The Emperor's Golden Leash
The news spread like wildfire.
Exactly three hours after those massive, pure-white wings—large enough to blanket the sky—appeared above the Caldia Merchant Guild headquarters, the story had already raced beyond the empire and into neighboring kingdoms. There was no time for me to do anything about it.
“Haa…”
I scanned the endless stream of articles and let out a deep sigh, one heavy enough to collapse the building. When I glanced to the side with a complicated expression, I saw Elenoa standing beside me. She was staring at her pay envelope—now noticeably thicker thanks to a generous special bonus—with a satisfied little smile.
“Hmm-hmm~ Ah!”
She had been humming cheerfully, but the moment she felt my piercing gaze, she cleared her throat and quickly schooled her expression. Then, once again, she turned those spine-chilling, worshipful eyes on me and began her usual praise.
“Five thousand gold coins—no, effectively without investing any money at all, you generated several times that in profit in a single stroke. Perhaps, my lord, you were always meant to be the master of this guild rather than attending the academy.”
“……”
I didn’t even feel it was worth responding. I simply shook my head. Just as she said, the “100 Gold Coin Jackpot Event” I had launched was, in my eyes, a final desperate act of reckless spending. I had thrown money away like a madman. But combined with the ridiculous rumor that the Goddess of Gold had bestowed her blessing, the flood of customers rushing in to buy anything they could get their hands on had instead poured more than ten times the amount I’d thrown out back into the guild’s coffers.
I pressed my throbbing temples and turned my head toward the rest sofa placed in one corner of the guild master’s office. There sat the true culprit behind this massive incident—one who didn’t feel even the slightest shred of guilt.
Iriniel was lying sprawled across the sofa, hugging that old, worn-out Sword of Heavenly Fall her father once used tightly to her chest. She was humming a pleasant little tune without a care in the world.
“Mmm, hmm-hmm~”
“Haaaa…”
Just looking at that carefree sight made me clutch my forehead again.
‘No… calm down, calm down. What’s the point of blaming someone else? I’m the one who has to destroy this guild anyway.’
I pulled myself together and turned back to my desk. On it were towering stacks of transaction documents—enough capital to build an entire splendid mansion on the outskirts of the capital—and piles of insignificant contracts from obscure rural peddlers I’d never even heard of.
Yes… it was still too early to give up. Somewhere among these countless documents, there had to be a terrible trap card that could completely uproot the guild’s foundations.
“Don’t give up!”
With renewed determination, I lit a fire in my eyes and began rifling through the parchment, staring at each sheet as if I could burn holes through them.
BANG!
That was when the door to the guild master’s office burst open with enough force to nearly shatter it. A sound even more terrifying than an Original Prisoner echoed through the room once again.
‘Don’t tell me it’s happening again?’
I snapped my head up. Sure enough, the secretary who now felt like a grim reaper to me stood at the doorway, face pale as death, gasping for breath.
“G-Guild Master! It’s terrible! P-Please look at this right away…!”
Oh boy, of course. I bet some kingdom has come carrying gold bars, begging for an exclusive contract again.
With a bored expression, I leaned back in my chair and held out my hand.
“Alright, alright. Catch your breath and hand it over.”
“H-Here it is.”
But the moment I took the letter envelope from his trembling hands, both I and Elenoa—who had been preparing another lecture—froze on the spot, unable to utter a single word.
A suffocating silence filled the room.
It was a luxurious pure-white envelope. Sealing its center was a wax stamp bearing a crest that, within the Servenrote Empire, could only be used by the most noble bloodline.
The imperial family—the very heart of the continent and the absolute power of the empire—had sent a personal letter directly to me, a mere guild master and not even the official heir of the Caldia ducal family.
“…I’m going to lose my mind. For real.”
By Our grace, We summon you to the imperial palace at once.
— Emperor of Servenrote
Obviously, I had visited the imperial palace several times in my life. No matter how much of an invisible youngest son with nothing to inherit I was, I was still a son of the Caldia ducal family.
But if there was one difference between then and now… it was that the family members who had previously drawn all the attention away from me were no longer present.
Thanks to that, the imperial palace—where every major figure in the empire had gathered—felt more like a den of starving beasts eyeing fresh prey.
The sharp, persistent gaze of Karvel, the elderly and meticulous Finance Minister who oversaw the empire’s entire economy. The dark, insidious stare of Van Hasen, Director of the Imperial Secret Intelligence Bureau, who hunted rats from the shadows.
“……”
I did my best to ignore the dozens of sticky gazes filled with blatant ulterior motives and bowed toward the throne.
At the highest point of the dais sat the Emperor, reclining lazily. Not long ago he had been on death’s door from an unknown illness, but he had somehow recovered. As someone familiar with the original story, however, I already knew the disgusting truth behind that miraculous recovery.
The Original Prisoner and Beast of Beginning—the King of All Lives.
That old, greedy lump of flesh had lost all his former wisdom and pride. He had formed a contract with that parasitic entity, sacrificing half the lifespan of every citizen in the empire to obtain this grotesque new life.
The Emperor looked down at me as I knelt in formal greeting. His eyes were utterly indifferent. Or, more precisely, they seemed to stare at some empty space beyond me, unfocused and vacant. He slowly opened his mouth.
“We personally wrote the decree in Our own hand… but since We are merciful, We shall explain it once more here.”
“I shall listen with full attention.”
“Lately, your name has been reaching Our ears quite frequently from the frontiers. Leading a merchant guild at such a young age, assisting a margrave, and establishing new ties with a duchy—We acknowledge these achievements. However…”
His voice grew sharp with thorns.
“No matter how talented you may be, causing disturbances and drawing attention without your master’s permission is a reckless act that disrupts the discipline of the imperial court. You would do well to remember that.”
“……”
Discipline and recklessness, my ass. In the end, it was nothing more than a high-class way of saying “We acknowledge your ability, but don’t get cocky and act out.” A refined warning wrapped in elegant words.
Behind me, Iriniel—who stood like a shadow in her guard position—began to tremble faintly. Even the previous emperors and countless rulers throughout history had never dared touch her. For this man to openly ignore and insult the very person she had acknowledged as worthy… it was only natural she would burn with rage.
If I were honest, I wanted to signal her right then and there to slice off this arrogant emperor’s head and grind the King of All Lives hiding inside him into paste. But I had to endure it.
If I acted rashly here, not only would the entire Caldia ducal family be wiped out, but the lifespans the King of All Lives had already absorbed from the citizens would vanish into thin air forever. I needed meticulous preparation to completely separate that monster and cut off its breath in one strike.
So I swallowed the curses threatening to burst out and kept my head bowed low like an obedient, well-trained dog, remaining silent.
When I showed no resistance and maintained a perfectly submissive attitude, a satisfied smile finally spread across the Emperor’s lips.
“Nevertheless, in conclusion, We recognize your abilities, Ideon Caldia. Therefore, We shall entrust you with a special mission.”
“I shall listen with full attention.”
“Yes… Do you know of Erg Village, located at the southernmost tip of the continent? It is a remote little hamlet that has isolated itself for hundreds of years, refusing to trade with anyone.”
“……”
I had heard of it. Information about the place was scarce, so what the Emperor said was basically all I knew… I quietly nodded.
“The legendary egg laid by the Red Rooster raised in that village. It is said that simply eating it extends one’s lifespan by a full ten years. You shall personally obtain the exclusive supply rights to that elixir. If you succeed, We shall personally forgive all the insolent offenses you have committed without Our permission until now.”
“……”
What? A Red what laying what kind of egg?
The situation was so absurd I nearly failed to keep my expression under control. First, I was stunned by the ridiculously childish and tacky naming sense of “Red Rooster.” Second, the sheer disgusting greed—after already sucking away decades of his citizens’ lifespans, he was still throwing a tantrum to extend his own life by a mere ten years—made bile rise in my throat.
‘That disgusting, greedy bastard… I swear I’ll smash that shiny bald head of his like an egg one day. Whether it’s a Red Rooster or a chicken skewer, I’ll crack it wide open.’
I swallowed my killing intent hundreds of times internally while outwardly maintaining the perfect image of a loyal subject.
“I shall gladly accept Your Majesty’s august command.”
Then, very carefully, I raised my head slightly and added one question.
“However, Your Majesty. If I fail to win over those arrogant villagers and am unable to complete this vital mission, what will happen?”
The Emperor answered without the slightest hesitation, his voice firm.
“For the incompetence of failing to carry out an imperial decree and for daring to deceive Us, the Caldia Merchant Guild shall be immediately dissolved on that very day.”
“……”
“Furthermore, all the wealth and goods your guild has unjustly accumulated shall be confiscated into the national treasury.”
The moment the Emperor finished speaking, the nobles present seemed to have already finished imagining how deliciously they would carve up and devour the Caldia guild. They nodded with greedy smiles.
But I had no attention to spare for those idiots.
…Guild dissolution? Confiscation of all assets?
‘Isn’t this… a reward rather than a punishment?’
This was my long-cherished wish. The ultimate goal I had been desperately trying to achieve, only to be thwarted again and again by fanatics like Elenoa and Iriniel who kept forcing massive profits on me.
‘Holy shit, I thought he was just a filthy old dog, but he’s actually a golden rope sent down from heaven!’
To hide the overwhelming emotion and ecstatic smile threatening to break across my face, I pinched my thigh hard and barely managed to keep my head bowed. My shoulders, bent so low they nearly touched the floor, trembled with uncontrollable joy.
The Emperor and nobles probably interpreted that trembling as fear…
Anyway, maintaining perfect etiquette until the very end, I answered in the most servile voice imaginable.
“Oh my, Your Imperial Majesty! Please do not worry about such things in the slightest!”