Being A Tyrant King Is Actually Very Difficult!

It took several weeks to recover after I was reincarnated as Eden Thames.

The poison in my body slowly began to disappear thanks to the medicine concocted by Richardson. I, who initially couldn't get out of bed, can now walk around my room without anyone's help.

Of course, I relied on a walking stick to help me move around. Richardson gave it to me once my condition improved, as part of my rehabilitation therapy to help me walk normally again.

Since my condition was improving, I began fulfilling my duties as a royal. Mostly reviewing documents or handling royal reports, all of which I did from my room. It was actually quite complicated.

I was just an ordinary sixteen-year-old high school student before I ended up in this story.

Completing tasks meant for office workers is simply impossible for me.

So I had no choice but to quickly learn about life here to avoid falling behind.

I spent a week studying the history and basics of this kingdom so I could portray Eden Thames perfectly.

Or at least, I tried to do it perfectly. 

This story did not describe Eden Thames clearly except for his arrogant, cunning attitude, but he actually had a good heart for certain people.

But learning to put on a flat, arrogant face is really difficult. 

I started wondering, how do the arrogant characters in novels manage to do it every day without getting tired?

Suddenly, I felt admiration for them all. 

A simple question crossed my mind a few times as I thought about my incredibly unlucky fate.

Why didn't I come here when I was already an office worker? 

Why did I have to enter the story after it had already ended?

I mean, what was the point of that? 

I still had no idea how I ended up in this story. 

I also did not know if there's a way to leave this place and return to my previous life...

I'd be lying if I said I wanted to go back as soon as possible. Here, I'm the King of Eden Thames. 

He was respected, feared, and lived in luxury without worrying about food or money.

But dying tragically. 

Just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine. 

I could not help but wonder. 

What was Eden thinking in the moments before his death?

Urgh...

I pushed the piles of documents out of my sight for a moment, massaging my throbbing temples as I thought about the string of misfortunes I'd faced.

Why was I even thinking about this? 

Besides, what sin did I commit in my previous life that I have to pay for it with such misfortune?

Once again, I sighed deeply and resumed my work. I was struggling—really struggling—to learn everything. 

I might have been a quick learner before I came to this dimension, but there are limits.

And being a super-busy king to the point where it was impossible to get enough rest was the absolute limit of my abilities.

Actually, Richardson didn't allow me to return to full duty. I kept pushing them because I didn't want to bother them, until they finally agreed on the condition that it wouldn't interfere with my rest time.

Compared to a royal doctor, Richardson feels more like the older sibling I never had.

Meanwhile, James had already returned to his kingdom without saying goodbye to me, which made me feel relieved.

I refuse to waste my time escorting the person who killed Eden back home. 

From the beginning to the end of this novel, I hated James Patrick.

To me, he was a fool who could not appreciate Eden's efforts. Hmph!

I refocused my attention on reading the documents recently sent by Chintya, the advisor to the Kingdom of Thames.

In the story I read, the novel's author described Chintya as a tactical woman, rarely speaking, rarely showing emotion, but highly trustworthy, who had been running the kingdom in my place since the coup ended.

Everything matches the description. 

I even tried to strike up a conversation with her once, and she responded with a look that said, "Are you serious? I still have a lot of work to finish," which made me feel so intimidated.

Since then, I chose not to do it again, letting Chintya do her job and speak only when she wanted to.

Chintya did not allow some of my distant family members who tried to take over the power.

In a way I couldn't imagine, she temporarily replaced me to lead the kingdom. 

She was one of those who believed that Eden was still alive.

Unfortunately, Eden Thames in this story was dead. 

No one could survive with a body filled with poison and stabbed repeatedly with a sword as a stage of King James' coup.

And now, I am possessing Eden Thames' body, living as Eden Thames for an undetermined amount of time. 

A fact that I couldn't possibly tell anyone.

Who would believe me if I told the truth? 

After all, I still didn't know the reason I was in Eden Thames' body.

I decided to keep the truth to myself. 

Using the excuse that I had lost my memory, many of the courtiers who were loyal to me helped me adapt.

My mind began to wander, questioning the reason for my existence in this place.

From Richardson's explanation at that time, it was clear that Eden Thames should have died in this story.

That meant it was difficult for me to know the continuation of this story. 

The main character in this story should have found his goal once Eden Thames was killed.

I'm really unlucky, because usually in transmigration or reincarnation stories I've read before, I would be reborn as the antagonist when I was a baby, or become the protagonist when I was a child.

The point is, I should have entered the story at the beginning of the chapter! 

The beginning of the story! 

But entering the story after the villain was killed and the protagonist got his happiness?

That obviously never happened. 

And I also did not know what to do with the situation getting worse like this.

What happened? 

How did I end up in the story as Eden Thames after being killed by James in the coup?

Everything was so complicated. 

It was also clearly different from the reincarnation or transmigration genre novels that I've read.

All of the characters who transmigrated into the stories they've read must have been reborn several years before the big event awaited them, either reincarnated as the main character, villain, or side character.

While I live after Eden's death. 

Or Eden's resurrection, considering that I now live in Eden's body?

I also still can't remember how my death happened in the real world—if I really died before entering this story.

There's only one thing I know once I'm stranded here. I really enjoy my life here compared to my modern life.

In my own bedroom, no one will take my food or my belongings.

And the best part, I didn't have to face the people who bullied me at school!

I didn't have to force myself to go to school with a pounding feeling and worry about what my bullies would do to me.

Especially Brian O'Connor. The rich guy at my school always looks for opportunities to bully me. A captain of the basketball team who is known to always be able to get whatever he wants with just a few snaps of his fingers at school.

Indeed, I still don't know what happened to me, nor what happened to my family. 

If I really died, they would definitely be sad.

My siblings do have bad temperaments, but I know that they love me. 

So do my parents, who always feel guilty for not being able to give me a life like children my age.

I wonder what they are doing right now?

I looked out the window of the room, watching the pigeons that landed in front of the balcony of the room where I was. 

Watching the bright morning sunlight. And the fresh air.

All the things that I could never get in a modern life full of pollution and waste management issues that have not been resolved.

"Your Majesty?"

Along with the call, there was a knock on the door. I turned my body and sat back in my work chair.

From the tone of her voice, it was clear that it was neither Chintya nor Richardson. 

Her voice sounded like the voice of a young woman with a cheerful personality, or maybe the same age as me in my previous life.

My feelings suddenly became restless. 

I tried to remember if there were any characters in this story who had the same characteristics as the person standing in front of my door.

"Can I come in?"

I opened my eyes, panicking. If my guess is correct, then the person waiting for my response is Eden Thames' younger stepsister, Lucia Thames.

The original story told me that she never liked Eden because Eden killed her mother.

Lucia grew up to be an innocent woman filled with fear of her older stepbrother. 

Vionna would indirectly give Lucia the strength to fight her older stepbrother.

Lucia misinterpreted Vionna's support, thinking of the option of killing Eden Thames instead of rebelling directly.

All I could say, Lucia's character is a woman who is afraid to face conflict directly and chooses a safe but terrible path. 

In front of Eden, Lucia will be a gloomy and quiet little sister. 

But behind Eden's back, she becomes the mastermind behind Eden's death.

Yes, maybe in the public eye, Eden died because he was killed by James Patrick, who was considered a hero. 

But no one knows that actually long before the coup, Eden had been suffering from poison.

And Lucia was the mastermind behind the poison. Without anyone's knowledge, Lucia managed to insert a deadly poison she got from the black market into Eden's food for three months before the coup took place.

It meant Lucia was the one who was involved in the murder of Eden Thames.

The problem now is, what is Lucia doing here?

My breath hitched. 

My mind was confused, filled with fear.

I could just chase her away now, but that will be only a short-term solution. 

I couldn't possibly avoid Lucia for long.

I need answers. 

Besides, I still have to find out the reason I was stranded in this story and became Eden Thames.

Because supposedly, after Eden Thames died because of the coup, James and Vionna would live happily and get married. Lucia would replace Eden as the ruler of the Kingdom Thames.

My fists clenched, gathering all my courage. 

Yes, I can do it. Maybe I can get something from Lucia if I let her in.

"Come in."

***