I Became the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire

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# Chapter 7: What is this brat doing? (3)

Yusuf was laughing at the paper.

However, those who saw him didn’t dare to express a smile.

After a while of laughter, Yusuf hardened his expression and looked down at Hasan, who was trembling, then called for Fatima.

“Mother.”

It had been a whole 10 years.

Even a cold-hearted person could develop feelings over such a long time, but Fatima’s voice was icy.

“Ne-ne. Subdue him.”

At this command, Ne-ne kicked Hasan’s ankle, causing him to stagger and tumble to the floor.

With a loud thud, Ne-ne stomped on Hasan’s fallen body and drew a dagger from her bosom, aiming it at his neck.

It’s not easy to physically overpower a heavy-set man with a woman’s body; it shows just how much skill Ne-ne had honed through hard training.

“Yes, Ne-ne-sama!”

Despite the pitiful plea, the blade showed no signs of wavering.

Even though Fatima was the master of the business, a Harem Woman couldn’t move recklessly, so her right-hand, Ne-ne, had primarily managed it, and she had a close friendship with Hasan.

However, once an order was given, Ne-ne displayed a coldness that would stab without hesitation.

‘The subjugation was a success.’

Regardless of the truth of the paper’s contents, it was better for it not to be known outside, so someone had to be dealt with.

Having made his decision, Yusuf issued his command.

“Listen! From now on, no rat is allowed to sneak out of this building!”

“Ha!”

So intimidating was his aura that even guards had to follow the orders to leave the target behind.

Of course, they didn’t forget their duty and tried to stay a few, but Yusuf sent them all out of the room.

Only four men remained inside, and Fatima approached.

“Look.”

Yusuf handed over the paper.

As Fatima read the contents written on it, her hands trembled, and she exploded in fury.

“How dare you! I treated you with utmost care!”

“Calm down. We found this token in advance, so it’s fine now.”

No matter how trusted Hasan was, as a slave, he didn’t even have a true personal space; he couldn’t create such a space either.

‘Maybe he could create one if he tried, but it looks like he recently received this, so he can’t create such a place in a short time.’

Since it was a token, it couldn’t be burned like a letter that had exchanged hands beforehand, and if he entrusted it to someone, if that person opened it out of curiosity, he would lose his head, so he had to hide it on his body.

Did he think that after more than 10 years of never being searched, he would now suddenly face a body search?

Of course, there could be other reasons for hiding the token, but the reason didn’t matter.

Yusuf was fortunate to discover it, and Hasan was unfortunate to be caught. That’s all there was to it.

Calming Fatima down, Yusuf locked eyes with the trembling Hasan.

“Who could it be? If such a promise was made, it must be my brothers, right? I mean, I’m a prince, so it wouldn’t match well with just a high official.”

Seeing Hasan show clear signs of agitation, Yusuf smiled slyly.

“Korkut? That brother must be busy playing with the pirate Uruji. After all, he gave away 18 galleys.”

The Uruji who received galleys from Korkut would later become known as Baba Uruji, the governor of Algiers in North Africa, infamous for his red beard.

‘Since he plays in the Mediterranean, it’s not like I’ll meet him anyway.’

Only someone who becomes Sultan would get involved, so there was no need to worry too much.

Observing Hasan’s reaction carefully, Yusuf mentioned the next suspect.

“Then Selim? That doesn’t seem right either. I suppose he’s too weak to keep an eye on me.”

Selim was the next Sultan, but he was currently in the outskirt city of Trabzon, so it would be difficult for him to concern himself with other brothers.

“Aha, it’s Ahmed, isn’t it?”

Although he didn’t get a response, the reaction that followed indicated it was correct.

Yusuf smiled and patted Hasan’s head in praise.

“Wow, a merchant is indeed a merchant. Seeing that you’ve grabbed the line properly. You have the greatest potential to become a Sultan, and you’re quite ambitious enough, so you’d resort to schemes.”

In history, he was known for calling himself the Sultan of Anatolia while commanding troops to kill his own nephew.

In the end, he lost the Sultanate to Selim, but at this moment, he was the closest to the Sultan’s seat.

Now that the culprit was found, it was time to unravel everything step by step.

“First, Mother, is the content of the letter true?”

“…I’m sorry. It’s true that he was planning to escape to the West. However, he hasn’t acted on that yet. Since you’ve changed, funding has also been stopped.”

Fortunately, there was no evidence left behind.

It could have turned out badly.

Since they weren’t even in the same Islamic region, escaping to the West would awaken the trauma of the Sultan, who suffered terribly at the hands of his brother Jem.

You might think they wouldn’t kill a prince over the testimony of a mere slave, but if someone stoked the fire from the side, it could lead to death.

‘If I kept whining about being in such a place from the beginning, I would have unknowingly died without a clue.’

Life was indeed a minefield.

It was fortunate that it was discovered in time.

“As long as no one spouts nonsense, it should be fine.”

“Exactly. Ne-ne, kill him.”

“Yikes?!”

Upon Fatima’s command, Yusuf raised his hand and stopped Ne-ne, who was about to stab without hesitation.

“He’s a slave anyway, so you can kill him anytime.”

Even though the price of a slave with disabilities or a black slave is usually too high for an average person to consider, it’s not just about being penny-pinching.

And yet, with lives hanging in the balance, he didn’t carry any pity for others.

If he had any pity, he wouldn’t have told the Sultan to kill all his guards.

“When they’re unaware, they may be threatening, but once you know, what’s there to fear? It wouldn’t matter if he goes mad and confesses to the Sultan.”

Yusuf fluttered the paper that Hasan received from Ahmed as a token.

“All he needs to do is display this paper to the Sultan and claim he was falsely accused. Judging by the contents, it would seem like a false accusation made out of the desire to escape his slave status, right?”

Since this letter was used as a token, it would have either been written by Ahmed himself or crafted by a close confidant. A Sultan should easily figure out who the culprit is.

However, that doesn’t mean that rushing to the Sultan to say, “They tried to frame me!” would have any significance.

If Ahmed claimed that he too was deceived by Hasan, that would settle everything.

It was simply evidence used to clear his name.

“So, it’s better to spare Hasan for now and make Ahmed let his guard down. Killing him would just lead to different schemes.”

Ahmed was a successor supported by bureaucrats and had the ability to sow discord in the future.

Before the appointment of Sanjakbey, grappling with him would only tire them out, and if the current Sultan, though frail, refused, they’d have to risk their lives to confront him—so why start with wasted energy?

That would only excite the other princes unnecessarily.

Finding some logic in Yusuf’s words, Fatima nodded willingly.

“Then we must quietly get through this commotion.”

“Since we made a big deal out of it, we can’t cover it up as if nothing happened.”

Thanks to shouting “Allahu Akbar!” and disturbing the capital, he was under the spotlight.

This commotion wouldn’t take long to spread.

“Then we need a distraction for this. Hasan?”

“Yes, yes! Prince!”

With his life hanging by a thread, Hasan responded with a tense voice, and Yusuf frowned.

“If you don’t lower your voice, you’ll lose half your tongue. Be honest. Have you secreted away any money behind Mother’s back?”

“I…”

“Don’t overthink it. You’re already way past the level where money could be a problem. What good would charging a death row inmate with theft do?”

With such an impossible example, Hasan trembled and replied.

“Ah, just a little bit.”

I thought it would be that way.

Even in a modern society with computerized investigations, there are always those who embezzle company funds; it’s even more so here.

Perhaps it was a trifling amount that Fatima would overlook, but the existence of any money was significant.

“You didn’t selfishly consume it alone, so how many people are there?”

“…Three.”

Yusuf smiled as if he were seeing a ghost at that answer.

“What are you surprised about? If it’s four counting you, that’s not many. It wouldn’t be a problem to sort out the business without those people, right?”

“They’re sufficient to handle the remaining tasks.”

Well, what’s so hard about sorting out a business?

Listening to the conversation between Yusuf and Hasan, Fatima nodded thoughtfully.

“Then we shall handle this incident as if it occurred due to Hasan and a few individuals’ embezzlement.”

“Still, considering past contributions, a lenient punishment would minimize the noise. That leaves this brat…”

Glaring eyes filled with fear and a hint of hope met Hasan’s gaze.

“I’ll take care of this brat for now. If he’s with me, the opponent would think it’s rather advantageous.”

“Is there really a need to keep a traitor by your side? You could simply dispose of him somewhere.”

While there wasn’t a necessity to keep him alive once appointed as Sanjakbey,

“Mother, how many trustworthy people do you think I have right now? After all, they’re all untrustworthy, so it’s better to use someone whose leash I can hold. There should be at least a safety net, so if I die, you can kill him too.”

When a high-ranking individual dies, those beneath him usually follow their fate.

I don’t have a preference for being buried alongside a plump body, so it’s better to at least go together.

“Alright, I’ll make sure to kill him.”

At Fatima’s firm promise, Hasan trembled but felt relieved, and Yusuf couldn’t help but raise one corner of his mouth.

“Hasan, it’s not the time for you to feel pleased. I’m letting you live because I believe in your capabilities. If I find anything unsatisfactory, I’ll kill you anytime.”

“M-make sure to trust me.”

But does he even realize how close he was to death three times in just a few days?

In any case, this was the best course of action given the current situation. Some might question why he would spare a traitor to use.

‘No choice but to borrow even a cat’s paw since there aren’t enough usable people; can you really not make use of a traitor?’

After all, when he becomes Sultan, he’d have to utilize those princes who sought to kill him.

It’s simply a practice run in some sense.

Practicing how to make use of someone you’d rather see dead.

Once the conclusion was reached, follow-up measures were swiftly implemented.

Hasan’s position was stripped from him, and the other three received lenient treatment, returning what they consumed.

After just a few hours out, Yusuf thought it was quite a lot of work, and Fatima spoke to him with a hint of a smile in her voice.

“Seeing you today, it seems this mother doesn’t need to step in at all.”

“Not at all. I still need a lot of help.”

“No, even the current Sultan wasn’t able to do this at your age.”

“Your praise is too much.”

Whether that statement was true or not didn’t really matter.

After all, his opponents weren’t kids but monsters who had built their power at least 20 years before him.

They were rivals in experience, wealth, and manpower; there was no way to compete.

‘But I still have to manage.’

If he didn’t want to die, that is.

Through this incident, he learned one more truth.

‘The one who attempted the poisoning and sent the assassin wasn’t Ahmed.’

Hasan, having such a background, had no reason to act rashly.

“Then who could it be?”

Unlike hypothesizing in front of Hasan, anyone could become the culprit.

After all, they were bound to face each other someday.

Yusuf’s eyes gleamed coldly.

*

“Prince, you are commanded to enter the palace immediately by the Padishah.”

Finally, the time has come to determine his fate.