I was well aware of the enormous value of the gold I was buying from the Imperial Treasury. Part of Ajstain’s business was gold mining operations. Considering these things, if 100,000 gold coins were made and counterfeit money was mixed in, it was almost impossible to distinguish them.
“As you know, if gold coins are unregulated, there will be a serious price collapse.”
Ian nodded. Regarding counterfeit money, he probably has something in mind. He gave me a glance after directing the maintenance men to leave. uh, what is it? I was surprised when I heard it suddenly, so I fell into his arms without even resisting. Only the eyes widened. Ian, not too heavy, walked over and sat me in the carriage, then he sat down opposite him, and he grinned and gave the final command to depart.
“Let’s go. For now, go home and rest, then think about it.”
Only the head moved vertically. He did not respond or rebel against him. I just wondered what had happened so naturally. What the heck was that? Man, why was he so good?!
* * *
The way back wasn’t particularly difficult or anything more happened. The prisoners were also quiet and the weather was clear while moving. Thanks to that, I was able to return to the Ajtain Territory without much trouble. Ian smiled after sending me off to his grandfather without saying anything.
“See you next time, Lawrence.”
To his smile, I also responded with a smile. After Ian said he would borrow a carriage, he slowly left for the Principality. As I was watching his back as he left, my grandfather came over and came in to know what had happened.
“That’s actually…”
I conveyed in detail what happened at the place where my parents’ graves were. My grandfather was very indignant when I told him all the facts, except for what I had done. He showed threatening eyes as if he would chase after Ian and stab all the prisoners with a knife. He was such a man who knew how to be angry. Surprisingly, I remembered the fact that Duke Sapeldrick’s teacher had been my grandfather. He said he was very eccentric… Really? I didn’t believe it, but looking at it today, I have some credibility. I thought.
After that, my grandfather approached Ersia, who was struggling, and took the lump of the pretense and disappeared. Benson left after the fields, and I sat back for a moment, leaning back in an armchair in the parlor. I closed my eyes slightly. The experience of death passing before my eyes was not very pleasant. If this idea hadn’t appeared, I might have died. But what was gained was considerable.
I was finally able to stop the treadmill that I had been running without looking back. In the end, what stopped me from running amok was someone else, not myself. I was grateful to Ian for catching me when I rolled like crazy and eventually reached ruin. I opened my eyes again and looked up at the ceiling. I was tired, and I wanted to sleep some more. I wanted to go back to my room and lay down on my comfortable bed to rest. But there was something important right now. When I got up, butler Fiebel opened the door and came in as if he had been waiting for it.
“I’m glad you’re safe, lady.”
I smiled at him who seemed to be laughing in an unexpected way.
“Butler Fiebel, I’m a little tired all of a sudden. Can I ask you a favor?”
“Feel free to say…”
I sat back in the chair and energized my languid body. I thought I was going to sleep.
“Find the data on cases related to counterfeit money in the past 20 years. Anything related to that case doesn’t matter.”
“Counterfeit money… you mean?”
The butler’s eyes widened a little, as if he thought he had suddenly said something unexpected. Instead of answering, I nodded and spoke again.
“Do you know, Butler Piebel? The case related to counterfeit money that has been around for over 10 years. I don’t remember because I didn’t look closely, but wasn’t there a lot of talk back then?”
He wanted to put on a look of thought for a moment, but he opened his mouth with the words that he seemed to be right.
“It’s probably because it wasn’t just the ordinary criminal organizations involved in the case. A considerable number of nobles were also involved. Besides, the Marquis Bepis family, one of the marquis’ families, disappeared because of that incident.”
The family of the Marquis of Bepis. Currently, the family of the Marquess of Akpensia was playing solo, but in the past, there was also a prominent family called the writers’ family after Bepis. I remember hearing a story about their downfall in connection with the counterfeit money incident. It was said that the family of the Marquis of Akpensia enjoyed their downfall. It’s only natural that the power of the Akpensia family has grown.
“Are all their descendants dead?”
“At that time, the Marquis of Bepis was beheaded.”
The minimum punishment for counterfeit money that shakes the economy was the death penalty. It was true that the empire’s economy was fairly stable thanks to the harsh but severe punishment, and Jog agreed to some extent. In fact, the reason why the Ajstain family was able to accumulate so much wealth was because they were protected by the imperial law. In the empire, there were no restrictions on the size of the amount as long as the tax was paid faithfully.
“Then what about his family?”
“I don’t know the details, but at the time the Marquis’ property, titles and lands were confiscated. he chose to commit suicide, leaving behind two small children.”
“What if there are two of them?”
“He had a 10-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter. They are not aristocrats now, so I don’t know where they are and what they’re doing, but I think they probably live a pretty tough life even if they are alive.”
A daughter and a son…
“Is there anything other than Marquis Bepis involved in this case?”
“Everyone has perished. The Marquis of Bepis was put on the beheading table as a representative figure, and the rest either disappeared, committed suicide, or were executed according to the prescribed procedure.”
That’s because it was only about 10 years ago, he put his elbow on the armrest, put his temple on his palm, and shut his mouth for a moment. The Bepis family, the eternal gate, and counterfeit money. I turned my eyes and looked back at Fibel.
“I remember that the Bepis family was a sizable family, so why did they get involved in dangerous crimes like counterfeiting money?”
“Isn’t the Duke’s family the cause?”
“A ducal family?”
He nodded his head. What does the duke’s family have to do with the Bepis family?
“The Marquis of Bepis was also a person who had a great desire for power. It seems that she wanted to strengthen her power by squeezing in between the 2nd Duke’s family, which had been fixed for hundreds of years. The current Empress also supported the Bepis family considerably.”
To think he was supported by the empress… that’s a bit surprising. What would such a family do with counterfeit money? You just have to work a little harder.
“No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get into the gap between the 2nd duke’s family, so he eventually reached out to counterfeit money, and the result was disastrous. There were many reviews that said the end was too cruel to be the price of greed.”
“Huh…”
I put my fingers together and pressed my cheek, lowered my eyes for a moment, and then rang again.
“For now, please organize the data I mentioned and bring it to you. Check it out for yourself.”
“All right.”
He stretched out his hand as he turned his body.
“Oh.”
Fibel turned to look at me again. I smiled and said something he couldn’t say.
“Can you find the whereabouts of the children of Marquis Bepis, whose news is unknown?”
“I’ll ask the information guild. Is it an urgent matter that needs to be found quickly?”
“The sooner the better.”
“All right.”
Fibel left the break room after saying a final goodbye with an answer. He was left alone again and closed his eyes, enjoying his silence. Somehow I was too tired.
* * *
Contrary to what I thought that we would not see again for a long time, it was after this that I met Ian again. Suddenly, an invitation came from him to visit the duchy. Why all of a sudden? Actually, I wanted to refuse because I was tired, but oddly enough, his face glowed and he wrote a sentence saying that he would leave soon. Haa… Why did emotions fill me up? I prepared with a sigh and headed for the principality early the next morning. Before I left, I compiled all the materials Butler Fiebel was ordered to prepare. When I asked for it, he said that he had taken measures so that I could receive it a little later, so I was puzzled, but after answering that I knew it, I got on the carriage.
It was quite a distance, but if I sprinted along the road, I thought I would be able to reach it before sunset. After entering the duchy after a long time and arriving at the royal castle of the Duchy of Berdian, he remembered meeting Ian on the first day. He was a man who somehow disliked smirking. But now, we often discuss each other, share important things, rely on each other, and kiss each other…
Ugh! I somehow felt my face turn red. Why did I do that then? In the past, I was told that I was too rational and lacked humanity. To think that I was swept away by the atmosphere and offered my lips first. Crazy, crazy.
While I was banging my hair, the old butler I had seen before came up to me, greeted me, and took the lead, saying that Ian would guide me to where Ian was. He was an impressive old man with a straight back as well as neatly arranged white hair that was gently swept back. I heard that he was a person who served the third-generation duke’s family, but how old was he? Suddenly, from his back, my grandfather came to mind. Although my grandfather was also old, he seemed certainly younger than the butler in front of him. Even so, he corrected himself like that, so the grandfather walked along the inside of the castle, hoping that he would live a longer and healthier life than that butler.
Instead of a proper dress, I was wearing a simple dress and thick coat, so I didn’t wear high heels. Even so, since the castle was so wide, it took a long time to walk, so we walked along one side. After a while, the butler and I arrived at what looked like a large banquet hall. Where was he?
“He’s inside.”
Huh? Was it the end? Didn’t he usually open the door and say, ‘Someone is entering’? I wondered if it was okay to be so lax when I met the Grand Duke. Well, even then Ian said he had business, so it didn’t take long before I took him to his office. Was security secure in this castle? I put my hand on the doorknob and tilted my head.
Well, there was no need for that. If his abilities or Benson’s story were true, I thought I’d have to bring an army to capture Ian. How long would he have to drag? Should I arm and bring a thousand knights? Or two thousand? Too many.
If you could use the wall of fire as you like then, wouldn’t you be able to break through it even if ten thousand people come? I was hesitating, wanting to see what Ian was capable of, when suddenly the doorknob I was holding turned clockwise.
“Uh?”
“Why don’t you come in, what are you doing here?”
The doorknob unlocked with a click, and the door opened, revealing Ian’s clean face inside. A faint smile hung on his lips.
“…”
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. Thank you very much for reading.
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