They Pulled a Midnight Run?
“Did you come sniffing around for some money-making tip or other, Karl?”
“Er… not exactly, young master. You’ve heard of the Lucian Merchant Guild, haven’t you?”
Lucian Merchant Guild?
That’s the biggest outfit in Eisenburg, right?
They’ve had an exclusive lock on trade with the Heiden family since my father, Grand Duke Bernhardt’s, time.
Especially handling all the military supplies and provisions for our knights and territory army—a real heavyweight.
“Yeah, I know. The ones who supply our territory army’s gear. What about them? Did they bring spring wheat seeds for planting or something?”
“No, sir. Word is, the guild’s top brass have all vanished into thin air.”
“…Vanished?”
“Yes, sir. This morning, some low-level clerks from the guild showed up at the knights’ order. They said the guild master and all the key executives disappeared overnight starting last night.”
What the hell?
I don’t get it—what’s that supposed to mean?
“People just vanish? You’re saying the top executives of the North’s premier merchant guild all did a collective midnight run?”
“We can’t say for sure yet, but the circumstances are suspicious. The guild’s internals are way too chaotic for them to have just stepped out…”
“Let’s go.”
“Sir?”
“We need to see it with our own eyes.”
I grabbed my overcoat right away.
Lily pushed up her glasses with her index finger.
“You should finish your tea first, young master.”
“Oh, right.”
She’s like a ghost about stuff like that.
As I gulped down the last of my tea, Karl finally noticed something odd and whispered to me.
“Uh, young master. Why’s Lily dressed like that?”
“I told her things are gonna get busy, so hand off the maid duties to someone else and work as my secretary instead. So she showed up like that.”
And she still insists on brewing my tea herself.
Isn’t that not a secretary’s job? Or is it? I’d know if I’d ever had one before.
Karl made a weird face—whether he bought it or not—and whispered even quieter about another oddity.
Ugh, this old man whispering in my ear isn’t exactly pleasant. Back off, dude.
“Then why’s my daughter acting like that?”
“Karina? Hmm…”
Right after that whole fantastical Frost Phoenix polymorph show.
I told Lily to prioritize secretary work over maid stuff from now on.
And I straight-up assigned Karina as my personal guard knight.
But realistically, do I even need a bodyguard that bad? I’m the strongest guy in the North.
So there was definitely another reason for picking her.
“Privia. Time to get to work.”
“Ughhh. No. This lady wants to lie down longer.”
“Behave, and I’ll have snacks ready for you after.”
“Hmph. This lady isn’t submitting to human treats or anything…”
What else? She’s the mesugaki babysitter, obviously.
Ever since we first met her on that snowy mountain, Karina’s been super protective of her.
The little beast must’ve instinctively picked up on it, ’cause she oddly takes to Karina well.
So I just stuck her by my side to keep Privia marked full-time.
Otherwise, she’d be yapping “this lady this, this lady that” nonstop and driving me nuts.
And that’s how we ended up heading to the Lucian Merchant Guild’s main building in the heart of Eisenburg’s commercial district.
“It’s a total shitshow in here.”
I’d been here once or twice before, but this was chaos.
The lowly scribes and hired hands were panicking, scrambling every which way.
They flinched and cleared a path when we barged in.
“Let’s check the guild master’s office.”
We kicked open the door to the third-floor executive office.
“……”
One quick sweep of the room, and I had the picture.
“Young master. Look at this.”
Karl pointed to the massive empty safe. Door wide open, not a single silver coin or bill left inside.
Lily rifled through the desk and pushed up her glasses.
“All the important ledgers and asset certificates are gone. Just miscellaneous transaction records left—and even those are cleverly missing the last few months.”
“…Midnight run confirmed. They swept up everything of value and bolted.”
Karl stroked his mustache in confusion.
“Why, though… The Lucian Guild built their fortune trading with the grand ducal family for generations. No reason to ditch their foundation and flee.”
“Yeah… true. Why the hell did they rabbit?”
But something smelled off.
Real rotten.
And a whiff of money, too.
“Karl. Any reports of a big merchant caravan slipping out Eisenburg’s south gate yesterday?”
“Ah…! Come to think of it, late yesterday afternoon, there was a report of a huge wagon train heading toward the border. They said it was the Lucian Guild’s routine logistics run, so the outpost let them through without a hitch…”
“Yesterday afternoon, huh.”
A full day head start already.
Merchant wagons aren’t fast, but if they pushed day and night, they’re pretty far by now.
Even if I sent knights on horseback right now, catching them before they cross the southern border would be physically impossible.
Yeah. Horses won’t cut it.
But I’ve got something better.
“Where’s Privia?”
“With Karina in the guild’s reception room.”
“…Drag her here.”
Probably scarfing snacks again, the little mesugaki.
Moments later, Lily hauled in the blue-haired brat by the scruff of her neck.
Privia pouted and grumbled.
“A master should at least guarantee his familiar some rest time! After working me to the bone for days.”
“Quit whining, Privia. Transform.”
“Always transforming on command. This lady isn’t some decorative pet bird.”
- Poof!
The grumbling kid morphed into a massive Frost Phoenix.
I patted her blue feathers and gave the order.
“Fly along the main road south to the border. Look for a wagon train that left yesterday afternoon. It’ll be a huge merchant caravan—easy to spot from the sky.”
“Once I find them, then what? Make them kneel before this lady?”
“No, don’t make ’em kneel. Just hold ’em up so they can’t go farther. You can do that, right?”
“If you command it, I’ve no choice. Sigh, such is this lady’s fate.”
Privia flapped her wings powerfully and shot south like a rocket.
“Piyoooooo!”
I turned to Karl and shouted.
“Karl! Get the fastest horses we’ve got ready now! Assemble a mobile unit of our best riders and we’re rolling out!”
“Yes, sir! On it!”
Time to chase that money trail.
***
At the same time, on the rugged border road leading from the Northern Grand Duchy south.
A caravan of massive wagons and escort mercenaries raced along the snow-covered path.
In the fanciest carriage at the center, decked out in premium furs.
Lucian Merchant Guild master Heinrich shared a leisurely laugh with his executives opposite him.
“Hahaha! Perfect timing, boss. We nearly got nabbed by that bastard half-brother.”
“Tell me about it. Sigh, taming the Frost Phoenix? I thought Bernhardt had come back from the dead or something.”
Heinrich patted the thick leather pouch from his breast pocket.
Inside: the guild’s prime assets, embezzled imperial funds from the bank, and most crucially, the ledgers.
“When Bernhardt fell in battle, I thought the heavens themselves were on our side.”
“Damn right! The new grand duke, Cedric, has no plans to return from the capital. And that proxy Edrick? Just a clueless bastard brat who knows nothing.”
A greedy smile spread across Heinrich’s lips.
Truth was, they had solid reason to torch their foundation and bolt like this.
The relief funds were just that massive.
Right after Grand Duke Bernhardt died fighting the frost giants.
The North, the empire’s frontline against monsters, couldn’t be allowed to collapse.
So the imperial court allocated huge relief funds to stabilize the first year’s chaos.
But with state money like that, merchants always get the first whiff.
“How would capital desk-jockeys know the North’s real situation? We shove fake receipts and docs under their noses, they stamp ’em, and pocket their kickbacks. Why would they say no?”
“Exactly, boss! Haha! Seed purchases for spring planting, winter army supplies, collapsed wall repairs—we faked it all and drained the imperial budget dry!”
The Lucian Guild had meticulously bribed capital officials tied to the funds.
Of course, if proper Grand Duke Cedric were around, even bribes wouldn’t save them from the fallout.
But they’d already learned Cedric was too busy chasing some countess’s skirts in the capital.
Hell, they’d planned this after getting that intel.
The only one left was the bastard proxy Edrick, who’d never dig into the fine print.
And so, the massive relief funds meant for the Northern Knights and territory folk never touched the frozen soil—instead, it all flowed straight to the Lucian Guild.
“Even if that bastard cracks open the guild safe late, what can he do to catch us?”
“We head south, wash our identities clean, and live like empire nobles for life—no worries!”
“Shame about the foundation we built…”
“Can’t be helped. A true gentleman avoids danger, right?”
Honestly, they hadn’t planned to abandon everything at first.
The haul was huge, sure—laundering would take time.
But spread it out over years, and they could’ve cleaned it right here in the North.
Then a few days ago, Edrick pulled off that Frost Phoenix stunt.
That sealed it—they had to bolt now.
“Who knew the bastard was a monster like that? Seeing that ice statue melt in seconds chilled me to the bone. If he ever peeks at the ledgers…”
“But it’s over now! Just a bit farther to the southern border!”
Water under the bridge anyway.
Now they’d kick back in the warm south with this fortune.
“Come on, pour another round of wine.”
“Hell yeah. On a day like this, crack open the vintage stuff.”
The carriage filled with clinking glasses and sleazy laughs.
No cavalry could catch them—they’d left a full day early and swapped horses to stay way ahead.
- Thud!
That’s when it happened.
The speeding carriage jolted hard, like it hit something, and screeched to a halt.
“Gah!”
“W-what?! I didn’t say stop!”
Heinrich tumbled, then irritably flung open the window.
“Hey, you idiots! How do you drive this thing?! Get moving now!”
But the driver and mercenaries sounded panicked.
“Guild master! Big trouble—the road… the road’s messed up!”
“Messed up how? What bullshit is that?!”
Heinrich kicked open the door and stormed out.
“Huh?? What the—…?”?
He couldn’t believe his eyes.
The Northern road should’ve been solid ice.
Yet the stretch ahead for hundreds of meters—where their caravan had to pass—had melted into sticky mud, like it’d been baked under midsummer sun.
“Hiiihihiing!!!”
The heavy wagons, weighted for ice, sank deep into the swampy muck.
No budging.
Horses thrashed and whinnied, but wheels just spun uselessly in the mud.
“Boss! The wagons are stuck like in a swamp! Can’t pull out without unloading everything!”
“This is insane! The ice was fine seconds ago—how’d it turn to shit this fast?!”
Heinrich’s face went pale.
Extracting wagons meant unloading all the gold and docs first—huge hassle.
Even with their head start, this spelled disaster.
Then he felt a massive shadow loom overhead.
“Piyoooooo!”
Eyes turned skyward.
A massive blue monster flapping leisurely above the clouds, glaring down.
The Frost Phoenix from Eisenburg square a few days back.