Chapter 60

Chapter 60

#60. The Mirror Treatment Project (1)

“So… you were the one acting as an informer all this time! Elisha von Havana!”

Upon reflection, the countess had been rather close with the crown prince even before her marriage.

Especially during balls, hunts, and swordsmanship lessons, the crown prince and the countess seemed to make eye contact far too often.

Back then, Count Entaire had brushed it off, thinking their closeness was due to their familial ties and having grown up together as children.

When blinded by love, everything is misinterpreted.

The thought of the crown prince and the countess being in an adulterous relationship was a nightmare too terrifying for him to even imagine while he was immersed in the sweet dream of newlywed bliss.

“Every time she came back from the imperial palace…!”

Count Entaire and Lady Havana rarely engaged in marital relations.

But when they did, it was always after her visits to the palace during their honeymoon period.

“I’ve been… such a fool!”

As all the pieces fell into place, Count Entaire awakened from his dream. The happy dream turned into the nightmare of reality.

“KRAAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

He despaired and screamed.

“Aaaaaaaaaah…”

What was even more horrifying was knowing all these facts…

Knowing that truth and justice were on his side, yet still being powerless to do anything about it.

Their opponents were the empire’s Sword Master and the crown prince, while he was merely a wealthy but insignificant noble.

If he made this an issue, not only would it be considered contempt of the royal family, but his wife would surely kill him first.

“…”

Count Entaire wasted away day by day like a walking corpse.

Though the Havana viscounty in the southern empire was warm and fertile, to him it felt unbearably stifling and cold.

Forcing himself to smile while dealing with children who shared none of his blood made him feel suffocated, and groveling before his wife whenever they met was truly dreadful.

“We’re going to deploy to the western border. It’ll probably be about two years.”

“Deploy?”

“It seems the Kingdom Union’s capital, Badenheim, is preparing provocations now that His Majesty has fallen ill.”

“There’s nothing we can do. Come back safely.”

“Please take care of the supplies, dear.”

“The supplies from the royal family?”

“You know they’re never enough, right?”

“…Of course.”

Just then, an opportunity arose.

With the emperor bedridden from old age, the Kingdom Union began showing signs of unrest.

Numerous carrier pigeons and messengers were flying back and forth from Badenheim, the union’s capital.

The western region of the empire was thrown into chaos.

The crown prince, acting as regent, asked Lady Havana to lead the western expedition, which she readily accepted.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Come back safely. Take care of yourself.”

Thus, the most hateful and fearsome wife in the world left for the battlefield.

Count Entaire felt as if he could finally breathe again.

“This is my chance while she’s gone!”

He didn’t waste any time.

Identifying the branches of his family’s merchant network that hadn’t been taken over yet, he quickly removed his in-laws’ people from those branches.

Surprisingly, the in-laws didn’t complain at all about the sudden transfers since the new postings were all prime locations like the imperial capital or the southern empire.

In this way, Count Entaire quietly and swiftly prepared for independence.

“Heavens are helping me! The head of the empire’s Sigma organization has been purged? The Mongar Orcs are causing trouble again?”

Going further, he also prepared his revenge.

He began carefully recruiting nobles who had poor relations with the royal family.

Fortunately, the empire’s intelligence organization Sigma was in disarray, allowing him to build his forces undetected.

The Dark Duke Doom leaving the palace to deal with the Mongar Orcs was another stroke of luck.

“I will have my revenge! Revenge against that bastard!”

However, he needed more time.

He didn’t know when his wife would return from securing the border.

Once she returned to the territory, she’d immediately notice something was amiss.

The anti-royal faction he had barely managed to establish would be completely wiped out upon the Dark Duke Doom’s return.

And once the crown prince ascended the throne, revenge would be impossible.

“More goods! Stronger military power! Greater influence!”

Just a little more! Just a bit longer!

Count Entaire risked everything to prepare.

Then, one day…

“Arad salt? So spices are appearing in the northern region?”

Rumors reached him that sparked his merchant instincts.

“Mary’s Blessing? A fertilizer that makes farming possible in the northern harsh cold…”

Such rumors kept coming.

“I’ve never seen porcelain this radiant! And it doesn’t break easily? They say it’s made in the north!”

This was perfect timing. Without hesitation, he left the Havana viscounty.

“This is great. Absolutely great.”

It was such a relief to leave this suffocating territory where he had to face children who shared none of his blood every day.

Like a bee chasing flowers, he headed north.

* * *

Solasis, the largest city in the central-north region of the empire under direct imperial control.

Inside a building housing a branch of Bishop’s Guild.

“You aren’t ordinary adventurers, are you?”

Count Entaire looked deeply at the adventurers before him.

The atmosphere in the room was tense.

He sat alone while three adventurers stood before him, almost surrounding him.

All six mercenaries who were supposed to guard him lay unconscious on the floor.

“What do you want? Money? Or are you trying to prove your skills to join my retinue?”

Despite the unfavorable situation, Count Entaire remained calm.

“Tsk tsk tsk, but you’re amateurs.”

He clicked his tongue and continued.

“Your pendant proving you’re a church follower, your clothes trying too hard to look like a central empire style, even your attempt at mimicking the central dialect – none of it fools me. You’re from the north, aren’t you?”

There are three main ways to tell apart someone from the empire and the north.

One is the state religion of the empire versus ancestral gods.

Second is the distinct hardness in northern accents.

Finally, there’s the subtle but unmistakable difference in atmosphere between northerners and imperials.

Particularly this last difference remains no matter how much northerners try to act like imperials, speak the language, or follow the state religion.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The three adventurers showed no reaction to what Entaire had just said.

“No, let me correct myself. You aren’t ordinary adventurers or ordinary northerners.”

After a brief staring contest, Entaire shrugged and continued, a small smirk forming on his lips.

“You see, my wife happens to be quite skilled? So I know a thing or two. Despite not being able to sense mana or wield a sword, one develops a certain feeling, doesn’t one? You’re not ordinary experts. At least A-rank adventurers if we’re talking about that level.”

While smiling faintly, Entaire’s eyes grew increasingly anxious and intense.

“Hmm, you seem to be from Lenslet? That Frosthaven place? I didn’t know this branch manager had such connections. Have you been here in Solasis too long?”

The men visiting him weren’t just revealing northern characteristics.

To Entaire, whose senses regarding money and people surpassed even a Sword Master’s animalistic instincts, these were elements impossible to overlook.

“So why have you come to find me? How did you know I’d be here?”

He was prepared to call all the guards in the building if necessary.

The problem was, even if every employee in the branch rushed in, he wasn’t confident they could defeat the three men before him.

“Recently, I heard you’re having troubles with your wife and children, Count Entaire.”

At that moment, one of the silent northerners suddenly spoke up.

The oldest of the three adventurers, an elderly man.

“How…?”

The old adventurer’s words froze Entaire’s expression solid. The smirk on his lips turned into a stiff straight line.

“How do you know about my situation?”

Entaire was shocked not because they knew his identity, but because they knew his current situation so well.

A secret known only to himself, his wife, and a select few in the royal family.

“We have our eyes and ears too. Of course, some divine fortune from Lord Heat helped as well.”

“Frosthaven’s information network is beyond impressive.”

The old adventurer said this while removing the pendant around his neck.

It was a pendant symbolizing the imperial church, but it was no longer needed.

“To have true dialogue, one must see situations rather than people, right?”

“Not wrong. Who said that?”

“Some very talented young man in the north, I think.”

“A promising youth indeed.”

“With that meaning, let me show you this.”

The old adventurer drew a dagger.

For the first time, Entaire’s shoulders twitched.

There was no one here to take the blow from that dagger for him. All his guards were either unconscious inside or outside.

“Look closely.”

WHOOSH

The old man emitted a thick aura from the dagger.

A strikingly clear icy blue aura.

Just looking at it made one feel the space freezing over.

The air became sharply and painfully cold, as if it could cut through skin.

This was the exact opposite of the cold aura from the woman he hated most in the world.

“Sword… Master…?”

Northerner, Sword Master, cold and sharp aura, and an old man.

Considering all these factors, Entaire could deduce the identity of the northerner before him.

“The Frost Sword Demon of the North…? Valkyrie!?”

“Tch!”

“Why would someone of your stature in the north…?”

Though he despised all northerners, Entaire recognized one exception: Northern knights.

Even Imperials acknowledged the skill of Northern knights.

And now, the peak of those knights, Sword Master Valkyrie, stood before him.

“Well? Do we have a proper situation for truthful dialogue now?”

“!!”

Shock and desire flickered in Entaire’s eyes. Desire that turned into exhilaration.

* * *

It’s quite forced, but let’s equate this world’s currency – gold coins, silver coins, copper – to South Korean won.

Specifically, using the values from 100 years ago during the Silver Age 2 era and based on the “North” region.

Doing so, one copper coin equals 10,000 won, one silver coin (100 coppers) equals 1,000,000 won, and one gold coin (20 silvers) equals 20,000,000 won.

For transactions below one copper, bartering occurs or copper coins are broken into smaller pieces.

Of course, this is a forced comparison.

Additionally, in Arcanepunk of Silver Age 1, set 100 years later, currency value drops to one-tenth.

Advancements in alchemy and metallurgy flood the continent with more coins, reducing one copper’s value to 1,000 won by Earth standards.

Therefore, rare magic-treated paper money was used in Silver Age 1.

Using this formula, a bowl of stew in the north currently costs one copper – equivalent to paying 10,000 won for a bowl of rice soup on Earth.

Considering entry-level adventurers earn 3-5 coppers per day, the northern economy isn’t thriving.

But remember, this is the “north” of the empire – a land of harsh cold and barbarism.

Before I arrived in this world, the north maintained a similar economy.

Maintaining such prices in a world full of hardships is quite remarkable.

Even in 21st century Earth, this isn’t easy.

Think about countries where people work all day just to afford a canned drink.

So why bring this up now?

“Is today payday?”

“Yes, sir.”

The ability to conduct business quickly and conveniently now is thanks to Lenslet’s stable economy.

“Do we have enough silver and copper coins? Last time there was a riot because we had gold but lacked silver.”

“Absolutely. Selling some celadon ceramics has given us an excess of silver.”

“Let’s go then. When else will all employees see my face if not on payday?”

“Hahaha, I’ll lead the way.”

Following Manager Te’s guidance, we moved to the warehouse at Arad Workshop.

Appropriately for a warehouse storing gold and silver, knights and soldiers guarded the area strictly.

Various security magics and barriers created by me and the witches protected inside and outside the warehouse.

“Have you arrived?”

“Mary, are preparations complete?”

Right in front of the warehouse door.

Mary and employees waited for me.

“Yes. We’ve just finished calculating bonuses.”

“That was close.”

“If we didn’t have this abacus, it would have been a real disaster.”

“Give it here.”

“Yes!”

I received the freshly organized documents from Mary.

“Mr. Jin? Can we open the door now?”

“Please do.”

“Guards! Open the door!”

The witches standing by the warehouse door started chanting to remove the barriers.

“Open sesame. Gold come forth. Click!”

“Having weekly paydays instead of monthly ones seemed strange at first, but it’s growing on me.”

While waiting for the barriers to lift, Manager Te filled the silence.

“It benefits the employees too. It feels like receiving a large sum of money. Speaking of which, Manager Te, aren’t you familiar with this system being from a knight background?”

“Eh… I meant it’s good to receive payment weekly instead of monthly.”

“You were against it?”

* * *

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