Chapter 186
Chapter 186: The Master of the Trade Route (23)
A meeting between me and Eric had been arranged.
The location was a large restaurant in Royal Luton.
It was founded by a former royal chef who had been as famous as Archduke Harris, and it was clear just from a glance that the chef had been hired as a rival, probably with Echina in mind.
The restaurant was just as grand and extravagant.
Especially when I arrived, the place the owner himself came out to guide me to was...
"Crystal Hall."
It was a VIP room as magnificent as the hall in the Grand Duke of the North’s mansion.
"You’ve arrived."
Eric, who had been sitting with the head seat empty, stood up.
Across from him sat a middle-aged man and woman who, by all appearances, were clearly high-ranking individuals.
"Welcome, Roger. I didn’t expect we’d meet again this soon."
"Indeed. Life is full of such coincidences, isn’t it?"
With narrowed eyes, I gave him a light smile and shook his hand.
Following Eric’s gesture, I was introduced to the two people seated at the table.
"If you read the newspaper often, you’ll probably recognize this man. This is Lud Sent, President of the Imperial Medical Association."
"Nice to meet you. We’ve spoken in letters before, haven’t we?"
We had a brief conversation in advance, arranged through the Saint.
Unlike his refined handwriting, he was, just as the rumors said, a silver-haired man with a sly impression.
"And this is Tilda Mandine, President of the Continental Alchemist Society."
"I’ve heard about you, Lord Roger."
The gaunt woman extended her hand with a cold expression.
True to her personality, her hand was cold as ice when we shook.
"Everyone’s busy, so let’s take a seat first."
Eric gave up his own seat for me.
Then, he calmly went and sat at the head of the table.
"……"
A brief silence settled in.
As expected, both association heads looked at me with wary eyes.
They likely knew I was close to Echina, Eric’s rival, and were still suspicious of me.
Indeed, the higher a person’s position, the trickier they were to deal with.
"May we get straight to the point, young lord?"
"Go ahead. Roger, these two say they have quite a few questions for you, the new investor."
With a leisurely gesture, the silver-haired man invited me into the conversation.
I responded by turning to the two middle-aged figures.
"Please, ask away. I’ll answer honestly."
As we got down to business, Lud’s sly gaze turned cold.
In a heavy voice, he asked me a question.
"What made you decide to invest in Anes?"
A standard and very common question.
But precisely because of that, it was a good way to gauge someone’s intentions, so I answered without hesitation.
"It smelled like money. And I don’t pass up profitable ventures."
Everything I got involved in had yielded high returns.
However, Lud wasn’t someone easy enough to be satisfied with an answer like that.
"The Saint occasionally seeks my advice on business matters. One day, she happened to mention Anes to me. Said it seemed like a field I might be interested in."
"……"
Everyone here knew that I was close to the Saint.
So, the reason I came to know about Anes sounded natural.
"Are you really just business partners?"
A pointed question that struck straight at the heart of the matter.
It seemed the President of the Medical Association suspected that Istina and I were in cahoots.
And the one who had probably encouraged him to ask that question was Eric, sitting at the head seat.
He was now using these two association heads to test my capacity and credibility.
"I happened to see it in the newspaper once. You two were spotted enjoying the festival together."
This was the moment I had to answer well.
I had to prove, no matter what, that the Saint and I were merely business partners.
"To be honest... at the time, I had feelings for her."
Feelings.
That romantic word, so ill-suited for such a serious business setting, made the brows of the powerful furrow.
Only Lud, the President of the Medical Association, let out a laugh, true to his straightforward personality.
"Her Grace the Saint is of such noble character and beauty that I ended up overstepping. Even the scandal during the festival was entirely my doing."
By giving a personal explanation, I deflected their suspicions.
With a sheepish look, I drank some water and shook my head.
"But she rejected me, saying she had dedicated herself to God."
"Kuhuhu...!! That’s true, the Saint is no easy woman."
Lud, who had once tried to set her up with his own son, chuckled in agreement.
"When I heard she had become a bishop, I thought I might have a chance again, but it seems I’ve still got a long way to go."
"Don’t be discouraged. Even my son was turned down by Istina."
The President of the Medical Association clicked his tongue, seemingly still stung by the memory.
"After that failed matchmaking, she became even colder toward me."
"Indeed. In my case as well, she avoids conversation unless it’s strictly business-related."
With a sigh, I reached for the bowl of nuts on the table.
All the while, Eric’s eyes were watching my every move with chilling precision.
If I so much as let a drop of cold sweat fall, or if my fingers trembled even slightly, he would immediately sense something was off.
"Even so, she continues to provide me with valuable information. Thanks to that, I’ve had the chance to meet esteemed individuals like yourselves, who shine so brightly for our nation."
Lud fell silent for a moment at my words.
Then, with a glance, he signaled that it was the alchemist association president’s turn to speak.
"Well, there’s nothing wrong with love between a man and a woman. You’re still young, after all. I understand."
Now Tilda spoke up.
"Lord Roger, did you decide to invest in Anes knowing exactly what it is?"
This time, she was bringing up the side effects issue.
She must be asking whether I could proceed with the business even after knowing that truth.
"Honestly, this is my first time investing in pharmaceuticals, so I don’t know the details. However, I firmly believe that a cure for pneumonia has finally been found."
Tilda turned her eyes toward Eric, silently asking whether she could reveal what Anes truly was.
At that, Eric gave a faint smile as if to give her permission to speak.
“Anes has side effects. The most notable is hives that appear a few months after administration. We intend to sell all of the medicine within the three-month golden window, before those side effects start to manifest.”
I raised my eyebrows at her words.
Then, wearing a slightly perplexed expression, I glanced toward Eric for a reaction.
“So there is an issue with the medicine...”
“Yes, but it’s minor. In clinical trials conducted on a thousand patients, most were completely cured within two months, with no issues beyond that.”
I nodded slowly and calmly.
Then Tilda added to the explanation with a plan she had devised.
“If we unload all the inventory we currently have within that time frame, we’ll see a return worth four times the investment.”
“After that, we’ll release a statement explaining everything, and I’ll take responsibility by stepping down from my position as president. That should settle things.”
Lud shrugged his shoulders as he spoke.
No matter how non-lethal the side effects were, for people who dealt with human lives to talk like this so openly—
It was deeply unpleasant.
“Lord Roger. Now that you’ve heard our situation, do you still wish to cooperate?”
“……”
I held my tongue for a moment.
After taking a sip of water, I adjusted my expression as if deep in thought.
“In truth, my mother also passed away from pneumonia.”
I returned Tilda’s piercing tone with a response that matched her intensity.
“I wasn’t aware you had such a story.”
“It’s not exactly a cheerful tale. But since you’ve shared something serious, I’m simply revealing my own sincerity.”
I continued speaking naturally.
“If I’d had enough money at the time, perhaps I could have helped create a medicine this great. My mother might not have died so miserably.”
I let out a long breath.
Then I closed my eyes for a moment, reminiscing about her.
Of course, I had been so young when she passed that I didn’t actually feel much sorrow.
“Since then, I made a promise to myself. That I’d earn enough money so I’d never lose someone important to me again.”
“I can assure you, the profits are guaranteed. Anes will be sold at two hundred times the production cost.”
She then handed me a confidential document.
Written inside was the production cost of the base drug, Anes—800 gold.
The actual selling price was 160,000 gold.
‘Shameless bastards.’
“Was all that effort you put in back when you were a secretary cadet just to make money?”
Eric asked as I quietly looked down at the document.
Surprisingly, he seemed to know a fair bit about my time as a candidate.
“That’s right. Or more precisely, it was to end up right here.”
A position where I could enjoy the privileges of the powerful.
Understanding the implication, Eric let out a quiet laugh.
“So you must have really coveted this seat—enough to bring down Freya and Edward.”
“Well, I had to show results of that caliber for Your Grace to summon me, didn’t I?”
I spread both arms wide, gesturing proudly to the luxurious restaurant.
Tilda showed no particular reaction, but Lud’s lips twitched slightly, as if thinking we were on the same wavelength.
"……"
However, neither of the two spoke further.
They simply looked toward Eric, the representative of this gathering, signaling with their eyes that they had gathered enough information and it was time to wrap things up.
Eric’s fierce, beast-like eyes stared straight into my face.
He ran a hand along his chin, silently enjoying the heavy atmosphere for a moment, and then finally spoke.
"Good. It seems your efforts are finally bearing fruit. I’ll approve your investment in Anes."
He had at last opened his mouth.
"Thank you, Your Grace. I won’t disappoint you."
I bowed my head and expressed my gratitude.
But through the reflection on the water glass, I could see that Eric’s expression remained cold.
"However..."
The Grand Duke tilted his head as if something still bothered him.
Then, placing a hand on my shoulder, he whispered quietly.
"You could still be weighing your options between me and Echina, couldn’t you? But I’m desperate here, you see."
"That’s not possible, sir. As I mentioned, I came here chasing wealth and honor."
Eric smirked slyly, as if he understood all too well.
"Even so, wouldn’t it be wise to have a little safeguard for each other’s sake?"
"And what kind of safeguard do you have in mind, exactly?"
Eric let out a deep sigh.
Then, from beneath the table, he pulled out something he had prepared in advance.
"If you invest in Anes, you’ll make a fortune anyway. You won’t need to hide behind Echina’s name any longer."
What he revealed was none other than a Luton Sword.
And not just any sword—it was the same model that Echina used.
"A cracked blade. If it’s wrapped in mana and swung a few times, it’ll likely break within a few strikes."
"Why are you giving this to me…?"
Before answering, Eric Luton closed his eyes gently, seemingly savoring the scene playing in his mind like a film.
Then, he slowly continued.
"Before long, the Knight Commanders and my father will visit to inspect this trade route. A special sparring match is scheduled to mark the occasion."
He picked up the Luton Sword.
And then, while casually staring at the blade, he went on.
"According to my intel, Echina will be one of the participants. That’s when you hand her this sword."
I was left speechless in disbelief.
As expected, that bastard hadn’t changed one bit.
"Can you do it?"
"It’s possible, but... Echina is Your Grace’s sister."
I probed him, out of formality.
To which he waved a hand, saying it didn’t matter.
"It’ll be fine. That girl’s nearly a Swordmaster now—would she really get hurt just because a sword breaks?"
"……"
Eric carelessly set the sword back down.
"What, is it hard because you’ve spent so much time together?"
His golden eyes bore into me.
But they felt nothing like Echina’s.
If her gaze burned with passion for her beliefs…
Eric’s were like staring into a hard, cold lump of gold.
"No, it’s not hard. I’ll take it."
I accepted the sword.
Then I returned Eric’s vile smile with one of my own.
After all, we were far too alike.