Obey Me

“No.”

Kyrie said firmly.

“Of course, I ordered MarryAnne to deliver the consolation money, but that…….”

“You did it.”

Aaron replied helplessly. The shoulders of the 15-year-old boy fell off.

“What about me, Noona? It was good to be a snowstream guard. Commoners have fewer opportunities to work at the palace. It’s also a stable job.”

“Aaron, listen to me first.”

“I used to be proud of it, but not anymore.”

Aaron looked up at the sky.

“At first, everyone felt sorry. But after receiving a large sum of money, their eyes changed…….”

“…….”

“Do you know what people say when you go through the palace these days? They say you’ve killed colleagues and succeeded.”

The silence came and went. Aaron’s head turned to Kyrie.

“Why did you do that?”

Looking at the brown eyes full of vain fatigue, Kyrie replied with friendly words.

“I didn’t do it.”

Aaron smirked.

“Who, then? The Legendary Lord, the cruel man? You said in your mouth that it was Noona’s maid who brought the money in the first place, right?”

“It was only consolation money for the bereaved.”

There were only two things Kyrie ordered through MarryAnne. Consolation money for the bereaved family.  And psychiatric treatment for those who survived.  She knew very well that too many rewards would engender envy and jealousy in people.

But Aaron seemed convinced that it was all Kyrie’s work. And it was such a misleading situation.

“I still don’t know. Why… why did this happen?

Aaron said with a grimace.

“The death of my colleagues is hard enough, but now I have to be blamed for surviving…….”

“Aaron.”

Kyrie grabbed her dress. She continued in a trembling voice.

“Maybe your fiancée…….”

“…….”

Aaron turned around. Because he was smiling so innocently, Kyrie could tell.

He wasn’t all better, he was already crazy.

“You said you were going back, right? I don’t think I can see you off.”

***

Aaron hadn’t come in over a week. Kyrie hadn’t left the room in the meantime. Instead, MarryAnne would find out what was going on outside. The situation was worse than Kyrie thought.

“The Emperor hates the snowstream guards. Nathaniel told me to pay the snowstream guards a lot of money.”

“And?”

“People also swear at selling dead colleagues. There are a lot of situations where you get beaten while walking in the palace.”

“No way, Aaron?”

“The guard always smelled like blood.”

MarryAnne said calmly.

Kyrie washed her face. Her hand, held together, trembled finely. She didn’t know. When she went to see Meloni, their gaze was obviously full of hostility, but she thought it was only aimed at herself.

“Is that all?”

“No…….”

MarryAnne continued cautiously with her gaze down.

“Her Majesty the Emperor has reduced the work of the snowstream guards. The salary remains the same, but another unit is in charge of what the snowstream guard used to do.”

“I had no choice but to complain from other units.”

“But rumor has it that the snowstream guard is about to be dismantled.…and the Royal Family is fueling rumors that it’s all because of you.”

Kyrie’s fingers were stiff. Now she understood everything. She didn’t think the Emperor was just someone to step down. It was clear that she was trying to mislead public opinion so that no one would pay attention to the Royal Family’s movements.

It was Nathaniel who killed those people, but he was the myth and the Legend that reappeared. People would choose to swear at the temptress Kyrie Buchanan, who blinded the hero, rather than swear at the hero who saved their country in the legend.

“Nathaniel did it…….”

“I think you know that.”

“…….”

Nevertheless, the reason for leaving him alone was obvious.

‘To drive people’s anger toward me. So that I would cling to him…….’

Just in time, the door opened. Nathaniel, dressed in black robes, came in with a cane. He had a rather benign look on his face when he looked at Kyrie staring at him.

[My clever Kyrie Buchanan has come to meet me.]

“Oh. Nice to meet you. I should do that, right.”

Kyrie’s eyes became fierce.

“Do we have something to talk about?”

[You’re scary, too. Why don’t you smile.]

“I want you to assign me a job and tell me to solve it.”

[You’re good at joking too.]

Kyrie sprang up and approached Nathaniel. She grabbed Nathaniel’s collar roughly.

“Why did you do that? “

[This isn’t appropriate.]

Nathaniel’s smile got cold.

“You gave the guards a fortune on purpose. Don’t tell me you didn’t know what people would think!”

[I don’t know what you’re talking about.]

“People who don’t even have relatives are suffering, Nathaniel.”

[So?]

Nathaniel slowly took Kyrie’s hand. He tried to hold Kyrie’s hand at first, but soon changed his mind and chose to cut off his collar with a sword. In the meantime, Kyrie shouted, disillusioned when he treated her as a broken glass bell when he touched her.

“I’m not a doll you’re playing with!”

[Dolls are good at listening.]

“Nathaniel!”

In the next moment, he was sitting on a curved leg chair that he always enjoyed.

[You sound like you left the room, Kyrie.]

Kyrie turned her head and looked at him.

“Are you doing this just because I left?”

[Again, I have no idea what you’re talking about.]

“You know everything! How else would you have thought of offering comfort money to the guards!”

[Someone who likes to have self-projection changed.]

Nathaniel stretched out his long fingers and tapped the vase on the table. The soft wildflowers’ necks were slanted by the tiny tremor. There was a dignified and violent smile on the lips of Nathaniel, who was watching it.

[It’s a pretty flower. You have to laugh, Kyrie.]

“Nathaniel!”

[I just did what you liked. Comforting the wounded spirit…… with gold.]

He spit out the last word and opened his finger gracefully. It was like a comedy. Nathaniel, laughing low, rested his chin.

[Sit down.]

Nathaniel spoke coldly and looked up at Kyrie without moving. Kyrie did not sit down, but stood near Nathaniel. Her complex emotions soared all the way to the end of her head, but only her expression was cold.

“You mean you’re going to pretend you don’t know until the end?”

[It is you who are pretending to be unaware and who broke my recommendations. Kyrie.]

He spoke kindly.

[I don’t know what the hell’s wrong with it. Wasn’t that what you wanted? Be kind to everyone.]

“There’s a degree of ignorance. That’s what you did in anticipation of what’s going on right now.”

[Good. Shall we hear what the ‘what’s going on right now’ is like?]

“That the people……!”

[People?]

A voice that sounded creepy and innocent at times asked. Kyrie was speechless.

“People did to me…….”

[What did they do to you?]

Kyrie stumbled unknowingly and stepped back. His clear eyes, not blinking at all, were somehow creepy.

I’m looking for an excuse.

Something in her heart whispered like that. Kyrie’s hand instinctively covered her mouth. Then Nathaniel’s interest in blue eyes quickly disappeared.

[Aren’t you tough.]

What did it mean? Kyrie’s head refused to think. Nathaniel even seemed to be expecting that. Inertia of boredom hovered over his face, blinking slowly with his chin resting.

[It won’t be that important anyway.]

“……What are you talking about?”

[Kyrie.]

He called Kyrie coolly. Then, he smiled brightly, which she had never seen before.

[If someone blames you, hit them with a stone.]

“What?”

[And bring me that stone.]

Air did not leak out of Kyrie’s mouth.  Nathaniel gazed with his deep eyes as she stood still in confusion. He seemed to dig up all of Kyrie’s heart with only those eyes.

[Then I’ll hit everyone in the head and have you witness the murdering with that stone.]

Kyrie’s eyes got bigger. Words didn’t come out for a long time.

It wasn’t long before she whispered in a trembling voice.

“……You made things up to make people swear at me.”

[I guess.]

“Don’t act like a jerk.”

[You’re mistaken.]

Nathaniel rose from his seat. She soon heard a cane shining blue light like a firefly. He was now looking over Kyrie’s back at the door.

[I mean, that’s not all that I want.]

Before Kyrie realized the meaning of his word, someone pounded on the door of the drawing room.

Oddly, Nathaniel did not swear at them. He didn’t even seem to intend to take out the sword, but rather, his expression showed faint expectations. MarryAnne opened the door.

“What’s going on?”

“Excuse me!”

A man appeared with a nervous face. Kyrie pulled his name out of memory.

“You’re Lieutenant Fitz’s superior. Sir Tyler, right?

“Yes!”

Kyrie’s eyes trembled. As soon as he came in, an ominous foreboding came together like a flood.

“What’s going on?”

Tyler saluted in a bewildered voice.

“Lieutenant Fitz has just murdered Chef Meloni Burtz…… I’m looking for the Lady(Kyrie).”

***