An Offer I Couldn't Refuse
The water-colored hair was tied back in a long, low ponytail. Her jade-like eyes, beautiful enough to steal one’s breath, captured my tense figure perfectly.
“Roy Macrobyce. Third son of the Macrobyce Marquisate.”
She set down the document she had been reading. Ieorum von Valarican rested her chin on her fist and smiled brightly.
“Former low-ranking officer of the Ministry of State Security. Aside from being an Artifact Master, you have no particularly noteworthy achievements. Is that correct?”
“It is, Your Highness.”
“Is it really?”
At my firm answer, Ieorum interlaced her fingers and leaned back in her chair.
“Hmm. The information I received is slightly different. What I just recited was the former Chief’s personnel evaluation of you. Do you truly have nothing to say about such an assessment?”
Though I stood with my hands clasped behind my back in a relaxed posture, her piercing gaze felt like it was burning a hole through my insides.
Ieorum von Valarican. Imperial Princess of the empire. The closest aide to the man who had just become the new Emperor through the recent coup.
In other words, one of the most powerful figures in the new regime. The fact that someone like her had suddenly summoned me and was asking these questions left me unbearably tense.
“Your Highness, this humble one is too dull to dare presume the true meaning behind Your Highness’s question.”
She brought her hands together again and leaned forward.
“What I mean is that the former Chief of the Ministry was widely regarded as so foolish and incompetent that it was a wonder he kept his position at all. And yet…”
Ieorum’s jade eyes sparkled with interest as she stared at me.
“For some reason, he kept bringing in useful information at exactly the right moments. Things like the hidden scandals of various ministers.”
Ieorum let out a soft laugh.
“It turned out someone behind the scenes had been feeding him that information.”
She propped her chin on her hand like a flower resting on its stem and gave me a bewitching smile.
“Yes. That someone was you.”
Struck right at the heart of the matter, I subtly lowered my gaze.
“You misunderstand, Your Highness. This humble one is not nearly as remarkable as you suggest.”
“Is that so? Then let me ask you this. Why did you suddenly resign from your post just days before our great undertaking?”
She even figured that out?
“Actually, that very fact convinced me the rumors about you were true. The reason you resigned right before our coup… you must have noticed what we were planning, didn’t you?”
She was correct. Emboldened, Ieorum continued.
“You gathered the incoming intelligence at the Ministry and detected our suspicious movements. But you didn’t report it to your superiors. Why? Because you knew. Without solid evidence, those incompetent superiors of yours wouldn’t believe you. And even if they did, they would be no match for us.”
She laid everything bare, as if she had peered directly into my soul.
“So you chose to retire to the countryside. You resigned before you could be swept up in the purge. Have I said anything incorrect so far?”
“……”
“Of course not. That is precisely why I called for you.”
She snapped her fingers. Immediately, a servant approached holding a tray with a neatly folded cloak and a steel helmet.
They were the items of the Chief of the Ministry of State Security.
“Take them. They belong to you now. Returning what should have gone to its rightful owner is the first thing I can do for you today. What’s wrong? Go on, take them.”
“I… must decline.”
When I refused, Ieorum’s eyebrows twitched.
“May I ask why?”
“I… lack the insight and ability to properly lead the Ministry of State Security. I am grateful that you think so highly of me, but I cannot accept.”
The Ministry of State Security. Its primary duties included rooting out dissidents, purging political opponents, and manipulating information. Just looking at the job description made it clear—this was one of the most critical positions in the empire. One could fairly call them the Emperor’s hunting dogs.
One might think such an important post would be desirable, but the greater the power, the greater the responsibility. It was not a position suited for someone like me, who simply wanted to live as an ordinary citizen.
“If I were merely an officer, I would serve the new Chief with all my heart. But I cannot accept becoming the Chief myself.”
At my polite refusal, Ieorum stared at me for a moment before sliding a quill and a sheet of paper across the desk.
“Take this. Write down whatever number you desire. From that moment on, it will be your annual salary.”
A blank check. The moment I held the legendary blank check in my hands, my fingers trembled. I wanted to write down a number immediately.
No, no, no! This position is far too dangerous to be swayed by something like this.
“I am truly sorry, but…”
“Is it not enough? Then tell me any residence you desire within the capital. From that day forward, it will be yours. If none of the existing ones suit you, simply say the word and I will have one built to your specifications.”
She’s even offering me a house?
My head spun as if I had inhaled an aphrodisiac, but her offers did not end there.
“Furthermore, for the sake of your future, I shall personally arrange a match with a young lady from a prestigious noble family. Becoming the son-in-law of such a house would pave a smooth road ahead of you.”
“I will do my best!”
By the time I came to my senses with a sharp gasp, I had already blurted out those words of determination. As I straightened up from my deep bow, I caught sight of Ieorum’s satisfied smile.
…How the hell did it come to this?
I had transmigrated into an unfamiliar world. Well, perhaps “unfamiliar” wasn’t quite right. The world I woke up in was the romance fantasy novel my little sister had written.
Let me see… I think the title was Everyone Loves Me When I Rule with an Iron Fist? When she was throwing a tantrum about wanting to write a web novel, I had simply brushed it off.
She had shoved the manuscript at me demanding feedback, but I had been too lazy to read it properly. And now I had transmigrated into that very story.
If I had known this would happen, I should have read it more carefully back then.
Anyway, after drifting through various circumstances, I eventually ended up joining the imperial Ministry of State Security.
After my father passed away and my eldest brother inherited the family, staying in the territory would have meant living off scraps and enduring constant humiliation. So I came to the capital.
As an Artifact Master, I displayed my abilities to their fullest and performed so brilliantly that one might think intelligence work was my true calling.
However, because I lacked powerful backers, my achievements were constantly stolen by others. When Ieorum mentioned that the position should have gone to the right person, she hadn’t been speaking empty words.
While suffering such unfair treatment, one day I noticed an unusual current amid the flood of incoming information. The flow I read pointed to the Second Prince—the young Emperor’s uncle—plotting a coup.
Come to think of it, in the brief portion of the original story I had read, the Emperor hadn’t been this young. And Princess Ieorum hadn’t been a mere princess either.
The moment I realized I had transmigrated to a point earlier than the novel’s main timeline, I knew this coup would succeed without fail.
The instant I realized that, I immediately resigned from my post. There was no point in reporting it to the Chief, who only knew how to steal credit and never listened to a word I said. It would have been like reading scriptures to a cow’s ear.
And that was how I ended up here today.
Having been appointed the new Chief of the Ministry of State Security, I met with the newly reorganized staff.
“It is an honor to meet you, Chief! My name is Merylin Malmhead, and I have been appointed as the new Deputy Chief! I will devote myself fully despite my shortcomings!”
The girl with chestnut hair who saluted me was quite the beauty. Her neat bob cut gave her a tidy, disciplined impression, yet there was an undeniable cuteness to her face. The other staff members also greeted me one after another.
I stared at them silently and let out a quiet sigh.
“Is something wrong, Chief? Did we commit some kind of discourtesy?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
I brushed off Merylin’s question vaguely.
Yeah… I guess it really turned out this way.
Thanks to that barrage of tempting offers, I had accepted the position of Chief. But this organization fundamentally belonged to Ieorum and the Emperor.
Even before I, the new Chief, could reorganize the hierarchy, the key positions—including the Deputy Chief—had already been filled with people Ieorum had planted long ago.
Of course, not every vacancy had been filled, so I could still bring in people I wanted. However, the most critical role after the Chief—the Deputy position—had been taken by this woman named Merylin. She was undoubtedly one of Ieorum’s direct agents.
She’s clearly here to monitor me.
“Chief, I apologize for bringing this up before your inauguration ceremony is even properly held, but… Her Highness Ieorum has urgent business she wishes you to handle immediately.”
Merylin handed me a document.
“What is this?”
“Her Highness said these individuals need to be purged.”
A purge list, huh.
“The person at the very top… even I’ve heard of him. He’s the youngest son of the Roundbike Ducal family. Saying he needs to be purged means we can be rather rough with him. Is that truly acceptable?”
“Her Highness said she would take full responsibility should any issues arise.”
“I see. Understood.”
Daybreak.
After arriving at the imperial palace for work in the morning, the first place I headed was the underground prison.
As I descended the stairs, a damp, musty underground dungeon greeted me.
“Ah, Chief! You’ve arrived!”
“Yes. Have you obtained a confession yet?”
“Well… not yet…”
“Still? You haven’t been going easy on him, have you?”
“N-no, sir! Absolutely not…”
Listening to the torturer’s report, I walked deeper inside. When I reached my destination, I saw the Roundbike Duke’s youngest son bound to a chair, his face already a mess.
“Untie me right now! Do you even know who I am?!”
Watching him bare his hostility, I stepped into the cell.
“Looks like you still have some energy left to thrash around.”
“Do you know who my father is?!”
“I know very well.”
I dragged a chair over and sat down facing him.
“But once you’re dragged in here, whatever you were outside doesn’t matter anymore. The moment you entered this place, you became nothing more than a common prisoner. Do you understand?”
“My father will never let this slide! He’ll definitely… kill every last one of you!”
“Sure, sure. Go ahead and try. Still no intention of confessing?”
“Confess?! I haven’t done anything wrong!”
He still hasn’t grasped the situation.
“You colluded with the former Foreign Minister, who insulted His Majesty the Emperor’s reign and committed disrespect toward Her Highness Princess Ieorum. That was you, wasn’t it?”
“W-what nonsense! I never did any such thing!”
I grabbed the bound man’s right hand.
“I see. Then shall we start with the index finger?”
“What?”
At my gesture, the executioner brought over a pair of iron pliers that looked terrifying just to behold.
“W-what are you going to do? S-stop it, you bastards…!”
No matter what he screamed, the executioner mercilessly ripped out the nail from his index finger.
“――――――! Ah, ugh…”
People often think that intense pain makes someone scream at the top of their lungs, but that isn’t always the case. When faced with unexpected agony like this, the pain can be so severe that they don’t even have the strength to scream.
Blood poured from his finger as I spoke.
“It hurts, doesn’t it? But don’t worry. Human life is surprisingly tenacious. You won’t die from losing a single fingernail. Shall we continue? There are so many things we can pull out. Fingernails, toenails, teeth… Let’s start with the fingernails for now.”
“W-w-what…? N-no, wait. What do you want from me…? M-money? Do you want money? Just say it! I’ll tell my father…”
“Once there’s nothing left to pull, we move on to cutting.”
I stood up from the chair and grabbed one of his ears.
“There are plenty of parts we can cut off. Fingers, toes… ears, nose… We cut them off one by one. Surprisingly, people don’t die easily even after all that. Though your handsome face will end up looking as pitiful as an orc’s.”
“W-wait…”
I placed a hand on his shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes.
“You’re never getting out of here anyway. So… confess now. Unless you want to suffer something truly horrible.”
I returned to the Chief’s office and handed Ieorum a document without a word.
She accepted it with a puzzled tilt of her head.
“What is this?”
“A written confession. The youngest son of the Roundbike family has admitted to colluding with the former Foreign Minister. Accordingly, we have arrested and detained everyone who cooperated with them or tacitly allowed their actions. All that remains is for you to decide their punishment.”
“Already?”
Her mouth fell open in surprise, but she soon smiled brightly, set the document down, and walked around the desk toward me.
Step. Step.
She approached me one step at a time. I had intended to stay still, but as she drew closer with those captivating eyes, I found myself unconsciously stepping backward.
Ieorum placed a hand on my shoulder as if to stop me, then gently cupped my chin with her right hand.
“Magnificent. As expected, my eye for people is never wrong.”
“Th-thank you.”
With a touch as delicate as if she were handling a work of art, she stroked my chin, then placed both hands on my shoulders. She brought her lips close to my ear and whispered.
“You’re starting to please me more and more.”