Allice, Sandra, and even I was shocked by his words.
Me? Since when?
“So, what’s your answer?” Growing impatient, Viego urged me. Wrinkles began to form between his elegant brows.
“Well, of course…” I uttered the response Viego expected. “Allice needs to reflect more.” It was the answer I desired too.
Startled, Allice quickly rushed to Viego’s desk, gripping its edge and breaking into sobs. “B-But, Brother! His Highness won’t stand for this.”
I sighed internally. You shouldn’t have said that, Allice. That’s precisely why Viego is sending you back to the monastery.
Viego had sent Allice to the monastery, but Raios had taken her out without permission. In other words, Raios was meddling in our family’s affairs. For Viego, the head of the family, it must have been very annoying.
“His Highness will be displeased. He called for me—”
Sure enough, Viego, looking extremely irritated, laughed coldly. “If it’s about that, don’t worry, Allice Windsor. His Highness has already agreed.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said he already agreed.”
“T-That can’t be.”
“And he promised not to get involved until I call for you again. So quietly leave for the monastery.”
“…”
With that, Allice seemed completely defeated.
Finally, after Sandra and Allice left, only Viego and I were left in the office. Viego leaned back against the headrest of his leather chair, looking extremely tired. With his eyes tightly closed, it seemed like he wanted to fall asleep right away.
I watched him silently for a moment and then asked. “Am I now your advisor, Brother?”
“…”
Shruk, Viego’s pale eyelids slid open. His eyes looked displeased. “Didn’t you hear what I said?”
“I heard. I was just asking for confirmation.”
“I don’t like repeating myself.”
You sensitive person. Is there anything in this world you actually like? I restrained myself from saying that.
“Where have you been this time?”
Recently, Viego’s business trips have become frequent. Even his closest secretary couldn’t figure out exactly where he was traveling.
“If you needed to know, I would tell you.”
“…”
Forget it. I won’t say anything. He’s someone you can’t have a conversation with.
He’s more sensitive than usual. An already sensitive person was now five times more sensitive, like a porcelain doll that seemed about to break if you touched it so much.
“Read this.” Viego handed me a file. “Read it and tell me your thoughts.”
“…”
I slowly read through the documents page by page. It’s about the northern railway project.
Viego was planning a northern railway construction project that would run from the empire’s capital straight to the north. The areas where the railway would be laid had been decided, and agreements had been reached with the lords of those areas. The remaining issue was this. He’s pondering where to lay the tracks.
The railway would pass through dozens of regions, all of which were exceedingly vast territories. Determining the right places to lay tracks across those numerous domains and designing them appropriately was a challenging task.
I could understand. In this world, you have to do everything by foot, so it must be tough. Furthermore, since it was the first time in this world, starting from scratch, he seemed to have a lot on his mind.
“How about acquiring all the stagecoach businesses in these areas first, Brother?”
At those words, Viego opened his eyes, which had been closed, and looked at me. A strange gleam appeared in his eyes.
“Acquire the stagecoach businesses?”
“Yes. By examining the route maps of each company’s stagecoaches, we’ll find the answer. Especially focusing on those that transport large goods.” I tapped on the map as I spoke. “Transport coaches, being large and handling valuable goods, tend to travel along sparsely populated areas with flat terrain. Compiling those routes will help identify suitable locations for laying tracks.”
“…That’s a good idea.”
Perhaps he thought it was useful. He asked for a few more opinions.
“Are you aware of the opposition to the railway?”
“Yes. The project is proceeding very slowly because of them.”
“The opposition from Marquis Liten, in particular, has intensified. You know why, don’t you?”
“Ah, you mean the owner of Liten Bank.”
Well, given the embarrassment he suffered, he has every right to be furious.
“What about making the railway project beneficial for them as well if it succeeds? That way, they’ll also be interested in the profits from the Windsor railway.”
“You mean to create mutual benefits?”
“Yes. In that sense, although I’m sure Brother has enough budget for the project, I’d recommend starting by publicly offering shares. Since this is a project with strong opposition, the more companions you have on the same boat, the better.”
How long had their conversation gone on? The more we talked, the more I realized. That Viego Windsor had been watching me for a very long time. Without a time limit, without any hint of contempt. And that’s not all. He’s listening to me carefully.
It was refreshing. How long had it been since I’d been treated like a normal person? The thought made me want to laugh.
If I had stepped into the family matter earlier, would anything have been different? But it was a meaningless question now.
“But, Brother, speaking of which.”
I have no interest in anything except leaving this world now.
“Why does the railway go around here?” I pointed to the map.
The railway, which ran straight from the capital to the north, bypassed one area. Of course, I knew the reason, but I deliberately pretended not to and asked.
“That’s Kaltusa. Don’t you remember?”
“Kaltusa… Ah, yes, I remember. It was the Rotten Land.”
Kaltusa. It was the first rotten land of the empire, a place long abandoned, now a ghost town.
“The rotten land should be purified by now. Why go around Kaltusa?”
“Because the land is so ominous.”
The first land where the rotten land began. Perhaps that’s why it was also the land where the residents, who were ignorant of the calamity, were all annihilated. So now that land is completely abandoned.
All the residents were dead, without a single one surviving. Nobody wanted to live there. But that wasn’t the important thing.
“I’ll go take a look.”
“You?”
“Yes. If I declare that the land won’t rot again, people’s anxieties will vanish, right? It’ll also reduce the cost of railway construction.”
“…”
It was a valid point.
I was revered by the people almost to the level of a saintess, and I had recently discovered and purified a dormant rotten land. If I stepped up and declared, ‘This place is safe!’ there wouldn’t be anyone who wouldn’t believe it.
Of course, I wasn’t just going to help Windsor’s business. There would be a bomb there that would bring Carl down.
“This time, I’d like Uncle Carl to accompany me as an escort.”
“He’s been idle lately, hasn’t he?” I added jokingly.
I’m almost there now.
The annulment with Raios is just around the corner. Once the emperor returns, everything will happen in a flash. Suppose Carl Windsor is removed from his deputy head position here. In that case, that position will fall to me, a direct descendant of Windsor, who is recognized as Viego’s assistant. Then, the long-awaited holy relic will be mine.
Kaltusa. That land will bring Carl down. Because it held traps that would lead to his ruin.
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