Chapter 13: One Step | Semi-Coercive Imperialist
The final years of the Empire. A dark and decadent secret chamber.
Ssssss...
Expensive incense and unidentified drugs mingled like smoke, drifting thickly through the air. Liquor dripped between entangled naked bodies. Cackling faces gasped for breath as they exchanged filthy jokes. All throughout the space, draped in red velvet, forbidden pleasures burned hotly.
Through that sticky and disgusting air, Rodriguez walked out.
At the time, he was the owner of the chamber, and he held out a goblet inlaid with amethyst, grinning servilely. The glass held a drug of strange color.
'Young master of the great Ebenholtz family. Just one glass of this, and all the worries of the world disappear.'
Young master. That word rings clear, as if it were just last night.
This is my past.
A single day among the countless meaningless days I wasted before the regression.
The me who was a moron.
"...."
I opened my eyes. I quickly sat up.
I had a filthy dream.
Back then, Rodriguez was there. No, it wasn't just Rodriguez. Countless bastards from the Imperial Guard, who called themselves the Emperor's dogs, were there too.
The corruption and depravity of the ruling class. It was one of the many reasons for the Empire's downfall.
I swept my hair back.
"Refreshing."
The dream was unpleasant, but my body felt astonishingly refreshed. A mere thirty-minute nap had completely restored my energy.
Was this also thanks to the Mana Core?
I got up and dressed in civilian clothes. I threw on whatever clothes I could grab.
It was time to find a new residence.
***
Royal District 3, the wealthy Von Klein-Schmidt Street mansion.
There were many people there. Two members of the Imperial Guard under Rodriguez were sitting cross-legged on the living room sofa. The homeowner, Arman, was nearly wedged between them, and behind them stood six or seven subordinates.
"...Mr. Arman. You should relax your face a bit."
One of the subordinates crossed his legs and spoke. A forced smile twitched across Arman's lips.
"Just say what you came to say. You see this, right?"
They tapped the Imperial Guard emblem on their chests.
These days in the Capital, being a member of the Emperor's Imperial Guard was more powerful than social status or origin. At least, that's what they believed.
"But-"
"But, my ass. Does this bastard really want to lose his head?"
"To pay the amount you demanded-"
"Shut your mouth."
The 'nominal tax' the Imperial Guard had imposed on Arman, essentially what they demanded he cough up, was more than he could cover even if he sold off all his remaining assets at full price. But Rodriguez wasn't even allowing him to sell this mansion.
"You still don't get it. You think we're here to do some kind of business transaction? Just consider this your life insurance payment, all right?"
Knock knock.
Just then, a knock rang out. Arman flinched. One of the Imperial Guards grinned.
"Do well. Open the door."
"Yes."
The youngest approached and opened the door. On the other side stood a man. He wore a neatly pressed uniform, but his overgrown hair and lingering baby fat showed his youth.
Step. Step.
The man entered and sat down in the drawing room.
"Nice to meet you."
He only greeted the homeowner. He didn't spare a glance for the Imperial Guards beside him. He didn't even offer his name.
"...Yes. Nice to meet you."
"As I mentioned previously, I like this house. Though it's a bit run-down in places, that actually suits my taste, it means I can renovate it however I want."
"Pfft."
One of the Imperial Guards chuckled at the young man speaking so freely. The homeowner's face darkened.
Watching their reactions, the homeowner cautiously spoke.
"Actually... I'm sorry to say this, but I already made a prior agreement to someone else."
"Yes. I heard. I'll offer you double what they did."
An Imperial Guard interrupted.
"Hey. Didn't you hear there's a prior agreement?"
The man calmly looked at the Guard. Then he turned back to Arman and asked,
"Who is this person?"
"Ah, that is..."
"Well, it doesn't matter. Then I'll also pay compensation to the person you promised it to."
"What, is this brat deaf or something?"
Thud. One of the men stomped on the floor with his military boots, his face twisted into a vicious scowl.
"You should read the room."
"It's not about reading the room. I heard the news too. Isn't this property going up for auction anyway if I don't buy it? That's why I'm offering to pay double. It wouldn't be right for some random guy to snatch up a place with such a good location."
"Random guy? Is this son of a bitch for real?"
Just as the atmosphere was about to turn violent, the scheduled performance began.
"──Stop."
The front door opened, and Rodriguez made a late appearance. At that moment, the subordinates all stood in formation and saluted in unison. It was a sequence meant to intimidate.
Rodriguez sat down next to the homeowner and spoke.
"I apologize. It seems my men have been disrespectful to the young knight."
"Yes. They were indeed rude."
Rodriguez let out a small laugh.
"Pleased to meet you. I am Rodriguez, a Major of the Imperial Guard."
The man stared at him silently. He was probably surprised by his rank.
Rodriguez, pleased, continued speaking.
"As a Major of the Imperial Guard, I already negotiated with Mr. Arman, the owner of this house. There are various circumstances involved that I can't fully explain, which is why I came to you directly to ask for your understanding."
"...Is that true, Mr. Arman?"
The man asked Arman. Rodriguez glanced at the homeowner for a moment.
"...Yes."
Arman replied in a barely audible voice.
"It's true."
Rodriguez bowed his head, suppressing a smile. Instead, he pulled out a cigar from his inner pocket and placed it in his mouth.
"Hmm. I'm sorry for making you come all this way. Would you care for a smoke?"
"..."
The man looked at the homeowner. His gaze then flowed back to Rodriguez. It was as if he was dissecting his face with his eyes. Not only that, he looked at his shoes, his clothes, even his accessories.
"...You look like someone who wouldn't even have money to pay gift tax if someone gave it to you for free."
Rodriguez's brow twitched for a moment.
"You'd better watch your mouth."
The man chuckled faintly without replying. It was clearly mockery.
"Is this bastard really crazy?"
The subordinates behind Rodriguez reacted first. Rodriguez raised a hand to stop them, and the man pulled out a checkbook. He scribbled a signature and handed it to the homeowner.
"I don't care what kind of deal you made. I'm buying this house."
"Hah..."
A vein bulged on Rodriguez's temple. A hollow laugh spread across his lips. He struggled to suppress his anger, while the homeowner, Arman, looked down at the young man's check.
"What's the reason? There's nothing good about getting into a conflict with the Imperial Guard."
As Rodriguez posed the question like a threat, the homeowner's eyes slowly widened.
He had read a certain name written on the check.
"Because I liked it."
In truth, he hadn't even properly checked out the inside of the house.
It just felt like bullshit. What these bastards were doing, it was just fucking bullshit.
"I don't care what kind of promise you made with the owner. I don't give a fuck."
Bastards like Rodriguez ran wild during the Empire's final years. A country like that deserved to fall.
Edmon blamed himself for the world's destruction, but it was the Empire itself that had doomed it. The true culprits were scum like these, who rotted the Empire from within.
"My, my."
Rodriguez, still trying to act composed, put down his cigar.
"For a young man, how pitiful-"
"...Maximilian Albrecht von Ebenholtz?"
A voice called out a name, cutting through the room. It was the homeowner. He stared at the check with trembling eyes, while Rodriguez's expression turned cold and stiff.
The man, Maximilian, looked into his opponent's eyes again.
"I'm buying this house. So-"
Tap. Tap.
He tapped the table with his fingers a couple of times, as if shooing away a dog.
"Know your place and get the hell out."
Rodriguez's face flushed with anger and humiliation. He clenched his trembling lips tightly. But he didn't go any further. He couldn't say a single word.
Because he had already heard the name Ebenholtz.
***
All the armed men exited, leaving the mansion empty.
I looked at the homeowner.
"You've taken good care of the house."
Arman's shoulders flinched. I understood. The person he now had to deal with had changed from Rodriguez to Ebenholtz. It was certainly not a better situation.
"Yes. It's a house I've lived in since my father's time, for quite a long while..."
"It's far too good a place to be filled with filth."
"Ah..."
I leaned forward and looked into his eyes as I spoke.
"Take this money and leave the Capital tonight."
Tap. I placed my finger on the check lying on the table.
"Staying here any longer won't bring anything good. Somewhere in the south, where the climate is mild, would be best. Marang should be decent."
The South had taken relatively less damage from both the winds of revolution and the Empire's tyranny.
"That's...."
"Right now."
I urged the homeowner. He swallowed dryly, then stood and bowed deeply before heading off to pack.
"...."
I watched his back for a moment, then quietly picked up my terminal. I dialed a familiar number. The call connected before it had even rung a few times.
─Yes, sir.
"Hey, Enzi."
Enzi is the finest butler.
Also the best adjutant I know.
"I need a favor."
─What kind of favor, sir?
Enzi's tone turned serious.
"You know a guy named Rodriguez, right?"
─Yes. An Imperial Guard officer who came up from the East last quarter.
Enzi was always well-versed in this kind of information.
"I had a run-in with him. Turns out he had sunk his claws into the house I was trying to buy."
─Oh dear. Were you able to complete the purchase safely?
"Yeah. I bought it. I offered the original owner double the market price."
─Yes. The master will be pleased.
There was a faint trace of amusement in Enzi's voice.
Sebestian would not see this as waste. Rather, he would be satisfied, viewing it as a moment of bold initiative.
'If you want it, take it. No matter who stands in your way, don't be concerned. You still don't understand the weight of your name. In this Empire, no one is more entitled than you.'
What I want, I take. What I want to destroy, I destroy.
That is the other side of Ebenholtz.
"But the thing is... I can already tell what those bastards are going to do."
─Yes. I would expect as much.
"The homeowner might not be pure Imperial, but still, if someone I did business with ends up in trouble, that reflects poorly on me, doesn't it?"
─Of course.
Rodriguez. Before the regression, he became an officer in the Imperial Guard. A moron who got executed by the revolutionary forces after trafficking drugs and liquor.
"Enzi, you know too, right?"
He's stupid, weak, evil, slow, and more than anything.
"These days, the Imperial Guard bastards are really overstepping their bounds."
Overstepping.
"I just can't stand that."
Letting things slide is fine.
That's what I used to delude myself into thinking before the regression. There was even a time I hung around with those Imperial Guard bastards because the knights looked down on me.
...I should have crushed them.
"Help me just this once."
I won't be asking for this kind of favor again. Enzi, after all, is ultimately my father's man.
Since I've chosen to start over, I need people of my own now.
─Yes. Understood.
"Good."
I ended the call.
Enzi is Sebestian's right hand, and the first commoner to approach the heart of Ebenholtz. He's a monster who fulfills orders by any means necessary.
All I have to do is wait.