Festival of Silver Dust and Iron Blood (3)
Afternoon. As I wandered the streets in earnest, no one noticed me. Even if they did, they wisely averted their eyes.
The problem was that I hadn't found anything particularly tempting either.
This is a bit disappointing.
Rotten meat slathered in thick sauce to pawn off? In the Empire, they'd arrest you on the spot for violating food hygiene laws, but here it would just spark a brawl over "You think you can sell this crap and take my money?"
Having your gold coins or Somnus gold swiped the moment you looked away? During the festival, getting pickpocketed marked you as a fool, and even that rarely happened thanks to the Gibraltar guards patrolling the streets.
In the end, the most active crime around was—
"Young master. It's Robert."
"......"
"Young master. I have something urgent to report."
"Y-You’ve got the wrong person!"
A burly man suddenly approached from behind and whispered in my ear, sending genuine chills down my spine.
"Wh-Who are you?!"
"...Ah, you want me to go into the alley?"
As I slipped into a dimly lit alley away from prying eyes, the man followed right behind.
"This should be far enough...."
"Yeah. What is it?"
"...Do you really have to act that much? It's giving me goosebumps."
"You're one to talk."
I'd only ever heard two women whisper in my ear like that, and now here I was getting an earful from a man.
"What's the urgent report?"
"Yes, well—"
"Merchants are counterfeiting Somnus gold? Yeah, that's common enough."
"......There are just too many."
Robert pointed down the street with worried eyes.
"Isn't it too easy to fake? Counterfeit currency."
"We laid out the playing field for them."
"Some places are just gluing four petals on and calling it Somnus gold."
"Guess no one's bold enough to stick non-Somnus flowers on wood scraps?"
"Young master."
"It's fine, it's fine."
I pulled out two pieces of my own Somnus gold.
"Look at this."
Crack.
I gripped the wooden piece and snapped it in half with a squeeze. Robert's eyes went wide.
"That...!"
"One's empty inside, the other has a Somnus stem."
"The wood slabs are layered?"
"It looks like a plain log from the outside, but this changes everything."
"Good lord."
Robert caught the dangling Somnus stem in his hand.
"You even tied a knot in the stem."
"Double and triple safeguards are basic."
"So that's why you weren't worried about the counterfeits?"
"Yeah. Keep it secret. If it gets out now, it'll kill the festival vibe."
Officially, merchants would settle up the day after the festival ended—tomorrow.
"Let them get drunk today thinking they've duped the Gibraltar margrave."
"You think anyone could pull that off...?"
"Anyone bold enough to scam my father? We'd recruit them instead."
Treason's easier the second time around. You spot others' cons best when you've run your own. Empire slang says it best: a crook knows a crook.
"Gotta make sure we don't get scammed by the Empire later."
"...Are you planning to gather the con artists and put them to work?"
"Yeah."
The Nostrum Kingdom had overcome crises by recruiting heroes up till now.
"Loyal knights like Sir Robert don't break easily."
But I wasn't a hero. I'd gather the villains who mocked and tormented them from the shadows, bending them to my will.
"Con artists and merchants side with the strong—they're easy to use."
"They could betray us?"
"That's why we keep them from key positions. Small errands? Sure. Like spying deep in enemy territory."
I lightly shook the ruined Somnus gold.
"Anyway, leave it be. More importantly, weren't you supposed to guard those two?"
"About that."
Robert smacked his lips in frustration and pointed to the opposite end of the alley.
"Young master, you've talked with me enough to know about the Empire, right?"
"Sure."
"Miss... Ellie knows the Empire better than I do, but you told her to observe whatever people do at the festival as is."
"Of course."
"...It's driving me mad."
Robert let out a long sigh and pulled a small fruit from his pocket.
"Can you believe someone's selling grapefruits for 20,000 gold?"
"What? I got mine for 10,000."
"...Was it a guy with a mustache?"
"Yeah."
"Damn. When did you buy it?"
"Hmm, an hour or two ago?"
"Ugh, damn. He jacked up the price already."
Here's sucker number two. Eighty percent of those loyal to the kingdom in the old days would fall for merchants' rip-offs. If they weren't suckers, they wouldn't be that loyal.
"Still, young master. I don't know about the rest, but..."
"Quit stalling. I'm busy checking out the Empire folks—"
"Someone gave Miss Ellie counterfeit money as change."
"......."
Huh?
"Not Somnus, right?"
"No. Viscount Hex overheard Miss Ellie whispering to Miss Jabez and told me to report it...."
"Situation grasped."
Looks like Viscount Hex sent Robert to fetch me.
"Sir. The act must continue."
I lightly raised my hand beside my face.
Smack!
"Y-Young...!"
"Ahem."
I shook my pocket toward Robert.
"The act. Must continue."
"Kyaa?! What happened?!"
"Caught a pickpocket."
Puffed cheeks. Blood trickling from below her lip. Clothes dirtied from rolling on the ground.
"P-Pickpocket...?"
"Yes. Seems he stole your gold pouch."
"G-Gold pouch? I don't have anything like... "
"Here it is."
Robert handed over the pouch, and Astasia glanced at me before nodding heavily.
"...Well done, Sir Robert."
"About his punishment..."
"Cut off a thief's hand."
Viscount Hex behind her flicked the sword at his waist with a sly grin.
"Stealing from a lady? Make sure he never picks pockets again—chop it right off."
"......."
"Oh? Cat got your tongue? Or did you lose your tongue for yapping once before? Makes sense—with eyes like that glaring at nobility, you'd have been chopped long ago... Ugh?!"
Viscount Hex scowled after mocking me thoroughly.
"By kingdom law, knights of the lord's castle judge thieves," Naria continued, nudging her shoe toward his foot.
"What will you do, Sir Robert?"
"W-Well, I'll follow the lady's decision..."
"Ellie. What do you want to do?"
"Uh, w-well..."
For now, I stayed silent. I'd step in if needed, but passersby were already whispering and watching.
Can't let my voice give me away.
The Empire's scent hadn't hit yet, but it wafted subtly from those brushing past. Not Imperials, but not everyone born in the kingdom served it either.
"Hmm..."
"No choice then. I have a good idea."
"A good idea?"
"Yes. Hold on."
Naria bought some trinkets from a nearby shop, then pulled my hand over and bound my wrists with rope-like cords.
Click, click.
She fastened a ringed collar around my neck.
"We'll take him like this."
She attached a long leash to the ring, knotted the end into a handle—now I looked just like a leashed dog.
Perfect prisoner vibe.
"Sir Robert left judgment to Ellie, so taking him to Ellie's territory for trial seems right."
"I-Is that okay...?"
"Yes. Ellie, hold tight. Don't let go."
"...Th-Thank you, Jabez."
Naria handed Astasia the leash handle. Astasia gripped it and nodded lightly.
"You, you!"
She pointed at me and yelled.
"Stealing is a capital crime, but I'll decide if you live or die based on how you act now!"
"......."
Keep going.
"If you run, I won't let you off! I'll break your legs, lock you up, and make you live in a room forever!"
Not bad.
"Behave if you don't wanna die. Got it?!"
Nod.
"G-Good. Then follow quietly."
Astasia yanked the leash with a raised voice, and I moved with her pull.
The leash was nearly three meters long. Even slack, it wasn't too short.
"Grey."
"Damn."
Viscount Hex called me. Another whisper in my ear sparked real irritation.
"...Ahem. Thought you might recognize me if I called."
Shff.
I twisted my bound hands aside, and Viscount Hex slipped me a gold coin from his inner pocket.
"This doesn't feel right, does it?"
He was already 99% sure.
"Sir Robert says it's not, but..."
Certainty and 99% weren't the same, but he hadn't ruled out that 1%—hence seeking me out.
It's fake.
Perfectly five centimeters in diameter. Flawless circle. The "10,000" engraving was impeccable.
And above all, channeling a bit of mana through my fingertip revealed that telltale sensation inside.
Mana's just skimming the surface. Real gold absorbs it differently.
This wasn't gold. It was something mimicking gold.
Looked like a 10,000-gold Nostrum coin, but it wasn't—Nostrum gold.
Minted in the Empire's mint as kingdom gold.
No hiding it. Counterfeit. Empire-produced plated currency in circulation.
Does the Empire know their mass-produced fakes are passing as real without issue?
Some Empire gold from Seirene port must have filtered through festival merchants to here.
"What do you think?"
"Viscount Hex. Hold on."
I beckoned, and he bowed his head low.
"The kingdom lacks the skill for engravings this precise."
"......."
Viscount Hex smiled bitterly.
"Whoever in the Empire planned this is probably kicking themselves."
The Empire harbored illusions about Nostrum.
"They flood us with plated fakes so perfect they're used as real."
Straight from the horse's mouth—undeniable.
"How'd Ellie spot it?"
"...Said the weight was off?"
"Pardon?"
"She got several coins, noticed a few felt lighter—"
"Viscount Hex?"
Swish.
"What are you talking about?"
Ellie had shortened the leash and approached.
"What's with all the whispering?"
"Ahem. Nothing."
"Be careful. Really."
I clenched the plated gold lightly.
Differentiate by sense alone, no mana? A difference under 0.1 grams?
I couldn't do it now. You'd need at least intermediate knight level to notice—
Snap!
"What're you thinking about? Hmph!"
"......."
"Just follow nicely!"
Astasia swatted me, and I silently trailed as she led.
"......."
Click, click.
"Good lord."
A white-haired woman with a rare kingdom sight—a camera—kept snapping shots, clucking her tongue.
"Wonder what the crown prince would say if I showed him this."
Click, click.
"Hard to predict that guy's reaction... Sigh."
The woman struggled to judge.
"But he's following so obediently... Hmm."
Click, click.
"Yeah."
Click.
"A man in love would gladly hand his leash to the woman he loves."
Click-click-click-click.
"Sigh. Why couldn't a kid like that have been born in the Empire when I was young?"
The woman sighed genuinely, snapping away.
"Oh, right. Just popping in for fun."
No one noticed her at the festival.
"Hmm..."
"What's wrong, my lord?"
"Nothing. Just..."
Not until the Gibraltar margrave couple emerged from the castle into the square.
"Looks like an unexpected guest came and went. Fine to visit, but..."
No one.
"...Where'd she come from?"