97 – 97. Captured
I hate my sister.
My sister is more detestable than ever. If someone else had done such a thing, they would have been dead or in a state worse than death by now.
“Your Highness Siena, is the water temperature alright?”
“….”
“It’s… not the water.”
Siena soaked in the bathtub, constantly replaying what had just happened.
Sometimes she would endure the scalding water and vent her frustration, and other times she would glance at the tense-faced maid for no reason. Bathing used to be one of her few hobbies, but now it was not enjoyable at all.
It was her sister’s behavior that tormented her.
“My sister ruined everything.”
Siena didn’t want to reveal the plans related to Allen in this way.
Of course, deep down, she considered it a given fact.
She just wanted to prevent the wicked Allen from escaping with his scheming… Actually, it was strange in itself to assume a situation where he would escape, but it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared. She planned to bring up the marriage issue as cautiously as possible.
“But my sister…”
She even forgot about her pride and revealed all her inner thoughts in front of Allen.
What was even more absurd was that Victoria’s actions completely defied her expectations.
Siena thought that Victoria would “naturally” choose the in-laws. Now she wondered why she had thought that way.
She knew that her sister liked to pretend to be pure.
Victoria was particularly strict when it came to corruption that could disrupt the military’s discipline. Perhaps if she went around gossiping and pretending to be righteous, everyone would accept it.
But she didn’t expect her to do that to the in-laws…
That wasn’t the case.
She was willing to abandon the in-laws to get Allen.
‘Unnie, she’ll probably deny it’s because of Alan. She’ll likely see the Wolpohl family as a group that can threaten the imperial authority and decide to suppress them. Maybe she even deceived herself. It wouldn’t look good if she admitted to suppressing them because of a man.’
But ultimately, Victoria’s decision had to be attributed to Alan.
She might have deluded herself, thinking, “If I release the shackles of the Wolpohl name, I can have Alan.” Or perhaps she had dreams like, “Even if I lose my family, as long as I have Alan, I can become a great ruler.”
It was obvious what my sister was thinking.
But I couldn’t help but smile.
‘What’s the use of realizing it now?’
If I had known what I know now a few days ago, I could have enjoyed playing with my sister, leading her into a deep pit. Maybe I could have made her forget about marriage by attributing the corruption of the family to our relatives.
“I was too foolish.”
“Your Highness…?”
The maid’s response as she held the bathing basin.
It was something that happened frequently.
Sienna, lost in her thoughts, would suddenly utter a soliloquy, and the closest servant, whether a page or a maid, would reflexively respond. Sienna usually brushed it off, saying it was just a soliloquy and didn’t need attention.
But this time, she changed her mind.
“Where are you from?”
“I am Lady of Baron Cheomli.”
The maid answered with a tense expression. Perhaps she was worried that Sienna might feel uncomfortable and scold her.
A baron’s daughter. A mere maid.
Although the status of a direct imperial servant was far from being a lady of the imperial family, Sienna’s surroundings were generally like this. Due to rumors of Sienna frequently causing the death of palace servants, prosperous families avoided sending their daughters to her.
But now, even a maid from an ordinary family didn’t matter.
“I really like Alan.”
“Siena, have you heard…?”
“Recently, under the name of Medof Pharmaceuticals, we acquired a maternity hospital. It’s the second or third largest maternity hospital in the system, and it was a place where one mother died every day. When luck was bad, two or three. But Alan cast a spell there.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The number of people dying while giving birth decreased. Since we took over, only one person has died. We don’t know what will happen in the future, but for now, that’s how it is. But you know, if Alan sets his mind to it, he could turn into a fool looking for medicine for thousands.”
“…”
“Isn’t it amazing? He can save lives and take them. Alan can do such things without any special enthusiasm.”
“What should I say…”
The maid only fidgeted her hands as if she didn’t know what to do.
Since forcing her wouldn’t do any good, I just smiled and let it go. The maid awkwardly smiled too.
“Victoria should have dealt with it like this.”
Acknowledging the mistake.
So, I decided to be quiet for a while.
Helping Alan with Victoria’s punishment play was uncomfortable, but I decided to endure it. Because Alan said so. Alan’s opinion is important, and not offending his feelings is also very important.
But there was one thing I couldn’t compromise on.
“This is mine.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Understood.”
From Noble mtl dot com
“I can do anything as long as I have Alan.”
“Of course. I assume Alan is aware of that, Your Highness.”
The maid, now giving up halfway, answered with a somewhat resigned expression while bathing.
It was already quite an achievement not to be afraid of Siena’s words. There is only one person in the world who treats her comfortably. That’s Alan. I still want to see him, but it’s not the right time.
“First, it’s better to observe.”
However, if necessary, I was ready to take action. This time, more subtly. To avoid getting scolded by Alan.
With the emergence of competitors, I had to become a bit smarter.
**
The day after Victoria’s visit.
Now, in front of me, there was a genealogy chart of the Wolfall family.
The items I had prepared to assist Victoria’s manipulation. It seemed like a strange task, but since I had made a promise, there was no choice.
Genealogy studies were more active in the Eastern countries and their neighboring nations, but the Empire’s genealogy was also quite developed.
Even if we only considered the influential families, there were hundreds of them. Families like the Wolfall had compiled their genealogy into books. Such an impressive, deeply rooted, and influential family. It’s obvious just by looking at this.
“I can’t help but feel how vast it is.”
Within Victoria’s eighth cousin, there were nearly thirty officers serving in the military.
However, they didn’t enjoy any privileges based on their positions. They were just like any other students who graduated from the Military Academy and were commissioned. Their promotion speed was relatively ordinary. Based on this, they were not the central figures of the Empire’s military, but rather exemplary models.
However, upon closer inspection, there was something strange.
“They allocated personnel for each branch.”
Artillery, infantry, cavalry, logistics, administration, and palace guards.
There were members of the Wolfall family in every branch of the Empire’s military. It didn’t seem like a family tradition, and only relatively young officers in their 20s and 30s were serving in this manner. It must have been arranged to immediately grasp any situation that might arise within the military.
It didn’t seem easy to estimate the cost.
Should they use the recent morphine leak as a pretext? If they had stolen around 10 kilograms, that alone would be sufficient grounds for manipulation. Unless the Empire’s military was incompetent, they couldn’t have missed such a leak.
Ultimately, they needed another pretext.
A pretext that could bring down the entire family.
When I think about it, there must be a way. But for now, it was difficult to come up with a plan.
It wasn’t because my intelligence suddenly dropped, but because I was worried about the future after successfully surviving the humiliation. The 1st Princess who sent away her family, the 2nd Princess who endured it for a while, and the Emperor who likely noticed the hearts of his daughters, as well as the politically savvy Empress.
How should I navigate through the existence that even the Wolfol family treats as ‘such’? Ideals kept intruding into my thoughts.
So, during that time when I was idly letting time pass for a change –
“Um, Chairman Allen.”
Bono, in charge of security at Medov Pharmaceuticals, approached me.
When I turned around, I saw a face openly displaying embarrassment. Perhaps the stress of working for the only company in the empire that deals with narcotics had caused him to lose a lot of hair.
What was even stranger was that he was offering me money. And quite a substantial amount.
“What is it?”
“I have a friend who has been close to me since academy days. He’s currently serving as a captain in the Army Special Reconnaissance Unit… Chairman Allen, you might know him to some extent. Suddenly, he came to me and asked for a job.”
“While offering money?”
“Yes. He wanted to transfer because he genuinely believes that Medov Pharmaceuticals is a promising company. He asked me to consider this money as a token of sincerity.”
100,000 dollars. It was a significant amount for a job request. Considering that a captain’s salary is around 50,000 dollars.
Bono must have been tempted by the money, but confessing like this was commendable. Perhaps he managed to resist the temptation by getting a good salary. However, there was something strange.
“You should have refused from the beginning rather than bringing it to me.”
“I declined. It seemed suspicious to spend 100,000 dollars just to request a job. Then I found out that he secretly gave this money to my father.”
“…”
“I thought it was strange, so I wanted to report to you first.”
Bono refused to take the money and instead threw it to his family. This clearly meant that he intended to accept the money no matter what.
The current captain, abandoning his officer career, resorted to a hefty sum of money to secure a position in a pharmaceutical company. And at this particular moment. It was evident that he was acting under someone’s orders, and it was obvious who that someone was without even looking.
“It must be something arranged by Walford.”
“That’s right. That friend’s fiancée is pretending to be Ian Walford’s acquaintance.”
Walford, or the followers associated with him, were suspected of infiltrating my company.
Rather than ignorantly trying to divert morphine or heroin, it seemed to be a move made for a long-term perspective. Probably not just for Bonoh’s benefit.
The intent behind this was unclear.
It could be a deliberate attempt to send me away, or perhaps, they were sensing Victoria’s feelings towards me and gradually acquiring everything around me. Of course, their intentions were not important. Since they would be gone soon anyway.
What mattered was that they were paying attention to me.
Using this, I could quickly dismantle the Walford family.
And if done well, I could gain another advantage. Planting the perception in both princesses’ minds that “I might suffer if you two fight.” It wasn’t a foolproof plan, but it was less risky than passively awaiting a crisis.