Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: The Hardworking Scoundrel - 6
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The next day, I returned home with the Arachne silk in hand.
Compared to my outing during the social season, this had been a short trip, but the Altesia estate was unrecognizably transformed.
The knights, who had once barely spared me a glance, now stood in crisp formation on either side to greet me, and the servants were sharp as knives.
I almost wondered if I'd come to the right house.
"Maribel must have completely changed the atmosphere of the estate in that short time."
"I gave her the authority, but can things really change this much in just a day or two?"
"Unlike you, young master, Maribel's position in the family is far more solid than it seems."
"That's news to me."
"It seems she's won people's hearts with her unique knack for getting along since joining the household. There are even groups among the knights who follow her."
Looking back, I'd never paid any attention to what Maribel did in her daily life.
She'd just been a beautiful bodyguard always by my side, helping and watching over me.
Even though she was one of my most trusted subordinates, I felt a pang of guilt for being so neglectful.
Once this matter was safely resolved, I resolved to spend more time with Maribel and all my people.
"This is the family I'll inherit one day, and her authority is higher than mine? That's a bit of a shock."
"Would her orders ever take precedence over yours, young master? Unless, of course, she's plotting a rebellion and building her own faction."
"Don't talk nonsense..."
I didn't think a rebellion could ever happen within the Altesia house, yet part of me couldn't be entirely sure.
How could I guarantee the family retainers wouldn't turn their backs forever if I kept showing incompetence?
Heinz had survived the "playboy" label unscathed solely thanks to the halo effect from our current family head—my father.
Before inheriting the headship, I had to shed this incompetent image and build a solid foundation.
Otherwise, everyone would abandon me in an instant.
"Well, if Maribel truly craved power, she'd probably try something other than outright rebellion."
"Like what?"
"...Sorry, but I can't bring myself to say it out loud."
Lena averted her gaze toward distant mountains.
She'd piqued my curiosity to the max and then played innocent.
It was infuriating, but I wasn't about to press her relentlessly.
No scenario could be worse than an outright rebellion, after all.
"That said, this is the first time Maribel hasn't come out to greet me."
Lena chimed in playfully to my musing.
"Maybe she really is plotting a rebellion?"
"Who's plotting a rebellion?!"
A thunderous shout echoed from down the corridor.
Just as Lena and I were trading silly jokes, Maribel suddenly appeared.
She shot Lena a sharp glare before breaking into a radiant smile to welcome me.
"I'm so sorry for being late to greet you, Heinz."
"No worries. You were busy."
Her unusual demeanor prompted me to scrutinize her closely.
She seemed slightly out of breath, with a faint blush on her cheeks.
Her hair ends were damp with sweat, suggesting she'd just finished some strenuous labor or intense exercise.
The idea of someone working this hard plotting treason was absurd.
"How's the task I assigned going?"
"Everything's perfectly prepared without a hitch. Just give us the materials, and we could start weaving the silk right now!"
"We need to hire skilled workers first. Untrained hands would just waste our precious materials."
Maribel smiled confidently at my concerned words.
"I've already gathered the empire's top artisans. They're counting the moments until you bring the silk."
"Already?"
"I'm sorry for acting on my own without consulting you. I just wanted to help you as soon as possible."
Stunned by the news that she'd even secured manpower ahead of time, I scratched my cheek. Maribel bowed deeply, looking genuinely apologetic.
I was surprised, but I had no intention of scolding her.
Principles dictate reporting first and acting second, but I preferred subordinates who took initiative.
My management skills weren't exceptional enough to micromanage everyone anyway.
"I'll set up a communication magic tool, so next time, let me know in advance."
"Understood..."
"Still, you did great this time. Thanks to you, we can push the schedule way ahead."
As I gently brushed aside a stray lock of hair near her ear to commend her, her shoulders visibly flinched.
Her face flushed even deeper, and she abruptly turned away, avoiding my eyes.
Had I been rude?
"Ah, sorry. Your hair was messy, so I was just fixing it."
"Hah!"
"...Huh?"
"P-Pardon my rudeness!"
As I placed a hand on her shoulder to apologize, a strange moan escaped her lips, and she hurriedly pressed her thighs together.
She then fled down the corridor in a fluster.
I turned to Lena, wondering what I'd done wrong, but she just shrugged, equally clueless.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Frontia Merchant Association headquarters.
Vice Chairman Sam slammed the table with a furious scream.
"Damn it all!"
Crash!
Bottles of liquor and medicine atop the table tumbled to the floor, shattering in a cacophony of shards.
The spilled alcohol and potions mixed into a thick black sludge that stained his expensive leather shoes.
As rising irritation and uncontrollable destructive urges made him gasp for breath, the office door opened, and Parson entered.
"Calm down, Sam."
"Calm down? It's been a whole month already! A month, and we haven't even identified a single component of the elixir! How am I supposed to calm down?!"
Sam bellowed at Parson, eyes bulging.
Parson replied in a steady voice, unruffled.
"If it could be fully analyzed in just a month, it wouldn't be called a miracle drug."
"Damn it! If even a little stock hit the market, we could secure more and figure it out! But that blasted Altesia playboy delayed the sales schedule on a whim...!"
Still fuming, Sam kicked at the floor.
But no amount of head-scratching research could uncover the elixir's secrets from a single bottle—and a defective one at that.
The Frontia Merchant Association had never had a real shot at mass-producing it.
"We got greedy for the impossible. Let's refocus on our core products now."
"What about the 450 gold coins? You're saying we just let that fortune go to the playboy?"
"Consider it the price of a valuable lesson. Money's something we can earn back with effort, right?"
Parson tried coaxing him like a child, but it fell on deaf ears.
Sam sneered at Parson's attitude and gritted his teeth.
"You've always been like this! Using my failures as stepping stones, succeeding spectacularly to hog everyone's trust! The chairman position was supposed to be mine—you stole it!"
"Sam!"
"I'm sick of it! No matter what you say, I'll make the elixir venture succeed! So don't interfere—get out!"
Parson's pent-up emotions finally boiled over at his friend's unyielding stubbornness.
This was a critical matter tied to the association's fate, so even the composed Parson had to press hard this time.
"Why can't you see there's no way? No samples left, and the development costs are unsustainable! Keep this up, and we'll all go bankrupt!"
"Once we develop the elixir, that pittance will be multiplied many times over."
"Stop wasting money on nonsense! Without Altesia's cooperation, the elixir business was doomed from the start!"
"Doomed? Ha! Ridiculous—it's not over yet!"
At that moment, someone barged into the office unannounced.
A man shrouded entirely in a black cloak, hiding his identity completely.
Parson scowled at the suspicious intruder reeking of ill intent and moved to eject him.
But Sam beat him to it, amiably grabbing the man's shoulder.
"Perfect timing! Parson, this is the savior who's going to complete my elixir venture!"
"...Are you the one who filled Sam's head with delusions?"
The man chuckled slyly from beneath his hood at Parson's sharp question.
"Delusions? That's hurtful. I merely came to fulfill Sam's desperate wish."
Strutting leisurely across the room, he plopped down in the head seat without permission.
Despite the breach of etiquette, Sam didn't object—in fact, he tolerated it.
Parson was shocked that the prideful Sam, prouder than anyone, accepted such subordinate treatment as natural.
Forcing calm, he began questioning the cloaked man.
"You claim you'll make the elixir venture succeed. Are you its creator?"
"Haha, that would be ideal."
"Not the creator, yet you plan to produce the elixir? How?"
The man stroked his chin and replied matter-of-factly to Parson's interrogation.
"What other way than finding the creator and extracting the recipe?"
"You think they'll hand over a recipe worth a fortune so easily?"
Parson mocked the man's naive view.
But the man calmly uttered chilling words without a flicker of emotion.
"Of course, we'll force it out of them. Or steal it."
"You mean declare war on the Altesia Count House?"
"Haha! No need to worry. Do I seem mad enough to tell your association to clash head-on with nobles? I'm talking about a clean, legitimate way to take it without bloodshed."
Unlike Sam, Parson couldn't trust the cloaked man at all.
His intentions to exploit the association while hiding his identity were obvious.
Sorry as he felt for Sam, Parson planned to invoke chairman authority, reject all proposals, and boot him out.
But the situation flipped dramatically as a staffer burst through the door.
"B-Big trouble, Chairman!"
"What is it? Calm down and speak."
"The Altesia Count House announced they've developed their own silk!"
"Silk...?"
"Yes! Madame Meltie Marcel, the grande dame of fashion, personally vouched for its quality and raved about it! The rumor spread instantly, and we're flooded with cancellation inquiries!"
A red alert had lit up in the silk market, which the Frontia Association had practically monopolized.
With the elixir development a bust and even samples lost, now their mainstay silk business was crumbling.
Parson quickly calculated the losses in his head and felt dizziness hit.
"No other options seem viable. What now?"
"Hah...!"
They still had pepper, but it wasn't a monopoly item.
If silk fell and pepper's value followed, the Frontia Merchant Association was finished.
With the association's future flickering like a candle in the wind, Parson found it hard to shake off the man's tempting offer.
"...Please leave."
Yet Parson steeled himself and issued a firm refusal.
The potential fallout from failure was too immense.
Beyond the association's ruin, it could endanger the lives of everyone involved.
As chairman, his sense of responsibility for those who trusted him dictated this final choice.
"How rigid."
The man rose with an irritated mutter.
Instinct screaming danger, Parson yelled toward the door.
"Get out now! Or I'll call the guards!"
"No choice then. For eyesores beyond reason, removal is the only option."
"What...!"
No sooner had the words left than ominous black smoke billowed from the man's sleeve.
The smoke filled the office in an instant, slithering like a living thing through the air to viciously choke Parson's throat.
"Guhk, krrk...!"
"Don't worry. You still have use, so I won't take your life. Just sleep soundly for a while."
"Da...mn...!"
Parson's vision flickered wildly as consciousness faded.
He flailed to dispel the fog around his neck, but the formless smoke slipped through his fingers.
Stamping and struggling desperately, his body soon went limp.
After he sank into darkness, a rumor began spreading through the Frontia Merchant Association.
"Chairman Parson embezzled funds and fled in the night!"
The honor of the man who'd devoted himself to the association was tarnished in a single day.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Y-Young master! Big trouble!"
"What?"
"The Frontia Merchant Association petitioned the imperial court to accuse you!"
"...It's finally begun."