Chapter 09
“Of course, Rani is no ordinary fortune teller with divine power, but…”
It felt like that wasn’t all.
When Perion noticed Linen staring at him intently, he straightened his expression.
“Is there a problem?”
Linen chose to remain silent at his question.
“No, Your Majesty.”
I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.
Even when he appeared thoughtless like a tyrant, there was always a reason behind his actions.
Firmly believing that this time would be no different, Linen pushed aside his curiosity and went to finish the remaining paperwork.
The next day arrived.
Knowing that if I went early I would only hear more whispers from others, I decided to enter the conference hall as late as possible.
“Yaaawn~”
Stretching lazily, I followed Benji’s guidance toward the hall. Perion had informed me of the meeting agenda the day before, so I had stayed up all night. I was exhausted.
But the moment I stepped into the conference hall, I forgot all about my fatigue.
It was far larger and far more crowded than I had expected. I turned to Benji, wanting to back out, but he simply smiled and saw me off.
“Do well in there, Lady Rani.”
No, Benji!
However, he mercilessly shut the door.
Left alone at the entrance, trembling slightly, I stepped inside.
Countless noble gazes clung to me.
— Is that the rumored imperial palace fortune teller?
— What on earth is His Majesty thinking?
— When has anyone ever been able to understand his thoughts?
— To share a room with someone so lowly!
Some looked at me with contempt, some with simple curiosity, others with indifference. There was quite a variety.
I made my way through the piercing stares toward my seat—but I couldn’t find it anywhere.
As I wandered, Perion entered.
“His Majesty the Emperor!”
Everyone rose at once to pay their respects. So many men stood up that I was completely hidden from Perion’s view.
Just as I stood there awkwardly among them, unsure what to do, Perion looked directly at me and gave a meaningful smile.
My mouth went dry at that smile.
What is he planning this time?!
My bad premonitions were never wrong.
As Perion walked to his seat and sat down, I saw it—my name was written on the seat right beside the Emperor.
Seeing that, I turned pale and wished I could simply evaporate.
If I run away now—
As that irrational thought crossed my mind, Perion called out to me.
“Won’t you take your seat?”
I was already the center of attention, and with his single sentence, every gaze in the hall turned toward me.
Lowering my head deeply, I hurried as fast as I could to the seat beside Perion.
When I sat down, he gave a slight nod. The meeting began.
A noble stood up to speak. It was Count Mort, so fat that his belly spilled over his waistband.
“The first agenda item. Currently, the tax rate is only 25 percent of income. Compared to the neighboring Kingdom of Dortewein, it is 20 percent lower.
Therefore, I propose increasing the imperial citizens’ taxes by 10 percent to stabilize the nation’s finances.”
Raise taxes by 10 percent.
In truth, the tax rate of the Cardicel Empire wasn’t particularly high. At first glance, it sounded like a reasonable proposal.
“I approve. Collecting more taxes will stimulate the citizens’ labor activity.”
“Indeed. To revive this stagnant economy, a tax increase is essential.”
“What if we provide welfare for the citizens in exchange for raising taxes by 10 percent?”
“That sounds excellent!”
As if it had all been prearranged, several nobles voiced agreement.
I simply watched quietly.
Perion looked bored, as though watching a laughable play. Then he turned his gaze to me.
“What does our imperial palace fortune teller think?”
The previously lively atmosphere fell silent at his words. The nobles began sending sharp looks my way.
If I were to interpret those looks, they meant something like this:
Keep your mouth shut and just nod quietly.
But my survival depended on earning Perion’s favor. Going against him here would be foolish.
“I oppose it.”
With that single sentence, the atmosphere in the hall turned icy. It seemed the only one pleased with this situation was Perion.
How many enemies am I making just to win over one man…?
I inwardly shed tears as I faced the stinging gazes.
“And your reason?”
There were many.
This proposal had three major problems.
First, the Kingdom of Dortewein—used as an example—was a nation declining precisely because of its high tax rate. It was inappropriate to compare tax rates with such a country.
Second, the current economic downturn was caused by exploitation from certain nobles and the temple.
The temple forced donations from imperial citizens for various reasons. If they didn’t pay, priests refused them medical treatment, so the people had no choice but to comply.
Some nobles lent money at exorbitant interest rates, exploiting the citizens.
Under such conditions, the economy could not possibly thrive.
Lastly, the proposer himself—Count Mort—was the biggest problem.
He was one of those very nobles exploiting the people.
And most of the nobles agreeing with this proposal likely belong to that same corrupt group.
However, I was here as the imperial palace fortune teller. There was no need to list all these reasons.
In fact, doing so would only make them suspicious of me.
Two sentences would suffice.
“I simply see it. The countless souls who died by your hand.”
Count Mort’s face turned red and purple as he burst into anger.
“I have never committed murder!”
“One does not need to stab someone with a blade to be a killer. Squeezing the lifeblood from imperial citizens until they wither and die is also murder.”
“What?!”
My words must have struck the mark. His face looked ready to explode.
“How dare you slander me! I’ll deal with this wench at once—!”
“At once?”
Mort had become so enraged that he forgot he stood before the Emperor.
At Perion’s low murmur, the count’s shouting stopped instantly.
With his signature chilling smile, Perion said,
“Continue.”
“…No, I was momentarily carried away.”
“If you will not continue, then I shall speak.”
At Perion’s gesture, Linen stepped forward and began reading from a document.
“Count Mort. For the past five years, you have consistently evaded taxes. You requested subsidies under the pretext of village festivals that were never even held—ten million pena each time. Where did that money go?”
“Th-that…”
Ten million pena—about ten million won in Korean currency.
He’s been stuffing himself quite well every year.
“Yes, you have also been consistently involved in illegal gambling. The amount of taxes you embezzled alone totals several hundred million pena. Were you aware?”
Count Mort finally fell silent.
Linen continued without pause.
“You even forced enormous interest debts upon your subjects and used their young children as collateral. Those children then served in your bedchamber—”
Crunch—
At that moment, Perion crushed the stone armrest of his chair. The innocent stone shattered into powder.
A suffocating silence fell over the hall.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the count threw himself flat on the ground and began begging desperately.
“Your Majesty, I have committed a sin worthy of death! Spare me, and I will devote my entire body to serving you!”
“Enough.”
Perion frowned slightly. I watched him anxiously.
“These days, there seem to be many who commit sins deserving death and yet beg to be spared.”
His gaze briefly shifted toward me.
Startled, I avoided his eyes.
When I think about it… it’s already a miracle he spared me.
I had no right to whine about him constantly testing me.
Perion was never a merciful man to begin with.
Without a word, he extended his hand toward Linen. Linen placed a sword into it.
Surely not…
“Your Majesty! Please spare my life! I beg you!”
Perion rose from his seat and raised the sword high.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Slash—
The sickening sound of flesh being cut echoed through the chamber.
“Aaaaargh!”
The count’s tongue had been severed.
His scream reverberated throughout the hall.
When I opened my eyes slightly, I saw Perion casually wiping the blood from his face. I deliberately avoided looking at the floor where the count had been prostrating himself.
I didn’t need to see it to know how horrific it was.
The conference hall became as silent as a funeral.
At Linen’s signal, soldiers entered and dragged the count away. Their movements were swift and efficient, as though this were hardly their first time.
Meanwhile, Perion calmly sat back down, crossing his legs.
“Let us proceed to the next agenda.”
Under the quiet gleam in Perion’s eyes, everyone in the hall did nothing but breathe in tense silence.
