LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 23
Chapter 23: How to Take the Initiative (5)
After the duel ended, Martin returned to his office.
Naturally, Vincent and Sien followed him.
While Vincent, still laughing, found the fight amusing, Sien’s expression was not as cheerful.
As soon as they entered the office, Sien asked, “Are you okay, Martin?”
“Thanks to the potion Vincent gave me, I feel much better. You don’t need to worry, Sien.”
“I’m glad to hear that… but please, stop pushing yourself so hard. I swear, every time you do, it feels like my lifespan is shortening.”
Martin shrugged and, in a playful manner, shifted the blame. “It’s all Vincent’s fault. As my senior in both the main and branch families, he didn’t go easy on me as a fellow warrior. Of course, he didn’t use his full strength, but even the force he showed was incredibly threatening to me.”
Vincent grinned. “You’re unbelievable, young master. Thanks to me, you were able to demonstrate your skill and mastery of the Spatial Sword. Who’s really the one playing who here? If anything, wasn’t I the one dancing on your stage?”
“Well, that may be true, but the fact remains that I had to push myself because of you, Vincent.”
“I even gave you a top-tier potion for your trouble!”
“Both of you, enough.”
Squeeze.
Sien clenched her right fist and spoke in a dangerously calm tone.
Seeing this, Martin and Vincent quickly shut their mouths.
Sien had inherited Vincent’s raw physical power. She was capable of injuring even him with just her bare fists. No one wanted to become the victim of that fist.
“Ahem. So, young master, what’s your plan moving forward? Bringing me into this might not be enough to prevent the upcoming council meeting of the three families.”
“Ah, I’ve prepared something for that. Once it’s revealed, they won’t have the luxury of worrying about such meetings.”
“Oh? You’re quite prepared. Can you share what it is?”
“There was an assassination attempt while I was in the dungeon. I was the target.”
“…Is that true?”
Vincent’s face instantly hardened.
Clatter!
At the same time, the teacups around him shattered from the sheer force of his aura.
“Father, please calm down,” Sien urged.
“Hmph. I apologize,” Vincent said as he reined in his aura, though the chilling look in his eyes remained.
“I’d like to hear the full story, young master,” he continued.
“I was attacked by assassins on the first floor of the dungeon. They were rather incompetent, so I dealt with them easily.”
“Even so, the fact that a direct descendant of the Adalbert family was ambushed within our domain is a serious issue. Why didn’t you report this earlier?”
“I deemed it meaningless.”
“And why is that?”
“There’s a lack of solid evidence. If I had reported it, they would have simply used the time to destroy any traces.”
“Hmm… But isn’t it still wrong to just let it slide?”
“I have no intention of letting it slide. Once I gather solid evidence, I’ll crush them thoroughly.”
“Sounds like you have a lead.”
“I do. I’ve learned the name of the organization and its base of operations. They’re called the Blood Sword Guild, and they’re stationed at Mount Cassio near Varehein City.”
“…Impressive. Getting information from tight-lipped assassins is no small feat.”
“It wasn’t difficult. I plan to deal with them before the council meeting.”
“Before the meeting, you say… You must suspect that some of the elders or branch family heads are involved.”
“Yes, that’s what I believe for now.”
“And if it turns out they aren’t involved? You wouldn’t be able to stop the council meeting then.”
“That’s highly unlikely. But even if that were the case, it wouldn’t be an issue.”
“Oh? Do you have another plan?”
“Yes. We could initiate a financial audit of the Rustal family’s accounts.”
Both Vincent and Sien opened their mouths, then closed them again, too stunned to immediately process the implications of what Martin was saying.
“A financial audit? What do you mean by that?” Vincent asked.
“The Rustal family has been embezzling resources from dungeons for a long time, particularly mana stones. Isn’t that grounds enough to warrant an investigation?”
Vincent looked at Martin in disbelief.
But Martin’s smile remained steady.
Sien, watching the scene unfold, spoke up with genuine shock.
“Embezzling mana stones and other dungeon resources is….”
“…A crime of the highest order, both in the Altaria Empire and across the continent. It amounts to both tax evasion and the loss of national wealth.”
Among all the dungeon resources, mana stones were the most crucial. These stones, harvested from monsters, were the foundation of virtually every industry on the continent.
The wealth of nations with control over dungeon entrances was primarily derived from these resources.
Of course, dungeons offered an array of other valuable materials as well.
That’s why adventurers were required to declare everything they retrieved to officials from the Adventurer’s Guild and the imperial government after each dungeon exploration. This was to prevent tax evasion and resource embezzlement.
“The spatial manipulation abilities are highly convenient, aren’t they? Thanks to their subspace, they can easily smuggle resources elsewhere. And since it’s nearly impossible to interfere with someone else’s subspace, getting caught is highly unlikely.”
“Hmph. Why would the Rustal family risk such a dangerous act? One wrong move, and they could lose everything.”
“It’s not surprising. The Rustal family is the youngest and weakest of the five branch families. I believe they’ve been siphoning resources for a long time to close the gap.”
“So that’s what’s going on… But to initiate an audit, you’d need concrete evidence.”
“I already know where the Rustal family’s slush fund is hidden. Isn’t that enough?”
Hearing Martin speak so fluently and confidently, Vincent couldn’t help but chuckle.
He had no idea just how thoroughly Martin had prepared.
“Tch. The young master knows things even I don’t… The previous family head must have helped you quite a bit. He cared a lot about his only son.”
“I am grateful to my father for that.”
Martin responded naturally.
After all, there was no way he could claim he’d uncovered all this information on his own.
“Still, young master, you’re truly fearless. The Rustal family might be the weakest of the five branch families, but they’re still much stronger than most noble houses. Moreover, they have the support of Marquis Royce. If you act rashly, you could find yourself in real danger.”
Martin smiled confidently. “As you know, Vincent, the capital is embroiled in factional battles due to the succession struggle. The Marquis is busy supporting the Second Prince. Do you think they’ll have the time to care about what happens in the northern reaches of the Empire? I doubt it.”
Vincent couldn’t help but be impressed. He hadn’t expected Martin to have such a broad perspective.
“To think you’ve considered that far ahead.”
“That’s the basics.”
“Even so, one problem remains.”
“You mean that your support alone won’t be enough to launch the audit?”
“…You really have been working hard to become the head of the family. If you’re aware of such details. Yes, young master, as you say, my backing alone won’t be enough. We need the support of at least one more head of a branch family or one of the elders. But I don’t see any of them aligning themselves with you.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. I can ‘persuade’ one of the elders.”
“Persuade…?”
Vincent chuckled.
He had conducted a thorough investigation into Martin because he had been curious why his precious daughter, Sien, wanted to associate with someone known as powerless.
Vincent had thought he knew all there was to know about Martin. But today, he realized he had been wrong.
The only direct heir of the main family had simply been waiting for the right moment.
Waiting until his claws had grown sharp.
Martin was already a predator in every sense of the word.
“Isn’t it too risky? Involving an elder so soon could be dangerous. I still think borrowing Mateus’s strength would be safer.”
“As I mentioned earlier, I have no intention of aligning myself with the neutral factions. It would be different if they were the ones coming to me.”
“Hmm. Won’t Kalain feel disappointed? He may think you don’t trust the Gustin family despite him being here.”
“A ruler’s duty is to strictly separate public and private matters, wouldn’t you agree?”
Vincent couldn’t help but laugh again.
It wasn’t just that Martin was meticulously prepared—his mindset had also fully matured into that of a leader.
“You leave me speechless. So, all you need from me is to support the audit of the Rustal family? I could even accompany you if needed.”
“That won’t be necessary. This is my first official act as the young master, and I should handle it on my own. I can’t rely on your help, Vincent.”
“You want to focus all the attention on yourself.”
“That’s correct. However, I’d appreciate it if you could arrange a meeting with the leaders of the knight orders.”
The Adalbert family directly controlled two knight orders.
The White Dragon Knights and the Golden Dragon Knights.
The White Dragon Knights were the oldest, dating back 1,000 years to the time of the first head of the family. They were the representative force of the Adalbert family.
Their current commander, Lucas Hoffman, was a 7th Circle expert.
The Golden Dragon Knights were established when the Adalbert family took over the defense of the northern territories of the Altaria Empire.
While their history wasn’t as long as the White Dragon Knights, they had been with the family for close to 800 years.
Their commander, Philip Alofs, was also a 7th Circle expert.
Securing the loyalty of these two individuals would mean controlling over half of the Adalbert family’s military power.
“I see. So that was your plan, drawing me into this.”
“My priority is, of course, you, Vincent. But since the council meeting is fast approaching, I need to move quickly to secure others who might become my allies.”
“You’re aiming to take control of the family’s military.”
“Once I have those two on my side, no one will be able to stop me from seizing control of the family.”
“That’s true. Do as you see fit, young master.”
“Thank you.”
A chilling smile formed on Martin’s face, a look that reminded Vincent of a predator poised to strike its prey.
‘So this is the true nature of the Adalbert family’s direct bloodline,’ thought Sien, realizing once again just how much Martin had changed.
She steeled her resolve.
She, too, had to change.
It was the only way to stay by Martin’s side and move forward with him.
“Vincent, why don’t you take some rest? I’m sure you and Sien have a lot to catch up on.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
As Vincent stood up, Sien followed him out of the room.
Now alone, Martin turned his chair to face the window, gazing outside.
There were a lot of people smiling, but even more were rushing around in panic, unsure of what to do.
“You should have chosen the right side.”
There was only one thing Martin could offer traitors: death.
“Though, I’ll need to shake things up a bit before that.”
It was true that the Bitenfeld, Rustal, and Fezek families had formed an alliance.
They were merely pretending otherwise for now. Even the Gustin family wasn’t completely separate from this, though they acted differently on the surface.
However, their ultimate goal was for their own family to replace the Adalbert family as the head. But since there was only one position, it was impossible for them to stay united until the end.
The elders were the same.
Their aim was to establish their own family.
They were the type of people who would use any means necessary to achieve that goal.
“I’ll sever that fragile alliance first.”
The starting point would be the Rustal family.
Unlike the other branch families, they had a fatal weakness.
They had openly revealed their vulnerabilities, and Martin had no intention of letting them go unpunished. He would crush them and use their downfall as the stepping stone for his rise.
Swish.
Martin stood up, envisioning the joy that lay ahead.
His first step would be turning Elder Oriana into his puppet.
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