As soon as I left the main palace, I headed to my quarters, the Green Room.
My entourage had already gathered in the reception room in preparation for the unprecedented disaster.
Alben and Julia were there, as well as the faces of Baron Caden Laplier, the cashier, and Marquis Calix Limitiello, who had come all the way from Gnosis Academy.
“Your Highness, welcome.”
“It’s been a while, everyone.”
The circumstances were not conducive to sharing the joy of reunion. I sat down at the table for the meeting.
Of the family members, only Cedella and Michael were allowed to attend the meeting.
Peony drafted a dispatch report to be submitted to Desmond II.
I instructed Peony to draft a dispatch to be submitted to Desmond II. Sylvestian, who was temporarily under my authority, left it to Lian and Hugh.
The topics of the meeting were determined by priority.
“I’ll put off the Gray Wall stuff. I’ll take care of District 13.”
The sharing from beyond came later, but when I asked for updates on the fire, all eyes turned to Julia.
The flow of money is closely related to the flow of information.
While the head of the upper house, Anais, was away on assignment, the people of the capital were most in charge of their livelihood.
The family that had the best reputation was Julia's family, who owned a jewelry store.
“This is a disaster of epic proportions. The death toll is approaching 700, with over 600 injured and in desperate need of medical treatment and relief.”
“What about property damage?”
“It's bad there, too. It's not just the bathhouse that's burned down, but 35 other buildings in the neighborhood, including five group homes. Here's a report detailing the damage.”
A document thick enough to bind into a book was slid in front of me. I planned to read it in detail as soon as the meeting was over.
“Is the relief work going well?”
“Count Rheindel and Marquis Limitiello are taking the lead, as it is urgent. Several nobles are also sending supplies and people. As part of their official duties, I understand that the Empress and the Crown Prince are also organizing relief efforts.”
“That’s some comforting news. Yes. I will also send Peony and Lian to District 13 as my representatives soon.”
After a few more exchanges, we moved on to the next agenda item. This time it was Alben's turn, and he layered his report on top of mine.
“At the top is the investigation report on the cause of the fire, and at the bottom is a plan of the building's basement for comparison. The cause is believed to be an explosion of an illegally installed kiln in the basement.”
“I was wondering earlier, what in the world could cause a kiln used to make hot water to explode? I think it was outsourced to make military supplies, not just room facilities?”
“That’s it, to be exact, it wasn’t the kiln that exploded, but the basement... You can read from page 88.”
I opened the report about halfway through.
“The public baths that Chansley built were very poorly ventilated; the third floor, where the kilns were hidden, was practically a claustrophobic room. There was plenty of coal fuel, but not enough oxygen to keep the flames contained in a smoldering state, a dangerous condition in which the chamber is filled with hot gases.”
“Yes, Your Highness. A sudden influx of air under these conditions will cause a huge explosion. There are eyewitness accounts of seeing a huge firestorm, that's for sure. There were probably some precursors, but no one noticed them, and that's why the big disaster happened.”
I suppressed my anger with a deep breath. my hand reached for the second report. Now it was time to address the illegal rescue.
As Desmond II put it, the suspicious structure was perfect for a facility that sold things that should never be sold.
The drawing crumpled slightly in my hands.
“Alben.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Please go ahead.”
“I heard there was a room that was locked from the outside in. Could it be what I think it is?”
“...I hope not, but I am sorry.”
My chest was large and rising and falling slowly. It was the umpteenth time I had taken a deep breath today.
“Human trafficking?”
A heavy silence descended upon the table.
I suppressed her anger. It was difficult to be emotional when there were so many things to deal with.
“Chansley wouldn’t have kidnapped them himself.”
“That’s right. There was a separate human distribution system. It was a group of criminals who lived off the slums, and they were called the ‘back alley guild.’”
Thanks to Alben's skills, the terrible crime seemed to have clearer outlines than in his past life.
“I have much to report on this matter. Please see the third report.”
The title of the report was 'Slum Conditions' and the author's name was First Prince Rubio.
Alben opened his mouth at my gaze demanding an order.
“The First Prince was tasked with relocating the poor to the frontier districts. It seems that you noticed something was amiss in the slums and investigated the workings of the backstreet guilds. It turns out that these filthy criminals were quite methodical in the way they lure in their victims. It's obvious that they weren't doing this for the first time.”
“So the crime was being committed even before Chansley set up his prostitution business under the guise of a bathing business?”
“Ha, people..."
It was one of the most horrible expressions I had ever heard in my life.
“Is this the incident report written by Brother Rubio?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I couldn't help but feel puzzled as I looked down at the thick stack of documents.
“He wouldn't openly investigate something as serious as human trafficking, and my brother handed you these classified documents?”
“What happened?”
“I went undercover to investigate a narcotic aphrodisiac at the site you mentioned, and I ran right into the First Prince.”
The place I told Alben was a sinister place called 'Mistress's Invitation'.
It was the Night Church. If that was true, then the traces of human trafficking that Rubio was investigating also reached the Night Church.
Alben posted an additional report that he had fished out of his arms.
“These are our findings. I haven't shared it with the First Prince yet because I couldn't get permission from Your Highness, who is out of the country. For now, I'd like to ask you to take a look at the first chapter, which is summarized. I'm afraid I can't explain it to you in... words, so I apologize.”
"Ha."
The content was truly shocking.
The Potions Alchemy Guild, the Backstreet Guild, and the Night Society: formed a single, tight-knit, organic organization.
First, the Potion Alchemy Guild's leadership utilized the forbidden art of black alchemy to create dependency drugs and provide them to the Backstreet Guild.
The Backstreet Guilds would supply the slum dwellers with a trickle of the drug, making them dependent, squandering their meager fortunes, and eventually forcing them to sell themselves or their children.
It was reduced to a plaything for the nobles.
As such, the nightclub has been acting as a pimp for a long time.
The Marquis of Chansley realized early on that the nightclub was a money-maker.
He had been running a similar club under the leadership of a Marchioness, but this time he was trying to expand his business by entering the bathing business.
“The night church... wasn’t just a slightly shady gathering..."
In my previous life, I had no idea. I found it hard to believe, but the explanation and accompanying evidence were solid.
“Share it with everyone.”
My entourage took turns reading the report. The whiteness of their faces grew as the report passed from hand to hand.
Baron Caden Lafleur, Cashier, commented.
“How was it?”
“He was complaining about prostitution, and he had this bizarre logic that the only sin he was guilty of was being supplied, and I thought, what the hell is he talking about... Now I understand what he meant.”
“He was complaining about prostitution, and he had this bizarre logic that the only sin he was guilty of was being supplied, and I thought, what the hell is he talking about... Now I understand what he meant.”
Alben blew his bangs towards his mouth and grumbled.
“I'm such a bitter little man. The Backstreet Guild did the human trafficking, the Potion Guild did the black alchemy, and you only acted as a pimp, so you're asking for mitigating circumstances. You're already deserving of a jail sentence, and we should be discussing whether or not to give you a secondary punishment.”
“What’s the situation at the Night Church? Are they taking some time off since Chansley got caught?”
“No, Your Highness.”
“Ah, so it’s prostitution under the bathhouse business, but on the surface, it has nothing to do with the nightclub?”
“Yes. The nightclubs are excited about this since it means the Marquis Chansley's club is closing down, and nightclubs are all about competing for a piece of the pie. There are even some who are actively setting up shop, welcoming Chansley's departure from the industry.”
“How pathetic.”
“They can only see what’s right in front of them. That’s why they do foolish things.”
Alben flipped the report to the back and showed it to me.
“This is a list of people who seem to be connected to either the leadership of the Potions Alchemy Guild, the Backstreet Guild, or the Night Society.”
“There is no end.”
I could see the names of many of the capital's nobles in favor of Brigitte. Alben smirked meanly.
Alben's eyes sparkled with anticipation. As I remained silent, Cedella gave Alben a sidelong glance.
“Lord Redmon.”
“Huh? Why are you like that... Ah?”
Fortunately, Alben wasn't that slow to notice.
“Oh, oh, I’m sorry, Your Highness! I, I made a slip of the tongue!”
It's a horrific event that killed countless civilians. Alben broke out in a cold sweat, realizing that he had put his understanding before his humanity.
“I, I, I will refine my character a bit more! Please do not take away my favor, Your Highness!”
I looked back at Alben with a soft sigh.
“That’s right, Alben. I hired you because I needed that beautiful blue mind.”
"....Your Highness?"
“Come on, get up and sit down. Don’t kneel down like that.”
I did not blame him and embraced him. Then Alben looked dazed for a moment.
He came to his senses in a hurry and said while digging.
“Me, me too... !”
"Hmm?"
“I need a monarch like Your Highness!”
The silence was deafening, and all eyes were on me. Even the most interested of the seedlings were not immune to the awkward atmosphere. Alben spoke up again to save the day.
I organized my thoughts. I wasn't a flower garden in her head, after all, so it wasn't as if I hadn't thought along the same lines as Alben.
'Let's count ourselves lucky that justice is served and our personal tasks are in the same direction.'
“To appease the people, Chansley will be executed as an example. But I will not be satisfied with just one Chansley being removed from power and Brigitte’s funding being cut off.”
Everyone at the table nodded their heads in agreement. I spoke as if declaring.
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