By examining the documents and notes left behind by Cliff, I was able to learn the truth about the 200 million gold debt.
“He’s trying to steal the property and take the title. He’s a very bad guy, Mr. Cliff.”
I mentally cursed at Cliff, who was no longer in this world.
Cedric Rhineland invested a lot here and there. He mainly bought real estate with the money he invested. He also had a villa on the southern coast.
Of course, all of that real estate came with a clause that allowed Cliff to do whatever he wanted with it.
That aside, the reason Cedric was in debt was because of the mine.
“If you look at the date here, it’s when Cedric Rhineland was almost killed by the Golden bug.”
Cliff also seemed to know that Cedric's condition was the same today as tomorrow, even though he didn't know why.
He would have dried up and vomited blood every day, so it would have been impossible not to know.
So, in the memo attached to the mine purchase documents, he wrote something like, 'Loan if possible.'
He took out the loan in the name of Cedric Rhineland and arranged for the mines he had borrowed to be bought and sold by himself.
After Cedric's death, he stole all the documents related to his estate and sold them for his own use whenever he needed them.
“But he hasn’t sold this mine yet. When I return to the capital, I’ll sell it and pay off all my debts.”
As I gathered the estate papers, Beaufort woke up.
“I, uh, Erne, was it you?”
“That’s strange. I clearly hit the back of his neck, so why are you talking nonsense like you got hit in the head?”
Erne clicked his tongue as he watched Beaufort swearing at him as if he had seen a ghost.
While Erne was watching Beaufort, Judith brought a cup of water from the kitchen and offered it to him.
I didn't mean to be kind, but I thought I'd have to get him to his senses before I could ask him what the fuss was about.
“I need some explanation, Mr. Beaufort Ackerman.”
“Who are you?”
“Judith Harrington, no, Countess Judith Rhineland. The rightful heir to the House of Rhineland.”
Cliff Ackerman was a big part of it, I whispered, winking.
“So you’re saying that you summoned Cedric’s spirit to try to change the words in the documents?”
Beaufort nodded listlessly.
Even after the rebellion failed, Cliff was lucky enough to keep his connections with the Followers undetected.
After Cedric died, Cliff gradually sold off the stolen property and maintained a wealthy lifestyle.
Beaufort also lived off the generous allowance his son gave him. However, after Cliff's arrest, Beaufort fell into financial difficulty.
First, all property in Ackerman's name was confiscated. Just before he was arrested, Cliff told Beaufort to hide the property he had embezzled.
“Cliff was planning to use the property he had secured when the boy was released from prison.”
“Then how did you live before that?”
“That’s, ahem, I also brought some.”
Beaufort said, avoiding Erne's eyes. There was also money that he had embezzled during his time as legal adviser to the House of Rhineland when Erne's father was a Count.
But when even that ran out, Cliff tried to use the money he had embezzled.
'Is embezzling property a family secret? Is it something that has been passed down through generations?'
I felt sorry for Beaufort's embezzlement, but I decided to let it slide. I also promised not to report him to the police.
Since it was an asset that could not be recovered even if reported, it was better to use that as an excuse to make Beaufort open his mouth.
“You tried to falsify the documents.”
The operation worked. Beaufort readily admitted that he had offered a sacrifice to summon Cedric's spirit and attempted to tamper with the documents.
He tried to erase Cliff's name from the clause that said, 'I hereby entrust the sale and lease agreement to Cliff Ackerman, my legal representative,' and replace it with someone else's name.
“I heard this method from a psychic I knew before. He said it was a ritual that could be done even without psychic powers, but tsk.”
The method was to offer a sacrifice, call the spirit's name, hold a pen in your hand, and ask, "Have you come?" and the spirit would answer through the pen.
It was a method that Beaufort normally would not have used, but Beaufort was in a financial bind and had limited options.
'Is this like a clone?'
Memories of my previous life flashed through my mind. They were almost identical.
In the case of Bunshinsaba, at best, the ghost draws an OX, but this ritual is on a different level in that it even involves document manipulation.
“Aren’t there other ways to manipulate documents?”
“I need this half-seal to falsify documents.”
Beaufort pointed with trembling fingers to the stamp on the edge of the document. It was the buyer's and seller's documents placed side by side, and each party's seal was placed in the middle of them.
It wasn't completely impossible to manipulate, but the Ackerman family was currently in a state of sin. If they had contacted a craftsman who made fake seals, they could have suffered humiliation.
“So you were trying to erase Mr. Cliff’s name and put Mr. Beaufort’s name in?”
“No, the police are keeping a close eye on the Ackerman family’s activities, so if a large sum of money is transferred under the Ackerman name, we could be investigated again.”
“So?”
“So what? I was trying to change the name to the fake ID I made before.”
He was thorough in these cases because he was afraid that someone would say he wasn't a lawyer.
“I think I’ve heard everything there is to hear, so I’ll go now.”
Erne put his arm around my shoulder. The deal with Beaufort was over, and he had no desire to stay in this house that reeked of animal blood any longer.
We left the house, leaving Beaufort's lament that he was now ruined and would starve to death from sucking his thumbs.
I really didn't plan on reporting it to the police. The police were busy with several cases at the moment, and Beaufort, who didn't have the money to hire any servants, would end up sucking his thumb as we said.
While Judith and Erne search for their fortune, several disappearances occur in the capital.
The list of those missing was as follows:
Smith the moneylender, a thief breaking into empty houses, a drunken homeless man, a gangster who ran away from a fight, and a pickpocket.
However, their disappearance did not make much of a splash because, apart from Smith, no one was looking for the missing people.
So why didn't Smith's disappearance become a hot topic?
That was because Smith's subordinates kept their mouths shut.
If it was reported that Smith was missing, there was a possibility that those who had been paying him interest would turn away out of fear.
If at least his body had been found, it might have been different, but now that Smith had disappeared, there was no need to hastily announce his absence.
“So you’re looking for it secretly?”
"Yes."
As soon as the Luhmann brothers heard that Judith and Erne had returned to the capital, they came to find them.
The warning Judith gave before leaving the capital was not leaving the Luhmann brothers' minds.
“I suspect that priest is the one who kidnapped our captain.”
"Hmm."
Judith tilted her head. Was he kidnapping in addition to murder? Did he increase the types of crimes he committed? Well, let's leave that aside.
“Can a priest kidnap Mr. Smith? Is it physically possible?”
The priest could have killed Smith. Given that none of the victims showed signs of resistance and that the priest was skilled with poison, he would have used paralyzing poison to subdue the victims first and then killed them.
No matter how big it is, it's an opponent that can't move, so it would have been easy to deal with.
But kidnapping is different. The victim must be moved without anyone knowing.
One priest was small, and Smith was rather plump. How could anyone move a man nearly twice his size, and one who was unconscious and limp, without anyone noticing?
“Erne, what do you think? Is it possible?”
“It would have been difficult if there had been someone to help, or if Smith hadn’t followed along on his own two feet.”
Erne also tilted his head as if he was puzzled. Brother Luhmann’s shoulders slumped at the incident that had fallen through their mind.
“Isn’t it possible that Mr. Smith just got fed up with life and left?”
“Not at all. Our captain is not the kind of person to leave money behind.”
The younger of the Luhmann brothers answered firmly. Erne nodded vigorously beside him.
“It’s possible that people who have a grudge against Mr. Smith joined forces to kidnap him.”
He has many enemies. His notoriety is not without reason.
“The captain lives in the same house as us.”
The older of the Luhmann brothers recalled the day Smith disappeared.
“We didn’t sleep late that night. If people had gathered to kidnap the captain, I wonder if they would have heard a sound.”
There would have been at least a small uproar since Smith was not an idiot and would not have been taken away easily.
“Even if you hit the back of the head, it makes a thud sound.”
The younger of the Luhmann brothers muttered.
“But I saw something strange that day.”
“What, you want to talk about that girl again? Do you think our captain would get hit on by just one girl?”
When the older of the Luhmann brothers frowned, the younger brother became sullen. Judith stopped him and asked him,
“A girl?”
“The day our captain went missing, I saw a girl pulling a cart. She was limping as she pulled the cart.”
“I don’t think a girl with bad legs could kidnap Smith.”
Erne shook his head slightly. At the Rhineland Mansion, Judith, Erne, and the Luhmann brothers were putting their heads together to search for Smith's whereabouts, at the square.
“Yes, lady, let me pick it up for you.”
Henry was picking up matches that a girl had dropped.
“Can you carry this heavy load by yourself with your weak arms? Your legs also seem to be injured, but I will carry it for you to where you are going.”
“He’s trying to steal the property and take the title. He’s a very bad guy, Mr. Cliff.”
I mentally cursed at Cliff, who was no longer in this world.
Cedric Rhineland invested a lot here and there. He mainly bought real estate with the money he invested. He also had a villa on the southern coast.
Of course, all of that real estate came with a clause that allowed Cliff to do whatever he wanted with it.
That aside, the reason Cedric was in debt was because of the mine.
“If you look at the date here, it’s when Cedric Rhineland was almost killed by the Golden bug.”
Cliff also seemed to know that Cedric's condition was the same today as tomorrow, even though he didn't know why.
He would have dried up and vomited blood every day, so it would have been impossible not to know.
So, in the memo attached to the mine purchase documents, he wrote something like, 'Loan if possible.'
He took out the loan in the name of Cedric Rhineland and arranged for the mines he had borrowed to be bought and sold by himself.
After Cedric's death, he stole all the documents related to his estate and sold them for his own use whenever he needed them.
“But he hasn’t sold this mine yet. When I return to the capital, I’ll sell it and pay off all my debts.”
As I gathered the estate papers, Beaufort woke up.
“I, uh, Erne, was it you?”
“That’s strange. I clearly hit the back of his neck, so why are you talking nonsense like you got hit in the head?”
Erne clicked his tongue as he watched Beaufort swearing at him as if he had seen a ghost.
While Erne was watching Beaufort, Judith brought a cup of water from the kitchen and offered it to him.
I didn't mean to be kind, but I thought I'd have to get him to his senses before I could ask him what the fuss was about.
“I need some explanation, Mr. Beaufort Ackerman.”
“Who are you?”
“Judith Harrington, no, Countess Judith Rhineland. The rightful heir to the House of Rhineland.”
***
“So you’re saying that you summoned Cedric’s spirit to try to change the words in the documents?”
Beaufort nodded listlessly.
Even after the rebellion failed, Cliff was lucky enough to keep his connections with the Followers undetected.
After Cedric died, Cliff gradually sold off the stolen property and maintained a wealthy lifestyle.
Beaufort also lived off the generous allowance his son gave him. However, after Cliff's arrest, Beaufort fell into financial difficulty.
First, all property in Ackerman's name was confiscated. Just before he was arrested, Cliff told Beaufort to hide the property he had embezzled.
“Cliff was planning to use the property he had secured when the boy was released from prison.”
“Then how did you live before that?”
“That’s, ahem, I also brought some.”
Beaufort said, avoiding Erne's eyes. There was also money that he had embezzled during his time as legal adviser to the House of Rhineland when Erne's father was a Count.
But when even that ran out, Cliff tried to use the money he had embezzled.
'Is embezzling property a family secret? Is it something that has been passed down through generations?'
I felt sorry for Beaufort's embezzlement, but I decided to let it slide. I also promised not to report him to the police.
Since it was an asset that could not be recovered even if reported, it was better to use that as an excuse to make Beaufort open his mouth.
“You tried to falsify the documents.”
The operation worked. Beaufort readily admitted that he had offered a sacrifice to summon Cedric's spirit and attempted to tamper with the documents.
He tried to erase Cliff's name from the clause that said, 'I hereby entrust the sale and lease agreement to Cliff Ackerman, my legal representative,' and replace it with someone else's name.
“I heard this method from a psychic I knew before. He said it was a ritual that could be done even without psychic powers, but tsk.”
The method was to offer a sacrifice, call the spirit's name, hold a pen in your hand, and ask, "Have you come?" and the spirit would answer through the pen.
It was a method that Beaufort normally would not have used, but Beaufort was in a financial bind and had limited options.
'Is this like a clone?'
Memories of my previous life flashed through my mind. They were almost identical.
In the case of Bunshinsaba, at best, the ghost draws an OX, but this ritual is on a different level in that it even involves document manipulation.
“Aren’t there other ways to manipulate documents?”
“I need this half-seal to falsify documents.”
Beaufort pointed with trembling fingers to the stamp on the edge of the document. It was the buyer's and seller's documents placed side by side, and each party's seal was placed in the middle of them.
It wasn't completely impossible to manipulate, but the Ackerman family was currently in a state of sin. If they had contacted a craftsman who made fake seals, they could have suffered humiliation.
“So you were trying to erase Mr. Cliff’s name and put Mr. Beaufort’s name in?”
“No, the police are keeping a close eye on the Ackerman family’s activities, so if a large sum of money is transferred under the Ackerman name, we could be investigated again.”
“So?”
“So what? I was trying to change the name to the fake ID I made before.”
He was thorough in these cases because he was afraid that someone would say he wasn't a lawyer.
“I think I’ve heard everything there is to hear, so I’ll go now.”
Erne put his arm around my shoulder. The deal with Beaufort was over, and he had no desire to stay in this house that reeked of animal blood any longer.
We left the house, leaving Beaufort's lament that he was now ruined and would starve to death from sucking his thumbs.
I really didn't plan on reporting it to the police. The police were busy with several cases at the moment, and Beaufort, who didn't have the money to hire any servants, would end up sucking his thumb as we said.
***
While Judith and Erne search for their fortune, several disappearances occur in the capital.
The list of those missing was as follows:
Smith the moneylender, a thief breaking into empty houses, a drunken homeless man, a gangster who ran away from a fight, and a pickpocket.
However, their disappearance did not make much of a splash because, apart from Smith, no one was looking for the missing people.
So why didn't Smith's disappearance become a hot topic?
That was because Smith's subordinates kept their mouths shut.
If it was reported that Smith was missing, there was a possibility that those who had been paying him interest would turn away out of fear.
If at least his body had been found, it might have been different, but now that Smith had disappeared, there was no need to hastily announce his absence.
“So you’re looking for it secretly?”
"Yes."
As soon as the Luhmann brothers heard that Judith and Erne had returned to the capital, they came to find them.
The warning Judith gave before leaving the capital was not leaving the Luhmann brothers' minds.
“I suspect that priest is the one who kidnapped our captain.”
"Hmm."
Judith tilted her head. Was he kidnapping in addition to murder? Did he increase the types of crimes he committed? Well, let's leave that aside.
“Can a priest kidnap Mr. Smith? Is it physically possible?”
The priest could have killed Smith. Given that none of the victims showed signs of resistance and that the priest was skilled with poison, he would have used paralyzing poison to subdue the victims first and then killed them.
No matter how big it is, it's an opponent that can't move, so it would have been easy to deal with.
But kidnapping is different. The victim must be moved without anyone knowing.
One priest was small, and Smith was rather plump. How could anyone move a man nearly twice his size, and one who was unconscious and limp, without anyone noticing?
“Erne, what do you think? Is it possible?”
“It would have been difficult if there had been someone to help, or if Smith hadn’t followed along on his own two feet.”
Erne also tilted his head as if he was puzzled. Brother Luhmann’s shoulders slumped at the incident that had fallen through their mind.
“Isn’t it possible that Mr. Smith just got fed up with life and left?”
“Not at all. Our captain is not the kind of person to leave money behind.”
The younger of the Luhmann brothers answered firmly. Erne nodded vigorously beside him.
“It’s possible that people who have a grudge against Mr. Smith joined forces to kidnap him.”
He has many enemies. His notoriety is not without reason.
“The captain lives in the same house as us.”
The older of the Luhmann brothers recalled the day Smith disappeared.
“We didn’t sleep late that night. If people had gathered to kidnap the captain, I wonder if they would have heard a sound.”
There would have been at least a small uproar since Smith was not an idiot and would not have been taken away easily.
“Even if you hit the back of the head, it makes a thud sound.”
The younger of the Luhmann brothers muttered.
“But I saw something strange that day.”
“What, you want to talk about that girl again? Do you think our captain would get hit on by just one girl?”
When the older of the Luhmann brothers frowned, the younger brother became sullen. Judith stopped him and asked him,
“A girl?”
“The day our captain went missing, I saw a girl pulling a cart. She was limping as she pulled the cart.”
“I don’t think a girl with bad legs could kidnap Smith.”
Erne shook his head slightly. At the Rhineland Mansion, Judith, Erne, and the Luhmann brothers were putting their heads together to search for Smith's whereabouts, at the square.
“Yes, lady, let me pick it up for you.”
Henry was picking up matches that a girl had dropped.
“Can you carry this heavy load by yourself with your weak arms? Your legs also seem to be injured, but I will carry it for you to where you are going.”
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