Chapter 357: Supporter

"You're not sure?" Oh Kang-Woo asked.

"Yes... I-I'm sorry, Sir Kang-Woo," answered Iris while dragging her feet across the ground with her head lowered as if she had committed a grave sin.

Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and shook his head. "I mean, it's nothing worth apologizing for."

The first step that they needed to take to revive the empire was to clear out the corrupt nobles that were sucking the citizens dry.

'It's not as easy as it sounds.'

The Arnan Empire's current political system was one of a centralized government with the emperor as the centralized power and various nobles managing their respective territories. Kang-Woo was not planning on starting a revolution, so it would be a problem if he just beheaded nobles left and right.

An unmanaged territory was far worse than one managed by a corrupt noble. The weak were not virtuous by nature; they would rip each other apart to take charge of the vacancy left by the noble. Considering the nightmare that nations run over by anarchy faced, punishing all nobles in the current imperial system was insane.

'I can't deprive the nobles of all their power either.'

Back when Kang-Woo had just entered the labor force after just coming out of the orphanage, he had heard a middle-aged man shouting in the streets that politicians needed to work without pay.

'What a fucking joke.'

There of course needed to be modifications made to a certain extent, but providing people of power with the corresponding level of power and rewards was a necessary evil. There was absolutely no one in the world idiotic enough to do such work without pay.

'It's the same concept as a class president.'

There were very few people who actively raised their hands to become the class president. The reason was simple; they were given responsibility and work, but gained nothing out of it. If nobles had all their power taken from them, they would not do the work they were obligated to do.

'In that case, I'll have to somehow distinguish between the corrupt nobles and the nobles that only use the rights vested in them.'

The problem was that Iris was not knowledgeable enough about the empire to sort the nobles into those two categories. Although she was not an idiot, she had far too little information to work with due to Fidelio's intentional concealment of such information from her. At this rate, Kang-Woo would not be able to eliminate the corrupt nobles in Fidelio's faction.

"I know a few of them through rumors, but they're nothing but rumors," Iris cautiously remarked.

Kang-Woo nodded. He could not act on simple rumors.

'I need someone who's knowledgeable about the empire's political landscape.'

However, such people had either moved over to Fidelio's side or been unceremoniously transferred due to Fidelio's death grip over the empire.

'Do I have no choice but to ask Fidelio directly?'

Kang-Woo was reluctant to do so. Fidelio was a clever man; the moment that he found out he held valuable information, he would do anything it took to use it to his advantage.

'I do have a way to make him talk, but...'

It was difficult to gain surefire information using such a method. After all, the one who would be saying the information was Fidelio himself; he would be using his own standards to name the corrupt nobles.

'It would be like gathering a bunch of pieces of shit and asking them who is worse.'

Kang-Woo was in dire need of someone who knew very well about the empire's political landscape.

"Do you happen to know someone well-versed in this topic?" Kang-Woo asked.

"Mm. Just a second, please." Iris closed her eyes as if she was organizing the information in her head. She then exclaimed and opened her eyes. "I do."

"Who?"

"He used to be the imperial head mage. I'm sure he would be very knowledgeable about the situation in the empire."

"..."

Kang-Woo remained silent. He had a feeling that he knew who the imperial head mage that Iris was referring to.

'That perverted son of a bitch is well-versed in politics?'

He recalled the face of the mage that had almost changed the age rating of the novel with Layla. Just recalling him made Kang-Woo sigh.

"Haaa."

Kang-Woo thought for a moment to see if he had any other options, but there was no way that he would think of something so conveniently.

"Let me give him a call and—"

"No, it's okay." Kang-Woo shook his head and took out a crystal orb.

Iris became wide-eyed. "You knew about Douglas?"

"Well... I happened to make his acquaintance."

Kang-Woo smiled bitterly. To be honest, he also welcomed having Douglas as a supporter.

'Since there's no one who knows about high elves better than him.'

Making Kim Si-Hun the hero of the continent, saving Iris if that could be called saving, and reviving the empire was all to have a high elf manifest in Aernor. A scholar of high elves such as Douglas would no doubt be of great help to their plan.

[What is it?] Douglas's voice came out of the communication crystal.

Kang-Woo took a glance at Iris. He said, "Douglas."

'It's time for you to stop watching ero manga and work.'

***

"Y-Your Highness..." Douglas, who rushed to the capital as soon as he received Kang-Woo's call, froze as soon as he saw Iris. His wrinkled face was filled with regret, guilt and rage. "... I heard about Fidelio."

The news that he was Lucifer's servant had already long since spread throughout the continent to the point that even Douglas, who lived alone in the magic tower, heard about it.

"I knew he was a greedy and evil man, but to think he was a servant of the Evil God!" Douglas kneeled in front of Iris and lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I... should have been here to protect you, no matter what happened."

The past never returned. No matter how quickly one regretted their actions, it was already too late. Douglas stared at Iris pitifully. The Iris that he knew was a kind and delicate girl. Even if Fidelio had run away, he expected her body and soul to be broken to the point that it would be impossible for her to get through daily life due to the trauma that Fidelio had inflicted on her.

"No. I'm fine, Douglas," Iris stated.

"... Your Highness?"

Douglas became wide-eyed. Iris, whom he had thought would be in agony from the daily nightmares of Fidelio, looked completely fine.

"Though I still get angry whenever I think of what I had to go through because of that motherfucker."

"Y-Your Highness?"

Douglas flinched from the deep madness and thick bloodlust that he was feeling from Iris. The kind and delicate girl that he knew was no longer there; she had been replaced with a ferocious beast covered in bloodlust.

'What in the world...'

How could the girl who used to tremble in fear just from looking at Fidelio in the eyes have changed so much? Douglas stared at Iris in perplexity.

"Her Highness has overcome her fear of Prime Minister Fidelio with her strong will," Kang-Woo informed.

"It's all thanks to Sir Kang-Woo." Iris smiled brightly and embraced Kang-Woo's arm.

"Mm. I'm not entirely certain what happened, but..." Douglas slurred.

He was not sure why Iris, who always used to treat anyone but Reynald bluntly and temperamentally, was so close to Kang-Woo, but...

"I am... truly relieved."

Douglas smiled. It was far better to see Iris happy, albeit a little aggressive, than trembling in fear.

"Thank you for coming back, Douglas," Iris remarked.

"Not at all. I should be the one thanking you for calling back this useless old man who failed to protect you, Your Highness."

Douglas got on one knee and lowered his head. Kang-Woo smiled as he looked at Douglas.

'Thank God he didn't say that he was going back to his secluded life.'

Iris had practically no supporters, so Douglas would become a reliable ally as well as her strength.

"More importantly, why have you called me?" Douglas asked.

He had still not been informed of the specifics of the situation.

Kang-Woo handed Douglas the list of nobles of the empire he had received from Lilith and stated, "We would love to throw a party for you if we had enough time, but considering the circumstances, we have to get started right away."

Although he felt sorry for slaving Douglas away as soon as he came all this way, this was not the time to feel sorry.

'I have to get to those damn corrupt nobles before they cut off all ties with Fidelio.'

As soon as Fidelio was discovered to be the servant of Evil God Lucifer, the nobles of Fidelio's faction were erasing all evidence of their ties with Fidelio like a lizard cutting off its own tail to escape a predator. They were lowering taxes and distributing goods to the people of their territory in hopes that they would not get caught up in the storm.

'I won't let them get away.'

There was no way that a human who discovered the sweet taste of desire for the first time would reflect on and atone for their sins in the true sense.

'No, even if they do, the sins that they have already committed don't disappear.'

They had already dropped countless citizens into the pit of despair. Kang-Woo would not let them act like they had turned over a new leaf.

"Please pick out the nobles that had sided with Fidelio in this list. Oh, even if they didn't side with Fidelio, please pick them out anyway if they had ever tyrannized the citizens."

"Mm," Douglas groaned as if he was in a predicament.

Kang-Woo was worried that Douglas did not know much about the empire's political landscape as he had hoped, but Douglas had fortunately groaned for a different reason.

"It's going to be a lot," Douglas expressed.

"That's fine."

Punishing corrupt nobles en masse would temporarily brew chaos, but it was far better than leaving them be.

'I'll punish them to an extent.'

Considering the circumstances, Kang-Woo needed to be flexible. He knew that wishing only for virtuous nobles to manage territories was nothing but a naive ideal.

"Understood. In that case, I will first pick out the nobles that sided with Fidelio," Douglas said as he quickly worked through the complex pile of documents as if proving that he used to be the head imperial mage. "First, Duke Delfio and Marquess Vander. They're the worst of the bunch."

Douglas organized the documents containing the details of each noble at breakneck speed. Viscount Velen, whom Kang-Woo had met on his first day in Aernor, was among the pile of documents for the nobles in Fidelio's faction.

"I've picked out the sons of bitches in Fidelio's faction first," Douglas remarked.

"There are quite a lot," Kang-Woo mentioned.

"... He wasn't a demon for nothing." Douglas sighed and continued, "He either purged or demoted every noble that went against him."

"Are you among his victims?"

"..."

Douglas did not answer, but his silence was enough of an answer.

"How should we deal with these nobles...?" Kang-Woo turned his head toward Iris.

Iris answered without hesitation, "Execute them."

Thick bloodlust emanated from her eyes. Douglas expressed shock, not having expected Iris to make such an extreme choice.

"A-All of them?" he asked.

"Yes. All nobles that have any sort of connection to Fidelio must die," Iris answered firmly, then looked toward Kang-Woo with sparkling eyes like a dog waiting to be praised.

Kang-Woo smiled awkwardly and nodded. "It is a suitable punishment for what they have done."

"... Are you sure it will be alright? Each of their private armies are a force to be reckoned with."

"That doesn't matter." Kang-Woo shrugged.

Kang-Woo's party was so powerful that nothing but a deity would be able to face them. The likes of private armies of nobles were of no consequence to them.

"We should first punish the nobles connected to Fidelio and think about what to do after—"

Clack!

The room door suddenly opened while Kang-Woo was talking. An unbelievably handsome man entered the room.

"Si-Hun?"

"Sir Si-Hun?"

Kang-Woo was left wide-eyed as he stared at Kim Si-Hun. He had heard that Si-Hun would be coming back soon, but he had not expected him to be this quick.

'Alright, perfect timing, man.'

Kang-Woo looked down at Iris, who was looking up at him with sparkling eyes. He had been waiting for someone who would be able to pry Iris off of him.

'Si-Hun.'

Kang-Woo gave Si-Hun a look and pointed at Iris. This was the perfect chance for him to score some points with Iris. Possibly having understood Kang-Woo's message, Si-Hun approached the group without hesitation.

'Yes, good! Now, if you embrace Iris and say some shit like "I've missed you, Your Highness," she'll fall head over heels for you!'

Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction while imagining Si-Hun and Iris's heartfelt reunion. However, unlike what he had hoped, Si-Hun stormed right past Iris.

'Huh? He walked past her?'

Grab!

"I've missed you, hyung-nim."

"..."

'Not me, you stupid son of a bitch.'