How to Live as a Tyrant’s Spoiled Brat Chapter 111

How to live as a tyrant's spoiled brat Episode 111

(111)

Each transport ship carried 50 tons of grain, which was like a gold mine that didn't need a pickaxe at a time when the barley pass was approaching by the minute.

The enemies charged fiercely, but Severic fought back even more fiercely.

He was the man who could and should calculate how many northerners could be saved by a single shipload of fifty tons of grain.

“Your Majesty. The calculations have been completed.”

Lucena opened her notebook with a trembling voice.

He was slammed with clear numbers how many children and soldiers in the North would starve for every ship that was taken.

Severic's chiseled face, the very embodiment of midwinter itself, distorted, showing just how cruel a desperate strongman can be.

“You ugly leeches!”

'I can give my blood, but I cannot give the blood of my people.'

He ran as if he was flying over the water with Tentia, cutting down the large and small boats of the pirates.

It was a dance so spectacular that Valencian was amazed and even feared.

“Charge! If we can get just one ship out of hundreds, we’ll get 50 tons of grain!”

But Severic could only sigh as he watched the numbers double the next day.

Greed always triumphs over fear.

Since they had hundreds of ships and the convoy had hundreds of ships, it was natural to expect that they would be able to steal one.

I barely managed to defeat it after staying up all night.

It was a terrible morning, the smell of blood mixing in with the dawn air.

Then Valencian made a cautious suggestion.

If things continued this way, it was obvious that we would experience an endless war of attrition.

When dealing with extreme enemies, extreme solutions were needed, and he was prepared to strap on a spear and become the villain.

“I have a good idea.”

“What is it?”

“The Archduke hangs the swords of his men on the masts. He sets an example from afar.”

“Would it be an example if we hang on to one of the captain's ships?”

“Who told you to bet only on our boat?”

"yes?"

Valencian said, his golden eyes flashing cruelly.

“We will hang the heads of the pirates from every mast of hundreds of transport ships.”

Lucena opened her mouth wide in shock, and Severic, who had seen quite a bit of blood, could not readily accept it.

"that……."

Death was common to him, but it was noble, and he believed that no matter how many enemies there were, corpses should not be treated carelessly.

“If there is no better way, I will do as I please. For now, I am nominally the commander-in-chief of this fleet’s escort.”

But Valencian had seen many terrible wars in the forty years before his return that should not be recorded in history, and he had seen things of the past that made those wars look like child's play.

Execution was a weak, if not merciful, choice.

“Archduke Valencian. I thought the rumors about you were false.”

“… … .”

“I guess I was wrong.”

Severic regretted thinking he understood the young Archduke before him.

The man with the inhuman air presented an outrageous plan with such a calm demeanor.

They could have faced each other, but they ended up standing in different places.

“No. There is no right or wrong in this world.”

“!”

“There are only solutions that solve problems and errors that cannot solve problems.”

Friendship is like power; it is harder to maintain than to build.

The understanding of one night melted away like snow, and Valencian turned his back on Severic.

During the day he rowed a small boat around the entire fleet, kindly distributing each corpse or head.

Hundreds of corpses hung and swayed from the masts of hundreds of transport ships.

A fleet of ships sailing across the calm lake surface, carrying a corpse in front, in the misty dawn.

The sight was so frightening that even the sailors on the transport ship trembled in fear.

“… … You crazy bastard.”

“I’m speechless. I’m speechless.”

“Is that something a human would do?”

“That younger sibling is really that older brother.”

The captains were openly dissatisfied.

The ship owner, a lower-class nobleman who accompanied him, challenged Valencian to a duel, saying that it was to protect his ship and his own honor.

“No, it is not. I have no intention of putting a sign on my ship that insults the dead.”

“If you want to say no to me, bring me one of two things: a better solution than mine, or the power to silence me.”

Valencianus struck the captain's face with what seemed to be a meat hammer and hung him upside down from the mast of the flagship.

If the captain of a ship has the authority of a king, the shipowner has the authority of a pope.

The sight of such a captain hanging upside down from the mast was enough to strike fear into any captain.

“Thank you for your hard work. I’m sorry.”

“No, Your Majesty. It has been an honor to serve the Imperial Family and the North.”

But only the four knew that Valencianus had healed the shipowner's face with blood magic that night and had granted him exclusive trading rights for ten years, limited to official trade between the Emperor and the Archduke.

Severic, Lucena, Tentia, and Rudy.

Finally the fleet reached the other side of the lake and entered a river flowing north.

Until then, there had not been a single additional attack by the enemy.

Severic asked with a rare hesitation.

There was disgust at this atrocity, and uneasiness about Valencian willingly committing it, but even greater doubts were expressed.

“Archduke Valencian. Why did you do this? No. How did you know that this would work?”

Valencian chose his words carefully.

I had to convince Severic that he values life.

He spoke with a pleasant smile as if making an announcement.

To Severic, this was an attitude that seemed utterly inhumane.

“What evokes emotion is inefficiency and irrationality.”

“What does that mean?”

“We are moved by a thousand origami cranes, and we get goosebumps when we see a doll with nails stuck in it. It’s the same. Whether it’s moved, grateful, apologetic, or scared, you have to make the other person think, ‘This is it?’”

He answered, his yellow eyes shining inhumanly.

He tried to show Severic what kind of man he was, and he certainly succeeded.

Severic did not see Valencian for a day, and the next morning he went to his cabin to see him.

* * *

The cabin wasn't too cramped, but it wasn't wide enough to walk more than a few steps.

The cabin felt like it was filling up as the tall Severic entered.

I faced Severic, sweat pouring down my face.

He was a swordsman who fought Jaylilith head-on and survived three times, sometimes overwhelming her.

Hair as dark blue as a stormy sea, eyes as calm as a snowy field, cheeks as icy as the snow that was pressed down, and lips that were the only thing that had blood in them.

The loneliness and glory felt in the worn-out eyes and pale cheeks, the dignity and authority conveyed in the trustworthy voice.

A man who seemed as if the North itself had become a person and come to visit.

He was a good man and a great commander.

But at the same time, he was also the worst nobleman.

He rebelled against Jerilis, was ultimately defeated, and destroyed the North he had protected his entire life from the South.

He rebelled not for the sake of the northerners, but because he was a good man.

Because of his beliefs, he turned the very people he was trying to protect against those beliefs against the Emperor.

A good nobleman believes that he must protect his land and people even if it means bowing his head at the feet of others.

I wish he was a good nobleman, not a… …good person.

If something goes wrong and the Empire falls into civil war and war again, if Jaerilis sweeps his army and runs wild, creating a sea of bloodshed, if I risk my life to stop it but fail due to the Encroachers or other factors.

At that time, as a good nobleman, I hope he will quietly protect the North 'only' as he has done so far.

How should I say that, I've been struggling the whole time I've been hearing Septentrios' surname.

From the moment we first met, we had an explosive relationship and after spending an awkward time together, we shared a friendship with the sword for one night, but that short friendship was briefly broken in front of the enemies, and he stood before me again.

I liked him because he was a good person, but paradoxically, I wish he would become a good nobleman.

Then Severic spoke with a soft sigh.

“Archduke Valencian. Let me start by expressing my apologies and gratitude. I am sorry for only expressing my complaints without any countermeasures, and thank you for protecting the transport ships from the enemy.”

I said, trying not to show my relief.

“No, Archduke Severic. I too was just thinking that there might have been a gentler solution.”

Severic looked at me with grey eyes.

Looking at the calmness hidden behind the worn-out eyelids and cold eyes, I felt ashamed, as if I was changing clothes in front of him.

“Archduke Valencian. Let me ask you again. It’s really just the two of us here.”

He didn't know how to lie.

“Is the Imperial Household trying to subordinate the North economically?”

I shook my head.

"no."

“!”

He let out a deep sigh.

“I too am a noble of the Empire. If the North is to hold back the demons and aliens, we need the Emperor’s support.”

He had a hard time continuing his speech after that.

I understand.

It wasn't just for a day or two that the imperial family and the North were wary of each other.

* * *

There has long been a rumor going around the capital that the Northern Grand Duke is deliberately not killing all of his men.

The Northern Grand Duke suspected that once all the demons were dead, the Imperial Family would abandon the North, and so the rumor was that they were not uprooting the demons in order to leave room for their own needs.

In the north, there were rumors that the imperial family was deliberately reducing the amount of grain and weapons they were providing.

There was a rumor that the North was afraid that if they killed all the demons, they would turn their swords to the South.

I hated lying.

I hated the fact that I had to tell bigger and bigger lies, and I've seen more than one person get beheaded because of it.

So perhaps the solution now is the plain truth.

I said, squeezing my eyes shut and opening them.

“Yes. The Imperial Family will support the North to stop the evil spirits and foreign substances. Even if it causes famine in the Central and Southern regions, we will do so.”

"then……."

"so."

I continued speaking firmly.

“No matter what happens in the North, do not look down, enjoy the grace of His Majesty the Emperor, and focus only on subduing the demons and foreign entities.”

Severic's expression was a mixture of emotion and sorrow.

Soon he brought up a topic that had not been brought up for a very long time between the North and the Imperial Family.

“Then what happens after the North wins against the demons and the aliens?”

I took a deep breath and carefully chose my words so that I could take responsibility for them.

I had no intention of repeating the struggles I had gone through before my return.

“I tell you in advance that everything depends on Your Majesty’s will. However, Your Majesty has told me of his plans to support the North. And if I tell Your Majesty of the North’s victory, and if my voice is involved in determining the relationship between the North and the Imperial Family, I would like to say this.”

Severic leaned toward me.

I tried to speak calmly.

“If you treat them as friends, they are friends. If you treat them as enemies, they are enemies.”

“!”

No matter how independent the North is, it is still a vassal relationship.

The words 'friend' and 'enemy' both carry powerful force.

For the first time, ripples appeared in his calm gray eyes.

“However, the Imperial House will never attempt to shake the North. The Imperial House respects the autonomy of the great lords of each region, not because the Imperial House is benevolent, but because it cannot help it.”

The empire was too large and populous to monitor and interfere with each individual.

It was impossible to extend administrative power to places that would take even dozens of days to reach by Wyvern.

“The North will continue to be ruled by the will of House Septentrios. So… … .”

"so?"

“Archduke Severic, please promise me this too.”

Severic furrowed his eyebrows as if he had not expected it.

I took out all the promises I wanted to receive from my pre-regression life.

“Do you promise not to move south and help stabilize the empire even if a civil war breaks out?”

This promise was not binding in any way.

From the beginning, when you become a prince, any promises or alliances tend to be twisted to benefit the territory and its people.

So it was like an echo inside this narrow cabin.

That's what I said, and that's what he said.

But we feared and respected each other, and so we gave meaning to the echo.

“Yes, I promise.”

“Can you promise that even if a war breaks out with another country, you will not move south unless a summons comes down first?”

“Yes, I promise.”

It was the last one.

“Can you promise that you will not go south without His Majesty the Emperor’s permission, even if such things cause suffering to the people?”

Severic was silent.

It was a quiet silence like a snowy night.

“I’m sorry, Archduke Valencian. I can’t promise that.”

Soon he broke the silence himself.

It was a sincerity that was both elegant and cruel.

I nodded, feeling a simultaneous sense of despair as if the sky was falling down and a sense of satisfaction that my prediction was correct.

“Yes, I knew you would.”

I thought he was that kind of guy.

“As expected… … you are noble.”

It was like that before the regression too.

Even though he knew that the war with Jaylilith was a lost cause, he took up his sword once again for the sake of those he once protected from the devil.

I fight for one, he fights for all.

So I can't hate him, I can only resent him, and I end up feeling like I want to help him again.

* * *

“His Royal Highness Archduke Severic!”

A voice called him from outside the cabin.

“Let’s go together. Archduke Valencian.”

"great."

We opened the cabin door with lighter faces.

In the end, they were parallel lines.

In the deepest depths we faced each other, but we did not see the same place.

But we could respect each other as human beings.

Boom!

“Sir Tentia! Rudy? Sir Lesena!”

Short-cut red hair, the hem of her maid's dress, and neat black hair disappeared around the corner.

“I guess you heard everything.”

“Hehehehe.”

We laughed bitterly and headed towards the sailor.

“Why did you call me?”

“They are charging exorbitant tolls.”