9th Grade Civil Servant In Another World Chapter 125 - Pride and Prejudice (2)

What time is it now?

I thought as I leaned my back against the cold wall and glared into the darkness.

How many hours had passed since I was locked in this place?

Based on the sensations I felt while being dragged here, this place was underground in the aerial fortress. To think there was an underground even in a castle floating in the sky.

There were no windows, but extremely faint light came through the crack under the door. Light so dim I could barely make out what was right in front of my nose, revealing a rough gray stone floor.

Natural stone flooring, not concrete. The uneven texture was gradually making my bottom ache. No matter how I twisted and shifted my position, the discomfort wouldn’t go away.

The damp air was also unpleasantly irritating.

The guys who dragged me here had thrown me in without a word, and I’d been left to rot ever since.

‘At least I have plenty of time to think, so that’s good, right?’

I forced myself to smile, ignoring my painfully racing heart. Haha!

Let me try to piece the situation together.

‘First premise: Kruger has no intention of killing me.’

If he planned to kill me, there would be no need to lock me in prison or mock me at length beforehand.

He could have been drunk on narcissism, showing off how clever he was in front of someone about to die.

‘But Kruger wouldn’t have done that just to show off. Every one of his actions has a purpose. So what does he gain by locking me up here? What did all those words mean?’

I began analyzing every phrase Kruger had uttered word by word.

Let me read his expressions, gestures, and tone of voice too…

‘Kruger knows I’m the leader of the White Raven Order. But he hasn’t grasped everything. He seemed to think Johann followed me, not that Johann and I joined hands. Plus, he’s known about the White Raven Order’s activities since 1901, when I joined.’

The conclusion came quickly.

Kruger hadn’t been monitoring us from the beginning. He probably just deduced from Johann’s reports and various fragmentary pieces of information.

‘…That’s even more terrifying.’

My body shivered involuntarily. Kruger was a frightening man.

He was someone with highly developed rationality. Behind his impulsive and emotional exterior, there was always an extremely calculating nature lurking.

“Ha, but that’s strange.”

There was still an unresolved question.

Kruger had been watching me from the moment he realized I harbored killing intent. When that was didn’t matter.

But if he had figured out my goal, my position, and my collusive relationship with Ossel, why did he let me be?

Did he have confidence that I couldn’t kill him? Did he think I was too insignificant?

“That can’t be it.”

If he considered me not worth worrying about, he wouldn’t have kept me by his side.

Moreover, Kruger frequently used the White Raven Order.

Like the 1902 White Raven Order Scandal, and spreading propaganda to raise the people’s tension.

In such circumstances, why didn’t he recruit or eliminate me when he knew I was the White Raven Order leader?

‘Let me organize this again.’

Kruger knows my goal.

Kruger knows my identity too.

But instead of eliminating or recruiting me, he let me operate freely and used me indirectly.

And he imprisoned me in this underground cell, hoping I would realize the reason.

‘In the end, he determined he could control me… but what’s his basis for that?’

I went over all the conversations I’d had with Kruger so far.

“Your loving me has been far more beneficial to national interests than your hating me.”

“How very clever, and how very greedy! That will be what strangles you! Do you understand?”

“Ah!”

A shiver ran through my entire body.

In the first place, why do I want to kill Kruger?

Simply because I hate authoritarianism and dictatorship?

Because I’m enraged by the sight of innocent people suffering?

No, that’s not it.

Kruger saw right through me.

Lucas Redan—the one inside him—wasn’t some champion of justice.

He wasn’t a hero who rose up unable to tolerate injustice.

It was a natural judgment.

A truly righteous person wouldn’t join hands with a group like Ossel.

A truly good person wouldn’t become a dictator’s dog and sit in the position of colonial governor.

The purpose of someone who does such things is generally just one thing.

‘Greed…’

Right, greed for power.

Why does Lucas Redan want to kill Kruger?

To steal the Supreme Leader position.

Why did Lucas Redan try so hard to get into Kruger’s favor?

Because it was essential to gain power and look for assassination opportunities.

Why did Lucas Redan specifically create the rebel organization White Raven Order?

To shake Kruger’s rule.

And why did Johann Werner come to follow Lucas Redan?

To get a position when Lucas Redan became Supreme Leader!

“Ha… hahahaha!”

Hysterical laughter burst out.

Now I understood why Kruger didn’t crush me and left me alone. What could be easier to manipulate than a human consumed by desire!

Just suck out the sweet parts and discard them when convenient.

‘So, what now?’

I figured it all out, just as he wanted. What’s Kruger’s aim?

‘Haha, does he want to make some kind of slave in golden chains?’

Kruger seemed no longer satisfied with ordinary slaves who just worshiped him.

He wanted a special slave overflowing with guts—one who would try to kill even a demigod-level Supreme Leader to seize power!

He threw me in here to make me realize that!

“What a complete lunatic. Please, Supreme Leader, bestow your grace upon me!”

I clasped my hands tightly together and bowed toward the ceiling where Kruger would be.

While lifting the corners of my mouth.

***

My sense of time completely disappeared.

Not knowing whether day turned to night, I was crushed by the heavy, damp air, unable to move a finger.

Bitter pain spread throughout my body like a wild beast tearing at an empty stomach.

Irritation and anger surged.

I hadn’t received a single drop of water or piece of bread all this time.

“Ah, I get it, so get me out of here already! Are you planning to starve me to death!”

I shouted angrily while sprawled spread-eagle on the floor, but there was no response from outside.

“Hey, you bastards! You need to keep me alive at least! Give me food! Water!”

My dry, cracked throat tasted of metal. If only I could bleed a little, it might relieve the thirst somewhat.

My tongue felt rough as sandpaper inside my mouth. When I touched it, my tongue was completely dried out.

‘Just how many days has it been?’

They say humans can survive about three days without water.

So I haven’t been locked in this cell for even three days? It feels like ten days have passed.

My brain seems to be going strange too.

At some point, I started developing a fever. Did I get tetanus from the scraped knee I got while being dragged here?

Feeling like I’d really die if I kept lying down, I forced myself up and crouched in a corner of the room.

My head was throbbing, and I was starting to see hallucinations.

The shape that faintly appeared in the darkness was writhing and gradually taking on distinct colors.

“Pathetic.”

The gaunt, pale, and hunched figure of Lucas Redan sneered with a vile expression.

“…What is.”

I moved my lips that felt like they would crumble and wear away at any moment. He pointed at me.

“Obviously you—”

He called a name I’d now forgotten. My name from that other world, Korea, that I’d used there.

No, that’s a lie.

I hadn’t forgotten. How could I forget?

“You should have just followed Your Excellency the Supreme Leader from the beginning. You ignored my words, hid your black intentions, and plotted horrific crimes that make me sick just thinking about them. Isn’t this punishment too light for that?”

“Yeah, sure, I’ll say it’s light. If I were in that position, I would have chopped your head off from the start.”

“Of course! A traitor like you deserves to die!”

“But Kruger spared me. Do you remember what you used to say? That the Supreme Leader’s judgment is never wrong? Are you criticizing Kruger now? Or is your memory worse than a starfish’s?”

“Don’t dare speak the Great Supreme Leader’s name so carelessly!”

“Friedrich Kruger, Friedrich Kruger! Why tell me not to use a name that was made to be called?”

“You subversive element!!”

Lucas Redan raged uncontrollably by himself.

“Hey, you know what? Your loyalty was flawed from the beginning too. You were originally afraid of Kruger. But seeing your grandmother get dragged away by Ossel, you were so terrified that you modified your memory. That there must have been a reason grandmother deserved torture, that the Supreme Leader is perfect. You deceived yourself. You know what the proof is?”

“Shut up!!!”

“When I’d been in this damned world for less than a week, I got dragged away by Ossel because of Emil Hoffman’s informing, right? What did you do then? You went mad with fear! Is that the mindset of someone who loves the Supreme Leader?”

“Be quiet!! I said shut up!!!”

Lucas Redan screamed.

“Yes, I was scared! But through that fear, I awakened! I became Supreme Leader’s servant! He’s always the one holding our lifelines. What choice is there but loyalty?! You’re so stupid, acting like a mongrel with no roots!”

“Hehehe! Haha!”

Weak laughter leaked out along with coughing.

“Right, you and I are both pathetic cowards who value our own lives most. But you know what the biggest difference is? Unlike you, I don’t deceive myself! Lucas Redan, you’re more vulgar than anyone yet think you’re noble. You decided to serve the Supreme Leader but were always afraid. You just talked big about cleaning up mongrels and rooting out subversive elements, but you didn’t even have the guts to inform on your neighbors!”

“No! I am, I am…!”

He screamed wildly. His form was distorting and crumbling.

“You’re both a hypocrite and someone who pretends to be evil. A coward and a petty bastard. But I’m different. Shit, I might die here. I’m already dying. But if I get released? I won’t stop until I kill Kruger. I don’t care if I die or not. If I’m going to die, I’ll definitely take Kruger to the afterlife with me. So why don’t you go give your beloved Supreme Leader a farewell greeting in advance? Instead of tormenting me here for no reason!”

I weakly raised my arm and gave him the middle finger.

“I won’t sell my last bit of conscience like you. So fuck off, you piece of trash.”

Lucas Redan disappeared, crying.

***

“Hup!”

When I came to my senses, I was sprawled like a frog, frantically licking the damp stone floor.

Blood was flowing from my torn tongue. Did I wake up from this pain?

I quickly swallowed the liquid filling my mouth, not wanting to lose even a drop of blood.

‘Ah, that’s not it. It’s bright.’

The door that had always been tightly shut was slowly opening.

I tried to support myself on my thinned arms and get up, but they just trembled and I failed, collapsing with a thud.

Footsteps approached and someone lifted me up.

Two people. Each one draped one of my arms over their shoulder and supported me as they took me somewhere.

We climbed stairs.

We got on an elevator.

We passed through several doors.

The sound of knocking echoed in my ears, and the two people carefully set me down on smooth marble floor.

“…”

Only then did I manage to stand unsteadily and open my eyes.

Outside the window was a clear blue sky.

Against the backdrop of fresh blue air and pure white clouds sat a man in an armchair—Friedrich Kruger.

And standing before him were one, two, three, four… five people.

They were White Raven Order members.

Daniel, Erika, Oscar, Georg, Richard.

‘Wow, they really don’t fit.’

It was the height of awkwardness, as if only they had been cut out and photoshopped into this background.

“Do you understand now?”

Kruger asked me without smiling or getting angry.

Ah, right. I thought this would happen. The answer was predetermined.

“Yes. I still only have the desire to kill Your Excellency.”

At my faint, slow response, Kruger burst into laughter.

“Ahahaha! Do you know what you look like right now? Like a corpse that came back to life from the grave! How painful was it? But I knew you wouldn’t succumb to that extent! You realized that the moment you give up your killing intent toward me, you’d become just another common lackey!”

He stopped laughing abruptly and gestured to me. I staggered forward to stand before him.

“You’re special. Many have tried to kill me, but it’s the first time someone has attacked so persistently and meticulously. Do you know what this means?”

“It means that as long as I’m defeated by desire, I have no choice but to work for Your Excellency.”

“That’s my man!”

He patted my shoulder. My body collapsed with a thud at that slight gesture.

“Congratulations, Major Redan. You survived! Ahahaha!”

“I’m grateful… for your grace…”

My body leaned forward and toppled. My head went white.

Just barely catching sight of Erika’s feet in my vision, I collapsed unconscious.