Chapter 9

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Chapter 9 : My Start Will Be Small (4)

The Imperial Guards, who entered the corridor leading to the training ground with Selma, found the princess wielding a wooden sword like a club, the Imperial Prince yelling “witch!” at her, and Jesse caught in between the two, being tossed around.

“You witch! You think I’ll be scared if you swing that thing?!” Theore shrieked.

“That’s not something you should shout while backing away, Theore. Come here, quickly.” Legina smiled.

“Your Highness Legina! Please stop! Ugh! Please, stop, ugh!” Jesse, caught in the middle, wailed. It was utter chaos.

“G-Go away! Hey! If you don’t block her properly, you’re dead!”

“Why are you hiding behind Sir Jesse for something that would end if you just took one hit obediently? Come here, quickly.”

“Your Highness Legina! W-Wait a minute! Ugh, it hurts! It hurts! Your Highness Theore. Please, from behind me, ugh!”

Selma, discovering the scene, pressed a hand to her forehead and swayed for a moment, then turned to look at the Imperial Guards who had rushed with her. Their faces were blank, still unable to fully grasp the situation unfolding before them.

“…It would be best to… erase what you just saw from your minds.”

Honestly, it was a scene so unbelievable no one would believe it even if she told them. The soldiers, sensing Selma’s unspoken words, nodded. They had neither the courage to speak rumors about the Imperial Family nor the skill to make anyone believe such an incredible sight even if they described it.

“Your Highness, I’ve brought the soldiers.”

“Oh, Selma. You came faster than I expected.”

“…Yes.”

Selma, barely suppressing a sigh as she replied, approached Legina and gestured with her eyes towards the two attendants hiding behind a corridor pillar, their faces pale. Legina, nodding at her silent command to deal with that first, calmly ordered the stunned soldiers.

“Imprison those two in the underground dungeon and ensure no one approaches them until His Majesty’s command.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Ignoring Jesse, who was tearfully weeping with a swollen face, the bowing soldiers dragged the attendants away, and silence fell upon the corridor. Only Jesse’s occasional sniffles indicated the passage of time.

“Sir, how can you cry over just that?”

“Just that…” It probably wasn’t “just that.” She had deliberately aimed for the painful spots and clubbed him with a wooden sword made of Dacon wood, rumored to be sturdy; of course, he’d cry. But Legina decided to pretend she didn’t know that. What could she do now that it had already happened?

“Then why did you block Theore’s way…? Well, I suppose that is an escort knight’s duty.”

Jesse swallowed his tears of injustice, watching Legina still holding the wooden sword and speaking with a smile. Rather than him blocking her way, Theore had hidden behind him. Theore, who was still clutching the hem of Jesse’s shirt behind him, seemed to genuinely be afraid of Legina’s swinging wooden sword. But if he was scared, why did he provoke her?! Remembering Theore’s earlier tantrums at his sister, using his body as a shield, made his injured spots hurt even more.

“Normally, I would punish you too… but you just now threw yourself to protect Theore, so I’ll pretend not to have seen it this once.”

“Thank, thank you…”

Legina nodded at Jesse’s strained reply, then turned to look at her brother. Theore, who just a moment ago had slumped shoulders, now had them squared as if nothing had happened, glaring at her, looking like his usual self, which made her smile. Of course, that insolent gaze needed proper discipline, but it was a million times better than him cowering and looking fearful.

“It seems things are roughly sorted out, so why don’t we move to the training ground now? Your new sword instructor is waiting for you.”

“Whether I go or not is up to me, you know?”

“My beloved brother Theore. You haven’t been hit enough, have you?”

“Eek! Your Highness Theore! I will escort you!”

It was Jesse, not Theore, who reacted first to Legina’s laughter-filled voice. Perhaps sensing that if Theore caused trouble here, he would be the only one to get another good beating, Jesse, without even thinking of recovering his swollen and tear-streaked face, quickly moved to lift Theore onto his back.

“Hey! What?! Let go of me! I don’t want to!”

“Your Highness Legina, I will escort His Highness Theore and proceed first!”

“Who told you to touch my body as you please?! Hey! I’m not going! Nooooo!”

Jesse, carrying Theore on his back, and the attendants quickly disappeared, Theore’s voice, full of injustice, echoing in the corridor like an afterimage. Selma, her face darkened, approached and stood by Legina, who was waving her hand at their retreating figures and smiling brightly.

“Your Highness, what on earth are you doing? If bad rumors start spreading…”

“What are you worried about, Selma?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing compared to the things I’m going to do from now on.”

At that moment, Legina’s voice, declaring she would become a troublemaker, echoed in Selma’s ears like a hallucination. It was a voice she had deliberately thrown beyond her memory, pretending not to hear. Unease slowly crept up Selma’s legs and began to press down on her shoulders. Legina, perhaps unaware that Selma’s face was turning pale, continued speaking.

“Besides, isn’t it the perfect method to kill one rumor and let another live?”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

Two preparations are needed for the method of killing and nurturing rumors: a little patience and considerably great power. These two were those preparations. To reiterate, patience was one of Legina’s greatest strengths. Furthermore, Legina was born the princess of this empire. This meant that she already possessed both of those preparations.

“The way to kill a shapeless rumor is simple. You just punish everyone who dares to utter that rumor, every time you find them.”

“What?”

It was a simple, brutal method, but equally effective. If punishment was repeated and accumulated, even the most slow-witted idiot would eventually understand what it meant.

“It’s about beating the mouths that spread rumors into silence. The greater the power of the person doing the beating, the better the effect. It might be a rather tedious task, but if you keep beating them patiently, they will eventually be too sore to utter the rumor.”

“…”

“A rumor that cannot escape one’s lips eventually gets forgotten. Other than needing some time, where else could you find a method superior to this for killing rumors?”

Before her regression, the rumor that Theore had “devoured his mother at birth” tormented him throughout his life. Moreover, after her brother’s death, as Legina fled from the traitor’s soldiers, that rumor grew even more malicious. Words that refused to disappear even after the person they concerned had died. Recalling the past, where all she could do was grit her teeth while hearing those rumors insulting her dead brother, Legina vowed to eradicate that rumor in this life. It would be difficult if someone more powerful than her tried to interfere, but the only person in this empire more powerful than her was the Emperor, and he would never forgive those who spread such rumors about his own son.

“…I understand that you did this to kill the rumors related to His Highness Theore. But…”

“Are you curious about the other rumor I intend to nurture?”

“Yes.”

“Selma, you already know the answer. What else could it be but the rumor that I have become a troublemaker?”

“Your Highness!”

“If I, with my great power, consistently cause trouble everywhere with patience, that rumor will gain wings. They might not believe it at first, but if they keep hearing it consistently, everyone will believe that I have become a troublemaker.”

“No, you can’t!”

“Yes, I can.”

Where on earth did she hear and learn the word “깽판” (kkaengpan – roughly ‘causing a ruckus’ or ‘making a scene’)? Selma felt her blood pressure rising and squeezed her eyes shut. She truly couldn’t tell where anything had gone wrong.

“Why on earth! Why do you want to spread such rumors?!”

“Because that’s how everyone will give up on me, isn’t it?”

“What?”

Selma questioned, looking at Legina who answered nonchalantly, fiddling with the handle of the club in her hand. Legina let out a small laugh and continued.

“I know there are those who are trying to put me on the next throne.”

“Y-Your Highness.”

“But I don’t want it. That exhausting position is a refusal from my side. But no matter how much I shout that I don’t want to be Emperor, will they easily give up? On the contrary, they’ll try to persuade me.”

She knew there were many who unanimously declared that the empire’s future could not be entrusted to Theore, who showed excellent signs of becoming a troublemaker. Among them were those who called Theore the empire’s foremost troublemaker and insisted that Legina should immediately be made the next owner of the throne. In fact, before the regression, they had welcomed Legina’s ascension to the regency in place of the young Theore after the Emperor’s death, and even urged her to directly inherit the throne. That’s why Legina intended to use this opportunity to take away the option of ‘Legina B. Alpere’ from them.

“Theore is a troublemaker, and I will become an even greater troublemaker than him. What will they choose between the worst and the second-worst?”

“…Your Highness.”

“Theore will ultimately become Emperor.”

Legina’s face as she said that looked remarkably mature. Selma, her lips slightly parted at the unfamiliar sight of her young master, who still seemed like he needed to grow much more, sighed.

“I understand your intentions, but… please, Your Highness, refrain from swinging a clu-club in front of others. Just use words, moderately…”

“Selma, a troublemaker is someone who either swings a club or gets hit by one. If there’s a middle ground, would they even be a troublemaker?”

Watching Legina laugh beautifully and utter such nonsense, Selma thought:

Ah, starting tomorrow, I need to get a prescription for headache medicine.
And if possible, a prescription for stomach medicine too…