Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Staring at him, I flipped over the luxurious leather bag.

“Support. Can this account for it?”

Seeing my secret weapon falling from the bag, the man started laughing again.

“How is this?”

“It’s definitely hard to get unless you’re a princess.”

The item I took out is a high-grade mana stone that turns blue.

Because high-grade mana stones, which are mined in the Empire, are always at the top ranking in the Wizardry Association, the blue mana stone was like a symbol of my support; a father that is the Lord of the Association.

‘I’m glad I stole one just in case.’

In addition to my financial power, I had a supporter called the Duke of Seymour.

“Now it’s your turn to show your creativity.”

Showing a hesitating expression for a moment, he took out a crimson pouch from a drawer.

Interestingly, there were 3 small high-grade mana stones attached to the string that tied the pouch.

“I hope it is to your liking, Princess.”

“What is this pouch?”

“It’s a pouch that combines space expansion magic, lightweight magic, and summoning magic.”

No matter how much I searched Deborah’s memory, there was no item with such a wonderful function.

Is it a rare artifact that I’ve only heard of?

“You can store as much as 50 large vaults of gold coins in this pouch. There is no risk of loss. You can summon it by assigning the palm of your hand to coordinate values. It weighs about 1 pound when completely filled with gold coins.”

“Don’t tell me, you made this yourself?”

“Yes, exactly.”

I admired the convenience of this pouch.

With this one pouch, it was like owning a small bank.

“This pouch. Give it to me.”

I spoke sincerely.

“I will make one for you.”

The Master started writing a contract for the secret fund pouch.

However, there was a clause in the contract not to disclose anything related to the pouch to the outside.

He didn’t seem to want the idea of using magic to manage secret funds to spread to the outside world.

‘Aha. He’s using this pouch as a tax evasion portal.’

The Master must be hiding the black money made from illegal transactions in this magic pouch.

And like that, he wants me to keep it a secret.

“But… Is there any reason why it’s a pouch?”

The Master tilted his head as I murmured thoughtlessly.

“Because the convenience is good.”

“It’s good that it’s convenient, but the amount of gold you can hide is limited so it seems less efficient…”

The moment I spoke, the Master’s mouth stiffened.

I felt frustrated as the cold atmosphere flowed, like when I first met him.

‘Why, he told me to keep it a secret, so I gave him a hint that I was aware he was a tax evader.’

I should have pretended that I didn’t know, but it was already done so I continued, barely managing to keep my expressionless face.

“If I had a good knowledge of spatial magic like you do, instead of a pouch like this, I would have bought an island in a country with the lowest tax rate and set up a ghost business there.”

I spoke as though my purpose for buying a secret fund pouch was also tax evasion.

Acting like an accomplice can lower a man’s alertness.

“Since it is easy to come and go using teleport, you can manage the gold bars on a remote island; and with the fake business you set up on the island, you can complicate the flow of money. It won’t be easy to go forward with a tax investigation on an island, so isn’t it a good deal?”

If teleport magic were added, even the chaebols in the 21st century would likely cry and create a tax refuge.

The Master’s eyes glowed at my words.

He tapped on the table for a moment, with a troubled expression.

“It’s an amazing idea, but it’s currently impossible to travel long distances, such as crossing the ocean, with teleport magic. It must be possible with a 9-class wizard.”

“I see.”

Even Duke Seymour, the greatest wizard in the Empire, couldn’t pass the 7-class wall.

What does he mean, a 9-class. He means it was impossible unless you are a legendary dragon.

“But it is creative. Much more than this pouch I made.”

Suddenly, the Master said he would not accept any money for making the secret fund pouch.

In return for the ‘creativity’ I showed him.

‘Oh yeah. I got lucky.’

She realized that the broad and superficial knowledge she had accumulated in her previous life while doing bus articles on all kinds of liberal arts subjects, could be an expensive item to trade with the Blancia Master.

The price of the magic pouch, which sent shivers down her spine, was earned in an instant through the ‘tax refuge’ idea.

From the pink diamond that fell on her hands, to the deal with the Blancia Master.

As luck continued to explode like a jackpot, unexpected confidence burst out.

“It will be difficult to find a client like me who has both money, power, and creativity.”

He laughed at my bluff.

“And even humor. You have all four elements. No… Is it five elements…?”

He muttered something in a low voice, so I tilted my head.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

The man, who put the contracts for the three requests in an envelope, began to melt the black sealing wax with the flame that came from the tip of his finger.

Then, he picked up one of the dozens of stamps lined up on the table, put it on top of the dripping wax, and removed it.

The picture imprinted on the sealing was a swan.

‘What does this mean?’

I’m confused.

Not using the cat-tailed stamp means he wasn’t satisfied with my deal.

‘I don’t know if I should interpret it in a good or bad way.’

It could mean that I earned more deals, or it could also mean that he wouldn’t continue dealing with me.

‘If he cuts off the deal, I have no way of coming here.’

It is connected by teleport, so I can’t even guess the location of this place.

“Princess.”

He called me while I was being impatient.

“…Huh?”

“When you are curious about the progress of the requests, don’t come all the way to Atra district, go to the informant in Yones district instead.”

He wrote down the address of a store located in the district where the high-ranking nobility resided.

‘That’s Maisond.’

She was startled by the familiar business name.

Maisond was the most popular dessert shop in the Yones district, which Deborah enjoyed.

A place where the servants of noble families line up from 3 a.m. to buy top-quality desserts made by a master artisan from the Imperial Family.

Deborah felt satisfied when she ate 77 desserts from that shop during teatime.

Thanks to that, she was lucky.

(T/N: Word used is 개이득, slang used for when you get a big ‘profit’ or luck you were not expecting.)

But Diana, and even Maisond; she did not expect them to be stores managed by the Blancia Master.

‘I thought he was an informant, but he’s really rich.’

His business skills were out of the ordinary.

I clicked my tongue and got up from my seat, holding an empty bag containing only the contracts.

“If I want to make a request, can I come anytime?”

I asked a little timidly, as I walked through the arched door.

I was concerned about the swan-shaped stamp.

At my question, he narrowed his eyes into a half-moon shape.

“A rich client is always welcome.”

Only then I was relieved.

Getting the Crown Prince’s all-around cheat… No, schemer.

As a stranger with no one to trust, the Master’s existence was bound to be reassuring.

The dignified expression that I was struggling to maintain kept trying to fade away, so I hurriedly turned around and walked to the exit at a fast pace.

***

“If I want to make a request, can I come anytime?”

Isidor stared quietly at Deborah’s beautiful eyes, reminiscent of rubies, and opened his mouth.

“A rich client is always welcome.”

For a moment, it seemed that her red lips, which had been firm as ice all the time, had a faint smile.

However, she turned around quickly and walked to the exit, as if to hide that finite expression, so he wasn’t sure if she really smiled.

Soon, the princess disappeared out of sight with a sharp sound of hinges interlocking.

Isidor looked at the tightly closed door and leaned against the back of the chair.

‘Now only my questions remain.’

He mumbled, fiddling with the swan imprinted on the black sealing, with his fingertips.

A black swan.

It was completely unexpected; but since she somehow appeared in front of him, he had no choice but to accept her.

The moment he faced the princess, who petted Cookie as she shone her red eyes at him, a part of him was shaken by the shock as if he had seen a black swan.

‘… She’s different from the rumors I’ve heard.’

Deborah Seymour has that… Peculiar air to her?

From what Isidor understood through the information he gathered, the Princess of Seymour was a violent, vain, and incompetent person.

Her sense of inferiority was so severe that her reputation was hitting the bottom in social circles.

However, the Deborah in front of him felt completely different from the person he embodied in his head through rumors and information.

‘It must be because of her atmosphere. It’s the first time Cookie showed interest in someone other than me…’

However, the longer the conversation lasted, the more Isidor realized that he was misjudging her.

Of course, as rumored, it couldn’t be said that she had a good personality.

She had a cold-hearted expression like frost, she would stare at him fiercely whenever she wasn’t satisfied with the deal, and even sarcastically said she would tell him how she tamed Cookie for 99 gold with a 1 gold discount.

Suddenly, a burst of dumbfounded laughter escaped.

He didn’t know that he would receive back the wordplays he often used on his clients.

‘That aspect makes her attractive.’

He had no chance of getting bored because he could not predict where she would stand out.

Above all, the final request caught him off guard.

Because it was like asking for one of his business secrets.

At the time he was hesitating, a mana stone appeared from her bag.

Intelligence and wealth, creativity and power.

Isidor impulsively taught her how to manage the secret funds, as the cleverly retaliating princess was interesting.

However, that wasn’t the end.

‘Buy an island in a country with low taxes and set up a ghost business…’

Should he say she is one the best wicked women in the Empire?

The tax evasion method she proposed was both ingenious and vicious.

Above all, the scope of applications was extensive.

Even if it weren’t an island, if dozens of ghost businesses were erected in the temple-ruled, self-governed Dominion of Helleia, and the ledgers manipulated in a way that drives profit, it would be difficult for the Emperor of Azutea to keep track of the taxes.

A tax evasion method much larger and more intelligent than using spatial magic to hide gold bars.

It was the first time he felt a strange sense of defeat while doing business.

Simultaneously, the curiosity about his client grew even bigger, as expected.

Isidor’s clients in the meantime moved and reacted as he anticipated, like a horse on a chessboard.

However, Princess Deborah broke into the board without warning and left, leaving only questions.

How did she find him, what was the secret to taming the cowardly Cookie at once, why she was trying to make a secret fund by selling the pink diamond; he was curious about many things.

Even if he is curious, he can’t even ask questions because he is an informant…

“I can’t stand being curious.”

Isidor’s murmurs cleared the fog that had thickly spread out in the office, and a man that had been waiting in the shadows slowly stepped forward.

“Prince. Shall I go ahead and investigate Deborah Seymour?”

Isidor shook his head at the question made by Miguel Drein, one of the Visconti family’s vassals.

“I’m having fun after a long time, why do you interfere?”

“… Don’t tell me you are going to investigate yourself?”

“The Academy is opening soon. Even if we don’t want to, we will run into each other often.”

His Master, who had a habit of saying he had nothing to learn at the Academy, went around giving bribes in order to be turned a blind eye for his absence last semester.

“… Are you going to the Academy? Did you spend your money like that?”

“No harm will come from forming a connection with Duke Seymour’s famous daughter.”

“Didn’t you say you already had all the connections you need? You said you were focusing on your relationship with the Crown Prince for the time being…”

Isidor pretended not to listen to him and petted Cookie’s head gently.

“I’m going to find out how she tamed my cute Cookie without spending even 1 copper. This is a matter of informational pride.”

Looking at Isidor, who seemed to hold a small grudge, Miguel had to swallow his dumbfounded feelings.

He doesn’t know why he’s suddenly trying to be close with Princess Deborah, even though he has mysophobia and doesn’t want to be in touch with women due to his extreme aversion.

It is a little suspicious but she’s just a princess anyway.

She didn’t seem important enough for his Master to take action himself and spend his precious time.

‘He is quite unpredictable sometimes.’

Even though Isidor was terrifyingly calculating, at times he was impulsive and behaved as he pleased. He was a human being that could not be understood.

Convinced that his Master could have a big goal he did not know, Miguel opened his mouth.

“But how will you approach her?”

Isidor shrugged once and took off the bracelet with polymorph magic.

Then, his grayish brown hair turned blond, as if it had melted the sun, and his wax-like face with a faint impression turned into a handsome man with a gorgeous appearance that is hard to forget once seen.