Chapter 20

20. Please Share

“Was Chadwick Owens the man who organized the slave auction?”

“According to these ledgers, yes.”

Adelaide’s expression stiffened.

Something wasn’t right. Chadwick Owens would have neither the courage nor the ability to organize something this big.

Callion agreed with her.

“I don’t think Count Owens would have planned this on his own.”

“There must have been someone behind the scenes who ordered the slave auction.”

“Probably.”

The suspicion that had been lingering in her mind turned into certainty.

Soon, the tribute exchange with the kingdom would take place. In anticipation of that time, they have traveled all the way to Tiflis to hold a slave auction, and the slaves being sold happen to be from Helenia.

Someone who orchestrated this intended to pin Callion as the mastermind behind the slave auction to ruin the tribute exchange.

“Could it be Elkius?”

Callion nods at the confident guess.

“I’ve heard that Count Owens has been in and out of the palace a lot lately.”

“But Elkius disliked Count Owens, and I’ve heard…….”

It’s usually impossible to entrust someone with a job like this without establishing trust.

Adelaide was puzzled, having seen Elkius treat the Owenses poorly on several occasions.

“I was told that he began to keep the Owenses close to him after his quarrel with Earl Cornwall a few months ago.”

“Father had a quarrel with Elkius?”

It was news to her.

Even after she married Callion, her father remained loyal to Elkius.

‘I must do better,’ he said,’so that the king will make you empress as soon as possible.’

If Elkius needed money, he gave him money; if he needed weapons, he made them for him.

Her father, o seemed to have no liver or gallbladder as he was born as a lowly merchant and spoke behind his back but acted like a tongue in his mouth, had an argument with Elkius.

“They said they were talking about you. But it happened in private, so I don’t know much more than that.”

The rift must have been going on before she knew it.

If only she had been warned, both her father and she could have been spared such a horrible death…….

“Thank you for letting me know.”

“Are you sure the Earl doesn’t need any help?”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine, he’s a man of his word, and Elkius will still need my father’s money.”

With that, Adelaide went back to reading the ledger in the dim light of the fire.

There were no powerful nobles besides Chadwick Owens.

Technically, Chadwick Owens is not a powerful noble either, so it was appropriate to view him as deliberately chosen because he wouldn’t cause any trouble even if exposed.

“What do you propose to do?”

“I’m thinking of turning this list over to the kingdom of Helenia.”

“The list, the kingdom?”

“Some of the captured people want to return to the kingdom, so I’m thinking of sending them back and giving them the list.”

Before Elkius could interfere, he would explain the situation and clear up any misunderstandings with a simple and honest plan.

Adelaide’s lips opened and closed. She couldn’t say whether it was a wise decision or a foolish one.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

His tone was gentle, encouraging her to speak her mind. His eyes, drenched in alcohol, were as deep and dark as the night sky.

“……I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know if your decision is right or wrong…….”

“Who can know the future?”

“The kingdom might hold you accountable.”

“If that happens, that’s my responsibility too.”

His resolve was firm. Adelaide realized that what he needed was comfort, not advice.

“Then please share it with me.”

“No, you have nothing to do with this. So even if something goes wrong…”

“If something goes wrong, I won’t be safe either.”

“Adele.”

“Before anything goes wrong, we should try our best to prevent it.”

If she was the reason Elkius and Earl Cornwall were arguing, then Elkius was ready to abandon Adelaide. If so, she no longer needs to hide her claws.

Moreover, she owed this man a debt that she must repay with her life. Failure was not an option.

“I’ll prepare for this tribute exchange.”

“It’s not an easy task.”

“It may be inconvenient for you, but I’m a merchant’s daughter. I have a good eye for goods.”

“…….”

“I’ll ask Jensen if I don’t know something.”

Adelaide softly fluttered her eyelashes.

“Will you let me?”

‘You make it impossible to say no.’

Callion smiled bitterly.

“Don’t push yourself too much.”

“You shouldn’t push yourself either and rest.”

“I still have a lot of paperwork to check.”

“With this much alcohol in your system?”

At a loss for words, Callion rubbed his face, his unshaven, scraggly beard catching in his hands.

“Sleep tonight, and you’ll have a clear head in the morning.”

“Since you say so, I can’t help it.”

He couldn’t remember the last time he laid down in bed to sleep. Callion, who got up aimlessly, staggered as soon as he stood up.

“Your Grace!”

“Ah.”

…He seemed quite drunk.

When he was sitting down, he didn’t notice, but as soon as he stood up, the alcohol hit him. He grabbed onto the desk, trying to steady himself, and when he did, he saw her surprised face.

“You’re quite drunk.”

“It seems so.”

Callion smirked at the woman supporting me.

“You go ahead; I’ll go in when I’m sober.”

“I’ll walk you to your room.”

“I’ll be sober soon enough.”

“Don’t be stubborn.”

Adelaide grabbed his arm.

Her pretty eyes were filled with worry. It sounded like the nagging he’d heard from his grandfather.

……It was good.

“I must be heavy.”

Callion muttered, releasing his grip on the desk. He was nervous that if he fell, she would fall with him in a chain.

Adelaide took Callion to his room and opened the door. It was dark and chilly in the rarely used room.

Thinking she should have taken him to her room, Adelaide laid Callion down and covered him with a blanket.

“Get some rest, then.”

She wonders if she should leave him alone.

She hesitates, noticing he looks unusually lonely, then gets up.

“Can’t you stay a little longer?”

He grabbed her wrist.

Clank, the window rattled in the wind. Adelaide’s pupils shook along with it.

She would probably think he’s drunk.

Laughing at himself for using drunkenness as an excuse for cowardice, Callion let go.

“I was just kidding. Go get some rest.”

“…I’ll stay until you fall asleep.”

It was an unexpected yes.

Unexpectedly, he agreed.

Callion closed his eyes obediently. The touch of a hand brushing through his disheveled hair was warm. Sleep came like magic.

It was the best sleep he’d ever had.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Two days into the preparation for the tribute, Adelaide realized why Callion had said it wouldn’t be easy.

It wasn’t just a matter of being difficult; it was an impossible task, to the point where she wanted to retract her request to handle the preparations.

“Only 13,000 cels are available for immediate use?”

“I’m sorry, but yes.”

“How am I supposed to…….”

Adelaide bit her lip in frustration at the paltry amount of money available.

It wasn’t a tribute, but an exchange. If they didn’t match the standards similar to the tributes sent from the kingdom, they would be ridiculed.

Furthermore, in the position where they could be caught vulnerable by the kingdom due to the slave auction, even if they tried to appease them, it wouldn’t be enough to increase the scale of the tribute.

“It’s not easy.”

If she sold all her jewelry she had set aside as an emergency fund, it would still be less than twenty thousand cels.

She frowned and flipped through the previous year’s tribute exchange records.

“It was 60,000 cels last year, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. Last year, we had a bit more flexibility than this year….”

Jensen trailed off.

It was around this time last year that Adelaide married Callion.

“My dowry was used for the tribute.”

It was a marriage that no one welcomed, but since he was of imperial blood, a large dowry was paid.

At that time, her father’s decision was displeasing, but looking back now, I’m glad he did.

“His Grace doesn’t know.”

Jensen whispered awkwardly.

“Understood.”

If Callion had known, he would never have allowed that money to be spent.

‘The tribute from the duchy is 110,000 cels…….’

The previous year and the year before that, the size of the duchy’s tribute was around 100,000 cells.

Unlike the kingdom, the total amount of tribute from this side has been decreasing year by year.

“Five years ago, the tribute from this side was much larger.”

“Back then, we had the support of the imperial family, so it was easier to prepare.”

“Ah.”

The late emperor had entrusted Callion with the exchange of tribute in preparation for when he became emperor.

The idea was that by building relationships with people in the kingdom, it would be easier to resolve any disputes with them in the future.

“What did you do with all the tribute you received from the kingdom?”

“We sent them to the capital.”

“All of them?”

“Yes.”

Naively honest. Even if one or two were embezzled, no one would know.

Adelaide sighed at Callion’s frustratingly honest behavior.

“How much emergency fund can we draw right now?”

“About ten thousand cels, if you count all of them, but the size of the army is knights…….”

Since they had recently recruited hundreds of soldiers, they would also have to pay their salaries, so using emergency funds would only be a temporary solution.

“What about raising taxes temporarily?”

“His Grace would not allow it.”

“That’s difficult.”

Should she ask her father for help?

100,000 cellars is a large sum of money, but for Earl Cornwall, it’s an amount that can be easily negotiated. The problem is…

‘If Elkius fought with her father, he must have put him under surveillance.’

If he gets his tail stepped on, he might use it to get rid of her father.

‘Let’s leave that method as a last resort.’

Adelaide dismissed the thought and turned back to the records.

As an event between nations, there was an exhaustive list of tributes sent to and from the kingdom over the decades.

It was mostly art and jewelry, while the kingdom received cloth, medicines, and spices.

“The Emperor sent the ceramics and paintings?”

“Yes. Before the kingdom went to war, weapons were also sent, but after the war, the export of weapons was prohibited.”

“I see.”

Absentmindedly flipping through the pages while listening to Jensen’s words, Adelaide’s hand stopped.

“Sapphires?”