Cleaning Time (5)

In romance fantasies, the protagonist is always a woman. The standard structure revolves around her, unfolding pure love or a reverse harem. Since it's romance, the protagonist inevitably gets entangled with the opposite sex around her. It was like an ironclad rule that had to be followed in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠romance fantasies.

And the women who appear alongside in romance fantasies are invariably either allies or villains. Considering these laws, the novel I possessed, Too ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Full from All the Giving Around Me, was a reverse harem story.

Too Full from All the Giving Around Me, aka Jupeobae, was bound to have a bunch of suckers helping the protagonist.

And the male leads all have different personalities, with keywords and such... From the obsessive northern grand duke to the holy knight, the magic tower lord—there's a ton of them. Among them, the 2nd prince is probably the big loyal dog type. No matter what, he just adores the heroine, gives her everything, always wants to stick by her side showering her with gifts.

It might not be that way, but up to chapter 50, that's how it seemed.

Originally, Jupeobae unfolded ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from the protagonist's perspective, so there were hardly any detailed descriptions of how the Bellos Empire was aiding the Maselin Kingdom. It was just Mirne going, "Help me, 2nd Prince!" and the 2nd prince replying, "Okay, my lady, I'll protect you even if I have to sell off the entire empire."

"So that's how he always gave so freely—turns out all the guys willing to sell out the country were just stuck to your side."

The Jupeobae I'd pieced together was a romance fantasy cliché with a modern girl reincarnated. A modern person possesses a novel, uses various privileges to strengthen the weak Maselin Kingdom—that was the story. And one of those privileges was surely something like "the 2nd prince's unconditional favor."

"Guys willing to sell out the country...? That's unfair! Investment isn't about short-term gains; it requires long-term patience...! And hyung agreed to it too!"

I didn't like him bringing up private titles in an official setting, but nitpicking every little thing would take all day, so I let it slide for now.

"Right, I did agree."

What kind of agreement hadn't the original owner of this body made before I possessed it? He was such a pushover he probably would've agreed even if they'd asked to just hand over the entire empire.

"But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠why now...!"

"Because they're rotting the empire from the inside—that's changed the situation."

I wasn't talking to the 2nd prince right now to gain some advantage through dialogue.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, forgive me, but most of the 2nd prince's aides involved in the Maselin Kingdom investments are confirmed to be in Maselin. We estimate very few can be summoned immediately."

"Grand Marshal, why would that make you apologetic? Don't worry about it. So when will the few available ones arrive?"

Until the leeches infesting the empire arrived at the round table chamber, I just needed someone to chat with out of boredom.

"Right now."

Bang.

The round table chamber doors flew open, and eight nobles poured in like parcels dumped from a warehouse.

Thud, crash.

"Ugh."

"Even if we're Imperial Guard knights, how can you treat empire nobles like this?!"

"We're the 2nd prince's aides! If he finds out we're being handled like luggage, he won't stand for it!"

"Do you know how many Maselin Kingdom operations we're handling right now?! How important we are, and you're treating us like baggage...!"

Even as they tumbled in, the nobles refused to bend their pride. They probably figured that even swordmasters blazing with aura wouldn't dare harm them due to their rank.

But their expressions changed in an instant.

After spilling out and lifting their heads, their eyes met the quietly watching 2nd prince.

"P-Prince Bedin...?"

"...."

The plea for help went unanswered; the 2nd prince simply averted his gaze.

The moment their trusted lifeline snapped, the nobles—who'd been yapping nonstop on the way in—went dead silent.

And what they saw when they turned:

"From how the Bellos Empire's nobles are handling Maselin Kingdom affairs... to just how important you all really are—I'm curious too."

Me.

I knew a significant portion of the empire's resources were funneled to Maselin.

But I hadn't realized the rot had spread so openly that I could call it out like this.

In fact, I knew I could pressure Maselin with this anytime.

But.

That's not the priority right now.

There was an order to things. Political pressure via aid cutoff could come later.

"Th-That is, it's not like it's unimportant in truth, n-no, Your High—"

"Grand Marshal, sadly these nobles don't seem to be Bellos Empire nobles either."

"You see correctly, Your Highness. They're not Bellos Empire nobles. They look like beasts of a fallen nation who'll only give proper answers after strict punishment."

"What should we do?"

"Your Highness, I am but a sword. Wield me as you please."

"I don't like how you're standing there with those aggrieved faces. You should kneel."

Slice.

"Gaaargh!"

"H-How, our legs! Our leeeegs!"

"Don't scream so loud in front of the crown prince. They'll reattach them anyway—why so scared?"

"T-Torture...! Repeating the cutting and reattaching, you're going to torture us like that?! And we're empire nobles...!"

"You're not nobles. You're beasts."

For now, internal cleaning came first.

+++++

After the first cleaning operation in the round table chamber wrapped up.

"Ha, is it a relief that I stopped it from going from worst to even worse, or should I not think that way?"

Back in my room, sorting through the situation again, I finally understood what "utterly ridiculous" really meant.

To think the Maselin investments were structured like this.

Just a single contract with no clue when repayment might come.

Trusting that alone, the empire had kept bankrolling Maselin like the neighborhood idiot big bro. And corruption had piled up in the process.

The silver lining? The sums were so massive no one had fully digested them yet.

Should I be relieved I can even recover them?

I had no grasp on how rotten the empire was, so for now, I'd settle for putting out the immediate fire.

In fact.

It even spat out a glorious 3% drop in doom probability.

But the true achievement of this council meeting was elsewhere.

The 2nd prince can no longer handle official Maselin affairs privately.

Total cutoff of official contact between the 2nd prince and Jupeobae's protagonist.

From now on, if the 2nd prince wants to meddle in Maselin, it has to go through me.

I'd love to sever even private contact entirely, but I knew that was unrealistic.

Since the 2nd prince was a character in a romance fantasy novel's protagonist lineup, he'd inevitably connect with Mirne somehow.

Smashing every channel they found was less efficient than keeping them in a controllable range and watching.

But doesn't this lower the doom probability?

Personally, I saw any contact between the 2nd prince and Mirne as a path to ruin.

The moment that thought crossed my mind.

"Huh."

A message followed immediately: doom probability down 10%.

Not even a full blockade—just temporary, and it drops 10%?

And it says the official contact block is temporary? So they'll reconnect in the future?

Meaning the doom probability could drop then rise again?

As various possibilities from the messages deepened my worries.

"A reward too?"

A ring dropped from thin air into my palm.

Simple description.

But is meeting a villainess a good thing?

It was a reward for huge progress, so obviously positive for me.

But I couldn't grasp what benefits came from meeting a villainess.

If I'd read more romance fantasies, I'd know.

Villainess or evil lady—a staple position to torment the original protagonist.

Often set up to like the male lead, harassing the heroine, or the type who loved the guy even before a contract marriage.

Honestly, a position I could meet if I wanted.

So why give a ring to make it happen? And not just meet, but fatefully?

I couldn't understand what "fateful" meant here.

No clue, absolutely no clue.

Still, good was good. Muttering that, I mentally reviewed the upcoming cleaning phases.

For now, I've stopped money from leaking out immediately.

I'd nailed down a full recheck of everything the 2nd prince was involved in at the round table, and he'd approved. No more free handouts for the foreseeable future.

About a dozen noble seats just opened up.

But they weren't dukes or marquises—just up to earls at best. For the empire's size, that many vacancies weren't a big deal.

However.

There'll be nobles eyeing those spots.

No obligation to fill them, but wolves would naturally salivate over the voids.

Time to cook up something tasty with this.

Mirne, Maselin's 1st princess, crown princess, and protagonist, was a 21st-century modern person by setting. She'd try all sorts of things: lowering illiteracy, promoting commoner talent while keeping nobility, etc., to make the kingdom prosperous.

But I can do that too?

If it works for a kingdom, imagine for an empire.

I hear she's building an academy open to all regardless of origin or status.

But we'd been funding it—and now pulled out. Construction would drag massively.

Not just money recovered, but all manpower too. Filling that gap would take ages.

No need for immediate diplomatic pressure. The empire just getting strong again is an attack in itself.

The structure was: the more we dodge doom, the weaker Maselin gets.

To complete this setup, cleaning had to continue.

"With one gold nugget's legs tied for now... cleaning should be easier short-term."

Thinking that, and with too much happening today, the moment I went to lie down.

Knock knock.

"Oppa! Oppa! Open the door! Oppa, it's me!"

"...Sigh."

Another forgotten gold nugget popped up.

If it were just the love-crazed lunatic 2nd prince, maybe the pushover label wouldn't stick.

But two?

"Come in."

The door swung wide at my words.

"Oppa! Is it true? Bedin oppa's really not giving Maselin anything anymore?"

Thick pink hair swaying, orange eyes gleaming with a happy smile, the woman approached me.

If 2nd Prince Bedin Bellos was the rake scooping from outside.

"Yeah, it's true."

"Then, then... no more worries, right? Can we go on that trip now?"

1st Imperial Princess Erna Bellos was the rake scooping from inside.

A pure-brained idiot, airheaded beauty, total bimbo. Less villainess lady, more blockhead lady.

Oh yeah, she needs reining in too.

Haa. A sigh escaped naturally.

"Talk after I sleep. I'm beat."

"Okay!"

I promptly shooed the 1st princess out, then flopped onto the bed.

2nd prince: love-crazed blockhead.

1st princess: plain blockhead.

1st prince: plain pushover.

Emperor, you mad bastard... wasn't the sperm yawn-worthy?

With three shots, at least one winner, right?

Why are you doing the heroine's side-character antics?

Still, the relief was.

I have a rough plan for handling it all.

I had ideas on turning it all to profit.