Are You Trying to Buy Me with Money?
The Emperor’s youngest daughter, born late in his life, was none other than Serena. And I had just returned from the streets where I had slammed that very Serena with a shoulder tackle from behind, pinned her to the ground with my knee so she couldn’t budge, electrocuted her guards, spoken to her like a common thug, ripped a fart in her presence, and caused an absolute scene. Yet he wanted me to be her bodyguard? The moment Serena saw my face and spilled everything I had done, my head would roll on the execution ground.
“That is absolutely out of the question, Your Majesty!” I leapt like a live fish yanked from the water. The Emperor tilted his head at my violent reaction.
“Your Majesty, I am endlessly grateful for your gracious favor, but this cannot be! I have only arrived here a few mere days ago! To entrust me with the protection of Her Highness the Princess is far too heavy an honor for this unworthy one! Please, I beg you to withdraw your words!”
Despite my desperate plea, the Emperor’s expression only grew more pleased. It was honestly chilling.
“Seeing how you lower yourself so readily, it appears you already possess humility in abundance.”
That’s not humility! The princess is going to murder me the second she sees my face! Still, I could hardly say in front of the Emperor, I shoulder-tackled your precious late-born youngest daughter from behind. I didn’t know what to do, so I simply put on a pitiful face and answered.
“Y-Your Majesty, this is far too hasty a decision. Have you not had insufficient time to determine what kind of person I truly am? If you entrust me with guarding the princess and I somehow harbor ill intentions, that would be the most serious threat imaginable to Her Highness.”
“Ah, so that was your concern. You need not worry about that.”
We’ve barely met and you’re already telling me not to worry? Who do you think you are? The words crawled all the way up my throat before I swallowed them back down.
“While you were touring the city, We spoke at length with Luke. It was We who first suggested this, and Luke agreed it was an excellent idea.”
“…Did you perhaps not hear what sort of things I tried to do to that old— to Master Luke? I distinctly remember him saying himself, right in front of me, that I try to stab him in the back twelve times a day. Isn’t that the clearest proof that I am the last person who should be trusted?”
The Emperor shook his head even after hearing all that.
“That fellow Luke is the type who treats the people he trusts and cherishes the most harshly of all. His personality is utterly twisted.”
“Your words are one hundred percent correct, Your Majesty.”
“But do you know? It is rarer than beans in a drought to see Luke treat someone that way. In all the years We have lived, the only person We have ever seen him treat like that is… Ourself.”
“…Pardon?”
The atmosphere was flowing in a completely different direction from what I had intended. Cold sweat began sliding down my back.
“Luke’s discernment is as extraordinary as his skill. And by discernment, We mean he sees not only a person’s strength but their true character with almost supernatural accuracy. According to Luke, although you constantly complain about his methods, bicker with him, and shout that you’ll kill him or die trying, you have completed every single training he assigned without ever dropping out.”
“That’s only because that mountain is crawling with monsters and the terrain is so harsh I couldn’t escape on my own…”
“If you truly lacked the ability to endure it or had no will to follow the training at all, Luke’s personality is such that he would never have kept a hopeless fellow like you around. In the letters he sent and the reports he delivered during his occasional returns, he could not stop praising you. He said your mental fortitude is unbelievably strong, your resolve is steadfast, and although you complain constantly about the difficulty, you never give up.”
Isn’t that just a fancy way of saying I’m a hardworking, obedient ox? It sounded like praise, yet there was something subtly insulting about it…
“You said there has not been enough time for Us to trust you? That is not incorrect. However, We trust Luke, who trusts you. And above all else…”
The Emperor grinned. For some reason that smile felt incredibly ominous.
“We proposed the position of princess’s bodyguard, yet instead of eagerly accepting, you listed every single one of your shortcomings and carefully explained why you are not qualified. We believe that very attitude is precisely what makes you qualified.”
Damn it! I knew it!
Even so, I could not accept this position. The moment the story of me shoulder-tackling the princess reached the Emperor’s ears, my neck would be forfeit. I lowered my head and offered my apologies.
“I am overjoyed beyond words to receive such excessive praise, yet I truly cannot become Her Highness’s bodyguard. I have lived my entire life on a mountain and know nothing of etiquette. To the eyes of nobles, I am nothing but a crude and vulgar man. If such a person were to guard the princess, I fear it would tarnish even Her Highness’s dignity. Moreover, I worry it would ultimately disgrace Your Majesty’s own good name for having trusted someone like me. Therefore, I must decline this proposal.”
Yeah, perfect. An excellent excuse. After I had gone this far, even the Emperor would have no justification left to keep pressing me.
And just as I predicted, the Emperor finally withdrew the offer.
“Hmm… Is that so? It seems We could not move your heart with mere words. How truly regrettable. With such outstanding ability, you would have been more than sufficient to protect Our daughter…”
“The world is wide, Your Majesty. You will quickly find someone far more excellent than a crude and undignified person like myself.”
“Is that so… Very well. You may leave. We hope you find the work you desire soon.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Having overcome the crisis, I let out a sigh of relief inside and rose from my seat. Just as I was about to exit the audience chamber, I heard the Emperor muttering.
“What a shame… Such a shame. We intended to offer ten million shillings per month if he would guard the princess, valuing his skill so highly…”
I froze mid-step.
…Ten million shillings?
In game terms, one shilling was basically one won. That meant… a starting monthly salary of ten million won?
The Emperor’s muttering continued.
“Furthermore, since it is special protection for a member of the imperial family, We could have provided generous housing support, meal allowances, and all manner of conveniences…”
Gulp.
“And because it pained Us to think he had spent his entire life training on Mount Ksir, We planned to grant him a private villa in a southern coastal resort so that whenever he received leave, he could rest there in comfort. We even considered giving him exclusive use of a private beach…”
Free housing! Meal support! Private villa! Private beach! The dream of owning my own home! And more!
I slowly raised my head and asked, “Your Majesty, I can hear every word you are saying.”
“Oh dear, you heard? This is what happens when one grows old—sometimes one cannot control the volume of one’s muttering.”
Even as he said that, the Emperor was grinning slyly. I immediately realized he had not failed to control his volume at all. The Emperor in his prime had been depicted as a war god who personally led conquests and harvested enemy heads with overwhelming martial prowess, yet the man before me now felt exactly like a cunning, fox-like strategist.
“So you are trying to buy me with money, Your Majesty.”
“Hoho, it seems We have been too obvious. Of course, since you have refused the bodyguard position despite all these offers, We no longer have any justification to detain you. Decide as your heart leads you.”
To think the Emperor of the Paulia Empire would resort to such blatant material bait as his final persuasion tactic. I began to see him in a slightly different light. Then I immediately dropped to my knees before him.
“This humble one has always carried in a corner of his heart the earnest desire to serve Her Highness the Princess with his life, willing to shatter his own body like jade for her sake.”
The money and benefits were simply too much to refuse. The Emperor looked completely different now. He was an incredibly wealthy patron. Dreams? Future? Free will? Who cared about any of that? When someone offered this much money, it was only natural to sprint over on all fours and snatch the opportunity.
When I accepted the proposal, the Emperor nodded with a thoroughly satisfied expression.
“You have made an excellent decision, Aran. We will take firm measures to ensure everything We promised is provided without fail. We trust you will also do your utmost to protect Our daughter.”
“Of course, Your Majesty! Even if this one body is shattered into a handful of ashes, I shall devote my entire being so that not a single hair on Her Highness’s head is harmed! Loyalty!”
If Luke saw this, he would probably click his tongue with the most pathetic look in the world… but whatever.
At that moment, the door to the audience chamber opened and someone entered.
“Father, I was told you summoned me. Please forgive my delayed response; I was briefly out in the city and—huh?”
A stunningly beautiful girl with blonde hair braided to one side and purple eyes. She stepped into the audience chamber, spotted me kneeling in the center, and I turned my head at the voice coming from behind me. Our eyes met.
The moment she saw my face, her mouth fell open and she pointed straight at me.
“……Ah!!!”
“Ah.”
The Emperor’s late-born youngest daughter, Serena, had appeared at a very inappropriate place and a very inappropriate time.