Chapter 59
“Shall we take a few of these?”
“They’re too heavy—my bones hurt.”
Perhaps because a magician made them, every piece was outrageously strange.
I once again refused a thick bracelet, adorned with dangling turtles, that looked relatively light.
“If it’s for defense, I’d have to wear it constantly, but my wrists would break first.”
“I see……”
I returned the escort artifact coldly.
It was genuinely too heavy, and besides, why should I be the one to take it? Even at a glance, it looked incredibly valuable.
Someone like me, weak and sickly, could already destroy an entire castle… You don’t make comments like that even as flattery.
“Was it very heavy?”
“Yes. So from now on, you don’t have to go this far.”
“Well, at least this ring… If it’s a burden, I can lend it instead of giving it.”
“This one is too weak—I’m worried I’ll end up breaking it myself.”
“You can break it if you want.”
“I wouldn’t be okay with that. I’d be too conscious of it and probably end up taking it off all the time.”
Damian, the master of the magic tower, looked dejected at the repeated refusals.
Hmm, it would indeed be troublesome if a business partner got into trouble midway.
“Don’t worry. Even so, I have a bodyguard—what could possibly happen?”
Anyway, I was more likely to die from my illness worsening than from an accident.
In any case, it was a relief that rescuing the hostage went smoothly.
“This is ridiculous. Why do people treat us with such prejudice?”
“…….”
“Josephine, say something! Don’t you feel wronged?”
Polius shouted, unable to tolerate the worsening public opinion, but Josephine remained quietly patient. She could endure it because there was hope.
‘Soon, Clotilde’s side will run into trouble.’
Then, those who had subscribed to the Black Moon service would definitely move over to the Red Sun.
If only the Red Sun ran the magic stone business, even the higher prices wouldn’t matter much since it would be a monopoly, and the <13th Knight> had already agreed, so they could continue filming.
Moreover, if Clotilde went under, the exclusive contract would be voided, securing more content.
The price of mana stones had also dropped compared to before—it was strange that it had suddenly risen back when I tried to acquire it.
‘Don’t think negatively. Everything will be fine. There’s no way I could fail…’
Just a little… just a little more patience.
Soon, the event Josephine had been waiting for finally happened.
“A video has been found on the Clotilde Magic Stone subscription service that insults the royal family!”
“The Emperor doesn’t look anything like the previous Emperor.”
“Do you know why the Duchess of Clotilde keeps the Duchess position vacant?”
“Because the Duke had an affair with the previous Empress and fathered the previous Emperor!”
Absurd videos were circulating.
The royal knights immediately seized the magic stones and began an investigation.
“No… How can such videos even be circulated? Are they crazy?”
“What if we see the Clotilde subscription service and are then branded as agreeing with these rumors?”
“For now, it’s better not to watch it and be cautious.”
And Josephine seized the opportunity.
“Our side thoroughly inspects the distribution process of magic stones. Simply creating them is not enough.”
“Oh, Miss, you really are different……”
“I’m just doing the basics, so it’s embarrassing to be praised.”
Josephine tried to hide the upward twitch of her mouth with her hand.
Polius was both surprised and pleased by the unexpected turn of events.
“Yes! There’s no way those two would succeed in what they do!”
However, their joy was short-lived.
“We’re here to investigate your magic stone service.”
In fact, the royal family had pinpointed Ingda’s magic stone service as the culprit.
I wasn’t just watching to see if the Red Sun had tampered with the distribution process.
From the beginning, all magic stones had unique codes to prevent forgery.
Even without the codes, the quality difference was obvious.
There was no way the stones made by the tower’s magicians could be the same as those made by foreign magicians.
Moreover, some of them had been intentionally poorly made under Martis’s orders.
And most importantly…
‘The interpreter and magician had been leaving evidence behind all along.’
The magician pretended to make the stones while filming the Marquis’s words and actions.
“Mock the Emperor sharply! Anyone who watches this video won’t be able to resist taking on the Clotilde family!”
“Can you record it so the Emperor’s not the child of the previous Emperor, with a more mocking tone?”
And the interpreter, feeling guilty, decided to report them.
Of course, the magician, feeling guilty too, left the evidence behind and fled abroad beforehand.
‘Thankfully, the interpreter is now working somewhere better, not under the Marquis.’
It seemed that everything had worked out safely.
No one would have to suffer under a weird person like the Marquis.
The magician also ended up happy, fleeing abroad while taking a huge sum from Polius and Josephine.
‘Only Polius and Josephine get a sad ending.’
Thus, Josephine ended up taking responsibility for the crime she herself had committed.
Well, it made sense, since she had created these magic stones in the first place.
‘It’s a shame Polius wasn’t involved—then she could have gone free.’
Even if she somehow escaped here, there was no way she would avoid consequences entirely.
As expected by Melanie, Polius firmly claimed ignorance during the royal investigation.
“I really don’t know anything. Ingda the Marquis and Josephine, or rather, Ingda the Lady, did this entirely on their own!”
And indeed, he genuinely didn’t know.
“But weren’t they engaged?”
“They said so, but we haven’t even filed the proposal yet!”
Polius used all his connections to successfully shift the blame.
But it wasn’t time to breathe easy.
“People won’t watch our magic stones at all, fearing to displease the Emperor because it was Josephine’s business?”
They already weren’t watching much, but now it was almost zero.
Everything he had painstakingly prepared was about to be wasted in an instant.
The plot to crush Clotilde had instead swallowed the entire Ingda family.
“Wait a second! We need to go to the Clotilde family and confront them—why are you doing this to us?”
The Ingda family was being stripped of their mansion and property for unpaid debts, their titles revoked or downgraded, and arguments were starting.
“Polius!”
Polius ignored Josephine, who clung to him.
‘What should I do now? How…’
He was confused. He couldn’t even ask his distant father or unreliable mother what to do anymore.
‘Clara would give me the answer.’
Just as he had run to Josephine when there was trouble with Melanie, now he ran to Clara.
She had always comforted him and been reliable, hadn’t she?
“Clara? Why are you at the Red Sun business right now…? Actually, good timing. I was about to come see you…”
But Polius encountered an entirely unexpected side of Clara.
“What… are you doing?”
In the crowded chaos of new faces, Clara looked unlike herself.
“Ah, Polius.”
She met his eyes but didn’t smile brightly as usual.
Surprised, Polius rubbed his eyes.
‘Huh?’
Clara, who had always followed him blindly like a puppy… now looked indifferent even when making eye contact.
“Clara. I’m asking you something right now.”
“I don’t care what you say, I’m busy now—later.”
“What did you just say to me?”
Polius was so shocked he forgot to even be angry.
With her arms crossed, overseeing the staff, she seemed like a completely different person.
“Be careful not to mix things up when packing the magic stones.”
Only then did Polius realize what the bustling staff were doing in his business.
“Wait! What are you doing? Why are you packing someone else’s magic stones?”
“What do you mean? Josephine Ingda can’t repay our guild, so we’re confiscating whatever property we can.”
“Clara, did you call these people?”
Polius’s voice trembled.
The painstakingly made magic stones were being carelessly packed into boxes.
“I know the Ingda family owes Martis’s guild, but don’t involve yourself. It’s Josephine’s business but also mine. If you take the stones like this…”
Inwardly, Polius was relieved that it wasn’t Clara’s father confiscating the property but Clara herself.
Clara wasn’t completely smitten with him, was she?
“Clara, I might be disappointed if you act like this!”
He was happy thinking that if Josephine fell, Clara would come closer to him.
Wasn’t she the one who liked him so much?
But…
“So what?”
“What?”
“If you’re disappointed in me, it’s actually good.”
Tsk—Clara stuck her tongue out.
