13. Bono
I had set my sights on one man: Bono.
He was now a disgraced former knight, an internal whistleblower. His life had collapsed into the abyss. The word “abyss” felt too mild to describe it. When I asked the knight who had been close to him—his junior, Erica—about his current situation, the news was devastating.
“Bono-senpai… uh.”
“Speak freely.”
“Thank you. I know his father is a warrant officer, right? He’s apparently already left the military. He said he could receive a pension after just three more months of service… but I guess it was hard to keep going.”
“I heard he has one older brother.”
“There’s a brother who works at a trading company. That person probably quit as well. Among the shareholders of that trading company is Count Dryden, who belongs to the Third Princess faction. He was one of the ones who suffered the most from the recent incident.”
Bono wasn’t the only one whose life had been destroyed. The entire family had been dragged into ruin.
Given the gravity of the matter, it wasn’t excessive.
He was a knight who had betrayed his lord, even framed him with a lie, and gotten caught.
Logically, Bono should have been punished for treason. The only reason he hadn’t been handed over to the military police was because Sienna had given no signal to do so.
‘Bono himself probably has no room left to feel relieved.’
He had been a member of the Imperial Guard Knights and fallen overnight. Not only had he lost his current job, but his future looked bleak. No matter how skilled he was, he would have to face Sienna head-on, and there was no one who would help him.
However, the real torment wasn’t just losing his position.
“It’s because of the fact that he falsely accused a member of the royal family out of his own misunderstanding. It’s painful.”
“You’re not giving up because things are tough?”
“I don’t think so… I’m not saying this lightly, but he even tried to commit suicide.”
“…”
Being forced to live the rest of his life as a “false informant” was clearly tormenting him.
I had seen Bono’s lack of caution and sense of justice firsthand. He had rushed to the Third Princess and reported us because he believed it was the right thing to do. When it turned out to be a misunderstanding, it was only natural that he broke.
Of course, I wasn’t feeling pity for Bono and trying to save him.
I simply knew that humans of this type could be controlled and used far more effectively than hardened criminals. There was no group more vulnerable than those who believed they were doing the right thing and then failed.
I intended to exploit that vulnerability.
“Erica, I need one favor. Please deliver this money to Bono.”
I handed my junior two thousand thalers.
It was roughly a month’s salary for an ordinary worker in the Imperial Capital.
Not a huge sum, but not something to ignore.
I didn’t hand it over casually. I added one condition. “Make sure Bono never learns that the money came from me.”
“…You want me not to tell him?”
“I don’t want my existence to be revealed if possible. I’m helping for personal reasons, but I have no intention of officially sponsoring him.”
I hadn’t given those instructions for nothing.
Bono was in an extremely isolated situation. Because of the way people looked at him, he could barely leave the house. No one would deliberately approach the man marked by two imperial princesses to try to befriend him. He was practically imprisoned.
If I gave him anonymous support, would he accept it so easily?
‘He would probably try to find out who sent the money no matter what. He’d want to confirm that he still had allies.’
My prediction was correct.
The next morning, the junior I had sent on the errand arrived at my house with an awkward expression. He was dragging an uninvited guest behind him.
The visitor was, of course, Bono.
His pitiful appearance had grown even more gaunt, and blood had dried on his cracked lips.
Just looking at him, I could imagine the suffering he had endured. Even his hair had thinned at a young age from stress. It was truly pitiful.
“I didn’t expect you to come all the way here.”
I pretended to be troubled and looked at Bono. He couldn’t continue speaking and lowered his head. His hands were trembling, whether from nervousness or something else.
That was as expected.
The surprise was that there was another companion. A middle-aged man who looked similar to Bono was rubbing his hands and staring at me.
“This man is Bono’s older brother. …We came together because we wanted to apologize to our younger brother.”
I hadn’t expected his guardian to follow, but I was actually glad.
The more attached a person was to their family, the easier they were to control.
**
I faced Bono and his brother, who had been driven into a corner.
“Allan, because of my misunderstanding, I’ve caused you and His Highness trouble…”
Bono stammered as he tried to apologize, so I stopped him. He had been tricked by me in the first place, so receiving an apology felt odd.
“You don’t need to apologize.”
“Huh?”
“I understand why you reported us to the Third Princess. …You probably wanted to stop Jimsonweed from reaching Her Majesty the Empress. If something like that had really happened, not only would Sienna have been furious, but every person working at the Temple of Tems would have been affected.”
At those words, Bono’s face brightened slightly.
I couldn’t forgive him to that extent. I wasn’t trying to save one broken life. I needed subordinates I could use as tools.
“I understand. Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me. I only understand your motives.”
“…”
“You created an unbelievable conspiracy theory with just a few pieces of circumstantial evidence. …I don’t know what kind of life you must have lived to come up with such imagination. Even now, I can’t believe it. You could have asked me carefully instead.”
Bono’s spirit was crushed again. His frequent emotional swings were proof that his mental state had collapsed.
“Then why Jimsonweed?”
“As far as I know, it was purchased to calm the beast slaves who were causing trouble. His Highness has recently shown interest in the slave trade.”
“Uh.”
“But you linked Jimsonweed and the Empress’s medicine without any basis. …Do you think Sienna is that foolish? Would she carry poison herself and feed it to the Empress? She isn’t stupid.”
“…”
“In the end, your belief that your judgment is always just and right caused this situation.”
I looked at Bono with contempt, but only for a moment. I didn’t forget to sigh to show my regret. That way, his self-loathing wouldn’t become even sharper.
Bono’s mouth opened and closed as he stared into empty space. His brother’s expression was equally lost.
There was no point in pressing him further.
I would simply wait for Bono’s despair to ripen.
His reckless judgment had ruined his family’s lives.
He had probably endured by telling himself, “I did it with good intentions. There must be something to it.” But because of me, even that had become difficult. For an internal whistleblower, nothing was more painful than the loss of their credibility.
“Then what was I supposed to do…”
Bono finally broke down and sobbed aloud.
‘Is this enough?’
I judged that the time had come and turned my gaze to Bono’s brother.
“You said you were Bono’s brother?”
“…My name is Jacob. Please speak casually.”
“All right. I feel bad that your family suffered, but it couldn’t be helped. You might think it sounds harsh, but your brother should have been locked in the military police detention center instead of here. …I tried to stop it, but this was the limit.”
“Thank you for your help. I’ll take my leave… It’s fortunate, heh.”
Jacob bowed to me with a sorrowful smile.
His appearance was like a miniature version of Bono. Short stature, short limbs, and spectacles.
He had said he worked at a trading company. Even though he had lost a good job because of his brother, he still seemed to have affection left.
Thanks to that, things would become easier for me as well. It was only natural to show kindness to a good person.
I looked at the pitiful brother and slowly opened my mouth.
“I can open a way for both of you to live. If you help me with my work.”
Both brothers looked at me.
I gave them one errand.
It was to test whether they would become loyal friends to me.
…
That evening.
The brothers returned with anxious expressions and placed the items I had instructed them to bring.
It was a bag of lime. One of the things I would need to manufacture goods in the future.
I hadn’t explained the purpose to them.
“It’s a matter of human lives. If you help me secretly, I will guarantee your livelihood.”
I had scared them. They probably thought of corpse disposal or torture based only on the clues of “lime” and “lives.”
Yet they had quietly carried out the task I gave them. It meant they were prepared to compromise with evil to survive.
In fact, when I saw Bono’s face, I saw resignation in his eyes. If I was just going to give him small errands, I could use him as he was. But what I needed was a servant who would work hard on any task.
Since I had already thrown them into the abyss, I would now show them hope.
“I will start making medicine from now on. You already know that I cured Her Majesty the Empress, right?”
Bono looked at me hesitantly. I continued immediately.
“You’ve worked on the front lines, so you know. There are many people who die without ever seeing the holy magic wielded by the Saint. …For example, soldiers who lost limbs in explosive accidents. I plan to make the medicine these people need.”
“Uh…?”
“Of course, it’s to make money. I might even have to do something dangerous. But there will be people who benefit from my work. Isn’t that meaningful?”
Bono’s dead eyes began to regain some life. It was only natural after giving minimal justification to someone who had expected the worst.
“Bono, you can live by helping with that work from now on. If you want, your brother can join you too.”
The brothers stood there blankly, then began to shed tears. Whether from emotion, they kept repeating how grateful they were to me. Jacob, the older brother, seemed to realize this was a test, but he still bowed and said he was grateful.
The moment I hired a knight as an expert as a servant.
I had decided to pay them enough money. It was basic to control people.
Now it was time to manufacture the product.