50 – 50. Real
Lately, Princess Siena had two things that she found interesting.
First, the Academy.
There were more than one academy in the empire, but when people mentioned “the Academy,” they usually referred to the Imperial Royal Academy located in the capital. It was an advanced educational institution that nurtured elite talents leading the empire in various fields.
Something interesting was happening at that academy.
‘I just wanted to check.’
At first, it was merely a rational suspicion sparked by witnessing the disgrace of the dru*g addict Leon—there was no way he was the only lunatic.
It wasn’t a difficult task. After all, among the Academy professors, there were many striving individuals aligning with the Siena faction.
However, the reality of the Academy students exceeded her expectations.
It wasn’t the passion for academic achievement that surpassed expectations; rather, it was the outrageous behavior of some students that exceeded expectations.
“Um, Princess Second? It’s a hush-hush matter within the Academy, but recently, the absences of students residing in the Second Dormitory have been increasing. I quietly conducted an investigation yesterday, and it turns out there’s a group gathering in secrecy and indulging in op*ium.”
News of students skipping classes to indulge in op*ium.
Nine students were said to have created an op*ium den in their dormitory room. There was even a student sipping tea with a hidden pipe buried in the smoke.
Shocked, the Academy authorities disciplined them and introduced roll call procedures. It’s no wonder, given their activities in the dormitory.
‘There’s no way to stop that.’
From Noble mtl dot com
Siena could confidently assert.
The crackdown would undoubtedly fail, and it might even become more popular as time went on.
Perhaps in about a month, it would become a situation difficult to hush up?
She didn’t rule out the possibility of the Royal Guards being deployed instead of the professors. It was hard to explain, but Siena knew that op*ium possessed such power.
And it wasn’t just students enjoying it.
“There are suddenly some students from the Department of Magic who have become extravagant spenders. They aren’t from wealthy families, yet they spend money recklessly and even drag students from other departments as their henchmen. When asked about their secret, they just laugh it off.”
There were also suddenly wealthy students from the Department of Magic.
She didn’t need to see it to know what was happening. Whether it’s syrup or op*ium, they must be selling dru*gs to earn pocket money. If there are users, there are also sellers—that’s the norm.
“They’ve voluntarily created an ecosystem, these kids.”
Siena sincerely admired.
The third-year high school student, Sienna, was starting a new business at the young age of nineteen. It was an achievement worthy of high praise, considering she hadn’t received any financial support and accomplished it all on her own. Although there might be people who ruin their lives with such endeavors, it didn’t matter since Sienna wasn’t one of them.
In fact, she felt tempted to intervene and torment them.
However, Sienna decided to restrain herself.
There were more interesting things to observe than the childish pranks of academy students.
Besides, she needed to wait until the academy matured a bit more before she could get involved. Until then, it was important to keep an eye on her business partner, Alan.
“Is Alan still locked up in the production room?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The maid, who had been sent to gather information, answered with a bow.
“Could it be… he’s even eating there?”
“It’s not to that extent, but he’s reported to not sleep at all. Only the staff members take turns working, while Alan himself tirelessly continues his work. He never comes out, so we don’t know what he’s doing.”
Alan, tirelessly producing medicine day and night.
It all started after he met Victoria.
Honestly, at first, Sienna wanted to say something. It was somewhat unpleasant to think that Victoria made decisions without consulting Sienna beforehand, even more so because she didn’t report properly afterward.
But now, after a few days had passed, the discomfort had long disappeared.
In its place was curiosity.
“What on earth is he making?”
“I don’t know either.”
“That was just me talking to myself. No need to answer.”
It was clear that he wasn’t making the usual morphine.
The raw materials were different from the start. In addition to the limestone and alum used in morphine production, various other ingredients were indiscriminately swept in: tincture, sulfur, lead. Things like that. Sensibly, it seemed like the profits from morphine were being spent entirely.
‘She must be making something. I’ll find out later.’
More important than the type was the purpose.
What on earth was she in such a hurry to make, and why produce it in such large quantities?
It was no use going directly to Alan or calling him. Even though he was crazy about dru*g production, he wouldn’t ignore the princess’s summons.
But Sienna decided to use her own wits.
Find out Alan’s intentions and gauge his reaction through him.
That, too, was one of Sienna’s important hobbies. It might be a bit strange to find enjoyment in such things, but it was true. …The downside was that it became difficult for her to find interest in anything other than Alan and his business.
‘Can’t help it. I ended up like this without realizing it.’
Sienna chuckled and started turning over her thoughts.
Fortunately, the answer came quickly.
**
Working mechanically on repetitive tasks at night, memories of a past life suddenly came to mind.
More precisely, memories of the first job she had.
It was a startup that had moved into a regulatory-free zone, aiming to sell pharmaceuticals extracted from CBD after extracting it from marijuana, and had been approved for a demonstration project.
Honestly, it was a two-year deadline company, but I had joined thinking it had potential if the related laws were revised within that period.
It wasn’t because she had ambitions to become a pioneer in marijuana legalization. It was just that, due to the fact that her identity had been exposed thanks to the scammer Choi Hee-jun, there was no suitable place to work.
‘It wasn’t bad.’
The salary was practically non-existent. Still, I had worked relatively happily.
I had hoped that I could quietly live in the countryside like that. After all, even though I had quit after the people who had lost their fortunes because of my father (I firmly believed I was the keeper of that person’s vault) came to the workplace and caused a scene.
There was a reason why I was reflecting on my dark past.
“Why have I been doing this for hours?”
I was in the midst of personally making the solvent needed for dru*g production for 55 consecutive hours.
If it had been my previous life, it would have been relatively easy to make something that could be bought for 8,000 won per liter. But the cost of purchasing the raw materials was another matter.
However, I couldn’t teach it to anyone else.
The dru*g I was producing was not that difficult to make if you poured in money and time. The technology of alchemists learned beyond the limits, like in Afghanistan or Myanmar.
But I had no intention of sharing the manufacturing process.
The idea in my head right now was possible because I could exclusively supply real dru*gs. If everyone started producing them, it would mean losing control in this field.
And there was a possibility that not only the underworld, but even the empire would gradually crumble. It was not a chaos that could be handled with administrative power of the 17th century. And in the midst of that, my value would also plummet rapidly.
“I’d rather suffer myself.”
Continuing the labor for a few more hours while thinking like this.
It was me who finally took a break and came out of the manufacturing room, just before the final process.
For some reason, the majority shareholder of Eunbal was sitting outside the manufacturing room. There were no servants in ordinary clothes.
“When did you arrive?”
Siena stared at me intently.
This situation was similar to when I first made morphine.
But there was a difference. Siena was covering her small face with a mask. She must know what smell comes when making dru*gs. The busy low-level employees who were busy cutting op*ium didn’t recognize Siena.
“Mr. Allen, can we have a brief conversation?”
When she said this, I discreetly followed Siena.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve never explained the specific plan to her.’
All of Maydoff Pharmaceuticals’ business decisions were made by me alone.
But in order to please the shareholders, I always explained in detail. It was the price I had to pay, manipulating the courtiers and borrowing Siena’s influence.
As soon as Siena took off her mask when she came out onto the open balcony, she asked me a strange question. She didn’t have an angry expression, but instead, she threw a peculiar question at me.
“Allen. Do you need money by any chance?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Looking at the amount of materials you bought this time, it seems like you might not have enough money even with the money you earned. Instead of giving me dividends, I think you might need additional investment. Don’t misunderstand, I’m not being sarcastic.”
It wasn’t sarcasm. But she didn’t seem to be protesting against using money recklessly either. Siena’s interest in the dru*g business wasn’t just because of immediate dividends.
Instead of making excuses, I decided to respond to Siena.
“It seems like you have a guess. I’ll listen before apologizing.”
“It seems like you’re sure about making a stronger dru*g. The main ingredient will probably be op*ium again.”
“That’s right.”
“And… it doesn’t seem like it’s being distributed in the Empire. Even with morphine, it’s only supplied to the military due to the side effects, right? Who would be able to handle something stronger than morphine? If it’s more toxic than morphine, it could really kill people.”
“That’s also true.”
“In the end, you’re trying to sell it to people who won’t mind dying or getting hurt, right? They might not even be human.”
In the end, she figured it all out by herself.
Considering Siena’s persistence, it was nothing. When she once said, “I think I know what the op*ium society is used for,” I was also taken aback. It seemed like she would eventually make morphine herself.
“You didn’t just bring in Victoria for no reason, did you? The situation is getting bigger than I thought.”
Siena’s comment came after a long time.
There was a subtle admiration in her gaze as she looked at me. It seemed like the words “Even so, to this extent?” were written on her face.
In Sienna’s case, she was treated as an object of awe. Yet, there was no discontent.
It was indeed a situation deserving such treatment.
“Alright then. Good work.”
Sienna, having satisfied her curiosity, disappeared with graceful steps.
I observed her retreating figure and returned to the workshop.
…
The work continued throughout the night.
By morning, the results were laid out before me.
Employees, including the Bono brothers, were packaging powder in paper, each weighing 100 grams.
It was heroin.