I Didn't Want to Become the Emperor of This World

Chapter 96

At the same time Leonardo and Jereuth were discussing the travel itinerary to the Wasteland of Ruin.

Olivia’s office.

In Olivia’s office, Elly had been sitting silently on the guest sofa for thirty minutes. It was because of Olivia, who had brought her to the office saying she had something to tell her, but had been doing her own work for nearly thirty minutes.

Elly stared blankly at Olivia.

‘She looks incredibly busy… then why did she bring me here?’

Olivia did serve Elly tea that she had brewed herself, seemingly to treat her as a guest for the time being. However, Elly did not usually enjoy tea, and since the tea Olivia gave her was the ‘black bitter tea’ that Leonardo liked, she couldn’t drink much of it.

‘His Highness used to call it ‘coffee.’’

‘Coffee.’ It was a tea that Leonardo drank more than water, so Elly had tried sipping it, but she just couldn’t get used to its aroma and taste.

But Olivia drank it nonstop while working, as if it were some kind of elixir of life.

‘Will I get used to such a bitter tea when I become an adult?’

Elly was twelve, the same age as Leonardo, so she couldn't help but be curious about the actions of Olivia, who had become an adult this year at fifteen.

After another few minutes passed like that.

Tap, tap—!

Olivia tapped a thick stack of documents on the desk to straighten them. As she placed the documents in one place, she spoke to Elly.

“I apologize for making you wait so long. There was still some work left that His Highness had instructed me to do.”

“Ah… yes, it’s alright. But why did you call for me?”

“It’s nothing special. It’s just that I, who have become responsible for internal affairs, have something to instruct you, the Head Maid who is responsible for managing the royal palace.”

“Instructions…? I do not take instructions from anyone but His Highness.”

“Is that so.”

Olivia replied curtly to Elly’s firm words and sat on the sofa opposite her. Even the simple act of sitting down exuded dignity. There was a clear difference between her and Elly, who, despite being from a noble family, had not received proper noble education.

“I don’t want to give you instructions either, Head Maid. In fact, it’s rather bothersome. I don’t even have enough time to handle the work His Highness has instructed, and now I have to worry about managing the royal palace as well.”

“Is there a problem with the management of the royal palace?”

“Yes, there is. A serious problem.”

Olivia looked at Elly, maintaining her cold, expressionless face. Olivia’s expressionless face now was very different from the warm expressionless face she had when looking at Leonardo.

“The state of cleaning in the royal palace, the management of the gardens, the sanitary conditions of the kitchen, and so on, there’s no end to the things I could point out one by one. Among them, what I find most absurd is—.”

“……That’s because the number of maids decreased so much after the Purge—.”

“If you were short on maids, you should have hired more. Or at least hired butlers. There are many daughters and sons of the surviving officials.”

“They cannot be trust—.”

“I’m not finished speaking. Just listen. Do I have to teach etiquette to someone who is the ‘Head Maid’?”

“……”

“What I find most absurd of all is His Highness’s meals. I checked with the chef, and the Head Maid personally prepares His Highness’s meals, but every meal consists of just bread, eggs, and a few pieces of vegetables that can hardly be called a dish. Oh, and a piece of meat that is so burnt you can’t tell if it’s ash or meat, and a cup of milk.”

“……”

“Even I, who has never properly learned to cook, can make a better meal than that. But no matter how young you are, to be the ‘Head Maid’ and serve His Highness only such meals, don’t you think that’s a bit substandard? If I were the Head Maid, I would have been so ashamed that I would have entrusted the task of attending to His Highness to another maid and studied cooking. Or I would have resigned from the position of Head Maid.”

Olivia’s scolding continued like a winter blizzard. Her scolding, combined with her cold, expressionless face, was enough to hurt anyone’s feelings.

For Elly, it was a statement that could have hurt not only her feelings but also her pride.

Because she had been called ‘substandard.’

But surprisingly, Elly was seeing a different side of Olivia.

‘Ah…. Lady Olivia also cares a lot about His Highness Leonardo, just like me.’

Otherwise, there was no way Olivia would be so angry.

Of course, Elly didn’t enjoy hearing Olivia’s harsh words. But if the reason for such harsh words was for Leonardo, Elly could smile back.

‘If she’s someone who cares that much about His Highness… she must be a good person.’

A good person was someone who cared about Leonardo.

Elly’s standard for judging people was that simple.

When Elly smiled faintly, Olivia’s expressionless face crumbled, and she frowned as she asked.

“Why are you smiling? Do you find me ridiculous?”

“No. It’s just that it seems like you, Lady Olivia, also think a lot about His Highness Leonardo.”

“……!”

A hint of bewilderment appeared on Olivia’s frowning face. Elly’s words had hit the mark.

Olivia, who understood Olivia’s reaction, smiled even more warmly and spoke.

“As you said, Lady Olivia, my cooking is of a poor standard to be served to His Highness. That’s why I have also suggested to His Highness that he have the meals of other chefs.”

“And?”

“But His Highness said he wanted to eat my cooking. He said it was the most delicious.”

“……He said that cooking, which is worse than the meal of a low-ranking noble, was delicious?”

“Yes. And His Highness always prefers a simple meal over a fancy and heavy one because he shortens his meal times to attend to his duties. Something like putting vegetables and meat in bread and eating it all at once.”

To Olivia, Elly’s words sounded like, “Don’t butt in if you don’t know. I know more about Leonardo than you do.”

Elly had no such intention at all, but Olivia couldn’t help but hear it that way.

Grip—.

Olivia bit the inside of her cheek hard with her teeth. Enough to draw blood. For her, who had almost no emotional changes, this action meant she was either very angry or embarrassed.

Unaware of Olivia’s burning insides, Elly stared at Olivia with her large, wide-open eyes.

“Still, I understand your advice, Lady Olivia. I will also study to become a better cook. No matter how bad I am, I have to be better at cooking than His Highness.”

“If you say you have to be better at cooking than His Highness… does that mean His Highness has cooked before?”

“Yes. When we went to Misty Port this time, His Highness prepared meals with the soldiers. He made something like a pancake? made of potatoes, and it was incredibly delicious. He even peeled the potatoes himself, and he peeled them so well that even the soldiers were amazed.”

“So, you’ve tried it. The food His Highness made.”

“Yes!”

This too, Elly said with pure intentions.

But to Olivia, it again sounded like, “I know many sides of Leonardo that you don’t.”

Since Olivia was so intelligent and had many thoughts, she was having unnecessary thoughts.

Grip—.

Olivia bit the inside of her cheek hard again.

Olivia, who possessed a cold and dry beauty like the goddess of the moon.

In contrast, Elly, who was still immature but had a pure beauty like the sunlight, created a strange atmosphere between them.

Of course, that strange atmosphere was created only by Olivia. Elly had no intention of competing with Olivia over Leonardo.

‘……Is this child looking down on me?’

Just as Olivia frowned slightly and felt displeased.

Elly made an unexpected move.

Slap!

Elly grabbed Olivia’s hands and her eyes sparkled as she spoke. Olivia flinched unconsciously.

“Lady Olivia, let’s work hard together for His Highness. To be honest, until now, the only ones who truly followed His Highness were Commander Jereuth and the other knights… so it was honestly a bit difficult. They are all polite, but since they are men, hehe. Especially Commander Jereuth is a bit… scary.”

“……”

“I haven’t learned much, so the only thing I can do is stand quietly by His Highness’s side, but you, Lady Olivia, are smart and pretty—no, that’s not it… anyway, you will be a great help to His Highness. I will also work hard to help you work comfortably, Lady Olivia!”

At Elly’s overly pure reaction, Olivia felt dazed. Her brilliant mind could not keep up with Elly’s purity.

‘……Is she acting? Is she trying to catch me off guard and then find some weakness?’

But in Olivia’s judgment, Elly was not the type to aim for such a scheme. No, in the first place, such a scheme would only be possible with a certain level of intelligence.

But in Olivia’s standard, Elly was a ‘real fool,’ so she was not at a level to even think of a scheme.

‘Then is this child really just foolishly kind, foolishly following His Highness? With no interest in politics? I… even I, who follows His Highness, am concerned about my own position.’

Like a supercomputer that had lagged for some reason.

At Elly’s unexpected reaction, Olivia’s brilliant brain also stopped.

To such an Olivia, Elly smiled brightly and spoke.

“By the way, there are no maids in your office, Lady Olivia. You should have someone to do various chores for you when you work. Although we are short on manpower, I should assign at least one person to you.”

Elly’s proposal to assign a maid.

Olivia unconsciously understood it as Elly placing a spy in her office to monitor her.

But when she looked at the Head Maid’s face, she knew that wasn’t it. The Head Maid’s face was too foolishly pure to pull off such a scheme.

“……It’s not necessary. If you have a maid to assign to me, just have her clean the royal palace properly.”

“Come on, you’re the one in charge of internal affairs, you should have at least one maid.”

“……”

“I will hire more maids if we are short, so don’t worry. Or I’ll just sleep an hour less.”

Elly, who had finished speaking, got up from the sofa. A movement that was truly unrefined, like that of an ordinary country girl. It was impossible to see her as the Head Maid who attended the absolute ruler.

Nevertheless, Olivia could not say anything.

‘……It’s my complete defeat.’

Olivia had intended to call Elly today to put her in her place. She was even going to tell her not to try to get too close to Leonardo just because she was lucky enough to become the Head Maid.

But at Elly’s foolish purity, Olivia could not bring herself to say such things.

‘But… come to think of it, maybe she’s not a complete fool. Seeing how she figured out that I care a lot about His Highness Leonardo in just this short conversation.’

As Olivia was having various thoughts again, Elly, who had risen from the sofa, spoke in a bright voice.

“Lady Olivia. I’ve wanted to tell you this for a while, but thank you for becoming His Highness’s vassal.”

“Thank you?”

“Yes. Earlier, when His Highness saw your report, his expression was incredibly bright. It’s probably because he was satisfied with your abilities.”

“……”

“His Highness was always overwhelmed with work, but thanks to you, Lady Olivia, I think he’ll be able to put down a lot of his burden. That’s why I’m thanking you.”

Hearing this, Olivia could now be certain.

‘This woman… no, this child truly adores His Highness Leonardo purely. Without any other schemes or complicated thoughts, she was only thinking for His Highness.’

With that certainty, Olivia found herself absurd. To think that she had been wracking her brain to keep this foolish girl in check.

‘What was I thinking, against a mere twelve-year-old girl? …Although His Highness is also only twelve.’

“I understand. Then there is nothing more to say, so you may leave.”

At Olivia’s dismissal, Elly hesitated for a moment before asking.

“Um… Lady Olivia, by any chance.”

“Speak quickly. I have to work.”

“Ah, yes. Um… by any chance, when it’s just the two of us, would it be okay if I called you unni…?”

Elly’s pure request, completely unexpected.

It was a purity that was difficult for Olivia to handle. Olivia barely managed to speak firmly.

“No.”

“Yes……”

Elly made a crying face as if she had expected it.

Looking at such an Elly, Olivia turned her head and chuckled.

‘I suppose such people are also needed. By the side of a ruthless tyrant.’

***

“Then, Your Highness, I will go back and prepare for our departure. I apologize for the late hour when you must be tired.”

“Yes, you too, Commander, please rest well.”

After Jereuth left the room.

I was about to check the <Future Diary>, but for some reason, one thing Jereuth had said earlier kept bothering me.

The one phrase, “……Yes. I also think it’s a relief that the King is healthy.”

‘His tone was somewhat lukewarm. As if the King wasn’t healthy.’

After thinking about the King and Jereuth for a moment.

I lightly shook my head to clear my thoughts.

‘What I need to worry about now is not the King’s health.’

That’s right. What I needed to worry about now was whether it was okay to go to the Wasteland of Ruin tomorrow, what would happen during the journey to the Wasteland of Ruin, and whether the King’s attempt to conquer the Minotaur’s dungeon would be successful.

The only way to find that out was the <Future Diary>.

Flip—.

I took out the <Future Diary> that I had put under my desk and opened it. I checked the very last page first, just in case a new ending had been written.

My ending was still blank.

‘Hmm… Is it not coming out yet? I guess it can’t be helped.’

I turned the diary back to the front. The future closest to the present.

Fortunately, new content was written in the future closest to the present.

…….

The day after I returned from Misty Port.

Even though it had only been a day since I returned, everyone tried to stop me when I said I would go to the Wasteland of Ruin right away. Uncharacteristically, even Elly, who always followed my words, went so far as to say, “You must rest!”

Even Seria, who was busy with the elders of the Mage Tower researching the ‘Magic Communication Crystal Ball,’ tried to stop me. The knights didn’t show much reaction, perhaps because they had already heard from Jereuth.

But there was something that surprised even those knights.

It was because of the King, who was going on a journey with me. They were flustered by the King’s appearance, which was so well, unlike what they knew.

—…Why is the King well?

I heard someone among the knights gathered to see me off mutter. From the way they said ‘the King—‘ instead of ‘His Majesty the King—‘, I could tell that the knights had no respect or loyalty for the King.

In fact, the knight’s voice was filled with bewilderment and a sense of betrayal. It seemed they couldn’t believe that the King was healthy enough to go on a long journey on his own two feet.

—Son of a bitch. A parasite who leeches off His Highness Leonardo.

—A cowardly king who hid in his room when the nobles were running rampant.

—Now that His Highness Leonardo has seized power, did he come out to get a piece of the pie?

—He doesn’t think we’ll be loyal to him just because he’s seen with His Highness Leonardo, does he?

Because it was so quiet, I could hear the other knights muttering as well. Since I heard it, Jereuth must have heard it, and the King must have heard it too.

But Jereuth said nothing.

As if it were natural for the King to hear such criticism, or as if he couldn’t bring himself to reprimand the knights who were insulting the King.

…….

For now, this was the new content written on this page.

There was nothing special.

I turned to the next page.

…….

On the way to the Wasteland of Ruin.

According to Jereuth, it would take about a month and a half to reach the Wasteland of Ruin.

And from the entrance of the Wasteland of Ruin to the Giant’s settlement, it would take another half a month.

In other words, it would take a total of about two months from the royal castle to the Giant village.

During the day, while riding horses, neither Jereuth, the King, nor I spoke much. As if we were practicing silent meditation.

But at night, when we rested, it was different. Jereuth hunted and prepared meals, and the King taught me swordsmanship. Then, when I got tired, he would tell me old stories and stories of his youth.

As if he wanted to tell me everything he knew, and everything he wanted me to know, the King did not stop talking until the moment he fell asleep.

I didn’t know if it was just a feeling, but it felt like the King was being chased by time.

……Omitted. Follow current novels on novｅlfire.net

I found out later, but I should have listened to the King’s stories more carefully.

Instead of listening half-heartedly, thinking he was a failed king and that I was tired from the journey and training.

The King had so much to teach me, not just swordsmanship.

…….

This was the content written on the second page of the future closest to the present.

There was still more content after this.

‘Hmm… there’s nothing special in this part either.’

The only thing I could gather was that I had learned swordsmanship from the King ‘to the point of exhaustion’ during the journey, and that no particular problems had occurred during the journey.

However, there was a part that felt a little strange. For some reason, there were many stories about the ‘King’ in my diary.

‘Especially the last part bothers me. The part where my future self regrets not listening to the King’s words well.’

After mulling over the content again, I turned to the next page.

The third page of the future closest to the present.

…….

A simple, repetitive schedule of moving during the day and training at night.

Nothing special happened during that schedule. Except for when Jereuth would occasionally say, “There might be monsters nearby, so I’ll go and check,” and disappear somewhere before returning.

After about a month of this, we finally reached the top of a high mountain on the border between the Plank Kingdom and the Wasteland of Ruin.

‘……What a view.’

Looking down from the mountaintop, I could see a desolate and bleak desert that began at a certain boundary.

That desert was the ‘Wasteland of Ruin.’ We had finally almost reached our destination.

Jereuth, who was surveying the distant Wasteland of Ruin, spoke to me.

“The time is a bit ambiguous, so it would be best to rest here early today. It could be troublesome if the sun sets while we are descending the mountain.”

“Underst—.”

It was the moment I was about to nod at Jereuth’s words.

“Oh…… humans!! Hello!!!”

The voice of a man who had barely passed puberty.

As soon as I heard that voice, Jereuth drew his sword from his waist at a speed that was almost invisible—I’m not exaggerating, it was really at a speed that was ‘invisible’—and glared at the direction the sound came from.

Jereuth, his tension fully raised, spoke to the direction the voice came from.

“Show yourself.”

“Ah…… I’m a good Giant! I have no intention of fighting!!”

“Show yourself!!”

“Hic!”

At Jereuth’s shout, the owner of the voice was startled and showed himself. But… the owner of the voice was too big for his voice.

“I, I’m Grondar! I’m a Giant! Uh… Ah! I’m the son of the Giant elder Barut and the fortune-teller Haera!”

—…….

“I’m a really good Giant! I’m not a bad Giant! Our Giants don’t eat humans!!”

This was the last part of the newly written future closest to the present.

‘Grondar… he’s the Giant who appeared in the diary before. The Giant I was able to befriend thanks to spending a long time in the Giant village.’

That’s right. Originally, I was supposed to meet Grondar in the Giant village.

But now, it was foretold that I would meet him earlier, much earlier.

‘Then will I become friends with Grondar here?’

Just as I was thinking that.

Scribble, scribble—!

New content was written in the <Future Diary>.

…….

Grondar’s eyes sparkled as he slowly approached us.

“I like humans’ mysterious objects. If you have any, could I have a look—!”

The moment he spoke in an innocent voice and approached.

Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss—!

I heard the unpleasant sound of a snake flicking its tongue.

Along with it, a huge shadow passed over my head.

A shadow created by something huge, blocking the setting sun.

This was the added content of the future closest to the present.

‘……A snake sound, and a huge snake shadow covering my head?’

There was no way a ‘huge something’ passing over my head with a snake sound could be a good thing.

It was clearly a crisis for me.