To My Gentle Dictator – Chapter 001

During the early days of the military regime, the entrance door of the imperial princess’s residence had been plastered with all kinds of curses. However, ever since the secret police began frequenting the place, it had remained spotless.

The military regularly searched her residence, checking for suspicious items such as radios or subversive books, and ensuring she wasn’t hiding letters exchanged with relatives who had fled abroad.

But she had long lost contact with her relatives, and she couldn’t even afford to buy a radio.

Sasha stood in front of the clean entrance, blankly staring at the notice the postman had just delivered.

It was an expulsion notice from the academy her younger brother attended.

‘Kiril…’

A crushing sense of despair weighed heavily on her chest.

Three years. It had already been three years since the imperial government collapsed and the military regime took over.

In the early days of the new regime, simply stepping outside meant being bombarded with curses and stones—remnants of the “corrupt imperial family,” as people called them.

As time passed and survival became a struggle for everyone, their attitudes shifted. Now, they sneered at her, calling her a disgusting disgrace, pointing fingers at her as the military’s whore—the one who survived alone after sending her family to the guillotine.

While she gradually grew accustomed to the world’s scorn, Kiril was falling apart at an alarming rate.

Skipping academy classes became routine. Fights, theft, and endless trouble followed wherever he went.

And now, he had finally gone too far—picking a fight with the Supreme Commander’s youngest son.

The academy had wasted no time in issuing the expulsion notice—it was an expected course of action.

But expulsion wasn’t the worst of it.

The Supreme Commander’s youngest son had been mugged by Kiril’s gang while walking at night. His arm was broken, and he had lost two teeth.

Kiril was only fourteen. He wouldn’t be sent to prison, but at this rate, he was bound for a correctional center—one far worse than any prison.

And now, inside the residence, Kiril sat alone with the victim’s older brother.

The detention center, which didn’t even permit family visits, had released Kiril for half a day only because the man who took him out was the Supreme Commander’s eldest son—the head of the secret police.

‘What… is happening?’

Sasha bit down on her lower lip, her frail shoulders curling inward.

The bitter cold, hovering at minus 30 degrees, cut through her threadbare sweater full of holes, but that was the least of her concerns right now.

Just then, the worn-out front door rattled as it opened. The meeting had finally ended.

Kiril stepped out with an indifferent expression, not even glancing at his sister as he walked past her.

“Kiril, are you okay…?”

He didn’t respond. Instead, he brushed past Sasha and headed toward the end of the hallway, where an officer was waiting. The moment he reached the stairwell, the officer clasped handcuffs back around his wrists.

Sasha watched her brother’s retreating figure, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, before quickly stepping inside.

At the dining table—taking up nearly half of the cramped residence’s living room—sat a man in a black uniform, lounging with ease.

“Your brother is quite entertaining, Aleksandra.”

The man who had once been her fiancé spoke her birth name—one that no one dared to utter anymore.

“I asked him why he hit my brother, and he said Kiril started it first. Quite the bold one.”

Sasha knelt on the freezing wooden floor, her gaze fixed on Vasily’s polished military boots. Her clasped hands trembled atop the worn gray fabric of her skirt.

Before the revolution, Vasily had been her fiancé. After the revolution, he became the head of the secret police—the man who had spent the last three years crushing what little remained of her spirit.

To someone like Vasily, Kiril was the perfect hostage—the only family Sasha had left.

Ironically, Kiril didn’t even have a bad relationship with Vasily. The only one at odds with both of them was Sasha.

And every time Kiril caused trouble, it was always Sasha who paid the price.

“Ch-Chief… I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault. Please… just this once, have mercy…”

“You’re really trying to bribe me on my last day in office?”

“W-What…?”

“Starting tomorrow, I’m being transferred to the Foreign Ministry. My father’s orders.”

Vasily grinned, a cigarette hanging from his lips. His green, serpent-like eyes gleamed with dangerous amusement.

“Do you know who’s taking my place?”

Sasha remained silent.

“My cousin, Ulrich.”

The moment she heard that name, Sasha’s lilac eyes trembled helplessly.

Vasily’s lips curled into a cruel smirk.

“You look absolutely thrilled.”

“I… I…”

“Why act so innocent now? Everyone knows you sold out your own family because you were dazzled by that bastard’s pretty face.”

Vasily spat out the words like venom before grabbing a fistful of Sasha’s long black hair, yanking it roughly.

“And yet, that bastard left you behind and spent his time idling abroad. How tragic, Aleksandra.”

The blurred image of her parents and brother, their heads severed by the guillotine, flickered before Sasha’s eyes.

She swallowed hard, her voice trembling as she pleaded.

“I’m sorry… Please, forgive Kiril. This is all my fault. I should have done a better job keeping him in line…”

“Listen, you foolish little princess. Do you have any idea how much my brother’s medical bills cost? What about the psychological trauma? If we factor in compensation, we’re looking at over five thousand rubles. And you think I’ll let this slide just because of old times’ sake?”

“I-I’ll pay the settlement however much you want! If you forgive Kiril, I’ll find a way… I swear, I’ll pay it all back, no matter what it takes…”

“And how exactly do you plan to do that? By selling those pathetic little knitted scraps of yours? Or are you planning to sell your body in some back alley?”

At his cold sneer, Sasha’s face went deathly pale as she frantically shook her head.

His words trampled over the last remnants of her dignity, but pride had long since become a luxury she couldn’t afford.

The hand gripping her hair suddenly let go, and Sasha collapsed forward, scrambling to catch herself on the floor.

She tried to quickly regain her posture, bringing her hands together—but before she could, his boot came down, crushing the back of her hand.

“Ah…!”

“No wonder your brother turned out like this. Look at the mess of a sister he has.”

“Y-You’re right. It’s all my fault. I’ll accept any punishment. I’ll pay the full settlement, so please, just spare Kiril—ahh!”

Vasily pressed his weight down, and a sharp scream tore from her lips.

He watched her writhe in pain with dispassionate eyes before finally lifting his foot. Taking out a fresh cigarette, he placed it between his lips.

“I’ll decide after seeing how well you take your punishment. Get up.”

Sasha shakily forced herself upright, her whole body trembling. Suppressed whimpers leaked through her clenched teeth.

She had long since grown used to resignation.

She knew Vasily had never intended to help.

Just like the past three years, he would drag this out, using it as yet another excuse to torment her for as long as he pleased.

And yet, Sasha had no other choice. The only thing she could do was endure—let him trample her until he finally tired of it and granted her even the smallest mercy.

Her unfocused eyes blinked slowly as Vasily’s chilling voice cut through the air.

“Why are you just standing there like an idiot?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Sasha forced her trembling legs to move, stepping toward her room.

Inside this cramped apartment, there was only one thing hidden away solely for her—a cane.

A presence that made her knees weak and sent cold sweat trickling down her back just at the sight of it.

It had never disappeared. Not since three years ago, when the secret police found a foreign magazine hidden in Kiril’s room.

With shaking hands, she picked up the cane, barely able to hold it steady. Her feet felt like lead as she dragged herself back to the living room.

It was going to be a very long night.

* * *

In the underground interrogation room of the National Security Service (NSS) Investigation Bureau, commonly known as the secret police, a prisoner sat motionless.

Just an hour ago, he had been hurling curses at the regime. Now, his vacant eyes were fixed on the space beneath his elbow, his expression hollow.

Thanks to the heavy dose of painkillers, the agony had subsided.

But the memory of his arm—frozen solid with liquid nitrogen and then shattered with a hammer—had crushed his will and resolve just as thoroughly as his ice-cold limb had been reduced to dust.

At the sound of the interrogation room door creaking open, the prisoner flinched violently.

“My subordinates were a little rough with you, weren’t they?”

Brilliant platinum-blond hair, flawless porcelain skin, and eyes of a piercing, abyssal blue.

A man sat across from him—so strikingly beautiful he could have been sculpted from roses and ivory, an artwork of perfection.

As the prisoner’s hazy gaze regained focus, a flicker of raw terror surfaced in his eyes.

“Y-You…”

“I am Director Ulrich. Why don’t we take a short break? A cigarette, perhaps?”

TL/N: Heyya!! Picked up another exciting novel. I need air for how hot the cover is ahhh!!. The cover itself is a 🤌 muah! You guys know what this gives vibes of? ‘The Blood of My Monster (Monster Trilogy) by Rina Kent’ and the Mc name was also ‘Aleksandra’ AKA ‘Sasha’ but except the ml name of that novel is ‘Kiril’ but here the brother’s name is Kiril. Sad I would have loved Kiril more cuz my Kril is legit HOT. Do check out this novel, it’s a crossdressing one. Also (Military/ Mafia) romance,  iykyk. So back to this Gentle novel it’s deffo a good read it had normal reviews in Korean but I feel like this has potential cuz I love me some military novels. Also, feel free to lmk any mistakes or problems if you guys face so I can edit them. Oh and I am open to suggestions if you guys would like to recommend any with like mafia genre, military or guideverse Im deffo open cuz I’m bored of the avg ropan I need something exciting! 

 

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