Chapter 389
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 389
Chapter Title: But I'm Serious?
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[This country is really something.]
"You mean that flashy welcome ceremony? Or maybe the fact that they still run a cavalry unit in this day and age? Or the godawful air pollution?"
[Snipers! I'm talking about snipers!]
Yuna Kyung shot back without thinking.
Of course, the other things were impressive too, but nothing shocked her as much as the out-of-nowhere assassination attempt.
But what truly left her baffled wasn't the sniper attack itself—it was how everyone else reacted to it.
[Shouldn't there have been more of an uproar if something like that happened right in front of all those people?]
It would've turned the whole country upside down under normal circumstances.
They didn't just brush it off casually—they went right ahead with the welcome ceremony like nothing happened.
Even if they'd been doused with ice water instead of bullets, there probably would've been more chaos than this.
But Rimon stayed perfectly calm.
"Uproar? Come on, the princess of the Seven Dragon Society isn't gonna drop dead from a few bullets."
[That doesn't make it any less of an attempt on the life of this country's top leader!]
"Sure, if it were rare."
[...Do they have assassinations every day here or something?]
"Not every day, but pretty damn often. You've heard the rumors, right?"
[I had no idea it was this bad.]
Yuna Kyung grumbled reflexively.
She was well aware of Russiakan's infamous reputation.
Everyone knew that Okhrana and the KGB—intelligence agencies that terrified the world—devoted most of their resources to spying on their own citizens.
Even so, for the Seven Dragon Society clan, obsessed with their princess's safety, to shrug off an assassination attempt like it was nothing...
It was impossible to imagine how commonplace this must be.
"The history of this place is a tangled mess. And the fact that it's ruled by the Silver Dragon Clan doesn't help."
[True... That airhead big sis isn't exactly normal, that's for sure.]
Yuna Kyung let out an involuntary sigh.
Pretending to die from the sniper shot.
Flash-freezing the sniper.
Acting like nothing happened.
Then rolling around on the street in disgrace.
Ekaterina's unpredictable antics—from start to finish—were enough to make anyone's head spin just watching.
Especially since it all happened in front of hundreds of thousands of citizens.
[She was kinda scary when she caught the assassin, but I still can't figure out how a girl like that earned the title of iron-fisted dictator.]
"You'll find out."
[Huh?]
"That crazy princess might be nuts, but she's no simple airhead."
[...?]
As Yuna Kyung tilted her head in confusion at his cryptic words, the door burst open and a white-haired girl with an expressionless face walked in.
"Ri, preparations are complete."
"You look great all dressed up."
She was decked out in far flashier clothes than usual, laden with bracelets and anklets that jingled with every step—like she was gearing up for battle.
Rimon rose from his seat upon seeing Aynsha.
"Just to confirm—can you really delay the share buyback?"
"Of course. At least in the futures I've seen, it was postponed. So just trust me and leave it to me."
Rimon stared intently at Aynsha's back as she strode ahead confidently, then nodded.
"Alright, then. It's yours."
At that moment,
Aynsha suddenly stopped in her tracks.
She bowed her head slightly and murmured softly.
"...Thanks for trusting me."
"Huh? It's not that big a deal."
"Still."
Rimon chuckled at Aynsha's gruff expression of gratitude for entrusting her with something so important.
He adjusted the sword at his waist and spoke lowly.
"Alright, let's go negotiate."
The Seven Dragon Society's governing rights.
The shares in Tiamat that also qualified her as Rimon's bride.
A negotiation fiercer than war, with the lives of half of Russiakan's citizens on the line, began just like that.
"Share negotiations? Do we really have to do this?"
And it was over.
"..."
In the vast conference room of the Kremlin Palace,
Ekaterina, perched right in the middle of the long central table, spoke.
Rimon massaged his temple with one hand for a moment before asking.
"Crazy princess, did you forget why you called us here?"
"To collect the bounty, obviously."
"So why are you backing out of the negotiations now? You're not seriously telling us to sightsee and head home, are you?"
"I'm not backing out. I'm just wondering if you have to take it in shares."
"Then what do you want?"
"Hmm? Like, maybe Aynsha calls me 'big sis♡' with all her love, and does some cute aegyo with a smile?"
"..."
Rimon was finally speechless.
Aynsha, who had been silently stone-faced, spoke up in his place.
"Um, before I respond to that nonsense, I have a question."
"Ask away! Fun fact: this big sis loves lamb and vodka, and her hobbies are torture and listening to music!"
"Not curious about that."
"Huh? Then what?"
As if nothing could be more intriguing,
Ekaterina tilted her head.
Aynsha asked flatly,
"Ekaterina, do you know why you're still tied up?"
[Oh, good, it's not just me who thinks that's weird.]
Yuna Kyung had been wondering why she was sitting on the table instead of a chair,
and why she was still trussed up exactly as she'd been thrown from the car.
She nodded vigorously.
Ekaterina answered nonchalantly.
"If I untied the ropes you gave me already, it'd be a waste."
"..."
"They tighten just right when I move, with that nice tingly feeling. Kinda pleasant, actually."
[...]
As if to prove it wasn't just talk,
Ekaterina wriggled shyly atop the table, grinning.
Yuna Kyung blinked in stunned silence.
Aynsha flicked her sleeve.
Slash!
"Ack! Why cut it? Such a waste!"
"It's my silken thread. I decide if it gets cut."
"Aw, I was gonna lie in bed like this and sleep so comfy..."
Ekaterina grumbled but sneaked a hand toward the severed threads.
Before she could, Aynsha swept her sleeve again, neatly recovering even the broken pieces.
She said expressionlessly,
"No aegyo. No 'big sis.' Cut the crap and negotiate properly."
"But I was serious."
"I'm leaving."
"Tch, fine. Shares it is, then?"
Tap tap.
Ekaterina pouted reluctantly but lightly drummed her fingers on the table.
A silver-haired maid entered first, bearing thick stacks of documents in both hands, followed by a line of maids carrying boxes into the conference room.
"Here, check it out."
As Kana handed over the documents and the maids opened the boxes on the table,
Yuna Kyung swallowed hard.
"Heads of 13 Liberation Brigade executives. Records of subjugating 8 bases, plus lists of 1,847 regular members and collaborators captured and executed."
[...!]
Frozen skulls.
Ruined cityscapes in rubble.
Piles of corpses or blood-soaked bodies in photos.
Even Yuna Kyung, a former PAB agent used to crime scenes and bodies, froze at the gruesome contents.
But Rimon didn't bat an eye.
He calmly reviewed the documents.
"Hard to rack up achievements like this in just a few months... What'd you do?"
Rimon narrowed his eyes.
The Liberation Brigade was an organization so elusive even he couldn't track their bases during his PAB days.
For the Silver Dragon Clan to achieve this in such a short time was astonishing.
"Our citizens are capable."
Ekaterina giggled.
Leaning in as if sharing a secret, she whispered into Rimon's ear.
"Especially since anyone—neighbor, friend, relative—can report suspicious people."
"...Must be real proud of that."
"Damn right I am."
No dictator hates when the people wag their tongues like loose cannons.
Ekaterina beamed proudly, drawing an irritated grimace from Rimon, which only delighted her more.
"Any doubts, just say. I can provide evidence, witnesses—whatever. Call Rose for notarization if needed."
"No need."
"Huh? You sure?"
"Yeah."
Rimon said calmly.
Documents could be faked easily enough.
In Russiakan, under Ekaterina's power, even witnesses were unreliable.
But Rimon didn't doubt the materials' authenticity.
He raised one hand with a quiet mutter.
"Real or fake, we just pay the value it deserves."
Shimmer.
A soft starlight flowed from his hand, forming a scale.
Rimon dropped the documents onto one side.
He glanced at the tilted scale's reading and spoke lowly.
"3.7%."
"What?"
"Converting the Liberation Brigade bounties you've claimed so far into Tiamat shares equals 3.7% value."
"That's all?!"
"...Don't badmouth someone else's company shares. 3.7% of Tiamat is huge."
Aynsha countered flatly.
3.7% controlling stake in the Seven Dragon Group, which dominated global wealth, surpassed national budgets.
It was the White Dragon Clan's lifeline—priceless beyond billions.
But Ekaterina had her say.
"My people poured money and manpower into hunting those Brigade bastards. At least 37%!"
"Can't argue with the scales."
"Weighing some papers tells you jack? If I just push a little... Huh? Grr!"
"Pushing won't work. It weighs not the paper, but the value of your achievements."
"Urgh."
Even psychokinesis couldn't budge the reading.
Ekaterina scowled in frustration.
Rimon, meanwhile, was unflappable.
The Brigade's core was the wraiths.
Regulars and execs were expendable pawns.
The 3.7% she earned mostly came from crippling bases and limiting wraith operations.
"Hmm, this won't cut it..."
Realizing further debate was futile,
Ekaterina scratched her silver hair vigorously and sighed.
"Guess no choice. Gotta catch more."
"Talking like you deliberately left some Brigade rats alive that you could've nabbed."
"Actually, I know where a ton of Liberation Brigade goons are holed up. They even sent a friendly tail today."
At that,
Rimon furrowed his brow.
Knowing Russiakan history well, he could guess where.
"The revolutionaries."
"Pfft, revolutionaries? Rebels."
"Name doesn't matter. That intel solid?"
"Over 80% of the Brigade we've nabbed were tied to the rebels. Good enough?"
"...Looks like the Liberation Brigade was plotting something here too."
"Who knows? Maybe use the rebels as front for a coup? They stick together, after all."
"..."
"So sweep the rebels, and we bag the Brigade too, right?"
Rebels scheming treason.
Criminal scum in the Brigade.
All vermin that needed exterminating.
Rimon frowned at the silver-haired girl's chipper tone.
"From what I know, potential revolutionaries here number over a million easy. You gonna kill them all?"
"Kill? What scary talk! Even traitors don't deserve summary execution!"
Protesting she wasn't a butcher,
Russiakan's dictator.
The Seven Dragon Society's maddest.
Most brutal Silver Dragon princess.
Ekaterina waved her hands frantically, then flashed her usual bright, cheerful smile.
"Gonna ship 'em to the Gulag for some proper hard labor. Sentence? ...Oh, about 30 years?"