Chapter 22

Chapter 22 < The Birth of the Empress >

Meanwhile, a temporary agency called the Marriage Bureau was established to select the bride who would marry Kim Ki-woo.

Kim Ki-woo had given a very detailed description of his ideal type to the Marriage Bureau. The agency recruited suitable maidens based on that criterion.

As the rumor spread that it was an opportunity to become the companion of the great Lord Kim, fathers who had daughters wished fervently that their daughters would be chosen.

As a result, countless requests came in.

“Oh, please don’t do that and take a good look at my daughter. These are just a small token of my sincerity…”

“Hey! Take them back right now! Don’t you know that public officials will be severely punished if they accept bribes? Or are you trying to mess with me?”

“Gasp! No, sir. I was short-sighted!”

“Don’t ever do this again. I’ll let this one slide. Go back and wait quietly for the result.”

“Yes…”

The man turned around with his shoulders slumped and left the building. The fierce beast sighed deeply as he watched the man’s back.

“Phew. Maybe I should write ‘No bribes’ on the door.”

“Oh! That’s a good idea. If you write that, maybe the requests will decrease a bit.”

“I think I should. Those people are also a problem. They should know that corruption by public officials is punished more severely.”

“Haha. They must want to send their daughters to Lord Kim so badly.”

“But they did it wrong. Even if they were selected for the final stage, which is unlikely, Lord Kim would reject them anyway.”

“They’re just hoping for a miracle, I guess.”

Kim Ki-woo had paid a lot of attention to prevent corruption by public officials from the beginning.

This was something that had to be cut off from the start. The more corruption progressed, the harder it was to reverse it.

So he made sure that public officials received higher salaries than ordinary workers. They also had a lot of work to do.

Thanks to that, there was no excuse for corruption due to lack of money, at least within the Creek tribe.

He showed no mercy to public officials who committed corruption even after receiving such carrots.

Corruption-related crimes by public officials were nailed as aggravated punishment targets.

They had to spend a very long time in one of the worst working environments, the dung pit.

‘Dung pit… Eww!’

The fierce beast shuddered at the horrible thought that crossed his mind.

All day long, they had to move the dung piled up in the outhouse to the waste disposal plant.

It was something he never wanted to do.

People’s thoughts were mostly similar.

They say that even if they paid a lot of money, there were hardly any volunteers for dung pit work.

That’s why they were actively using criminals these days.

‘After that, crime decreased a bit.’

There was a widespread awareness that if you don’t want to poop, you have to abide by the law. This helped the legal system settle in faster.

“By the way, Lord Kim has a very unique taste.”

“Hmm. He does. I don’t like women who look so fierce…”

“Hehe. Maybe everyone thinks so. Thanks to that, all the women who were said to be the most beautiful in the village got rejected.”

“Well. Those women probably didn’t want to get married and waited for this moment. What can we do? Lord Kim doesn’t want them.”

Kim Ki-woo’s ideal type was a woman who had large features, was tall, and had curves even though she was thin.

It was a step away from the common standard of beauty among the natives. They thought that women who were plump and looked like they could raise children well were the most beautiful.

“But at least we’ve finished the first screening. Of course, we still have to do the second screening.”

“Huh. I personally think this is more important from now on. Appearance is one thing, but she will be Lord Kim’s companion from now on. She has to have a good personality.”

“That’s true. If we pick a nasty woman, we might get into big trouble.”

The next hurdle was personality check.

Kim Ki-woo and several chiefs agreed on this point.

She would be the only empress of the empire to be built. Of course, personality was very important.

Kim Ki-woo knew this better than anyone else. There were many cases in history where countries collapsed because of their queens.

He didn’t have to go far to see his own country, Korea, before Korea, Joseon.

Queen Myeongseong. That is, Minbi. How much trouble did Joseon have because of her? Even before that, Andong Kim’s secessionist politics also ruined the country because of the corruption of the relatives.

Not to mention the worst villainess of the Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi. She showed how important the existence of the empress was.

That’s why Kim Ki-woo wanted to marry a woman who was compassionate and understanding. It didn’t matter what tribe she was from, or how long she had been a Creek.

By this standard, many women drank bitter water. The final five women were selected.

***

“Are those women?”

“Yes, Lord Kim. They are the women who meet all the criteria you suggested.”

“I see.”

Kim Ki-woo looked at the five women who were standing politely.

‘They’re pretty.’

He almost smiled. But Kim Ki-woo showed superhuman patience and didn’t show it.

He didn’t want to look silly on the first meeting.

‘They only picked the women I wanted.’

They all passed in appearance. Of course, he liked the woman in the middle the most. Of course, he had to talk to her personally to be sure.

“Tell them to come to my office one by one. The rest can rest comfortably.”

“Yes.”

Kim Ki-woo entered his office first and sat down.

Knock knock.

“May I come in?”

“Come in.”

The voice of a woman with a grudge crossed the door and rang in Kim Ki-woo’s ears. Her voice was really nice.

The first woman who opened the door and came in was the one on the far left. She seemed to be coming in order.

“Please sit here comfortably.”

“Yes.”

A straight tree pulled out a chair and made a seat for her.

Soon, the interview with the woman in front of him began. They talked about everything from his full name, to how he would behave as an empress, and other political issues.

‘How fun.’

It had been a long time since he had a conversation with a fresh woman. Most of the senior executives were still men.

There were women who served as maids, but there were more male servants in that field.

He enjoyed the conversation so much that he didn’t even finish drinking until the tea cooled down.

‘But something is missing.’

That was what he thought after finishing the consultation with the second woman.

They were pretty and didn’t seem to have a bad personality…

He felt a slight hint of hiding something from both women. They also seemed to be pretending to be coy.

To be honest, he wasn’t very attracted to them.

Around that time.

Knock knock knock.

“May I come in?”

“Come in.”

The third woman entered the office.

‘Wow.’

Kim Ki-woo’s eyes sparkled.

She was the one he liked best in appearance. And the unique atmosphere she exuded was very calm and comfortable. The first impression was good enough to give him a perfect score.

“Sit down.”

“Thank you.”

“So, what is your name?”

“My name is Deep Lake, sir.”

“Deep Lake… It’s a very fitting name.”

Kim Ki-woo couldn’t take his eyes off her eyes.

She was a woman who had natural eye contact. She fixed her gaze on him and gave him the feeling that she was listening attentively.

Yet he didn’t feel pressured. Her eyes were as clear and deep as her name.

‘They say eyes are the windows to the soul. I’ve never met anyone with such an eye who has a bad personality.’

This feeling became deeper as the conversation continued.

“So, you’re a teacher now?”

“Yes. I teach students at middle school.”

“I heard you haven’t been a tribal for long, that’s amazing.”

Her tribe was one of those who voluntarily surrendered to the Creek tribe three years ago.

She solved the language problem in that short time and learned academics to become a middle school teacher.

He glanced at a report on student evaluations, and they were very good about her.

If she wasn’t greedy, she was better than a stupid woman for the empress’s position.

He also talked to her about trivial things.

She didn’t laugh too much. She was calm about everything. Sometimes she smiled faintly, and that was also quite attractive.

“You must have received a lot of marriage proposals from men around you when you were a teacher, why did you want to marry me?”

Teachers’ popularity was the same here and now.

This was largely due to Kim Ki-woo’s influence.

Kim Ki-woo has always favored smart and knowledgeable people.

Besides, Kim Ki-woo’s image itself was genius level. From the perspective of tribal people, he invented countless new things and changed the world through them. It was natural in a way.

As a result, a tendency to favor intellectuals began to flow slowly within the Creek tribe.

Deep Lake’s popularity must not have been bad. And it actually was.

She thought for a moment and then opened her mouth.

“You’re right, sir. I received many marriage proposals. But I thought it wouldn’t be too late to consider them after I missed the opportunity to marry you.”

“Hmm. You wanted to marry me?”

“Yes.”

She was quite aggressive.

“Why?”

“Because I admire what you have achieved so far.”

It was an ordinary answer. It was rather rare among those who had been subjugated for quite some time by Kim Ki-woo who did not admire him.

Her words continued.

“Human life is short. I want to spend this short period with a man I can admire. And you are exactly what I think is ideal.”

The content may be ordinary, but her sincerity felt strong. It really depends on who says what when you receive it.

Kim Ki-woo liked her answer.

“I’ll have to think about it. You may feel that way now, but once you become an empress, many difficulties will come before your eyes. The weight of being an empress is heavier than you think.”

“I will endure it. As long as you remain an object of respect for everyone forever, and an object of respect for me, I am ready to endure any hardship. And I want to help you do that.”

There was no anxiety on her face.

‘She’s the one.’

Kim Ki-woo was finally able to be sure.

No matter how excellent or eloquent the two women behind him were, they would not surpass the woman in front of him, Deep Lake.

He liked her pleasant atmosphere and firm mind very much.

That’s how the first empress was born.

< The Birth of the Empress. > End