I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 652

110 years ago.

Bringer Principality, the capital, Solar Queen.

The city, adorned with colorful flowers, was in a festive mood.

Songs echoed from every corner, and the joyful, drunken ramblings of people, already tipsy from midday, filled the air with warmth.

The smell of alcohol, cooking food, cosmetics, perfume, and burning bonfires—it was the autumn festival.

The city was lively for the few festivals of the year. People lined the streets, drinking, dancing, and enjoying the atmosphere.

In the center of this lively city, at the square where the fountain gushed.

A woman stepped onto the platform. Her appearance caused the citizens filling the square to erupt in cheers of joy.

“Long live Grand Duchess Bringer!”

“Glory to the Dragon Lady!”

“May the Queen of the Sun live forever!”

Receiving the citizens’ welcome, Day-Bringer, the ruler of the Bringer Principality, waved her hand.

With dark skin and a tall, slender figure, she wore her braided hair long down her back.

The white ceremonial military uniform that fit her perfectly emphasized her dignified appearance, and the blood-red cloak that flowed from her waist reminded everyone of her lineage. The artistic rapier at her waist signaled that she was both a military commander and an outstanding warrior.

And above her head—a crown.

The silver crown, symbolizing the ruling authority of the Bringer Principality, sparkled brilliantly above her braided hair.

The dragon-blooded duchess, Day-Bringer, who was loved by all the citizens of this country, smiled and shouted.

“You’ve waited long, my people! This is the autumn festival we have all eagerly awaited for a year!”

Waaaaaaah……!

Day-Bringer winked at the cheering citizens.

“I too have been waiting for this day. It’s a festival I’ve experienced over a hundred times, but each year is new and enjoyable.”

The citizens cheered again at the queen’s words. Day-Bringer stretched her hand out to the side.

“I’ll skip the long speeches! Everyone, today, drink, dance, and sing to your heart’s content! And…”

Day-Bringer smiled brightly.

“Love! Love, my people!”

The citizens raised their arms and echoed her words.

We will drink, dance, sing, and love!

“In the name of Grand Duchess Bringer, I bless this year’s festival! May everyone have a wonderful time!”

Day-Bringer, having given her blessing, fluttered her cloak and descended from the platform.

With thunderous cheers, the festival began in earnest. People spread throughout the city, drinking, dancing, and singing.

…And.

Unlike the festive atmosphere, a girl with cold eyes was staring at the people on the street.

“Hoo…”

Hiding in an alleyway beside the main street, the girl, watching the crowds sweeping through the streets, murmured, stroking her chest.

“It’s okay, I can do it. I can do it…”

She was a grimy girl, covered in dirt.

She looked no more than ten years old. Her body was thin and emaciated from not eating properly, and she wore old, dirty clothes that were no better than rags. Compared to the people who were dressed up for the festival, the girl looked even more pathetic.

Between her disheveled black hair, the girl’s large eyes scanned the people busily. She was waiting for the right prey to appear.

“… !”

After a while, the girl found a suitable target.

It was a middle-aged man who was heavily drunk from midday. He was singing loudly, arm in arm with someone who seemed to be a friend, and a wallet was sticking out invitingly from his back pocket.

‘Good…’

The girl came out of the alley and naturally entered the main street, quickly standing behind the middle-aged man.

Her slender arms trembled with tension, but her decision was quick, and there was no hesitation in her actions.

When the girl left the main street and entered the next alley, she held the wallet she had targeted securely in her arms.

“Haa, haa, haa… !”

The breath she had been holding back was released. Her heart was pounding as if it would burst.

After confirming that the middle-aged man had disappeared into the distance, still singing loudly, the girl carefully opened the wallet.

“…”

The girl’s face, which had been full of anticipation, was soon filled with disappointment.

All that was in the wallet were a few coins. There were no other valuables. The girl shook the wallet up and down a few times, then let out a faint sigh.

‘Still, it’s something.’

With these coins, she could at least buy some snacks from a festival stall.

At that moment, a faint rumbling sound came from the girl’s stomach. The thought of food made her stomach, which had been empty for the past few days, react first.

The girl, clutching her hungry stomach in pain, staggered and moved her feet. She wanted to eat something quickly.

However.

“… !”

The girl, entering the next alley, had to stop in surprise.

A woman with tattoos all over her body was smoking a cigarette. She smiled when she saw the girl and gestured with her hand.

“Well, well~ Congratulations, our youngest. You finally succeeded in your first theft?”

“…”

“Now you can finally do your part. Come here. This big sister will give you a pat.”

“…”

“I said come here! Can’t you hear me?”

The girl hesitantly approached the woman. The woman spat her cigarette on the ground, stepped on it, and then held out her hand to the girl.

“Give it to me.”

“… Huh?”

“Give it to me. Our youngest’s first earnings. Let me take a look.”

When the girl hesitated, the woman frowned fiercely.

“Oh, I’m about to get upset. Little one, you know how much I’ve suffered raising you all this time, right?”

“…”

Then, the abuse the girl had suffered from this woman flashed through her mind.

Just because they were fellow vagrants living on the same street, she would steal her food and beat her at every opportunity…

The leader of all the female vagrants on this street. That was the ‘big sister’ in front of her.

That’s why she couldn’t refuse. The girl took out the wallet she had put in her arms with trembling hands and held it out.

Thump!

The woman, who snatched the wallet, examined the contents and made a sound like ‘Ehh~’.

“What, did you get a bum deal right from the start? You’re really unlucky. Tsk.”

The woman nonchalantly put the wallet into her own pocket.

“Ah… !”

When the girl made a bewildered sound, the woman’s eyes flashed menacingly.

“What ‘Ah’ are you talking about, you little brat. Don’t you dare look away?”

“…”

“You couldn’t even earn enough to pay for your begging spot, and you’re too young to work as a prostitute, and I’ve been taking care of you for years. Huh? Then, of course, you have to repay my kindness, right? Yes or no?”

She knew she had to say yes.

But today, the words wouldn’t come out of the girl’s mouth.

Whether it was because of the festival atmosphere, her first theft, or the gnawing hunger in her stomach…

For the first time, the girl chose to rebel.

“… C-Could you, could you give it back?”

“What?”

“I-I’m so hungry. I’ll steal another wallet and give it to you, so could you please give me those coins… please?”

What came back was not an answer but the woman’s strong grip.

Slap!

The girl was knocked to the ground by the slap and slammed into the alley wall. The woman grabbed the girl by the collar, who couldn’t regain her senses, and slapped her repeatedly.

“You stupid bitch! You rude little thing! What? Give it back? Give it back? You trash, you’ve completely forgotten the kindness I’ve shown you all this time!”

Slap! Slap! Slap!

She was hit repeatedly, and blood even splattered from the girl’s small nose. All the girl could do was beg for forgiveness, saying she was sorry, with her hands clasped together.

“Haa, haa, haa…”

After beating the girl until her anger subsided, the woman, panting, spat on the ground.

“I live in poverty because I’m stuck raising brats like you. It’s all your fault!”

“…”

“Don’t you feel sorry for this big sister? Don’t you feel sorry for me, who ruined my life and lives like this because of you?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, big sister… I was wrong…”

“If you’re sorry, go steal something else quickly. It’s a festival. It’s a big day. You’ll steal more today than you’ve earned in your entire life.”

“…”

“And from now on, you’ll bring everything you earn to me. I’ll share your portion. Got it?”

“Yes…”

“If you understand, go now!”

The girl hurriedly ran out of the alley as if escaping.

“Tsk.”

The woman, clicking her tongue as she watched her go, took out the coins she had just obtained and tossed them into the air. Then, she glared towards the central square.

“Drink, dance, sing, and love… What a load of crap.”

The woman scoffed, repeating the words left by the ruler of this country.

“None of those four things have anything to do with us.”

***

The girl, having left the alley, jumped into another act of theft.

She chose a fat, old, and peg-legged veteran and boldly attempted to pickpocket him. If she had even half the stamina she usually had, she would have succeeded without any problems.

But she was too hungry, and her body wasn’t moving properly because she had been beaten in the alley.

She was already caught when she was taking the wallet from his pocket, and before she could run away, she was grabbed by the hair.

“Aaaah!”

Realizing that the situation had gone wrong, the girl quickly knelt down and started begging. She knew that was the safest way to get out of the situation.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please forgive me just once…”

“Why me?”

However, the other party was not normal either.

The old veteran muttered menacingly. The girl, with her hair still grabbed, asked in a trembling voice.

“Huh?”

“Why me? Why did you try to steal my wallet?”

“No, well, that’s…”

“Did I look easy, huh?”

The veteran roared and swung his hand.

“You thought I was easy because I’m like this, didn’t you, you bitch-!”

The girl was beaten to death.

She was beaten until her whole body was covered in blood and bruises. And in the back alleys of the city where the festival was being held, no one paid any attention to a homeless, petty thief girl being beaten to the point of death.

The veteran hit the girl until his anger subsided, then limped away. The girl, half-dead, lay sprawled among the trash in a dirty back alley.

“…”

She was hungry.

Really, just, simply, that was all.

A city where even begging required paying a fee to other beggars.

It was a festival. The whole street was overflowing with abundance and merriment. There was plenty of food and drink. But all of it was a distant story for the girl.

***

The girl, who had lost consciousness as if she had fainted, regained her senses in the early hours of the morning.

The festival was already over, and the city was cold in the middle of the night.

The girl, staggering, headed towards the street stalls. She was hoping to beg for some food scraps that the shops that had closed were throwing away.

However.

“Why is a dirty thing loitering around my shop?”

“Get lost!”

“Don’t spread your disease, go back to the sewer you live in!”

The girl was chased away everywhere.

She was covered in blood, her clothes, which had already been like rags, were now in tatters, and she smelled foul from rolling around in the dirty back alleys.

“…”

If it were a normal festival, she wouldn’t have gone hungry like this.

If she had at least pretended to be pitiful, she might have received some food out of pity.

She had been too greedy, and she had gotten into even more trouble by trying to steal.

The girl, staggering, suddenly stopped walking. She saw a house with bright lights on in the middle of the night.

As if possessed, she approached it and peeked inside through a slightly open gap in the curtain on the glass window.

‘Ah…’

A scene from a warm family home, contrasting with the cold autumn night outside, was visible.

Warm air poured out from the burning fireplace.

At the bedside of a young child sleeping soundly on the sofa, toys that had been newly bought during the festival were piled up.

Between a young couple elegantly sharing a glass of wine in the kitchen, a brown-roasted turkey dish could be seen.

The two sleeping children murmured something and tossed and turned. The couple, who had been chatting affectionately, looked at the children and burst into laughter.

‘How nice.’

The girl’s thin hand, which had been watching the scene as if possessed, clenched into a fist.

‘If only I could have lived like that.’

If only she could have grown up happily in such a nice house.

No, even if it was poor and humble, if only she had a house where she could escape the wind and rain.

No, even if she didn’t have a house… if only her parents hadn’t abandoned her.

Numerous meaningless ‘what ifs’ flashed before her eyes. The images of the enviable lives she could not live continued to flow before the girl’s eyes.

And then, the fantasy was cut off at some point.

Whack!

The couple, who had belatedly noticed the girl’s presence, approached with cold faces and adjusted the curtain on the window.

Covered by the dark curtain, the scene inside the house was no longer visible.

“…”

The girl, who had been chased away even in her imagination, staggered backward and tripped. She no longer had the strength to stand, or even to live.

The girl collapsed on the spot. The thread of consciousness snapped.

In the darkening world, the girl wished.

She wished that her life would end like this. That she would never open her eyes again.

That she could escape this hell forever…

***

“Your Majesty, it’s time to return to the palace.”

Day-Bringer’s loyal aide and dragon-blooded knight, Layton, urged her.

Day-Bringer, who had been mingling with the citizens and drinking in the central square, shook her head with a nonchalant expression.

“Don’t be so strict, Sir Layton. It’s the festival that comes only once a year! Give me a little more time. I’m not even drunk yet.”

“Your Majesty… Your Majesty, you must stop drinking so that this gathering can end. That way, the citizens can also go home and sleep. It’s already dawn. The sun will rise soon.”

“Sigh, I know, I know. You’re always nagging so much…”

Day-Bringer, who had finally surrendered to the constant nagging, waved her hand widely.

“The drinking party ends here today! Let’s continue the drinks we couldn’t finish tomorrow!”

The warriors who had been holding out until the very last moment cheered in unison, and then immediately collapsed. They had all been forcing themselves to stay awake to share the glorious drinking party with the queen.

Leaving the devastated drinking area behind, Day-Bringer left the scene in a neat manner. Following behind her, Layton shook his head.

His Dragon Lady was an excellent ruler in every way, but the problem was that she loved festivals too much and enjoyed mingling with the citizens. As her aide, he was exhausted every festival.

“Shall we have another drink together when we get back, Sir Layton?”

“Please refrain, Your Majesty… I’m already exhausted to death…”

“You’re so good at exaggerating… huh?”

Day-Bringer, who had been laughing with her hand over her mouth, suddenly noticed a shadow lying on a road in the darkened city.

“Sir Layton. What is that child?”

“Yes?”

Layton also looked in that direction, and soon he could see it.

The figure of a young girl, lying on the ground, covered in blood, and dying.