How to Live as a Tyrant’s Spoiled Brat Chapter 16

How to live as a tyrant’s spoiled brat Episode 16

(16)

“Is that what Your Majesty said?”

“Yeah. I meant to tell you not to think of anything. I thought my heart was going to burst. I’m just saying this because I wonder if you’re under some kind of stress.”

After finishing my training, I sat on the edge of the training ground and exhaled heavily.

Sir Tentia, sitting next to me, bit her lip as if she found it creepy.

“Actually, I was also called by the captain and told similar things. I will let it go for the sake of prestige. It’s a good thing, so I will tolerate it. It was something like that.”

“I bet you both know quite a bit, right?”

“Yes. I don’t know how you have such insight when you only see the world through documents from your palace.”

“Aren’t you the youngest sword master in history? If your insight were half as good as your sword skills, that would be enough.”

“Administration and governance are not the realm of talent. Which faction did Your Majesty belong to before ascending the throne?”

“He was the divinity of the First Prince’s faction. He was restrained by both the Crown Prince and the First Prince, but he drew his sword first.”

Tentia and I were silent for a moment.

“Your Majesty, what will you do now?”

“You should live as you always have. Eat and play. You should probably refrain from socializing with the opposite s*x. If you make a mistake and have a child, that woman will die as well, given His Majesty’s temperament.”

“I don’t think I can do that.”

“Of course. Isn’t Kyung-eun a knight?”

Sir Tentia rolled her eyes.

“That’s not it. I’m saying that I don’t think I can live the way I used to.”

“Are you telling me to find the nib?”

“We’ve decided to offer a bounty. However, we need to actively search for it in advance.”

“That’s what I’m saying. That’s not something I should be asking a knight like you to do.”

A knight with rough hands and short, wine-red hair, and outstanding skills and potential.

Sir Tentia nodded.

“Yes, that’s right.”

The knight’s job was not to investigate, but to hunt down suspicious persons who were revealed as a result of the investigation.

There was a big difference between these two.

“How about sending an official letter to the Commissioner General of Police?”

“He is under the command of the Black Iron Knights. Why would he cooperate with us? He will probably come inside the palace, denouncing our incompetence.”

“Isn’t there an intelligence organization under the Platinum Knights?”

“There are. They are all in different territories.”

“Another territory?”

“This is the maternal home of the late emperors and empresses.”

“They are watching to see if there is any rebellion.”

“Yes.”

Sir Tentia didn’t ask me for help.

He didn’t even say that his situation was difficult.

As a knight, he might have thought that he should not say such things to a seventeen-year-old boy, the Archduke.

As a knight, you must follow orders once they are given.

It was a headache.

I didn’t know how much time it would take to be considered ‘active exploration’.

It was essentially a punishment.

I put my hand on my forehead, feeling a surge of guilt.

There were times when I wished the guilt would go away, but at the same time, it was also a bulwark that kept me from crossing the final line.

It may already be too late.

“kyung.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“The weather is nice. Would you like to go on a date tomorrow?”

“yes?!”

“Come out fully armed.”

* * *

The permit the Emperor had given to leave was still valid.

I took a carriage out of the palace and got off in the bustling city.

Sir Tentia, who had been given the mission of ‘active exploration’, was waiting for me in advance.

Passersby lowered their eyes at the sight of a knight in plate armor engraved with magical circuits.

I looked back and forth between the clear sky and the road paved with sparkling cobblestones.

The weather is so nice.

“Your Majesty, where do you plan to go now?”

Sir Tentia asked.

I pointed to a large stone commercial building rising up on one side of the intersection.

As Lady Tentia tried to enter the main gate, I grabbed her wrist.

“It’s not you.”

“yes?”

I entered a shady path between the buildings, overgrown with weeds.

Although there were probably a few gangsters, the security in the capital was still excellent.

I opened the small door at the back of the building.

A damp, watery smell rose from the dark below.

It was a smell I never thought I would smell again, a smell I missed.

“what?”

“How much do you know about the Soletarion Aqueduct?”

“Digging deep tunnels underground, drawing in river water and draining the sewage. That’s all I know.”

“That’s enough.”

“But why in a place like this… … ?”

“… … .”

The address of the package Rudy sent was this building.

Of course, there was no way that the pen tip of the painting would have been sent to the commercial area of this building.

I have used aqueducts for various purposes in my past life.

I knew the address as soon as I heard it from Rudy.

They obviously stole the nib through here.

Of course, how to explain that to the dashing knight was another matter.

While I was thinking about it, Lord Tentia spoke first.

“I heard from my seniors that illegal drugs and women of different races are transported through underground channels in the red-light district.”

“yes.”

“I will not ask how Your Majesty knows about this place.”

“Good idea. Isn’t it good?”

I faked a sinister smile.

Sir Tentia hesitated for a moment.

“I guess you should have brought an oil lamp or a stone lamp.”

“There’s no need for that.”

“yes?”

I took the lead and walked into the cistern.

Sir Tentia followed in, letting out a small sigh.

“It’s quite deep.”

She said.

“It has to be deeper than a basement, and deeper than a water pipe.”

We came down the stairs about four times.

“Welcome to the Underground, Sir Tentia.”

“I didn’t know it would be this big.”

She looked around in surprise.

It was a new experience for me as it had been a long time since I came down here.

The canal was so wide that one could barely get across it by running.

The sidewalks on either side were too narrow for two people to pass, but too wide for one person to pass.

The ceiling was high enough that I didn’t have to bend my head.

“It’s not a mud wall.”

“Tentia Sir,” he said with a tone of obvious rejoicing.

“I understand that it is a waterway created by mobilizing several earth wizards.”

“Besides, it’s not as dark as I thought. The walls and floor are glowing.”

It was not bright enough to distinguish colors, but it was bright enough to be as bright as bright moonlight.

“They say it’s moss created through magic. They say it’s mixed with the blood of a lanternfly.”

“It’s just amazing.”

I walked along the sidewalk.

“The capital slums are over there. They’re right next to the red-light district.”

“Then couldn’t you have gone to the slums by carriage?”

Sir Tentia expressed her doubts.

“If that happens, ten thousand slum dwellers will know that a Platinum Knight has arrived before they even have time to have a cup of tea. The slum gang that stole the pen nib will scatter and run away in all directions.”

“But… … I don’t think they would have bribed a palace attendant. How could a slum organization have that kind of money, and how could they have connections to the imperial family?”

Sir Tentia lowered her voice.

“I think so too. They’re just a middleman, trying to divert the traces.”

“Finding the real culprit is a long shot.”

“Think positively. If you find the pen tip and interrogate their leader, you might get good results.”

It is a date on which delivery has not yet been completed.

It was close, but there was time.

I could hear her satisfied laughter.

“Okay. Let’s go as far as we can.”

“Yeah. That’s the reaction I was hoping for.”

After walking for about three hours towards the slums, Sir Tentia opened his mouth.

“Now that I think about it, strangely enough, there’s no smell whatsoever.”

“What do you mean?”

“Isn’t this a sewer? I thought it would be full of sewage and excrement.”

“I used to think so too. Now that I think about it, I don’t see a single one today.”

“yes?”

“Ah. There’s one over there. Look.”

I pointed with my fingertip at the jelly-like creature that had just crawled onto the Indian shore.

It’s about the size of a large hunting dog, and although it’s too dark to tell the color, I know it’s green.

The guy moved slowly, stretching and shrinking his body.

“Isn’t that slime?”

Sir Tentia said in surprise.

“It’s a creature created by the court magicians by magically modifying slime. It eats everything, including feces, mold, wood chips, sewage, and even moss. Isn’t it from the capital? I understand it’s been used for quite some time.”

“I think I’ve heard of it. My sister scared me when I was little. She said if I was bad, she’d crawl out of the bathroom and eat me.”

She looked momentarily taken aback.

I found myself chuckling.

“What is so funny, Your Majesty?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think Kyung would blink an eye in front of an ogre.”

“When I was young. When I was young.”

“Yes. Just in case you were wondering, don’t worry, they won’t attack living humans. And of course they won’t crawl into the bathroom either.”

“majesty!”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Sir Tentia was furious.

Even if it weren’t for the Grand Duke, he would have been ready to be thrown into the waterway.

“Be quiet. It rings loudly because it’s underground. Why don’t you just blow the bugle?”

“Surprisingly, Your Majesty is also good at sarcasm?”

“Who is your older brother? Of course I have to treat him well.”

“That statement would likely amount to blasphemy.”

“I’ve already been convicted of treason, so do you think I’d blink an eye at something like blasphemy?”

“You are amazing.”

As I turned the corner, I saw a rope ladder ahead of me in the canal.

A dim pillar of light was also visible through the hole where the rope ladder came down.

It was clear that a rope ladder had been lowered from some basement somewhere.

“majesty.”

“Tentia Sir said in a tense voice.

“Yeah. I think we’re almost there.”

“What kind of guys should I be looking for?”

I briefly recalled memories from my past life.

This incident involved a palace attendant stealing imperial relics through a slum organization.

The organization mobilized for this incident is clear.

“Those who wear red leather bracelets on their left wrists. They should have knots.”

“Do you have a name?”

“What’s the name of those guys who change leaders when they’re bored? Just temporarily call them Knot-Pae.”

“You’ve come to the right place. I have no idea where I am.”

The thought that if you use this waterway for just five years, you will start to feel the distance came to my throat and went away.

* * *

Valencian took the rope ladder first.

Tentia looked back and forth between him and the hole in the ceiling.

Her brow furrowed.

The Archduke has never been outside the palace since he was young.

However, the maintenance workers know the passage to the underground water and use it naturally.

I heard he’s been addicted to flying for the past couple of months.

But the movements of climbing the rope ladder quietly with eyes sparkling now were not something that could be engraved on the body through that level of flight.

It was as if I was watching the movements of a knight who had fought many sieges or a skilled assassin.

Valencianus moved on the rope ladder without making a single creaking or squeaking sound.

‘I don’t know what kind of guys are up there.’

Even though he frequented the sewers as if they were his own home and had connections with people who did not fit his status during his time as a slumlord, he could not have known the power structure and hideouts of all the slum organizations.

But anyway, we’ll know once we cross the bridge.

Besides, Valencian was accustomed to dealing with slum gangs.

He reached the top of the rope ladder and paused for a moment to listen before reaching out his hand.

“When are you coming?”

“He said he’d come this afternoon. I’m waiting. It’s not just a few coins.”

“That whole neighborhood was turned upside down a while ago, is there still any left?”

“You must have scraped it together somehow. You must be in desperate need of money. I can see you’re trying to scrape together every last copper coin in this town.”

“Is it white or red?”

“White.”

Valencianus understood their conversation through long experience.

‘About three of them. They belong to different gangs. They’re dealing drugs. They came from the red-light district. They were investigated a lot and fined after the Madame Lavesia incident.’

He glanced at the sword hanging from his waist.

‘Originally, it was only sold in small quantities to noble customers. It seems that the financial difficulties are quite serious now. Why are they crawling out of the red-light district?’

Hearing the sound of voices, he figured out the direction in which the three were sitting.

‘I should tell the Red Mask too. Don’t even think about touching him.’

Whoosh! I flew out of the hole in one breath.

Three men were sitting huddled together in a corner.

In contrast to his shabby and plain clothes, his eyes were bloodshot and sparkling.

One had a name tattooed on his neck, one had a cross tattooed on his face, and one had a leather strap bracelet on his wrist.

“Found it.”

Valencian acted according to his long experience.

He drew his sword without asking any questions.

‘A little blood is like oil on a rusty sword in a constructive conversation.’