Chapter 97

I dislike my sister.

More than ever, I truly dislike my sister. If anyone else had done such a thing, they would have already been killed or reduced to a state worse than death.

“Your Highness Siena, is the water temperature alright?”

“…….”

“Water… No, it isn’t.”

Siena was submerged in the bathtub, endlessly replaying the events of just moments ago.

Occasionally, she would scald the water to vent her frustration, and sometimes she would glare at the nervous maids for no reason. Bathing was one of her few hobbies, but now she didn’t find it enjoyable at all.

It was her sister’s conduct that tormented her.

‘My sister has ruined everything.’

Siena didn’t want to reveal her association with Alan in this manner.

Of course, deep down, she considered it a foregone conclusion.

It was simply that she didn’t want clever Alan to find a way out… Though it was strange to assume that he would. Nonetheless, it was better to leave nothing to chance. She intended to bring up the marriage issue as cautiously as possible.

‘But that sister of mine…’

She had no decorum and exposed her inner thoughts to Alan outright.

What was even more absurd was that Victoria’s actions had completely deviated from her expectations.

Siena thought that her sister, Victoria, ‘naturally’ would choose the maternal side. She now wondered why she had ever thought that.

She knew her sister liked to pretend to be clean-hearted.

Victoria was especially strict about corruption that could disrupt military discipline. Perhaps she gained praise by snooping around pretending to be righteous.

Still, Siena thought that the maternal side would be an exception…

It wasn’t.

Victoria had chosen to forsake her maternal side for Alan.

‘Sister, you’ll deny that it’s for Alan, won’t you? You might believe that the Wolphall family is a group that threatens the imperial authority, and perhaps you’ve even deceived yourself. After all, it would look bad to claim you made the purge decision for a man.’

But in the end, Victoria had decided to do it all for Alan.

Siena thought perhaps Victoria was delusional, imagining, “If I break the Wolphall chains, I can have Alan,” or perhaps she clung to the fantasy, “Even if I lose the maternal side, I can still be an excellent ruler as long as I have Alan.”

Siena knew exactly what her sister was thinking.

But she couldn’t mock her.

‘What good is realizing this now?’

If she had known days earlier, she could have enjoyed herself while pushing her sister into a deep pit. Maybe she could have even attributed the maternal side’s corruption to Sister Victoria, thereby ensuring marriage was never considered.

“I was too stupid.”

“Your Highness…?”

The reply came from the maid who was assisting in her bath.

This was something that often happened.

Siena would get lost in thought, blurt out a soliloquy, and the servant closest to her at that moment would reflexively respond. Siena would then brush them off, telling them not to worry about it—it was just her thinking aloud.

But this time, her perspective had changed.

“You, what is your origin?”

“I am the second daughter of the Baron of Chelly.”

The maid replied with a face tense with anxiety, clearly worried that Siena might retaliate if her mood was off.

The daughter of a baron. And even a secondary daughter.

It was a status that shouldn’t have qualified her to be a maid to the direct imperial family. But originally, Siena’s environment was usually like this due to rumors that she often killed palace attendants. Well-connected families avoided sending their daughters to serve her.

But now it didn’t matter if she was dealing with a maid from a less prominent household.

“I like Alan too much.”

“Your Highness Siena…?”

“Recently, under the name of Medoff Pharmaceuticals, we acquired a maternity ward. It was the second or third largest maternity ward in the State but one where a mother died every day, sometimes two or three in bad periods. Then Alan worked his magic.”

“What does Your Highness mean by that?”

“Deaths during childbirth decreased. Only one person has died since we acquired it, and who knows about the future, but that’s the situation now. However, Alan could drive tens of thousands crazy just by giving them the wrong drugs if he wanted.”

“…”

“Isn’t that amazing? He can both save and take lives easily. And he does it without much emotional attachment.”

“What… should I say, Your Highness?”

The maid fumbled, unsure of what to do.

It was inappropriate to press her, so Siena simply smiled. The maid returned it awkwardly.

‘Sister Victoria should have been dealt with like this.’

She acknowledged the mistake.

So, she intended to stay quiet for a while.

Though it was inconvenient that Alan had agreed to help with Sister Victoria’s purge game, she decided to bear it. Alan had asked her to. Since his opinion was important and it was very crucial not to irritate him…

But there was one thing she couldn’t give up on.

“It’s mine.”

“Yes, Your Highness. That’s right.”

“If I can have Alan, I’ll do anything.”

“Of course, you would do that, Your Highness. Sir Alan must be aware of that, I presume.”

The maid, now looking resigned, continued to help with the bath.

It was impressive that she wasn’t afraid to speak directly to Siena, the Imperial Princess. There was only one person in the world who dared to treat her casually—even teasing her—and that person was Alan. She missed seeing him, but now wasn’t the time.

‘It’s better to watch for now.’

But she was ready to act whenever necessary, this time more subtly to avoid getting scolded by Alan.

With the new competitor, she needed to become smarter.

***

The day after Victoria’s visit.

Now, in front of me, was the genealogy of the Wolphall family.

I had procured it to assist Victoria in her purge operation. It might seem strange to get involved in such matters, but since we had already made a promise, there was nothing I could do.

Genealogy studies were likely more active in the eastern empire and its neighboring countries, but genealogy in the empire was also quite advanced.

Even just considering families of significant influence, there were hundreds. And for a high-status family like the Wolphalls, there were even whole books of family trees in circulation. It was this vast, deep-rooted, powerful family that I had here to work with.

‘Seriously, there are so many.’

Counting only those within eight generations of Victoria, nearly thirty names were serving as military officers.

Though, they weren’t receiving any special privileges due to their position. They were just like any other graduates of the Academy’s military department, with relatively average promotion speeds. At first glance, it seemed they weren’t a faction, but rather a model of conduct for the empire’s army.

But on closer inspection, something unusual stuck out.

‘The personnel have been allocated across departments.’

Artillery, infantry, cavalry, logistics, administration, military police…

Every branch of the imperial military had representatives from the Wolphall family. It didn’t seem to be part of the family tradition since only relatively young officers in their 20s to 30s were stationed like this. It must have been arranged so they could quickly respond to any situation arising within the military.

It was not going to be easy to plan things out.

Should I use the morphine leakage as an excuse? Even extracting just 10 kilograms would provide enough justification for a purge, but if the imperial military wasn’t incompetent, they wouldn’t fail to notice such a quantity.

So, I needed a different justification.

One severe enough to take down the entire family.

There must be a way, but it was hard to plan immediately.

It wasn’t that my intelligence had decreased but rather that the future after the purge worried me. The first princess who had gotten rid of her maternal side, the second princess who had decided to hold her ground for now, the emperor who most likely already understood his daughters’ intentions, and the politically experienced empress… How should I behave in the midst of figures who could regard even the Wolphalls as trivial?

My thoughts kept wandering.

Thus, as I was aimlessly wasting time, something happened:

“Sir Alan, excuse me.”

Bono, who handled the security at Medoff Pharmaceuticals, approached me.

Looking at him, it was apparent that he was flustered. The stress of working for the only company selling narcotics in the empire had clearly gotten to him—he had lost a significant amount of hair.

What was even stranger was that he had handed me a large sum of money.

“What’s this?”

“There’s an old friend I’ve been close with since the Academy days. He’s now a major serving in the army’s special reconnaissance unit. I believe you must at least recognize his face, Sir Alan. He suddenly came to see me and requested a job change.”

“With this kind of money?”

“Yes, he mentioned how promising he thought Medoff Pharmaceuticals was, saying he wanted to transfer to your company. This money, he said, was a gesture of goodwill.”

100,000 Talers. It was an excessive amount for just requesting a job change, considering a major’s annual salary is about 50,000 Talers.

Even though Bono likely felt tempted by the monetary offer, reporting it willingly was commendable. Either that, or perhaps he had been restrained by his paycheck.

But something else was odd.

“You should’ve declined outright instead of bringing it to me.”

“I did refuse. Considering that offering such money just for a job is suspicious, don’t you think? Then he secretly gave the money to my father.”

“…”

“So, I thought it was strange and decided to report to you immediately.”

Instead of accepting the money, he gave it to my family.

This was a determined attempt to bribe me.

A current major abandoning a military career to work as a low-level employee in a pharmaceutical company, offering a large bribe while doing so—especially at this particular time. This was clearly a premeditated act by someone else.

And it didn’t take long to figure out who.

“It must be Wolphall’s doing.”

“That’s right. The friend in question is betrothed to a relative of Ian Wolphall.”

It appeared that Wolphall or its followers were trying to infiltrate my company.

It wasn’t as crude as stealing morphine or heroin, but seemed part of a longer-term strategy. They probably didn’t bribe Bono alone.

Their intentions remained unclear.

Maybe they intended to get rid of me, or perhaps they had realized my relationship with Victoria and were trying to buy me out bit by bit. Still, their intentions didn’t matter much as they were doomed soon anyway.

What mattered was that they had taken an interest in me.

I could use this to swiftly purge the Wolphall family.

And if done well, I could gain another advantage: instilling in the two princesses the idea that “if you two fight, I might suffer too.” It wasn’t a safe plan, but it was less risky than sitting idly until the inevitable collapse.

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