The Tyrant Wants To Live Honestly

Closing the door of the rest room, Dorothea turned to Po.

 

“Po, tell me honestly what’s going on.”

 

Po wiped his tear-stained eyes with his sleeve and opened his mouth.

 

“I stole the royal food….”

 

Po did not deny his guilt.

 

His trembling shoulders were visible.

 

“Even If you don’t have enough to eat, why did you steal the food?”

 

Dorothea was genuinely curious and asked. He works in the kitchen, so he can eat if he wants to eat without stealing it.

 

Po used to skip meals because he was busy, but whenever he had time, he could cook and eat as much as he wanted or eat leftovers.

 

The imperial family was not so hard on the chefs as to make them pay for their food.

 

In addition, Po, now named Greenwall, had a small mansion in Lampas where he, Joy, and Stefan could live, and he could buy enough food with his wages.

 

‘So why…?’

 

“It was bad.”

 

“What?”

 

“It was bad. Food wasted.” Po sighed and said.

 

There is always a large amount of food left over in the imperial palace.

 

In the imperial palace, where it was a virtue to serve each meal generously, half of the food they made would be leftovers.

 

In particular, on days of parties, banquets, or events, whole cakes were left as they are, fresh fruits in baskets were treated as sculptures, or turkeys that they ate just one piece were thrown away.

 

Expensive shrimp, which some people will never eat in their lifetime, and mushrooms that are said to be more expensive than jewels were also thrown away.

 

Food piled up like a mountain became fodder for livestock, compost, or food waste that contaminates water and land.

 

“If you give it to the starving people on the street right now, it’s food that dozens of people can eat for a few days… It was so wasteful to throw it all away, so I stole it.”

 

Po misses wasted food, so he takes the leftovers and sneaks them out.

 

And the food was distributed to the slum dwellers.

 

“You shouldn’t have done that….”

 

“I knew it. That’s why I stole it….” said Po.

 

Leftover food is also the property of the imperial family, so it was taught from an early age that it should never be used for anything else.

 

‘I knew why they didn’t give it to the poor.’

 

This is because if the royal family distributes leftover food, those who receive it may feel insulted saying that they are trying to dispose of food waste, and those who didn’t get it may be angry because it’s discrimination.

 

Quality issues and distribution issues. Since it is not possible to distribute clean food on an equal basis to everyone, leftover food from the imperial family should be thrown away.

 

Moreover, the finest ingredients used by the imperial family were a privilege that only the wealthy could taste.

 

How dare the poor and lowly taste the mushrooms that cost more than jewels for free? That could never happen.

 

But Po knew this and did it anyway.

 

He also felt his stomach rumble in the past, so he couldn’t stand by and watch so much precious food go to waste while someone else starved to death.

 

‘Every time I threw away food, I had a bad thought.’

 

‘Even when I starve for days, these foods must have been thrown away here.’

 

He was angry, sad, and miserable.

 

And it was painful to think of people who would be in the same situation as him in the past.

 

“It’s my fault, Princess.”

 

Po knelt before Dorothea again.

 

“I’m sorry, Princess. You raised me, taught me, and allowed me to work in such a precious position…I committed such a crime and I have tarnished your name, princess.”

 

Po bowed deeply as if banging his head on the ground and cried.

 

He committed a crime out of his grit and a vague sense of justice to help the poor.

 

“Reniere also tolerated me for my sake, but I was eventually caught.”

 

Reniere, who has been caring for Po since he was living at the Anastas Palace, a detached palace, tries to protect Po.

 

However, as Po, from a lowly background, was gradually recognized for his skills and ascended to a higher position, one of the envious kitchen chefs reported him to the head chef.

 

Reniere wanted to defend Po, but Po didn’t want to involve Renier in the matter.

 

After all, that was his fault.

 

“Like the princess, I wanted to give someone hope. But… unfortunately, I did that by stealing the royal family’s property, not my ability. And whenever people were happy and thankful, I felt proud of myself.”

 

Po’s voice was gradually blocked by tears.

 

Dorothea’s influence was also involved in his doing this.

 

Knowing how sweet salvation was by the hand that Dorothea held out, he wanted to be that kind of salvation himself.

 

It may be an infinitely small hand compared to Dorothea, but he wants to give them a little hope of living.

 

But he was wrong. He was foolish and incompetent, thinking that he could be a great person like  Dorothea, who changed his life.

 

Dorothea looked down at Po quietly.

 

It was a clear fact that he had committed a crime, and the princess couldn’t break the law of the imperial family.

 

However.

 

“Good job, Po,” Dorothea said to Po.

 

It was against the law, but Dorothea didn’t want to get angry or point her finger at him for what he had done.

 

“no…I should have done it with my own money, not wasted food, so if I felt sorry for them, I should have helped them with my own money.”

 

Po shook his head to Dorothea.

 

Dorothea then stroked Poe’s soft hair.

 

‘really nice kid.’

 

“I have no regrets for bringing you here.”

 

Dorothea knelt down in front of him, facing him.

 

Po raised his tear-soaked face to look at Dorothea.

 

“Of course, I won’t be able to make it go away, because that’s the royal law. but it won’t be the end of your life either.”

 

Po’s eyes trembled.

 

“Are you not disappointed with me?”

 

“Not at all.”

 

‘Because the sins you committed are beautiful compared to the sins I’ve committed.’

 

Dorothea took Po in her arms. Then Po poured back the tears that had barely stopped on Dorothea’s shoulders.

 

* * *

 

Joy anxiously waited for Dorothea and Po to come out.

 

In the meantime, Stefan came running from afar as he heard the news.

 

Stefan looked at Joy, and Joy wiped her eyes with her sleeve and opened her mouth.

 

“The princess took Po to talk with him.”

 

“…..”

 

“He will be beaten and kicked out of the Imperial Palace. What should I do?”

 

“…..”

 

At Joy’s worried words, Stefan silently shut his mouth and fell into thought.

 

He has no right to meddle in the kitchen affairs and argue.

 

But he believed in Po, and no matter what he did, he was willing to embrace him as a fellow Greenwall and as a family member, and take responsibility for him.

 

Just then, Dorothea opened the door and came out with Po.

 

Joy ran towards Dorothea as if waiting.

 

“Princess!”

 

Stefan also ran after Joy, but when Po found Stefan, he trembled.

 

“I’m sorry. I insulted Greenwall’s name.”

 

Po’s tears, which had stopped due to Dorothea’s consolation, were about to flow again.

 

“You can throw me out….”

 

Po clenched his trembling hands and said to Stefan.

 

Then Stefan grabbed Po’s shoulder tightly. As Po raised his head, Stefan looked at him, as always, with his unshaken eyes.

 

He didn’t say anything, but the silence was so warm that Po’s lips trembled.

 

“Po will be punished.”

 

“Really?”

 

“He should be punished for what he did, Joy.”

 

“…..”

 

Joy clenched her fists.

 

She couldn’t admit that her younger brother had committed a crime, but she had to break her stubbornness.

 

“Head Chef, handle this according to the imperial laws.”

 

At Dorothea’s words, Stefan flinched.

 

Not only him, but the people in the other kitchens who had gathered looked at each other in surprise.

 

“Are you admitting Po’s guilt?” the head chef asked.

 

“Because Po can’t lie to me. If everything he said is true, then he deserves to be punished.”

 

With that, Dorothea let go of Po’s hand.

 

Po and her eyes met, and Dorothea nodded once. Then Po went to the head chef and bowed his head.

 

“I will take the punishment.”

 

Then, the head chef shut his mouth as if contemplating and looked down at him.

 

“Reniere.”

 

“Yes, head chef.”

 

“Take Po and have him pack his things now.”

 

“Are you sure, Head Chef? This is Po’s first time. Give him one chance and he won’t do it again…!”

 

Renier gave Dorothea and Stefan a pleading look, but Dorothea didn’t take Po’s side.

 

Stefan, too, stood there like a giant tree with his mouth shut.

 

“Renier. The law is the law. It is a felony to continue to steal imperial property.”

 

Renière’s mouth shut at the strict head chef’s words.

 

In a situation where the princess didn’t say anything, there was no room for Reniere to rebel anymore.

 

“Considering it’s your first offense, you will not be beaten. But Po Greenwall will never set foot in the imperial kitchen.”

 

Po’s head fell to the floor as he met the dishonorable incident in front of Stefan and Dorothea.

 

At the head chef’s words, Reniere took Po and left.

 

Then some of the chefs standing behind sneered as they looked at Po’s small back.

 

Joy couldn’t open her clenched fist as if it was unfair, and Stefan gently patted her on the shoulder.

 

Ethan looked at Dorothea. The expressionless woman was holding back her desire to defend Poe.

 

‘A wise woman…’

 

If Dorothea steps forward and sides with Po, Dorothea will break the rules of the imperial family.

 

In addition, Po will be criticized for being protected by the princess and will receive bad views.

 

However, she did not leave this place. She knows. She knows that her mere presence here, her mere gaze, can make the situation toxic.

 

The head chef looked at Po and took the beating considering it was his first offense, and the other chefs standing behind him couldn’t speak harshly against Po.

 

The princess had the power to kill her emotions and make them contemplate again.

 

When Po disappeared with Reniere, Dorothea turned her head to meet Stefan’s eyes.

 

Stefan, who was comforting Joy, quietly greeted her with her mouth shut. It means he understands her.

 

“Let’s go back, Ethan.”

 

Dorothea said in a subdued voice.

 

* * *

 

Po took off the cook’s uniform he wore while working at the palace and folded it.

 

He heard a rustling sound behind his shoulders.

 

“Hey, the garbage chef is leaving.”

 

“It’s not another crime, it’s just that guy who got caught stealing food waste. This is why origin is important. If I were you, I can’t even hold my head up because I’m embarrassed.”

 

“I can believe he was stealing other people’s food.”

 

Po ran out of the kitchen rest room as if escaping from the criticism directed at him.

 

What’s even more upsetting and sad is that their accusations weren’t entirely wrong.

 

So…Should he take their words as criticism, not accusation?

 

Po gave strength by gritting his teeth to keep from crying.

 

After being kicked out of the kitchen, he must first return to the Greenwall family’s small mansion, but he doesn’t even have the courage to set foot in Greenwall’s mansion.

 

at that time.

 

“Po, the princess is calling.”

 

* * *