Overpowered Reincarnation Perks! - Chapter 19.3

The central palace, where the most handsome young men in the castle gathered. Among them, the most beautiful and gallant commander was the pride of the castle.

Every time he gave a speech on behalf of the lord, the square was filled with people who admired him. Dienes, who had become a symbol of this castle, was sometimes regretted for not having a partner, and sometimes people were rather glad about it.

Dienes, who had neither a lover nor even a close friend to confide in for so long, had brought a woman into the castle, so naturally, the soldiers’ attention was focused on this. The rumor spread like wildfire in an instant.

Because the commander’s position in the central palace was absolute, even the most lax soldiers didn’t dare to try to confirm the truth of the rumor. Seeing that Lupe, who had been relegated to menial tasks due to his acquired disability, had entered the main palace at the commander’s call and hadn’t come out again, there were only speculations that he might have been chosen as her attendant.

“If it’s a woman the commander brought, she must be a beauty, right?”

“Ha. That Lupe guy is lucky. Being an attendant means he’ll be smelling woman’s scent every day.”

“No wonder he didn’t show interest when we called women and only drank. It wasn’t that he had no desire, but he had another woman in mind.”

“The commander is bringing in a woman to make his wife, when will my spring come…”

Envy, fantasy, worry, and lament came together to form a collective monologue.

The central palace soldiers were, in principle, the property of the lord and couldn’t marry. Although calling women for entertainment was tacitly allowed, officially, they maintained celibacy to set an example for the castle’s residents. In other words, they couldn’t help but envy Dienes, who boldly set up a bridal chamber in the main palace even before marriage.

“But did the commander break up with that woman?”

“What woman?”

“I heard this story from my grandfather, too, that the commander once…”

A cool baritone voice interrupted among the young soldiers who were leaning in to listen.

“What are you doing gathered here during duty hours?”

“Eek! Commander Dienes!”

The soldiers straightened up, tensing, and saluted towards Dienes. He didn’t return their greetings but scanned them with cold eyes.

“Move to your respective areas.”

“Yes, sir!”

Even the soldiers who usually barely worked and only killed time were not slack in front of Dienes.

This was partly because they were in a state of unconditional obedience due to Dienes’ brainwashing, but also because they purely revered Dienes as the symbol of this castle and its most beautiful figure.

Dienes thought as he watched the backs of the dispersing soldiers.

‘It’s better to let the rumors spread to some extent.’

The soldiers don’t know that the woman Dienes brought in is the intruder. Even if they notice that she’s an outsider, he had brainwashed them not to find it strange, but if it’s revealed that Ju-in is directly one of those who invaded the central palace, the brainwashing that had made them naturally accept the contradictions so far would break.

He needed to let the rumor that she was the commander’s woman spread, but prevent the spread of Ju-in’s true identity.

‘Then it will reach the culprit’s ears too.’

Dienes hid the lord’s death to prevent chaos in the castle, but there was another reason why he didn’t announce that Ju-in was the new lord.

‘The one who killed the lord.’

Dienes judged that Ju-in was involved in the lord’s death. His intuition was telling him so. But Ju-in said she didn’t kill the lord.

Then there must be a separate culprit who killed the lord.

If the lord was killed due to a personal grudge, the possibility of killing the new lord is low, but if the purpose was to destroy this castle by killing the lord.

‘The moment it’s announced that Ju-in is the new lord, she might be threatened by that person.’

So he had to make it appear that the lord was still alive, and that bringing in a woman was an action stemming from Dienes’ personal desire. That’s why he left the unsavory rumors unchecked.

‘But… this is strange.’

He didn’t like that talk about Ju-in was on their dirty lips. They actually don’t know anything about Ju-in, so why is it so unpleasant?

Dienes frowned and traced his neck with his fingertips.

The unpleasant feeling, like a thorn stuck in his throat, wouldn’t go away.

***

Returning to his room, Dienes threw off his uniform. Somehow feeling stuffy, he changed clothes and reclined on the sofa, but the strange discomfort didn’t dissipate.

Suddenly feeling thirsty, Dienes poured wine into the empty glass on the side table. The scent of the deep red wine momentarily calmed him.

One sip. Two sips. He kept refilling the glass a little each time it emptied, and before he knew it, the bottle was empty.

‘Strange. This has never happened before.’

Far from getting drunk, his thirst only intensified. Dienes sighed and ruffled his hair.

“Oh, Commander. You were in your room?”

With his feet up on the stool, Dienes turned his head towards the door to see a low-ranking soldier who had come to clean, hastily bowing.

“It’s not cleaning time now.”

“I, I’m sorry! I thought you’d naturally gone to the bridal chamber, so I was going to clean early and rest… Ah, no! I’ll withdraw!”

“Bridal chamber?”

As if remembering something he had forgotten, Dienes got up at the soldier’s words.

Come to think of it, he had prepared a room for Ju-in. The education room with the altar to amplify the lord’s power, and the bedroom provided to her disguised as a guest.

He remembered cleaning Ju-in’s body after she had passed out from moaning under his hands until dawn, dressing her in pajamas, and laying her on the bed.

‘Why did I forget?’

Dienes abruptly stood up and left the room. He saw the soldier in the corridor tense up, probably wondering if he had something to say to him.

“Clean up.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m going to the bridal chamber.”

Dienes crossed the corridor without waiting for the soldier’s response.

Ju-in’s room is in the deepest part of the main palace, with a good view. Though not as luxurious as the dead lord’s room, it’s sufficiently opulent, and above all, safe from encountering the dirty males prowling around under the guise of security.

After passing through the gallery and climbing the stairs, Dienes paused briefly in front of a mirror in the corridor. His clothes were disheveled from resting and drinking.

Until now, Dienes had never cared about his appearance. He wore his uniform when in public or giving orders to soldiers, but in private, he did as he pleased. After all, there was no one who could criticize his appearance.

Dienes began tidying up his appearance in front of the mirror. It was the first time he was grooming himself when not going to an official event.

He buttoned up his shirt and tidied his disheveled side hair, tucking it behind his ear. His curly blonde hair was fine and soft, looking good even when casually thrown over his shoulder.

‘The smell of alcohol.’

Come to think of it, Ju-in disliked alcohol. The wine he had served was top-quality. Whether she disliked wine or disliked Dienes, he thought she would dislike it more if he came smelling of alcohol.

Dienes opened the corridor window. The cool breeze was nice, but the smell of alcohol wouldn’t go away easily. Feeling strangely anxious, he fiddled with his sleeve cuffs, then realized he was doing something he had never done.

‘What am I doing?’

He said he was going to the bridal chamber, so he should just go. There was no reason to waste time here trying to get rid of the alcohol smell. Dienes frowned and closed the window. Somehow, he didn’t like the fact that he had done something foolish.

He stopped in the corridor where Ju-in’s room was, after climbing the last flight of stairs. The door was open. Dienes’ brow furrowed when he saw the trolley in the corner of the corridor full of food. Hearing Ju-in’s voice from beyond the open door, Dienes strode forward.