Patriot

Mello's POV

All my life I have been trying my best to rise up the ranks of society. Ever since I was picked up by the royal family as an orphan, I studied and learned in order to prove my worth. From cleaning the Royal Kitchens to feeding the King's Horses, I did everything I could to achieve my dream. To get the highest rank I can get.

You might be wondering, 'Why would you need the highest rank? To get money and fame?'. No! I am different. Through my different life experiences in my life, one moment stands out the mist for me. It was when the late King Ebriz I, King Ebriz II's father, took me as his servant and said.

"You are special. I want you to serve me and dedicate your whole life for me and for the Kingdom of Zione."

As a kid, I was mesmerized by the King. He was my savior so I should feel gratitude which I did. Those words motivated my whole character. I vowed to never do anything that would harm the country. I will dedicate my whole life for the sake of this kingdom, even if it will destroy my life.

After years of dedication, my hard work finally paid off. I have reached a peak. I am now officially the Personal Adviser and Minister of the King. This position helped me gain the ability to make the country even a better place. I supported the King and his leadership. I implemented the correct rules and regulations for the sake of the land. I did everything in order to achieve the mission the late King gave me. The mission to dedicate everything for the Kingdom.

Those principles were violated by someone I was very attached to. The Habsber Family has been one of the Pillars of this great nation. I have been close friends with the family especially with their heir Captain Reid Habsber who is also a very promising soldier. My heart was broken when I found out that one of the families might be using their positions for corruption. I later suspected that it was the Habsber Family. You might be thinking that I am delusional but if you ever did something that I believe violated my principles, I will do anything and everything to correct that mistake.

I know that even though I have one of the highest positions in the Kingdom, I still do not have the influence to face off against a powerhouse family like the Habsbers. Since I know that I can't remove them by accusations only, I decided to make some live proof. I formulated a plan to paint the family as traitors by hiring someone to hostage a noble in the King's Party. It was perfectly planned. I hired a great man that is willing to do everything for his family. I placed the Habsber Emblem on him to make it believable. Everything was going well until the day before the celebration. A maid was caught stealing in the Royal Palace. It was just a minor incident but I decided this is a perfect opportunity. I used the captured maid and gave him some small emblems and a few fake testimonies that would point at the family. Then I still proceeded with the hostage plan which went well. I then volunteered as the chief investigator which made this process easier. I then conveniently connected the two unrelated criminals as servants of the Habsber family. I also made sure they are both half-dead to ensure that they won't talk.

Did I do something dirty? Of course, I did. Did I regret what I did? No of course not! I am willing to do all the dirty stuff for the country. I used all my abilities to remove the pests aka the Habsber Family. The problem is after a while, I realized something. Who was that thief? How did a thief coincide with the date of my plan? Why would a thief do a robbery right before a very secure event? He has no reason to do that unless he has info about my plans. After a while of speculation, I decided to reinvestigate the case privately. In order to have approval from the King, I sent my men to the Reid Squad even though I do not need them. It was only an act in order to have a smokescreen. My main goal is to learn about that thief, which learned in that Dungeon. The maid named Gace was in fact not only a normal robber but also a servant of the Vaslish Family aka General Raminoff's family. I always remember that mark from every special soldier from that family. The small blue and red tattoo on their neck. That emblem is only given to their special ops members and this information is only known by a few, not even the King himself.

And now I am facing the guy that helped me achieve my goal.

"So it was you all along, General Raminoff!"

The general chuckled.

"Oh? Seems like you are mistaken, Minister!"

"No need to play dumb here General!"

He smirked then sat at his chair.

"Fine, I will tell you. You are correct Minister! I am in fact the guy behind the Maid Thief! Are you here to say thank you? No need! I can help whenever I can! HAHAHA HAHAHA!!!!"

I was infuriated.

"Why did you do that?! In fact, how did you know about my plans?!?!?!"

"Woah! One question at a time Sir! I can answer them. So for the first question! I did it for the sake of my family and myself. We Vaslish has been holding a grudge against the Habsers for a long time. It was only right to do it. It was also great to gain more power and influence."

I knew it. He did it for greed.

Wait, now that I think about it. Don't tell me that the family that was behind of all of that corruption was-

"I know what your thinking Minister and you are right. I did all of the dirty work. The Habsbers were clean until your plan was implemented so no need to thank me here. It was win-win!!"

I. MESSED. UP.

I pointed at the wrong family. It was not the Habsber. I was wrong. All my accusations were wrong. I really messed up.

"Also to answer your other question, let me tell you this. I have an ear on you." Raminoff said while smiling.

"Wait! Don't tell me that it is-!"

A man suddenly walked from my back. He headed to the general and bowed. He then said.

It was Vaughn.

"That is right Minister. I am the ear of Sir Raminoff. I told him about your plans. No need to thank me for my services tho-."

I snapped.

"DAMN YOU ALL!!! YOU TRICKED ME! HOW DARE YOU BETRAY ME! NOW I AM ALL RUINED!"

Raminoff just chuckled.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! You are the one that was planning for destroying a family. I merely helped. Now, what are you going to do?!"

Right. That question. What am I going to do? Did I mess up? I did something that violates my whole principle.

I blanked out for a while thinking but then I thought. I will sacrifice all of me for this country.

"General, what if I spill everything that you and I did to the king?"

He was stunned.

"Wha-What?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You know you can't do that! It will destroy your whole career! You will be sentenced to death!!"

He is right. What I did was treason. I know it was wrong yet I did it. I deserve to die but I don't want to. Now that he told me about death, I suddenly hesitated.

"See! You can't even talk! No need to be rash Minister! Just let things be and enjoy your position and so will I!"

My whole life has been about the country. I do not have any personal desires. I know what I will do.

"Fine, See you tomorrow at the palace."

*THE NEXT DAY, ROYAL PALACE OF ZIONE*

-TO BE CONTINUED-