Chapter 151…………………………………………..
[Embezzlement of Public Funds]
‘I never expected him to go this far.’
I recalled Isaac, who confidently said the last time we met that he would send Riena to prison.
He had even hinted at the method.
“The corruption of the Iber Trading Company was all done by a subordinate? Anyone who knows her personality wouldn’t believe such nonsense. Just watch. Someone who rose through a trading company will fall through a trading company.”
Because of that, I had predicted he would use the Baby Rabbit Trading Company, but I never imagined he would bring up the Warp Gate project, which had been halted after Kais left.
Should I call it vicious? Isaac Cassius was definitely not someone I ever wanted as an enemy.
To be honest, I was slightly worried about how big the fallout from Isaac’s actions might become later.
The Warp Gate technology had already stirred the entire world into an uproar—yet in truth, no one even knew when it would actually be completed.
Even in Walking Only the Flower Road After Regression, the Warp Gate was only commercialized years later in an epilogue set after the main story, due to various issues.
‘I’m sure there was even a line saying it still had many problems.’
In other words, it was technology far too early to be publicly discussed at the current point in time.
Originally, Riena would have given Kais plenty of time to research it slowly. But after the Iber Trading Company collapsed, it seemed she had become desperate.
From Riena’s perspective, she probably wanted to quickly restore her reputation with a new business.
However, that only ended up pressuring Kais and pushing the two of them further apart.
“Ho-how can she do this? Not only did she announce the Warp Gate technology without even consulting me, she even boasted that it would soon be commercialized!”
Apparently Kais had read the newspaper too, because he sent one of his avatars to complain to me.
“My disappointment in Lady Cassius only grows! She’s truly a terrible person!”
…In truth, it wasn’t something Riena had done, but revealing the truth would only complicate things further, so I chose to remain silent.
I did feel sorry for Kais, but it wasn’t like I had any good way to stop Isaac either.
Isaac was cooperating with me only because he held a grudge against Riena—he wasn’t actually my subordinate.
‘Sorry, Kais. I’m a little scared of him too…’
Anyway, my current task was to focus on removing the blessing Riena had placed on people.
I had thought of something on my way to the Luciano estate today. Perhaps Isaac’s actions might actually help me quite a bit.
The first step was to crack the extremely positive perception these people had of Riena.
“Lady Riena really is the best!”
“Ah, when will she appear in public again? I want to see that adorable face soon!”
“Anyone want to go invest in the Baby Rabbit Trading Company with me? They’re still recruiting investors.”
“Let’s all go together! Once the Warp Gates are installed, the profits will multiply—no, increase dozens of times!”
I looked at these people—who were eagerly about to jump into the very pit Riena would fall into herself—with pity in my eyes. Then I cleared my throat.
“Ahem… everyone.”
Only then did their attention return to me.
“I actually have something to say regarding the Warp Gate project.”
The member who had just been recruiting investors narrowed his eyes.
“You’re trying to say something bad on purpose, aren’t you? I won’t believe you!”
Several others immediately agreed.
“Exactly! You got rich from a lucky mining strike—what do you know about business?”
“Why do you keep trying to interfere with our Lady Riena?”
Honestly… say whatever you want.
“Whether you invest or not is your personal freedom. But you do have one obligation.”
“What obligation?”
“The obligation to listen to the person who actually brought the technology you’re investing in into this world.”
At that moment—
Flap!
With the sound of wings beating, a parrot flew in and landed on my shoulder.
“Allow me to introduce him. The inventor behind many of the artifacts released by the Iber Trading Company. The wizard known as the ‘Eccentric Inventor’—Mr. Kais.”
“H-hello. I’m… the ecc-eccentric inventor… K-Kais.”
Kais, who had said it had been nearly ten years since he last stood in front of a large group of people, stuttered badly as he introduced himself.
“What—what? The eccentric inventor?”
Lisamo members stirred at the sudden appearance.
“Now that you mention it, I think I heard rumors he appears in animal form.”
“No way! The eccentric inventor is Lady Riena’s closest associate—he wouldn’t be with that woman!”
“No, that parrot definitely is the eccentric inventor.”
“How would you know?”
“…Because I once visited him for business and got turned away by that same parrot.”
All the Lisamo members came from influential families.
Naturally, some of them must have tried to recruit Kais before.
“This newspaper article clearly states that the Warp Gate technology belongs to the eccentric inventor, right? So why don’t we hear from him directly?”
The parrot took a deep breath before speaking.
“T-the Warp Gate commercialization announced in today’s newspaper… was done without any consultation with me. This is clearly… fr-fraud!”
Once Kais got started, his speech gradually became smoother.
He explained that he had already parted ways with Riena long ago, had no intention of cooperating with her again, and that collecting investments using the Warp Gate as bait was a scam.
Seeing this, I was glad I had brought Kais here on impulse.
As Kais continued speaking, the expressions of the Lisamo members gradually darkened.
“T-that’s impossible! It’s a lie!”
“Lady Riena would never commit fraud!”
Alright.
Now it was my turn.
Just as I had practiced beforehand, I released the holy power I had carefully gathered within my body all at once.
“Lady Riena committed several illegal acts while operating the Iber Trading Company. Is there any law that says someone who did it once cannot do it again?”
“B-but that was the vice-leader acting on his own…”
“You of all people—who observed Lady Riena up close—should know that she personally ran the Iber Trading Company.”
After all, Lisamo had always praised Riena’s business ability endlessly.
As our exchange continued, the strength gradually drained from their voices.
Watching them, I became certain.
It wasn’t that they were incapable of thinking. They had simply ignored Riena’s shady sides because of the blessing’s influence.
When I confirmed that their eyes were gradually becoming clearer, I said my farewell.
“I should be going now. My apologies for disrupting the meeting. Please continue with the rest of your agenda.”
However, judging from the cold, dampened atmosphere, it seemed unlikely the meeting would regain its previous excitement.
“Oh, and by the way—if anyone wishes to discuss this matter further, or if anyone wants to apologize for spreading rumors about me like the Duchess of Luciano once did, please make an appointment and visit me.”
For such people, I planned to remove the blessing more thoroughly in private.
Right now, I was far too busy to drag unwilling people into conversation—but if possible, I wanted to minimize the number of victims who would lose their fortunes through bad investments.
I calmly walked out of the silent glass greenhouse and headed to my next meeting place.
“Baron Luciviu! Why are you so late?!”
Roland Cassius, the person I had arranged to meet, greeted me with loud complaints.
“I had some business to handle. More importantly—did you bring what I asked for?”
“Of course. But why did you make me prepare something this troublesome?”
“I told you—removing dark magic requires emotional stimuli that can move the person’s feelings. And for that, information is essential.”
For that reason, I had previously asked Roland for personal information only family members would know—like childhood stories about his children.
We were now on our way to meet the siblings of the Duke of Cassius, whom Riena had gathered.
“Breaking dark magic really is a troublesome task. Try to make good use of this information.”
I quickly skimmed the documents Roland handed me—then tossed them aside.
“What?! Why’d you throw them away?!”
“They’re practically blank. Where’s the information?”
Roland gave an awkward smile.
“I did my best. Honestly, how would I know what those guys like or what kind of values they have?”
“Forget it. I’ll just handle it myself.”
At the very least, the contents of Walking Only the Flower Road After Regression were a hundred times more helpful than those documents.
Strengthening my resolve, I headed toward the room where they had gathered after Isaac’s summons.
There wasn’t much time left until the conclusion.
Later That Afternoon
Several evening newspapers simultaneously published an official statement from Kais.
In the statement, Kais clearly declared that he was the developer of the Warp Gate technology and that the Baby Rabbit Trading Company’s announcement earlier that morning had been made without any consultation with him.
The world fell into confusion due to the conflicting claims.
Not long after, the Baby Rabbit Trading Company released its own statement, saying there had simply been a miscommunication with the developer and that the Warp Gate construction plan would proceed without issue.
Public opinion quickly split into two sides.
Half trusted the Baby Rabbit Trading Company.
The other half began questioning the situation—especially the fact that investments were being collected for the Warp Gate technology and the new business.
Meanwhile, in the Cassius family townhouse, there were people watching the situation unfold with deep concern.
Liandro looked at his father, who sat silently at his desk, and spoke heavily.
“I know you believe this would be irresponsible. But we must make a decision now.”
“……”
“You know this is no longer just a family matter. Most people who believe the Baby Rabbit Trading Company’s statement are doing so because they trust the name Cassius.”
Leheim also supported his older brother.
“That’s right. And it’s not like we’ll never see Riena again if we do this.”
“Father, if we wait until the family knights find Riena and Uncle Isaac, it may already be too late.”
“If the Warp Gate plan really is a scam, the longer we delay the decision, the more victims there will be.”
The Duke of Cassius groaned softly with his eyes closed.
After a moment—not long, yet not short—he opened his eyes.
In a dark but resolute voice, he spoke.
“I will disown Riena. From this moment on, Riena is no longer a member of the Cassius family.”
