Chapter : 152

The plan was not complicated.

Baron Pierre’s senator would simply request it from Poldein Merchant Guild under his family’s name, while other people would hide their identities and buy the grain being sold to the poor.

Since they would not know about this, there was no doubt that some kind of trick would be on that high-grade bread and grain.

That was why I called Azuela and had people carry out the work, without particularly worrying.

We just had to wait.

That was what I thought.

But….

“Is it true that there is nothing wrong at all?”

“That is right. I did not find any cursed mystique in the items we brought back. Hm…. Was our prediction wrong?”

Magician Agpiel shook his head.

“Yes. It is just ordinary bread and grain, you know? And um, it tastes incredibly good too. They said it was high-grade bread, and it really felt like I ate it at an imperial court banquet. Hoho.”

Magician Azuela, who was as lacking in tact as Bishop Marco the goat beastman, said that as well.

“But wasn’t that the only overlap? Agpiel.”

“That is true. And when we look at the circumstances, it is indeed the most likely.”

As he said that, Magician Agpiel smacked the back of Azuela’s hand as she tore off and ate more bread. Things were already complicated, and it seemed to irritate him that she kept eating it.

“Tch. Isn’t it possible we just got lucky by coincidence? If it was cursed every single time they sent it, anyone would suspect it.”

Azuela pouted as she retorted. And when we heard that—

“Oh?”

“You…?”

We blurted out admiring exclamations in surprise.

No, to think she would say something with this kind of insight! So she could think, after all.

“…I am a magician too, you know…?”

Of course, maybe she read what we were thinking, because Azuela was making a rather displeased face.

“Sure, sure. A magician. You really looked like a magician today. Keep doing that from now on. Azuela.”

“Hm, that is true.”

Should I laugh or cry?

It was clearly praise, but it somehow felt like an insult to Azuela.

“Anyway, then as Azuela said, let’s try asking other families too.”

“Yes. That would be better. Call Baron Pierre and carry it out quickly.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

—

“Hmmm….”

“Huh.”

I thought it would work.

If we only did it once, the sample was too small, so we increased it to three families and made requests.

But everything was clean.

Even all the grain sold to the poor had no issues. The quality was slightly lower, but not to the point where eating it would cause problems.

So all of us in the room were frowning and letting out hollow sighs.

Except for one person.

Ah? Was it two?

“Meeeeh. This is tasty. Female magician, you were right. Meehehheh.”

“Right? Hohoho.”

As expected, the two tactless party members were turning my stomach upside down. I almost snapped at them, but since they were always like this, my irritation cooled instantly.

“Then has the epidemic situation calmed down to some extent for now? Baron Pierre.”

“Well…. thanks to you, it has settled down. When we manage it exactly as you told us, it does not really spread much.”

“Then it is at least good fortune amid misfortune.”

I had been worried that innocent citizens would suffer from a power struggle, like a shrimp’s back breaking in a whale fight, but at least this was fortunate.

“Could our assumption be wrong? That it spreads through a completely different vector…. Or is it possible it is a real epidemic?”

“Hm. That is not it. Baron Pierre. When I checked the city’s illnesses, various epidemics were mixed together. And illnesses like this often occur due to a curse of disease.”

For once, Azuela showed magician-like insight and flaunted her knowledge. Of course, it still did not make her look particularly mysterious.

“Then what is it, exactly? We have suspicion and circumstances, but no matter how long we wait, no physical evidence turns up.”

Watching Baron Pierre voice his frustration, I fell into thought for a moment.

What was the problem?

Then, suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.

“That senator…. is he truly trustworthy?”

“What?”

If you looked at the circumstances before and after, there was only one reason all of this had happened.

“Information. Information is leaking.”

I did not know how, but the information about our movements was leaking straight to Sir Andrea Bardi.

Otherwise, they could not respond this perfectly.

Especially since they were responding as if they knew every plan, it was clear someone who knew everything about this had betrayed us.

It could not be Baron Pierre, or me, or the magicians under my command, so there was only one suspect.

The senator who was directing the entire investigation committee.

“But that senator is not that kind of person.”

“Why not? People are shaken more easily than you think. If they offered a great reward, there wouldn’t be anyone who wouldn’t waver, would there?”

There were almost no people who would not be shaken by money. Sometimes there were people whose main motivation was conviction and honor rather than money.

And this senator was that kind of case.

“The senator is not the kind of person who moves for money like that. He cares immensely about his reputation, and he also has deep ties with The Holy See, so he does not move lightly, my lord.”

“So he is the type who is obsessed with honor. Is that what you mean?”

“That is correct, my lord. He likes doing business with honor.”

“Hmmm.”

If so, then usually it was not the person himself, but the people around him that were the problem.

“Have you grasped the senator’s surroundings? Family or relatives, or…. There might be an issue like a hidden lover.”

“Hmmm…. He is a devoted husband certified by notarization from The Holy See, so I doubt there would be that kind of scandal….”

“You never know. In the end, he is still a man, isn’t he? And if he is the kind of person who is even more obsessed with honor as you say, then to protect that, he will go to any lengths.”

At my continued words, Baron Pierre was gradually being persuaded.

But he still seemed to have strong resistance to suspecting his own man.

So I decided to use another ploy.

“Then let’s do this.”

“How…?”

“We just throw out bait. We say we will temporarily inspect merchant warehouses for sanitary checks to prevent the epidemic’s spread, but we deliberately leave out Poldein Merchant Guild.”

“So we actually do the inspection?”

“Yes. And we make it so only that senator knows this information.”

“Hm…. If the warehouse is spotless, then it will indeed mean the information leaked. Through the senator….”

“That’s right. What do you think? Since circumstances aren’t favorable, shouldn’t we at least confirm it once?”

Baron Pierre hesitated. He looked like he was wondering if this was really okay. But in the end, he had no choice but to nod.

“Fine. But only this once.”

“Of course.”

At Baron Pierre’s firm warning, I snickered and shrugged.

It would be nice if it was not the case, but I could not shake the feeling that it absolutely was.

—

“This matter also passed safely without any issues, young master.”

“Heh heh heh. That’s right.”

Sir Andrea Bardi laughed pleasantly for the first time in a while.

“How many have turned their backs?”

“The moderates are hesitating a bit. Some have started leaning back toward you, young master.”

“Good. I don’t like those bat-like bastards, but…. we need them, so we have to endure for now.”

“That is correct, young master.”

Because Baron Pierre had failed to properly stop the epidemic situation, support for him was dropping sharply.

It was because he had sealed off the city and strictly restricted movement under the pretext of stopping the epidemic. For the senators of the families that made money through commerce, such a lockdown was a massive loss.

And they did not think Baron Pierre would fully compensate for that loss anyway.

“By the way, that woman does her work very well.”

“Isn’t it all thanks to your insight, young master?”

“What insight. Everyone just moves according to their own greed.”

His confidant’s praise made him feel proud, but Sir Andrea Bardi forcibly suppressed it.

It was not yet time to pop the victory toast.

“By the way, wouldn’t it be better to just leave that senator alone now?”

“As a puppet?”

“Yes. He is someone who has some clout in the senate, and if I can control him as I please, isn’t that an enormous advantage?”

“Well…. since the evidence that he is having an affair with that woman is solid, it seems we can make him move easily.”

He had not done it with great expectations, but now it returned as a great treasure.

Thanks to that, Sir Andrea Bardi was in an excellent mood.

The senator, rumored to be a devoted husband, had fallen head over heels for the woman Sir Andrea Bardi had attached to him.

‘Making him blatantly fall in love was the masterstroke.’

It was the thought that had entered his mind the moment he saw the woman. Rather than calling it a trick, he would make the two fall in love outright.

He had given her an appropriate sum and ordered her to pretend to love the senator, but now the woman was actively loving the senator.

With the comfortable mansion and servants the senator provided, plus the money Sir Andrea Bardi gave her, she was living a life most nobles would envy.

Thanks to that, Sir Andrea Bardi could learn every move the senator made.

The woman would just act cute and ask what had happened that day, and the senator would spill everything without suspicion.

“By the way, have there been any new messages this time?”

Leaning back in his chair, Sir Andrea Bardi asked his confidant.

The confidant nodded.

“A message came at just the right time.”

“What is it?”

“He says he will conduct a full inspection of all the merchant guilds’ warehouses. As a sanitation measure to prevent the epidemic’s spread.”

“Ha, what a joke. Is he trying to become enemies with all the senators just to stop that?”

Sir Andrea Bardi found his half-brother ridiculous.

No matter how cornered he was, to make such a blunder. Tsk, tsk.

“If that woman sent word, then there must be more behind it, right?”

“Yes, young master. The real target is Poldein Merchant Guild. He says he will conduct a surprise inspection of Poldein Merchant Guild’s warehouse. For reference, Poldein Merchant Guild has been excluded from the list of merchant guilds to be inspected.”

“Ahhh. That kind of trick? Wow…. Still, that’s impressive. It means he roughly figured out that Poldein Merchant Guild is at the center.”

“But can he compare to you, young master? He’s exposing everything this stupidly.”

“Heh heh. Well, that’s true.”

With a smirk, Sir Andrea Bardi ordered Poldein Merchant Guild to clean out the warehouse completely.

When Baron Pierre arrived in a surprise raid, his face would be overflowing with bewilderment.

Because there would be nothing wrong at all.

And soon that news would….

“Spread through the city, and through the entire family.”

When that happened, the senate would learn exactly who the true master of the family was.

Without a doubt!

—

On the very day all operations were carried out,

Baron Pierre received the results and let out a lament.

“Ah….”

It was because the Poldein Merchant Guild warehouse they visited in a surprise raid had been cleaned out completely.

They claimed it was their own regular internal inspection, but how could that be?

As someone who clearly knew the movements of the relevant merchant guilds, Baron Pierre could only be dumbfounded.

“So I was right.”

“Yes….”

Baron Pierre had no face. He had defended his confidant so strongly, only for him to be a traitor.

“Then investigate him. His surrounding relationships.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to drag him away and lock him up immediately?”

“What are you talking about? Now that we know information is leaking, we should make it so you can control him as you please.”

That weakness.

It would be fatal for the other side, but it was also fatal for Baron Pierre.

When you used subordinates, wasn’t it better for them to have a little dirt on them, rather than being only clean and honest?

And besides—

‘Counterintelligence. It would be best to use counterintelligence to lure them completely into a trap.’

If they bit down on it, we might be able to discover Sir Andrea Bardi’s trickery more easily.

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