Chapter 222
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 222
“Add a few more chests to the gifts being sent to Brillant.”
Benjamin Fluers.
At his cold command, the Chief Attendant hurriedly bowed his head.
“Yes, Your Royal Highness. I will have them prepared and loaded immediately.”
The attendants, led by the Chief Attendant, could hardly breathe. Only after Benjamin gave a dismissive wave of his hand did they quickly scramble out of the bedroom.
The luxurious bedchamber was thick with the heavy scent of medicine. The thick curtains were all drawn, blocking out the sunlight and the breeze, leaving the room shrouded in a somber gloom.
The gift procession bound for the Frezier Grand Duchy under the name of the Sorsen Royal Family had been prepared at the staggering cost of 30 Billion Gold.
“You… You…! To squander the treasury so recklessly… Cough, cough!”
A frail, exhausted voice drifted from behind the heavy bed hangings.
Benjamin shifted his gaze.
“Do not be so angry. You will only worsen your health.”
His voice was gentle. However, not a single shred of warmth could be found in Benjamin’s eyes, which looked as if they were embedded with spheres of pure gold.
“You, you… Cough, cough!”
Taking long strides toward the bed, Benjamin knelt on one knee and spoke with polite formality.
“Father.”
“Do you… truly intend… to bring this kingdom… to ruin… Cough!”
“The national treasury was not used for the gifts sent to Frezier. They were funded entirely by my private wealth, Father.”
“That is impossible…! How could a mere prince possess such a fortune as his personal assets…!”
“Why do you find it so hard to believe? Ah.”
Benjamin let out a laugh as sharp and cold as an icicle forming on glass.
“I suppose you thought a prince born to a lowly slave mother would be poor even after becoming the Crown Prince. Is that it, Father?”
The King could not even respond properly, caught in a fit of continuous coughing. Amidst the smell of medicine filling the room, a faint scent of blood lingered.
“But unfortunately for you, I am quite capable. That is how I bought your country, and how I bought your position. Father.”
“You, how dare you… insult my decision like that…!”
“Father. If you hadn't been sold to me, this country would have gone bankrupt long ago just trying to feed all the women you’ve touched. As your son, I was truly ashamed that a man of such meager talent was so obsessed with the pleasures of the flesh.”
“Insolent… You insolent brat…!”
The King bolted upright in a rage, only to collapse back down. Benjamin stood up and looked down at the King with cold, indifferent eyes.
“You have a lot to say for a father who was sold to his own son. I haven't spent a single penny of your money, so just focus on dying slowly.”
“Benjamin Fluers…!”
Benjamin’s golden eyes turned toward the window, where a sliver of light leaked through. The warmth outside felt distant, as if it would never reach him in his lifetime.
His cold, golden eyes took on a lonely hue. He murmured softly to himself.
“Because I have to offer this entire country to that woman…”
“Is… Is anyone there…! Someone… Cough, cough!”
But no one entered. The Sorsen Kingdom was already firmly within Benjamin’s grasp.
Yet, Benjamin did not look the least bit pleased. There was no sign of the typical catharsis one might expect from someone who had successfully exacted their revenge.
He felt suffocated.
As was often the case, he felt as if he were choking.
Benjamin lowered his head and took slow, shallow breaths. It felt as if his chest had been clawed open, blood dripping everywhere.
This lavish bedroom of the Sorsen King, the kingdom itself, and the mountains of gold.
In the end, it would all be his.
Everything would fall into the hands of Benjamin Fluers.
And yet, he was not satisfied.
He held a handful of everything, but none of it held any meaning.
No matter how much one chews on a piece of rotten meat, an old hunger cannot be sated. No matter how loudly one screams while clutching a parched throat, the answer they have wanted their whole life will never be heard.
There was only one thing he had ever wanted.
But she had granted him nothing.
She had only looked at him with an expression full of contempt, coldly driving a dagger into his heart.
Benjamin walked slowly across the blood-red carpet. He moved his feet with leaden steps.
Since when was it?
Since when did I dare to covet you?
Because she looked after his younger self, he must have thought he had become someone important.
He must have secretly preened, thinking he was a precious treasure, like gold buried in the mud.
So he had dared to think that she might want him.
That if he offered to sell his body, she would gladly buy him.
That he would be worth at least that much to her…
It felt as if an eternal winter had taken up residence in his chest.
“Your Royal Highness.”
“Your Highness.”
As he stepped out of the King’s medicine-scented bedroom, Benjamin’s gaze grew even colder.
“How strange. Why is my youngest elder brother kneeling here?”
The last of Benjamin’s brothers, the final prince remaining in the palace, was kneeling on the cold marble floor. He grabbed Benjamin’s leg and pleaded.
“Your Highness! Please, just once, let me see Father just once!”
“Father is doing well and is in good health, so there is no need to worry.”
“Please, Crown Prince…”
The prince begged desperately.
“Are we not brothers sired by the same father? Father is in such critical condition, how can you not let me see him even once? How can Your Highness be so cruel to your own brothers!”
Benjamin, who had been looking down at the prince with an expressionless face, suddenly ground his boot into the prince’s palm.
“Aaargh!”
“What’s cruel is what you all did to me when I was young.”
“Aaaaaagh!”
“And besides, didn't you brothers teach me? That this is how you treat beggars who crawl beneath power.”
The prince’s hand was crushed, blood seeping out as the bones twisted. Only then did Benjamin lift his foot, before ruthlessly kicking the prince in the chest.
“Drag him away.”
The knights standing behind him immediately seized the prince and dragged him off. With a face drenched in cold sweat, the prince screamed out in resentment.
“Benjamin! You filthy son of a slave! You’ll never get away with this! Selling your own brothers, your own kin, as male concubines? You lowly piece of trash!”
Benjamin, hands tucked into his pockets, let out a scoffing laugh.
“Flesh and blood trash indeed. Every single one of them screams the exact same curse when they’re sold off. It’s as if they all practiced together…”
It was a resentment Benjamin had heard so often it was utterly tedious.
“Then again, since they’re all being sold to similar places, I suppose the grudges blooming in their hearts would be similar as well.”
Benjamin had sold off all his brothers. Every single one of them had been sold to foreign lands far, far away from the Sorsen Kingdom.
The people who bought the princes were of various statuses and nationalities, but they shared two things in common.
First.
They were wealthy enough to afford a beautiful prince as a plaything.
Second.
They were all elderly noblewomen.
Now that even this prince had been sold, there were no more of Benjamin’s siblings left in the Sorsen palace. Not a single one.
Contrary to the warm sunlight, the temperature outside was gradually dropping. Benjamin moved his feet, feeling the lonely, chilly air against the tip of his nose.
“Your Royal Highness.”
It was then that his advisor approached.
“There is significant backlash regarding the Soimer Mine. Regarding the matter of deploying new laborers to the mine…”
“Proceed as planned.”
“But Your Royal Highness. Even if they are all prisoners, the advisors are expressing concern that it is far too inhumane…”
The advisor was sincerely worried.
“It is a treacherous mine; once they enter, they can never come out again. The intensity of the physical labor is also extremely high…”
“And?”
“…Your Highness.”
“Tell them that if they can suggest a labor force that can mine the veins more cheaply than prisoners, I will consider it. If it’s not a bad idea, I’ll review it personally.”
“…”
“Speak up.”
“…”
There was no warmth in Benjamin’s eyes. They were eyes that had lost all vitality, like rusted metal.
For some time now, Crown Prince Benjamin had been obsessed with nothing but amassing wealth.
He had always been a man driven to collect money, but now it had reached an excessive degree. He didn't sleep properly, and he barely ate.
The advisor could not adapt to his suddenly changed master, but he could not find the words to answer Benjamin’s challenge.
“Carry it out without a hitch. Labor is eighteen hours a day. If they collapse, whip them back up. There is no need to spend money on medical treatment even if they are injured. Leave them be, and when they stop breathing, throw them in a pit and bury them.”
The wealth accumulated in Benjamin’s private treasury over the past few weeks had surpassed what he had gathered over several years.
“It’s not enough. It’s sickeningly insufficient.”
Benjamin let out a self-mocking laugh. He moved toward his next business meeting. He didn't have a moment to sit and rest.