Episode 28: Forging the Grim Reaper's Scythe, The Final Puzzle
It was the dead of night on the day Emperor Alexander III, having succumbed to military force and capital, forcibly approved the revision of the 'divorce trial.'
In Eleanor's office on the third floor of the main building of the Duke of Castillo's estate, a soft magic stone lamp was still lit.
"Here is the list of jurors sent by the Imperial Supreme Court. As expected, the great nobles of the Imperial faction who colluded with the Minister of the Interior make up more than half of the quota."
Grand Duke Caelon spoke in a low voice as he handed over the documents from the darkness. Eleanor scoffed as she scanned the list.
"It is the Emperor's shallow, desperate struggle. It is a foolish scheme in which he believes that if he fills the judges and jury with his own people, he can cover up Valdemar's embezzlement and instead frame me for false accusation or treason."
"To break that scheme, you will need 'decisive and perfect physical evidence' to silence every single juror."
Caelon's golden eyes turned toward Eleanor with concern. However, Eleanor tilted her wine glass and smiled with a serene yet absolute trust.
"Don't worry, Grand Duke. That Grim Reaper's scythe is currently being sharpened to its most acute point by my perfect and beautiful heir."
Eleanor's gaze turned downstairs toward Liliana's office. She had set the stage and laid the trap. Now, it was up to Liliana, the daughter-in-law leading the Castillo Merchant Guild, to find the deadly blade that would sever the trap's lifeline, Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Between the two women lay a fierce and solid trust that understood each other without needing to be spoken.
***
At the same time, in Liliana's office as acting head of the merchant guild on the second floor of the Duke's mansion, Liliana stared intently at the map of the Imperial capital spread out across the desk.
On the map, dozens of circles in red ink were connected like a complex spiderweb. In the mind of this woman with genius-level accounting skills, ten years' worth of embezzlement data was fitting together like a giant puzzle.
"The method Duke Valdemar used to siphon off the Knights' retirement funds and the estate's income is truly malicious. He didn't simply siphon money from the vault. The Duke established a massive fictitious trading company called the 'Black Rose Guild' to launder the funds in the first stage."
Liliana crossed out the name 'Black Rose Guild' with a red pen.
"And then, he split that laundered money up and dispersed it to over 300 'ghost companies' scattered throughout the capital. If it had been the Imperial Investigation Team or an ordinary accountant, they would have given up tracking the Black Rose Guild. It looks as if the money scattered like hundreds of grains of sand and evaporated without a trace."
"Then, where on earth did that evaporated money hide?"
Kian asked, holding his breath, unbefitting his large frame, swallowing dryly. To him, who knew nothing but swordsmanship, the Young Lady's intellectual deductive process was always a marvel in itself.
"Since last night, I have been backtracking and cross-referencing every single expenditure record of these 300 shell companies for the past ten years. And amidst these hundreds of grains of sand, I discovered a very bizarre 'single intersection.'"
Liliana's quill glided swiftly across the map.
"Every single one of these shell companies, without fail for ten years, has been transferring a very small amount to the same place on the 15th of every month under the pretexts of 'warehouse rent' and 'disinfection fees."
Tap!
Liliana's white finger pinpointed the most remote spot on the map, an abandoned building in a corner of the slums at the edge of the capital.
"That destination is right here. The Former Imperial Bank's Fourth Abandoned Warehouse."
"Abandoned warehouse? Didn't the Imperial Bank close all its warehouses on the slum side more than a decade ago?"
"That's right. Thirty hundred companies are diligently paying rent for a dilapidated building that went bankrupt and was abandoned twenty years ago? This is absolutely no coincidence."
Liliana's red lips formed a triumphant arc.
"It is perfect proof that the 'original ledger' recording the backroom deals between Duke Valdemar and the Minister of the Interior, that is, the final secret vault capable of instantly severing their lifeline, is hidden right in the basement of that abandoned warehouse. This disgusting flow of money is pointing to a blind spot hidden from me."
"Th-that can't be...!"
Kian marveled, unable to believe it. This frail little girl had perfectly pinpointed the destination of the embezzlement in a single night, using only paper and a pen, a place that even the Empire's most renowned investigators had failed to locate for ten years.
"You-you are amazing, Miss! Your brain is truly the Empire's greatest treasure! How do you manage to figure out all the tricks behind those complex numbers! That single quill of yours is a hundred times more powerful than His Highness the Grand Duke's order of ten thousand knights!"
As Kian wagged his tail vigorously in joy as if it were his own achievement, Liliana let out a clear, cheerful laugh. It felt as though her terrible fatigue was being washed away by the fierce dog's innocent praise. However, that peace was short-lived; Liliana immediately hardened her expression and rose from her seat. She picked up the dark gray cloak draped over the chair.
"There is no time for admiration, Kian. The old Emperor has declared that he will hold a trial at the Grand Court the day after tomorrow. That means the nobles of the Imperial faction, sensing the crisis, will also move secretly tonight to burn the 'original ledger' hidden in that abandoned warehouse"
"Ah...! To cut off their tails?"
"That's right. Since Valdemar is locked up, he can't touch the safe. But the dogs of the Imperial House, including the Marquis of Morte, are different. If evidence that they colluded with Valdemar through embezzlement appears in court tomorrow, the heads of the entire Imperial faction will be chopped off."
Liliana tightened the cords of her cloak and looked up at Kian.
"We must rob the secret safe in that abandoned warehouse before they destroy the evidence. Prepare the carriage right now."
"R-Right now? But Miss, it is still dark outside, and that place is deep within a slum where security is at its worst. Furthermore, if what you say is true, venomous assassins from the Imperial faction might already be guarding the spot. It is too dangerous for you to go there yourself!"
Kian jumped up and tried to dissuade her, but there was not a trace of wavering in Liliana's light green eyes. Her mother-in-law had torn up the imperial decree attempting to forcibly take her as a concubine right before her face and declared all-out war against the Emperor. That overwhelming and immense grace that had protected her. If so, she, as the daughter-in-law, had to place the Grim Reaper's scythe in her hand for the sake of her mother-in-law's perfect revenge.
"I must go, Kian. Without that original ledger, I cannot silence those arrogant Imperial Grand Justices. I will retrieve it with my own hands."
Faced with that resolute and steadfast will, Kian no longer stubbornly insisted. If the Young Lady's resolve was firm, there was only one thing he had to do.
Swoosh.
Kian adjusted the massive greatsword at his waist, knelt on one knee at Liliana's feet, and bowed his head reverently.
"If this is truly your will, Young Lady, I will dedicate all my blood and flesh to become the shield and sword that open the path for you."
***
In the slums on the outskirts of the capital, where the twilight of dawn had settled thickly, Liliana stepped out of the carriage, her cloak pulled low over her face, after passing through a narrow, filthy alleyway reeking of rotten water and mold.
As she rounded the corner under Kian's impeccable escort, the dilapidated iron gate of the massive and monstrosity-like 'Old Imperial Bank Warehouse' came into view. On the outside, it looked like an abandoned building swarming only with rats.
Just as Liliana breathed a sigh of relief and was about to move on.
"Young Lady. Stop."
Kian let out a low, beastly voice and blocked Liliana's path with his thick arm. His blue eyes narrowed sharply, as if piercing through the darkness.
"What is it, Kian? Is there a problem...?"
"Shhhb. The rats were one step ahead. The area around the abandoned warehouse is swarming with ominous killing intent."
Kian's hand gripped the hilt of the greatsword at his waist tightly. Through the gap in the broken window of the warehouse, which his keen senses pointed to, the rough shadows of armed men flickered alongside the faint light of torches. They were not mere back-alley mercenaries. Dark assassins filled with murderous intent, dispatched by the Imperial faction to destroy Valdemar's secret vault and burn the evidence, had already firmly occupied the place.
Kian, the ferocious dog, drew his sword in the darkness, and Liliana was holding her breath with a grim expression.
At dawn, one day before the Imperial trial, the curtain was silently rising on a bloody struggle for the final evidence.
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