Chapter 16 : Chapter 16
Chapter 16.
That very night, Sylvia began to take action.
She first sent a detailed report to the royal capital through official channels, clearly documenting the entire sequence of the attack, especially the enormous destruction caused by the battle.
Afterward, she announced that three days later an inauguration ceremony would be held at the Duke’s residence in Winter City, inviting all the Northern Territory nobles to attend.
Once the order was issued, the adjutant outside the door immediately went to carry it out.
In the darkness of the night, dozens of black shadows slipped out from every corner of the Duke’s residence and melted into the shadows of Winter City.
The Shadow Guard had already begun their operation.
Their targets were the ten families listed by Logaris West.
Sylvia’s command to the captain of the Shadow Guard was brief and direct.
“First investigate their connection to the train attack.”
“If you cannot find anything, then investigate their taxes, territorial disputes, and old unresolved cases.”
“I do not believe these people have clean foundations.”
The captain of the Shadow Guard bowed, then disappeared.
…
Early the next morning, the command center of Winter City was quiet.
Chief of Staff Victor stood in front of the wall-sized map, holding a military briefing in his hand.
His expression did not look good.
“Your Highness the Princess, the main force of the Northern Legion is currently on the northeastern front line, confronting the orc legions of the Demi-Human Empire.”
“The two sides have been in a stalemate for more than half a year.”
Sylvia sat at the table, lightly tapping the surface with her fingers.
“What about the troop comparison?”
“We have twenty thousand soldiers here, while they have roughly fifteen thousand.”
Victor paused for a moment.
“But the orcs have stronger individual combat ability, so we can only barely hold them off with defensive fortifications.”
Logaris sat nearby, flipping through a thick ledger.
It was the financial report of the Northern Territory.
With every page he turned, his brows furrowed even tighter.
“There is something even worse,” Victor continued.
“The legion’s military budget for this year is only five hundred thousand Golden Lion Coins.”
Sylvia’s tapping fingers stopped.
Five hundred thousand Golden Lion Coins?
When she was still in the royal capital, the annual funding her father granted to the Second Prince’s personal guard legion was three million.
The Northern Legion guarded an entire border line, yet its funding was not even a fraction of that.
“It probably cannot even cover basic maintenance.”
Sylvia looked at the ledger.
“Soldiers’ wages, rations, weapon wear and tear… five hundred thousand Golden Lion Coins?”
“How did you even survive, eating dirt?”
Victor gave a bitter smile.
“His Grace the Grand Duke had been subsidizing the military budget with his own private assets.”
“But now…”
He did not finish the sentence, but everyone present understood.
Fenrir was dying.
Sooner or later, his private wealth would be targeted by those nobles who were already watching it like hungry wolves.
“What about equipment?” Sylvia asked.
“Most soldiers are still using standard longswords and leather armor.”
“As for Magitech equipment?”
Victor shook his head.
“The entire legion has fewer than one hundred sets combined.”
Sylvia closed her eyes.
She recalled the guard unit she had brought from the royal capital.
Those elite soldiers were all equipped with Magitech Armor handcrafted by Logaris.
The gap was simply too large.
“Logaris, what is the production cost of the Thunder Mark I Magitech rifle you designed?”
Sylvia opened her eyes and asked him.
“If it is mass-produced, the material cost for one rifle is two Golden Lion Coins.”
“It is not expensive.”
Logaris thought for a moment.
“But building a production line for mass production would require at least two hundred thousand Golden Lion Coins.”
He added,
“And that is only for rifles.”
“If we want to produce Magitech Armor, even the second-generation model would cost thirty Golden Lion Coins in materials for one set.”
“Building the factory would require one million.”
“And that does not include the cost of hiring workers.”
Victor sucked in a cold breath.
For a legion of twenty thousand soldiers to fully replace their equipment, the rifles and armor alone would cost six hundred and forty thousand Golden Lion Coins.
If other equipment and maintenance costs were added…
He did not dare continue imagining it.
“Money.”
Sylvia stood up and walked to the window, looking at the snow-covered mountains outside the city.
“The root of all problems is money.”
The Northern Territory was simply too poor.
The land was barren.
Production was low.
Tax revenue was insufficient.
Even trade was pitifully scarce.
Sylvia frowned.
Suddenly, the list flashed through her mind.
At almost the exact same moment, Logaris snapped the ledger shut with a loud clap and looked up at her, pushing up his glasses.
Their gazes met in the air.
In that instant, neither of them needed to say a word.
They had already understood each other’s thoughts.
—The Northern Territory had no money.
—But certain nobles in the Northern Territory must certainly have plenty.
…
After leaving the command center, Logaris did not return to his room.
Instead, he went to the temporary laboratory.
It was a warehouse beneath the Duke’s residence.
Originally it had been filled with miscellaneous items, but he had cleared it out and filled it with various Magitech instruments and materials.
Lilith was squatting in a corner, hugging her knees and curled up into a small ball.
When she saw Logaris enter, she immediately jumped to her feet, her face filled with a bright smile.
“Master! You are here!”
“Do not call me Master.”
Logaris' expression remained indifferent.
“It sounds disgusting.”
“Yes, Professor!”
“…Forget it. Call me whatever you like.”
Logaris walked to a machine and began adjusting it.
“Come here.”
Lilith obediently walked over and stood beside him.
“Place your hand on it.”
She did as she was told.
The crystal on the instrument flickered briefly.
The light quickly dimmed, then finally went completely dark.
Logaris stared at the readings on the instrument, his brows tightly knitted.
“Your constitution can convert the surrounding Mana back into pure Aether.”
He looked up at Lilith.
“Do you know what that means?”
“…I do not.”
Logaris pushed up his glasses.
“It means your constitution might be able to cure some terminal diseases in this world.”
Lilith shuddered.
She had no idea whether that was good news or bad news.
“Relax. I will not dismantle you.”
Logaris said calmly.
“You are still useful.”
“Thank you, Professor!”
Logaris ignored her and walked to another table.
He picked up a gold bar.
It had been found inside Lilith’s storage ring.
It was the advance payment she had received for the assassination mission.
He placed the gold bar at the center of a magic circle, took out a recording crystal, and infused it with Mana.
The crystal lit up.
A phantom image of a middle-aged man appeared.
He wore an elegant mage robe and a monocle, giving him a refined and scholarly appearance.
“Logaris?”
The man in the projection smiled.
“It has been a long time, my most academically unbalanced student.”
“Professor Celes.”
Logaris nodded.
“I need a favor.”
“You are asking for help?”
Celes exaggeratedly widened his eyes.
“Has the sun started rising from the west?”
“Enough nonsense.”
Logaris transmitted the image of the gold bar to him.
“Help me trace the origin of this gold bar.”
Celes examined it carefully.
“A custom gold bar with extremely high purity.”
“It also has anti-tracking measures applied.”
He clicked his tongue.
“This is not cheap.”
“Can you trace it?”
“I can.”
Celes smiled.
“But you will owe me a favor.”
“Deal.”
“Straightforward.”
Celes waved his hand.
“Give me one week.”
The projection vanished.
Logaris put away the crystal and turned to leave.
…
Night fell.
The lights in the command center were still on.
Sylvia sat at the table with a thick stack of dossiers in front of her.
They were the investigation results brought back by the Shadow Guard.
She flipped through them one by one.
Her fingers slid across the names written on the files, and her gaze grew colder and colder.
Tax evasion.
Embezzlement of public assets.
Smuggling prohibited goods.
Every dossier recorded the long list of crimes committed by those noble families.
Even more ridiculous, seven of those families were secretly selling their assets.
They were planning to flee overnight with their money immediately after the inauguration ceremony.
Sylvia closed the final dossier and looked up at the captain of the Shadow Guard beside her.
“Do you have all the evidence?”
“It is all here.”
The captain nodded.
“Secret letters and account books. Nothing is missing.”
“Very good.”
Sylvia stood up and walked to the window.
“Tell all Shadow Guard members to remain on standby.”
She said calmly.
“On the day of the inauguration ceremony, do not let a single one of them escape.”
“Yes.”
The captain withdrew.
Sylvia turned around.
Her gaze fell upon the pile of dossiers on the table.
Her grandfather had been right.
The Northern Territory had already rotted to its very roots.
Then it would have to be uprooted entirely.