The Shadow of the Crown
Theodore replied with a deadpan expression.
"It’s fastest if I just go in alone."
"No, sir. You must consider your status."
"Status? Doing this kind of work?"
He spat the words out with a dark, brooding look before turning to Jan.
"What about the ones who tried to run?"
"We caught them all."
"Good enough."
Theodore replied quietly and looked at Paul.
Paul had finally recovered from the shock of the beating, but he remained sitting on the floor, dazed and staring up at Theodore, completely unable to grasp what was happening. The other gang members were in the same state.
"Drop your weapons. You can keep holding them if you want, but if you’d rather not risk dying or getting hurt by mistake, I suggest you put them down."
There wasn't a single person there who didn't understand the implication.
The sound of clubs and knives hitting the floor echoed from every corner. Seizing the moment, the gang members even dropped to their knees.
Theodore set his own club aside and gestured with his chin toward one of the men.
"Open the window."
"Y-yes, sir?"
"The cigarette smoke is foul."
The man who had been singled out scrambled to open the window.
Theodore sat on the sofa with a look of profound reluctance. Following Jan, four attendants dragged in the bloodied gang members, one by one, and tossed them onto the floor.
"Come here and sit."
Paul jumped at the command, then hurried over to sit across from Theodore. He didn't dare to even think about disobeying.
It was obvious at a glance that the man before him was of noble birth. What on earth was a noble doing in a place like this? No noble would ever dirty their hands with a gang like this. Even if they were backing them, they would normally use an employee as a proxy. Yet here he was, doing the dirty work himself.
Furthermore, his attendants were clearly no ordinary men. They were undoubtedly knights.
"Haa."
Theodore let out a sigh. It was truly a task he had no desire to perform.
At his nod, Jan pulled a document from his coat and handed it to Paul. It was a pledge of loyalty to the Count of Lutgarth. A delicately crafted silver paper knife was placed on top of it like a paperweight.
Paul stared at Theodore with wide eyes, but when it became clear he wouldn't get an answer, he turned to Jan. Jan explained.
"We intend to acquire your organization and all your business interests, but we plan to keep your name on the registry."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. We will continue to operate the business under your name, but the orders will come from us. The goal is to seize control of the capital’s theater district and the markets entirely. It isn't something that can be done in the Count’s name."
Paul looked at Theodore in astonishment. Theodore stared back at him with deep, sunken eyes.
"I did some investigating through my connections. I learned the names of countless pieces of trash in this world. I judged that you were, at the very least, better than the rest."
When Olivia first brought up the plan to co-opt a criminal organization, he had opposed it. But Olivia had looked at him with an unreadable, expressionless face and said:
"I need an organization that can move goods and people in secret, and wield a blade if the situation calls for it. But if I start from scratch, I won't just fail to build the strength to oppose the spy networks—I’ll be exposed before I even sprout. Do you have another way?"
Theodore couldn't help but admit that her method was the most efficient.
However, they disagreed on the specific means. Olivia wanted to buy them off with money, but Theodore shook his head.
"Do you really think people like that will keep their word just because they signed a contract and took money? Keeping them silent will be even harder."
"Then?"
"You have to break them."
It was never his intention to get his hands dirty with such things, but he couldn't let Olivia deal with these types of people herself.
Besides, the fewer people who know a secret, the better, and a force of violence must always be under the control of someone you can trust.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Duke Klaus’s retainers or the other royalist nobles. But they all had their own reasons for following Olivia. The only ones he could trust completely were himself and Duke Klaus.
'I don't know what Olivia thinks, though.'
Perhaps she didn't trust him. That must be why she had left without telling him the truth, as if running away.
She must have been relying on her father, not him.
Thinking of that made Theodore’s chest feel suffocatingly tight, as if he were trapped in a cave with no exit.
That night, why had Olivia asked him if he could kiss her? The thoughts that had been circling and digging into him had grown too deep, eventually turning into suspicion. Had she been testing him?
Or was that her way of manipulating his heart? Just as she had seduced Ezekiel Schwaben?
The idea that their hearts were connected might have been a delusion from the start, and that night might have been nothing more than a bubble. Or perhaps the woman he knew and loved had never existed in the first place.
But none of that mattered in reality. Sirach would reclaim its lost 1st Imperial Princess, and he had sworn his loyalty.
Acting for her sake was an obvious duty. Even if the path was paved with mud.
Theodore looked down at Paul Bauer. He felt a bitter sensation.
'Then again, I'm not in a position to judge anyone else's morality.'
At the very least, this man was someone who kept his contracts. He seemed to hold that up as his own form of pride, after all.
"You have only two choices. Loyalty to me, or death. If you choose loyalty, I will reward you handsomely."
He signaled to Jan again. Jan took out a check and placed it on top of the pledge.
Paul’s eyes widened. His lips trembled. He had never seen such a massive sum written on a single check before.
He gulped. The words about seizing the capital’s theater district and markets finally hit home with a sense of reality. It was an enormous undertaking that effectively meant taking control of the capital’s underworld.
He could consider this a stroke of luck. If these men hadn't found him first, his small business would surely have been crushed and wiped out entirely.
Paul picked up the paper knife with trembling hands. Theodore didn't even shift his posture, not even considering that Paul might try to attack him with it.
Paul pricked his thumb, squeezed out a drop of blood, and pressed it firmly onto the pledge.
Jan retrieved the pledge and handed him several contracts. Paul sucked on his bleeding thumb once and read through the documents. They contained instructions to take over security for several theaters, including the Marell Troupe.
"Hah."
"Sign it."
Jan handed him a pen. Paul took it and signed obediently.
"W-what should I do from here? My staff can't handle a contract of this scale."
"You don't need to do anything special. We will provide the manpower."
He planned to swap out the gang members with Lutgarth knights while expanding the scale of Paul Bauer’s faction and the others they would absorb, but there was no need to reveal such detailed plans right now.
Then, Theodore changed his mind.
"Actually, there is something. Contact your subordinates. Make sure they can move before midnight."
Hearing Theodore’s order, Paul and Jan both asked in unison:
"Yes?"
"Move... sir? Where to?"
"To the stronghold of the faction most hostile to you. No need to drag this out, is there?"
Paul’s eyes went wide as he realized what that meant. Theodore spoke in a cold voice.
"I need your numbers to make it look like a war. Let’s finish one more place tonight."
"Y-yes, sir! Understood!"
Paul quickly looked around and shouted at his gang members.
"If you heard him, move! Whether they’re passed out at home or rotting in a tavern, drag them all here!"
His spirit soared as if he truly had a beast at his back.
"Tonight, we crush the Becker bastards!"
Hearing that, the gang members scrambled out in an instant. Jan couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.