episode_0070

“……Hmm?”

Perplexity filled the nobles’ eyes.

Upon seeing the sword in my hand, their expressions turned full of questions.

“By ‘this’… do you mean a ‘sword’?”

“M-Madam Modaless! Then, by saying you’ll start a steel business…”

“Wait! Hold your tongues!”

People silenced each other.

The banquet hall quickly fell into a noisy chaos.

Everyone seemed to have something in mind.

But they didn’t dare to voice it.

“Everyone.”

I held up Rose Saber straight, adopting the posture of a knight taking an oath.

“How do you think Deseo came to be built as the greatest city?”

My voice echoed loudly through the banquet hall.

“It is precisely because our ancestors dedicated their blood and sweat to protect this nation. By wielding swords and shields, and constantly fighting against foreign invaders who bared their fangs and attacked, the Deseo of today exists. Isn’t this the duty and honor that nobles bear?”

The glory of the past was reflected in the eyes of the people.

They were treated as ‘nobles’ not because they had noble blood or a lot of money.

But because when their lord and nation were in danger, they were the first to step forward with spears, swords, and shields.

It was because they performed such sacred duties that they were called people of noble status.

“But what has become of Deseo now? The upstarts who have sacrificed nothing for the city are advocating ‘gold’ as truth and devouring Deseo. If foreign invasion were to begin again, do you think they would willingly take up arms for their monarch, their nation, and their pitiable people?”

As I spoke, old memories surfaced.

Pharmacies without medicine.

Vagrants roaming the streets.

Laborers spending their nights curled up in cramped communal lodgings.

A city where everything exists, but nothing can be had.

Deseo.

I spoke,吐露 (literally ‘vomiting out’) what I had felt there.

Older men responded loudly.

“That would never happen!”

“Damn those scoundrels!”

“Exactly. We must not become monsters like them.”

As if lighting candles one by one in a dark hallway.

I walked confidently before the nobles.

“Until just last year, there was a glorious knight who attended this very event. He was the bravest and most righteous person I had ever met.”

I had read the entire guest list for this banquet.

But in the end, I couldn’t find his name.

“The name of that great individual is… Sir Robert.”

“Robert…!”

The murmuring grew louder.

“If Sir Robert were here, what do you think he would have said?”

“……”

The nobles said they feared Sir Robert.

No one would know his true feelings.

But I felt I did.

Surely, Sir Robert.

Would have told these wavering people…

To live ‘honorably’, like true nobles.

“Everyone. What will you do?”

Perhaps after this banquet, the nobles will quietly sip wine in their studies, pondering deeply.

And late at night, they’ll go into their storerooms and pick up a dusty longsword.

When their faces reflect in the armor emblazoned with their family’s crest.

They’ll sigh and think.

That there’s only one thing left to do.

The subtle tension between the King and the nobles, spread everywhere like an invisible fog.

Yes.

I am inciting the nobles to ‘rebel’ against the King of Deseo.

“But Madam Modaless. Isn’t that a rather radical statement?”

One person stepped forward and asked.

“Though Sir Robert did possess the mining rights to Rottenvan… wasn’t it merely an unfortunate accident? I understand that the aftermath of that incident is currently being managed.”

“Yes. That’s right. We lost a precious person, and that is precisely why we must be angry.”

I gripped Rose Saber tightly.

Perhaps I was a little more excited than I realized.

I spoke with boiling emotion.

“Sir Robert was not killed by bandits, but by His Highness.”

“……What did you say?”

“What is that even…”

“It means the annihilation of the tribute convoy was His Highness’s will.”

People’s faces turned pale.

I knew that devastating feeling.

Because just a few days ago, my own face was the same.

When I heard the truth hidden behind Sir Robert’s death from Aban, I was truly speechless.

The Robert family was the noble family that managed iron goods.

From weapons and armor to other metalwork.

Their influence was so immense that there was no iron in Deseo that hadn’t passed through the hands of this family.

However, for the nouveau riche who needed ‘money’, the Robert family, which dominated the iron market, was nothing short of an obstacle.

They secretly informed the King that the Robert family was plotting a rebellion, and Sir Robert, under royal command, embarked on an unexpected tribute convoy expedition.

While the head of the family was away.

The rising powers promised to repay in a month, bought up all the iron goods, and sold them to foreign countries.

Then, they disguised the royal palace’s elite soldiers as bandits and orchestrated Sir Robert’s assassination.

When the news of Sir Robert’s death reached the city.

The family’s prestige plummeted, and the price of iron dropped sharply.

The wealthy bought up even the mining rights at rock-bottom prices, completely swallowing this vast market.

Having heard all the explanations, the nobles began to murmur.

Their voices were a mix of perplexity and anger.

“……My goodness. Such a thing happened?”

“No wonder the recession came so quickly. Now that I hear it, all the circumstances fit.”

“Then… does this mean His Highness can cast us aside anytime he listens to those upstarts?”

“We absolutely cannot stand by!”

In the banquet hall, which was growing noisier.

There was only one thing left for me to do.

“Everyone! Will you simply hand over the iron that the Robert family has protected to those malicious individuals? The repayment deadline is just one week away. They will repay the iron goods they sold at high prices for a pittance, making an enormous profit.”

All the nobles’ eyes turned towards me.

“If their plan succeeds, guilds that have continued their lineage for hundreds of years will collapse one by one, and it will deal a great blow to the miners and commoners. But those scoundrels won’t care about the suffering people. Because ‘money’ is more important than human lives to them.”

“You’re right!”

“Those heinous villains!”

“…So, I dare to ask you all.”

*Creak—.*

Uncle Fosao opened a trunk beside me.

Inside were stacks of documents bearing the signature of the Modaless Trading Company.

*Thump!*

I struck the tip of my short sword onto the floor.

And finished my last words.

“Are you ready to join me?”

Suddenly, the banquet hall fell silent.

People exchanged silent glances, then one by one, they approached me.

“Madam Modaless.”

The first person to approach me was Rudy Piolo.

“Our Piolo family will participate in that venture.”

“We will also join. Let’s show those scoundrels a lesson.”

“Here too.”

“For glory!”

After that day, somewhat embarrassingly, ‘Madam Modaless’ received a new nickname.

The Iron Lady.

Perhaps… that’s what I was called.

***

The moment the morning of the third day arrived, I left the banquet hall.

There was no longer any reason to stay.

Aban, who had brought the carriage, greeted us.

“Did you do well, Madam Modaless?”

Instead of answering, I lifted another trunk, satisfied.

It was filled with investment contracts from nobles who wished to partner with the ‘Modaless Trading Company’.

As we rode back in the carriage, Aban checked the contracts.

Admiration followed every time he turned over a massive stack of documents.

“This… it seems Tia has stirred up something big… there will be quite a backlash.”

“Are you alright, Aban? If a rebellion truly breaks out in this city…”

“Hmm- Strictly speaking, I do belong to the ‘nouveau riche’ side.”

Aban lightly patted his coat.

“But I’ve completely washed my hands of it. From now on, I plan to focus more on giving than on earning money. For that to happen, I don’t think it’s bad for Deseo to be turned upside down once in a while.”

“Your thoughts are indeed extraordinary…”

“Truthfully, it wasn’t that I disliked the former King’s policies. Compared to him, His current Highness is… excessively closed-off and greedy.”

“What kind of person was the former King?”

“He was the last king of the Likene Dynasty. A benevolent king still missed by many. He also had red hair, just like Tia.”

Aban described that time as the ‘Age of Romance’.

Foreign invasions were frequent, but everyone was still happy.

However, the brilliant golden age did not last long.

One day, the former King suddenly collapsed and then passed away emptily the very next day.

The problem was that there was no heir to inherit the throne.

The former King had a young son, but he had a major dispute with the King over differences in opinion and left the palace, leaving the crown prince’s position vacant.

They searched the entire country for a year to find the crown prince again, but he could not be found anywhere.

In the end, they had no choice but to bring in a distant relative of the former King and enthrone him.

That person was the current King.

The current King, who was weak in power, began to antagonize the noble factions to quickly seize control.

He granted titles to commoners in exchange for money.

With that money, he pursued peace by negotiating with hostile nations.

As wars disappeared, the power of the nobles rapidly diminished.

With the emergence of wealthy commoner capitalists, the difference in wealth itself became meaningless.

To put it nicely, it became an egalitarian city where social status disappeared.

To put it negatively, it became a city where everyone only knew ‘money’.

This rapid flow of the times evoked nostalgia among the nobles.

As could be seen from these numerous investment contracts, we had appropriately provoked the discontent of those who were behind the times.

The iron bought by the Modaless Trading Company would soon become weapons.

And the tips of those swords would point towards the royal palace.

“We’ve started something big, but will we be able to handle it well…?”

Aban laughed heartily and waved his hand.

“Don’t worry too much. That’s a matter for us, the pillars of Deseo, to take care of. More importantly, Tia, don’t you have something even more important to do?”

“……Yes.”

I clutched the ruby necklace tightly.

Upon returning to the inn, I immediately sorted through the investment contracts.

I organized all the names and investment amounts, and calculated the total sum along with the monthly incoming amounts.

It was a task that took a full half-day.

The results I finally obtained were astonishing.

“Uncle!”

I showed the paper to Uncle when he returned to the inn.

“Do you see?! It’s a whopping 5,300 gold! We received this much!”

“R-Really…?!”

We did it.

We truly earned over 1,000 gold, even more. We created five times that amount.

I was so happy that I hugged Uncle tightly.

“We… we did it!”

“Yes… It’s, it’s real! We did it…!”

Tears came.

It felt like the first time I had ever cried so much, embracing Uncle.

…Ritsu.

Just wait a little longer for me.

I’m coming now.