Ian tapped his fingers on the desk.
Logan’s lips twitched in response to the displeased gesture, and Fred shrank back.
“Hmm. The tea tastes good,”
Edelmar, the only one unaffected by Ian’s discontent, remarked as he set down his teacup.
Ian sighed.
“Did the entire branch family die?”
“Yes. When we arrived, they were all already dead,”
Logan lowered his head apologetically.
“Impressive,”
Edelmar was amazed.
“Is that really something to say right now?”
“What’s the use of getting angry over something that’s already done?”
Ian sighed again, rubbing his temples.
If revenge was the only goal, it didn’t matter if Count Kale or the branch family died.
They were meant to die anyway.
The problem was the dark mage.
Why did the dark mage appear earlier than in the original story?
Was it really a coincidence?
If Count Kale had allied with the dark mage, and if that was one of the hidden events in the original story, then the entire plot Ian had witnessed could be wrong.
‘It wasn’t a coincidence; the dark mages were targeting Rose from the start.’
As his head throbbed, a large hand wrapped around his neck, kneading the tense muscles.
“What… are you doing?”
“A massage?”
Ian brushed Edelmar’s hand away.
“That’s not necessary.”
“I don’t want to see you die from high blood pressure.”
‘I’m going to die from high blood pressure because of you.’
Ian glared at Edelmar and then turned to Logan.
“What about the interrogation of that bastard?”
“He only received orders from Count Kale to commit perjury in exchange for money; he doesn’t know anything else.”
Ian clicked his tongue.
As expected, the wandering knight, Rose’s biological father, was just a pawn.
“What should we do with him?”
“Hmm,”
Ian pondered.
It was inevitable that the man would die.
The only question was how to make him suffer as much as Rose did.
“Why not leave it to me?”
Edelmar shrugged.
“I heard a lot from my little friend.”
“You seem closer to Rose than I thought,”
Ian asked with a hint of sarcasm.
Edelmar smiled and responded,
“There are things she can’t say to her uncle, but she can share it with a friend.”
Ian snorted.
“So, what do you plan to do?”
“Hmm,”
Edelmar crossed his legs and leaned back on the sofa.
“Since my brother became Emperor, there have been death row prisoners, but executions have not been carried out. Do you know why?”
Ian looked puzzled.
“Those sentenced to death are secretly transferred to the underground of the Grand Duke’s castle.”
“The underground of the Grand Duke’s castle?”
Logan’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Yes. Even death row prisoners are citizens of the Empire. They should die for the Empire.”
“…Does that mean…”
Fred’s quiet words were cut off by Edelmar.
“Stop. If you say more, your life might be in danger.”
Ian sighed.
“Please don’t make unnecessary threats. If you hadn’t mentioned it in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“You were the one who was curious, Ian. They were just eavesdropping on our conversation.”
“If that’s the case, just… never mind.”
Ian swallowed his words, seeing Edelmar’s mischievous smile, and gestured to the two men.
“Both of you, leave. The Grand Duke will handle the wandering knight situation, so just leave it be.”
“Alright.”
After the two men saluted and left, Ian moved to the sofa.
Edelmar poured tea into an empty cup and asked,
“Do you want to hear more about how I plan to handle it?”
“No, I’m sure you’ll take care of it appropriately, so I’m not curious anymore.”
“Hmm, that’s not very exciting,”
Ian took a sip of the hot tea.
Spring was slowly approaching. It would still be a few months before the buds sprouted, but the harsh cold had begun to subside.
“Have the seeds been planted?”
“Yes.”
The seeds Fred had given were planted in the territory with the harshest winter in the duchy.
The farmers were reportedly shocked at the order to plant unknown seeds in the frozen ground in the middle of winter, wondering if the Duke had lost his mind.
But when the seeds sprouted within a day, they praised the Duke’s wisdom.
“They say the sprouts have appeared, but when will the harvest be?”
Ian set down his teacup.
“Where on earth do you hear these things?”
Ian himself had a subordinate stationed there, so he could get this information, but how did the Grand Duke know about it?
“Did you plant someone near Fred?”
“You’re underestimating your abilities.”
“If not Fred, then how did you find out?”
Edelmar shrugged his shoulders.
“I’m not spying on you.”
“If it’s not surveillance, then what is it?”
Edelmar shrugged again, signaling that he wouldn’t reveal any more.
Ian clicked his tongue and picked up his teacup.
“Are we done for the day?”
“We still have work.”
“Good grief.”
This time, Edelmar clicked his tongue.
“Is it still not enough?”
“Indeed.”
Training with Ian was something Edelmar, who spent more time with Rose than anyone else except when teaching the knights, always sought every opportunity to do.
Whenever possible, they would spar with magic and swords, but Edelmar was never satisfied.
He kept urging Ian to unseal Fragarach, the sword that could even destroy souls.
Unsealing it wasn’t difficult, but Fragarach was a blade that could lead to murder instead of sparring if something went wrong, so Ian never unsealed it during their bouts.
But perhaps this only piqued Edelmar’s curiosity further, as he became even more obsessed with their sparring.
“I won’t unseal it.”
“Why not?”
“Because I can win without unsealing it.”
So far, their record stood at 4 wins and 1 draw. The draw occurred during their first duel when one of the Grand Duke’s men, worried Ian might die, intervened.
“Damn it.”
A rare curse escaped the usually smiling Edelmar, which made Ian smile with satisfaction.
“When will you have time today?”
“I have no time today.”
“Then when will you show me your magic?”
As if he had never cursed, Edelmar quickly returned to his cheerful demeanor.
Ian sipped the tea just enough to warm himself and then stood up.
“Shall we go?”
“Sure.”
Ian, now accustomed to Edelmar’s presence by his side, headed toward the annex with him.
***
The entrance to the annex was thoroughly protected by magic and artifacts.
As Ian reached out his hand in front of the door, which only registered individuals could enter, a small gap appeared in the deadly protective barrier, just large enough for one person to pass through.
“Please, go ahead.”
“When did you prepare all this?”
Edelmar marveled as he examined the barrier around the annex.
This protective barrier was even more formidable than the one at the imperial palace.
It was so solid that even his aura couldn’t penetrate it, and it was filled with enough killing intent to instantly eliminate any intruders.
“I prepared it bit by bit,”
Ian replied indifferently.
Following Ian inside, Edelmar was once again amazed. The annex was filled with gleaming gold, jewels, and piles of gold and silver coins.
Edelmar picked up one of the gold coins and chuckled.
The thorny rose stem wound around the wolf was an image.
“Are you trying to link the two?”
Ian made a disgusted face.
“Can you really say that after seeing the thorns?”
Edelmar flipped the gold coin.
“Then what does the wolf represent?”
“It’s not a wolf.”
Edelmar examined the gold coin again.
Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t actually a wolf.
Although it looked similar at first glance, the elongated snout and round ears were different from those of a wolf.
This is…
“Offertorium.”
The Offertorium, known as the messenger of God, was divided into male and female. Unlike the male with its beautiful mane, the female lacked a mane but had long fur like a wolf.
“Are you planning to make Rose a sacred being with the Offertorium?”
“If you’re founding a nation, you need some mythology.”
Ian walked over to a desk. On it was a crudely drawn flower.
“Did Rose draw this?”
“Yes. It’s supposed to be a rose. Isn’t it cute?”
A smile spread across Ian’s face.
When Ian mentioned he needed a picture of a rose, Rose had drawn this with such force that her fingers turned white.
The result was a drawing that didn’t quite resemble a rose.
Anyone unfamiliar would recognize it as a flower, but they wouldn’t guess it was a rose.
Ian liked it even more for that reason.
“…It’s cute.”
Even as he reluctantly agreed, Ian beamed.
***
“My child seems to be a genius. She’s only five years old, but she draws well, writes well, and she’s learning numbers so quickly. At this rate, Fred will run out of things to teach her and will be complaining,”
Ian said, looking pleased with himself.
Edelmar stared at Ian, dumbfounded.
Even though he wasn’t as close to Rose as Ian, Edelmar also spent time with her and knew her abilities well.
Contrary to Ian’s words, Rose was just an ordinary child.
She wasn’t exceptionally quick to learn, nor did she have a particularly outstanding artistic sense.
So, everything Ian was saying now…
‘Parental bias,’ Edelmar thought.
Understanding what it was like for parents to be blinded by love for their children, Edelmar listened to Ian’s boasting with one ear and let it go out the other, focusing instead on the items on the desk.
Taking advantage of a pause in Ian’s speech, Edelmar quickly asked,
“What are these for?”
The items were rectangular sheets of paper wrapped in thick fabric at the front, stacked in one place.
“Oh, those are checks.”
“Checks?”
Ian handed him a bundle of papers.
As Edelmar opened the cover, he saw writing on the white sheets.
Below the words ‘Please pay’ was a blank space for the amount, with the words ‘Diess Bank’ written underneath.
“Diess?”
“It’s the name of the bank.”
“A promise… You’re well-versed in ancient languages.”
“I know as much as anyone else.”
How many people still spoke ancient languages these days?
If it weren’t for the void, Edelmar wouldn’t have even considered learning the ancient language.
Despite his surprise that Ian knew ancient languages, Edelmar continued his questions.
“So, what’s the purpose of this?”
“It’s a check.”
“A check?”
Ian nodded.
“Do you know what method merchants use to pay for goods?”
“They issue a bill of exchange.”
If the amount is small and the distance is close, silver or gold coins are used, but for large amounts or long distances, the risk increases.
That’s why merchants use bills of exchange for transactions, and the recipient of the bill could cash it in at the merchant’s main trading domain or use it as payment for another transaction.
However, bill transactions were only used among merchants who had traded for a long time or had a high reputation.
This was because when bills of exchange were first introduced, bill fraud was rampant.
“You’re replacing bills with this?”
“Yes. It’s reliable and can be redeemed anywhere, so it’s a substitute currency.”
Ian explained how checks are issued.
They can only be issued for the amount of money that is deposited, and exceeding that amount is impossible, which left Edelmar wide-eyed with surprise.
“How is that possible? Even if the bank writes the amount, it could be altered.”
“Alteration is impossible.”
Ian took the checkbook from Edelmar’s hand and filled in a number in the blank space.
As soon as the number 10,000 was inscribed, the check emitted a brief glow before returning to normal.
“This is a check for 10,000 silver coins. Now, I’ll try adding one more zero.”
Ian wrote another zero with his pen.
However, the zero didn’t appear on the check.
