Chapter One: The Tyrant King

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"There is only one Hell. And it is the one that we live in now." - Kuroko Tamaki

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Kuroko Tamaki looked at her hands like she could still see the blood on it.

Honestly, she has no idea what to think of their latest orders. It is getting more ridiculous by the day, and more nerve wrecking. And the more that she thinks about it, the more that she doesn't understand just what the prince—no, the king now, is even thinking.

The deaths of the former king and queen of the Teiko Kingdom had been less than two years ago. Cause of death: assassination. Everyone in the kingdom had grieved, for they are loved by everyone. And there have been several demands to find their assassins and bring them to justice.

Hence, Tamaki who had been the head of the Intelligence Unit of the Royal Guard—the private and best soldiers of the king's army, have all been run ragged that week, but to no avail. Without so much as a lead, there isn't much that they could go on. It is probably the first assignment that the Intelligence Unit had received ever since Tamaki had become their commander that they have failed.

After the mourning period for the late king and queen was over, their only son, the Crown Prince, had then ascended to the throne as the king. And it is then when the changes to the kingdom started making itself felt and known.

The prince who is now the king had stopped his interactions with the commanders of the Royal Guard who were also known as the 'Generation of Miracles', as each of them is good enough to deal with an entire army all by themselves. No one is allowed to see the king who now had his own personal bodyguard that no one had met before—not even the commanders of the Royal Guard. In the past, the bodyguards of the royal family had always been someone from the Royal Guard. It is to decrease the chances of assassins.

And that's not even all.

Taxes and costs of products and goods in the kingdom have risen drastically, and the king had also blocked all trades and alliances from other kingdoms. All routes in and out of the Royal City were blocked and monitored, with only the wealthiest that have the power being granted passports to allow them access. Giant walls and iron gates were built to barricade the entire Royal City, with each gate and checkpoint being heavily guarded.

No one will be able to get in or out of the Royal City without the guards knowing.

For the peasants and the common citizens of the various small towns and villages scattered all over the kingdom, they were forced to fend for themselves by scraping for food, and being barely able to even keep themselves alive. Like with the wealthy, the only place where you can find doctors are in the Royal City. All pleas to the king have fallen on deaf ears, and the peasants were turned away at the gates harshly, not even granted an audience with the king.

And that is not even the worst of it.

It had only started barely eight months after the prince had ascended to the throne and had become the king. Anyone who questioned the king's decrees or decisions; whether they be peasant, noble or even a soldier was sentenced to execution with no chance of parole.

The once beautiful and powerful Teiko Kingdom had now become a nightmarish place where anyone with power and money could get away with anything. And if you happen to be born poor, then you're destined to die of starvation or illness.

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