Since it is a defective item, it is obvious that the curse cannot be applied properly.
“If they come to me again, I want them to tell them that I will send someone who can properly end the curse.”
When a complaint is received, Ceres informs the Red Wine medium, who grants the noble the curse he desires. He then uses this to blackmail or recruit the noble.
That was one of the ways the red wine medium increased his power.
“They were also trying to get Young Lady Briggs involved in that way.”
“Yes, isn’t he rich? It seems like they’re short on funds these days, so they’ve been telling me to focus on wealthy families. That makes sense. Aren’t they on the run from the imperial family?”
Ceres shrugged, implying that he didn't know the details.
“Anyway, I found out about their solution to the mummy purely through my personal connections. We’re not close enough to each other to tell me about such a plan.”
As Ceres was active in the underworld, he had quite a few connections in illegal facilities.
“Perhaps the reason they released the mummy into the world now is to cause confusion in the capital city guards. That way, they can easily escape.”
However, previously, mummies were released for other purposes.
“I have worked with mummies before.”
“But, Mr. Ceres. If anyone who comes into contact with the mummy or inhales its dust dies, why are Mr. Ceres and the followers unharmed?”
“There is a way to handle it safely. I learned it from the red wine medium back then.”
This time, he was not given the order to retrieve it, but he moved to retrieve the mummy.
“That’s really expensive.”
As long as he knew how to manage it safely, it was a very valuable item to Ceres.
So, since the followers were having a hard time moving, he was trying to take it away and sell it without them knowing.
“There was no such method written in the book sold by Mr. Ceres.”
“Of course. This is the secret of secrets. The ancient God attached to the mummy is not something that can be destroyed. It can only be temporarily removed.”
So, Ceres said that the secret of secrets was how to touch the mummy's body. He readily confessed everything he knew.
Judging from his actions, this guy wasn't a follower. The followers Erne knew would die if they died, and they wouldn't willingly reveal their information.
But he couldn't believe everything Ceres said was true.
How could the followers leave a guy with such advanced information alone?
Cliff tried to say that he simply sold Erne's body, but ended up vomiting blood.
“You’re still spouting off information about the followers and you’re fine. I guess you’re not under any kind of ban?”
“You know a lot about them.”
When asked why there was no taboo preventing the information from being revealed, Ceres looked surprised.
“That’s right. They put a ban on me too.”
Cliff, who didn't know much about witchcraft, was caught in the spell without even knowing it, but Ceres accepted it with tears in his eyes, even though he knew it. If he didn't accept it, they would kill him.
“But I lifted the ban. Well, you know that without me having to prove it. If the ban had been in place, I wouldn’t have even tried to steal the mummy in the first place.”
As he knew so much, he was subject to a strong ban. Not only was he prohibited from revealing information, but he was also prohibited from touching the belongings of the followers.
“About a month ago, a person who was said to be the elder of a group of followers came to see me. He asked me to help him escape the capital in exchange for lifting the ban.”
“So you helped?”
“Of course. Who wants to be chained?”
Ceres first gave the elder a job in a small, unnoticed merchant shop, of course, under a fake name.
Since they were obviously Shartins, they had no choice but to take on difficult tasks in the upper ranks, which were mostly comprised of Imperials, but this was the best way to sneak out of the capital.
“If the ban was lifted, why did you try to hand Baron Briggs’s daughter over to the followers?”
“I didn’t want anyone to find out that the ban had been lifted. If they found out, would the followers leave me alone? So I had to refrain from doing anything that would make them suspicious.”
If Baron Brihhs had heard this, it would have been an answer that would have been recognized as self-defense even if he had broken Ceres' head off right away.
“Let me ask you one last question.”
“What is it?”
“Why would the followers create other, non-decaying corpses, rather than mummies?”
Ceres tilted his head.
“They have corpses that don’t rot? Well, I don’t think they have much free time these days.”
Ceres whispered, trying to avoid Erne's shining blade.
“They’re being chased by the royal family, and there’s even a traitor from within. They must be in a state of chaos there, too.”
But they used Cliff to steal Erne's body. Why did they do that? It was still a mystery.
Erne put the dagger back in. He had learned everything he needed to know from Ceres.
“Let me ask you one last time. Are those things hanging from the oxcart and the arms, things that control the mummy?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Erne nodded and grabbed Judith's arm as he stood up. Judith also stood up in a daze, and Ceres also stood up.
He thought Erne and Judith were going to leave after getting the information, so he got up to see them off.
“Tell everyone you meet later about what you just said to me and how you control mummy.”
“Huh? Who is the person I’m meeting in a bit... Ugh.”
Before Ceres could finish speaking, Erne struck him in the back of the neck with a swift blow, knocking him unconscious. Erne hoisted Ceres over his shoulder and threw him onto an oxcart set up outside the tent.
“Aren’t you going to ask where the red wine medium is hiding?”
Judith asked with wide eyes as she looked at the fainted Ceres.
“You should ask the Marquis of Mosley about that. He’ll catch it.”
“Erne isn’t holding on?”
“While we’re at it, we should also catch the traitors who are hanging around with that medium. If we’re going to catch several people, Marquis Mosley should step forward. No matter how good my skills are, I can’t catch them if they all run away in different directions.”
The Red Wine Medium moves with Roam and other traitors. If possible, it would be more efficient to surround them with soldiers and then capture them all at once.
Since he had handed over a high-level informant named Ceres, it was up to the Marquis to find out the location of the medium of red wine.
A few days later.
Hehehe.
I leaned against the safe I had bought the day before yesterday and laughed. I had no choice but to buy a safe because I had no place to store all my money.
“Our Lady would like to fill the banquet hall with Miss Harrington’s scented candles. She will need ten boxes. How soon will you be able to do that?”
“I want to get the item this week. How about this? I’ll double the price.”
After handing over Ceres to the Marquis of Mosley, I began selling incense in earnest.
And the result is...
It was a huge hit. The incense sold like hotcakes.
There were even people waiting at the crossroads where I passed to buy my incense. As my stock of incense dwindled, my coffers became emptier.
“This is not it, this is not it.”
“This time, I cannot help but agree with Erne’s opinion, Madam.”
Erne and Henry collapsed from exhaustion.
Erne looked arrogant as if he was tired of just looking at wax and perfume.
“You’ll die if you do that too.”
I, leaning against the safe, also had a pale face due to fatigue. I was happy that I had saved up money, but I was so tired that I couldn't even laugh properly, so I just let out a hehe, like a ghost attached to the safe.
In fact, I had no idea that business would be this successful. There were customers from nobles to wealthy commoners, and even those who saved their pocket money to buy one each.
It was difficult to deliver on foot like before, so Erne gave me a ride on horseback every time. Even so, it took half a day just to deliver.
That's not all. When I returned to the mansion, I had to eat dinner halfway through and make some soup. I worked until dawn, took a quick nap, then woke up and went out to make deliveries.
Of course, at first, we were happy that business was going well. However, that only lasted for a day or two. After more than twenty days of forced marching, both Erne and Henry, who would come and help out after the police work was over, were exhausted.
“I’m afraid that if this continues, Madam will collapse.”
If we had to pick the one who had the hardest time, it would be Henry and Erne at least had basic physical strength, but I was holding on with evil, brute force, and my love and passion for money.
There were more than a few times when I almost burned my hands after dozing off while making incense. In short, my physical strength was already at its limit.
“Reduce sales.”
“Then I will give you the money that comes in too.”
“Otherwise, I’ll give you Miss Harrington’s life.”
“If they come to me again, I want them to tell them that I will send someone who can properly end the curse.”
When a complaint is received, Ceres informs the Red Wine medium, who grants the noble the curse he desires. He then uses this to blackmail or recruit the noble.
That was one of the ways the red wine medium increased his power.
“They were also trying to get Young Lady Briggs involved in that way.”
“Yes, isn’t he rich? It seems like they’re short on funds these days, so they’ve been telling me to focus on wealthy families. That makes sense. Aren’t they on the run from the imperial family?”
Ceres shrugged, implying that he didn't know the details.
“Anyway, I found out about their solution to the mummy purely through my personal connections. We’re not close enough to each other to tell me about such a plan.”
As Ceres was active in the underworld, he had quite a few connections in illegal facilities.
“Perhaps the reason they released the mummy into the world now is to cause confusion in the capital city guards. That way, they can easily escape.”
However, previously, mummies were released for other purposes.
“I have worked with mummies before.”
“But, Mr. Ceres. If anyone who comes into contact with the mummy or inhales its dust dies, why are Mr. Ceres and the followers unharmed?”
“There is a way to handle it safely. I learned it from the red wine medium back then.”
This time, he was not given the order to retrieve it, but he moved to retrieve the mummy.
“That’s really expensive.”
As long as he knew how to manage it safely, it was a very valuable item to Ceres.
So, since the followers were having a hard time moving, he was trying to take it away and sell it without them knowing.
“There was no such method written in the book sold by Mr. Ceres.”
“Of course. This is the secret of secrets. The ancient God attached to the mummy is not something that can be destroyed. It can only be temporarily removed.”
So, Ceres said that the secret of secrets was how to touch the mummy's body. He readily confessed everything he knew.
Judging from his actions, this guy wasn't a follower. The followers Erne knew would die if they died, and they wouldn't willingly reveal their information.
But he couldn't believe everything Ceres said was true.
How could the followers leave a guy with such advanced information alone?
Cliff tried to say that he simply sold Erne's body, but ended up vomiting blood.
“You’re still spouting off information about the followers and you’re fine. I guess you’re not under any kind of ban?”
“You know a lot about them.”
When asked why there was no taboo preventing the information from being revealed, Ceres looked surprised.
“That’s right. They put a ban on me too.”
Cliff, who didn't know much about witchcraft, was caught in the spell without even knowing it, but Ceres accepted it with tears in his eyes, even though he knew it. If he didn't accept it, they would kill him.
“But I lifted the ban. Well, you know that without me having to prove it. If the ban had been in place, I wouldn’t have even tried to steal the mummy in the first place.”
As he knew so much, he was subject to a strong ban. Not only was he prohibited from revealing information, but he was also prohibited from touching the belongings of the followers.
“About a month ago, a person who was said to be the elder of a group of followers came to see me. He asked me to help him escape the capital in exchange for lifting the ban.”
“So you helped?”
“Of course. Who wants to be chained?”
Ceres first gave the elder a job in a small, unnoticed merchant shop, of course, under a fake name.
Since they were obviously Shartins, they had no choice but to take on difficult tasks in the upper ranks, which were mostly comprised of Imperials, but this was the best way to sneak out of the capital.
“If the ban was lifted, why did you try to hand Baron Briggs’s daughter over to the followers?”
“I didn’t want anyone to find out that the ban had been lifted. If they found out, would the followers leave me alone? So I had to refrain from doing anything that would make them suspicious.”
If Baron Brihhs had heard this, it would have been an answer that would have been recognized as self-defense even if he had broken Ceres' head off right away.
“Let me ask you one last question.”
“What is it?”
“Why would the followers create other, non-decaying corpses, rather than mummies?”
Ceres tilted his head.
“They have corpses that don’t rot? Well, I don’t think they have much free time these days.”
Ceres whispered, trying to avoid Erne's shining blade.
“They’re being chased by the royal family, and there’s even a traitor from within. They must be in a state of chaos there, too.”
But they used Cliff to steal Erne's body. Why did they do that? It was still a mystery.
Erne put the dagger back in. He had learned everything he needed to know from Ceres.
“Let me ask you one last time. Are those things hanging from the oxcart and the arms, things that control the mummy?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Erne nodded and grabbed Judith's arm as he stood up. Judith also stood up in a daze, and Ceres also stood up.
He thought Erne and Judith were going to leave after getting the information, so he got up to see them off.
“Tell everyone you meet later about what you just said to me and how you control mummy.”
“Huh? Who is the person I’m meeting in a bit... Ugh.”
Before Ceres could finish speaking, Erne struck him in the back of the neck with a swift blow, knocking him unconscious. Erne hoisted Ceres over his shoulder and threw him onto an oxcart set up outside the tent.
“Aren’t you going to ask where the red wine medium is hiding?”
Judith asked with wide eyes as she looked at the fainted Ceres.
“You should ask the Marquis of Mosley about that. He’ll catch it.”
“Erne isn’t holding on?”
“While we’re at it, we should also catch the traitors who are hanging around with that medium. If we’re going to catch several people, Marquis Mosley should step forward. No matter how good my skills are, I can’t catch them if they all run away in different directions.”
The Red Wine Medium moves with Roam and other traitors. If possible, it would be more efficient to surround them with soldiers and then capture them all at once.
Since he had handed over a high-level informant named Ceres, it was up to the Marquis to find out the location of the medium of red wine.
***
A few days later.
Hehehe.
I leaned against the safe I had bought the day before yesterday and laughed. I had no choice but to buy a safe because I had no place to store all my money.
“Our Lady would like to fill the banquet hall with Miss Harrington’s scented candles. She will need ten boxes. How soon will you be able to do that?”
“I want to get the item this week. How about this? I’ll double the price.”
After handing over Ceres to the Marquis of Mosley, I began selling incense in earnest.
And the result is...
It was a huge hit. The incense sold like hotcakes.
There were even people waiting at the crossroads where I passed to buy my incense. As my stock of incense dwindled, my coffers became emptier.
“This is not it, this is not it.”
“This time, I cannot help but agree with Erne’s opinion, Madam.”
Erne and Henry collapsed from exhaustion.
Erne looked arrogant as if he was tired of just looking at wax and perfume.
“You’ll die if you do that too.”
I, leaning against the safe, also had a pale face due to fatigue. I was happy that I had saved up money, but I was so tired that I couldn't even laugh properly, so I just let out a hehe, like a ghost attached to the safe.
In fact, I had no idea that business would be this successful. There were customers from nobles to wealthy commoners, and even those who saved their pocket money to buy one each.
It was difficult to deliver on foot like before, so Erne gave me a ride on horseback every time. Even so, it took half a day just to deliver.
That's not all. When I returned to the mansion, I had to eat dinner halfway through and make some soup. I worked until dawn, took a quick nap, then woke up and went out to make deliveries.
Of course, at first, we were happy that business was going well. However, that only lasted for a day or two. After more than twenty days of forced marching, both Erne and Henry, who would come and help out after the police work was over, were exhausted.
“I’m afraid that if this continues, Madam will collapse.”
If we had to pick the one who had the hardest time, it would be Henry and Erne at least had basic physical strength, but I was holding on with evil, brute force, and my love and passion for money.
There were more than a few times when I almost burned my hands after dozing off while making incense. In short, my physical strength was already at its limit.
“Reduce sales.”
“Then I will give you the money that comes in too.”
“Otherwise, I’ll give you Miss Harrington’s life.”
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