Chapter 152

Chapter 152: A Wise Ruler

Chapter 152. Wise Monarch
Garnet answered Ferda’s question this way.
— Creating a position for a shadow organization that must not be known is a contradictory statement. Only the Regent-nim and the Administrator should know about our relationship.
— What do you plan to do?
— I will create an organization that can hold a legitimate justification in this city.
— What is it?
— Mezina Fallenji was a person who operated a merchant company as a southern noble.
Mezina Fallenji.
I wondered where I had heard it, but it was Garnet Swallow’s disguised identity on the first page.
— That merchant company is currently interested in the Far East and, at the same time, is witnessing unreasonable situations in various places.
— And so?
— So, as representatives of the merchants, they will formally protest to Hestia Village, and after that—.
— You will establish a union.
— That is right.
It gave me a strong sense of déjà vu, I thought.
It was something I had already discussed with Stefan once before.
— Stefan Pascal is already aiming for that part, however.
Garnet let out a hollow laugh.
— The president of the Pascal Company is quite greedy. He already controls the labor union and now also aims for the merchant guild? The union’s credibility will fall in the future. He wouldn’t want to become useless prey, right?
Stefan had also been worried about that point.
But human greed is what it is; if something can be taken, one will find a way to take it.
Even knowing that they are an intelligence organization, being caught off guard like that makes me admire them again.
— I tell you clearly that this matter must proceed as a union of the merchants I have gathered.
Just in case, Ferda checked the current identities of the key executives.
8 out of 12 were local merchants.
All were ordinary merchant companies whose names he had not properly heard.
— They don’t seem to have much talent for commerce.
He mixed in a slightly provocative intention.
At those words, Garnet responded calmly, without the slightest sign of flinching.
— A merchant who uses goods arbitrarily is bound to lose trust.
She was right.
If the Black Bandana set its mind to it and jumped into any field, monopolizing it would not have been a problem.
They are information brokers, which means they focus on selling information.
That is why their reliability was repeatedly emphasized in these documents.
— How many in the Black Bandana know about this matter?
— Excluding the highest-ranking executives and key executives, no one knows about this matter. For now, everyone listed in the personal information given to you has agreed.
— Then it will seem that the Black Bandana is maintained.
— Yes. But it will become a group without neutrality anymore.
It would be truly pitiful for the Black Bandana users on the Serdes Continent, but Ferda didn’t care at all.
— If you form a union on your own, I won’t stop you.
— We will do it on our own, but there is a part we need to agree on with the Regent-nim beforehand here.
— What kind of agreement?
— The Dandolo Company, which has now changed to the Hestia Commercial Company.
— That is right.
— I understand that the Regent-nim and Marquis Vernel-ssi hold 51%, 20% is held by interim manager Stefan Pascal, and the remaining 29% was reserved for investors. Of that, 10% is already in Halim.
— That is right.
— We would like you to transfer all the remaining 19% share to us.
Ferda frowned reflexively.
— A dying organization doing what dying organizations do.
— It may seem that way, but only acquiring a certain stake in the Dandolo Company can significantly secure the credibility of the merchant union. Then an ideal shadow organization becomes possible.
— Tell me.
— If the Far East Merchant Union is formed, we will also gain the qualification of Citizen Representative and rise to quasi-nobility, will we not?
— There is a political voice.
— That is only used to keep up appearances. What I need is duty.
Duty.
Most people are desperate to avoid it, however.
— If we become a merchant union, we will have the duty to contribute to Hestia’s prosperity as a union.
— That is right.
— Therefore, it becomes possible to conduct inspections and searches to verify if merchants are transporting harmful goods or contraband.
— I suppose so.
— If it is judged that simple inspections will not solve it, we will also gain justification to investigate and track on our own.
Hearing that, Ferda knew it was definitely an attractive way.
That investigation and tracking applies not only to merchants, but also to those who incite civil war.
If it becomes the Far East Merchant Union, they will interact with other merchant unions, and through them they will be able to hear or leak information, and guide things in the desired direction.
Since their only point of contact is commerce, they will be judged as an institution of checks and balances, and the enemies of the Far East might approach to win them over.
The Black Bandana, unmatched in the field of intelligence, would be able to arrange everything as planned.
— Even so, 19% is too much. I would like you to lower it to 10%.
— 3% is enough for the actual share we can control. The remaining 16% is only a capital contribution and a means for display.
— Mmm…
— We will not use it for personal gain, but solely for this Hestia Village and the Grand Duchy.
Stefan said that the exchange of shares is an important part.
Originally that was Stefan’s job, but in the current situation where finishing all the work is a burden, he had put it on hold for now.
“If I entrust this to the merchant union…”
Based on the information they have, they could achieve more effective results than the busy Stefan.
Besides, does this mean only doing business right now?
“The largest secret intelligence organization is voluntarily revealing a fatal secret and trying to place itself under my command.”
That was why Ferda was curious.
He threw them the question he had kept until the end.
— You said it is because the Empire went against its founding ideology, which is why you are trying to break it.
— That is right.
— Someday I might become like that too.
Judgment can become clouded, and the day may come when this regret settled in my heart devours me again.
— If that time comes, will you betray me?
Loyalty is following whatever decision is made.
So, if there is a possibility of betrayal, it cannot be loyalty.
Garnet answered this way.
— A monarch is one who reigns over all people, a superhuman.
Because Garnet collects information on high-ranking officials, she knew the patterns of kings and nobles.
— That is why they fall into self-righteousness believing they are justice, and ignore public sentiment.
They cannot tolerate their opinions being denied, and they cannot forgive those who block their path.
The heads of loyal subjects who admonish roll on the ground, and the tongues of treacherous subjects never have time to dry.
— I also thought the Regent-nim was that kind of human being.
Ferda looked like a human being who could easily fall down that path.
He had the will not to hesitate to kill someone if necessary, and to discard even his own people.
From Garnet’s perspective, such a monarch was a person who should not exist.
— However, I was mistaken.
Her judgment changed starting that night.
The evil dragon, the Red Dragon, treated like a house watchdog.
The reason she lived in self-loathing and isolated herself was because she loved a human being.
— The Regent-nim constantly doubted himself.
Ferda loves the one who loves that human being.
He learned a dance he had never danced in his life, and held a banquet he did not desire.
To make a woman happy, he suppressed the nature she had grasped and moved forward with conviction.
— One who doubts oneself cannot become a superhuman.
— However, you can become a wise monarch.
Wise monarch.
An image was drawn of all the people crying out the name of Valdrova and praising her.
Hiding a laugh that was about to escape, he said to Garnet.
— Do not think that is the last pleasant thing you will hear.
Garnet clasped her hands politely and bowed her head.
— It is an honor to become the Shadow of the Great Fire.
Ferda gathered all the nobles in the Far East Front Union Hall.
— Did you spend your time well without any special issues?
— Taking advantage of the empty house situation, an insignificant thief did break in, but overall it was safe.
— The people of the territory who had fallen into panic have returned to their livelihoods.
— Phew, seriously, when a month had passed, you wouldn’t know how much we worried!
Nobles trembling with indignation.
They had faces that seemed to never want to remember that time when they had to huddle together and worry day by day.
Just as everyone had worried, Ferda was the same.
— I believe all of you feel antipathy toward the Arken Empire because of this incident.
— Of course! Those damn bastards!
— They used the Far East as a place of exile, and even on the brink of death they tried to use it politically!
They showed more anger toward Alexander Arken than toward Ferda for not bowing his head.
One could tell how much had accumulated.
— So we have arrived at a position where we must testify in this postwar conference centered on Alexander Arken.
— Do you mean the postwar conference?
— Of course, since we are in a siege situation, we must attend, but……
The nobles’ reactions were unpleasant.
Even if it is a place to judge Alexander Arken, they know that they are all the same, two peas in a pod.
— Just like your reactions, there is a very high possibility that they will blame us.
— Naturally, wouldn’t they?!
— It is obvious they will move to cover up that dishonest Crown Prince!
— I desire the peace of this Far East, and I know that you also desire development.
Ferda extended his hand toward them and spoke.
— So I, Ferda Valdrova, Regent, demand your wisdom here.
The lords gladly rolled up their sleeves and stepped forward.
They discussed how the postwar conference would proceed, how they would attribute it to Ferda, and how to deal with it.
Creating various scenarios like that, they created holes through which Ferda could escape.
The meeting continued without stopping even as the night grew deeper.
Although the meeting went smoothly, Count Consillus’s expression was not good at any moment.
— It is not a good idea.
Skipping an entire day, the lords’ carriages dispersed at dawn.
Consillus approached Ferda’s side as he watched the procession and deliberately came to say that.
— Do you mean having them collaborate?
— Thinking that all are allies is not good. Among them are those who love the Wall of the Empire more than the security of the Far East. If you inform them of this situation—.
— An informant will appear.
Ferda interrupted his words.
— That is what I am aiming for.
Ferda spoke with strength in his words.
— That way the traitor walks to the gallows on their own feet.
— Indeed……
Consillus seemed surprised but lowered his voice along with him.
— Do you mean that you are aiming for that?
— I said to let the information leak like that.
— Do you plan to unmask the traitors that way?
— I already know who the traitor is.
— If you already know……
A sharp energy was felt within his low white eyebrows.
Unlike the fiery vigor of the young, the old man flows in silence.
That is why it is even more chilling.
— I dare ask, may this humble one take charge of eliminating the traitor?
— You?
Ferda had planned to handle it with his own hands.
After all, among the lords, Ferda’s image was more ruthless when it came to killing people.
— The Regent-nim might not know it, but…… coming to this Far East is no different from an exile.
Consillus, who had been here longer than anyone, knew it well.
— Staying in a place without hope, one becomes listless before realizing it and begins to think first of escaping.
The nobles grew fat, the soldiers became lazy, and the people of the territory died as always.
— A lifeline arrived at such a place. Not a rotten lifeline, but a very sturdy one, one worthy of being called hope.
Count Consillus’s eyes looked at Ferda deeply.
They were eyes of sincere gratitude and respect.
— However, if there are rat bastards who do not know their place and try to gnaw at the lifeline……
A venom entered Count Consillus’s eyes.
When someone who lived in despair gains hope, they become more relentless than anyone.
— This old man will gladly become a rogue who executes treason.
Hearing that response, Ferda nodded.
— I will entrust it to you, Count.
— All for the Grand Duchy.
Ferda could feel it clearly.
Before long, a wind of blood will blow, excising the affected and festering area.