Chapter 92: The Holy Sword and the Oath (8)
“…What exactly do you think you’re doing?”
The woman before him, the businesswoman, Miss Rubia, posed this question to Balzac.
Her eyes brimd with wariness as she scrutinized him.
It was a natural reaction.
If one didn’t show caution toward a man who had broken through the front gates of their mansion, destroying every security asure along the way, that would indeed be far stranger.
Rubia’s gaze, which had been carefully observing Balzac, shifted toward the curtain…
“...!”
...and was instantly painted with shock.
A royal guard knight.
Upon recognizing the symbol, she realized who Balzac was.
“Do you still not understand why I’ve co here?”
Balzac asked, studying Rubia’s deanor.
‘Her Highness the Third Princess said this woman seed to be hiding sothing important,’ he mused.
Balzac had been dispatched here to confirm that suspicion.
Alone, with no other knights accompanying him.
But that wasn’t a problem.
When it ca to force, he lacked nothing.
A Swordmaster of the Empire.
One of those monsters evaluated as capable of single-handedly facing an entire nation.
Additional forces would only prove cumberso.
He had the strength to handle everything by himself.
Of course, physical prowess aside, this particular mission seed like it would be more troubleso than most.
The Third Princess’s orders were always difficult to execute. Most of her judgnts were based on intuition rather than reasoning.
The kind of person who relied on gut feelings instead of logic.
While her intuition often had an impressive success rate, leading to considerable achievents…
...it was nothing short of frustrating for those tasked with following her orders.
This ti was no different.
A businesswoman attempting to dominate the potion industry while hiding her identity. She allegedly had sothing crucial concealed, and he was to uncover it.
No solid evidence. No convincing logic.
But ignoring the orders of royalty was unthinkable.
Having witnessed the Emperor’s power firsthand, Balzac understood better than anyone:
Defying the imperial family was tantamount to suicide.
And so, he opened his mouth to address Rubia.
“Considering the things you’ve been up to, you should have expected this kind of event to happen eventually.”
What exactly “those things” were, Balzac didn’t know.
He had only heard that her desperate attempts to conceal her identity were suspicious. Beyond that, no information had been provided.
But that didn’t matter.
This was rely a tactic to gauge her reaction.
Balzac carefully observed Rubia’s behavior.
Her expression, the changes in her pupils—every tiny response could serve as a clue to what she was hiding.
But then... sothing unusual occurred.
“I-I’m so sorry!”
Just monts ago, she had exuded a degree of dignity and composure.
Now, that was gone, replaced by a trembling woman on the verge of tears, begging for forgiveness.
“I-it wasn’t intentional! I swear, I didn’t an to evade taxes!”
Rubia hurriedly began to explain.
She had stumbled upon a potion recipe by chance.
Thinking she could turn it into a business opportunity…
“I felt guilty about selling sothing that could save lives at a high price... but if I sold it cheaply, the people already in the business might retaliate against …”
To avoid such trouble, she had chosen to keep her identity hidden.
As for the unpaid taxes, she had feared her personal information might be exposed if she complied.
...Indeed.
Her explanation made so sense.
If that was the case, her secrecy could be understood.
Her trembling could also be explained as fear of the punishnt she might face for evading taxes.
However…
“Did you think I would fall for your pitiful lies?”
Balzac glared at Rubia as he asked the question.
The killing intent exuded by one who had reached the pinnacle of Swordmastery.
Rubia’s face paled instinctively.
She trembled uncontrollably, finally collapsing helplessly to the floor.
“Lies don’t work on .”
Balzac declared this before the now terrified Rubia.
Was the threat effective?
Miss Rubia, trembling violently, confessed her sins.
“I-I’m sorry! The truth is… I evaded taxes on purpose! The Empire hasn’t done anything for , and I thought it was just too much how much money they were taking…”
Her voice wavered as tears stread down her face.
What started as quivering turned into outright sobbing. She poured out a full confession, her words rambling and frantic.
Balzac’s bluff had worked. Twice now, he had tested the woman in front of him, and this was the result.
‘...This.’
It was hard to dismiss as a lie.
Her terrified expression.
The way her fingers nervously fidgeted with a gold coin in her pocket, debating whether to offer it as a bribe.
Such crude behavior couldn’t possibly be faked by just anyone.
“Good. If you’ve realized your wrongdoing, then rectify it quickly,” Balzac declared.
He inford her that, as punishnt, 60% of her profits would be handed over to the Empire. While he didn’t have a specially crafted contract to bind her legally, that could be handled later by his subordinates.
‘Even Her Highness the Third Princess has days when her intuition misses the mark,’ Balzac thought as he prepared to leave the mansion.
…Or rather, he tried to leave.
Ding-a-ling!
The sudden sound.
Before he could exit, the chi of a magical communication device interrupted him.
****
Rubia’s face turned as pale as a sheet.
Unlike her earlier performance, this ti it was genuine.
Her mind blanked completely.
Everything had been fine just monts ago.
Even with the unexpected arrival of an Imperial Swordmaster, even when his words seed to suggest he had so idea of her connection to the Black Fangs, she had kept her composure.
After all, no matter how powerful a Swordmaster was—humans who had reached the peak of human limits—she had spent years living alongside that kind of being. If she had shown fear in front of a Swordmaster, that would have been more suspicious.
Calmly assessing the situation, she had realized the man in front of her was probing her for information.
Acting was a skill every businessperson needed, and deceiving him hadn’t been as difficult as she had anticipated.
But then…
Ding-a-ling!
That sound.
The sudden chi of the communication device shifted the entire situation.
The Imperial Swordmaster, who had been about to leave, turned back to face her.
“Shouldn’t you answer that? It seems soone’s waiting for you.”
His words cut through the air, almost mocking her hesitation.
Sweat trickled down Rubia’s back.
If it was just an ordinary call, everything would be fine.
But if by chance… even the slightest chance…
What if it was a call from the Revolutionary Army?
Or worse—what if the call was from Ian?
Everything could fall apart.
The truth about the Black Fangs might be exposed to the entire world.
“……”
Balzac stared at her with suspicious eyes.
Slowly, Miss Rubia stepped toward the communication device.
With just one press of a button, the face of the caller would appear right there in the room.
“Don’t do sothing you’ll regret,” Balzac warned, sensing sothing was off.
Rubia stood frozen, staring at the device.
What decision should she make?
She asked herself this question.
‘I’m not sure if it’s safe to take this call or not.’
If it wasn’t a ssage from the Revolutionary Army, she could probably find a way to cover it up.
Judging by the usual frequency of contact, there was only about a 20% chance this was the kind of call she shouldn’t take.
In 80% of cases, she could make it through this situation unscathed.
‘But if I don’t take the call…’
It would arouse suspicion.
Not answering would be a blatantly strange act, one that couldn’t be explained away with lies.
If the man in front of her started to genuinely suspect her and began a thorough investigation, the communication device would undoubtedly be confiscated.
And if a skilled mage were to examine it thoroughly, all the communications she’d had up until now would be exposed.
In that case, she’d have to destroy the device before it ca to that.
‘The problem is…’
What cos after.
If she not only refused to take the call but also smashed the device, the man would undoubtedly realize the truth.
Her true identity.
And then the outco would be obvious.
A mber of the Black Fangs, finally captured.
They would use every ans at their disposal to extract information about the organization.
‘…It won’t be pretty.’
Horrific torture.
Days where she’d regret being alive.
Ti was running out.
She had to make a choice.
And the rational choice was clear.
The thought of torture was unbearable.
There was no way she could endure it.
Her life was the most precious thing.
A bit of selfishness could save her from such risks.
And so, Rubia…
...hurled the communication device to the floor with all her strength.
The delicate piece of magical engineering shattered instantly into countless fragnts.
In a flash, a terrifying killing intent surged toward her, far more intense than before.
“I told you,” Balzac said, drawing his sword, “not to do sothing you’d regret.”
…Indeed.
Perhaps his words were right.
This was a foolish decision.
A choice that sacrificed all her gains.
Logically, prioritizing her safety would have been the better course.
But even knowing that…
“What else could I do? If I didn’t, I’d regret it even more,” she muttered, her voice trembling yet resolute.
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