Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Rehabilitation Program (1)
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The gardens of the Northern Imperial Palace.
After the warden's assault incident during the eve festival, a new massacre had unfolded.
"Your Highness...!! We truly have no idea. Our newspaper has never accepted any lobbying..."
"Does that mean these documents right here are fake?"
The princess gripped Landruin and slammed it into the ground.
An overwhelming aura struck the nobles, making their entire bodies tremble.
"Your signatures and seals are right here, plain as day?"
"Th-that..."
Camillia looked down at her vassals, legs elegantly crossed.
Her contemptuous gaze made even the garden grass bow its head.
As if submitting to the master of this land.
"Marquis Roman commissioned the Minster family for a blackmail job, and the family head, Count Damon, carried it out."
The tip of the princess's spear pointed at Marquis Roman, owner of the Northern Times.
He knelt there in a suit worth an entire carriage.
"However, when the blackmail dragged on and they demanded extra payment, you refused and instead pressured him through the media. That's what it says here."
Camillia scattered the transaction records between the two noble houses into the air.
White papers fluttered down onto the men's plates.
"Next, General Kaiman. You commissioned a blackmail against the family of a young lady who refused marriage to your son."
"Blackmail? How could a glorious soldier of the Empire stoop to such things?"
"It says here that the Dexter and Decker brothers accepted the commission but refused it. There's even a record of them returning the advance payment."
"Just because money changed hands with them doesn't mean you can interpret it that way. It's not..."
Camillia turned icy cold for the first time.
Her eyes warned that any more excuses would mean immediate dismissal from post.
"I just exchanged letters with that young lady. She said your son was obsessively clingy."
"......"
Deep wrinkles formed on General Kaiman's brow.
They'd already secured the victim's testimony? This meant she'd prepared to crush them from the start.
"Does anyone else have anything to say?"
Camillia held up a blank sheet of paper.
She gazed at her vassals coldly, as if selecting items from a display.
"Meanwhile, the Minster brothers you've all slandered confessed their consciences to the young lady and refused the commission."
Of course, the playboy brothers had canceled because they fell for her, but they had rejected the evil deed nonetheless.
The princess intended to make full use of that fact.
"But what about you lot? Utterly vile."
"......"
Her fingers twitched lightly on the massive spear.
Moving like they danced over piano keys, she pondered how to cook her captured prey.
The middle-aged men, far her senior, trembled in fear.
They knew full well that Camillia had inherited her father's unyielding sense of justice.
Given her usual temperament, she wouldn't let them off.
This banquet was their last supper.
But...
The princess they met today wasn't just a cub lion burning with righteous fury.
"Well, your crimes aren't severe enough for a lifetime in prison."
Camillia narrowed her intensely shining blue eyes.
She smiled with a newfound maturity and allure unlike before.
"So, if you sincerely repent, I might lighten your sentences."
The nobles seated at the banquet exchanged glances.
How should they respond to this rare offer from the princess?
"We swear nothing like this will ever happen again, Your Highness!!"
One noble from the back shouted first, seizing the initiative.
"We'll spend our lives reflecting on this and showing improvement."
Camillia silently listened to his trembling voice.
But she was no longer satisfied with mere words.
"And?"
"Pardon...?"
"And? Nothing else to say?"
"Ah, well... Um..."
The golden-haired woman noted the speaker's name with pen in hand.
Under 'Punish'.
―――, ―――.
Knights from the White Horse Unit, waiting out of sight, suddenly appeared unnoticed.
They stood behind the loud noble and placed hands on his shoulders.
"Get up."
"G-get up...? Where are you taking me?"
The stunned man was forcibly hauled to his feet by the knights.
Soon, the middle-aged noble was dragged away to the back.
"Y-Your Highness! Forgive me!! Give me one more chance to speak...!!"
"You can talk in the White Horse Unit's interrogation room."
The briefly chaotic banquet fell deathly quiet.
"Next."
Camillia leaned her head against the spear's shaft and issued the command.
"Anyone else who wants to 'repent'?"
The quick-witted news director and general swallowed hard.
This wasn't just about apologies.
To keep their positions, they needed to show sincerity.
"Your Highness, may I speak?"
"Go ahead, General Kaiman."
"The truth is, I spread malicious rumors about the Minster family out of inferiority toward them."
"Inferiority?"
Camillia tilted her head slightly.
Her golden locks cascaded toward the 'Spare' side on the left.
"Yes. If you give me the chance now, I'd like to share my plans to restore the Minster family's image."
True to leading several divisions, the general's survival instincts were sharp.
He shot to his feet and bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
"The Minster family, led by Director Derek as their corporate head, boasts exceptional martial prowess."
Even in middle age, his folding bow was flawless.
In that pose, he offered insight sure to please the princess.
"I believe our Northern knights should learn their martial arts, so we'll prepare official joint training with Minster Guard."
The Empire's elite knights learning from the count's family they'd scorned all this time.
"I'll make the official announcement myself."
General Kaiman peeked up cautiously at the Empire's top woman, legs still crossed.
"Intriguing."
But Camillia hadn't added his name to the 'Spare' list yet.
She let out a short breath, deeming his sincerity insufficient.
"Next, we'll review adopting the stabilizers developed by the Minster family for our military medicine..."
"Just review?"
"If I order it, it'll proceed immediately."
Only then did the Northern ruler smile in satisfaction.
She clapped lightly, praising the general.
"Everyone, applaud."
The White Horse knights standing behind burst into cheers in unison.
The nobles hurriedly joined in.
"Not just anyone can sit in a division commander's seat. You need this level of social savvy to thrive on the ever-changing battlefield."
Camillia rose and approached slowly.
She patted the middle-aged general's shoulder and whispered softly.
"Thank you, Kaiman. Once I decide to trust someone, my faith is boundless."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
But the hand patting him brimmed with deadly intent.
"Keep advising me by my side from now on. No more bowing to Ivan."
Kaiman squeezed his eyes shut in resignation.
With his correspondence with Prince Ivan exposed, his last escape was sealed.
"We're all Northerners, aren't we?"
To live respected henceforth, his only choice was to follow the princess.
"Understood."
Perhaps because the boastful Northern general had surrendered first.
The other nobles began raising their hands voluntarily.
"I have something to offer as well."
News Director Marquis Roman.
As the second-highest in rank after Kaiman, everyone paused when he spoke.
"Roman of the North Times, speak."
"I too wish to prove my sincerity with one proposal."
The North's top media mogul, commanding journalists.
Hands clasped politely, he spoke like a defendant at a hearing.
"For as long as we've sullied the Minster name, we'll feature their news on the front page every time."
"Won't that scream bias? Too extreme."
"Don't worry. Spinning words well is our expertise."
"Good. But isn't that just basic restitution? What about extra compensation for the damage you've caused?"
Camillia tapped her pen on the space for the second survivor's name.
"Of course."
He squeezed his eyes shut.
With the Walter Group behind this mess anyway, he'd decided to cut ties and switch to a new power: the princess and Derek.
"I'll connect Minster Guard's bodyguards with top agencies for exclusive contracts. Starting tomorrow."
Only then did the princess add the news director to the survivor list.
With celebrities under their protection, it would prove the Minster Group's reliability.
"Looking forward to working with you all."
Camillia shook hands with those who'd shown satisfactory 'sincerity' beyond the two.
Thus, she unified the nobles who'd ruled like petty kings far from the imperial court.
Yet, despite her masterful charisma, the princess felt no sense of accomplishment.
"Derek Minster."
The key to subduing these snake-like schemers was the Walter Group ledger he'd handed her.
In the end, he was connected to everything.
"Everyone, raise your glasses."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The princess lifted her wine glass, gazing at her now-compliant ministers.
But her dragon eyes, reflected in the red crystal, burned with other thoughts.
'I should summon him to the villa soon.'
She planned to lavish affection on the clever hatchling who'd set this board.
"The division commander has long admired Minster Guard's exceptional martial skills."
"Our soldiers will adopt their training methods to build even stronger security forces."
"What? Our soldiers learning from a security firm's training?"
"How grueling must Minster Guard's regimen be to have frontline knights wanting to learn it?"
In Norton city center before the Northern Imperial Palace.
Middle-class citizens nodded instinctively at Minster Guard's endorsement even from the picky military.
"That picky piano fanatic switched to new bodyguards? Shocking."
"Didn't he always use only imperial elite knights?"
"It says right there. If even the military's adopting their methods, they're on par with imperial knights."
"True, those loan shark origins must mean they're skilled."
They couldn't fully endorse their morality yet.
But if asked who they'd choose for protection, Minster would come to mind first now.
Fearsome, handsome mafiosi guarding only you?
Quite thrilling, regardless of age or gender.
"Maybe hire some for my daughter's birthday? She's been nagging for a Northern trip."
Shifting opinions on the Minster family.
Pro-Minster media sentiments began subtly rising.
However, not everyone welcomed the news.
"......"
A woman with purple hair under a deep-brimmed hat.
Northern Commander Conan, disguised as a commoner, surveyed the newspaper reactions gravely.
She eyed the media turning pro-Minster with deep suspicion.
"I can't fathom why Her Highness protects that man so fiercely."
She'd been childhood friends with Camillia since youth.
"For her to view a man as someone not to break..."
If it were mere affection, she'd have let it be.
It'd be good for her friend, single at 24.
But the issue was Camillia changing because of Derek.
Not just righteous, but a bewitching empress, as seen at last night's banquet.
"This could look like favoritism to the other troops."
She'd voiced concerns to her friend.
But Camillia's response was haughtily confident.
"Favoritism? So what?"
Her eyes, now subtly mature and feminine unlike before.
"Some kings infiltrate enemy nations alone to claim talent."
The power-hungry gesture to seize what she desired.
"The saintess disguised her status for a political marriage."
Her hand gripped the desk drawer handle.
"Someone crushed a national conglomerate with a youthful body."
And yanked hard.
"Yet my actions are favoritism? This is just the beginning."
A collar artifact emerged, unbreakable without Grand Master skill.
Peeled from the dragon doll.
"......"
Conan shook her head at Camillia's uncharacteristically vacant gaze.
She flipped the newspaper page, snapping from recollection.
"Derek Minster. Guess I'll have to investigate personally."
The Northern commander pondered infiltrating as a prisoner with disguise magic.
As a workaholic, she had piles of unused vacation days.
Plus, the princess avoided lavish events, leaving her schedule flexible.
"Need a plausible pretext..."
Flipping through the paper, Conan paused at one page.
"Found it. The perfect excuse to inspect Berryhill Prison."
The program once exclusive to Bacar mafiosi had opened to knights too, after the princess grilled General Kaiman.
Any Imperial soldier could apply now.
And Conan herself was ex-military.
"Alright, time to check it out myself."
The commander wrote to her vice, mailing off a list of the Knight Order's most troublesome knights.
And added her nickname 'Coni' to it.
"To see what's changing Camillia."
The Empire's second-highest military figure gazed north resolutely.
The red sun hung over the mountains, slowly setting.
As the day nearly ended.
She received an invitation in her office.
A luxurious paper prettily wrapped in ribbon.
"This is it."
"What the hell is this?"
The commander stared blankly at the bizarre rules.
She read them in stunned silence.
'This is a normal prison, right...?'
Lightning struck north.
Torrential rain poured with terrifying thunder, welcoming the delinquent knights to the prison.