Chapter :1.4

Since then, what started as a joke has become the capital’s only shop for magic tools. With each brilliant idea, it enriched the lives of the people and became a fashion among the nobility.

All in just a few short years.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

Hans stood beside Audrey as she pored over the ledgers and began his report.

“The response to our latest product, the scented magic stones, has been good, and overall sales continue to rise, with even the local nobility demanding them.”

“Hooray, hooray, hooray. We’ll be on the upswing for a while yet.”

“Shouldn’t we be unveiling our new product this quarter soon?”

“We’re going to make a communications globe.”

“A communications port?”

Hans blinked in disbelief.

The Empire had already established the light bulb as a means of communication. Not only was there an abundant supply, which kept prices low, but there was also a well-developed infrastructure. Why would anyone want to invent a new means of communication?

But Audrey’s face was serious as she voiced her opinion.

“You. Do you have any idea how many letters come to my house in a day?”

“I don’t know.”

“Over a hundred, but…… seventy of them are from your brother.”

“Oh.”

“They ask you to send them a portrait, they ask you to write back, they beg you to write back, they drive you crazy.”

Arnold was Audrey’s only brother, and he naturally entered the tower after his powers manifested at the late age of seventeen. This was not long before Audrey’s powers manifested.

The tower changed its demeanor as soon as Arnold entered. He was allowed only letters, no visits, no outings, no overnight stays. He was allowed to go home only once a year until he made a significant contribution to Matap’s research, whether that would be ten years or twenty was anyone’s guess.

After ten years of confinement, Arnold, thirsty for human contact, eventually wrote 100 letters a day. Seventy of them were dedicated to Audrey, and each one, beginning with “Dear dear Audrey,” reads like an epic poem.

“How can there be so many things to say.

Unable to resist, Audrey read the letter cover to cover, marveling at the sheer wonder of it all. She even wrote a long, three-page reply.

But Arnold was not satisfied with the long, drawn-out letter.

……Audrey. I think some of your letters got lost on the way here.

……My beautiful sister. Are you very busy, even more so than your brother?

……Audrey, why can’t I reach you? Is something wrong?

……?

……You’re sleeping.

……Good night.

……When you see the letter in the morning, be sure to answer it.

……I love you, my sister.

The noise of an all-white light bulb pounding on the window without warning.

“Profit! I can’t take it anymore!

Audrey decided then and there. ‘I’m going to make a communication port with my next new product.

Hans nodded silently.

“That’s what Uncle Arnold would say.

He was a great man who wrote to Hans, a child of another family, at least once a day, and even to Claude. I could imagine how terrible it must be for my brother.

“When do you think it’s going to be released?”

“Uh, later this week at the latest? The magic stones should be ready in a few days, I just need to take care of the workmanship.”

“Okay. So we’ll set it for later this week and get the ads ready?”

Hans was gone in a flash, leaving her with nothing to say. But Audrey didn’t care. She was lying on her bed, hugging her thick ledger and humming.

“Hmm, hmm, hmm.”

From the moment I fell in love with Claude, I vowed to myself. One day, when I had a golden mansion to call my own, I would propose to him in style. This vague vision of a mansion was gradually becoming a reality.

“Brother, I will make you so much money that you will never have a drop of water on your hands!

Audrey laughed happily as she imagined the gold bars piling up in the secret vault.

She was counting down the days until she could propose to brother Claude.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

As the sun set, a bitter wind blew through the Duchy. All the recent hires were given unilateral termination notices.

As expected, there was a fierce backlash.

“What kind of law is this? Where are we supposed to go?”

“Couldn’t you have given us a month’s notice so we could have been prepared?”

“His Excellency the Duke is going too far…….”

The men, who had lost their jobs in an instant, sank back in despair and anger.

All the while, Lucas looked at them with a meaningful glance.

“I’m sure there are a few in here.

There was nothing particularly suspicious about their appearance. The thoroughness with which the Ganja remained unmasked under the circumstances gave him goosebumps.

“Of course, we won’t just let you go. I have a letter of recommendation and severance pay specially prepared by His Excellency, so don’t forget to pick it up on your way out.”

“You could have told me that a long time ago.”

“There, don’t push!”

The complaints quickly died down when the subject of compensation came up. A letter of recommendation from the Duke of Frit and a generous severance package was a deal they couldn’t refuse.

Lucas’s gaze lingered on the back of the group as they scurried away. They were all going to be headed out of the duchy tomorrow morning. It was a strange feeling to see them all still alive and well, unaware of anything.

‘I guess you could say I’m lucky, right?

I had to give up on hunting down Ganja, finding out who was behind him, and punishing him for threatening Duke Fritz’s life, but I couldn’t deny that it was for the best. I’ve nipped the suspicion in the bud.

Now it was time to find and eliminate those who had allowed weeds to grow in the Duchy without realizing it. It will be a difficult process to suspect and weed out old allies. But it would have to be done at some point.

But without people, there was another problem.

“We’re understaffed, and that’s a problem. You aside, the core department is bleeding pretty badly, and we have to finalize the budget in a month.”

“But we can’t just let anyone in just because we’re in a hurry.”

“That’s true, but…….”

Derek laughed coldly, and a bright red warning light went off in the aide’s head.

“I didn’t realize the Duchy was in such a mess that it needed to be tended to by a rat.”

“……!”

“Is it because they’re all just a bunch of lousy carnivores?”

“Not that, not that.”

“Well, make it so they don’t. They shouldn’t be able to get past the gates with something as simple as that.”

“For now, I’ll ask the people in charge of each department and maintain the status quo.”

“Now!! we’re talking.”

“…….”

As expected. The aide sighed inwardly. He could already hear someone’s frustration.

The Duchy was already one of the most intense places in the Empire, and to ask the existing staff to fill the vacancies left by the cuts was like asking them to come to work at sunrise and leave at moonrise. The initial crisis was manageable, but the moment one of them went to the goal, …….

“So who’s going to take his place?

Lucas’s face fell.

He was right, all the most important people in the Empire were in the Duchy. It would seem that they had been dragged in by Duke Frit’s threats and half-coerced, but they had walked in of their own accord.

But Derek, who had already made a name for himself as a Swordmaster at the age of fifteen, was never easy to please; the greatest geniuses before him were treated like worthless insects.