The Place Where I Was Sold as a Slave Was the Imperial Palace

074

From nob le mt l dot com

Down there, the ground is not yet ready for snow.

However, it was already winter here at the top of the mountain. Snow is piled up little by little here and there outside the castle.

Rudy walked down the dark hallway, closing the front of the cloak draped over his shoulders.

Since this is a castle built on top of a mountain, it is much colder than the imperial palace of the Putegrin Empire. Even though he was wearing a thick fur coat, the wind blew through his neck.

I don’t know why the wind is blowing in the hallway when it’s obviously surrounded by thick walls.

Using the excuse that there was no snow outside, the inside of the castle was lit up in places with torches that were cheaper than candles.

Torches swayed in the wind, casting large shadows on the walls.

It’s gloomy like a ghost coming out.

As Rudy walked in the dark space exhaling white breath, a sorcerer walked in a cluttered appearance from the end of the long hallway opposite.

Unlike in the imperial palace, there are almost no restrictions on access based on social status in this castle.

The only exception was the room where the emperor stayed. In the castle, ordinary soldiers, attendants, the emperor’s aides and a small number of officials frequently roamed.

The sorcerer stopped a little when he saw Rudy, then bowed his head.

The face reflected in the torchlight is slightly reddish. It looked like he had been drinking late.

“You’ll have a hard time tomorrow if you stay out too late.”

“Yes, I’m going to sleep now.”

At Rudy’s words, the sorcerer grinned and scratched his head. He could see his shirt peeking out of his trousers through the untucked overcoat.

‘ah…!’

Several women live in the annex of the castle. Most of them were women brought from nearby farms.

Nominally for washing and cleaning, in reality dealing with soldiers is their real job.

Instead, women were paid several times the wages of ordinary maids.

With the exception of the emperor and a few of his attendants, almost everyone tried not to tell Rudy about it. It’s totally child treat.

‘Well, I already know everything.’

Rudy smiled bitterly and passed by the sorcerer. The sorcerer, who still had a young appearance, hurriedly pulled up his pants and disappeared across the hallway.

Judging from his mental age, it’s not strange that he’s attracted to women, but perhaps because he’s still young, he has little desire to be in touch with women.

It seems that little has changed when he thinks about it, but as expected, something subtly changed as he entered this body.

Before you know it, you are in front of the emperor’s room.

An attendant stood in front of the massive door.

“He’s waiting for you.”

The attendant bowed politely and opened the door.

The room is as dark as the hallway. All other lights were off, and only a trident-shaped candlestick was placed on the low table.

The emperor was sitting in front of him, hunched over on a chair covered with animal fur.

The candle flickers and casts a black shadow on the Emperor’s face. The sunken cheeks and cheekbones looked grim.

“Here!”

The emperor waved his hand and called out to Rudy.

On the table was the wine the Emperor usually drinks and a drink that seemed to be for Rudy.

“It’s already been three years, but it’s cold every year. I’m very old too.”

The Emperor smirked and took a sip of wine.

“You should drink it too. The chief chamberlain sent it for you on purpose. They said it was made last year.”

The drink is a mixture of water and finely ground exotic fruits stored in sugar and honey.

It’s easy to say fruit juice, but I heard that this fruit is very difficult to find. But in reality, they are just earth tangerines.

I took a few sips of the slightly bitter juice.

There was silence for a moment.

“There are several duchy families in the Empire. But did you know that there are also several duke titles besides those duke families?”

“No. Boris-sama taught me only the families that exist in the Empire.”

“Yes, I’m sure you haven’t learned that far yet. Ordinary people don’t know much about it. But everyone who knows about titles to some extent knows what they are.”

The emperor grinned.

“It is a title that only the crown prince can receive. Aside from the installation of the crown prince, there are several titles you can receive if you become the successor.”

“…”

“The current crown prince was not given that title. There are rare cases where he inherits the throne without a title, so everyone just thought it was a little strange and moved on.”

The emperor looked at Rudy gently.

“However, only the heir can receive that title. If he is not chosen as the heir, he will never be able to receive it. All the heads of high-ranking aristocrats with some level of status know that.”

The Emperor put down his wine glass and put his hands together. Looking at Rudy with a serious face, he asked.

“I’m going to give you that title when I go back. Will you accept it?”

The day has finally come.

Rudy closed and opened his eyes for a moment.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“The moment you receive that title, you will reveal to everyone that you are the next emperor.

“Those who do not accept will be suppressed. If they still oppose, I will thoroughly exclude them without exception.”

Rudy looked straight into the Emperor’s eyes.

His words contained the meaning that he would be hostile to the empress, the prince, or the people behind them if they rebelled.

Still, will you stop me or allow me, he asked the emperor.

The emperor shrugged and smiled.

“If you don’t have that level of determination, you can’t stand it. Do as you please. I won’t stop you no matter what decision you make.”

The Emperor’s fingers are slender as he slowly drinks from his wine glass.

The emperor leaned back in his chair and placed the wine glass in his lap.

“My life is not long. I cannot keep you for long. You must keep your place by yourself.”

“I already know. I know very well that Boris and everything I have learned from you are for that purpose.”

It seems that you are satisfied with Rudy’s words.

The emperor nodded and said.

“Okay, I’ll give you a chance to get the credit. No pre-rigged, crappy chances. Show in anyone’s eyes that you’re a great fighter and a boss. Flatten everyone’s muzzles.”

“I will try to live up to your expectations.”

After that, we had a little talk. The story of the hunt that starts when the sun rises, the sorcerer, and even the story of a woman who is slightly younger than her age.

The Emperor seemed to be in a good mood and talked more than usual.

After some time had passed, an attendant who had been standing close to the wall like a shadow approached and interrupted the conversation.

“Your Majesty, it’s time to go to bed.”

“Ah, has it already happened. Since I got old, I’ve been sleeping a lot at night.”

The emperor laughed lightly, and the attendant chimed in.

“So do I. As I get older, my eyesight gets blurry at night.”

Fatigue piled up on the Emperor’s face.

Rudy said goodbye and got up from his seat.

When I went outside, the attendant outside the door bowed politely and started talking to me.

“There are clothes and accessories from His Majesty. He told me to get used to the body for the next few months before returning to the Empire. Would you like to take a look now?”

“Maybe.”

“Please let go now, Rudy-sama. Your identity has changed from when you entered this room.”

“…okay.”

The servant deeply bowed his head.

“Your Majesty has been constantly worrying about the successor ever since he was young. You have become much more comfortable after meeting Rudy-nim. Thank you.”

“…”

The attendant led Rudy to the room next to the emperor.

After coming here, Rudy has been living with the magician. It was my first time entering this space.

Stepping in, Rudy’s eyes widened.

The room contained clothes, hats, and shoes suitable for Rudy’s height, as well as knives and jewelry.

When did you prepare all these things? I always seemed to stick with the emperor, but I didn’t notice it at all.

“This is what you wear when hunting or going to war. The decorations are minimal to avoid discomfort, but it is designed to show authority.”

An attendant took Rudy to one of the areas divided into several compartments.

“What should I wear tomorrow?”

“It’s up to you to choose.”

“Okay. I’ll choose a color that goes well with the horse I’ll be riding tomorrow. And from now on, besides Levin, I’ll have one or two more attendants.”

“I get it.”

When Rudy tried to go outside, the attendant smiled and bent down.

“Rudy-sama, you can live in the next room from today.”

“…”

With the guidance of the attendant, I opened the connecting door and entered the next room, where a large bed and luxurious furniture caught my eye.

More splendid than the emperor’s room.

“In order to get used to it when I return to the Empire, Rudi-sama’s room and clothes are tailored to the other side. What kind of life you lead on a daily basis is revealed implicitly.”

The attendant smiled softly.

“From this moment on, Rudy’s every move is done through our hands.”

It took me a while to realize just how terrifying the words were.

From dressing and undressing to going to the bathroom, using the toilet, and even wiping the skin when taking a bath, the attendant took care of everything.

When I saw the emperor’s life from the side, I couldn’t even think of it, but it is not so easy to live by borrowing everyone’s hands, even the smallest things.

Until I fell asleep, I was only served for a few hours, but I felt like I was exhausted mentally.

The attendant helped Rudy put on a long shirt and lay down on the bed before turning the lights down.

Inside, there was only one candle left far from the bed.

The attendant, thinking that he was going to leave, went to a corner and stood with his back against the wall.

As Rudy looked, the attendant lowered his head slightly and said,

“I know it will be inconvenient. But starting today, at least one attendant will definitely be by Rudy-sama’s bedtime.”

“…”

Come to think of it, more attendants were by his side when the emperor slept. It occurred to me that perhaps this trivial aspect might eat away at my spirit more than becoming the emperor and fighting my political opponents.

The next morning, Rudy wakes up as usual and is startled. It was because the servant’s face was right in front of his eyes. I almost screamed if I made a mistake.

“Sorry. Were you surprised?”

The attendant leaned back slightly and said.

“I was going to inform you that it’s time to wake up, but Rudy-sama doesn’t need to.”

An attendant brought a silver basin and placed it on the iron pedestal next to the bed. Raise Rudy up naturally like water flowing.

After washing her face, she stood next to her and immediately held out a soft cloth. After brushing, immediately brush your hair and put on your clothes.

I didn’t have to think about anything.

The attendant moved first, following Rudy’s movement.

After the clothes were finished, the attendant bent his knees and put on his shoes.

A little later, Rudy thought, Oh, this person wasn’t the servant of yesterday.

I was already aware that my face was different, but it was too late to realize it because my actions were so natural.

It may be that the attendant is learning the ninjutsu that ninjas used.

From nob le mt l dot com

Due to the change in Rudy’s outfit and the attitude of his attendants, almost all the soldiers knew that he had become the official successor.

In particular, the morale of the sorcerers who shared the joys and sorrows together for three years rose significantly.

Thanks to that, the hunting of the day was the best since coming here.

Together with the excited magicians, he drains the blood and removes the intestines from the freshly caught animal.

Boris also taught survival skills in the forest so that even if he fell alone in the enemy camp in battle, he would survive until a rescue team arrived.

As he cut the meat to make it easy to transport as he had learned, he suddenly thought of Princess Lilitha in the imperial palace.

I don’t want to make you unhappy I wanted to make you as happy as I could.

However, if you stand in the center of power, there will be many things that will hurt you.

Someday in the distant future, wouldn’t Princess Lilitha resent herself for making such a decision?

The face of the young child who had been holding on to herself and shedding tears did not come off as if it had somehow stuck to the back of her head.

＜ Starting today, I…

(74)

＜Road to the Imperial Palace＞