BBYW Vol. 3 Chapter 38 (WN)
Chapter 38 – Heartless One
【POV: A certain country’s minister】
My name is Samuel Lauros, I am a minister of the Garnet Kingdom, in the Southern Archipelago.
More precisely, I “was” a minister.
Several months ago, the Garnet Kingdom was taken over by a foreign country and had been effectively dismantled: my old title had little to no meaning anymore.
Garnet had been destroyed by the Lion Kingdom, a pirate country.
We had always been at odds with the outlaw state; in recent years, however, they gained unimaginable military power, enough to defeat and take over our kingdom.
We tried opposing them, naturally: the soldiers fought with everything they had, using all the arrows, gunpowder, and everything else at their disposal.
Because of this, we were actually successful in repelling the first wave of invading pirate ships, despite their massive numbers.
When “that man” appeared on the Lion Kingdom’s side, however, the situation changed dramatically.
The frontlines were breached in a matter of moments: the pirate forces spread to the capital as quickly and relentlessly as wildfire.
Eventually…the royal capital fell, and the whole kingdom was under the pirates’ control.
Garnet thus became a colony, but the invaders’ governance was unexpectedly peaceful.
The Lion Kingdom soldiers were well disciplined, almost unnaturally so. There were no episodes of violence or robbery towards the Garnet citizens, and the amount of tributes they requested was fairly moderate.
On the contrary, the new government even removed all corrupt nobles and dishonest merchants: the rotten underbelly of the kingdom was purified, improving public safety as a whole.
The only real problem was in the royal palace — the existence of the man left in charge of the new government.
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“WAAAAHHHH!!!”
A man’s scream echoed in the royal halls.
This historical building of the Garnet royal family, an imposing sanctuary of white marble, had been turned into a chamber of torture.
“Stop…! Someone, anyone, help…!!!”
“Kh…”
Hearing such desperate pleas, I couldn’t help but grimace.
The man, his hands and legs tied, was pinned to the floor in a cross shape, completely naked.
And…on his body slithered several venomous snakes.
The snakes came from our kingdom’s forests: their poison would inflict paralysis to the whole body, making it impossible to breathe, thus leading to ten minutes of agony, followed by death.
With such lethal snakes on his body, the man was obviously scared out of his wits.
(How cruel…)
“Is anything the matter, minister? You do not look well.”
“It’s n-nothing…”
The man who expressed concern towards my state was none other than the perpetrator of the torture.
He was the mastermind behind the fall of Garnet, whom the Lion Kingdom left in charge of the new government.
A pirate named Captain Drake.
Drake’s muscular body was scorched by the sun, as expected of a man of the sea: he had curly black hair, reaching all the way down to his waist.
He had well-proportioned, chiseled features, emanating a sort of dangerous charm, like only an outlaw could.
Sitting on the “royal throne” with his legs crossed, he was the picture of a barbarian king.
“This man is truly resilient, I must say. Don’t you think his efforts are worthy of praise?”
“Yes….”
I lowered my head, to hide my expression.
I, former minister of the Garnet Kingdom, was now a subordinate of this man.
Anyone in this kingdom would call me a filthy traitor, yet I did not wish for this position: my family was taken hostage to force me into it.
“GWAAAHHHH!!!”
“Hmm…that’s it, huh.”
“Aah…!”
The man tied on the floor was finally bit by a snake. He writhed and squirmed, eventually foaming at the mouth and drawing his last breath.
Drake looked coldly at the man, now completely still, then shook his head with a sigh.
“And another toy’s broken…get me a new one, and fast.”
“…under, stood.”
“What should we do with the next one? Maybe make them drink boiling water. If they can down a whole barrel, I’ll spare them.”
“…….”
There was no way they could be spared. I clenched my teeth, desperately suppressing my anger.
Under Drake’s rule, the former Garnet Kingdom was going through a period of relative peace.
If something were to tarnish this man’s mood, however, the country would surely turn into hell on earth.
In order to appease this man, I am forced to bring him toy after toy, victim after victim.
To bring my beloved citizens to torture and inevitable death was a brutal fate for me as well.
“Governor…why do you do such things?”
“Hm…?”
Drake turned towards me, squinting his eyes in surprise.