As Alex sighed without realizing it, his legs began to tremble at Ian’s next words.
“Do you not want to do it?”
“Y-Your Highness, haven’t I told you? My position within the Frank faction is just at the bottom. How could I possibly obtain such information?”
In response to Alex’s logical answer, Ian spoke illogically.
“Then should I, the Third Prince, charge into the Frank faction with you as my guide?”
“Oh! That seems more realistic!”
Momentarily overcome with anger, Ian nearly swung his right hand to deliver a backhanded slap, but his left hand managed to hold it back.
“Alex, think carefully. Why would I make such a request to you?”
“Uh, I’m not sure?”
“I want to give you a chance. If you can accomplish what you think is impossible, won’t the reward be sweet as well?”
Alex nodded, finding Ian’s words logical. Ian thought it wouldn’t be a bad test to turn this low-ranking member to his side.
Even if the incense was not involved, he had other ways to deal with Viscount Steel and the nobles.
Ian decided to test Alex’s capabilities by tossing him a heavy pouch from his pocket.
Thunk.
The pleasant sound made Alex’s ears perk up involuntarily. When Ian gave him a look, Alex carefully opened the pouch and swallowed at the sight of the golden glow.
“What is this?”
“Alex, you didn’t think I’d give you a job with nothing to go on, did you?”
‘Umm… that’s exactly how you used to do it.’
“Of course not. From the moment you allowed me to call you ‘Boss,’ I knew you weren’t that kind of person.”
Every time Alex looked at the gold-filled pouch in his hands, he felt a sense of peace.
“You’re not planning to run away, are you?”
“Ahem, what do you mean? I, Alex, live and die by loyalty.”
“Oh, looks like I found the right person. If you ran off with that gold, I was going to show you why they call me a rogue.”
As Ian grinned, Alex awkwardly laughed along.
“I have one more favor to ask.”
“W-What is it?”
“Tell the boss of the Katarina faction that I will be visiting.”
“Y-Your Highness? You know I’m from the Frank faction, right? The Katarina faction is a group that even knows the color of the nobles’ underwear. If I visit, I might be killed on the spot.”
“If their information is that good, they’ll know we met, won’t they? So there’s nothing to worry about, right?”
Alex couldn’t respond to Ian’s logical question.
“And if they truly have such capabilities, I’m even more eager to meet them. Your role is crucial.”
“Your Highness, you don’t want me to disappear with this gold, do you?”
Noticing the fear in Alex’s eyes, Ian spoke to ease his fear. After all, fear can be replaced by a greater fear.
“Alex, whether I put a bounty on you or you get killed by the Katarina faction, isn’t it the same?”
After pondering for a moment, Alex nodded.
“When you meet the boss of the Katarina faction, tell them this.”
Realizing that Ian’s words might be a lifeline if he visited the Katarina faction, Alex focused intently.
“Tell them that if they meet with me, I will make the annoying entities in the backstreets of the imperial capital disappear.”
“By annoying entities, do you mean the Frank faction?”
“I didn’t say the Frank faction, did I? Can you do it?”
“Y-Yes, I can.”
“Alex, I hope you value your life. I don’t want things to get complicated.”
Alex had been wary of the Third Prince’s volatile temper to avoid losing his head. His instincts told him that betraying this plan would ruin his life.
“I will remember, Your Highness.”
Ian was curious. Would this person, who had been assigned to monitor his use of incense, betray his organization? If Alex truly risked his life to meet with the Katarina faction, he would be a valuable asset.
***
“Did you call for me, Earl?”
Viscount Steel’s face showed a hint of annoyance as he met with Earl Liam. The Earl noticed but pretended not to and asked about the progress.
“Viscount Steel, how is the work going?”
“Earl, I think things are going easier than expected.”
Seeing Viscount Steel’s confident answer, Earl Liam frowned. The word “easy” bothered him.
“Easier than expected?”
“The Third Prince is blatantly demanding bribes from me. Even though he clearly knows he’s the ‘tax inspector.'”
“Aren’t you being too complacent?”
Earl Liam was skeptical, feeling a strange similarity to the pattern with Viscount Helington, but Viscount Steel responded confidently.
“Count, you might not know the tax office well, but I’ve been in charge for several years. Many nobles have come as inspectors, and do you know what happened? They all turned to our side after receiving substantial bribes. I’ve never seen anyone refuse money in this empire.”
“Hmm.”
Earl Liam had to nod in agreement. The amount of tax revenue coming into the empire was enormous, and even a small portion of the leftovers was a significant sum.
“And there’s more, Earl.”
Viscount Steel seemed to be enjoying the situation, drawing out his words to gauge the Earl’s reaction.
“Did you find something?”
“The Third Prince is different from previous inspectors.”
“Different how?”
“Well, even after giving him the salary of five regular tax officers, he wasn’t satisfied. He even asked me separately if there was a chance for a big score.”
Earl Liam felt both suspicion and understanding. They had reduced Ian’s budget due to his reckless behavior, so it made sense he might be seeking ways to make up for it.
The thought crossed his mind that Ian might not have forgiven Viscount Helington because he blocked an opportunity to profit through the ‘Detector.’
“The Third Prince proposed a deal: give him enough crumbs to report to the Emperor, and he would let this inspection end smoothly.”
“So, what do you plan to do?”
“Soon, goods will arrive at the ‘Rose Inn.’ If we sell those to the nobles in the inner palace, it would bring in a lot of money. We can give the prince a share and report to the Emperor after making someone a scapegoat.”
Earl Liam spoke with a surprised tone.
“Surely, you didn’t tell the Third Prince everything about the ‘Rose Inn’?”
“I didn’t say anything unnecessary, so don’t worry.”
As Viscount Steel spoke, he realized something odd. The Third Prince had claimed he had never heard of the Rose Inn, but hadn’t he often gone there to enjoy the incense?
“Now that I think about it, there was something strange. When I mentioned the Rose Inn, the Third Prince said he had never heard of it.”
Earl Liam also showed suspicion. How could someone who was practically addicted to incense not know about the Rose Inn?
“Could he be pretending not to know for a reason?”
“I don’t think so. When the prince demanded bribes, his eyes were full of greed, just like the nobles who begged for incense.”
“So he might just want to hide his incense use.”
“Considering how the prince tries to maintain his pride, that makes sense. Begging for incense would be beneath his dignity as a prince.”
With the situation more understandable, Viscount Steel spoke more confidently.
“Earl, leave this to me. I will handle it cleanly, unlike what happened with Viscount Helington.”
“Viscount, it’s better not to underestimate the Third Prince.”
Viscount Steel inwardly mocked the Earl’s caution. He thought the Earl might be worried about his own position if Viscount Steel succeeded and rose to the same rank.
Sending the Third Prince away would likely earn him a title from Duke Blake, who valued merit.
But for now, it was necessary to appease the Earl.
“Earl, if you are so concerned, what additional measures would you suggest?”
“Why not delay the delivery of goods to the Rose Inn until the inspection ends, just in case?”
Viscount Steel didn’t immediately refute the Earl’s suggestion but pretended to consider it. He didn’t want to offend the Earl by dismissing his idea outright.
“That’s a good suggestion, Earl. However, there’s one concern.”
“What is it?”
“Due to the time taken to improve the quality of the new incense, we have no stock of the existing incense. If the new incense is not supplied on time, the nobles we control with it might rebel.”
Earl Liam pondered this before making a decision.
“Viscount, it might be better to report this to Duke Blake.”
Viscount Steel decided to push a bit harder to avoid losing his credit.
“Count, how about entrusting the matter of the Third Prince entirely to me? Trust me this once.”
The Earl remembered the duke’s words to double-check the Third Prince’s intentions. Sighing inwardly, the Earl spoke with a resigned expression.
“Then it can’t be helped. Besides taking bribes, did the prince do anything else?”
“He interviewed the tax collectors and took the receipts, but it’s pointless. It would take at least a year to compile enough evidence from those documents.”
The Earl nodded in agreement. Even with four or five non-tax office personnel working, it would take at least ten years to organize the tax receipts by category.
“Impossible.”
“I gave the prince something to show the Emperor and the Chancellor, so don’t worry.”
“I’ll trust you.”
“Don’t worry. Even those who worked as tax collectors for over five years wouldn’t know. It would take the prince, who knows nothing about taxes, a whole night to read a single page.”
After the meeting with the Earl, Viscount Steel headed to his office, his shoulders unconsciously shaking with excitement.
Anyone could see he was filled with dreams.
However, unimaginable things were happening in Ian’s room.
Cliche Novel 