Chapter 165
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Playing Along
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Late that night, Jeffrey, his face pale, came to see Pernyan and Aria, who had been waiting for him.
"...He said I was delirious from my injuries, that I was seeing and hearing things."
Surprisingly, Adolf showed no particular reaction to Jeffrey's actions.
"Did he just decide to ignore it?"
"It makes sense if you think about it. Sir Jeffrey is the only witness. If he ignores it, everyone will believe my brother."
It was a simple, yet utterly effective response.
"He's more seasoned than I thought. I expected him to panic and show an opening."
All this did was put them on their guard.
'Still, I should have Wooden keep an eye on him, just in case.'
But the next day.
"You have a visitor."
"A visitor?"
"Yes, Count Daniel Koal is here to see you."
There was a reaction.
* * *
"It's been a while, Lord Pernyan."
Daniel, the Count of Koal.
He was a magnate in the liquor industry, having developed the distillery business and selling alcohol throughout the empire. He was also a client of the Golden Turtle Merchant Guild.
His appearance on-site was completely unexpected.
"What brings you here, Count?"
"Why, to see you, of course, my lord."
"How did you know I was here?"
"You may not be aware, but I recently expanded my business into Friedien."
Pernyan knew. He also knew it was going quite poorly.
"Elven liquor is quite renowned, isn't it? I was in the area supplying alcohol and touring elven distilleries for research."
He held out a newspaper. It contained an article about the joint mining venture between Friedien and Fallenberg.
"Then I heard a rumor that you were personally overseeing a mining operation in Friedien. I rushed over, hoping to see you after so long."
He had supplies unloaded from the cart he'd brought. There was a considerable amount of food, alcohol, and various other luxuries.
"Is that so?"
"Haha, I see I can't fool you, my lord."
Seeing Pernyan's lukewarm response, Count Daniel lowered his voice.
"Truthfully, I came because I have a question."
"What is it?"
"How on earth did you convince the prideful elves to permit this development?"
he whispered, glancing around at the elves.
"As you know, the mana in elven lands is purer and more abundant, likely due to the World Tree. Alcohol aged with that mana becomes a masterpiece."
That's why so many entrepreneurs wish to build breweries or distilleries in Friedien's territory.
But the Friediens have never granted such permits to anyone but other elves, which is why elven liquor has always been a popular luxury item.
"And yet, this time they've approved resource development. The elves loathe resource development as much as they loathe outsiders building breweries and distilleries."
"Are you asking for my know-how?"
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't want that, but of course, I can't ask for such a thing. I merely came to see with my own eyes if the rumors were true. If they are, it means building a distillery or brewery might not be impossible after all."
Still, I'll ask just in case.
"Could you perhaps share your method?"
"No."
"Haha, I figured as much. In that case, since I'm already here, may I stay for a night?"
The day was already ending. The sun sets faster in the mountains.
Besides, he couldn't just turn away a guest who had brought so many gifts.
"Of course."
"Thank you. Ah, by the way, what kind of mineral vein is in this mountain? For it to be profitable in a rocky mountain like this, it must be quite valuable."
"I can't tell you that either."
"Ah, of course. I was just so curious, I couldn't help myself."
Count Daniel stepped out of the tent.
Pernyan's gaze was fixed on his back.
"Wooden."
- Guing?
"Stick to him and keep him under close surveillance until he leaves."
The moment he learned Jeffrey had regained his memories, an unexpected person showed up.
A coincidence?
'Impossible.'
It could be a coincidence, by some slim chance. But Pernyan's intuition told him otherwise.
- Gu-iing?
"I'll leave Jeffrey to Aria."
- Kkung.
Wooden vanished.
* * *
That evening, a drinking party was held to welcome Count Daniel, using the provisions he had brought.
"Sunbaenim, have a drink."
"I am drinking."
"Don't try to pull a fast one. That's water."
"We're not here on vacation, Aria."
"But we can still enjoy ourselves. People often bond over drinks."
Such a consistent elf.
Pernyan chuckled and accepted the glass she offered. It wasn't a particularly strong drink, so a few glasses wouldn't hurt.
He took the glass from Aria, and Adolf watched them, slowly draining his own cup.
'Pernyan Fallenberg. He's wary of me.'
He recalled their conversation on the way here.
The Fallenberg's responsibility ends with the sale? And he thinks the Friediens are the true Electors?
He wasn't wrong. A merchant had no obligation beyond the sale of their goods.
But if he was going to say that, he shouldn't have added the latter part. What purpose did it serve other than to provoke him?
'Aria...'
He cherished her. Though a relative, she was like a real younger sister to him, who had no brothers or sisters of his own.
That child had brought Pernyan here.
He knew why.
'She was wary of my radical methods.'
He knew. He knew his methods were aggressive and radical.
But Aria only saw one side of the story.
'Did she think I was like this from the start?'
The relentless discrimination had made him this way.
No matter how much the treatment of elves improved, the fundamental nature of their situation hadn't changed.
This was a human empire, and there was no place for elves in it.
'In the end, elves only have three choices.'
Live as lower-class citizens of the empire.
Overthrow the empire.
Or leave the empire.
Happily laughing and fully assimilating into the empire?
It had already been fifteen years since the Friediens became Electors by purchasing the rights to the Golden Bull from the Bercefes.
And ten times that long had passed since the Friedien kingdom was incorporated into the empire as a marquisate.
Yet their attitudes remained unchanged.
So why must we be the only ones to bow our heads?
"...I can't let that happen."
Never.
'Tsk, these humans can't even brew a proper drink.'
Adolf, having downed five glasses, gave a look to the half-drunk Count Daniel.
The sun had completely vanished, and a deep darkness settled in.
The atmosphere was ripe, and all the humans were drunk.
Pernyan Fallenberg's eyes were completely closed, his head lolling at an odd angle.
After a subtle glance at Count Daniel, he disappeared into the darkness.
* * *
"I'm just going to relieve myself."
A moment later, Count Daniel offered his escort knights another drink and slipped away from the main camp.
The moment he saw Adolf in the distance, he gritted his teeth.
"Are you insane?"
Count Daniel nervously kicked a tree. A fallen branch snapped.
"Making such a fuss just because the suggestion was broken! Pernyan is a person of interest! What do you think he'll suspect if I show up at a time like this?"
Coming here now was tantamount to admitting he was involved.
Nevertheless, Count Daniel had come because Adolf Friedien had pressured him.
"It's just suspicion. Besides, this is your own fault to begin with."
"My fault?"
"Of course it is!"
Thump! Adolf shoved Count Daniel. The count's back slammed against a tree trunk.
"You said it would never be broken! You said no one would ever know!"
Adolf snarled.
"Do you have any idea how many elves in my family are under your suggestion? Have you even imagined what would happen if it broke for all of them?"
Mere suspicion?
"Who cares if you're under a little suspicion? Everything I have is at risk of being lost!"
"That won't happen! The suggestion was perfect!"
"Then what about Jeffrey!"
His grip on the man's collar tightened.
"Why was the suggestion broken on Jeffrey...!"
"...We'll have to find that out. It's highly likely Pernyan is involved."
"Are you an imbecile? Then again, I shouldn't expect intelligence from a Vile Breed who sold his soul to a demon."
Count Daniel's face hardened at the contemptuous words.
"Pernyan, who has no connection to the main family, is here. Don't you know what that means? Do you really believe he's here to find a mineral vein in this useless rocky mountain? No! Aria called him! Jeffrey was once her escort knight!"
Jeffrey must have told Aria what happened, and she, sensing something was wrong, asked Pernyan for help.
There was no other explanation.
"He's deliberately investigating me. It wouldn't matter if there was no way to break the suggestion, but it was broken. It was broken!"
He had accepted the family head's order to take on the escort duty, knowing all this.
As long as the suggestion held, as long as Count Daniel's guarantee was solid, there would have been no problem.
But not anymore. The suggestion was broken, and Pernyan must now know he was involved with the Vile Breed.
Just let it be? How could he?
If he did nothing, he would surely fall into ruin.
"So what do you want me to do now? Kill them all?"
"Don't be ridiculous."
This is Aria and Pernyan we're talking about.
The legitimate daughter of Friedien and the heir of Fallenberg. The consequences of killing them would be unbearable.
And Adolf had been with Aria since childhood; she was like a real sister to him.
"Then?"
"We have to make it so none of this ever happened."
"Never happened? You don't mean...?"
"Yes, exactly that."
Adolf nodded.
"I'll trust you one more time. Place them both under suggestion."
Nothing ever happened.
"Do you think that's even possible?"
"This isn't a matter of whether it's possible or not."
You and I.
"We have to do it if we want to live."
It's the best way.
* * *
"...Are you asleep? Sunbaenim, you're such a lightweigh... Goodness! Weren't you passed out drunk?"
Pernyan, who had been leaning back with his eyes closed, opened them. Aria, who had been muttering, thinking he was drunk, jumped in surprise.
"Got it."
"Huh? Got what?"
"The proof."
Wooden had many functions.
One of them was recording.
Pernyan could see what Wooden saw, and he could also save it as a recording sphere.
This would serve as irrefutable proof.
'...But Count Daniel is a Vile Breed?'
Does that make any sense?
Pernyan recalled the Continental Academic Conference.
At the time, Aint had cast a beam of light in the shape of a Saint Bird to catch all the Vile Breeds. And Daniel hadn't been affected by that light.
'Is he not a Vile Breed, or does he have the ability to withstand Aint's light?'
Pernyan leaned more toward the latter.
The line, 'I shouldn't expect intelligence from a Vile Breed who sold his soul to a demon.'
That was proof that he was a Vile Breed, and conversely, that Adolf was not.
'And Adolf isn't a Vile Breed, but is cooperating with them.'
Judging by their attitudes, it was a horizontal relationship, not a hierarchical one.
'In a way, that makes sense.'
A man overflowing with elven pride would never sell his soul to the Vile Breeds. To Adolf, they were simply a means to an end.
A means to eliminate discrimination, to overthrow the empire.
'Anyway, they're going to put me and Aria under suggestion?'
What should I do?
Should I stop them beforehand and tell the Marquis everything?
Or.
'Should I pretend to fall for it and use the situation to my advantage?'
It might be a chance to dig deeper into the Vile Breeds.
If so, he could fill in some of the gaps in the Prophecy Book, which had become inaccurate due to the altered future.
He wasn't afraid of death.
Even the Vile Breeds wouldn't be ignorant of his usefulness.
They would be fearsome as enemies, but if they were convinced they could control him, he would be a most reliable ally.
"Give me another glass."
"What proof?"
"It's too late tonight. I'll tell you tomorrow."
He hadn't decided on a course of action yet; there was no need to cause her unnecessary anxiety.
'The problem is how to break the suggestion.'
How could he naturally pour holy water on his head?
'They'll try to place the suggestion as soon as possible. Maybe the moment they get back. I need a countermeasure.'
Late that night, Pernyan's thoughts ran deep.