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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“You’re here?”
Dorothy, wearing a pitch-black dress, greeted Werner with a smile.
Of course, it was a dress, but it was questionable whether it could be classified as clothing given the minimal amount of fabric.
The dress that fully revealed her silhouette from the upper chest to the bottom was a fitting attire for the title of the Empire’s top pimp who ran the red-light district.
Werner looked straight at her face without ever laying his eyes on the alluring curves that any man would desire.
“How are the preparations going?”
“As you can see, our Red Street is enjoying the greatest boom since its establishment.”
It was a non-sequitur, but Werner immediately understood the hidden meaning behind it.
Prostitution was one of the representative illegal businesses prohibited in the Empire.
The Empire’s situation was such that it would push young people, whether men or women, onto the battlefield.
Rather than having them sell their bodies, it was much more righteous to use them as bullet sponges.
It was a bill proposed with that idea in mind.
It was the reason why Dorothy, who was just a pimp, started reaching out to drugs as well.
Because she could no longer make money just by selling sex.
Unlike prostitution, drugs were implicitly condoned by the government.
For those whose minds were being shattered day by day from the stress of the battlefield and PTSD, there was no better painkiller than drugs.
In a situation where it was unknown when the war with the Titans would end, it was ridiculous to worry about the aftereffects that might come in a few months or even a few years.
In a reality where one could die tomorrow, would the side effects of drugs even be noticeable?
In the end, it was a matter of supply and demand.
During wartime, there was a higher demand for drugs than prostitution.
However, now that all wars had ended—at least the citizens thought so—drugs were the first area the President was trying to crack down on.
Society no longer needed soldiers.
They wanted slaves to money who would revive the ruined economy, not murderers addicted to drugs who only knew how to fight.
Then Dorothy would simply return to her main business.
Whether they became slaves to money or slaves to sex, weren’t they both equally unfree?
The fact that illegal prostitution was so blatantly prevalent meant that high-ranking government officials were turning a blind eye to it.
“We’ve been sending in quite nice aces from our side, and they’re loving it to death. Those girls are lucky. They no longer have to deal with jerks and only receive high-class and wealthy customers.”
Werner nodded.
“The number of people.”
“Five high-ranking grade 2 officials and three grade 1 officials. Among them, two are military.”
Dorothy grinned mischievously.
Drugs and women.
Both were difficult to quit once you got a taste.
The moment you put your head into the snake’s den, you become addicted to the deadly venom without realizing you’re slowly dying, and you simply indulge in the happy present.
“The grade 2 list is fine, just hand over the grade 1 and military personnel list.”
“Of course. Among the grade 1 officials, there’s Milium Hess, the Minister of Broadcasting and Communications, who is the President’s closest aide.”
“Tsk.”
Werner clicked his tongue.
He was the person who had been looking at Arwen with lecherous eyes whenever he visited the President with her in several cycles.
There was no big reason to get rid of him other than unpleasantly getting on his nerves, so he hadn’t dealt with him, but in the end, he would turn out to be that kind of guy.
“But do we really need to go this far?”
“Why are you asking the obvious? You should know how difficult it is to uproot power.”
“Can’t you just eliminate the President?”
“It’s not as easy as it sounds.”
“Hmm~. Well, it doesn’t matter anyway.”
Dorothy got up from her seat and approached Werner with a small note held between her fingers.
The amount of fabric was so small it was embarrassing.
As if it wasn’t properly fixed, her breasts softly swayed every time she took a step.
If it had been a man other than Werner, he would have already been captivated by her at this point and unable to escape.
But the person in question was Werner.
Not only did he have a headache, but he also knew exactly what kind of feelings she harbored.
“I’m just going to take the note and leave. Don’t interfere.”
He immediately rejected her seduction.
“…Are you really going to keep disappointing me like this?”
“I’m sorry, Dorothy. But I have no intention of embracing you.”
“But that’s only your thought, Luthers.”
Despite a warning, Dorothy didn’t back down.
She was starting to crawl up slowly.
Should I dispose of her this time as the last?
Werner seriously thought so.
However, she was also quite perceptive.
If she hadn’t been that perceptive, Dorothy would have been thrown into a back alley long ago and lived a life more miserable than a prostitute.
She was doing this on purpose.
To get on Werner’s nerves.
She had a tendency closer to sadism than masochism.
It was also the reason why the prostitutes and managers of Red Street feared Dorothy.
“Well… Let’s end it here for today. If I cross the line any further, you’ll really get angry, won’t you?”
“Even though you know that, why do you keep doing it?”
“It’s a small act of rebellion against someone who doesn’t understand my heart. Rosenwald? Please safely escort the director outside.”
“Yes, madam.”
With her characteristic serpentine expression, she stretched out her finger and lightly touched Werner’s lips.
Then she handed him the note she was holding in her other hand.
“But Luthers? Just keep this one thing in mind. You’re mine. I have no intention of giving even an inch to those disgusting military goons.”
“…”
“Well then, I look forward to meeting you again next time. I’m a bit interested in that plan of yours.”
Werner didn’t even reply anymore.
Instead, he simply walked past the giant man standing right behind him.
“I always appreciate your efforts. I don’t need an escort. I’ll go back alone.”
Werner strode out of Dorothy’s mansion.
She watched his back and then frowned.
Her loyal subordinate, Red Bear Rosenwald, who noticed that subtle change, looked at her and asked.
“…Shall I dispose of him?”
“No, no need to dispose of him. He’s someone who even made that gangster boss and psychopathic murderer submit. You’re strong, but not as strong as that man.”
Dorothy closed her eyes and pressed her forehead.
It was annoying.
Now it was definitely starting to get more and more annoying.
It was true that Luthers Edan had saved her life.
It was undeniable that she had fallen in love with him because of that.
No matter what purpose he had in bringing her, the fact that he had opened a new life for her remained unchanged.
But human greed was inherently endless.
At first, Dorothy was simply honest with her interest and emotions, but she gradually began to covet more and more.
She wanted Luthers to be entirely hers.
Dorothy took out the recorder she had placed under her desk.
When she pressed the play button, the conversation she had just had with Luthers flowed out.
It was a recording that blatantly revealed his dangerous remark about dunking the President.
If she took this directly to the military police, she could have Luthers arrested on the spot.
If it weren’t for Luthers, she would have used it for blackmail, sucked him dry to the bone, and mercilessly handed him over to the military police.
If she got involved in national rebellion while fussing around, even the Minister of Broadcasting’s grandmother wouldn’t be able to escape.
She absolutely hated anything annoying and dangerous except for men.
But this recording was also Luthers Edan’s weakness.
“…I don’t think that man would crumble with just that.”
“Hmm, I think so too. Because he values other people more than his own life. It’s a bit funny for someone directly plotting treason to be afraid of my blackmail, right?”
“Then…?”
“If I go after his acquaintances, he’ll really go berserk. Before I can even get him, that man will come and beautifully cut your and my throat and decorate them on the street.”
Dorothy’s eyes twinkled.
“That’s why I’m going to hand this over.”
She glanced at her cell phone that started vibrating.
The caller was Milium Hess, the Minister of Broadcasting and Communications, the President’s closest aide.
Tsk, this man wasn’t someone who would make it either.
But as Luthers said, it was still too early.
She was someone who knew how to wait.
“I said if I can’t have it, I’ll break it, right? No, that’s wrong. There’s nothing in this world that I can’t have.”
Woo-oong!
Woo-oo-oo-oong!
As the continuous vibration soon died down, Dorothy took out a small dagger from her drawer and stabbed it into her desk.
At that moment.
Rosenwald, who suddenly felt a presence, immediately turned his head to look behind him.
The wide-open corridor where not even a person’s shadow could be seen, let alone a presence.
“What’s wrong?”
“No… It felt like someone had come and gone.”
“Isn’t it just your imagination?”
But unfortunately for Dorothy, it wasn’t just his imagination at all.
Because someone dressed entirely in a pitch-black suit was quickly turning back.
A concealed mask.
The red eyes visible through it were filled with all sorts of worries and fears.
‘I need to quickly inform the director.’
Karin Maven thought as she swiftly sprinted across the rooftops of the red-light district.
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Damn