72

"Wow, that's amazing. They haven't turned the inside of the Great House like this in years, have they? It's a shame we can't see Leabrick's shitty face in person."

"There's another one. I tracked the process of laundering the proceeds from the sale from the Grand Duke, and there was a person named L behind all this."

"L?"

"They certainly exist on paper, but most of the work has never been represented by a representative. It's still a psychological problem, but this L appears to have an antipathy to the Great House."

"L. You mean there's another madman in the Great House who's pointing a knife at them? Wow, that's so interesting."

Ren looked as happy as a kid on his birthday. It is said that the enemy of the enemy is a friend. As long as they had a common enemy, the Grand Duke, L could be an ally depending on how they wanted to play.

"Why can't I feel L like everyone else?"

Ren's gaze, muttering to himself after a burst of laughter, stayed on the street where Elena left and pedestrians came and went. It was just a passing feeling, but he kept getting used to it without feeling any discomfort.

"Do you have any suggestions?"

"Mel, if you were born the daughter of the Duke of Reinhardt. Yes, the only daughter. You are the successor."

"You mean me?"

Mel couldn't find the point of the question and made a sour face.

"But you don't like something. You don't like family, you don't like your father, you hate everything."

"I'm not so sure about that."

Who would hate being born of a grand noble descent.

"It's a home, so don't complain."

"…"

"Anyway, that's why you're doing the manipulation without knowing it. You've got a business and you're pretending to be someone else… what's going on?"

"Do I have to answer that question?"

"Just relax. I'm just curious. Feel free to answer whatever comes to your mind."

He wanted to hear the answer. Mel replied with an uncomfortable face, imagining it to fit the given situation.

"I dare say it's because of love. Because sometimes young ladies of that age are so blinded by love that they abandon their families."

"That's so romantic. How about this?"

Ren, who ignored Mel's hard-earned thoughts, said what he thought.

"She's not actually the Duke's biological daughter."

"That's a novel stereotype-like development."

"But she was severely abused. So she's trying to get revenge. On her foster father! How's that? Isn't it good?"

Mel shut his mouth. He didn't even know what he meant because he couldn't understand why he was asking this question. Ren grinned at Mel's lukewarm response.

"I just said it because I thought it might be. Don't take it to heart. Back to the point, how's my uncle doing?"

"I think he's still spending more time in the safe house than in the mansion. There must be a reason for that even after Princess Veronica's return, but it's hard to figure it out."

"Was there any change in the cycle of finding safe houses before and after Veronica's return?"

"None. It's been consistent."

"Strange."

Ren stroked his chin and thought about it. It was only after Veronica became poisoned that Grand Duke Friedrich began to visit the safe house frequently. Now that the poison had been removed and she had returned to the academy, there should be no reason for him to visit the house frequently, but he still looks for it on a regular basis.

Something smells fishy. He was sure he was missing something, but he didn't know what it was.

"Oh, what could it be, uncle, L, and Veronica. I think we can draw a picture if we weave it well."

There was still a lack of information. There was a need for a link to weave a novel without context that Ren had been talking about.

"Mel."

"Yes."

"Let's pour Majesti's intelligence into finding the safe house. Find out what my uncle is doing in the safe house and who he's meeting. Even at the expense of sacrifice."

Even though the Majesti's specialized in intelligence gathering, tracking, and assassination, digging deep into the Grand Duke of Friedrich was dangerous enough to give up their lives. Nevertheless, the word "sacrifice" came out of Ren's mouth, which made them feel the need to grasp the actions of Grand Duke Friedrich at this opportunity.

"I will obey your orders."

Mel didn't complain one bit about sending his men, who were like family to him, to their deaths. Unlike Viscount Spencer, who was more aristocratic than anyone else, Ren had no type. Two years ago, he had the audacity to poison Veronica in a banquet hall full of nobles.

As soon as he entered the swordsmanship department, he had unrivaled sword skills, never missing the first place. He was proud to say that if he continued to grow, there was no one in the Empire who could compete with Ren for the sword and win.

Mel saw the genius of Ren early on and took it upon himself to become Ren's servant rather than Viscount Spencer. He believed that Ren was the right person to break the bad relationship that was entangled with the Grand Duke Friedrich, and had never once thought that his choice is wrong.

***

"What?"

Leabrick stopped paying attention to the documents and looked up. Luminus, wearing glasses, reported with a troubled look.

"There are rumors that the Vatican will soon begin building the cathedral, which will become the headquarters and epicenter of the church. Some of the top companies that have noticed signed exclusive supply agreements with natural marble mines."

"Just tell me the conclusion. What's the current market price?

"They want four times the purchase price."

Kwang! Leabrick, who rarely showed her feelings, couldn't help but hit the desk in her office. The fountain pen that she was holding broke and the pen stand rolled over.

"Since when did the Grand Duke look so easy? Or don't they want to do business in the Empire anymore?"

"It's confusing, but there's no clear reason to impose sanctions."

"Make a cause. That's your job."

In the Empire, the word of the Grand Duke is the law and the rule. The merchants were no exception. They needed to be thoroughly informed of the price they would have to pay if the Grand Duke glared at them. Artil managed to open his mouth.

"Please reconsider… It is said that the construction of the cathedral is true, as I found out through a high-ranking priest."

"What?"

"Internally, they say they have made a lot of decisions. I don't know how the secretive matter leaked out, but I've heard that they've already made contact with a prestigious architect and are making progress. The word is that the cathedral is unprecedented in history."

Leabrick bit her lips hard. If the decision had already been made within the Vatican, the construction of the cathedral should have been considered a fait accompli. If it was a great construction that is hard to find in history, even the stone and natural marble to be used will be enormous. Due to the principle of the market, prices were bound to jump unconditionally if demand was higher than supply.

"The Vatican's reserves are astronomical. As the Vatican has high expectations for the construction of the cathedral, it is highly likely that it will spare no money on the purchase of natural marble."

"Ha."

Leabrick put her hand on her head, frowning with a throbbing headache. L had already purchased the land of the slum in advance and sold it at a price of more than a hundred times the market price. The damage suffered at that time was not small, and it was encouraging to add four times more money to the purchase of natural marble.

"I found L's tail apart from that."

"Really?"

Leabrick's eyes have softened a bit.

If only the identity of L could be identified, it would be possible to recover the damage suffered by the sale of slums regardless of the means and methods.

"We don't have a complete picture, but we've confirmed that they've bought land near the south side of the capital."

"Did they buy the land with that money?"

Leabrick was stunned to hear that L bought the land in the capital with the money they took as if they were extorting it from the sale of land in the slum.

"They have a lot of land. We haven't figured out the purpose of the building yet, but it's as large as most cathedrals. The rest of the land has been under construction for a long time as if they plan to build a large building of similar size."

Feeling disharmony, Leabrick spoke.

"I feel like they're aiming for Noblesse Street. Am I the only one who feels that way?"

"We agree with you, too."

"The Grand Duke looked like a pushover. All of that kind of baleful thinking."

Leabrick accepted L's business as a declaration of war against the Grand Duke. They dare to climb up without even knowing the topic.

"On a scale, it's highly likely to be a luxury building."

"Stone and natural marble are indispensable elements for architecture. If the current natural marble market price cannot be lowered, it will be a big blow if we first secure the transaction volume and prevent it from supplying natural marble to L."

Even for the Grand Duke, buying natural marble at more than four times its market value is an enormous loss. However, looking at it dispassionately, the amount of damage was not so fatal that it would immediately endanger the Grand Duchy. In addition, once Noblesse Street was completed, the profit would exceed the amount of damage by hundreds of times.

But L was different. Even if L had the talent to run amok, the possibility of them having more money than the Grand Duke who had been around for over a hundred years was slim. Even if the Grand Duke suffered losses from the purchase of natural marble, if this resulted in a shortage of natural marble and a further increase in its price, the losses would have to be borne entirely by L.

In other words, even if they also spend money and suffer damage, the Grand Duke would not fall even if they were in danger, but L, who lacked funds compared to the Grand Duke, may perish drastically.

"Crucially, L is running a business with fatal anxiety factors."

"Anxiety factors?"

"A young architect named Randol, who is almost unknown, is responsible for the design and construction of the building, and his field experience is slow. He doesn't have any experience."

Artil also added.

"Other sites are said to be designed and constructed by an architect named Diaz, who was commissioned by the nobility to build small villas."

"L has given too much work to those who have no experience and skills?"

Artil and Luminus nodded.

"Yes, even among field workers, there is a lot of concern that Randol is working on architecture with an unproven method. I'm sure there will be a problem."

"Viscountess, buy the natural marble one step ahead of L. Even financial pressure will be a great burden. And even if we don't do it ourselves, they'll collapse themselves."

"We'll wait and see…"