Chapter 2

Temseugung Palace.

The palace where my employer, Second Princess Siena, resides. The Emperor granted her this place for her sixteenth birthday.

It was once large enough to have served as the Imperial Palace, with over five hundred permanent residents. It also doubled as Siena’s private den of iniquity.

Still, it’s my workplace for now.

The moment I entered the spacious office, I sighed. I couldn’t stop thinking about the wretched life of Alan Medoff.

“Man, this guy is trash.”

A murderer with no combat experience but over eighty people killed or maimed under his belt.

He was little more than a thug wearing the title of bodyguard. Whenever there were problems in a business under Siena’s proxy ownership, it was my job to step in and resolve them.

Still… it wasn’t the worst situation.

It was ironic, but true. After crippling a servant upon my reincarnation, and here I was thinking such things—only because Siena hadn’t fully embarked on her infamous actions yet. My own notoriety was still manageable.

“Alan Medoff, you disappoint me. You’ve injured a defenseless servant like this? This incident alone isn’t the issue.”

As if on cue, a knight in uniform stormed in and glared at me like trash.

An unpleasant-looking face, a body shape reminiscent of a dachshund—it was ‘Bono,’ my old classmate from the Academy.

Of humble origins, with talent slightly above average, he’d risen to become one of the Emperor’s personal guards through sheer hard work.

But perhaps due to his inherently good and naive nature…

He had resisted Siena’s misdeeds from within and ultimately faced retribution—his family slaughtered before his eyes, and himself condemned to a miserable demise.

“Medoff was the one who wiped out their entire family.”

So seeing this guy standing here intact now was a positive sign.

“Thankfully.”

At this, Bono tilted his head and stepped closer.

“Thankfully? You weren’t like this back at the Academy, Alan. Why the drastic change?”

“Just following orders.”

“Orders are orders, but not any kind! When I transferred from the front to become Siena’s personal guard, everyone warned me. I wasn’t deaf to the ominous rumors about her, of course.”

“You’re criticizing your lord in my presence?”

“I’m here partially due to your reputation too. I’d always believed someone must’ve deliberately smeared you.”

“But now, after today’s incident, it seems it’s all true.”

Bono nodded quietly in response, his glare indicating genuine disappointment over a friend’s corruption. Honestly, there wasn’t much I could say.

‘Should I deflect with an excuse and send him off?’

Knock knock.

At that exact moment, a hesitant knock came from outside the door.

Bono paid it no mind, consumed by his anger, but I couldn’t afford to do the same. I was genuinely curious who it might be.

A servant on errands? Another colleague here to lecture me? Or…

‘No need to take any unnecessary risks.’

Under the assumption that Siena might be eavesdropping, I spoke.

“At first glance, my actions might seem repulsive, Bono.”

“Is that supposed to be an explanation?!”

“But there’s one fact you’re overlooking. The servant involved in this incident received eight hundred talers from a noble tied to Crown Princess’s faction. Doesn’t it raise suspicion about a bribe and merit some accountability?”

“Just for that amount?”

“Just? Now you’re using the word just?”

Bono stared ahead silently.

“His Majesty rose to power with the blood of countless royal relatives on his hands. His half-siblings—he mercilessly executed even the distant family members who stayed out of politics. And after all that bloodshed, he took the throne.”

All true.

The current Emperor had indeed caused a bloodbath to ascend to power.

Back then, the royal palace had so many vacancies it almost felt empty, which is why the three princesses, with different mothers, each got their own palaces. Even now, despite ruling as a doting father to his daughters…

“Then why bring this up now?”

Slightly disarmed by the mention of such a sensitive topic, Bono’s aggression had waned.

“That bloodstain hasn’t faded yet.”

“…”

“The three princesses, each with different mothers, are fiercely competing for the title of Heiress Apparent. During this delicate time, one of Siena’s close retainers conspired with someone from another faction. Isn’t that a crime?”

“Crime or no crime, such accusations need an investigation by the military police— not just assumptions!”

“Does it seem like Her Highness captured an innocent person? I question the propriety of this approach too.”

At that, Bono hesitated, unable to respond.

He’d stormed in out of anger but now seemed caught off-guard by the doubts about his loyalty as a guard.

Honestly, it’s embarrassing to criticize your lord in front of colleagues. He was probably ready to deliver a scathing retort and leave.

However, he wouldn’t get that chance.

“Alan, are you here?”

Siena suddenly burst in with a faint smile.

“Your Highness.”

“Seeing no response to the knock, I assumed there was a visitor.”

“My apologies.”

I greeted her naturally, as I had suspected her presence all along.

Bono, on the other hand, paled considerably.

“Your Highness…?”

His lips moved without forming words, evidently overwhelmed by the sudden appearance. By now, his mind was probably flooded with worst-case scenarios.

Siena didn’t even glance at him.

She wouldn’t simply pretend to overlook his earlier insult, not a chance.

‘She probably judged that confronting the situation immediately wasn’t the best move. It might be her plan to ensnare and slowly crush Bono.’

I decided to play along with her subtle intent.

“Your Highness, this gentleman was offering some interesting insights on personnel management within Temseugung. May I submit some thoughts later if you permit?”

“Go ahead.”

“Also, Your Highness, wasn’t Bono’s father…”

“He’s a veteran sergeant in the 7th Infantry Regiment. Though of modest rank, his loyalty to the Imperial Court is well-known. That’s something I’ve learned as a friend.”

“One of the army’s sergeants becoming a knight—quite commendable.”

She nodded approvingly, smiling.

Fortunately, it seemed she wouldn’t confront him outright regarding his earlier comments. But he was surely marked.

“Alan, I could use your counsel. Will you accompany me?”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

With that, we left him standing there in a daze.

“Please, go with my blessing!”

The expression on his face as he bowed awkwardly, his short legs scrambling to keep up with protocol, was filled with abject despair. Despite his predicament, there wasn’t much else I could do.

*

Siena led me to the sprawling gardens on the edge of Temseugung.

Most royal family members would transform their green spaces into extravagant floral paradises showcasing worldwide blooms year-round.

But in Siena’s garden, there was only one type of flower.

“What do you think?”

“Remarkable.”

The flower was opium poppy.

With black spots on the petals and spherical fruits, this variety was known for its potent toxicity.

I’d seen a modest setup of around twenty poppies in my grandfather’s greenhouse, intended for homemade remedies. This was on a different scale.

Everywhere I looked were masses of opium poppies. From those unripened pods, a sap could be extracted and dried into raw opium.

Of course, Siena didn’t cultivate these flowers merely for admiration.

“Upon moving into Temseugung, the first thing I did was tear out the old garden. Paying ten gardeners just to nurture ornamental plants was absurd. But once I saw such vast empty space, I thought it could be put to better use.”

“So you decided to grow poppies.”

“They’re quite versatile.”

A garden designed entirely for opium production wasn’t as evil as it sounded.

After all, this was a fantasy world where severed limbs could be reattached by divine magic. Only a select few blessed “saintesses” could wield this divine power, making it unavailable for most.

Thus, even for relatively wealthy people, opium might seem like an ideal medicine, given the world was probably at a similar standard to the 17th century. Many people likely couldn’t even obtain opium when needed.

The real issue was that this place’s opium was connected to eipos—the main drug from the story.

Siena was enthusiastically explaining, clearly proud of her ingenuity.

“Alan, you know the Empress comes from the mighty eastern nation, Chinguk. She came here shortly after my father’s coronation, essentially as part of a dowry. But in recent years, she’s suffered from severe homesickness, likely due to being isolated far from home.”

“I imagine she’s going through a lot.”

The current Empress, originally a princess from the eastern superpower Chinguk, was also the biological mother of the third princess—one of the two main heroines in the original story.

Initially the third Empress, she was now the only one, as the mothers of the first and second princesses had already passed away.

“Still, to me, she’s like a mother. So, I’ve been thinking about what I can offer her.”

“What a thoughtful gesture.”

“Thanks, Alan. This is the result of my consideration.”

Siena reached into her pocket and presented a small bottle.

It contained wine mixed with a carefully measured amount of opium to induce dependency. This particular concoction had been developed by Siena herself and didn’t exist anywhere else in the world before.

‘If she drinks it, her homesickness may abate somewhat.’

But in exchange, she’d be introduced to a world of infinite pleasure lurking in the abyss, one she’d eventually struggle against the side effects of.

To begin with, Siena wasn’t interested in healing the Empress’ homesickness. Rather, it seemed Siena wanted to hook her on something more sinister.

‘What’s even more troubling is the possibility Siena will grow enthusiastic about the poppy business.’

Watching the Empress succumb to addiction had given Siena the idea to organize a broader-scale poppy trade, as foreshadowed in the original story. She soon began distributing the concoction under the brand name “Ambrosia” at the Academy, leading to various problems.

If left unchecked, this would create a world where students, professors, and postgraduates all easily became addicted to opium.

Unfortunately, I had a strong suspicion that I might end up being the manager of such an enterprise. When accidents inevitably occurred at the Academy due to opium, a wide-ranged protagonist would likely track me down for a confrontation. And that’d be the end of me.

“Poor woman—it’s the least I can do for her.”

Siena was clearly excited about the prospect of introducing the Empress to opium. Her rapt gaze on the vibrant poppy field told the story of what kind of person she truly was.

‘Madwoman.’

I had never felt more acutely who Siena really was.

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