The Mastermind Revealed
My mood was far from good. And that had nothing to do with the budget quadrupling. A massive problem had arisen in a business that had been running perfectly fine, so it was only natural. Honestly, I felt like venting my frustration on someone. I was in the mood to give the head of House Revorn, who had come to confirm the exact situation, a thorough dressing down. But...
“...”
Seeing him enter the reception room looking like he was at death’s door made even the desire to chew him out vanish. At this point, rather than wanting to berate him, I actually felt sorry for the man.
I watched as he cautiously took the seat across from me and spoke.
“Count Revorn.”
“Y-yes!”
Count Revorn answered like a soldier standing at rigid attention. Suddenly, seeing him so different from the prince I’d met before filled me with pity.
A count’s household was generally a fairly high rank even among nobles. Of course, it depended on how long the family had endured, what achievements they’d accumulated, how much they’d contributed to the empire, and so on. The family’s prestige could vary accordingly. But generally speaking, a count was definitely a high title.
Someone who would be treated with respect wherever he went, receiving hospitality rather than disdain. Seeing such a person trembling in fear before me made me feel an unwarranted sense of sympathy.
If he was as brazen and rude as the prince, that would be one thing.
He was acting so subservient and frightened that I wasn’t enough of a sociopath to scold or berate him. Even though this situation had quite irritated me and made me angry, I quickly calmed that feeling and said,
“Have you grasped the situation?”
“Th-that…!”
The count swallowed hard at my question. His eyes darted around and he was even breaking out in cold sweat, looking utterly desperate.
“I have no intention of blaming you. I didn’t come here to hold anyone accountable in the first place, but to resolve the situation. So I promise there will be no disadvantage if you tell me the truth. Be honest.”
“We-we’re desperately searching as well… but we still don’t quite understand what’s happened.”
It was the answer I’d expected, so I wasn’t surprised. Whoever was capable of pulling off something like this would surely have left no traces.
“Any guesses?”
“...It’s not certain, but I’ve narrowed it down to about three possibilities.”
“Are they all criminal organizations?”
“...Yes, they are.”
Listening to the count, who seemed a bit calmer than before, I thought, It’s confirmed then.
Hearing the count’s words, one thing became certain. The mastermind behind the incident was someone on the inside. The reason I thought so was simple.
He’s not even considering that the culprit might be inside the family.
The count was suspecting criminal organizations, but that didn’t make sense. First, the security wasn’t so lax that a criminal syndicate could easily breach it. Second, to steal everything inside the factory so cleanly, it had to be an inside job rather than an intrusion.
And the number of people who could access the factory is limited.
Naturally, since it was an important project, I had been periodically sending Magic Tower personnel to check on it. And as the master of the Magic Tower, I could say that the mages belonging to our tower weren’t pushovers. The Magic Tower was a place where only those at the absolute pinnacle of magic could enter.
To pull off something like this while evading the surveillance of such mages and numerous magic circles? It would be impossible unless it was someone of my caliber.
So what could be considered here was that there was an insider who could easily gain entry.
Those who could approach the factory related to this project included the involved producers, the mages belonging to the Magic Tower, and finally, the lord of the city, Count Revorn.
Naturally, the producers couldn’t have done this. And it was unlikely to be one of the mages I’d dispatched… that was also impossible. The last one remaining was Count Revorn, but…
It’s not Count Revorn.
It wasn’t just based on his reaction. The very idea that he was the culprit behind this incident was impossible. There were too many reasons to explain, but to name just one: the count had nothing to gain from this.
The losses the count would suffer from this incident far outweighed any benefits. No, it was more accurate to say there were no benefits at all. Why would the count risk antagonizing me and meddle with the business? It was an extremely high-risk move with no return.
From Count Revorn’s perspective, it was the worst choice—one he should never make and had no intention of making. In that sense, Count Revorn was excluded. But excluding Count Revorn didn’t mean excluding his vassals.
If there was someone inside whom he trusted implicitly, that trust would likely act like poison.
“You have a proxy, a vassal you usually use, right?”
“...”
For the first time, Count Revorn hesitated to answer. It seemed he’d noticed I was suspicious of that direction.
“...I do. But it’s probably not him.”
“Why?”
“Because… he’s someone who’s served our family for thirty years. He’s more loyal and devoted to our family than anyone. There’s no way he would do that.”
“Are you really certain?”
“...”
The count couldn’t easily give an answer. His eyes, looking confused, kept trembling. It seemed the what if suspicion wouldn’t leave his mind.
Looking at him, I said, “I’m certain. Of course, if by some miracle my conviction is wrong, that could be. But shouldn’t we at least check?”
I held his gaze for a long time. After a lengthy silence, the count answered.
“...I’ll call him here.”
First of all, as a person, I usually didn’t pay attention to anything except magic. A life crazy about and immersed in magic. As a member of the Magic Guardian Corps and the Magic Adoration Society, I had an indifference that didn’t spare a single thought for anything unrelated to magic.
But even I inevitably had moments when I had to pay attention to things outside of magic. Like when I beat up the prince at the imperial palace this time. Although I simply wanted to research magic, the frequency of experiences where I had to deal with vermin who crossed the line was quite high.
Even though I clearly set an example, occasionally one or two arrogant fools would still appear. Dealing with such guys had become something of a ritual. But touching the magic business that I was investing so much effort into didn’t end at simply dealing with them. It was practically touching my reverse scale.
What was even more unforgivable than that, however, were the vermin-like existences that tried to use me for their own gain.
I looked at the old butler before my eyes. The steward who had served House Revorn for thirty years. At the same time, he was the mastermind behind this incident.
The reason I could assert this so openly was simple. The old butler before me easily admitted it. That he was the culprit.
But that wasn’t what I wanted.
“Who is it? The one behind you.”
There was no agitation on the elderly butler’s face. Only a profound calm.
“I cannot tell you.”
The old butler’s eyes sank deeply. It was an attitude that said he wouldn’t speak even if he died here.
Honestly, opening the mouths of guys like this wasn’t that difficult. There were countless ways to make them talk without resorting to physical pain. However, I didn’t really feel like it. From the moment the culprit was identified, I had instantly understood how the situation had progressed.
The old butler who’s watched over them for thirty years.
As Count Revorn said, it was hard to suspect someone who’d served only one family for thirty years. I somewhat agreed, but what was more important was why he, as the count’s proxy, would do such a thing. No matter how I thought about it, there was no reason for such behavior.
If I dug into it a little, the answer came out surprisingly easily.
Nobles desperately struggle to climb higher somehow.
Not everyone was like that, but basically they were. To rise high, they often didn’t choose their means or methods. Especially considering this was a world inside a romance fantasy novel, such tendencies would be even stronger.
What if some noble family that was keeping House Revorn in check had caught a weakness of the old butler who’d served the family for a long time and made him do this to mess with the count’s house? It all fit.
Of course, thinking this way, one might wonder if it was too sloppy. Would the opponent really do this? Unless the opponent was a complete idiot, would it be possible? Such questions would follow, but…
No matter how I look at it, they are complete idiots.
Having lived in this world for twelve years, the result was that among noble bastards, there were almost no smart ones. They themselves must have thought this plan was perfect and couldn’t possibly be discovered. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have thought of using me.
It seemed they held a strong weakness over the butler to prevent him from opening his mouth, but that was precisely proof that they were seeing me as a complete pushover idiot.
There were many humans in the world, and many idiots too. In that sense, from my view, ninety percent of nobles were made up of idiots.
“From now on, I’m going to read your memories. I’ll read them to find out exactly what kind of bastards they are. I don’t know what weakness they have on you, but it’s obvious without looking. It must be related to your family.”
“...”
“By the way, I’m going to punish all those family members you cherish so much. In a way, they might be victims too, but what can I do? You’re the one who did wrong. Right?”
It might sound somewhat cruel, but well. I could understand the butler’s actions, but I couldn’t see them as right either. What was certain was that because of this guy, I’d suffered damage. Furthermore, since he didn’t reveal the ones behind who tried to use me, there was no reason for me to go easy on him.
“I’ll give you one last chance.”
I decided to give him a truly final opportunity.
“The ones who instigated this from behind. Who are they?”
“...”
At the last chance, the tightly closed mouth of the old butler opened.
“...It’s the Rodrell family.”
I asked Count Revorn, who had been silently watching from the side all along.
“Do you know the family?”
“...Yes. I know them… quite well.”
Perhaps the shock was great, as the count’s voice trembled slightly.
“You know the location too, right?”
“...They are in Santrel City.”
“Then that’s settled.”
Since the mastermind was revealed and I knew the bastard’s location, only one thing was decided. To turn everything upside down. Naturally, evidence wasn’t needed. Everything I’d heard was evidence enough.
I immediately created a letter to send to the Emperor using magic and sent it flying. Then I immediately set off. The place my heavier-than-usual steps were heading toward was Santrel City.