Chapter 207
Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 207
Chapter Title: A Countermeasure to Thwart Labor Exploitation (2)
Once upon a time, about six hundred years ago—a good long while back.
In the land of Joseon, ruled by the great King Sejong, there lived a man called Prime Minister Hwang Hee.
Prime Minister Hwang Hee was excellent at his job.
Thanks to that, he enjoyed King Sejong's boundless favor.
Along with that favor came piles of work every single day.
Each time more tasks piled up, his back would bend under the strain.
His spine curved so much that he wanted to run away.
So one day,
Prime Minister Hwang Hee pleaded with King Sejong.
"Your Majesty, this old servant of yours is frail and wishes to return to his hometown to spend his remaining years."
The kind-hearted King Sejong replied, "Very well, then. I'll send my palanquin, so use that to commute from now on."
Even after that, Prime Minister Hwang Hee kept pleading with King Sejong every day.
"My mother has passed away, so please let me take some time off."
"Please let me use my accumulated vacation days."
"Please, just let me retire."
"Fire me instead."
"Please fire me."
But every time, King Sejong would cheerfully shout, "No."
Thanks to that, Joseon's famed prime minister, Hwang Hee, endured gleeful labor exploitation until just four months before King Sejong's passing, finally retiring.
And then?
He barely got to enjoy his retirement before departing this world. Ah, a hellish ending. A hellish ending.
"...That's the story. Depending on how you look at it, it might end as just a funny little tale. But when you really think about it, it might not be someone else's story. At least not for me."
Lloyd recalled the old anecdote(?).
Then, out of nowhere, he clenched his fist.
The famed prime minister Hwang Hee, who begged to be allowed to retire.
King Sejong, who gleefully worked and used him right up to his death.
One could dismiss it as just an amusing page in history.
Lloyd used to think that way too.
But lately?
It felt like it wasn't someone else's story anymore.
King Sejong and Prime Minister Hwang Hee.
King Alicia and himself.
Somehow, an eerie sense of crisis washed over him, the situations and atmospheres flowing in eerily similar ways.
"It's not just my imagination."
Lloyd bit his lower lip.
Truth be told, he'd felt flickers of that sensation before.
He'd been quietly gripped by anxiety more often than he'd admit.
He'd even jolted awake from sleep in fright.
He, who had overcome every hardship and finally built a peaceful territory. He, who planned to lounge around sucking on honey for the rest of his life.
The king summoning him.
Assigning him new tasks without a moment's rest.
Trapped in the gears of that work, groaning, while watching himself in that state.
He'd had nightmares like that.
"But that nightmare? If I'm not careful, it'll turn into reality. It really feels like it could."
Lloyd swallowed bitterly.
It had started when he received the king's edict and joined the special envoy to the Sultanate of Ahinsha.
A nagging thought that this wasn't right began occupying a corner of his mind.
Then, midway through, when he'd gone to the capital Magenta to meet the king and secure permission for rebel leader Thermes's asylum.
That was when certainty hit.
If he just let things slide like this?
A very clear premonition surged up: he'd spend his life as the king's worker drone—or SCV—dying from overwork.
"That's why. I need a countermeasure."
He'd shown off his abilities too much.
To overcome the territory's financial, physical, and biological crises.
He'd performed beyond what was necessary.
As a result, the king had properly recognized his talents.
But King Alicia?
She was the type to work her capable talents to the bone.
She believed that the more her people toiled, the more peaceful the subjects would be and the stronger the kingdom.
So if he stayed like this without a plan, he'd never escape the worker's fate.
He'd have to bid farewell to the honey-sucking life he'd so desperately craved.
"No way."
Just imagining it sent chills down his spine.
After all the suffering in South Korea.
After all the ordeals here to overcome crises.
Spending the rest of his life dying at work felt like outright punishment.
That was why.
With King Alicia's endless labor exploitation looming ahead.
He needed a way to dodge it.
Lately, he'd been racking his brains for a method.
"Of course, I can't rebel against the king or anything."
King Alicia was an absolute ruler.
A powerhouse with political acumen rivaling the Magentano royal family's greatest, and a supreme swordmaster who stood unmatched anywhere.
Thanks to her, the kingdom's situation was incredibly stable.
But if he revolted just because he hated the work?
Lloyd shook his head vigorously at the thought.
"Am I crazy? To do something like that."
The odds of failure were high.
Even if he succeeded, it'd be like opening the gates to a new hell of tasks himself.
In the worst case, he might end up king and chained to state affairs forever—a total disaster.
Lloyd wanted no part of that scenario.
"Besides, King Alicia trusts me completely. If I play it right, she could be the sturdiest backing for life. From my perspective, the longer she holds the throne, the better."
Alicia's throne needed to stay rock-solid.
Under that stable umbrella, he needed to avoid work and just suck honey.
To do that, he had to carve out a new position for himself.
One packed with privileges.
And light on mandatory duties.
A perfect spot for sucking honey without effort.
That was Lloyd's latest dilemma.
"But the problem was, no clear method came to mind. Until just now. Things are different now. Thanks to you, Julien."
A sly grin curved Lloyd's lips upward.
Where his gaze landed.
On the path below the manor hill.
Julien and Serazad walked side by side.
Dodging the hot summer sun, taking turns leading.
But still awkward around each other, those two.
Seeing them set Lloyd's brain spinning.
Ways to counter King Alicia's labor exploitation bubbled up.
'Alright, it's possible. This could work.'
He sensed potential.
He saw an angle for success.
This was worth a shot.
If it worked?
King Alicia would find it much harder to blatantly work him raw than before.
No—at the very least, he could create an awkward atmosphere around it.
A mischievous smile crept onto Lloyd's lips as he mulled it over.
'That's it. Julien, looks like big bro owes you one this time.'
When a plan strikes, virtue lies in acting without delay.
That very evening,
To realize the grand new picture he'd sketched.
Lloyd immediately put his plan into motion.
His first target: Julien.
♣
"Hoo."
A sigh escaped unbidden.
Julien couldn't fathom why.
Sighs kept slipping out during dinner.
Even the home-cooked meal he hadn't had in ages tasted off.
'I have no idea.'
Julien shook his head slightly.
For some reason, his mood felt unsettled.
Even chatting with his parents over the meal.
Even savoring his favorite smoked duck.
Something just felt off.
His heart pounded for no reason.
Then his chest would tighten like he couldn't breathe.
Only for a smile to creep onto his face unawares.
As a result, he could barely tell if the food was going in his mouth or his nose.
To sum it up in one phrase...
"Feels like you're going crazy, right?"
Julien flinched!
He'd just roughly finished eating.
Left more than half the food untouched.
Brushed off his worried parents with an awkward smile, claiming nothing was wrong, and slipped into the hallway.
Right then.
A sudden voice from beside him made Julien's shoulders jerk.
He'd just been thinking he might be losing it.
It felt like that thought had been read outright.
Startled, he whipped around toward the voice.
"...Bro?"
His brother, Lloyd, stood there.
Rubbing his chin with one hand, eyeing him with a peculiar glint.
"W-What do you mean? Me, crazy?"
"I didn't say that."
"Huh?"
"I just asked because it seemed like that's how you see yourself?"
"Uh...."
His brother's calm retort.
Julien was at a loss for words.
"N-No, it's nothing like that."
He blurted it out hastily, covering.
It felt like his inner thoughts had been exposed.
"Really, it's nothing. I'm fine. Just a bit of indigestion."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"For real?"
"Yeah."
"Got the hiccups? Want me to fix it?"
"Huh?"
Fix it? How?
He looked up in surprise.
His brother's smile struck him as faintly loaded.
"Simple. Tie your thumb tight with string, then jab a needle right at the base of your fingernail. Dark blood flows out. Untie the string and stroke your back—boom, hiccups gone."
"...."
"Wanna try?"
"N-No."
Jabbing a needle into his finger.
Drawing out streams of dark blood.
Julien instinctively shook his head vigorously.
Then headed to his room.
"I'm fine. Don't need that."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Why was his brother following him?
His mood was already unsettled, and he wanted to be alone without knowing why.
Yet his brother trailed after him casually, heedless of his feelings.
Even spouting cryptic nonsense.
"Julien, I know."
"W-What?"
"What you're thinking."
"What am I... thinking?"
"You're thinking your mood's off, right?"
"No, I'm not."
He quickened his pace a bit.
But annoyingly, his brother's steps matched.
Even more frustratingly, he kept nailing Julien's inner thoughts spot-on.
"But you have no clue why it's off, do you?"
"...."
It was true.
All evening, his mood had been unsettled and weird.
He'd racked his brains to death but couldn't pinpoint the cause.
That just made it worse, leaving him more confused.
Yet his brother laid it out like he could see right through him.
Finally, Julien stopped.
He looked up at his brother earnestly.
"Bro. Truth is, I've got something bothering me."
"Yeah, spill."
"You're right. My mood really is weird."
"Good. Admitting your state is a great start. Wanna walk and talk calmly?"
"Uh, sure."
As expected of his brother.
Changed from his old delinquent days, he was now utterly reliable.
That soft, caring voice.
That expression saying he understood.
Before Julien knew it, he was disarmed.
Soon, he was strolling the path in front of the manor with Lloyd, gradually pouring out his feelings.
"Truth is, since dinner earlier, my mood's been kinda weird. But I can't figure out why at all."
"Can't figure it?"
"Yeah."
"Then let's retrace. Think back to late afternoon. Exactly when did it start feeling off?"
"When?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm...."
Julien pondered, replaying his memory.
"Well, see... In the afternoon, I went for a walk with Lady Serazad."
"Yeah."
"We talked a lot."
"About what?"
"Lady Serazad's upbringing. Tough parts of sword training. Why the desert's beautiful. Stuff like that. I enjoyed listening. But...."
"But?"
"...."
Julien paused.
A sudden realization hit.
Now he got it.
"I think it started feeling off when Lady Serazad and I finished our walk and I headed back alone."
"Did it?"
"Yeah."
He nodded vigorously.
The motion solidified his conviction.
"Yeah, that's it. Really feels like from then on, my mood got unsettled, all weird...."
"Empty, right? Yeah?"
"Yeah. How'd you know?"
It was amazing.
How his brother pinpointed his feelings so exactly.
Julien gazed at him, eager for an answer.
His brother grinned.
As if it were the simplest thing, he said it.
"That's your first love."
"...What?"
"First love. You know what that is?"
"Y-Yeah, I do."
"Then we're good. That's it."
"Me?"
"Yeah."
"My first love?"
"Yep."
"For Lady Serazad?"
"Probably?"
"...."
Julien fell silent.
Shocked by his newfound realization, courtesy of his brother, he stood frozen.
Doubting if it was really true, he spaced out.
He gulped dryly, holding his breath.
Lloyd chuckled inwardly at the sight.
'Bingo.'
His eyes hadn't deceived him.
Earlier, Julien and Serazad on their walk.
He'd spotted it at a glance.
The classic look of a guy and girl starting to vibe.
'No way I miss that. Think I've only seen it once or twice?'
Lloyd had once been a college student in Korea.
Sure, a civil engineering major where girls were rarer than hens' teeth, but strolling campus in spring meant spotting couples galore.
His classmates and friends too.
'Especially freshman year, first semester.'
Orientation trips or department retreats.
Opening ceremonies.
Or blind dates.
He'd witnessed countless couples form.
Some days, he'd drink with a buddy whose budding romance crashed.
Of course, he'd been in the game himself.
'Damn, if not for that coin karaoke.'
He silently cursed the karaoke joint by the school gate.
Petty hexes on the classmates who'd dragged him there—may they get athlete's foot.
'Tch.'
Lloyd quickly shelved the bubbling memories.
And looked at Julien.
'Definitely vibing.'
His campus-honed eye confirmed it.
Julien and Serazad were in the thick of it.
Yet the two involved seemed oblivious to their own feelings.
That tracked.
'Of course. Both total noobs in this department.'
Julien had grown up buried in books since childhood.
Serazad was no different.
'She probably just slaved away at swordsmanship.'
Men and women who'd devoted themselves solely to their fields, building walls around normal romance.
Then, by chance, first love smacked them out of nowhere.
Mistakes galore.
Clumsy emotions.
The rocky road was obvious.
'Can't let their vibe fizzle. Too wasteful.'
For them, and for him.
So today, he'd play Cupid.
Link the fresh-faced first-love duo with a good deed.
Then eagerly scoop up the benefits.
Resolved, Lloyd smiled warmly.
He loaded up a trustworthy big-bro expression, eyes, and voice.
Then fired off his carefully prepped line.
"You know, fumbling like that? You'll lose Lady Serazad."
"...What?"
Lose Lady Serazad.
Julien's eyes widened like a startled rabbit.
Anxiety he couldn't hide gleamed in them.
Seeing it, Lloyd smiled even more warmly.
Because he sensed the picture forming perfectly: bridging Magentano Royalty and the Sultanate through their union, becoming indispensable to both, slyly seizing the reins.
From that moment.
His tongue, slick with scheming saliva, hit the accelerator harder on the plot.