The Magic Tower, now empty of all its researchers, felt somewhat hollow. Perhaps the early winter chill was making my heart feel sentimental for no reason. If I had studied creative writing, I might have penned a poem...
But I know nothing of such things. I’m a man of science. I took a sip.
And so, I quietly drank my tea.
“Come to think of it.”
Princess Isolde, who was having tea beside me, spoke up.
“I heard you sent the assassin’s finger to the Winterheart family.”
“Yes, Your Highness. That is correct.”
Was she curious about the principle behind it? Just like when I explained the principles of the disguise device, she was a person with a rich sensitivity for the sciences. I continued speaking.
“First, I used fluid manipulation to drain the blood, then I cauterized the severed surface, applied alcohol to the entire finger to dry it, and wrapped it in a clean cloth to block off as much air as possible. I sent it in a box in that state.”
If only I had some formaldehyde, such a troublesome task would have been unnecessary. The problem was, I had no idea how to make it...
‘If I’d known it would come to this, I would have studied chemistry instead of physics…’
At any rate, I had no choice but to turn the finger into a pseudo-mummy. The princess stared at me blankly for a moment, as if at a loss for words.
“That… was not what I wanted to ask.”
“Then what was it you were asking about?”
“I wanted to ask why… you sent the assassin’s finger and provoked the Winterheart family’s anger.”
Ah.
So that wasn’t it. I scratched my head in embarrassment.
“Well… it seemed necessary to deceive them a little.”
“Deceive them?”
“I wanted to disguise it as Cayenne’s finger to summon the head of the Winterheart family to the capital as quickly as possible.”
“Summon him to the capital, I see.”
Having a child stay in the capital for a long time could be seen as a kind of hostage situation. It was a strategy I was able to come up with thanks to what Gwendolyn had told me. By now, the head of the Winterheart family was probably rushing to the capital.
The princess nodded her head and muttered.
“It would indeed be more advantageous for the head of the Winterheart family to come here, rather than for you to go to their territory.”
I also nodded my head. Home ground is always better than playing away.
“You have quite a knack for setting the stage. I was wrong to think of recruiting you for the Imperial Bureau of Propaganda. The Intelligence Division would suit you better.”
“…I want to do research, Your Highness.”
“I know. A researcher shines brightest when they are researching.”
The princess then asked.
“What do you plan to use the funds from this contract for? I assume you’ll use them to procure new research materials?”
“That would be nice, of course, but I’ve developed a different hobby lately.”
“A hobby?”
As I donated to the orphanage and taught Anna, a thought suddenly came to me.
“I’m thinking of creating a foundation to support the orphans from the northern magical beast front.”
No matter how much money I have, there’s not much I can do in this world. After all, this world has no video streaming sites or video games. The greatest luxury I can enjoy is eating delicious food, but…
I have a simple palate, so I’m content with just a stew sprinkled with chili peppers. A gentle smile spread across the princess’s lips.
“The northern war orphans… A foundation for the Upperhills, then.”
“Yes. If it grows larger from there, I plan to expand it to other children as well.”
“Remarkable. Something the Empire itself has given up on… How can a single individual…”
Just then, a hurried knock sounded on the lab door. The person who entered was Sergeant Marcus of the Capital Guard. He said, “Baron Winterheart has arrived in the capital!”
What was bound to come had finally come.
Three hours after Marcus’s report. Hans asked me, “The Baron arrived a long time ago. Are you sure it’s okay not to go?”
“It’s fine. Let’s make him wait a bit longer.”
“Why? Shouldn’t you go first and seize the initiative?”
I looked out the window and answered nonchalantly.
“I don’t really know why, but all the dictators who play power games are always deliberately late.”
“Hm?”
“So I’m just blindly copying them. Who knows, it might be effective.”
“…I don’t quite understand what you mean, but you’re doing it on purpose. Alright, I’ll trust you.”
An hour passed like that. The meeting place with Arcard Winterheart was an old lab in the Magic Tower's annex. He would now be waiting for me in that old, empty lab in the Magic Tower's annex, with no idea when I would arrive.
It was about time.
“Let’s go.”
As I rose from my seat, Hans and Marcus, my escorts, followed behind. When we opened the lab door and entered, Arcard Winterheart was anxiously pacing around the empty room. Arcard’s gaze turned to me, and he stopped in his tracks.
He said, “You son of a bitch… My son, quickly…!” I casually ignored his words and gave Hans a signal.
Hans opened the door and brought in Cayenne, who was lying on a mobile cot. I said to Hans.
“Please show him.”
“Alright.”
Hans took hold of both of Cayenne’s hands, who was in a state of full-body paralysis. All ten fingers were perfectly fine, without a single scratch.
“How… How can this be…”
Arcard stared blankly at his son’s hands. He continued, “Does that mean… all these tricks… were just to lure me out of my territory!”
“Damn it… my territory must be under attack by now.” …I hadn’t thought that far ahead.
Are the people of this era demons? Instead of answering, I just smiled silently. Arcard’s face turned crimson.
Just as he was about to gather his mana, I spoke first.
“I will now convey the words of Her Highness the Princess.”
At that one phrase, Arcard’s momentum broke.
“You don’t need to kneel. You may listen while standing.”
I slowly and clearly recited the princess’s royal decree.
“‘Any act of harm against a recipient of a First-Class Medal of Honor will be considered treason against the imperial family." "All involved will be executed, and their family will be stripped of their title.’ …is what she said.”
A suffocating silence filled the lab. Cold sweat formed on Arcard’s forehead.
“What do you want?”
He asked, gritting his teeth.
“Could you say that again? I didn’t quite hear you.”
“If all you have to say after calling me here is execution and stripping of my title… there would have been no reason to call me.”
“That’s true.”
I held out a thick bundle of contracts in front of his eyes.
[Mutual Cooperation and Investment Agreement between ‘Newton Company’ and the ‘Winterheart family’] I pointed to the contract and said.
“If you choose this, the ‘Princess’s royal decree’ will not be promulgated.”
[Article 1 (Debt and Collateral) ‘Party B’ (Winterheart family) shall owe ‘Party A’ (Newton Company) fifteen million (15,000,000) gold coins as compensation for the series of events that led to the signing of this contract.
The said debt shall be subject to a 15% compound annual interest rate, and all assets within the Winterheart territory (including land, buildings, and mining rights) shall be established as collateral.
Article 2 (Exclusive Supply of Resources) ‘Party B’ shall be obligated to exclusively supply all ‘mana stones’ produced within the territory to ‘Party A’ at production cost for the next 50 years. Furthermore, ‘Party A’ shall have the right to adjust purchase volumes or refuse purchases without prior notice depending on market conditions.
Article 3 (Adjustment of Territorial Tax Rates and Vesting of Surplus Tax Revenue) To increase the investment efficiency of ‘Party A,’ ‘Party B’ shall lower the direct tax within the territory by 20 percentage points compared to the current rate.
Article 4 (Confidentiality Obligation) ‘Party B’ shall not disclose any provision of this contract to a third party and may not raise any objection to it.]
This contract would not bring harm to the commoners of the territory. After all, my plan was to lower the tax rates first. But in the process, the finances of the Winterheart family would gradually hit rock bottom.
Of course, I had no intention of ruling the Winterheart territory directly. Why would I do something so troublesome? I just needed to extract the resources.
After reading all the clauses, Arcard’s face had turned ashen.
He muttered.
“This is insane…”
The people of this era were not fools. They would know that if they mismanaged their territory even slightly, they would end up on the streets. In other words, if they didn’t want that to happen, they had to work for me.
Arcard glared at various parts of the contract. He seemed to be looking for a loophole. As if such a thing existed.
It was based on the standard contract format created by modern legal experts. There was no way out. Even if there was, there were only prepared traps.
Trembling, Arcard’s hands shook.
“Damn it… damn it…”
“You can refuse if you don’t want to. I’ll have the Capital Guard escort you to the Imperial Palace immediately.”
A moment later, his mouth opened.
“…Damn it, I have no choice. I’ll sign the contract.”
“A wise decision.”
On the last page of the contract, along with a signature line, was a small magic circle. It was Geas magic.
“Now, swear on your mana. That if you violate the above clauses, the contractor’s heart will explode.”
I said, looking him straight in the eye. Arcard silently placed his hand on the magic circle and infused it with mana. Of course, I did not swear.
Why would I do something so terrifying? I asked him.
“How do you feel, having signed the contract?”
I had often wondered. What sensation does a person who has actually sworn on their mana feel? Would they feel their body floating?
Grit.
The sound of grinding teeth could be heard.
“…Thank you for not killing me and my son.”
He continued to mutter.
“My son… will withdraw from the Magic Tower as of today. And he will never set foot in the capital again.”
Uh… that’s not what I was asking. Somehow, I ended up taunting him.
A suffocating silence flowed within the carriage returning to the northern lands. Arcard Winterheart sat with Cayenne beside him, staring blankly out the window. Unlike the peaceful landscape full of winter wheat, his mind was a tangled mess.
Humiliation, anger, and a very slight sense of relief.
“Yes, it’s not over yet.”
Even in ashes, embers of hope can be found. According to the contract, all the money and resources flowed to a place called ‘Newton Company’. All he had to do was seize control of it.
With the Winterheart family’s information network and financial power, bribing or eliminating one person in charge would be a simple matter. He clenched his fists. Once that company was in his hands, this humiliating contract would become a scrap of paper.
However, he did not yet know. That ‘Newton Company’ was a ghost company outside the Empire, in a Free City, existing only in name.
After the people of the Winterheart family had departed.
Marcus muttered.
“A baronial family disappears into the annals of history, just like that.”
“Hey now. Please say it more nicely, like they became manure for ‘great progress’.”
Pfft.
Hans’s words made me laugh. Immediately after, Marcus asked me.
“But Sir Upperhills. If the Winterheart family decides to destroy that ‘Newton Company’, won’t all your plans fall apart?”
“That’s true.”
“Then are you prepared for an attack?”
At that question, Hans and I burst into laughter at the same time.
Hahaha. Huhuhu.
Hans said, “I never thought we’d end up using it for this.”
“We were lucky.”
If ‘Newton Company’ hadn’t existed, I would have had to borrow one of the princess’s factions. If that had been the case, I wouldn’t have been able to make a contract with such blatant conditions. After all, the backlash from noble society could not be ignored.
Marcus still had a look of complete confusion.
“What on earth is this ‘Newton Company’?”
Hans grinned and clapped him on the shoulder.
“It’s a ghost company in the Free City that only exists on paper.”
It was originally a shell company created to avoid the attention of the underworld. It had been left dormant after the Malakai incident with no use for it, but now, a perfect purpose had emerged. Being a ghost company, Arcard’s power would not reach it.
Tracing the funds?
Impossible.
The person in charge?
Nonexistent. Huhuhu.
Catch me if you can. I thought to myself as I watched the Winterheart carriage recede into the distance.