NOVEL WEB EP.26
Baron Ulm’s Mansion
In the chaotic mansion besieged by unexpected intruders, Maria scanned the documents with a cold gaze.
“They were really getting away with a lot.”
While she had only worked with Wilhelm on one line of operation, upon investigation, it became clear that they were just the tip of the iceberg. There were four more similar organizations under Baron Ulm’s command.
When everything was tallied up, the amount of corruption, illicit transactions, and bribes funneled through the Baron was staggering.
Of course, Maria wasn’t particularly concerned about the bribes themselves. These were bribes that would have existed even without Baron Ulm. While their amounts might have been reduced, as long as the Empire conducted its administration, bribery wouldn’t be going anywhere.
All she had to do was ensure that if the truth got out, there would be punishments.
“Hmm, this should be enough to take down the Baron.”
Flipping that statement around, it meant that at the very least, she could ensure the Baron’s certain downfall.
“Heir issues, business selection, smuggling, tax evasion, road construction. Hah, you’ve really dabbled in everything.”
“……”
The Baron couldn’t utter a single word. No, he shouldn’t say anything here. It wasn’t just the Princess intimidating him; it was the Imperial Inspection Team that had barged in, rifling through his mansion.
Since the Inspection Team was directly under the Emperor’s authority, regardless of whether the Archbishop belonged to the Empress’s faction, they were not to be trifled with.
Especially not when the evidence of wrongdoing was this blatant.
Maria didn’t like the Baron’s demeanor one bit.
“You will receive punishment suitable for your crimes. If you’ve been so brazen in accepting bribes, I suppose you won’t be seeing Paltz again anytime soon.”
“……”
Feeling a surge of frustration at the Baron’s continued silence, Maria suppressed her anger.
“Farewell. This is an escort for you, as you’ll be returning to your territory after losing your mansion.”
She tossed a single gold coin at him, as if throwing pocket money in front of his face, then turned to head toward the Baron’s office.
*Bang!*
“Your Highness, you must maintain your dignity.”
“…I’ll be more careful next time.”
Maria begrudgingly acknowledged Matilda’s admonishment while a little voice in her head reminded her that Matilda had cared for her like a mother after hers had passed. So, she usually listened to Matilda.
But even Maria couldn’t hold her temper now.
—
“Looks like you didn’t get anything.”
“Yes. He remained tight-lipped till the end.”
I clucked my tongue as I sat on the couch, examining other papers.
It was indeed a good start to investigate the Baron’s residence under the pretense of exposing him. We had secured evidence to take him down, and had also discovered a temporary method to reduce (or control) the corruption in the capital.
The problem was that Maria and I couldn’t be satisfied with this much.
“Until the very end, he was silent about how he was connected to the Empress.”
“…That’s disappointing.”
Our objective was to sever the Empress’s influence. The Baron was clearly one of the faction’s enforcers, so this would still inflict damage on her faction.
But this was merely like slicing off a finger; the Baron himself wasn’t a particularly influential noble in the grand scheme of things.
Although he was keen on making a name for himself in the capital, even if he got ousted this time, the House of Ulm wouldn’t fall. At worst, he wouldn’t return while he was alive.
In medieval times, corruption wasn’t a major issue after all. As long as there was some semblance of honor—if caught, there would be punishment—but as long as nobody went overboard too much, most minor corruption scandals could be brushed under the carpet.
As long as one didn’t go too overboard.
This was crucial.
“No matter how much I rummaged through documents from the Baron’s mansion, nothing about the transactions between the lords or any key imperial business came up. Essentially, it seems the Baron was just using him as a disposable pawn?”
Maria nodded in agreement.
“It seems they wouldn’t trust someone who might retreat with such critical duties under them.”
Although the Baron had strived for influence in the capital this time, at his core, he was a regional lord. He already had a solid foundation in the provinces, so even if his venture in the central politics failed, he could always return to his territory.
He likely took on such a responsibility because of that background. It was a well-known fact that unless the situation was dire enough, he wouldn’t have to fear for his life. Even if the Emperor decided to punish him harshly this time, recovering a few territories acquired through marriage would be the extent of it; he couldn’t lose his original lands.
Such a thing would only happen in the case of a serious betrayal.
The rights of the nobles in this country were not something even the Emperor could trample on freely. If that were the case, the institution of the territorial lords would never have continued.
“It’s going to be tough to catch anything that could strike at the Empress too.”
“We needed to find a link between the Baron and the Empress along the way; at this rate, all we’re doing is giving her time to prepare.”
Ultimately, it would end with just the Baron being kicked out of the capital while the incident came to a close. Following this event, the Empress’s faction would likely clean up all the businesses that could potentially expose them.
“…It really seems like they’ve got a firm grasp on the capital.”
“Only in areas untouchable by Father, though.”
The Emperor, for whatever his true intentions were, couldn’t openly side with us; thus, he couldn’t offer us any help. If it had been possible, he would’ve already removed the Empress according to his own wishes.
However, he couldn’t fabricate false charges either. The Inspection Team had been called in, and they were working together with us. They had compiled information and reviewed documents, so now we couldn’t simply manipulate evidence unilaterally.
The allies we had summoned for easier entry and search became shackles, instead.
Of course, even if it were truly possible, they wouldn’t have done it. First, I had no idea how to create evidence to corner the Empress, and even if Maria could, she had no intention of doing so.
“What are we going to do?”
I couldn’t come up with a plan, so I decided to turn to Maria for guidance.
“It feels a shame to end things like this. Don’t you have a better idea?”
Maria, who seemed to have already begun contemplating this, tapped her fingers on the table without responding. I stayed silent to avoid interrupting her.
It wasn’t sufficient for her to just think; she also reviewed the documents repeatedly. Time passed as she searched for and handed over the papers she was looking for.
“How much time is left?”
“Probably until the Inspection Team finishes their internal review and informs His Majesty of the results? I have no way of knowing how long that will take.”
“Typically, this sort of thing takes about one to two weeks. Facing the worst-case scenario, it could be as long as seven days…”
Tap tap.
Maria, who had been tapping the table with her pen, suddenly got up. With a swish of her hand, she magically extracted ink from the pen and pressed it onto a white sheet of paper, printing it as if by magic. The content of the documents was neatly copied.
What in the world? Is the wizard a savior of paperwork…?
“Sadly, the original must be taken by the Inspection Team, so we can’t keep it. We’ll take a copy at least.”
“Is there a method for that?”
At my question, Maria nodded solemnly.
“It’s a bit of a hassle, but yes, there is.”
There was no need to ask what it was. If Maria came up with a plan, I would execute it. That had been our way of navigating challenges since the days she served as my protector.
―
And occasionally, I realized I needed to put some thought into things myself.
“Your Highness.”
“…Yes?”
“Is this right?”
“……Yes.”
“Damn it.”
We were hiding in the darkness of a corner filled with sewage. Of course, Maria had thoroughly disinfected our hiding place with fire magic, but with how strong the magical traces had to be kept to a minimum, there was barely enough space for just one person to fit.
In a town full of wizards and magic users, the sewers were filled with somewhat magically infused wastewater, along with various trash and filth, which had flowed through for hundreds of years, naturally creating weak magical currents.
Thanks to that, it was better than being completely unable to use magic, but the problem was that the currents were too weak, making us both anxious about being discovered with only this little protection.
Of course, if I had come alone, it wouldn’t have been a problem. But this time, Maria was with me.
There was no helping it. To secure clear evidence, we absolutely needed a magic-operated crystal orb, but the problem was that we had only Maria, the single magician we could use freely without the risk of rumors spreading.
“…Do we really have to stay like this?”
“Well, there’s no choice if two people are to hide in this narrow space.”
We whispered into each other’s ears quietly, considering even our breaths might give us away; it was unavoidable.
Out there, I would have used Silence magic without hesitation, but given we had to minimize our magical usage here, that wasn’t an option. While using the magic orb required minimal magic power—so that was fine—Silence wasn’t.
“That said, being tucked up in your arms like this is a bit…”
“Shh.”
To fit two people into this confined space without touching the filth, we had no choice but to overlap our bodies. I initially thought about carrying Maria, but she protested, saying it would hinder our movement.
I was about to argue that being a knight, that should be irrelevant, but Maria wasted no time and slid right into my embrace.
So, here I was, trying to hide in this pitch-black darkness, curled up in this cramped space while Maria cozied up as if it was her nest. Of course, she had to crouch as well, making it even riskier.
‘This position is totally…’
The kind you’d find in some questionable videos…
Anyway!
Now that she had burrowed in, there was no way for me to shake her off. If I straightened up, I’d risk being exposed in even the faintest outline, and if I chided her verbally, she wouldn’t even act like she heard me. Straining myself could make noise too.
In this lurking state, that just wasn’t an option.
In the end, all I could do was sigh internally.
“Anyway, is it really certain they’ll come here?”
“Yes, it’s certain.”
So, why were we here? The answer was simple.
“There were gaps in the documents and journals, so we stirred up all the attendants and guards to find out what they were.”
This was likely where the Baron had met with his superiors, or others playing similar roles. We thought that perhaps there might be others using this place, so we set out to catch the moment.
“The guards didn’t open their mouths, but fortunately, it seems the attendants aren’t quite that loyal.”
“Well, they probably hired some average city folks.”
In a city like this, where nobles were plentiful, it wouldn’t be surprising if every mansion was filled with commoners trained to work. Except for the palace, they would all likely be employing professionally trained commoners.
Of course, what was important right now wasn’t this.
“However, if the Baron was already exposed, would anyone still be using this place?”
At my question, Maria looked at me and said,
“Bill.”
“Huh?”
“Just remember this. In this world, there are only two types of secrets.”
Because we were in such a dark place that we couldn’t see each other’s movements, Maria poked my thigh with her finger.
“A secret known only to me, and a secret known by everyone.”
So, there are no secrets shared between just you and me? I could vaguely grasp what she was getting at.
However, I couldn’t see how that related to our current situation. Perhaps sensing my confusion, Maria added an explanation.
“Everyone wants to share the secrets they know, especially if they think it’s in a secretive place safe from the world.”
Tap.
And truly, just as her little whisper ended, the sound of heels clicking came from a distance.
It had been three days since Maria started stirring things up with the Baron’s people, and we were nearing a full day of waiting in this place.