosquito bastard sucking my blood dry.
I ignored the Palace Chamberlain sweating bullets and racking his brains, turning instead to the old man trembling like a leaf beside him.
"Prime Minister."
"Y-Yes! Your Majesty."
"You've served this empire faithfully for so long. Isn't that right?"
"...H-Haha. Yes, indeed. Ever since His late Majesty's reign, I've devoted my life to the empire. It's the honor of my house that Your Majesty praises me so."
Why are you laughing?
I didn't call you to praise you.
"Yet the empire you've been loyal to seems not to be the one I rule. Word is, to rise in the empire, you have to offer gifts that please the Prime Minister."
"...Your Majesty! That's—"
"Enough."
I cut off the Prime Minister and rose from the throne.
The warmth in the audience chamber seemed to drop by five degrees.
"Minister of Justice."
"......Yes."
"My mouth aches from all this long-winded talk today. I don't need to say more about you, do I?"
"......"
"Your Majesty! What is the meaning of this...? How can you treat us this way, we who have devoted our lives to you!"
"What are you talking about? What's wrong with dealing with trash that's rotting the empire?"
The Prime Minister's face twisted in rage.
"You bastard! You sat on this throne we lavishly maintained for you, enjoying every luxury and pleasure! And now you turn on us, Khalid?!"
The Minister of Justice squeezed his eyes shut, sensing what was coming.
But the Prime Minister—maybe old age slowed his grasp of the situation.
Or perhaps, sensing death, he was spilling his guts.
Either way, his shrill screaming was annoying.
I waved my hand lightly.
Kwachik!
And that was it.
The three nobles rotting the empire became one with the underworld, just like that.
"Tch."
Turning three people into bloody puddles in an instant stirred no emotion in me.
I clicked my tongue and sank back into the throne.
"Are the Imperial Knights outside?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Come in and clean this up. It's an eyesore."
An Imperial Knight entered from outside the audience chamber.
He flinched in surprise but showed no sign of it as he began clearing the bloody puddle.
I leaned back languidly against the throne.
"You look tired, Your Majesty."
A familiar voice reached me.
I turned my head, and a slender figure emerged from the shadows.
A girl with long silver hair tied tightly back, one who suited moonlight perfectly.
"Lily. How did the mission go?"
"All taken care of."
Lily. The girl with the continent's top assassin talent.
The first thing I did after awakening to my past life was rescue and bring her here.
Now, she was like my eyes and hands.
"Well done."
"No need, Your Majesty. It was only right to punish the ungrateful traitors who forgot your grace."
The traitors she spoke of were those inciting chaos for personal gain as the empire crumbled.
"Lily."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"You carried out the mission successfully, so I should reward you. Anything you desire?"
"Ah."
Lily's eyes widened.
That surprising?
Well, the emperor personally offering a reward was pretty shocking.
"......Forgive me, but may I think on it a moment?"
"Of course."
"I'm sorry......"
"Don't worry about it."
Now that I noticed, there was blood smeared on Lily's cheek.
"You've got blood on you."
"...I'm sorry."
"I'm not scolding you."
I reached out and wiped away the blood.
Her soft cheek yielded gently under my touch.
It was squishy. I kneaded it a bit before letting go.
"Ahh."
"If blood got on you despite your skills, it must have been a tough mission. You did well."
"Th-That just now... No. ...I'm sorry for worrying you."
"Why do you always have so many apologies?"
Lily bowed her head deeply.
Tired, maybe.
"If you're tired, go rest."
"......I'll stay by Your Majesty's side."
"Do I look like someone who needs protecting?"
"That's not what I meant..."
Lily floundered.
Any more teasing and she'd cry. Better stop.
"Come here."
"...Yes."
She scurried over.
I positioned her by my side and calmly sorted my thoughts.
Palace Chamberlain, Prime Minister, Minister of Justice—dealt with.
They had to go, but heavyweights vanishing overnight like this...
The fallout would be huge.
And this was far from over.
There were still plenty more rotting this country.
Who was left on the list?
I pressed my throbbing head as I mentally reviewed the purge list.
"Haa."
How did it come to this?
Khalid von Aquitaine.
The name of a villain and the strongest character from some otome game.
A tyrant who ascended the throne young, indulged in every luxury and debauchery, ruling with cruelty.
He nearly ruined the empire before his younger brother prince usurped the throne and brought his downfall.
And that's me.
If I'd known, I never would've played an otome game just because the girls were cute.
Should've just lurked for memes.
No use lamenting now.
The sins I've committed so far are heavy.
Should I keep being emperor?
At this rate, I'll get chased out by my brother for ruining the empire.
Honestly, he'd probably do a better job than me.
In the game, he ends up emperor anyway.
So I decided to clean out the empire's trash first, then hand it over to him before I get booted.
To start, I prepared a bloody purge using what I knew.
No idea why an otome has this, but I gathered hidden pieces.
Brought in Lily and made her my shadow.
Not that I was in danger of dying anyway, but I trained my body just in case.
Judged it was time and pulled the trigger.
"......"
Overnight, top officials like the Prime Minister, Palace Chamberlain, and Minister of Justice vanished.
The palace grew eerily quiet from the bloody purge.
Now everyone shut their mouths and watched their step when I passed.
Though it was kinda like that before too.
Things would change a bit now.
Too late to fix the tyrant image, which was convenient anyway, so I'd keep the stance but tweak the standards.
Audience chamber with the officials gathered.
I sat on the throne and spoke.
"In your eyes, am I a fine emperor?"
"......"
"No answer."
Their faces paled.
Thinking they might be next on the purge list?
Makes sense—yesterday I killed three top officials who were my inner circle.
Chiming in with agreement here might get them swept up in some whim and killed.
Of course, some purge targets were mixed in.
Just holding off so the top and middle ranks don't all get wiped out at once.
But most here weren't on that list.
"You're all scared stiff. Someone might think I'm some monster emperor who kills on a whim."
Exactly.
"I get the gist, so no need to force an answer. Anyway, it's true I purged the Prime Minister, Palace Chamberlain, and Minister of Justice yesterday."
The atmosphere turned ice-cold.
"So you're thinking, 'That mad tyrant finally killed even his own cronies!' Not wrong."
Now even guys who couldn't hide their trembling shoulders were visible.
That one's got a rep for good work. In the original flow, he'd have been purged instead of the Prime Minister.
If I'd awakened to my past life a bit later, I wouldn't see him now. Lucky?
Tsk tsk. I clicked my tongue. A gulp came from somewhere.
Drag it out more and someone might have a heart attack, so I got to the point.
"I purged them because even by my standards, they were irredeemable trash. I'll do the same going forward, so if you're smart, gorge yourselves moderately. I won't kill anyone just because they displease me anymore. That's all—dismissed."
"......"
Dead silence filled the audience chamber.
"......Your Majesty, we haven't held today's meeting yet."
Ah.