Kellever Square Intersection.
The large fountain made of marble, along with its grand statue, was the most representative structure of Kellever Square.
Initially thought to be enjoyed only by the nobility and upper class, this marble structure drew crowds of common people when it appeared in their midst. As people gathered to see the spectacle, over time, they naturally formed a market, turning Kellever Square into a prominent area in contrast to the elite LaHart Square.
Thanks to this, the capital LaHart was spoken of more in terms of the aristocratic LaHart Square and the common Kellever Square, rather than by its four administrative districts.
There was a large market at the Kellever Square intersection, primarily frequented by commoners. Most of the imperial specialties, except for luxury items, were circulated and sold in this market. Those luxury goods were reserved for the royal and noble families.
As it became normal for the remaining goods to flow into Kellever, dissatisfaction began to grow among the common people. Initially, they accepted the situation, but once someone voiced their grievance, everyone began to realize the unfairness.
Why did some take the best goods first, while others had to settle for the scraps left behind? It was undeniably unjust.
‘We have the right to possess the best too!’
However, recognizing the unfairness didn’t grant them the power to change the situation. Unfortunately.
As dissatisfaction accumulated and the negative sentiment grew, the commoners of Kellever decided to form their own assembly, electing leaders to gather and consolidate their opinions in preparation to confront the upper class.
Yet, they weren’t preparing for a grand fight; they simply aimed to make the upper class acknowledge what should be obvious.
Despite their efforts, their voices barely reached the entrance of LaHart Square before being silenced and scattered.
Not a single noble listened to the grievances of the common people.
Dialogue requires a willingness to listen; an unreciprocated expression of frustration simply vanishes into the air.
Time passed without any struggle even beginning. Then, a commoner’s advisor began working in the palace, slightly altering the situation.
Now, there was a channel to convey the commoners’ entreaties to the royalty.
“To express your dissatisfaction, come here.”
Upon realizing the existence of such grievances, the palace arranged for all local specialties coming to the capital to be sold simultaneously at the same auction, rather than through differential sales.
All local specialties are offered to everyone on the same terms.
However, unfortunately, this method proved to be rather ineffective. People had the opportunity to buy premium goods, but they didn’t have the money to afford them.
At prices and fees much higher than they had expected, the commoners’ will to fight was quickly extinguished.
When they thought they couldn’t buy them, they were outraged by the unfairness, but when the moment came to purchase, they found they didn’t have enough money to pay the price. It was a truly ironic and sad situation.
Thus, the imperial decree that promised equal opportunity for all local specialties became merely a hollow statement.
Occasionally, some commoners who genuinely needed special products would browse the market in Kellever Square, but naturally, the items they could acquire were at best of average quality.
Among the commoners, there were occasionally those with the financial means to buy premium goods.
Though their status was commoner, they might have been fortunate enough to make a fortune through business or saved diligently for something they truly needed.
Seeing this, shrewd merchants began to siphon off a few special products. They offered these special goods to nobles at slightly reduced prices but attached conditions.
In truth, these special products were leftover stock meant for the nobles, but the commoners had no way of knowing that.
Rather than keeping excess inventory, it was better to sell to interested individuals at a lower price to minimize losses.
However, if word got out that prices were reduced due to surplus, no one would be willing to pay the original price.
Merchants sold discounted special goods to a few commoners under strict confidentiality, even drafting contracts to ensure secrecy. Thus, the black market in Kellever Square was born.
Nothing was missing from Kellever’s black market. Even if something were unavailable, the word spread among commoners that any item could be procured by simply asking a black market trader.
As time went on, even items that should not be sold started appearing on the black market, such as illegally made magical stones.
At this point, the imperial family had to take action. While it could turn a blind eye to other goods traded for profit, magical stones were a different matter.
The exclusive rights to mine, process, and distribute all magical stones were held solely by the imperial family for good reason.
Sharing rights equally among the people might appear fair, but in reality, it was not. Freedom leads to excess, and excess creates inequality and harm to others.
Therefore, the imperial family mobilized the knight order and investigators to crack down on Kellever’s black market.
As the state enforced the crackdown, the black market in Kellever was quickly subdued, with only legally permissible items occasionally traded.
However, the situation took another turn when the former Emperor Alexander became infatuated with his concubine Marina.
For some unknown reason, Emperor Alexander withdrew the strict blade aimed at the Kellever black market and turned a blind eye to whatever was bought and sold there as long as no significant issues arose.
With this change, people quickly began to buy illegally processed magical stones from the black market instead of the expensive magical stones bearing the royal seal.
“…This is the long history of the Kellever black market.”
Karl’s gestures as he flipped through the documents were calm. He was in a meeting with Clovis and the royal investigation team’s Alpha team.
Among the young investigators, some weren’t well-acquainted with the Kellever black market. This was the case for those from noble families, rather than commoners.
The reason for gathering the new investigators and recounting the black market’s long history was that knowing the enemy while understanding oneself would lead to victory in a hundred battles.
A fair amount of time had passed since all private commercial transactions in the capital were restricted.
No matter how generously the royal family offered commission fees while posing as intermediaries, dissatisfaction among the merchants was inevitable.
At this point, such discontent was bound to erupt in some form.
Karl concluded that merchants with grievances would sell their goods through dark channels to evade the royal family’s scrutiny, and his prediction proved accurate.
Intelligence indicated that the Kellever black market had begun to reopen.
“Any questions?”
“If illegal magical stones are being sold, shouldn’t the royal family have regulated the black market sooner? I don’t quite understand why it has been left unchecked until now.”
The young man who raised his hand to ask this question looked more like a boy than a young adult, unsure if he had even reached the rites of passage.
“What’s your name?”
“Paul, Hans.”
“Paul, is it?”
“Yes, Captain!”
Paul straightened his posture and saluted, thrilled to have his name called by the captain as a newly inducted member.
“There’s nothing that happens suddenly. Whatever seems to have occurred suddenly in your eyes is just a result of intertwining complex issues finally being revealed.”
“Yes, I understand!”
Did he really grasp that? Paul completed his salute with a disciplined demeanor and returned to his seat.
He would likely face significant reprimands from his direct superior after the meeting. Karl set down the document he was reviewing and looked up.
“Tonight, the black market will open again. We must arrest not only the merchants selling the magic stones there but all merchants present as well.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
The chorus of the members resonated loudly. While showing loyalty is good, does it make sense to shout so loudly during a secret meeting? Karl slightly frowned.
“In particular, if there’s a shabby-looking old woman selling illegally processed magic stones, we must absolutely, absolutely not let her escape. And what you need to capture are not just the merchants but also the middlemen who brought the items to the black market.”
“Yes, Captain. I will keep that in mind!”
In response to Clovis’s admonition, the Alpha investigation team saluted with determination.
Tonight is the night. There won’t be a second chance. Karl tapped the table lightly with his index finger.
