Chapter 5 – One Step Closer (Part 8)

There was another person here who hadn’t fully recovered from fatigue.

“Is it just my feeling that it seems like they’re spending more money advertising the wedding than on the wedding itself?”

When Lorraine turned around after casually flipping through the newspaper, Philip quickly closed his mouth, having been caught yawning. Seeing the reproach in her blue eyes, Philip spoke with an aggrieved expression.

“Do you know how many schedules I’ve had to follow!”

“…If you argue like that, it will never end.”

The response came from Edwin. He folded the newspaper he was reading and placed it on the desk.

The front page of the newspaper Edwin was reading caught Lorraine’s eye.

[Asiel Dunant and Juliet Roben’s Love Story: Documenting Their Fateful Meeting]

‘Everyone knows it’s a marriage of convenience, so what’s with the fateful meeting….’

Lorraine snorted and shook her head.

It had been a week already.

Since the news of Asiel and Juliet’s wedding adorned the front page of the newspaper. Lorraine slowly counted the newspapers piled high on the desk. A total of fifteen copies.

Of these, nine were published by newspapers that were ‘officially’ certified by the royal family.

“But why did they advertise even in the yellow papers?”

Newspapers certified by the royal family were incredibly influential in the media. This was because they were proven to provide the most accurate information first.

Information was equivalent to wealth for nobles. Therefore, most nobles would scrape together capital to know the information before it appeared in the papers. And newspapers developed into massive communities based on the capital they received from such investments.

However, where there is light, there is also darkness.

As the market expanded, inaccurate and low-quality information began to pour in. The remaining six copies Lorraine brought, commonly referred to as yellow papers, were precisely that darkness.

“There must have been a reason for it.”

“It seems the money spent was worth it. The whole country is talking about the wedding.”

She recalled what happened this morning at the general store when she went to buy a newspaper.

「Please wait a moment, I’ll bring your change.」

「Take your time.」

As Lorraine nodded readily, the owner hurried inside. It felt wasteful to spend money on a shabby tabloid. Of course, she intended to charge it to expenses without hesitation.

As she browsed the newsstand, she overheard a conversation between men.

「They say Dunant’s scumbag is getting married.」

Lorraine’s gaze naturally turned to the ceiling mirror above the counter.

「Indeed. The partner is… Roben, right?」

The men’s clothes were smeared with black oil.

They must be workers from the nearby port. 

Lorraine thought while fiddling with a small candy wrapped in pink paper.

In Moses, the newspaper purchase rate among commoners was relatively high. This was one of the reasons for the emergence of yellow papers. A man with reddish-brown curly hair, who had tucked the newspaper under his arm, shrugged his shoulders and said.

「A money ghost’s daughter and a scumbag, what a match.」

「…Is Victor’s daughter still like that?」

At the question of the short man, the reddish-brown curly-haired man glanced at Lorraine standing at the counter. He hesitated for a moment before speaking.

His voice was much quieter than before.

「They say she’s still like that. Maybe… even her hands…」

It was a story she heard for the first time, but Lorraine thought it might be quite useful to her.

Just as Lorraine was trying to focus more on their conversation-.

「Ah, ma’am! Here’s your change.」

The shopkeeper appeared.

He poured the coins onto the counter and took a deep breath. Wiping the sweat on his forehead with an old cotton handkerchief, he put on the small magnifying glasses hanging on his shirt. After carefully counting the change, he handed it over.

「6 silver and… 30 bronze.」

Lorraine looked at the change he held and then smiled.

「…Thank you.」

She took the change and didn’t forget to pick up the newspaper.

The sound of the general store’s bell was unusually cheerful today.

Lorraine picked out three newspapers from the fifteen copies.

<Daily Moses>

<Moses Post>

<Moses Times>

Each had a large scale, a long history, and a significant influence on the community. Lorraine pointed to <Daily Moses> and <Moses Post> and said.

“I didn’t expect it to go this far.”

<Moses Post> was the newspaper her father subscribed to. Lorraine vowed to change the newspaper subscription as soon as she got home and slammed the newspaper down irritably.

Philip shook his head as if he were tired of it.

“…At least we got this much.”

He was holding <Moses Times>. Although it had a much deeper and longer history than the previous two, it was no longer as prestigious as it used to be.

Lorraine glanced at the front page of the newspaper he was holding.

[Negotiations for an End to the War with Fontaine Begin… Grand Duke Curtis Secretly Enters the Country…]

Philip recalled the events of the past week for this one line.

It had been a truly challenging time.

He had much to say, but it was clear his lord wouldn’t listen anyway.

***

Neil Bruce, the publisher and representative of <Moses Times>, was originally famous for being an eccentric.

That was putting it nicely.

Philip thought the word “eccentric” was a very positive and constructive word.

In reality, he was no different from a madman. He pretended to be a reckless playboy, feigning disinterest in the world, yet he understood the situation more accurately than anyone else.

Wasting talent like that.

Philip disliked that the most.

As he walked to the representative’s office, guided by a friendly employee, Philip discreetly assessed the atmosphere of the newspaper company. The sound of typewriters clattering and printing presses running was incessant.

The fact that such sounds were heard continuously despite the considerable distance meant they were very passionate about publishing articles.

At least they seem to hire good employees. Thinking that, he stood two steps away from the employee who stopped in front of the representative’s office. The employee knocked on the door.

“Sir, a guest has arrived.”

There was no response. Neil Bruce’s eccentricities were already famous, so Philip didn’t rush the employee.

It seemed wise to have left his schedule open. He thought so while fiddling with the brim of his hat.

“I’ll just go  in, let’s go in.”

The employee, seemingly accustomed to it, opened the door with a brief notice.

The first thing that greeted them was the strong smell of cigarettes. Edwin had quit smoking for several years, so Philip wasn’t particularly pleased with the smell he hadn’t encountered in a while.

Philip’s brow naturally furrowed.

At that moment, Neil, who was reading the newspaper with an indifferent face, spoke.

“Who…?”

“Pardon?”

“Who told you to open the door, George?”

He stubbed out the cigarette he was holding in the ashtray. The ashtray was already piled high with cigarette butts.

Neil folded the newspaper he was reading.

“How many times do I have to tell you that no response means I don’t want to see anyone, George?”

He deliberately stretched out George’s name. However, the employee, referred to as George, replied calmly without any sign of being intimidated.

“It’s an appointment you already approved, sir. Once the sword is drawn, you should at least cut a turnip.”

George busily moved, ignoring the representative’s fierce gaze. A seat quickly appeared in the bleak office with nowhere to sit.

George opened the window and looked back at Philip, who was standing at the entrance.

“Please have a seat.”

“Oh, yes.”

“Would you like some coffee?”

“Just a little, please.”

“You don’t need to bring it; he’ll be leaving soon.”

Neil brushed back his long dirty blonde hair irritably and sat casually on the sofa piled with papers. George looked at the stack of papers under his tailored suit – now resembling scrap paper – with a pitiful gaze.

“George.”

“Yes, yes, I’m leaving. I’m going.”

At Neil’s urging, George reluctantly left the office, suppressing his overflowing reluctance.

Clack-.

As soon as George left, Neil took out a cigarette from a case lying around and bit it. He glanced at Philip, who had slightly furrowed his brow, and offered the cigarette case.

“Would you like one?”

“…No, thank you.”

At his refusal, Neil shrugged as if he hadn’t intended to offer it in the first place and lit the cigarette he was holding.

“So.”

“Pardon?”

“Let’s get to the point.”

Taking a deep drag on the cigarette, he exhaled and continued speaking.

“Yesterday it was Roben, today it’s Duncan.”

“……”

“Aren’t you here to talk about the same thing?”

Exhaling smoke again, he smiled slyly.

“Since it’s something we all know, wouldn’t it be beneficial for both of us to get to the point?”

“……”

“Who knows? I might give extra points for that.”

Uncrossing his legs and sitting upright, Neil pulled a clean ashtray and stubbed out the shortened cigarette.

“A lone wolf pretending to be a sheep.”

That’s how Edwin evaluated Neil Bruce.

But it didn’t seem that way at all.

Philip, tilting his head, took out a small bundle of papers from the briefcase he was holding.

“Write it down.”

Neil exhaled smoke as if to say, “Do as you please.” But if he thought Philip would back down from such rudeness —

“Let’s proceed in the direction you want.”

– He was mistaken.

Philip’s voice was full of confidence.

He had years of experience dealing with his lord’s eccentricities—read as madness.