Chapter 39
Ariella didn’t flinch and continued the words Fedwick had cut off.
“I brought proof to counter your claims.”
She went on, step by step.
“I went through every document from Bephar’s time, and there’s no unpaid balance recorded on your side. The debt you say we owe doesn’t even exist.”
She clearly laid out her rebuttal.
“Also, the letters exchanged between both sides show your involvement clearly. Your claim that you didn’t know about Bephar’s scheme is an outright lie.”
She locked eyes with him.
“You’ve been working with that traitor Bephar for a long time, profiting unfairly while exploiting Ludwig’s Demon King’s Domain!”
Fedwick still smiled, though a sly glint appeared in his eyes. He pulled out a luxury pocket watch and checked the time.
“I’m a very busy man — far busier than some borderland Demon King or his contractor. Every minute of my time is worth more than gold.”
“And?” Ariella asked flatly.
“It means you’re wasting my valuable time, human. Time so precious that all the wealth in your poor little domain couldn’t buy even a second of it.”
He pointed at the papers she brought.
“You expect me to go through these shabby documents one by one? They’re obviously full of forged and altered lies.”
“What?”
Ludwig snapped again, but Ariella calmly reached out and gripped his wrist.
Only then did Ludwig notice her breathing was still steady.
Just hold it in a little longer. We’re almost there.
She replied evenly,
“You can’t know they’re forged unless you check them.”
“How can we trust disorganized papers from some remote, failing domain?”
“I can use your own logic — where’s the proof your claims are real?”
Fedwick bared his teeth in a grin.
“That proof is called trust and reputation. We have them. Your failing domain does not.”
He mocked them openly.
“So what will you do? Ask another Demon King to mediate? Which one would take your side?”
The Fedwick Company’s documents carried weight and credibility by default. Ludwig’s did not. And there was no other Demon King likely to back them against such a powerful and well-connected company.
After pointing this out bluntly, Fedwick dismissed them.
“There’s no reason to keep talking.”
He leaned back in his chair with a sneer.
“If you have time and strength to lug around that firewood, next time bring me what I asked for — whether it’s the compensation money or the slime compound.”
A short while later…
The two of them walked down the company headquarters hallway after being thrown out of Fedwick’s office. A company demon walked ahead, guiding them.
The wide corridor was busy with company demons passing by. They whispered as Ludwig and Ariella passed.
“That rookie is Ludwig?”
“Shh! Careful, or he’ll stab you. I heard he’s used to fighting.”
“So what? His domain’s on the brink of collapse. He’s just a Demon King in name, waiting to die.”
“Yeah, I heard the sun there won’t last. People are leaving every day.”
“No food either. Orcs attack constantly. Who could survive there?”
“And he let a vampire embezzle from him for years without noticing.”
Their mocking looks and words made Ludwig’s face turn cold.
Ariella mouthed silently, Hold it in.
“….”
Just a little more. We’re almost there.
Even with her warning, the snide comments kept coming. Ludwig clenched his teeth, vowing not to forget the insult.
One demon asked their guide,
“Hey, where are you taking them? Did they meet the boss already?”
“Yeah. He said they had no more business here, so I’m escorting them out.”
“Keh keh keh! I figured.”
That was all they needed to guess exactly what had happened in Fedwick’s office — that Ludwig had tried to argue and been thrown out. The Ludwig Domain simply wasn’t in Fedwick’s league.
The demons lost interest, assuming the two would soon be tossed out the front door.
The guide kept walking — but once the onlookers were gone, his eyes sharpened.
He checked the hallway in all directions several times, then suddenly changed course.
Without a word, Ariella and Ludwig followed.
A moment later, they arrived not at an exit, but at an office deep inside the building.
“Please, go in.”
His voice had turned polite.
When they entered, the guide closed the door quietly.
“…You’ve come,” said an elderly gnome waiting inside.
Ariella relaxed inwardly. Good. Success.
She’d never expected Vaggis Fedwick to actually listen to her. She had planned for rejection — the meeting was just a way to get inside the headquarters naturally, so she could meet this man.
Gesturing to a chair, she said, “Aren’t you going to offer your guest a seat?”
“I don’t know yet if you’re a welcome guest or here to ruin my day.”
Wow… just as prickly as Geru, Ariella thought.
This gnome was said to be one of Geru’s trusted juniors back when Geru worked here. Many long-standing clients insisted they would cut ties unless this gnome stayed.
He was too deeply involved in the company’s work for Vaggis to remove — but because he wasn’t part of Vaggis’s political faction, he was in an awkward position.
A skilled but politically sidelined outsider.
His eyes held a trace of unease as he spoke.
“I only set this up because poor Cecile asked me to. We don’t have time for small talk. Let’s get to the point.”
He frowned.
“If they find out I’m doing this, I’ll be in trouble.”
Geru had written to his daughter, Cecile. She had been shocked to learn her father was revived as an undead, but she followed his instructions.
Even though her shop had lost its contracts, she still knew enough about the company to contact this gnome — one of the few she could trust — for a secret meeting.
So he’s one of the opposition Geru mentioned.
But Ariella decided not to reveal that Geru was a zombie yet.
The gnome asked, “What do you want?”
“I want to buy something.”
He snorted.
“You want to trade with me? I’m sure the company head already made you an offer.”
“Not an offer — a threat. I have no intention of letting him put me on a leash.”
“So you want an off-the-record deal with me, just like this meeting?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
Some of the unease on his face faded. A direct request for trade had awakened his instincts as a merchant.
“So, what are you buying? Surely not something small, like ogre scale powder or arachne silk.”
“Information.”
The gnome clasped his hands on the desk.
“What kind?”
“I need Vaggis Fedwick’s weakness — something that can take him down.”
“…”
“I think you’re the one who can sell me what I want. Or am I wrong?”
The gnome thought for a moment.
“If that’s what you want, then yes, you came to the right person. But in another way… you came to the wrong one.”
It was a contradictory answer, and he explained why.
“No one wants to see Vaggis fall more than I do.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s crossed every line. I’m not sure you can even call what he’s doing now a ‘trading company’s work.’”
In other words, he was willing to cooperate.
But…
“If there were a way to do it, I’d have done it already. If I couldn’t succeed, do you really think you can?”
It was a negative answer.
But Ariella just smiled confidently.
“Don’t worry. If I couldn’t handle it, I wouldn’t be here to buy it.”
