Chapter 96
Someone had volunteered, saying they wanted to become the Grand Duke’s strategist. After finishing a discussion with Melas first, that person was supposed to attend the meeting starting today.
“Melass. When will that person arrive?”
“He said he would be a little late due to his schedule, so he should be here soon.”
What kind of person would come straight to the officers’ meeting?
While waiting with that question in mind, the person approached. The one who walked into the meeting hall was a face I already knew.
Like a noble rose, her dark crimson hair rippled in waves down to her waist, and her amber eyes were so mysterious they seemed to draw one in. Rather than having a gentle, puppy-like impression, the woman exuded a sharp yet elegant, cat-like aura, making her alluring enough to capture anyone’s attention.
Though I had never actually seen her in person, her appearance was extremely familiar to me. It was Amelia Sophe, the female lead of the original novel [I Tamed the Mad Emperor].
“Hello.”
She glanced around and gave a brief bow. She looked full of dignity and charisma, befitting the leader of a powerful organization.
Gasp. The female lead has finally appeared!!
Moved by the incarnation of the heroine I had only known through text, I covered my mouth with my hand.
“This is the young lady of the Sophe baronial house and the head of Kagomisl.”
“Please call me Amelia.”
At Melas’s introduction, Amelia smiled gently. I could see a few men’s faces turning red at her smile.
As expected of the female protagonist’s presence!
As a fan of the novel, I was deeply moved inside. Outwardly, I kept my usual expression and pretended to remain calm.
If anyone could rise straight to an officer position the moment they applied to be a strategist, it was understandable for it to be Amelia.
If Night Watch dominated the capital as a mercenary guild and information broker, then in the outskirts, there was Amelia’s “Kagomisl.”
No matter how much Night Watch struggled, within the empire they were still in the emperor’s grasp. Kagomisl, on the other hand, was truly untouchable. It was intricately connected even to neighboring countries, giving it high diplomatic influence. That was probably why her value was rated so highly, as she would be of great help if the scale of war grew.
“What is the situation in the border regions?”
“In the capital and nearby areas that receive benefits, things are relatively fine, but the border regions are in serious condition. You could even say they are worse than during the previous emperor’s reign.”
Amelia answered the Grand Duke’s question in a serious tone. Her voice contained anger toward the emperor.
“The current emperor is corruption itself. I wish to cooperate with Your Grace to overthrow him. I swear to devote my life to this.”
She declared her ambition openly before everyone.
Amelia’s love for justice was genuine. After falling in love with the emperor, she would become an upright and capable empress who eradicated all corruption in the empire. That was the role of the female lead.
“What is the likelihood that the emperor will request troop deployments from other kingdoms?”
The Grand Duke deliberately tested her with the question. Even if Melas acknowledged her, he could not fully trust Amelia yet.
“There are already such movements. It seems he is receiving soldiers to advance into the Prares Empire. This has been detected in twenty neighboring kingdoms.”
“Huh. It’s already underway.”
From her answer, we could tell that neighboring kingdoms were preparing to respond to the emperor’s request. The compensation would be generous, so it was only natural. By sending a few hundred of their people, they could secure ties with the imperial family—why would they refuse?
“But the emperor should be penniless. How is that possible?”
Melas asked, puzzled.
We had once raided the emperor’s secret vault. That meant Kyle did not have much wealth in his hands.
Even if he promised imperial privileges as compensation for the troops, the number of kingdoms approving the request was too high. It would be impossible unless he stripped the empire bare.
“The emperor’s corruption is beyond imagination. Thinking that he only accumulated wealth within the empire is a great mistake. I know of more than twelve warehouses belonging to the emperor outside the empire alone. Their scale goes without saying.”
“Gasp!”
“That can’t be…”
The scale of the warehouses Amelia spoke of was several times to several dozen times larger than the one we had looted. Unlike inside the empire, outside its borders he could operate freely without worrying about nobles or other powers.
Even I was hearing such concrete information for the first time. The original novel focused more on romance than politics. After the female and male leads met, political situations were described only vaguely.
“I see. From now on, report any new information immediately.”
“Of course.”
Amelia nodded at Melas’s request.
The meeting ended with everyone weighed down by shock at the emperor’s wealth and despair over the troop deployments. If I were to add one more thing, it would be astonishment at Amelia’s outstanding beauty and information network.
Others only considered Amelia’s social influence. That alone was impressive enough, but I, who knew the original story, knew her true value.
In the original novel, Amelia, as the head of Kagomisl, keeps Emperor Kyle in check. One day, after establishing himself as an absolute ruler and living a boring life, Kyle plots to wipe out an insolent group and encounters Amelia when she infiltrates the imperial palace garden.
There, the two fall in love at first sight.
Falling for each other at first glance is absurd, but isn’t that how protagonists’ meetings usually go? In the novel, they started as enemies, yet before they could escape, their bodies and hearts became soaked in each other. That was the main content.
Thus, Amelia’s appearance itself was hope found in a bleak situation. If, as in the original story, the emperor and Amelia met and fell in love, everything could be resolved.
The god who possessed me has not abandoned me!
I was convinced that she would become our best and final card.
Amelia’s joining brought a new wind.
Just as in the novel, she was bold, proactive, and possessed outstanding leadership.
She freely shared the information she knew and interacted easily with new people. Rather than being accustomed to hierarchy, she had the ability to draw people in with her own charisma.
She also had considerable skill in swordsmanship, having learned combat by throwing herself into real battles in the border regions. Not only was her personal ability great, but her teaching skill was especially exceptional. Perhaps because of that, when she joined with the several hundred subordinates she brought as the Grand Duke’s troops, she began to interfere with their training.
“In that situation, you shouldn’t do it like that. Rather than dodging, it’s much more beneficial to sharpen your blade and step forward.”
She personally went to soldiers who lacked skill and gave them individual advice. Every time I saw such scenes, I was moved by the heroine’s attentiveness.
Evan, who worked as an instructor, did not care much about Amelia’s actions at first. He viewed her filling in the gaps positively. However, as time passed, things began to change.
Her aggressive tactics were so powerful that they caused the soldiers’ skills to rise vertically. Their swords became sharp for real combat. For this reason, her influence gradually grew, and eventually, the soldiers began to follow Amelia more than Evan.
It was when the soldiers were sparring in pairs.
“You shouldn’t do it that way there. Instead of moving forward, you should step back and look for an opening.”
“But Amelia-nim taught us like this.”
Even when Evan gave advice, cases of soldiers rebutting him by citing Amelia’s guidance increased. He had a gentle disposition and usually let such things pass, thinking that it was fine as long as things were fine.
However, where there are radicals, there are also gradualists. Since Amelia pushed strongly, there were also those who did not like it. The most prominent among them was Koa.
The trigger for open conflict was this: Amelia objected to the training method while watching group training.
“Evan. Just a moment.”
Amelia stopped the training and called Evan aside. Then she pointed out various issues with the swordsmanship style that did not suit her.
“Somehow, that method doesn’t seem suited for real combat.”
Given the somewhat rough nature of the heroine, her tone was not gentle. Even if she was a provincial baron’s daughter, she was still a noble. Amelia tried to instruct Evan, who was of commoner origin.
Koa quickly stepped between the two when he saw this.
“Don’t be so arrogant.”
“What?”
Having endured it for several days, his words did not come out politely.
Koa was a subordinate with strong loyalty. Rather than asserting his own opinion, he believed it was right to follow his superior’s view. He had almost wandered the streets for life until Raymond saved him, so his loyalty was understandable. He was that type.
“There is already an established method here. Do you think it is right to ignore the superior’s opinion and butt in?”
“A mere commoner speaks boldly. Then should one remain silent even when there is a better method?”
“At least not like this. Is it right to dismiss other methods as wrong and insist only on your own? Have you not considered that the soldiers will be confused by having two instructors?”
“Why are you doing this? Let’s not fight.”
Neither of them backed down, exchanging fierce words. Instead, the gentle Evan, who was practically the victim, stood helplessly between them, not knowing what to do.
