Chapter 191
Chapter 191
A certain office in Royal Luton.
A man at the desk muttered in an irritated voice.
“They said hives were the only side effect during the first month of taking it…!!”
He had already sent a letter to the Northern Kingdom.
According to the report, Anes caused no side effects other than skin hives.
However, the reply from the foundation of singer Cindy had been firm.
“We will observe the patient’s condition for at least six months before making a decision.”
“Until then, Anes will not be permitted in our kingdom.”
Pneumonia patients suffered from such weak immune systems that they often endured multiple complications.
And yet, they had carelessly gone and manufactured a drug like this.
“Are you truly the so-called meritorious contributors of the great Empire?”
The fiery words of the sharp-tongued singer had been laid bare in the letter.
In response, Eric’s eyes turned murderous, just like someone who had eliminated countless political enemies before.
“How dare a mere singer...”
He was about to slam his hand down on the desk but stopped abruptly.
There was a knock from outside the office.
“Come in.”
The Northern Archduke’s son barely managed to fix his expression.
Thanks to his nature—so similar to his father’s—he quickly returned to a formal, blank face.
“Your Grace, it’s Lud.”
“It’s Tilda.”
The two association leaders entered in a line.
At the end of that line was me.
“We heard you called for us.”
“Of course I did. If you have ears, you must’ve heard it from the Emperor yourself…!!”
Eric shouted furiously, his face full of anger.
But it wasn’t the same kind of rage as Edward’s.
Though the mood was somewhat heated, he kept his composure and laid out the situation clearly.
“When the Northern Kingdom banned Anes, even the Emperor changed his stance. What in the world is going on?”
He sat at the desk in his office.
Then, pressing a hand to his forehead, he continued.
“Anes ended up making its way into the North all of a sudden. Who the hell leaked it?!”
“We checked, and it turns out our product wasn’t smuggled. The ingredient itself in Anes has been banned.”
Recently, with pneumonia and the flu spreading, many herbal studies had been conducted.
So, it wouldn’t have been surprising if Anes had been part of that research...
But with the timing being this oddly unfortunate, the eldest son’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“Someone definitely leaked our information. There’s no doubt about it…!!”
Sharp senses, I’ll give him that.
But that’s as far as it’ll go.
Your greed ends here.
Almost as if answering the thoughts in my heart, heavy footsteps echoed from the hallway.
Before long—
“Your Grace…!! There’s something urgent you must know!!”
A familiar face arrived—Tobang Arman.
He must’ve been in such a rush that he didn’t even notice me and went straight to Eric.
“What now?”
“Look at this paper…!!”
The Northern Archduke’s son snatched the newspaper.
The moment he read the bold headline—
His eyes, which had until now remained still, began to tremble ever so slightly.
“Anes, banned in the Northern Kingdom, found highly effective in treating pneumonia.”
“But early usage may cause mild rash. Imperial physician promises continued research and advises on developing improved medication.”
The paper had been published by none other than the Imperial newspaper.
Moreover, the one who gave the interview was none other than the imperial physician, Sir Mikhail.
“Sir Mikhail, any pharmaceutical company in need of research assistance—we’ll gladly offer our support.”
Even though over 30 billion gold worth of defective product had already been manufactured.
Now, countless companies would jump in to develop much more refined medicines during the period in which Anes was banned.
By then, the inventory stacked up in the factory...
Would all become worthless trash.
“How in the world did the imperial physician find out about this…? Speak. All of you.”
Eric’s icy gaze struck the head of the Lud Association.
And the man, who had remained composed until now, stammered with a clearly flustered expression.
“Ah, it seems His Majesty the Emperor gave a hint regarding Anes. That must’ve sparked Sir Mikhail’s interest...”
“……”
The Emperor had taken the lead in all of this, leaving no one else to blame.
Eric slowly lowered the hand that had been covering his forehead and let it fall to obscure his entire face.
“When is the Emperor expected to approve it…?”
“We’ll have to prove there are no side effects beyond the rash… So, at least half a year, I’d say...”
At the word ‘half a year,’ the Northern Archduke’s son slammed his desk hard.
Bang!!
“In that time, Mikhail will have handed out his advice for free, and countless new drugs will be developed…”
Eric rose from his seat.
Then he glared coldly at the two association heads and me…
“This all feels too strange.”
At last, he began to suspect an enemy from within.
“Everything was quiet until just before production began. But the moment we started stacking up inventory, it all blew up.”
And naturally, the first to fall under suspicion was me.
“As if someone had been waiting… until I sunk my investment in.”
Eric slowly walked up beside me.
Standing behind my back, he asked in a chilling voice.
“Are you sure you don’t know anything, Julius Roger?”
I could feel the killing intent emanating from him on my skin.
But I showed no change in expression.
I merely turned and looked at him calmly, responding.
“I have no idea. I don’t know what’s going on…”
“Truly?”
In most cases, a person under suspicion would react in one of two ways.
One—become enraged and deny everything.
Two—appear flustered and sympathize.
The former tends to be seen as clumsy, due to the idea that strong denial implies guilt.
But Eric was someone who knew me reasonably well.
Remaining calm here wouldn’t help. It was better to show something unexpected.
“This is absurd, Lord Eric.”
Until now, I’d only ever shown a mild demeanor.
Always answering with a formal smile and submissiveness, giving him only what he wanted—but not anymore.
“I invested all 8 billion, the entire sum for my family’s restoration, into you.”
I answered with a cold, emotionless expression, like a partner standing on equal ground.
“I’ve been under surveillance in the mansion. I gave the broken sword to Echina, just like you asked. I’ve done everything the way you wanted.”
I turned fully to face him, meeting his gaze with quiet composure.
Under the noonday sun, a shadow fell over my face.
Only my lifeless, pitch-black eyes could be seen.
“What more do you want me to prove?”
At my question, a cold silence swept through the office.
In the tense atmosphere, the two association leaders simply glanced at each other nervously.
Lud seemed about to step in and ease the mood, but he quickly shut his mouth again.
“Don’t tell me you’re trying to pin this on me just to walk away with my 8 billion?”
I didn’t stop there.
If you respond with not just firmness but some wild accusations, it pushes back even harder against your opponent.
“If you trust me so little, would you feel better if I poisoned Echina or something?”
Just like you once ordered me to.
“……”
Eric blinked at my relentless words.
He hadn’t expected me to respond this way. His lips parted slightly as he drifted into thought.
Honestly, I had nothing to say even if I were thrown out of the office right now.
But after letting out a short sigh, he quickly regained his composure.
“I got a little worked up. You’ve only ever done exactly what I asked.”
Eric tapped lightly on his office desk.
Then he began thinking again.
“My only goal is to recover the investment. We should be making other plans instead of wasting time like this.”
I steadied my breath and replied in a serious tone.
Just like in the old days, I didn’t hold back my advice.
“What do the two association heads think? Can we still hit our target profits?”
“It’ll be tough. Too much information about Anes has already spread. I expect a flood of similar products…”
“We might still profit, but probably not even half of what we aimed for.”
Eric slowly closed his eyes.
He was doing his best to calmly search for the next move… but the situation was just as frustrating.
To him, I tossed out a line, just like I used to when I was his secretary.
“There isn’t no way at all.”
The Northern Archduke’s son opened his eyes and looked at me again.
“What is it, Roger?”
Perhaps because I had staked my entire fortune as well, he seemed more interested in my opinion than before.
“The current factory can be used later to produce the improved version of the drug, once the side effects are resolved. So the real issue now is the stack of defective inventory, right?”
“That’s right. If we could just get rid of that stockpile, we could at least stop Royal Luton from drowning in debt.”
Resting my hand under my chin, I narrowed my already long eyes even further.
After a few seconds of thought, I spoke again.
“What if we sold the inventory overseas?”
At that, Lud interjected.
“But isn’t it already banned in the North?”
“There are still the southern city-states.”
In the South, countless city-states kept each other in check, maintaining a competitive balance.
Each had its own rules and culture, making international law practically nonexistent.
“There’s still no clear response to pneumonia down there, and people are dying left and right.”
“Come to think of it, since every southern city has different laws, a lot of illegal drugs get traded too.”
Tilda, the president of the Alchemists’ Association—known for her eerie demeanor—seemed to know something about it as well.
Alchemists had long sourced ingredients from the South, after all.
“In some of those city-states with unstable healthcare systems, even Anes might be considered a valuable medicine.”
When Tilda added her support to the idea, Eric began to give it serious thought.
However—
“Still, moving it overseas is risky. Right now, Anes is an illegal item that shouldn’t even exist. If we get caught trying to sell it abroad…”
“If we don’t get caught, that’s all that matters.”
I sat down heavily on the sofa without waiting for permission, as if tired of waiting.
Then I downed the tea sitting on the parlor table.
“All I want is to recover my investment.”
I set the empty teacup down.
Then I looked up at the three of them with cold eyes and said,
“I imagine I’m not the only investor who feels that way.”
A warning—others would be far less patient than I was.
At that, Lud had no choice but to bite his thick lips.
“We’ll hold off on selling it to the South for now. Let’s consider that a last resort.”
Eric signaled Tobang to leave.
Then he returned to his desk and sat down in his chair.
“You should all go for now. I’ll call you back once I’ve sorted out my thoughts.”
“Understood.”
“I hope you’re taking care of yourself, Your Grace.”
The two association heads left first.
I also rose slowly from the sofa and straightened my suit jacket.
“I’ll be waiting for good news, Lord Eric.”
“……”
Eric stared fixedly at my retreating back.
Then, after a moment, he asked a question.
“This morning… do you know why Echina hugged you?”
“I’m not sure. She just said thank you.”
Eric frowned.
She must’ve known it was a broken sword. And yet, she said thank you?
“Thank you…?”
“Yes, she mistakenly thought I gave her a broken sword on purpose to help her awaken.”
Thankfully, I hadn’t worn my suit jacket that day, so there was no recording device on me.
“You two had that much trust between you?”
“Well, I did earn hundreds of billions for her. She probably chose to see the broken sword in a positive light.”
Someone else might not have believed that excuse.
But perhaps because I had brought him so many achievements—
“That girl is too pure for her own good.”
Eric, whose mind was cluttered with countless thoughts, still seemed to believe in his sister’s knightly spirit.
Unaware that she, too, carried the blood of the Northern Archduke.
“Go on. I’ll give your suggestion serious consideration.”
“Understood.”
I quietly stepped out into the hallway.
Then, I thought:
Eric, you won’t have a choice but to accept my proposal.
Because I knew him better than anyone.
Just as he thought he knew me.
And soon, the South would become his grave.