-Squeak.
The door opens.
The castle built by those who were not invited is being invaded without permission.
The guest is said to have told the maid, "I am from Desmond."
-Whew...
Who could it be?
Those who come and go from the Marquis' mansion as if it were their own home.
-Crunch. Crunch.
The arrogant man's gait was arrogant, as if he were announcing his position. The arrogance felt in his toes, as if he knew his position better than anyone else.
"Haaam..."
He was coming here making a fool of himself.
Wolfgang clenched his fists, stood up, and greeted the guest. It was right not to welcome an impolite guest, but this guest was none other than the "King of the Nobles."
"I am Louis, the head of the family of Wolfgang, the owner of the Pearl Mansion."
It was dark, so I couldn't see his face. I wanted to drink alone, so I ordered the servants to turn off all the lights.
The man, whose face was even more difficult to see due to the alcohol, came up to me and shook my hand.
"Nice to meet you."
With your left hand.
In the Leogard Empire, shaking hands with the right hand was considered common courtesy. It was a way of showing respect and a form of trust that one was not currently holding a weapon.
When I was young, I held something heavy in my right hand and asked my father to shake my hand with my left.
-If you shake hands with anyone like that, I'll kill you.
-Ah...Father...
-In the Leogard Empire, shaking hands with your left hand is like shaking a one-armed person.
Wolfgang knew what it meant to extend his left hand, having been beaten to death.
The alcohol is gone.
'You're so cheeky... Desmund.'
The alcohol that had been rising to the top of my head seemed to disappear in an instant at the visit of the person who showed me the end of humiliation.
Now my vision is clear and I can see my hand in front of me.
The hand of an arrogant person who asks to shake hands with his young and youthful hand.
"...Aren't you going to shake hands?"
It was shown with a coercive attitude.
Black hair.
A refined uniform. And even the black rose that symbolizes Desmund.
-Whew...
"Thank you for taking the time to visit my humble mansion."
The little king of the nobles was reaching out to him.
"Imperial Moon, Lord Desmund."
Kyle smiled with satisfaction as he held her left hand, sat down on the prepared sofa, crossed his legs, and spoke.
"I hope you'll move quickly from now on, Marquis."
"...sorry."
be impertinent.
Even though I have more experience and knowledge than that.
"I took the time to do this for the Marquis, but it was almost dawn before we could shake hands."
I was ignoring myself.
The additional charge did not include a missive.
Without even leaving a letter saying he would visit.
He was treating me poorly without even being formal.
"Please sit down, Marquis."
"...thank you."
The little king of the nobles looked around the interior of the office and opened his mouth.
"Hmm... This is the mansion called the 'Pearl' of the West."
"You are overpraising me. I may have inlaid the walls with the finest pearls, but what I see is meaningless. Still, the beauty of this mansion is one of Wolfgang's prides. Haha!!"
“This is all I can brag about….”
The air in the room suddenly became chilly.
"yes...?"
"no."
The little king of the nobles waved his hand slightly and trailed off. He sneered, "I didn't come here for any good business anyway..."
The murderous intent is rising.
His arrogant actions are so arrogant that a commoner would want to kill him right now, and his murderous intent continues to rise.
Wolfgang looked at Kyle with an awkward smile. His fists clenched, but he needed to know why he had come.
I hoped it would be a positive story.
Or lending money.
He wanted to ask his closest aide, who was planning to side with the crown prince, about the crown prince's intentions.
Even if you come to me informally, I am ready to welcome you with open arms if it is something like that.
-Kwaaaah.
If only the crown prince could become the emperor...
It wasn't too late to abandon Desmond then.
The crown prince. The second prince. The third princess.
Since he could not seize the throne without Desmund, Wolfgang prayed that things would go his way.
"Ahem..."
Wolfgang, who had a steel plate on his face, spoke to Kyle, who was sitting with his legs crossed, with a wide smile on his face.
"I don't know what brings you to this shabby mansion, but I hope you have a relaxing time to recover from your travel fatigue."
As if, like a dog wagging its tail, it has abandoned its pride.
"Hmm..."
Kyle exhaled lightly and said.
"Are things going well in the West?"
It's a western thing.
"Thanks to Duke Desmund and his efforts to subdue the evil spirits, the number of trade ships entering the West has increased, and we have secured a large stock of pepper."
"Are you keeping your pepper stock...?"
"Haha... That's right. Because of the circumstances, we can't release a lot of supplies..."
The sight of the young nobleman's interest brought a smile to my face. As a nobleman, I couldn't help but be enthusiastic about the spice called pepper.
"They say the West is a treasure trove, and I guess that's true."
Wolfgang clenched his fist at Kyle's positive words and slowly blurted out what Kyle wanted.
"If you want, I can give you the pepper. I can even give you exclusive trading rights."
Even if he was Desmund, the man in front of him was a son who wanted to be praised by his father, and a wealthy man who had not proven his abilities.
“I’m just giving it to you with good intentions, so don’t feel burdened….”
Kyle said, pretending not to hear Wolfgang.
“Even in Desmond, the pepper turns rotten….”
"...I...I see."
-Gwaaaah...
I don't like this either.
I don't like that either...
What on earth are you trying to say?
Wolfgang, angry at Kyle for rejecting all his offers, vowed that whatever Kyle said, he would use his experience to soften it.
After all, it'll just be a wet, stinking baby.
The young master slowly opened his mouth and said.
"It would be better for the Marquis to get to the point quickly rather than going on a boring story."
"..."
"The Marquis is probably the busiest person in the empire right now, so I'll just get to the point and then disappear."
"No. They're not as busy as the Desmunts. They're devoted to the Empire in every way..."
"Haha... um~"
Kyle seemed to be falling for the flattery, for there was a smile on his face.
but.
"I'm worried that if I have to deal with the West... I won't have time to drink alone."
Wolfgang felt his blood boil as he realized that his smile was not one of joy, but of sarcasm.
'Aesongi...'
I was about to make up an excuse and leave, as I felt like I was going to explode if I saw his arrogant attitude any longer.
"I'm not feeling well today... so I'll stop here..."
-chin.
Kyle said with a cold smile, throwing the old paper on the table.
"Where are you going, Marquis?"
"...What is this?"
"look."
Wolfgang, who had been frowning, began to turn pale the moment he saw the title written on the note.
'Why...?'
'Why on earth...'
Because what I had been looking for was right in front of me.
"You are silent, Margrave Wolfgang."
I couldn't speak.
"Uh...uh...why is this...to you...?!"
In my head, I was screaming that I should deny and reject it, but now that the knife was shoved all the way to my throat, my mouth wasn't following my head.
"No... This has nothing to do with our family..."
A cold voice was heard by Wolfgang, who was looking at the notebook on the desk with trembling eyes.
"Let's check. Haven't you been looking for it for a long time?"
"..."
Wolfgang began to open his notebook with trembling hands.
The speed of turning the pages gradually increased. One page. Two pages. The speed of turning was because the names my child was familiar with were written crookedly.
And among them.
When he saw the name written in beautiful cursive, Wolfgang felt as if the world was collapsing into pieces.
-Leogard Theo.
"It was fun."
"...Why are you showing me this?"
“Wouldn’t it be better to watch something fun together? It would be a shame to watch it alone….”
"..."
"You remember, Marquis, when the Emperor said he would arrest and imprison everyone involved in the slavery incident."
"..."
"In the Empire, slavery is treated as akin to black magic, and the punishment is so severe. One mistake could easily lead to war with the Suin Nation, so we keep a close eye on it and prohibit it."
"..."
"Even the mighty Desmund was almost sent to the outskirts by using forbidden magic... What would have happened if another family had done something related to slaves?"
"..."
"Wouldn't it be worth seeing?"
It sounds close.
The voice of the King of the Nobles whispers cruelly in my ear.
"Use your head, Marquis."
"..."
"Don't try to negotiate with Desmund..."
Wolfgang clenched his fist.
'I have to kill him.'
Because in this desperate situation, keeping quiet was the best option.
If you steal the ledger and cover it up as an accident, it's perfect. There will be conflict with Desmund, but if you retrieve the ledger, the Crown Prince will take care of it.
'Yeah, if we handle it here...'
The moment when magic flows from Wolfgang's hands.
"I think it would be better to quit... Marquis?"
Kyle let out a dark warning with a cold voice.
"You came here to threaten, so why would you bring the real thing?"
"..."
"If you're going to kill someone, it'd be best to kill them for sure... I'm just like my father, so I'm good at using magic."
"..."
“If I fail this time too….”
-Saaaa...
"Be careful, it will be a disaster."
I feel exhausted.
"I just brought a reminder today. The canal froze over, and Desmund suffered damage as well."
Kyle left the note on the desk and left.
Leaving Wolfgang with nothing but despair.
"I hope you recover well from the aftereffects, Marquis."
He left.
***
A sunny afternoon.
I tiptoed towards the back of a familiar figure who was hiding and watching somewhere.
-step.
"ha..."
-Two steps.
"No... let's just go back today.
-Three steps.
"Why are you doing that?"
"Wow!!!!"
Mikhail looked at me with wide eyes at my sudden appearance.
With the question of why he suddenly came out from behind and the feeling of being happy to meet him.
"Why... are you coming out from behind..."
"Oh... You don't speak informally like you did in special classes."
"That...that's because there were people there...that's why."
Mikhail, who would have been a pure and pitiful heroine if there were only two of us, lowered his head and couldn't see my face.
"So what are you doing? If it's stealing, I'd like to join you..."
"It's not stealing!!"
“It’s a shame we used to be together.”
“I was young back then, so that’s why….”
"So what are you doing?"
"That...that..."
I put my head next to Mikhail and looked where she was looking and asked.
[sightseeing.]
"Hmm... It tastes pretty good."
"...Have you been there?"
I said with a smile.
"Is that so?"
If you tell me something like this, then so be it.
"Let's go."
"yes yes?!!!?"
We can go together.