After Chernosser died, if I had to pick the place with the darkest atmosphere, it would definitely be the Empress's Palace.
The Crown Prince comes by often with sweet snacks.
Or the second Princess who married into a foreign country would write a letter herself.
Thanks to the sincere comfort of the Empress's family, the Marquis and Duke of Prasis, and many nobles, the dark clouds hanging over the Empress's palace gradually cleared.
That day too, the Marquis of Prasis visited the Empress's palace with news that the Empress would like.
“You’ve decided to trade magic items in bulk?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The face of the Marquis of Prasis was as bright as a full moon.
“I decided to sell all the magical items I owned at Max’s top.”
The magical items owned by Max were expensive, worth at least a thousand gold.
But she was surprised, intrigued, and a little suspicious that he decided to sell all of it.
Could it be that the Marquis of Prasis has been defrauded?
The Empress asked cautiously, feeling that there was something else besides that.
“Which boss did you decide to deal with?”
“I don’t know if there’s a mastermind behind it, but for now, I’ve decided to make a deal with the Dark Top.”
The dark top.
A deep wrinkle formed between the Empress's smooth eyebrows.
Dark top.
They were an illegal, unlicensed business that operated mostly in the shadows and were known for doing anything that would make money.
Even if it means killing people.
So, while the nobles despised the Dark Tops, they did not actively pursue them, because sometimes, unavoidable things came up that they had to ask only of them.
In fact, Marquis Prasis also borrowed the help of the Dark Top several times.
For example, eliminating an enemy blocking his path.
But the Empress was worried because he said he was dealing with the Dark Top.
She was even more nervous because it was a transaction involving tens of thousands of gold coins, not just a few pennies.
If the Dark Top were to strike him in the back of the head or even disappear, the Marquis of Prasis would suffer a major blow.
“Are you sure it’s okay, Father?”
"It's okay."
Unlike the worried Empress, the Marquis of Prasis laughed heartily.
“The contract has been signed, and half of the deposit has already been received. And it is in gold coins, not checks or promissory notes.”
The Empress asked again, surprised but with a different meaning than before.
“Are you saying you brought all 50,000 gold in gold coins?”
“Yes. Oh my, I had a hard time counting to make sure it was really 50,000 gold.”
Contrary to his words that he had had a hard time, the happy smile never disappeared from the face of the Marquis of Prasis.
“We agreed to receive the remaining balance on the day the goods were delivered. He said he would bring it all in gold coins then.”
A total of 100,000 gold.
It was a huge sum of money, equivalent to the city's annual operating expenses.
It was highly suspicious to pay such a large sum of money entirely in gold, but it was understandable if the opponent was a dark merchant.
When a bill or check is used, it leaves a trace, but when a gold coin is used, it leaves no trace.
In fact, the Dark Top only received gold coins when trading.
“Here is the contract.”
The contract was perfect, too. There was nothing to find fault with.
“Have you figured out why they want to buy magic items?”
“I guess they’re trying to break magical items to get the pura and reprocess them.”
It was cheaper and more convenient to buy pure Pura than to do this.
However, Duke Leopold never sold Pura to dark forces such as the Dark Top, to prevent the impure group from creating strange magical items and throwing the continent into chaos.
So the dark forces had no choice but to resort to this cumbersome method to obtain Pura.
Magic items made in this way were sometimes sold at a higher price through the dark route.
“According to recent reports, there seems to be a rather large conflict on the dark top. I think they are purchasing magical items in large quantities for use there.”
"Yes..."
Everything was perfect, including the reason.
Other than the fact that the opponent was a dark top, she couldn't find anything suspicious even if she looked hard.
But why does it bother me so much?
The Empress read the contract over and over again, down to the last punctuation mark, before handing it over to the Marquis.
“There is nothing unusual to the eye, but you must always be on your guard as the opponent is the Dark top, Father.”
“I will keep that in mind, Your Majesty.”
She really wonders if it's right to keep that in mind.
The Empress couldn't hold back her laughter and secretly sighed as she looked at the Marquis who was grinning brightly.
“And there’s one thing I want to ask of you, Father.”
“What is it? Tell me anything.”
The Empress glanced at the tightly closed door and motioned for the Marquis to bring his ear closer.
When the Marquis bent down and put his ear to her, she whispered in a very small voice that only he could hear.
“Please keep an eye on the Crown Prince.”
"Yes?"
This wasn't the first time the Empress had asked someone to keep watch over him.
There were times when she asked everyone, from the Empress to their children, nobles, and even commoners, to be kept under surveillance.
“Are you serious, Your Majesty the Empress?”
But the reason the Marquis asked in surprise was because the person she was watching was her son, the Crown Prince.
You're keeping an eye on your son.
What kind of bizarre thing is this?
“Why do you want to keep His Highness the Crown Prince under surveillance?”
Well, I want to know what the Emperor is thinking.
No matter how she thinks about it, it seems like the Emperor was the one who left Chernosser to its own devices.
The words she couldn't bring herself to say lingered in her mouth and then disappeared.
The Empress sighed deeply and frowned.
She, too, did not want to keep an eye on her beloved son.
But keeping watch over the quick-witted Emperor was harder than putting a bell around an orc's neck.
If she had been caught for no reason, it could have been a bigger problem.
And... She kept thinking that maybe the Crown Prince was on the Emperor’s side and not hers.
The Crown Prince said that he was pretending to listen to the Emperor because if he provoked him, his position would be in danger, but was that really true?
“Please, Father.”
The Empress, wanting to know for sure, earnestly asked the Marquis.
“Haha, right.”
The Marquis, who had no way of knowing the inside story, laughed as if it was absurd, then sighed and nodded.
“Understood. I will immediately send someone to the Crown Prince.”
Exactly three weeks after signing with Nicole Tesis.
I filled the warehouse I managed with magical items and puras.
Since I had the keys to the warehouse and moved them one by one, Nicole Tesis and Perdes only realized this after the warehouse was full.
To be exact, I took him there and showed him.
“That’s ridiculous.”
Nicole Tesis, who saw the fact with her own eyes, just kept repeating nonsense like a broken recorder.
Perdes was also very surprised and looked around the warehouse filled with things blankly.
“There are 14 boxes containing Puras, each containing 15 items. The other boxes are all magical items.”
“...It looks like there are over 100 boxes of magical items.”
“That’s not it. It’s 87 boxes to be exact.”
“But there are still a lot...”
Seeing his very surprised expression, I felt proud for some reason.
“How on earth did you get all these magical items?”
“I personally put in some effort.”
“Are you saying that you spent your own money?”
Oh, is that how it connects?
“No, that’s not it.”
Of course, I could have gotten it with my own money, but I didn't want to spend money on something like this.
“You didn’t steal it, did you?”
"Yes?"
“Yes.”
Nicole Tesis was surprised by Perdes' casual remark and asked back, and I burst out laughing.
“Don’t joke around, Pardes. You made Princess Tesis think is real.”
“Oh, was that a joke..."
Nicole Tesis finally felt relieved and cleared her throat.
“I wasn’t joking.”
Perdes muttered as if talking to himself.
Nicole Tesis didn't seem to hear it, so she lightly ignored it.
My conscience was a little pricked because I had done something worse than stealing.
“Is it okay if I lock the doors to this warehouse for the time being and activate a protective magic device to prevent anyone from entering?”
“Yes, yes. Of course. To protect something this expensive, you have to do that much.”
"Thank you."
With Nicole Tesis' active cooperation, all that was left was to wait for the fish to bite the bait I threw.
It was about a week later that the fish touched the bait.
Although there was relatively little to do in the winter, I still could not leave the estate for long, so I stayed there for about three days and then returned to the capital.
“My lady, His Grace the Marquis of Prasis has come to see you.”
The time has finally come.
Unlike me who was smiling, Perdes looked puzzled and asked me.
“If he is the Marquis of Prasis, then he is the Empress’s relative?”
"Yes, that's right."
“Why did he come to see Yeong Lady?”
“Well, I guess he has something to tell me.”
I knew why he was there, but I pretended not to know and took off my coat and handed it to the butler.
And likewise, I turned to Perdes, who was taking off his overcoat and handing it to a servant, and asked:
“If you’re curious, would you like to go together?”
Perdes' face brightened slightly.
“Is that okay?”
“Of course.”
Because it was something he had to know anyway.
Perdes quickly joined me.
As Aldor tried to follow me, I stopped him with my hand.
“You don’t have to follow Aldor.”
"...Yes."
Is it just my imagination that it looks like you're hurt for a moment?
I headed to the reception room where Marquis Prasis was waiting with Perdes.
The Crown Prince comes by often with sweet snacks.
Or the second Princess who married into a foreign country would write a letter herself.
Thanks to the sincere comfort of the Empress's family, the Marquis and Duke of Prasis, and many nobles, the dark clouds hanging over the Empress's palace gradually cleared.
That day too, the Marquis of Prasis visited the Empress's palace with news that the Empress would like.
“You’ve decided to trade magic items in bulk?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The face of the Marquis of Prasis was as bright as a full moon.
“I decided to sell all the magical items I owned at Max’s top.”
The magical items owned by Max were expensive, worth at least a thousand gold.
But she was surprised, intrigued, and a little suspicious that he decided to sell all of it.
Could it be that the Marquis of Prasis has been defrauded?
The Empress asked cautiously, feeling that there was something else besides that.
“Which boss did you decide to deal with?”
“I don’t know if there’s a mastermind behind it, but for now, I’ve decided to make a deal with the Dark Top.”
The dark top.
A deep wrinkle formed between the Empress's smooth eyebrows.
Dark top.
They were an illegal, unlicensed business that operated mostly in the shadows and were known for doing anything that would make money.
Even if it means killing people.
So, while the nobles despised the Dark Tops, they did not actively pursue them, because sometimes, unavoidable things came up that they had to ask only of them.
In fact, Marquis Prasis also borrowed the help of the Dark Top several times.
For example, eliminating an enemy blocking his path.
But the Empress was worried because he said he was dealing with the Dark Top.
She was even more nervous because it was a transaction involving tens of thousands of gold coins, not just a few pennies.
If the Dark Top were to strike him in the back of the head or even disappear, the Marquis of Prasis would suffer a major blow.
“Are you sure it’s okay, Father?”
"It's okay."
Unlike the worried Empress, the Marquis of Prasis laughed heartily.
“The contract has been signed, and half of the deposit has already been received. And it is in gold coins, not checks or promissory notes.”
The Empress asked again, surprised but with a different meaning than before.
“Are you saying you brought all 50,000 gold in gold coins?”
“Yes. Oh my, I had a hard time counting to make sure it was really 50,000 gold.”
Contrary to his words that he had had a hard time, the happy smile never disappeared from the face of the Marquis of Prasis.
“We agreed to receive the remaining balance on the day the goods were delivered. He said he would bring it all in gold coins then.”
A total of 100,000 gold.
It was a huge sum of money, equivalent to the city's annual operating expenses.
It was highly suspicious to pay such a large sum of money entirely in gold, but it was understandable if the opponent was a dark merchant.
When a bill or check is used, it leaves a trace, but when a gold coin is used, it leaves no trace.
In fact, the Dark Top only received gold coins when trading.
“Here is the contract.”
The contract was perfect, too. There was nothing to find fault with.
“Have you figured out why they want to buy magic items?”
“I guess they’re trying to break magical items to get the pura and reprocess them.”
It was cheaper and more convenient to buy pure Pura than to do this.
However, Duke Leopold never sold Pura to dark forces such as the Dark Top, to prevent the impure group from creating strange magical items and throwing the continent into chaos.
So the dark forces had no choice but to resort to this cumbersome method to obtain Pura.
Magic items made in this way were sometimes sold at a higher price through the dark route.
“According to recent reports, there seems to be a rather large conflict on the dark top. I think they are purchasing magical items in large quantities for use there.”
"Yes..."
Everything was perfect, including the reason.
Other than the fact that the opponent was a dark top, she couldn't find anything suspicious even if she looked hard.
But why does it bother me so much?
The Empress read the contract over and over again, down to the last punctuation mark, before handing it over to the Marquis.
“There is nothing unusual to the eye, but you must always be on your guard as the opponent is the Dark top, Father.”
“I will keep that in mind, Your Majesty.”
She really wonders if it's right to keep that in mind.
The Empress couldn't hold back her laughter and secretly sighed as she looked at the Marquis who was grinning brightly.
“And there’s one thing I want to ask of you, Father.”
“What is it? Tell me anything.”
The Empress glanced at the tightly closed door and motioned for the Marquis to bring his ear closer.
When the Marquis bent down and put his ear to her, she whispered in a very small voice that only he could hear.
“Please keep an eye on the Crown Prince.”
"Yes?"
This wasn't the first time the Empress had asked someone to keep watch over him.
There were times when she asked everyone, from the Empress to their children, nobles, and even commoners, to be kept under surveillance.
“Are you serious, Your Majesty the Empress?”
But the reason the Marquis asked in surprise was because the person she was watching was her son, the Crown Prince.
You're keeping an eye on your son.
What kind of bizarre thing is this?
“Why do you want to keep His Highness the Crown Prince under surveillance?”
Well, I want to know what the Emperor is thinking.
No matter how she thinks about it, it seems like the Emperor was the one who left Chernosser to its own devices.
The words she couldn't bring herself to say lingered in her mouth and then disappeared.
The Empress sighed deeply and frowned.
She, too, did not want to keep an eye on her beloved son.
But keeping watch over the quick-witted Emperor was harder than putting a bell around an orc's neck.
If she had been caught for no reason, it could have been a bigger problem.
And... She kept thinking that maybe the Crown Prince was on the Emperor’s side and not hers.
The Crown Prince said that he was pretending to listen to the Emperor because if he provoked him, his position would be in danger, but was that really true?
“Please, Father.”
The Empress, wanting to know for sure, earnestly asked the Marquis.
“Haha, right.”
The Marquis, who had no way of knowing the inside story, laughed as if it was absurd, then sighed and nodded.
“Understood. I will immediately send someone to the Crown Prince.”
***
Exactly three weeks after signing with Nicole Tesis.
I filled the warehouse I managed with magical items and puras.
Since I had the keys to the warehouse and moved them one by one, Nicole Tesis and Perdes only realized this after the warehouse was full.
To be exact, I took him there and showed him.
“That’s ridiculous.”
Nicole Tesis, who saw the fact with her own eyes, just kept repeating nonsense like a broken recorder.
Perdes was also very surprised and looked around the warehouse filled with things blankly.
“There are 14 boxes containing Puras, each containing 15 items. The other boxes are all magical items.”
“...It looks like there are over 100 boxes of magical items.”
“That’s not it. It’s 87 boxes to be exact.”
“But there are still a lot...”
Seeing his very surprised expression, I felt proud for some reason.
“How on earth did you get all these magical items?”
“I personally put in some effort.”
“Are you saying that you spent your own money?”
Oh, is that how it connects?
“No, that’s not it.”
Of course, I could have gotten it with my own money, but I didn't want to spend money on something like this.
“You didn’t steal it, did you?”
"Yes?"
“Yes.”
Nicole Tesis was surprised by Perdes' casual remark and asked back, and I burst out laughing.
“Don’t joke around, Pardes. You made Princess Tesis think is real.”
“Oh, was that a joke..."
Nicole Tesis finally felt relieved and cleared her throat.
“I wasn’t joking.”
Perdes muttered as if talking to himself.
Nicole Tesis didn't seem to hear it, so she lightly ignored it.
My conscience was a little pricked because I had done something worse than stealing.
“Is it okay if I lock the doors to this warehouse for the time being and activate a protective magic device to prevent anyone from entering?”
“Yes, yes. Of course. To protect something this expensive, you have to do that much.”
"Thank you."
With Nicole Tesis' active cooperation, all that was left was to wait for the fish to bite the bait I threw.
***
It was about a week later that the fish touched the bait.
Although there was relatively little to do in the winter, I still could not leave the estate for long, so I stayed there for about three days and then returned to the capital.
“My lady, His Grace the Marquis of Prasis has come to see you.”
The time has finally come.
Unlike me who was smiling, Perdes looked puzzled and asked me.
“If he is the Marquis of Prasis, then he is the Empress’s relative?”
"Yes, that's right."
“Why did he come to see Yeong Lady?”
“Well, I guess he has something to tell me.”
I knew why he was there, but I pretended not to know and took off my coat and handed it to the butler.
And likewise, I turned to Perdes, who was taking off his overcoat and handing it to a servant, and asked:
“If you’re curious, would you like to go together?”
Perdes' face brightened slightly.
“Is that okay?”
“Of course.”
Because it was something he had to know anyway.
Perdes quickly joined me.
As Aldor tried to follow me, I stopped him with my hand.
“You don’t have to follow Aldor.”
"...Yes."
Is it just my imagination that it looks like you're hurt for a moment?
I headed to the reception room where Marquis Prasis was waiting with Perdes.
Support Novellate!
thanks! lolol letting perdes follow and tellig aldor to stay back!
ReplyDeleteaaahhh i'm just waiting for the emperor to die!