I Got Reincarnated Into a Game I Was a Top-Ranker in and I Became the Leader of a Villain Group That Will Destroy This Shitty Country - 41

Chapter 41: Rielle’s Past

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She spent her whole life being treated like a dog by the empire only to be sacrificed by the person that killed her mother. Such was Rielle’s destiny, the boss of Raudi Trading Company.

Rielle sighed deeply. She was at her wits’ end, not sure how to deal with the trading company that bore her mother’s name. 

“….Our profits are dropping again.”

Raudi Trading Company was one of the most prestigious companies in the empire. However, the company had been on the decline recently. Everything was because of the Pope.

Grinding her teeth together, Rielle grabbed the dagger lying on the desk and stood up abruptly. A photo of the fat Pope was stuck on the wall. Taking a deep breath, Rielle thrusted the dagger into the photo over and over again until the photo became tattered into pieces. She slashed the Pope’s head, eyes, nose, ears until his face couldn’t be seen anymore. The Pope was the leading figure of the empire’s state religion. The church and the royal family shared a long and intimate history together. The deep rooted connection between religion and politics led to extreme faith and materialism. To put it simply, the amount of donation the company gave to the church would greatly affect the company’s profits. 

“DIE!! DIE…!!!”

In business, trust and image of the company were crucial. However, because the church had extended its influence into the country’s economy, Raudi Trading Company began to suffer. Other trading companies had started to avoid forming a business partnership with her because of the pressure from the church. 

Because of its resistance against both the church and the royal family, Raudi Trading Company’s reputation was steadily worsening among the populace. The reason for this was because Rielle, the current head of the trading company, vehemently refused to donate to the church. Furthermore, her father, who had collapsed from the shock of losing his wife, never gave a single penny to the church when he was still leading the company. 

However, how could they donate to the church? After all, their precious wife… Their beloved mother… Was burned at the stake as a sacrifice right before their eyes by the church. How could they possibly bring themselves to make donations to the church after that atrocity?

“Uuuu…. Hic-…. Huuuu…”

After striking the portrait repeatedly like a madwoman, Rielle fell to her knees right here and there. Clear crystal tears streamed down her cheeks. She had performed this motion hundreds of times since the day her mother was burned at the stake. This was almost like a ritual to her and yet, the reality remained unchanged.

Just like usual, a single word from the Pope could easily shake her trading company. Her company faced various sanctions for refusing to donate to the church. In fact, dozens of warning letters from the church, disguised under the royal family’s name, kept flooding her company to no end. 

“I… I….”

Rielle desperately wanted this company, the namesake of her mother, to flourish. To become the greatest trading company in the empire. After that, she wanted to become influential enough to the point she could shake the nation’s company at will and then… She planned on hiring assassins or mercenary groups to literally burn the Pope at the stake. 

However, that wish only seemed like a fleeting dream now. The reality never went according to her wishes.

After her father fell ill, she took over the company when she was only 17 years old. Despite the rejection from those around her, she persisted. She displayed remarkable talent and nurtured the trading company to thrive. In fact, many people were amazed at her skill for being able to bring her company to this point without the support of the church or the royal family. 

However, both the empire and the church treated her company like a thorn. They kept nitpicking any fault and imposed numerous sanctions on her. As a result, the once-thriving Raudi Trading Company had fallen into recession, teetering on the brink of becoming a relic of a bygone era. 

Of course Rielle knew that if she wanted to make her revenge come true, she would have to make a large donation to curry favor with the church. She knew that was the only thing left given the desperation of her situation. 

“AAARGHH!! KYAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

“RA-RAUDI!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

However, the screams wouldn’t go away. The screams of her mother, who was burned at the stake. The sensation of the dirt on her cheeks as she was pressed into the ground by a soldier. The beastly cries of her father. She couldn’t forget them. She couldn’t forgive them. She couldn’t. 

“Help me…”

Before she realized it, the cries for help escaped her lips. She had never uttered such feeble words before. After all, she had sworn to suppress all weakness and live strong to avenge her family. 

“Someone… Please… Help me…”

As if a dam had broken, the tears flowed endlessly. Subjected to waves of defeat and despair, the thoughts of stabbing herself in the neck with this dagger became so tantalizing.

She knew. She knew crying wouldn’t bring her the salvation she desperately needed. She knew no one would come to help her no matter how much she cried. She knew that, but still…

“Please… Someone… Help me…”

This… Isn’t it too cruel? Why me? How come reality becomes this cruel?

The shitty reality was so obvious to her. Evil was running rampant in this country. No one showed any sympathy when her perpetually smiling mother was shedding tears of blood. 

“Ah… Haha…. Ugh-!!”

Laughing like she had lost her sanity, her hands began to tremble. She grabbed her dagger and raised it higher… And higher. 

If living means I need to face this endless suffering.. Then why not just end it all? Might as well just kill myself and let the physical pain makes me forget everything…

She pondered to herself when suddenly..

“Rielle-sama!! Something terrible is happening! In front of the mansion… Sha-Shadow…! U-UAGHHHH!!!”

“Helloooo~ Are you Rielle?”

“………Huh?”

Rielle widened her eyes upon seeing a young boy and a young girl entering her office in the place of the guards. The boy had mismatched eyes. He was smiling carefreely while the girl had red eyes and soft, silver hair. Behind them, there was a slightly older but beautiful woman with black hair and golden eyes.

Little did Rielle now, these people would become her important comrades. She would then spend her days together with them in the future. 

However the current Rielle only stared at them. Her feeble voice showed the lack of spirit in her soul. 

“Sha-Shadow…?”

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Sunlight streaming in through the stained glass, giving a solemn atmosphere within this grandiose church. 

“Oh, there you are. Your Holiness. Long time no see.”

The second crown prince, Adolf, approached the pulpit where the smiling Pope was standing. 

The fat pope descended down from the podium with a disgusting grin on his face. His physical appearance was a living epitome of his cunningness and greed. This man was also one of the most influential men in this empire. A villain who drained the money of innocent civilians and condemned anyone that dared to go against him as heretics so he could burn them at the stake. 

Pope Himmler smiled at the crown prince, showing his yellowed teeth.

“Welcome, Your Highness. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Yes.”

A sinister smirk spread across the crown prince’s face. 

“I need your help in exterminating the demons to overturn the prophecies and bring prosperity for this nation.”

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T/N: Darn it, I always hate it when the church is evil. I will need to keep translating until I see the zamaa part for the church!! ლ(ಥ益ಥლ)