Chapter 27: CHP 27

"What is going on?"

"Is that a public confession?"

"Really amazing, I can't believe there are men who confess in such an unsophisticated way."

On the campus of the Department of Magic, in front of the fountain something strange was happening.

The students that were passing were astonished by a man that was holding an arm full of roses. That man was dressed in expensive looking clothes and was full of accessories from head to toes, he looked like he was trying to hard to impress someone. Especially with his shiny brown boots that highlighted the whole look.

"Of all the places he could stand, he is standing right in the spot where Sir. Isidor stood a while ago."

"How unfortunate."

The man was compared to Isidor, who only added light accesories to his outfits so that his natural charm could stand out.

"Hahaha! Everyone is astonished by my wealth. Of course that is a given, after all I am the heir of the Western Silver Mine."

Louis Gargell enjoyed the attention he received while he was waiting for Deborah Seymour to come out of the classroom.

'The girls in the capital really are more beautiful.'

He didn't forget to stare in admiration whenever a pretty young lady passed by him.

After a while, he saw an extremely beautiful young lady.

'I can tell just by looking at her face that she is Deborah Seymour.'

When she passed by, all the people around her politely got out of her way.

'They are behaving like herbivores, quickly running away when they see carnivores.'

"She is really gorgeous."

Louis Gargell's eyes widened as he wispered.

'Deborah Seymour sure is an impressive woman with her long purple hair and with such a slender body.

She doesn't seem to have a single bit of cuteness to her but even is she's not my type I must admit that she's more gorgeous than I imagined.

And more importantly she brings with herself the status of a direct descendant of the Seymour family and even better, she just recently demonstrated her talent.'

Deborah was important for the Gargell family, because no mage was ever born in their family.

'I know all the rumors about how Princess Deborah is an evil woman enough to be called a viper by men... But after our marriage I plan to keep her isolated in the western territory and educate her properly. I will fix that temper of her's.

After all I don't need her affection, it's not like I will be with just one woman for the rest of my life.'

Louis Gargell suppressed his cunning thoughts, and approached Princess Deborah with a kind smile.

"Greetings, Princess Deborah.

I came to meet you after we were introduced by Belreck Seymour. It is my infinite honor to meet such a beautiful and noble person like you."

While Louis Gargell thought he made the best first impression, Princess Deborah curled her lips and sneering at him.

"So you are that bastar...no, Louis Gargell. You are such a shameless person! How dare you come in front of me with that ugly face of your's."

"What?"

"Catherine Bay. "

Louis Gargell froze when he heard the name that came out of Princess Deborah's mouth.

The moment he heard that name Louis Gargell's eyes widened and felt humiliated by the oppressive eyes that looked down on him

"Tha...that I can explai..."

"I am sure you can, it is the name of your mother's maid, who was kicked out of your estate last year because you 'touched' her.

I know even more... Mary in the winter of last year, Joan in the fall, three years ago…"

"Wait a minute, Princess Deborah!"

Louis Gargell's complexion turned gray.

"Seriously, you did a lot of stupid things, the more I dug the more they came to the surface, even the cat doesn't shed thst much fur like you manage to commit such things."

"Aghhh!"

When Deborah Seymour took a step towards him with a wiked smile, Louis Gargell faltered and stepped back.

"It is too late to back away now. Here, I have a petition with all your filthy deeds, and I want to read it to you, out loud."

Louis Gargell hurriedly waved his arms as a sign of defeat while  Deborah pulled out an envelope with a bright red seal from her bag.

"It's fine Princess Deborah, there is no need to..."

"You know, there is a long line of people who are willing to come all the way to the capital and testify about what you have done, if I want of course.

I didn't even need to go to the west to find out everything about you, I also know that you had a lot of fun since you arrived here. You even created a slush fund."

'How does she know that?!'

Louis Gargell's hands and feet trembled in fear.

"I also know that recently, you are addicted to gambling and that you keep false ledgers to steal silver from the silver mines. Your father must have had high expectations when he saw the letter from my brother Belreck.

He must have handed you the Gargell's family seal to help you strengthen your relationship with our Seymour family. But you used that seal to make slush funds."

".....!!!"

"Your father will be delighted to hear about this. I am sure of that. Don't you think so?"

Louis Gargell felt terrified as he looked at Princess Deborah.

'How does she know every little thing I did in secret! Even about what happened in Akon. How? The terrain there is so rough that barely any outsiders go there.'

Louis Gargell was confident that he had done a good job at hiding all the information about Catherine Bay and the other girls.

'How great is Princess Deborah's power?! That she has such extraordinary vassals under her.'

Deborah's Seymour cold eyes, like that of a snake, pierced him.

"And above all that, I am most curious about how Belreck's reaction will be when he finds out about everything. After all he trusted you enough to arrange a meeting between us."

"Aaakkk!"

Princess Deborah waved the red envelope, detailing all of his nasty deeds, in front of him.

"If he sees this petition from the maids and the servants who worked for the Gargell family, won't he feel insulted by you?

Maybe he will even throw down the gloves in your brazen face?"

Louis Gargell gasped in horror.

'A duel with the second son of the Seymour family, a genius mage! I will die before I can even have a chance to use an artifact!'

Louis Gargell was sweating profusely, and his lips trembled.

"What,What…"

"Speak properly, don't stutter."

"What do you want from me? Princess Deborah.

I will do anything. I will beg you on my knees right here if I have to."

"It is very simple. From now on, don't ever show yourself in front of me again. I don't even want to hear your name. You should lock yourself in the west and never come out.

I will give you 3 seconds to disappear.

3,2,1."

Deborah Seymour counted down without mercy.

Louis Gargell, who barely managed to proces what Deborah Seymour told him, ran like crazy, far away from Princess Deborah's cold gaze.

'He runs fast.'

While I was watching the shabby back of Louis Gargell getting further away, I rubbed the nape of my neck, which was aching because of stress.

'As I expected, the Blancia Master knows how to dig the dirt very well. The information he found was extremely useful. He gave me a formidable weapon, I just had to wait for my opponent to fall in the trap.'

Since Belreck, himself, had arranged for Louis Gargell and Deborah to meet, I knew that it wouldn't be long before he appeared, but I didn't expect that he would announce his visit so 'extravagantly'.

So I thought of a plan to make him quit as soon as possible.

I wasn't sure that the information provide by the Blancia Master was enough to convince him to give up.

So the best idea that came to my mind, was that of a duel with Belreck, one of the most prominent mages of the Empire a genius in magic, together with the dirty information that I received from the Blancia Master was the perfect combo.

'A duel with Belreck would make most mages give up immediately without a second thought.

Especially Louis Gargell who has no mana sensitivity. And it went just as I expected.

But I still wonder, how great is the power of the Blancia Master?

Akon is situated in a rugged mountain region far away from the capital, it is very difficult to collect any information about anyone from there, but he managed to dig up every dirty thing about that Louis Gargell.

The Blancia Master must have planted  informants all over the Empire.

Who on earth is he? There is a high probability that he is the son of a family that has been in the information business for generations, but...I don't know.

He speaks politely to me, but I am certain that he is not a commoner. Because he likes to use the metaphors used by the nobles.

Haaa... I can't figure out who he is, but I want to keep doing business with him, and to do that, I must look like a tycoon who will bring him great profits.

I need to prepare myself for the confrontation  because I didn't expect that the Blancia Master would bring me this kind information.'

I swallowed hard as I looked at another envelope sealed with a silver seal, not the one I used to threaten Louis Gargell.

...............

"Louis Gargell fell from a horse?"

"Yes, Young Master. That is why he injured his...Ahem,Ahem...important part.

Since it's probably the most horrible accident a man can have, he won't be  staying in the capital anymore."

Louis Gargell managed to cause a scandal and fall from a horse, injuring himself badly enough to return to the west, all on the same day

'That annoyance is gone.'

It was a brief moment of happiness for Belreck. His father disapproved of Louis Gargell, so he refused to get involved with him any further.

He finished his work for today, so Belreck returned from the Wizard Association to the mansion.

He felt strange today. Usually his head was filled only with thoughts about work, but today he couldn't focus.

As he walked around the mansion he caught sight of his mother flower garden buried in darkness.

'This was originally a rose garden that  Mother loved. Why did father suddenly changed his mind and removed the preservation magic?

Was it because of Deborah?'

Belreck wished that that wasn't the case, but his gut insitinct told him that it was all because of Deborah.

'But why?'

While he stood there deep in thoughts he saw a white figure slowly walking in the darkness.

'Deborah?'

Belreck suddenly remembered his mother.

'I hate to admit, but Deborah really did take after mother. I forget about it the moment she opens her mouth, because her character is the exact opposite of mother's.

Mother made you feel calm and peaceful...'

"Are you feeling unwell?"

Belreck, who was mesmerized for a moment came to his senses.

The fact that Deborah was speaking in a relaxed tone with him, annoyed  Belreck.

"We don't have a close brother and sister relationship, so don't beat around the bush.

If you want to brag, just do it.

I bet you have a lot of things you want to say to me?"

"Hmm? Hearing you speaking like that does make me feel like I must brag. But I am here for something else, I want to get an apology."

"An apology? What do I have to apologize for?"

"You have been going too far with your remarks every time we talked. You said I was stupid and threatened me to introduce a man without taking my opinion into consoderation."

Belreck narrowed his eyes as he watched Deborah point out his mistakes.

'It's clear that hear speaking skills have improved. In the past, she only screamed and would take out her anger on those below her. Her reasoning back then had no logic.'

That is why even though it was absurd, from his point view, he did not stop her and listened quietly.

"Also, your vassal was rude and made unnecessary remarks towards me.

No matter how much you usually ignore me, a mere vassal dared to argue with me, they shouldn't forget that I am a Seymour to. I want an apology for that as well."

"Why would I do that? Right now, I am in a position where I can oppress you easily."

Belreck moved closer to Deborah,

"That is why you shouldn't have behaved so foolishly, look back at your previous behavior. There is no way I can ignore all that.

I will not apologize to you."

Deborah pulled out something from her shawl, smiling wickedly.

"What is that?"

"Here, take a look."

Belreck's eyes widened in shock when he saw the contents of the envelop he just received.

........

Watching Belreck's arrogant expression gradually turn white, I felt the urge to celebrate.

'I knew that the only way this rude bastard would listen to me was to hit him hard, in his pride.

He is such a brat he deserves a good beating.'

"Is this true?"

"You didn't know? Should I belive you? But that would mean that your vassals are not very skilled if they couldn't find this information.

After all I did it and I dont even have a proper vassal."

It was written all over Belreck's face, frustration and embarrassment for failing to gather all the nasty information about Louis Gargell.

"You, my dear brother, made the mistake of revealing your intention and objective first.

So I had enough time to look into the other person.

If you don't believe my data, I can call one of the witnesses, Catherine Bay.

She is a young lady who ran away from there to a monastery because of Louis Gargell's sexual abuse. She promised me that she would come to the capital and testify if I want."

" B-But... I also did a background check on him, and in Rosad's investigation…"

I narrowed my eyes at the unexpected information that came out of his mouth.

"Don't tell me, you stole the marriage partner that Rosad found for me?"

Belreck frowned and sweard in a low voice.

"Brother Belreck, you screwed up."

'I finally found out the true perpetrator behind this scheme.

Belreck thought that his information was gathered by a high level informant, but in reality, Rosad was leaking information to lead Belreck on.

Rosad probably emphasized the part about how Louis Gargell was the son of a Lord that owned a big silver mine.'

Silver has a high mana conductivity, making it a very useful mineral for artifact makers. So for Belreck, Louis Gargell would have been quite a useful partner.

'Rosad must have used the fact that Belreck experienced difficulties with his research, at that time, so he knew that Belreck would take the bait and act as a matchmaker to take the silver that Louis Gargell offered

From Rosard point of view, it was a win-win situation.

If Belreck insisted that Deborah should met Louis Gargell, Deborah would go rampant once again, destroying her reputation further on.

But if the matchmaking went well and then after a while some bad information about Louis Gargell would appear then Belreck would be responsible for it.'

I looked at him with pity, he was lead on like a fool without realizing it and all the blame fell on him

"Matchmaking isn't something you should do carelessly, Belreck."

He trembled while he read the contents of the envelope with the red seal stamped on it.

"Do you remember what you told me before? Being ignorant is also a sin."

Belreck's thin lips twitched as he looked at me.

"You also said that if my incompetence will go on, you will have to control me.

Read the silver envelope that you haven't opened yet."

It wasn't just Louis Gargell's dirty secrets that the Blancia Master found.

....

"Princess, you're going after Sir. Belreck, who is trying to force you to marry Louis Gargell, right?"

After he said that he gave me a silver envelope, smiling strangely.

"It's a gift I'm giving you as a business partner, I hope you will find it useful."

...

'The information he gave me was extremely interesting.'

Recently, silver mining was blowing up in the west and the local lords were competing with each other to attract investors to help them develop their mines.

'And Belreck invested a large sum, so that he can have a stable supply of silver.'

The problem was that many  westerners made use of the remote terrains with rough topography to swindle outsiders that didn't know much about the land.

They planned to include the lands that had already failed in silver mining in the development plan, so that they could increass the scale of the investment, cleverly pocketing money from investors.

"Are you telling me that the silver mine I invested in is a scam?"

Belreck's voice trembled with anger.

"Strictly speaking, it is not a scam, you  just wont... Haaa, the land you invested in is bad, even if a silver mine will be found the earnings would be poor.

Brother Belreck you have invested in something that will fail, in other  words, you lost all your money."

I grinned as I pointed at the envelope he was holding with my chin.

"Now do you know what I am going to do? I am going to give father the envelope with red seal. He will really like that my brother was trying  to matchmake me with a playboy."

"Wait Deborah, calm down a little. Let's talk about it."

"I am very calm right now. Ooo, and I am going to sell the envelope with the silver seal to brother Rosad for a high price.

It is a great idea. Don't you think so?"

'Belreck's failure is Rosad's joy, after all they are rivals, Rosad would probably buy this information at a high price.'

Belreck rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes in desperation.

Probably because Rosad has been winning day after day against the horse riding warriors in the east, and because he's been doing such a great job, he distinguished himself in the war.

If the news that Belreck was deceived by the people in the west would be leaked, Rosad's achievements would shine even more.

Having an advantage against each other, was of the utmost importance to the Seymour twins.

'Since he was born, he always lived in the middle of a fierce competition.

It is of no wonder that his personality is such a wreck.

The fate of the twins is quite sad. They have to fight each other, even though they shared a womb, all for the sake of becoming the head the family.'

"Tell me what you want, Deborah. I will give you anything."

"If you apologize to me, I will think about it."

"Ughhh!"

Belreck just stood there for a while, hesitating.

"It seems you are to proud to apologize, know I understand the words 'not apologizing even if I die'.

I should go now. I have tea time with Father…"

"I'm sorry! I was wrong."

Belreck was so frightened that I would tell Duke Seymour about the information I had, that he grabbed me and started to apologize without hesitation.

"I was wrong about everything that happened in the past! I was wrong, you are very skilled and clever…"

'It sounds more like an insult than an apology... or is it just me? No! I should think of it as a big compliment  coming from him.'

"I apologize for not controling my vassals. The thoughtless remarks that Stephan, that bastard, said to you...all of it, it's all my fault. I'm sorry."

Belreck's long silver eyelashes quivered, with a pitiful expression on his face. And his white hands that were clutching my shawl trembled in humiliation.

"Are you sincere?"

"Yes, I am truly sorry that I didn't recognize your capabilities."

"Haaa."

I sighed as I watched Belreck bow his head.

'He is a consistent guy, I have never seen anyone so obsessed with competence like him. '

"Well, what can I do when my brother is begging me like this...so I can't help it."

At my words Belreck raised his head and his silver eyes lit up.

"Are you forgiving me?"

I pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill with ink from my bag.

"Yes of course. If you sign this contract, I will burn all the information that contains your weaknesses, and then I will humbly forgive whatever happened in the past."

"What is that contract about?"

"I know that you are experimenting with converting mana into power."

'He is genius in creating artifacts, and I need his skills. I will bind him with this contract and use his abilities for myself.'

"Deborah, how did you find out about what my thesis is about?

It haven't announced it publicly yet."

'I know it because of the novel, but I can't tell him that.

He was a character that was always at the top of the popularity poll. Because there was a strong demand for a male characters with long silver hair and glasses, and the scenes in which he appears are…🫣 Ahem,ahem... because Belreck had something that differentiated him from the other male characters.

They didn’t refer to Belreck as a sadistic pervert for nothing, this guy is the real deal.

Belreck has all kinds of strange R-rated tools with different powers such as rotation, vibration and...'

"Haaa, under the black slate on the second floor of the basement in the separate building where you live, is a device designed for adults, one that turnes mana into mechanical energy… Mmphmph!"

Belreck covered my mouth.

"Deborah! I have bitterly realized that your intelligence is not ordinary, so please stop just stop.

I was really wrong I will regret it all my life..."

He rambled without making any sense. His white face was red like a tomato even his earlobes seemed to be bleed because of the shame.

'Why is he so ashamed? He used those tools so shamelessly in the novel that I thought he had no sense of shame.

Wait a minute!! Is it because I am his younger sister?

Because one of his family members has discovered his secret private life?

He is behaving so pitiful and humble right now because of that.😈

But I can understand him a bit, I remember when my mother suddenly opened the door and came in while I was watching a porn movie, I felt so ashamed that I wanted to disappear from this world.'

"Sign! Where do I sign?!"

When I looked at Belreck's red face and teary eyes I felt as if I had done something very wrong.

'I didn't mean to push him so far.'

I felt a little sorry so I gently held out the parchment.

Belreck didn't even read the terms and conditions of the contract.

"Where? Here?"

"Yes. And put your mana in it."

'Belreck Seymour'

A silver signature imbued with mana, shone in the darkness.

After signing he left quickly without looking back.

That is how I got one of the most powerful slaves in the whole Empire, to be my leading artifact maker.

'He is so capable, he can even operate ancient weapons.'

.......................