CH 8.26

Viscount Redding, who had lost the most money, clenched his fists in rage.

The bloodshot look in his eyes suggested he hadn’t slept well in a long time.

I shook my head and clicked my tongue.

“It is not a good attitude to blame others for your investment.”

“Heuk!”

“And if you want to get that little penny back, this is not the way to go.”

The smile on my face vanished in an instant.

I stopped stroking Cat’s head and cast an expressionless glance at Viscount Redding.

“You know, even crawling on the floor wouldn’t be enough.”

“… … !”

“When did Schweiden Manor become a place where you could act like a thug?”

Grrrr.

Cat stood up and let out a threatening growl, its fur standing on end.

Thud. He took one step with his large paw.

Even though the distance had only been reduced by that much, the Viscounts were all frozen in place, like bugs caught in a spider’s web.

The air around me quickly became stale and cold.

I opened my mouth and spoke dryly.

“All of your children have publicly insulted Lacius.”

“N-no way…”

“Bring them here and make them apologize.”

The wide-open eyes of the Viscounts turned to me.

They seemed to have an excellent ability to detect the malice behind my words, given that they themselves do a lot of evil things.

“Who knows, maybe I’ll show you mercy.”

The final words were spoken softly, but they were clearly mocking. The question was whether they had caused such a commotion because they had lost a few pennies on their investment. Viscount Latrus’ face turned bright red at that point. Count Hansen, who had been silent and still, grabbed his mustache violently, as if pulling it out.

But there was nothing they could do. They are desperate to grasp any straws in hope of making up for their losses and saving their pride.

“… … .”

A deafening silence descended, deep enough to fill an ocean.

I didn’t say anything else because I was already pleased with how everything had turned out.

Silence is a lethal weapon.

After all, it is not the tongue that speaks, but the person who uses it.*

*(It is not the words themselves that are important, but the person speaking them and how they are used.)

In the past, saying nothing at the negotiating table has often resulted in victory.

Especially when I’m confident I have the upper hand, as I am right now.

I’m curious how many times this has happened.

“We’ll bring them in right now.”

“But are you certain they’ll apologize? You’ve raised them with such pride that it wouldn’t surprise me if they refuse to apologize.”

“They have offended the future archduchess; that alone is a sin for which they must atone.”

“Oh wow, you understand it so well.”

At least Count Hansen has a brain.

He appears to have been abandoned by the Duke of Crisiona. 

So it appears he’s come to vent his frustrations to me, but who does he think he is?

I snorted quietly to myself.

I’m sure I’ll run into them again if I do any business in the future.

It’s more difficult to find a place where Crisiona’s influence hasn’t yet reached.

Even if I don’t become an archduchess, I’ll be fighting business battles.

So I’d better snap her nose* while I still have the power.

*(Deflate one’s ego.)

The Viscounts rush back to their homes, leaving only Count Hansen behind.

I opened the book while gently fanning.

“It will take a long time for them to return; please make yourself comfortable and maybe read some books.”

“Never mind, I read a lot of books when I was younger.”

“Really? They say that the older you get, the better you understand the contents of a book; the Count must be an exception.”

I responded without taking my gaze away from the book.

It was obviously impolite to do something else while sitting in front of a guest.

This, however, implies that he is unworthy of my attention.

This action would be more upsetting than becoming angry with them.

They must have felt mocked by a young lady.

‘Why don’t you try calling me names like you always do? ‘

Finally, we arrived at the conclusion of the plan. The peak is approaching.

Success is just around the corner.

An hour later.

I heard several carriages arrive.

I frowned and put down my book.

‘If they hadn’t come, I would have been less disappointed.

the slightest hope that they might recoup their investment.

It only takes that for them to force their children to apologize.

The worst fathers imaginable.

“Now, everyone line up and apologize!”

Before long, the young ladies and young lords in front of me exchanged hesitant glances.

I just stared at them, saying nothing.

They’ve been avoiding my gaze for three minutes now.

Finally, a young lady who couldn’t bear the silence bowed down.

“I-I apologize!”

“I am deeply sorry.”

“I’m sorry; I was oblivious; please forgive me!”

They bent their backs one after the other, as if on cue.

Of course, they probably didn’t mean it, but they had to swallow their pride.

That was satisfying enough, but now I had to add the cherry on top.

I folded the fan covering my face with a snap and pointed to the open door to my left.

“Enter that room.”

“… Did you let a wild beast loose in the room?”

“No way, it’s just a room.”

“If we go inside the room, you’ll give us our investment back, right?” 

“I said I’d think about it.”

While Count Hansen was still suspicious, Viscount Latrus and Viscount Redding were already pushing people on their backs.

“All you have to do is enter the room!”

“Everyone, go in!”

“Come on!”

It looks like a swarm of rats is entering the room.

Duke Crisiona must have had a lot of patience having all of them under him.

How can someone be so vile because of money?

“All you have to do is stand there.”

Having said that, I shut the door.

A painting hung behind the closed door.

It has various monsters drawn on it, but the outside appears to be just black paint.

I moved my hands close to the canvas, taking care not to touch the still wet oil paint.

‘Materialize.’

Black smoke slowly leaks out of the painting as I put my hands together and send energy into it.

Following my command, smoke seeped through the cracks in the door.

After a while,

“Kyaaaaaghh!”

Someone’s desperate scream broke the silence.

“Help! Open it, open it!”

“Open this! Ahhhg!”

“Monster, it’s a monster!”

“Mom— Mommmm!”