Ch.8686. No Mercy

For Ember, the past few days had been filled with happiness.

At most, four days. That’s how long she had spent with Erick.

Even though half of that time was spent taking care of the territory together, it was meaningful time for Ember. At least after work was done, they could spend leisurely time together. And occasionally, there were those casual moments of physical contact.

Though she was a virgin, she wasn’t that young, so getting this excited seemed strange, but there was a reason for Ember’s elevated mood.

Just before their engagement relationship had gone awry, she had been able to wash away the wound she received when she was rejected after approaching Erick too hastily due to impatience.

‘It would be nice to stay a few more days…’

But the warm time was brief.

After bizarre news arrived from the Kingdom of Lessotona, the expected recall order came down.

To be precise, it wasn’t an order but a request.

Erick had already reached a position where no one except the imperial family could summon him at will. Erick himself had simply mounted his horse, accepting his innate destiny.

Just before departure, Erick’s horse had already received a blessing from the territory’s priest, and if that wasn’t enough, had been fed hay soaked in potion.

The massive warhorse seemed excited, snorting and stomping its hooves.

“I think we’ll see each other next in the imperial capital. No particular reason, just a feeling.”

“I’ll make up some excuse to come.”

“And…”

Erick was about to bring up an issue they hadn’t addressed. It was about Ember’s uncle and his son.

Rumors about the former’s unusual condition had spread to the count’s residence, while the latter was causing concern in noble society as a member of the Unicorn Party.

However, Ember decided not to listen to Erick’s advice. It wasn’t simply because she didn’t want to reveal her family’s shameful situation.

‘There’s no need for me to add to his worries.’

She decided to send him off cleanly.

Erick nodded, pulled the reins, and turned direction. After walking a few steps at a walk, he immediately increased his speed as if in a race.

…Soon, Erick had disappeared, becoming a small dot in the distance.

‘He’s going so fast.’

There was no time to indulge in sentiment anyway. Though not comparable to Erick, Ember wasn’t in a leisurely situation either.

She hadn’t deliberately informed Erick, but actually, last night there had been a duel between relatives in a neighboring territory.

A duel between the lord’s second son and his nephew—one had been critically wounded. The reason for the duel… though people were hushing it up, it seemed to be about money, of course.

This was how all the Empire’s nobles were now. Families ruined by Cordana, families suffering collateral damage because of those families, and families somehow profiting and watching cautiously. Everyone was in a mess.

‘We’re one of them too, come to think of it.’

Ember headed toward the count’s residence with this thought.

***

The Empire, Imperial Capital.

The ministers of the Court, who assisted the Emperor’s rule, were holding a meeting.

They were discussing how to deal with the Kingdom of Lessotona, which had become a headache for all humanity, but…

That important meeting was disrupted by an uninvited guest.

Interrupting imperial ministers discussing state affairs was suicidal, but the intruder was beyond caring.

“Just calm down first.”

“Calm down?! Is there anyone in the world who can stay calm when money disappears before their eyes? Minister of Finance, can you? Huh? Huh?”

The vehemently protesting thin, middle-aged man was Count of Burko.

His name was John Burko.

Before the Cordana collapse, whenever Prince Matthias met him, he would tease him by saying “John-beo, John-beo,” saying he’d heard an amusing joke from the Hero. Count of Burko would laugh heartily without even knowing what “John-beo” meant.

It’s hard to imagine now, but in the days when nobles followed the Prince around, no one found it strange.

But now, no one called Count of Burko that anymore. Everyone knew it was a term containing the malicious playfulness of Gwon Heejin and Matthias.

Especially after the count’s second son transformed into an adventurer chasing unicorns, everyone became cautious. It’s dangerous to provoke someone on the verge of explosion.

‘But to barge into the meeting hall…? This crosses the line?’

Lord Necker, the Minister of Justice, looked helplessly at Count of Burko, who was protesting with spittle flying.

If left alone, he would rampage endlessly, so calming him down and sending him away was the priority.

Lord Necker wiped the droplets of saliva from his face and nodded.

“Lord Burko. The items you prepared to sell to the Kingdom of Lessotona, they’re magical items, right?”

The Burko family was known for producing quite a number of skilled mages.

He probably intended to sell scrolls and various magical items to the Kingdom of Lessotona this time. Of course, with an enormous profit margin added.

The Kingdom of Lessotona opportunity had already been lost, but it was still possible to minimize losses.

“Sigh. Yes. I’m not encouraging bankruptcy.”

As Lord Necker sought agreement from other ministers to set the mood, Count of Burko’s expression suddenly brightened.

“Then please give me a chance to sell at least this quantity to the Kingdom of Lessotona…!”

“Are you insane? How can we sell scrolls and magical items to a country that’s practically an enemy of humanity? I’m saying we’ll look for other solutions.”

At this, Count of Burko became excited and even clenched his fists. Then he began to speak vehemently, as if determined to get a definite answer.

“Then you should at least write some kind of guarantee here! That the imperial palace will help!”

“Why do you keep speaking informally… And how can we write a guarantee? The imperial palace’s budget all belongs to His Majesty the Emperor.”

“My insides are burning black with anxiety, and you say you can’t even write a simple guarantee…?”

At this point, even the Minister of Justice found it hard to listen.

Wasn’t he acting as if he alone had lost everything due to Cordana investments? To Lord Necker, who lived next door to a junior imperial guard officer and rode in a carriage lent by the imperial family, it sounded like the complaints of someone with a full stomach.

“Let’s stop there. And stop speaking informally.”

“…Ahem.”

“So what are these items you were going to sell to the Kingdom of Lessotona?”

Count of Burko, with his momentum somewhat diminished, brought out the items he had planned to sell. Just two boxes worth of items. He said he brought them here in a fit of anger.

First, there were scrolls. A very large quantity of them. They were diverse, from signal scrolls to buff scrolls that temporarily enhanced physical abilities.

“I spent over 2.5 billion on scrolls alone!”

“No, 2.5 billion is too exaggerated… Ah, I suppose costs doubled because you prepared in a hurry. I heard you cooperated with the Magic Tower.”

There was nothing strange about this. It was said that some islands in the Kingdom of Lessotona had lost so much military power they couldn’t even face monsters.

In addition to scrolls, there were magical items.

But most of those magical items seemed suspicious in purpose. There were noticeably many magical items enchanted with perception-hindering magic.

They came in various forms, from necklaces to bracelets. It seemed as if he had swept up all the perception-hindering magical items circulating in the Empire.

“…Hmm, this is.”

A strange silence fell over the meeting hall.

Count of Burko licked his lips and hastily added that since the Kingdom of Lessotona was experiencing severe internal strife, they might be engaging in espionage against each other, and that’s why they approached his family to purchase magical items.

Of course, no one would believe this. The ministers were too experienced for that.

“Um, about that guarantee…”

“Be quiet, Lord Burko. And something I’ve wanted to say from the beginning, isn’t investment ultimately your own responsibility? How can you not know that even after experiencing Cordana?”

At the Minister of Justice’s words, Count of Burko gave him a murderous look. The Minister of Justice didn’t back down either.

The atmosphere seemed like curses might be exchanged at any moment.

Just then, someone walked in without even knocking. Though not a minister, it was someone for whom attending state council meetings was completely natural: Erick Wellesley. There was dirt on his pants, probably from riding.

“I came as quickly as possible.”

As soon as he appeared, Erick grabbed one of the magical items Count of Burko had brought.

A necklace enchanted with perception-hindering magic.

After examining it from various angles, Erick let out a small laugh.

“This is what Gwon Heejin used during his fugitive life. It’s made with two types of rare metals and high-grade magic stones. They say even non-mages can’t sense any discomfort.”

“Gwon Heejin? Ah, I see.”

“Thanks to this item, he hid his face, but because he openly carried the holy sword, we were able to track him. I heard they were released to the market after confiscation, but I’m seeing them again like this. May I ask why this is here?”

“Count of Burko standing over there was planning to sell them to the Kingdom of Lessotona.”

Erick nodded as if he understood, saying, “Ah.”

Anxiety appeared on Count of Burko’s face.

His expression suggested that depending on what came out of Erick’s mouth, his dream of a big success might be frustrated. In fact, that dream had been frustrated long ago, but if he were the type to accept that readily, he wouldn’t have stormed into the Court in the first place.

Shortly after, the words from Erick’s mouth crushed that expectation.

“It seems some of the Kingdom of Lessotona’s ruling class are planning to escape. They’re probably trying to board ships bound for the Empire, avoiding the eyes of their own citizens.”

“So Lord Wellesley thinks so too. Well, now that the sea route is open…”

“They’re probably planning to settle somewhere in the Empire’s borderlands with their wealth. Though the Empire’s household registration management is excellent, honestly, it doesn’t extend to the village level.”

He spoke with certainty despite never having been to the Kingdom of Lessotona.

But no one objected. There would be no need to purchase such magical items if not for that purpose.

Besides, the Empire already had the Hero who was captured after living as a fugitive and a count’s family who were arrested while attempting to flee overseas. It wouldn’t be strange if there were royalty or nobles from the declining Kingdom of Lessotona dreaming of escape.

However, there was someone who couldn’t accept this assumption.

Naturally, it was Count of Burko.

He had invested too much money to benefit from the Kingdom of Lessotona opportunity.

He had purchased various magical items at more than twice the market price to sell to the Kingdom of Lessotona, and had stockpiled expensive materials to continue producing and selling scrolls. He had even invited high-ranking mages from the Magic Tower.

It felt too unfair to back down now. It was obvious he wouldn’t even recover half his investment if he sold them in the Empire. And it wasn’t like he could go hunting unicorns with his second son.

‘Are they saying I should fall to the same level as those who lined up to make futures contracts?’

But Erick Wellesley didn’t seem inclined to consider his sense of deprivation.

“It’s absurd, but thanks to this, it might be easier to deal with the Kingdom of Lessotona. We have sufficient justification. Plus, we can exploit the psychology of people dreaming of escape.”

“Perhaps without using force…?”

“No, Court Minister. We must use force too. I’m just saying we can save time.”

His expression was cold, as if saying he had no intention of showing mercy whether to the Kingdom of Lessotona or anywhere else. Count of Burko, excluded from the conversation, finally turned away dejectedly.