Blackmail vs Blackmail
Chapter 4: Blackmail vs Blackmail
"So what you're telling me is that the Academy is about to fall apart, and it's all my fault?"
"N-no, Chancellor, not at all! The Academy falling apart? That could never happen. I merely…"
"The nobles are cutting off their donations one by one, aren't they? Isn't that just another way of saying you've run out of operating funds?"
Under Rayegar's breezy, impossibly composed interrogation, Chancellor Linehardt wiped away the cold sweat beading on his brow and stammered out an excuse.
"It's just that Duke Hector's influence is so very… considerable…"
"Duke Hector? Who's that?"
"…He is the father of young Jared, the student you expelled, Chairman. And, I might add, the most powerful man in the Empire today."
"Powerful?"
He's as oblivious as ever, I see.
"The parents of the students expelled alongside Jared are no doubt acting out of wounded pride, but the other nobles are a different matter. They're being cautious. Do you really think Duke Hector would look kindly on anyone donating to the very Academy that cast out his son? For them, this is a golden opportunity to curry favor with the Duke."
"…He is no longer a duke, you realize. His Majesty personally granted him his fiefdom and title in recognition of his victory in the Ten-Year War."
Have you just returned from some other world entirely?
Linehardt could hardly believe it. Oblivious was one thing — this went too far even for that. The story of Duke Randert was something even three-year-olds knew by heart.
He had long known the Chairman was an eccentric man, but for once he was genuinely dumbfounded.
'Stay calm. Whatever happens, I must not anger him.'
Recalling the words of his predecessor, Chancellor Linehardt struggled to keep his composure.
"Moreover, Bayul — the young man who is close with your son, Eli — is the son of Duke Randert himself."
"Oh ho, is he now?"
For the first time since his arrival, Rayegar's perpetually languid expression brightened at the mention of his son. Apparently he was rather pleased to learn that Eli was friendly with a boy of such a distinguished house.
"That Duke Randert is a great hero is a fact beyond dispute. They call him the living legend of the Empire. But a nation, as I'm sure you know, does not run on the strength of one man alone. Duke Hector currently holds the chairmanship of the Dohang, the Empire's highest deliberative body, and his word carries enormous weight among the aristocracy. House Hector is a venerable lineage that has produced countless chancellors and council chairmen across the generations. That is why I asked you not to expel Jared, Chairman."
'Remember one thing above all. When dealing with the Chairman, you must soothe and explain everything slowly and carefully, the way you would calm a young child. So much so that you may find yourself wondering why anyone even needed to tell you such a thing.
And then there is the most important rule of all.
Never, ever make him angry. Even if a grievance arises, you must swallow it and endure — only then can you keep your position. Hold fast to those two rules, and your term will pass as peacefully as you could wish.'
Carving his predecessor's advice into his heart once more, Chancellor Linehardt finished his long explanation.
"Hmm. So it sounds as though I've committed some colossal offense."
"…I beg your pardon? N-no, not at all! That was never my meaning. Please, don't misunderstand!"
For the briefest instant, Rayegar's golden eyes flared with a sharp gleam. Forget his predecessor's warnings — every time this happened, the Chancellor felt his stomach clench into a knot.
"I spoke only out of my duty as Chancellor, worrying for the Academy's future. These days, unlike years past, the vast majority of our operating budget comes from noble donations, so I have no choice but to watch their moods carefully. By now the news must have reached House Hector, and frankly I dread how many more nobles may turn their backs on us."
"You've been going on about money, money, money this whole time. In a word, you're short on funds. Must you wrap it up in so much elaborate ceremony?"
"…I apologize."
"Is it really so hard to just ask me for money? How much do you need?"
"…Pardon?"
"I said, how much do you need? You have to tell me before I can give it."
"You… you'll give us money?"
"Isn't that what a Chairman is for?"
Truthfully, he had a mountain of other tasks awaiting him, but Chancellor Linehardt nodded his head in eager, vigorous agreement first. In all his years as Chancellor, he had never once received money from the Chairman, so this development had caught him completely off guard.
"Yes! Yes, absolutely!"
"Send up the paperwork. I'll approve it right away. Would five hundred million ku do?"
"F-five hundred million ku?"
"No, on second thought — what could we possibly do with such a pittance? Let's make it one billion ku. I'll have it sent over tomorrow, so just sit tight."
O-one billion ku!
Chancellor Linehardt's jaw dropped open. Had he misheard the sum?
That amount of money would keep the Academy running comfortably for more than ten years. It was astonishing enough that the man would part with such a fortune so readily — but even harder to believe was that the Chairman possessed that kind of wealth at all.
He'd heard the man had retired from all his business ventures. Hadn't he?
"Well then, that settles it, doesn't it?"
The face of the man offering up this staggering fortune was utterly serene. The whole exchange felt less like a negotiation and more like tossing alms to a beggar one happened to pass on the street.
'That much? It's nothing. It won't affect me in the slightest.'
That was what the Chairman's expression seemed to say.
"Why so startled? Don't tell me you don't want it?"
"N-no! Not at all! It's only… it's been quite a while since we last received your support, and I…"
"Is that so? I'll try to pay more attention from now on. My son attends this place — what kind of father could pretend not to notice? I'll be coming in to work for the time being, so whenever something comes up, come find me straight away and tell me."
"So it really is because of your son."
He could not describe how startled he had been when word arrived that the Chairman himself was paying a visit. When he learned that the student called Eli was the man's son, he had even retraced his memories, wondering if perhaps something had gone wrong during the boy's enrollment.
"Nope."
"…Pardon?"
"My son was a side errand. I came for something else."
"Is there any business to attend to in Carrington besides the Academy?"
"Some matters I haven't had to deal with in a long while have come up. Something that shouldn't have appeared… has appeared."
"Appeared? What in the world do you mean?"
"We only just signed the treaty the day before yesterday, and they still haven't gathered their wits about them. I'm debating where to start hammering them into shape."
It was a string of words Linehardt could not begin to parse. A treaty with whom? Hammering whom into shape? Nothing added up.
"Perhaps there's something I could help you with…?"
Fortunately for the Chancellor, who blurted out the offer without truly meaning it, Rayegar waved a hand as if the very idea were unnecessary.
"My boy's here, so off you go."
The decree of dismissal had fallen. He was dying to ask about the one billion ku one more time, but his instincts told him this was not the moment.
"I shall see you at the Academy on Monday."
Never in his life had he longed for tomorrow's arrival as he did now. Sleep tonight was a lost cause.
"Oh! Chancellor! Hello there!"
Bayul and his friends, entering the manor grounds, spotted the Chancellor and gave him a polite bow — but his head was so filled with thoughts of one billion ku that he passed straight by them without seeing a single face.
"Did something happen at the Academy?"
The Chancellor's flustered air set off a storm of speculation among them.
"You don't think the Chairman caused some kind of trouble, do you?"
"Trouble?"
"Well, why else would he be here? He's on his way back from meeting the Chairman, obviously."
"Gah! Don't tell me he came to force the Chancellor to resign over this whole mess?"
They had only seen Rayegar once before — but that was quite enough to know he was a man capable of far worse.
"You have arrived, Master Killian."
Just then, an unfamiliar voice cut in between them.
"WAAAGH!"
Aidan, who had turned around carelessly, let out a shriek and scrambled backward. Because what he saw in front of him was something deeply strange.
The others were no less startled — the only difference was that they didn't scream, merely flinching and retreating in unison. Everyone, that is, except Eli.
"Fio! It's been ages. How have you been?"
Eli stepped forward warmly to greet him. It was a completely different Eli from the one who had faced his father. He looked up at the enormous "walking tree" — a good full meter taller than himself — and broke into a beaming smile.
"I have missed seeing you, young master."
As if to return Eli's smile in kind, the wooden man(?) smiled back, creaking. Strangely, when he opened his mouth, the sound of splitting timber rang out along with it.
"Huh? What's this? What happened to you? Are you hurt?"
Eli pointed, alarmed, at what could only be Fio's leg. That spot alone was black as soot, quite unlike the rest of him.
"It seems to have been burned."
"…It is nothing to worry about now."
A healed-over wound of that size must have hurt terribly. But this was Fio, after all. Fio never wept, no matter the circumstances. He had been trained from his earliest days never to show weak emotions.
"You really ought to be more careful."
Eli gazed at the scar with pitying eyes, then made a deliberate effort to brighten as he introduced Fio to his friends.
"Everyone, this is Fio. In human terms, I suppose you'd call him a butler? Something like that."
"…A butler?"
"Mm-hm. You've heard of the golem clans, right? Fio is one of them — a wood golem, to be exact. He might look rough and rugged, but he's the gentlest soul you'll ever meet."
Eli reached up and tenderly stroked Fio's back. Fio's enormous eyes narrowed into slits, clearly delighted by the touch.
What would you call it — hair, in human terms? The slender branches and leaves sprouting from the crown of Fio's head swayed back and forth, soft as a breeze through spring foliage.