Chapter 35
Chapter 35
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Storming Harpa Castle
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The pouring rain slowed their progress to a crawl.
A distance that would have taken half a day in clear weather ended up requiring a full two days to reach Harpa Castle.
There had been one assassination attempt along the way, but the military police swiftly subdued the assassin.
The experienced captain knocked him out before he could commit suicide, and Abyss extracted the poison vial from the unconscious assassin's mouth.
Afterward, the military police and the magistrate confirmed the assassin's confession that he had been hired by Sari to kill Chris.
'Smooth sailing.'
Everything had been going without a hitch since Abyss joined them, but Rachel couldn't let her guard down.
She had decided that there should be no more regressions after hearing about the déjà vu from him.
Nothing was truly over until it was all finished.
The guards at the outer gate shouted for the horses and carriage charging through the rain to halt.
They raised their spears, and arrows were nocked on the battlements.
The tightly shut gates prompted the military police to signal the horses to stop. The exhausted animals splashed to a halt in the mud at their riders' command.
"Whoa, whoa!"
"State your identity!"
But upon seeing Chris lean out the carriage window, the guard faltered.
"The lord of this castle has returned. Open the gates, all of you!"
Though Sari had seized the castle, the servants had been employed since the days of the late Baron Paris.
Even the private soldiers were no exception.
Most of them had been hired by Paris, and after his death, they had continued their contracts with Chris and received their pay from him.
Had Chris been completely dead, it might have been different, but as long as he was alive, the private soldiers of Harpa Castle had no reason to side with Sari.
A few words from Chris, and the gates swung open.
The military police proceeded once more through the town and into the inner keep.
As they moved to stable the weary horses and enter the keep, the private soldiers tried to block the military police.
But they hesitated upon spotting Chris among them.
"Don't resist! Who do you think the lord of this castle is?"
Sari hadn't anticipated Chris returning.
He had pinned the crimes he and his brother committed onto his nephew, forcing him to flee the castle on his own two feet, and even sent assassins after him.
Because of that, he had made no preparations for Chris's return, which now worked in Chris's favor.
The private soldiers, having received no specific orders on such matters, couldn't bring themselves to treat Chris as an enemy, just like the outer gate guards.
They let the military police and Chris's group pass without incident.
However, a few servants loyal to Sari noticed the commotion and rushed to inform him.
By the time Chris arrived at the study, it was empty.
"He's fled."
The magistrate muttered as he surveyed the disarrayed papers and belongings in the deserted study.
Rachel felt the same disappointment.
"Is there no secret passage?"
The magistrate asked Chris, who shook his head.
"I'm not sure. There might be blueprints in Father's study..."
Rachel clicked her tongue at Chris's appearance, which barely resembled his father at all.
It was obvious Sari would be long gone by the time they searched for blueprints that might not even exist.
"There might be documents forged by your second uncle somewhere. I'll help look for them."
Henri harbored resentment toward his second brother, who had tried to pit his two nephews against each other and seize the family fortune, despite his respect for his eldest brother.
Chris's charges hadn't been cleared yet, so Henri rolled up his sleeves to resolve the matter.
The magistrate didn't stop him, even knowing Henri might tamper with evidence.
He suggested to the captain that they spread out to search, and the military police paired off to do so.
"I can read, so I'll help too!"
"I'll assist as well."
Rachel and Abyss seized the chance to roam the castle freely.
Unaware of their intentions, Henri and the magistrate permitted it.
"Please do."
"Then we'll check the study!"
With the magistrate's approval, the two left the office. Abyss's face was flushed with excitement.
"To think we can wander Harpa Castle freely like this—it's like a dream."
He was thrilled at having set foot in the heart of the enemy's veiled lair.
Rachel was no different.
She needed to uncover the Emporus family's history and secrets, find proof of the pseudo-contractor status, and confirm the contract details.
'There might be more to it than just offering up a daughter as sacrifice.'
"Sis, wait up!"
Deyner caught up from behind. Chris was coming too. Rachel turned and waited for them.
"Why aren't you with Mom and Dad?"
"It might be dangerous if it's just the two of you, so we're coming along."
Evelyn must have sent Deyner and Chris to prevent any mishaps from Rachel and Abyss being alone together.
"Besides, it's my first time here, so I don't even know where the study is."
Chris said, looking at Rachel. He ignored Abyss despite his presence.
"Then lead the way."
Abyss knew Chris disliked him but still draped an arm over his shoulder in response.
Chris recoiled in disgust but couldn't shake off the arm.
'Bad taste.'
Rachel thought so but didn't intervene.
Thanks to Chris's guidance, they quickly reached the study. Piles of documents covered the desk.
Rachel and Abyss sat at the desk and began sifting through the papers.
The only sound was the rustle of pages turning. Chris and Deyner watched in awe as the two flipped through them at a competitive pace.
"They're fast."
Speed reading was second nature to Abyss, who dealt in information.
But when Rachel matched him, Chris muttered in surprise.
"You're actually reading them?"
"Yeah."
What was most important in gaming?
Quick hands? Of course.
But before that, dynamic vision was key.
You had to see quickly to decide whether to dodge or not.
Rachel's dynamic vision was top-notch.
Proof was that she hadn't missed a single moment of Evelyn and Enoch's first spar.
Of course, speed reading required more than just that. But Rachel had once holed up in a study for nearly two years, reading nothing but books.
So it wasn't difficult for her.
As Abyss turned pages, he glanced at Rachel. Finally, he spoke up.
"Once this is over, how about working with us? Not just as partners—join us for real."
Abyss admired talent.
Even in the previous regression, he had sent her several letters proposing she come under him.
"Thanks for the high praise, but I don't want to do anything dangerous."
What Rachel desperately wanted now was to survive three years unscathed and live peacefully.
An information merchant's work was risky.
Vital intel didn't fall from the sky.
Agents had to infiltrate somewhere to obtain it.
That's why power players like Paris Emporus saw information brokers as thorns in their side and sent assassins after them.
"I prefer just exchanging info as needed."
Rachel replied without taking her eyes off the documents.
But the contents of the one she was reading now were far from ordinary.
'No, just how massive is this scale?'
She knew Paris Emporus's wealth was substantial.
But seeing it firsthand, it dwarfed her expectations.
'Even running a trading company, is this the kind of fortune a mere baron can amass?'
Rachel grew suspicious.
She wondered if Chris even grasped the full extent of it.
"Brother, have you ever looked at these documents yourself?"
"No, my uncle and retainers always reviewed and summarized them for me to approve. Why?"
"You idiot!"
A curse slipped from Rachel's lips at the fact he hadn't checked such crucial matters personally.
Her hand reached for the documents Abyss had already gone through.
From gold mines to shares in the kingdom's granary regions producing half its grain output.
Plus trade revenues—the Emporus Company's earnings were staggering.
"Impressive."
Rachel nodded at Abyss's admiration. They generated pure profits equivalent to a third of the national budget annually.
"The funds converge into three main streams."
Abyss murmured, stroking his chin.
Rachel pinpointed them as she read.
'Reinvested into the company.'
Investments made sense.
As merchants, seeking profitable ventures was natural.
But the other two were suspicious.
'The royals, and an unknown recipient.'
Funds flowed to the royal family. But they weren't going to the king.
'Probably to the Third Prince.'
It was no surprise to Rachel, who knew of Paris Emporus's ties to the Third Prince.
What shocked her was the latter.
'This unknown recipient must be Daimon.'
And the amount directed there was considerable.
'Even for allies, sending this much money?'
It was a third of the pure profits.
"Brother, come here and look at this."
"Why?"
"Did you know a third of the profits are flowing to this mystery place?"
Only then did Chris hurry over and examine the document Rachel handed him.
"What's this?"
"Brother, don't you know anything about it?"
"N-no, I've never heard of this!"
"This is last year's record. No telling about this year, but probably similar, right?"
As Rachel voiced her thoughts, Abyss interjected.
"I think this is the Daimon organization. Has anyone shady approached you? Talking about your father or something?"
Rachel blinked.
As if to say, did that really happen?
At Abyss's question, Chris nodded with a reluctant expression.
"Yeah. I met some at the funeral. They claimed they worked with Father before he died and got activity funds from him, so I chased them off."
"Ah!"
That's where it went wrong. The late baron had been funding the Daimon group.
But his sudden death prevented him from informing Chris.
When the funding dried up with the change in leadership, they approached Chris, but he dismissed them as con artists after his father's fortune.
Realizing Chris wouldn't fund them, they must have turned to Sari and gotten burned.
"Was that my mistake?"
"No! You did great, Brother! We'll have to check the office documents to confirm, but your uncle Sari probably sent money to this shady group without your permission."
Rachel praised Chris while committing the documents to memory. Even the ledgers showed immense wealth.
'Shares in the granary regions. That let them monopolize the grain.'
Futures trading, even. When grain prices soared, the baron bought cheap at pre-fixed rates.
While many starved, Paris Emporus raked in fortunes, then doled out surplus grain for show to boost the Third Prince's support.
'No wonder he was tough to deal with. But beyond this, I need to find the pseudo-contractor proof.'
Rachel grabbed the drawer handle, still hunting for the pseudo-contractor's token.
Clunk.
It wouldn't open. She pulled, but it just rattled—locked.
"It's locked? Brother, no key?"
"Nope. I've never opened that one before."
At Chris's words, blue eyes met violet ones.
Both Rachel and Abyss sensed something was inside.
Rachel spoke without hesitation.
"Let's smash it!"