22 – Like a Dog
“Well then, I’ll go prepare the delivery.”
Sienna watched Alan, who disappeared with proper etiquette. Probably going to manufacture more morphine.
“A thousand dollars per gram?”
Even for Princess Sienna, it was a laughable amount.
This price didn’t just come out of thin air.
In the process of morphine transforming from op*ium, the weight decreased by less than 10%, and there were other ingredients involved, although unknown.
But even considering that, the profit margin was substantial.
If she could convert her current stock of morphine and the accumulated raw op*ium in the warehouse into morphine, she would easily make at least sixty million dollars.
And it didn’t end there. As long as the imperial army existed, a steady profit could be earned.
An incredible achievement with just two employees, or rather, two slaves.
“But the person involved remains calm.”
She had amassed a huge fortune in less than a month, yet she could be so nonchalant. It was as if she had foreseen this situation.
Moreover, Alan wasn’t only obsessed with money.
Even when Sienna, on her own, discovered the interaction between lemons and silosibin, revealing the effects, Alan didn’t show a surprised expression. He just raised a slightly tired expression and said, “Everything has come.”
What exactly is Alan foreseeing? How deep are the hidden foundations?
An unpredictable affair,
But Sienna was sure of what she needed to do now.
“I need to strengthen myself too.”
There was a need for her to become a master who could match the talented confidants.
Alan wouldn’t suddenly go against her just because he made some money. He was a knight who swore loyalty, even sacrificing himself.
But once the military supply contract was announced, Alan and his Maydov Pharmaceuticals, established under his name, had the potential to attract the attention of all the empire.
The potential of Morfin attracted the interest of ambitious businessmen, and it was expected that even the Victoria’s confidants, who were already favorably disposed towards Alan, would start to gather around.
In the process, Alan’s infamous reputation would gradually fade away. Eventually, he would be treated as a successful businessman.
“The more that happens, the harder it will be for me to control with my own power.”
She needed to increase her influence before his status rose.
To protect the asset named Alan from any possible impure contact,
No, to prevent Alan himself from feeling the need to cooperate with other forces, she needed to take measures. And for that, she needed a foundation.
She already had a plan in mind.
The execution starts now.
“Tell Oliver to come in.”
As soon as Sienna’s order was given, there was a limping figure that appeared.
It was the messenger who had injured his knee and lost all his front teeth when he clashed with Alan before.
He hadn’t become disabled, but he still seemed to have difficulty walking. Yet, when he saw Sienna, he stumbled and smiled, as if he still wanted to live.
“You.”
“Yes, Your Highness…!”
“You still hold a grudge against Alan, don’t you? Of course, against me too.”
“W-What is that supposed to mean!”
When the pitiful executioner tried to provoke a reaction, Siena raised her hand calmly.
“I have something for you to do. I’m not trying to trick you.”
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“…What?”
“From now on, you harbor resentment towards Alan. Not only did he make you a scapegoat, but every time you met, he ridiculed you. But it turns out that Alan is soon becoming wealthy through a military supply contract. You, overwhelmed with anger, impulsively stole the morphine recipe because of that.”
“Are you asking me to do something?”
“It’s a simple task. Just discreetly inform the person I designate that you have the morphine recipe and are willing to sell it.”
“To whom should I speak?”
“Count Dryden, Count Downshire, Marquis Draghead.”
All of them were individuals sacrificed as scapegoats due to Anais’s concocted assassination plot.
Titles were already stripped away under the leadership of Anais, and soon they would undergo a formal trial with some of their assets confiscated.
By now, they were undoubtedly suffering from immense deprivation. Anais taking care of them was the norm, but she was no longer in a position to look after anyone.
“If you can extract information about morphine, they will eagerly rush to you. Considering you became a scapegoat and a fool for Alan due to Anais’s proposal about the poisoning, it adds credibility.”
The executioner seemed reluctant to follow Siena’s instructions. He was probably worried about being used as bait and getting killed.
Siena decided to motivate him.
“Do it now. Then, within a few days, I’ll ask the Saint to heal your injuries. I’ll cover the expenses, of course.”
“…!”
The expression on the executioner’s face brightened instantly upon receiving this proposal. It was ironic, considering that Siena was practically the one responsible for his crippled leg.
However, humans were originally beings that could be controlled through punishment and reward. If someone offered to fix his leg in exchange for a favor, there was no reason to refuse.
Siena gave detailed instructions to the now motivated executioner.
The operation to lure Anais’s faction through her younger sister.
Due to the serious damage to the leader, catching humans stumbling around was interesting in itself, but it wasn’t done for the sake of fun.
**
Two days later, dawn.
“Everyone is inside. All eight of them.”
Upon receiving the report from the escort knight Erica, Sienna chuckled.
The place she was in was near the herb shop on the outskirts of the island. Inside the building, people who followed or were dragged by Anais were buzzing around.
Three who fell for Sienna’s bait and five who voluntarily brought the bait by beating up a newcomer.
The reason they gathered in one place was, of course, Morfin.
“[We have an herbalist here, and I will demonstrate the production of Morfin in front of you all. Just pay the reporting fee first. There is a herb shop closed down in District 13; come there secretly without any agents.]”
Those intrigued by Sienna’s proposal were cautious.
The name Morfin had already subtly spread throughout the island.
Most of the nobles who followed Anais were engaged in trade or finance, so their attachment to money was exceptional. When a medicine worth 1,000 dollars per gram appeared in the world, there was no merchant who could remain indifferent.
Due to the experience of being fooled by Sienna once before, they were initially lukewarm…
‘She said she would demonstrate, and in the end, eight of them came running.’
Was money that good? Well, it certainly was.
Shortly after, Sienna entered the herb shop with light steps, accompanied by two escort knights.
“My Lady…?”
Eight pairs of eyes turned towards her.
There were humans who were absent-minded when she stepped on Anais before, and there were those who weren’t. From humans who casually owned a ship to the chairman of the stock exchange, they were diverse in many aspects. However, they all reacted the same way when they saw Sienna – with fear.
Sienna enjoyed the uncomfortable confrontation for a while before opening her mouth.
“In the past, they tried to tarnish my honor with baseless assassination rumors… Now, they’re attempting to ruin a company I heavily invested in. Why do you all hate me so much?”
“Your Highness! Again with this…!”
“Again? Was there a time before when I committed theft?”
“Uh…!”
Nobles grumbled with anger and bewilderment on their faces. This, too, was quite a spectacle. Even Siena felt a sense of accomplishment.
“Your Highness Siena?”
At that moment, a middle-aged man stepped forward with a relatively calm expression.
Count Soan. Among those who fell for the trap this time, he was the most prominent.
“Speak.”
“It seems we have fallen into another trap. Hearing the mention of morphine manufacturing, our judgment seems to have momentarily clouded. …But, Your Highness, such machinations will also harm you. No matter how noble you are.”
It was not a false statement.
Attacking the same faction twice in a similar manner was a visible act of deception.
It might be possible to push through with force, but then no noble would dare approach Siena in the future.
But that wasn’t a concern.
“Sorry, but I’m not intending to punish you immediately. Anais is already in a similar situation, and what’s the point of stepping on those followers unnecessarily, as you suggested, Count Soan? As you said, it’s just an attempt to tarnish my reputation.”
“However.”
“I came here to confirm your faces with my own eyes. I want to remember who the vultures are eyeing my profits.”
“…”
“We can take action later, right?”
For now, he put their lives on the line, intending to kill them one by one later.
Fortunately, it seemed that there was no one who couldn’t understand.
And it also seemed that there was no one who didn’t know how to get off the list if they wanted to.
“Your Highness, do you… want our support?”
“I don’t want support or anything like that. It ultimately forms factions, and factions are relationships based on sharing interests, right? But I have no intention of sharing benefits with you. Why should I share with those humans who aimed for Morphin?”
“Well then.”
“If I give orders, you just have to follow like dogs.”
“….”
“But I guarantee your lives. Most of the time.”
Either follow or slowly die.
As Siena presented the options, the nobles became anxious and exchanged glances, trying to read each other’s minds.
One of them gathered the courage and requested, “Could you give us time to discuss among ourselves?” But Siena scoffed and shook her head.
“I have no regrets.”
After Siena made this announcement-
“Your Highness!”
One of the nobles, who had been hesitating and watching for cues, kneeled down and shouted. Although there was no explicit demand for obedience.
Since one person kneeled preemptively, the rest couldn’t help but feel the pressure.
“We will follow like dogs, Your Highness.”
In the end, within less than a minute, all eight of them kneeled.
It was the first time that Siena, who had been using a few fallen nobles to run a gambling den, had a moment where the background of the humans under her command seemed plausible.
Even those who followed her younger brother.
Usually, this alone would have been a great pleasure.
Even if it was said to be the spoils obtained through fishing and coercion, people had their own ways of using it. It was enough if they incited internal conflicts by tearing each other apart, rewarded opportunities to set up a modest goal, and tamed them by hitting them if they did something foolish.
“Success. But surprisingly, not much excitement.”
There’s nothing as thrilling as playing with people, so why does it feel less fun?
Siena knew the reason well.
It was because she already had a confidant much more valuable than all of them combined. Compared to Alan, other humans just looked insignificant.