Chapter 123
As expected, Louise began to move immediately. In exactly the same way as she did in the novel. It was so identical that I wondered if the sense of discomfort I felt when I met Louise that day was just my imagination.
She seemed to have thoroughly grasped the overall atmosphere and public opinion in Reinke through spies, as her method precisely and sharply exploited the rift between the people and the Grand Duke. Among the stories Louise was planning to spread in Reinke was also the truth about Reinke’s fall.
‘It’s a clever approach.’
First, it can raise hatred towards Volker, who is ultimately the enemy to be attacked. And by appealing to the Grand Duke’s coldness in not seeking revenge despite knowing this fact, it can increase distrust towards him, making it seem like he wouldn’t intervene even if something happened to them. Moreover, isn’t it a method that could cause internal strife between those who are excited and calling for revenge and those who aren’t?
If rumors had spread and public opinion had formed as Louise intended, there would have been a great commotion in Reinke, just like in “Tales of the Sirah Empire.”
The problem was that all the spies who were supposed to carry this out immediately ran to Ruan and spilled every detail of the instructions they received from Louise.
Of course, the spread of rumors couldn’t be completely prevented. After all, Louise had already started the conversation. It meant that even if we got through this safely, this story could be used to manipulate Reinke in some way or another at any time.
Moreover, if we silenced the spies and prevented any rumors from spreading, Louise would immediately notice their change of heart, rendering the effort of persuading them useless.
Ruan, who first heard the news that Louise was trying to use that story, chose to subtly adjust the tone of the rumor instead of silencing the spy who delivered the news.
‘I didn’t know I’d be using the ability to control rumors, which I cultivated in the swamp of scandals, so usefully.’
He started by revealing and emphasizing that the close vassal who died by the Grand Duke’s hand was a spy. Since everyone had been questioning his impactful death, it was easy to focus people’s attention on that part rather than others.
And the moment the existence of a traitor who committed atrocious acts is emphasized in this rumor…
The frame of the Grand Duke as an “inhuman person who punishes someone close to him for a long time without blinking an eye” or “a cold-hearted ruler from whom kindness cannot be expected” loses its power in an instant.
Because the Grand Duke, who always existed in isolation, now belongs to the side of the victims who were betrayed along with others in this story.
The Grand Duke now becomes a person with a regrettable wound of “being betrayed by someone he trusted enough to keep close,” and a ruler who silently strives to support the shaking Reinke while enduring all those wounds.
‘When that happens, this rumor is no longer a story that divides Reinke. Rather, it’s a story that unifies Reinke.’
The situation unfolded exactly as Ruan intended.
And as a result.
Ruan’s gaze fell on Anita, who was fitting the Grand Duke’s clothes for the wedding day.
Fitting involves wearing a temporarily stitched garment, moving around to check for ill-fitting parts, and modifying them by pinning. It was a process that the cat Grand Duke was unlikely to find pleasant.
As a result, the Grand Duke usually showed his displeasure openly whenever it was time for fitting… and the frightened tailor had no choice but to give up halfway through each time.
Ruan recalled the clothes the Grand Duke had been wearing so far.
‘It’s just that he has a body that would look good even if you hung a rag on a hanger. In fact, his clothes weren’t perfectly fitted.’
But now the situation has changed a bit.
“Your Grace, could you lift your right arm a little? It’s a bit loose here. I’ll pin it to fix it.”
Even with the Grand Duke showing signs of displeasure in front of her, Anita only showed a slightly scared expression but didn’t stop giving instructions for the fitting or touching his body.
‘I guess that’s how much the view of the Grand Duke has changed.’
Ruan looked with satisfaction at the clothes being gradually modified to fit the Grand Duke’s body.
Now that it had come to this, it seemed good to fit the Grand Duke’s clothes a bit more. The Grand Duke had been tearing and eating his clothes when he got impatient lately, ruining several sets, so if we replaced them all with well-fitting clothes…
Just as Ruan’s mouth corners escaped control for a moment at the thought of dressing his already handsome lover in prettier and more comfortable clothes.
“Now’s the time, now’s the time.”
Yount’s voice was heard, who had come along to carry Anita’s luggage. Embarrassed, Ruan quickly covered his mouth, pretending to clear his throat.
But Yount, who had caught something to tease about, didn’t stop there.
“How can you be so happy just looking? Are you going to cry on the wedding day at this rate? As expected of Hans’s son…”
Although it was a bit painful to be teased like that continuously… it was clearly a positive situation that Yount, who was usually so timid, could act like that about topics related to the Grand Duke, so Ruan didn’t feel too bad.
‘At this point, it seems the rumor issue has been properly resolved.’
In fact, it was beyond resolution; they had even benefited from it.
But that means the side that planned this suffered a great loss. As Ruan was recalling the things that had changed due to this incident, he suddenly thought of someone who would be feeling the exact opposite sentiment in this situation.
Louise, who would have been waiting for Reinke to divide.
When she first came to Reinke. Louise would have thought she could easily persuade the Grand Duke. After all, the Grand Duke was someone who, like her, had lost family to Volker and nearly lost his homeland. She would have thought that whether the Grand Duke knew this fact or not, she could easily draw him to her side.
But unexpectedly, the Grand Duke firmly refused to take her side.
So next, she tried to shake up public opinion in Reinke to force the Grand Duke to move.
This strategy succeeded in the novel, but… now, far from dividing Reinke, it resulted in making Reinke more tightly united.
What’s left for her now, who must be fuming at these repeated failures.
‘I wonder if she’ll set up a situation where Volker directly threatens Reinke, to create a situation where the Grand Duke, who said he would focus on protecting his territory, inevitably confronts Volker.’
On the day he met Louise, when she said couldn’t he also cut Volker with that sword, the Grand Duke answered like this:
‘The purpose of my sword is to cut down those who harm my territory to protect it.’
In the end, that meant that if Volker tried to harm Reinke’s territory again this time, he would cut him down. It was obvious that Louise, realizing her previous strategy had completely failed, would try to use this.
So before she comes up with a new method and makes a big move. Ruan had to meet Louise, who must be bewildered that none of her methods are working.
‘I should go see her soon.’
* * *
Who is the character that the reader inevitably knows best among the characters in a novel?
Barring special cases where tricks are added to the narration, the answer to this question is usually “the protagonist.” Most novels are narrated from the protagonist’s perspective, following the events they experience and their emotions and thoughts about them.
In that sense, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the reader of a novel experiences important moments in the protagonist’s life by entering their mind and going through them together.
Having had such a special experience, impossible with ordinary people, the reader naturally comes to know well what kind of person the protagonist is. Perhaps even better than the protagonist themselves.
This applies to Kim Ha-jin, who read “Tales of the Sirah Empire,” a work that doesn’t deviate greatly from the framework of a typical novel—although it has the flaw of not describing the shocking facts that the Northern Grand Duke is a cat beastman or that the caravan leader is a dog beastman.
Louise Sirah, the protagonist of the novel, was the person Kim Ha-jin knew best in this world.
That’s why Ruan had been constantly pondering about her since feeling a sense of discomfort when he actually met Louise.
And finally, he came to a conclusion.
Ruan’s gaze fell on Louise, who was standing in front of the cabin looking up at the night sky. He watched that figure for a moment.
Soon, Louise, sensing the presence of a stranger, turned her head to look at Ruan. Their eyes met.
Ruan greeted her first with courtesy.
“Your Majesty, have you been well? I came to check if there were any inconveniences.”
Honestly, he knew she wouldn’t be well due to the situation Ruan had orchestrated, but that was ultimately Louise’s own doing, so it couldn’t be helped.
Looking at Ruan like that, Louise opened her mouth.
“Ruan Daen, the Grand Duke’s aide and fiancé.”
Neither a greeting nor an answer to Ruan’s question came from Louise’s lips.
“I’ve heard about you from Rafi before.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
