Chapter 127:Face-to-Face (2)

“You guys. You’ve stood out way too much.”

The Evergarden family had stood out too much.

In the original story, they were extras who initially gave the protagonist a hard time, only to be turned into a light-hearted comedic relief before being executed.

That family had now risen to an enormous position, becoming the linchpin of the current empire.

“The academy incident aside, that Elixir crossed the line. That Elixir, you used a World Tree Leaf, didn’t you? There was a scene in the later part of the original story where Elixirs were manufactured in the same way.”

“……”

“You’re going to stay silent? Then I’ll just ramble on by myself. Besides, the Fifth Princess… what were you thinking? It’s as good as declaring in front of all the nobles and royals that you’ll openly support the Fifth Princess. Because of that, our position has become quite difficult.”

Freya, along with the Evergarden family, investigated the truth of the incident in front of the Emperor, and Freya declared that the Fifth Princess had a hand in it.

“Clearly, the Fifth Princess only appeared in the early to mid part of the original story and then became nothing more than a background character, never really standing out, but how did you win her over to be so high-spirited? As if she’s going to become the Emperor herself.”

“Thanks to that, the number of people I have to pay attention to has increased, which is incredibly annoying.”

With this incident, the succession war, in which the Third Prince Obina himself, had been slowly swallowing the balance, was completely shattered.

“That’s funny, if we hadn’t acted that way… it’s obvious that you intended to use us as a disposable pawn after using us appropriately as a source for selling magical beasts, but it sounds like you’re telling us to just sit still and wait to be killed?”

“Well… that’s true, so I don’t really have anything to say.”

“So, we’re getting in your way?”

“That’s right. I’m seriously considering it right now. At first, there were many opinions that we should try to win you over appropriately. But since you backstabbed us first like this, our position has become quite difficult.”

“The distribution of magical beasts wasn’t a core plan, but it was a business that could keep the nobles of this empire on a leash. You guys blew it away.”

“Plus, you guys supporting the Fifth Princess are too big… there were many voices saying we should just get rid of you.”

Click-

As he continued to speak, Obina, who was very casually talking about killing Freya and the Evergarden family, placed something on the table.

It was a very small glass bottle containing a transparent liquid.

“I prefer this because it’s cleaner than blood splattering everywhere.”

Obina, without changing his expression, smiled and showed that he was going to kill her right here and now.

“…You’re going to brazenly commit a poisoning of a major figure in the Imperial Palace?”

“There will be a bit of a commotion, but… it’s safer to pull out the weeds that are messing up the garden from the roots before they grow too big, isn’t it?”

“I agree with that.”

“So, you’re going to kill me now?”

However, Freya, even in the face of a death threat, leaned back in her chair with a relaxed smile.

“…You’ve got guts.”

“Would I start something without this kind of guts? By the way, didn’t you say there’s no need to beat around the bush? So when are you going to get to the point? I’m not in the mood for silly jokes.”

“…I like you after all.”

Even as she said that, Freya looked at Obina and asked as if she was bored.

“If you were going to kill me, you would have done it already. You have something you want to say, right?”

“That’s right. We were backstabbed, but there seems to be even more merit than that.”

“Let’s join hands. That’s the main point.”

“Join hands… huh.”

“We’re from the same modern world, aren’t we? There’s no need to hang out with NPCs.”

“NPCs, huh…”

“You’ve turned to the Fifth Princess’s side for now. But if the Evergarden family comes over to our side, there will be no one in the empire who can stop us. It can be a great help to our plan.”

“What advantages can we get?”

“The strong backing of the next Emperor of the Empire.”

“You seem confident?”

“It’s easy from the perspective of knowing the original story.”

“Hmm…”

This might not be a bad opportunity.

The Evergarden County is currently on the Fifth Princess’s line.

Until now, it was inevitable to grab onto it in order to save the County, but this line was flimsy and unstable.

However, if they switch to the Third Prince’s line as he said, there will be overwhelming merit compared to the Fifth Princess.

However.

“Even so, isn’t your position in the succession third? How can you be so sure that you can become the Emperor of the Empire?”

“Isn’t it simple? All I have to do is be the only successor to receive the succession.”

“You’re going to kill them all? What about the chaos that will ensue afterwards?”

“Well, there are other ways, but…there’s no need to say it.”

“……”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I refuse.”

Freya refused.

“…I thought you were wise. Why?”

“Will guys who threaten my life from the very beginning really abandon me when they no longer need me later? Or will they go all the way with me?”

This was an issue that Freya had already concluded when she decided to support the Fifth Princess.

“You guys just need the Elixir, right? That’s why the Evergarden County has risen to such a dominant position.”

“If you find out how to manufacture the Elixir, is there any reason not to abandon us? I don’t think there would be if I were you?”

There are several reasons why Freya and the Evergarden family have risen to prominence, but the biggest reason is the Elixir manufacturing method.

The Evergarden family has a huge advantage due to the monopoly on Elixirs, but if the manufacturing method is leaked… the question is whether Evergarden’s value is sufficient.

Of course, World Tree Leaf, an essential ingredient for Elixir manufacturing, can be traded through the third princess of the Elven Kingdom, Celebrian Estel, so even if you know the manufacturing method, you can’t easily make it. However, if this is revealed, you will also be guilty of secretly colluding with other countries, so I can’t say it.

And the biggest problem was their method.

Basically, Freya only thought about the safety of her family, and didn’t care much about anything else.

But there was a certain appropriate line.

Human conscience? Don’t be silly.

No matter how important family is, if it causes great chaos in society, the family will also have a hard time as a result.

Of course, if they all had to be killed, Freya could move without hesitation.

However, they acted as if they had nothing to lose.

NPC. Non Player Character.

Obina was showing that he regarded the characters in the original story, excluding the transmigrators, not as equal ‘people’ but as mere ‘dolls’.

So, the tone was that it didn’t matter what happened to them because they weren’t the same ‘people’.

Rather than disregarding life, Freya felt uneasy about their actions, as if they were committing acts and not caring about the aftermath at all.

“…That’s too much. Don’t you think you’re thinking too harshly about people from the same background?”

“I don’t really like things like blood ties, regional ties, or school ties.”

“Do you know what your position is right now?”

Click-

Obina, hearing Freya’s clean refusal, picked up the glass bottle he had placed on the table and said.

“You don’t think I can do it?”

“Go ahead. Do you think I’m just standing here without any preparation?”

“……”

“……”

Finally, Obina, who had completely shed his thoroughly covered pretense, glared coldly at Freya.

During the heavy silence in which there was no word, it was a touch-and-go situation where something could happen at any moment.

“Aish. Tsk, that’s why I said we should have cut her off a long time ago… we missed our chance.”

Obina, who broke the silence, put the medicine bottle he was holding back into his arms as if he was fed up.

“Let’s move on for today. But it won’t end like this, go play house with those precious NPCs.”

“That sounds like a typical villain’s line.”

“Goodbye. A.joo.mah.”

“……”

Clang-

Freya watched Obina leave the seat as the negotiations broke down.

‘I have more problems to think about… Seeing him leave like this, it seems like he wants to get something out of us rather than getting rid of us right away… Is it still the World Tree Leaf distribution?’

‘As long as Grandpa is here, the distribution of the World Tree Leaf will only be done by our family… but I’m worried about how they’ll come out after this.’

‘For the time being, I have no choice but to keep a close eye on their movements and predict their future actions.’

Freya had expected that there would be another peak beyond the peak, but she was only more worried that it would come so suddenly.

But.

“How long has it been…? Since I’ve met someone I wanted to destroy so much?”

Crack-

“Excuse me. Is it okay to continue-uh, excuse me…? Countess?”

“Ajhumma… ajhumma, you say…? I will definitely, definitely kill you…!”

Even more than that, Freya felt an extremely personal and emotionally charged murderous intent, and even when the investigator came back into

the investigation room for further investigation, she did not notice him and muttered to herself.

In that way, Obina had committed the worst thing he could have done.

In the past, he was an executive of the Hanseong Group and a promising candidate for chairman.

He had made Freya Evergarden truly turn him into an enemy.