It really was Colin. It seemed that the scammer bastard called Adras or something had tattled about me to the temple, and this place happened to be Colin’s parish.
Still, what was I supposed to do about this situation?
There were things among the items I sold that the Order might find sensitive, such as the All-Illness-Forbidden Talisman, the talisman version of a panacea, or the Five Elements Spirit-Healing Talisman, which could restore even a mind that had lost its senses...
However, the other shops sold even more outrageous things. Some even claimed they could raise the dead from their graves. They had ignored all of that and come to crack down on only me because my business had done too well.
“Here it is! This is the stronghold of the blasphemers!”
Adras shouted in a triumphant voice.
“Uh... What business do you have here?”
Viten’s manner of speaking was painfully awkward. He was doing his best to keep Colin from recognizing his voice.
“I have no business with you. Bring out your employer.”
“Sorry, but that will not work. Our employer is rather shy around strangers.”
“Impudent fool! Whose presence do you think you are in?”
Colin’s guard officer thundered. Viten scratched his helmet and spoke as though troubled.
“Whoever it is, I must earn my wages. In any case, you cannot pass beyond here, so turn back.”
“A mere mercenary dares oppose the Holy Knights of Solitas?”
“Holy Knights of Solitas? That cannot be right. Perhaps you are the subordinates of a scammer who sells common water.”
“What?”
Swords leaped from the scabbards of more than ten Holy Knights at once. However, Viten did not blink an eye.
“If you work for money, we are all mercenaries, are we not? At least I am employed by a merchant. Your side takes money from a scammer, so I do not think you have much to say.”
Standing before ten of the Order’s strongest fighters, he was not intimidated in the slightest.
So this was the ‘Red Wolf.’
“Selling common water? What in the world are you talking about?”
Colin asked Adras in a reproachful tone. Adras replied calmly.
“Since our trading company is in a leading position within the industry, we are frequently subjected to various checks and slander. It is much easier to pull down someone successful than to improve one’s own competitiveness. You need not concern yourself with it. Legal matters are for our trading company to handle, while Bishop, you need only expose the sins of these blasphemers in full.”
“Hmm......”
Colin did not seem pleased, but there was no flaw in Adras’s logic.
“Very well. Detain this mercenary and investigate that trading company thoroughly.”
“Hey, what crime have I committed?”
“Your employer has been accused of spreading the beliefs of a heretical faith, desecrating Solitas’s divinity, denying and disobeying the authority granted to Solitas’s representative, and seven additional blasphemous charges. You will be given ample opportunity to explain yourself in court, so it would be best not to resist.”
The Holy Knights stepped forward.
“You understand now, do you not? Did I not tell you that regret would be your burden?”
Adras spoke loudly, as though ensuring I could hear him.
“Come out and show us that smug face of yours. If you surrender voluntarily, it will be taken into consideration.”
A victorious smile covered the bastard’s face.
What had he said? That when he earned three hundred thousand, only thirty thousand reached his own hands?
Then where did the remaining two hundred and seventy thousand go?
Money to move the temple. Money to bribe the courts. Money to fabricate evidence and silence witnesses...
I did not think this was the first time Adras had done such a thing. The reason it was difficult to find true healers in this enormous city, and the reason scammers ran rampant, was probably because fakes had eliminated the genuine ones this way.
“...Well, this is troublesome.”
Viten placed a hand on his sword hilt. The Holy Knights warned him sharply.
“Stop! If you resist, your crimes will only grow deeper!”
Viten was buying time for me to escape through the back door. The situation had happened too suddenly, so he was faithfully carrying out only my initial order: my identity must not be exposed. Even if it meant opposing the representatives of a god.
Viten, you have done more than enough. I will take it from here.
“Let us talk for a moment.”
My voice rang clearly through the curtain.
“Hmph, what conversation could we possibly have now? Shut your mouth and submit to arrest!”
“Quiet!”
Colin cut Adras off with a shout.
“Could you say that again? Perhaps because I am old, my ears are not as sharp as they once were.”
“How about we have a brief conversation? Only you, Grandfather.”
“Could it be......”
A deep furrow appeared on Colin’s forehead.
“All of you, wait here. I must have a brief interview with the owner of this trading company...”
“An interview? What do you mean by that? Can we not simply proceed according to procedure?”
Adras asked in a panic. Colin suddenly seemed unable to hear him. Letting Adras’s rambling pass by one ear and out the other, he repeatedly instructed the Holy Knights not to allow even a rat to pass through. Then he walked past Viten, lifted the curtain, and entered the workshop.
“Hello, Colin.”
When I waved,
“My heavens, it truly was Young Master Iden.”
Colin broke into a broad smile.
“May I hug you?”
“Of course.”
He rushed over and gently lifted me into his arms.
“Oh my, you have grown beyond recognition. Before long, even if this old man wishes to hold you, he will not be able to, ha ha ha.”
“I am learning swordsmanship these days.”
“I have heard the news. I have been looking forward to the day I could visit the palace and see Young Master’s achievements with these very eyes.”
“I have been waiting for the day I could see you too, Colin.”
Colin let out a hearty laugh. Because his laughter was so loud, the atmosphere outside became strangely unsettled.
“Still, what brings Young Master to the city? If you had sent me word, I would have rushed over at once.”
“I thought I would earn some pocket money. There was something I wanted to buy without asking Father for money.”
“You are truly admirable. His Grace the Duke will surely be pleased.”
“By the way, about the commotion outside...”
“Ha ha, it is nothing. It seems a market merchant made a misunderstanding and caused a disturbance. I will reason with him and send him away.”
The ten blasphemy charges were dismissed as a ‘misunderstanding by a market merchant.’
“Oh, there is one thing bothering me. It might not be important.”
“That is all right. This old man will help you to the best of his ability, so please tell me anything you wish.”
“The merchant who came with you, Colin. It turns out he has been doing business using my name.”
“He has been using Young Master’s name to do business?”
Colin’s eyebrows instantly rose into a sharp inverted V.
“May that rust-eaten fool perish...! My apologies. The story was so absurd that...!”
“I am fine, Colin.”
“I am not fine. I happen to have dinner arranged with the Chief Justice of the Olite High Court today, so I will have a firm word with him. I will tell him that Young Master is troubled, so he should conduct himself properly.”
“I think I would appreciate that.”
Colin gave a warm smile. He did not even ask about the accusations against me. He did not glance at the medicines and accessories scattered around us. He had no interest in them at all.
“Let us return.”
When Colin went outside the stall and issued the order, the Holy Knights who had been locked in a battle of nerves with Viten looked startled.
However, Adras was the most shocked of all.
“What do you mean, return? We have only just arrived. Are you saying you will leave without even investigating?”
“I investigated and concluded that it was a simple misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding? How much did you recei... No, I do not know what you heard, but this is not a misunderstanding. It cannot be! More than twenty people can testify that they saw that man chant the unholy names of a heretical god, sing hymns, and read books of doctrine!”
“My good man, I said it was a misunderstanding.”
“No, I-I just......”
Adras seemed unable to speak before Colin’s iron wall.
“You there. This is not the time for you to worry about others.”
Colin interrupted him in a stern tone.
“You seem to be a deeply problematic person yourself. A rigorous investigation will be conducted into the legitimacy of the business you have carried out, so understand that and prepare yourself.”
Colin ordered his subordinates to report Adras to the authorities immediately and to monitor Adras’s group so they could not leave the city. Legal matters were clearly not within the temple’s jurisdiction, yet the logic that had worked earlier was no longer accepted.
As though his legs had lost all strength, Adras collapsed where he stood.
Watching him, I gained one important realization.
So this was power.
A life in which one tirelessly commits fraud, earns three hundred thousand each month, and must be satisfied with thirty thousand. A life in which everything disappears at a single change of heart from someone in power.
I had wondered whether I should make this my full-time work because money came in so well, but never mind. I needed power after all.
***
I closed the stall, returned to the palace, and settled the accounts.
The total number of days that had passed was eighteen.
Excluding the investment capital, the total profit in our balance was one hundred and sixty thousand baht. In less than a month, I had earned a little over eight times my annual upkeep allowance.
“What do you think? Do you think one hundred and sixty thousand will be enough?”
“Considering the recent winning bids, it is within the safe range, but we cannot relax. The prices of monsters and materials are rising steeply.”
“Why are they rising?”
“Because Young Master Mabel and Young Master Chris are each fostering their own factions. It is expected to continue rising in the future.”
While Viten had been calling for customers, Thalia had procured supplies and conducted market research. According to her opinion, we needed two hundred thousand baht to secure the winning bid. However, there was no way to prepare forty thousand more in two days.
“What about doing business for one more day? The scammer bastard has been dealt with.”
“That will not do, Viten.”
I shook my head.
I had just reconfirmed that the Solitas Order was my strongest backing. I did not want to continue doing business while provoking them.
“Let us go with one hundred and sixty thousand. If it does not work, there is nothing we can do.”
And so, I concluded the great fifteen-day campaign. It had been an experience through which I could learn many things. I had experienced how society truly operated, and I had earned the reward of labor.
It was the day before the auction. Lily came to my room. In her hands, she held a small box made of reddish-brown wood.
“What is this?”
She opened the box’s lid. A delicate woody fragrance spread through the room. In the center of the box rested a sealed letter.
“These are the junior mistress’s belongings.”
—From Ophelia Rain
That was what was written on the outside of the letter.
“I searched through the estate in case there was something that could help Young Master. Lady Ophelia left this behind for when Young Master had grown up.”
It was a message from Mother. Until now, I had only learned about Mother indirectly, so it was unexpected.
“Please read it.”
Lily urged me once again. I carefully opened the envelope.
—My beloved baby.
As the day I will hold you in my arms draws closer, Mother’s heart grows ever more excited. I am counting the days until you are born and become part of our family.
When you smile for the first time, reach out your hands, and begin to walk, Mother will be with you through every moment. Watching you grow, learn new things, and take on challenges will be my greatest joy. Whatever you choose and whichever path you take, Mother will always be on your side.
May your life be filled with happiness. May you always grow bright and healthy. May Solitas’s endless protection be with you. No matter what trials and hardships come, may Mother remain by your side.
With love and blessings,
Ophelia Rain
I raised my head and looked at Lily.
“Seven years ago, a trust fund was established in House Rain’s name so Young Master could one day purchase armor and weapons. It contains one hundred thousand baht.”
She was crying.
One cannot yearn for something one has never possessed.
But Mother’s letter created a yearning for something I had never possessed. Only then did I realize there was an emptiness within me, and Mother no longer existed in this world.
Of course, that space would not remain empty forever. Watching Lily’s tears, I was certain that many people were filling that hole in this life.