Viscount Edward Charlus

The Charlus Viscounty bordered Lineage to the north.

Edward, the head of the viscount’s house, was known as a highly cautious man.

He paid the utmost attention to every move he made and never showed an opening to his enemies.

His timid and suspicious nature worked to his advantage in surviving noble society.

He steadily strengthened his position by seizing the weaknesses of the lords of the surrounding regions and creating a situation in which they could never defy him.

At the same time, after layering disguise upon disguise, he was making enormous profits through illegal slave trading and under-the-table drug deals.

(The incompetent who make mistakes are the ones who disappear. That is the kind of world this is.)

Edward despised losers from the bottom of his heart.

If one did not win, then neither effort nor process had any meaning.

In this world, results were everything, and those who could not produce results had no value in being alive.

That way of thinking was what his parents had taught him.

In House Charlus, that was the natural way of thinking, and the correct teaching.

For him, who had maintained rock-solid management of his territory, the new acting lord who had arrived in Lineage was not even a presence worth noticing.

House Lumiore was one of the magical kingdom’s most distinguished noble houses.

However, the land of Lineage was of extremely low value even within the Lumiore county.

Its head had no interest whatsoever in that ruined land, and the third son who had been serving as acting lord was a foolish incompetent not worth mentioning.

An epidemic and worsening public order.

It was said that the one who became acting lord in place of the third son, who had fled back in panic, was the fifth daughter, still only ten years old.

There were rumors that she had some sort of problem with her magical aptitude.

(A mere show of not having abandoned the land. If the daughter dies there, it will work in their favor if responsibility is ever pursued.)

That was probably the extent of Count Lumiore’s intentions.

For Edward, it was not a bad situation.

If he chose the right moment and did Count Lumiore a favor, he might be able to strengthen his influence within the country.

However, events began to move in a direction Edward had never anticipated.

“The count’s fifth daughter rebuilt the land of Lineage…?”

It was information he could hardly believe.

What his investigation immediately afterward revealed was that it was unquestionably true.

And that Mythia Lumiore, serving as acting lord, was genuinely trying to turn Lineage into a prosperous land through magic and policy.

(Tax rates set at numbers close to optimal when viewed long-term. She is different from other nobles who follow custom uncritically. She has both the strength to trust herself and an exceptionally brilliant mind.)

More than anything, what was astonishing was that she was still only a ten-year-old girl.

Most likely, the kind of extraordinary talent one would call gifted.

(Terrifying. If she is allowed to keep growing like this, what sort of existence will she become… I need to deal with this quickly.)

In the magical kingdom, Lineage was land of extremely low value.

Since it was also on the frontier, it was still not known within the magical kingdom that she had saved Lineage.

However, that too was only a matter of time.

That she possessed rare abilities would undoubtedly spread throughout the surrounding region.

And once that happened, people might begin to question the way the nobles of the surrounding regions had managed their territories until now.

There was also a possibility that voices of doubt would be raised about the tax rates Edward had been directing from the shadows, increasing them gradually little by little so as not to provoke backlash.

The spark of a problem had to be cut down before it became too late.

He made it look as though the deed had been carried out by the neighboring Quirel Barony and threw beast carcasses into the well.

A thoroughly executed cover-up down to the finest detail.

The talented girl had apparently, just as he intended, concluded that it was the baron’s house pulling the strings behind the scenes.

She had approached him asking for his cooperation in dealing with the harassment.

(After this, all I need to do is win her trust, draw close, and seize her weakness—)

He smiled as he formed a plan to turn the girl into his puppet.

And then came the day of the meeting.

Mythia Lumiore was a smaller girl than he had imagined.

Dressed in red and black, she gave an elegant bow.

Despite being a ten-year-old child, there was grace and composure in her movements.

At her side, a well-postured butler and maid stood quietly by.

“Thank you for coming today. Please, this way.”

He guided her into the reception room.

“Thank you for making time for me despite your busy schedule.”

Mythia said.

“The truth is, there is something I wished to consult you about, Lord Edward.”

“I have heard. It is a great honor for me as well to be consulted by the daughter of Count Lumiore. After all, House Lumiore is one of the magical kingdom’s most distinguished noble houses, rich in history and tradition.”

“No, I believe you are far more impressive, Lord Edward. House Lumiore has been in decline in recent years. In contrast, House Charlus has achieved remarkable development through your abilities. I have heard that you are truly an exceptional person.”

“It is only because I have been fortunate. In terms of ability, Lady Mythia, who saved Lineage from the epidemic, is far more impressive.”

Edward smiled gently, presenting an approachable air.

“So then, what is this consultation about? If it is something I can do, I will gladly assist in any way.”

“The truth is, there has been an incident in which beast carcasses were thrown into the wells in my territory.”

Mythia explained what had happened.

Though he already knew all of it, Edward listened while leaning forward and nodding.

“That is truly dreadful… I imagine it must have been a terribly frightening experience for you…”

“This was thrown into the well together with the carcass.”

Mythia placed an old knife on the table.

“It was made by a blacksmith from Quirel territory. This person’s workshop is not near Lineage. In addition, we have confirmed that the man who hired the culprit has ties to a merchant company in Quirel territory.”

“So there is a high possibility that the culprit is within Quirel territory.”

“Yes. That is why I judged that the best course would be to borrow your strength, Lord Edward, since you hold a firm foundation in this area.”

At Mythia’s words, Edward raised the corner of his mouth inwardly.

(I’ve got her.)

Just as his plan intended, the talented girl suspected the Quirel baron’s house.

“Leave it to me. However, there is one thing I would like to tell you as we cooperate.”

Edward said.

“There have long been rumors that bribery has taken place between the successive lords of Lineage and merchant companies. In truth, it seems evidence of that has leaked to the lords of the surrounding regions.”

Edward placed papers containing that evidence on the marble table.

Mythia dropped her gaze to them and caught her breath.

“So something like this really happened…”

“If these facts come to light, the name of House Lumiore will be stained. To avoid provoking the lords of other regions, it may be better for the management of the territory, for a while, to proceed in step with the surrounding regions. Doing something without precedent carries risks as well. If it fails, it will all be said to be Lady Mythia’s fault. For the sake of your future, that too should be avoided.”

Mythia kept her head lowered, her gaze still fixed on the record.

Her bangs covered her eyes.

After letting out a deep breath, she said,

“The corruption my father and older brother engaged in is something I find deeply shameful. Even so, there is one thing I would like to ask you, Lord Charlus.”

“A question for me? What is it?”

“First, I would like you to take a look at these materials. Vincent, bring them out.”

“As you wish.”

The butler standing by laid a stack of papers across the table.

(What in the world are these papers?)

Dropping his gaze, Edward went speechless.

(How…?)

Tax evasion, bribery, hidden ledgers… records of the corruption Edward had committed, which he had made certain would never come to light, were laid out there.

“H-How did you get these?”

“From the hidden safe in your bedroom. After all, every other piece of evidence had been thoroughly erased, hadn’t it?”

“That’s impossible. There’s no way anyone could have broken through that security.”

“While we were at it, we also had the gold bars inside the safe taken out. You had saved up quite a lot. I was honestly impressed.”

“W-What are you saying…! There is no such thing…!”

“Here is a commemorative photograph of me with the gold bars.”

A photograph taken with a magic-powered camera.

In it, Mythia, the maid, and the butler were cheerfully posing with peace signs while holding Edward’s gold bars.

“Do you understand what you are doing…!? This is criminal conduct.”

“My way is to choose no means when pursuing my objective. Half of this money will be used to enrich the lives of the people in the surrounding regions. And as for the other half, if you obey me, I will return it little by little.”

“So you intend to seize my weakness and turn me into your puppet?”

“Yes. Just as you intended to do to me. Making it look like the Quirel baron’s house was responsible was not a bad idea, but you chose the wrong opponent.”

She narrowed her eyes with a smile and said,

“I am not like a petty little man such as yourself. After all, I am a true villainess.”

The outcome had already been decided.

Before the meeting had even begun, she had gone beyond Edward’s scheme, seized a fatal weakness, and created a situation in which he could never defy her.

It was the very same method Edward used on the lords of the surrounding regions.

However, there seemed to be an immeasurable difference in skill.

She had broken through the multiple layers of magical barriers spread throughout his mansion and stolen documents that could become a fatal weakness for him from a hidden safe that should have been known to no one but himself.

And yet careful Edward had not even noticed that anyone had entered.

By what method had a ten-year-old girl possibly accomplished that?

(What is this child…?)

A chill ran down his spine.

Edward said,

“I understand. I will obey you.”