115 – Gray Rat (7)
Baiton fiddled with Leyla’s business card and ampoule.
I had a strange dream yesterday, so I was in a bad mood, so I couldn’t get a job at all in the morning.
I couldn’t remember exactly what the dream was, but when I woke up I felt like I was having a nightmare.
Baiton looked at the clock on the table.
11 am.
‘Is there an hour left until lunch?’
Having lunch with Leyla, Baiton will accept Leyla’s offer.
Because she’s a snake-like woman, she’s not the type to let her prey on her door easily.
If I had to cut it, I had to cut it now.
‘Who should I trust?’
Baiton wasn’t sure if Tigris was the one who could make his dream come true.
To be honest, I think he really did his best to be loyal to the Norbert family.
He also built the Norbert Tower and built up a huge fortune through various real estate investments.
However, Beowulf didn’t seem to think of Baiton in particular except when he sometimes paid a bonus for hard work, and Tigris didn’t even make eye contact except when necessary.
Even if he would take Baiton even once to the princess’s birthday party or the Trinity support party, he didn’t.
If Tigris had truly trusted and cared for him, he would have taken him to the party.
‘But why did you hand over Count Albres?’
There’s no way Tigris is unaware of the relationship between Bayton and Count Albres.
Does giving himself the opportunity to cook Count Albres mean he’s starting to believe?
Or is it because Count Albre, who tried to match Tigris to the end in the support group, was upset?
For some reason, Baiton squeezed out all the architectural knowledge he had ever known, making it difficult for Count Albre to eat a single grain.
By applying the standard unit price and standard price of raw materials to the prohibition of re-subcontracting and re-subcontracting, and allowing construction to be carried out only when there is a supervisor from the contractor’s side, Count Albre was harassed enough to say, ‘Should I have to do this?’
Is revenge sweeter than honey?
Baiton was so happy and sweet that it was difficult to control the corners of his lips that kept rising whenever Count Albrée’s facial muscles twisted.
Read at noblemtl.com
Just thinking about this, Baiton bowed his head dozens of times to thank Tigris, but it was not enough, but Baiton had no intention of stopping here.Baiton wanted to become a nobleman.
As a nobleman, he intended to avenge his father by revealing the atrocities of Count Albres to the aristocratic society.
Time flew by and there were only 30 minutes left until lunchtime.
Whether she rejects or accepts Leyla’s offer for lunch, it was right to contact her now.
Baiton looked down at the professional number on the business card for a long time and stood up.
made a decision
* * *
As soon as Baiton sent a message to Leyla, Tigris was contacted immediately.
– Come up to the library.
Baiton was so nervous that his lips seemed to dry out.
Was it a coincidence or was Leyla a test of Tigris?
If it was a test, did Baiton pass?
It was hard to manage my expression at the questions that kept popping up in my head.
“hello. Mr. Baiton.”
“······okay.”
With all kinds of worries in his head, Baiton went straight to the study without even getting a proper greeting from Lenny.
Baiton took a few deep breaths in front of the study door and then knocked on the door.
“This is Bayton.”
– Come in.
Baiton opened the door and went in with etiquette.
Tigris, as always, greeted Baiton with dignity.
Tigris said, pointing to the sofa.
“Sit down.”
As soon as Baiton saw Tigris’ eyes, he immediately recognized it.
Layla was 100% Tigris’ test.
I couldn’t quite figure out whether my choice was right or wrong.
Tigris went straight to the point.
“Why did you refuse?”
Baiton turned down lunch with Leyla.
When Tigris asked why, Baiton had no idea where to begin.
Baiton calmed his pounding heart and opened his mouth.
“I thought that reporting to Tigris first was the priority. I heard that you only came in this morning, so you’re still sleeping…”
“What do you think is the reason I don’t trust you yet?”
At Tigris’ words, Baiton shivered.
“······I do not know.”
“Beyton, because you’ve never shown your true feelings to me.”
At Tigris’ words, Baiton’s heart sank.
“that······.”
“There are heaps of people around me who cloud my ears with cowardice. But that’s not the person I need. You know it very well, don’t you?”
Baiton bit his lip.
He did not believe that Tigris had never shown his true feelings, but he had never shown his true feelings to Tigris.
He was always by Tigris’s side, looking at the liver to examine his intentions.
Anyone other than Bayton could do that.
To Tigris, Baiton finally realized what he had done wrong.
Do you need such a person?
“The reason I haven’t let you down until now is because you were capable. But not anymore.”
Tigris received enormous support from the imperial family, and even had the ability to find a manager other than Baiton and place him as the head of ‘The Norberd’.
Baiton’s fingers trembled in fear that he might be abandoned.
“No matter how good a sword is, if it breaks or a better sword comes into hand, it will eventually be thrown away. However, if the knife that I am attached to becomes dull and cracks, I can fix it somehow, or if it is damaged to the point that I can’t use it, I put it on display in my office.”
Baiton looked at the wolf sword behind Tigris.
The wolf sword was displayed in a glass storage box enchanted with permanent preservation magic to prevent rust.
Baiton knew very well what that wolf sword meant to Tigris.
That wolf sword was the sword that Tigris received directly from Beowulf when he became a knight.
The wolf sword, which had great meaning for Tigris, was ironically never used in the field.
On the other hand, it was roughly mounted on the salamander’s black wooden cradle, which Tigris often used.
“Be more meaningful than useful. Those who are useful are thrown away when they are used up, but those who are meaningful will be talked about even after a thousand years or ten thousand years pass.”
Tigris said as he touched the ring of the Norbert family on his index finger.
“And that is the life of aristocrats.”
Tigris took out a golden envelope from his pocket.
The golden envelope was an envelope that could only be used by the emperor to issue a doctrinal message.
“Take this booklet and attend the regular meeting in a fortnight. At that time, the conferment of your title will be judged at the same time.”
For a moment, Baiton’s head went numb as he didn’t understand the situation.
“Of course, just because the judging for the title is done doesn’t mean you become a nobleman. There will be several achievement conditions. It’s probably going to be something related to Trinity.”
Baiton wondered if he was dreaming.
A shiver ran through his body at the thought that he could become a nobleman if he took one more step.
“Can you see why I was brought to the judging for the title? I don’t think I’ve done anything great enough to be awarded the title.”
“It will be in the future.”
“······yes?”
“You will be responsible for the construction and maintenance of security facilities in the Empire. In order to carry out such a daunting task smoothly, you must have the right identity to proceed smoothly.”
Baiton came to his senses and grasped Tigris’ intention.
“Does that mean Trinity is going to have security facilities?”
“Yes. Talk to Hydra for more details. Security-related work is not my business.”
“If it’s a Hydra, it’s the Inquisitor’s… my God.”
Baiton had no idea how big a task he would be entrusted with.
“Is it possible that Leila was a Hydra?”
“No, Layla is the comrade of the killer who caused the asteroid to fall on the ecliptic yesterday morning.”
“yes? Are you talking about an asteroid fall? Yesterday morning, nothing happened… Ah.”
Come to think of it, this morning’s newspaper clearly stated that there had been an accident during a lighting magic experiment in a laboratory.
However, most of the citizens of the ecliptic said that it was not a lighting experiment, but a shooting star…
“Then was it a real meteor? Oh, it must have been because of that problem that you couldn’t come in until this morning.”
“Yes. You will be tasked with preventing this from happening in the future. So it would be better to put a stop to revenge for now.”
Baiton immediately understood Tigris’ words.
It was said that revenge on Count Albres should be postponed until later.
“······Yes. All right.”
Tigris handed the Emperor’s teachings to Beiton.
Baiton was politely accepted.
“I will never forget this grace.”
“Don’t forget my advice rather than grace. From now on, I will become a servant of the Empire and His Majesty, not the Norbert House or the Marquess of Beowulf.”
“Yes. All right.”
“Then let me go. There will be a lot of work to be prepared.”
Baiton felt like he had been to heaven and hell dozens of times, and his legs were shaking, but he managed to get up.
“Yes. Okay. I will just leave.”
Tigris said to Baiton, who was leaving the study.
“Oh, and by the end of today, I will unconditionally go to the ward of the Imperial University and receive treatment.”
“yes? Are you talking about treatment?”
Tigris said, pointing to Baiton’s head.
“Because you have to get the parasite out of your head.”
Baiton was goosebumps.
* * *
Rain Rover, Nadal and Bergang gathered at the Palace of Spring for tea time.
After Somnium died and Felen flew off her left arm, the faces of the three, including Rain Rover, were not so bright.
“Have the victims been counted on the Gray Town side?”
Nadal answered Rain Rover’s question.
“It is currently in progress, but it is difficult to count because the protests do not stop.”
“It seems that it is difficult to distinguish between ordinary protesters and infected people.”
“To me and to the other agents, they all look the same protesters, but to Rakan they look different. Rakan is now working with the police to separate the infected from the regular protesters.”
“That is fortunate. “But the protesters keep growing.”
Berghan nodded.
“Yes. That’s right. According to what has been confirmed by this morning, it is said that the number has surpassed 10,000. It is said that excited protesters even gang-raped a police officer.”
“It was just news. How is the victim’s physical condition?”
“They say it will take 16 weeks to heal naturally.”
“… the reporters must have gone mad.”
Rain Rover sighed deeply.
“I thought that if Somnium dies, everything will be resolved…….. It is also possible to kill the parasites in the head, but it would be impossible to get rid of the scars left deep in people’s hearts.”
“The Gray Town problem was a problem that would not be strange at any time. Somnium just ignited an embers in the oil barrel.”
Somnium only stimulated people’s trauma and did not create a trauma that did not exist.
Gray Town had been neglected for so long that it was full of unidentified citizens, and the filthy environment often caused epidemics.
However, the Empire intervened only during epidemics and left it almost unattended.
The poor people had already spread all over the Empire, not just Gray Town, so it was impossible to implement a welfare policy that only saved the citizens of Gray Town.
“Honestly, it was really strange that he had been quiet until now. Gray Town was full of problems so it wouldn’t be strange if the citizens of Gray Town got up and got up.”
“Then why did the citizens of Gray Town stand still until this point?”
Nadal opened his mouth.
“Until now, gangs in Gray Town have controlled the citizens in town. There is no better environment than Gray Town for the distribution of red powder, smuggling, human trafficking, etc.”
“But now that the distribution of red powder, the main source of income for gangs, has been completely shut down overnight, the gangs have no reason or power to control citizens.”
Rain Rover frowned and said.
“So, in a nutshell, are you saying that the death of the underground economy has weakened the gangs and the means for them to control their citizens?”
“Yes. That’s right. And Somnium’s Nightmare would have played a part too.”
“Then it means that the number of ‘gray rats’ in Gray Town will increase even more.”
“yes. If you leave it alone, it’s going to grow exponentially.”
Bergan opened his mouth cautiously.
“What do you think of His Majesty the Emperor?”
Rain Rover sighed.
“I haven’t been able to talk to you about Gray Town. Because we have a big problem right now.”
“That’s what Principal Bastian said.”
Rain Rover sighed and nodded.
“It’s a shame that it turned out that Pelen was the principal of Bastian, but His Majesty, Todd, seems to have hidden something from the principal of Bastian.”
“Did Sir Tigris not tell you what was going on?”
“He said it was something he couldn’t say. It certainly seems serious.”
Berggan looked at Nadal and said.
“Do you know what Principal Bastian is doing?”
Nadal nodded.
“yes. But it’s something I can’t tell. It is difficult to say because this is a matter of the Duke of Lord Elim’s family, not the principal Bastian’s individual.”
“Is it a family problem, not an individual… This is a serious problem.”
Rain Rover washed dry.
“Killing the Somnium and cutting off Felen’s left arm is a great achievement, but it’s a pain in the ass to unravel the wounds they’ve been holding.”
Berggan took a sip of tea and opened his mouth.
“Your Majesty the Emperor will solve it wisely.”
* * *
Said Lennon, the sage who contributed to the founding of the Pax Empire.
Instead of leaving the scars from overcoming the hardships of life when he was young, as wrinkles, his heart becomes hard like calluses and he can react detachably to almost anything.
Bastian could sympathize with those words to some extent.
It was his older brother who killed his parents, but when he heard that the families that had cooperated with his older brother still live proudly, Bastian was more angry than he thought.
But he seemed to understand what Lennon was feeling when he said that.
Being angry is the same.
However, the impatience disappeared and the method of revenge only became wiser.
“Give me a list of families who helped kill my parents.”
In the quiet anger of Bastian, Emperor Todd put the prepared horse back.
Anger like the depths of the unknown deep sea was a level that Emperor Todd could not dare to bear.
“What are you going to do with those families?”
“I’m not going to do anything.”
“Are you not going to do anything?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
Bastian took a sip of his tea and opened his mouth.
“I’m just watching them make unwise choices.”
This is a time of upheaval.
The Empire is preparing for war with great enemies, Lota and Arphem.
We are working to revitalize the market and distribution network by collecting talented people and releasing funds.
Those who follow the trend and see opportunities will act wisely and swiftly, but the stupid ones who cannot seize the bigger opportunities because they cannot let go of the jewels and gold they have in their hands will not.
And Bastian was judging that those stupid people were the families that killed his parents.
Because there is no way to properly read the current of the cataclysmic times of those who killed even the head of the Lord Elim family because they could not let go of the gold coins in their hands.
“In times of upheaval, I will stand by as they are swept away to death, and if you reach out for help, I will kick you.”
Emperor Todd remembered Bastian right after he killed his older brother who killed his parents.
At that time, Bastian was quenching his anger, like a wildfire that burned everything.
But now they were equally angry, but the ark was different.
Bastian’s eyes filled with anger like a torrential downpour that slowly engulfed the big city.
In the middle of the night, without anyone knowing, Emperor Todd choked on his breath, as if he was about to swallow it slowly, like water rushing into the house.
“…and I’ll give it to you through Nadal.”
“thank you.”
“I will only ask you one favor. Don’t let your anger blind you to a wise choice.”
Bastian nodded.
“I know what is more important. your majesty.”