Chapter 169: Bring It Down

Bajiks Saltree had clearly planned to move at lightning speed.

The moment I became politically isolated, he intended to snatch the entire Berkal Mountain business rights for himself.

He probably didn’t care what I was extracting and selling there. Once he controlled the foothills, he would find out anyway.

But the first button was already fastened wrong.

For Bajiks Saltree’s scheme to succeed, a botched verdict was essential.

Instead, I had dug up every detail and truth.

I was even one step away from exposing the mastermind behind the whole thing.

He never dreamed Gardner would spill Morun’s statement.

That was why he had shoved that ridiculous business proposal through.

He planned to install a friendly puppet or loyalist as regent and devour the rights himself.

“What an entertaining old man.”

After sending Morun away, I headed straight for the Saltree mansion.

Now that I knew the filthy scheme, there was no reason to hesitate.

I met with Izka and explained the situation.

“S-something like that really happened?”

“It is time to fulfill the Saltree Marquis’s long-cherished wish.”

“My wish?”

“When I first arrived in the Crawford Duchy, didn’t you ask me to completely crush your family? This is that moment.”

Izka remained silent for a long time.

His mind seemed flooded with worry.

It was a natural reaction.

If the operation failed?

The justification would swing to his uncles.

Izka’s influence would weaken even further.

He might not even be treated as a puppet anymore—he might simply cease to exist in their eyes.

Though it doesn’t seem all that different right now.

He could even lose the family seal.

They would claim the head of house lacked judgment.

It was the inevitable reality when a young person seized power.

Seasoned retainers would manipulate an inexperienced lord.

Of course, that was already nearly the case here.

“Will this really be all right?”

“If the Saltree Marquis makes the decision, everything will be resolved. I’ll dance with the sword for you.”

Even with my firm assurance, Izka’s mouth stayed shut.

From one perspective, it looked bad.

It would appear as if he lacked the strength to handle his own family and had to borrow outside help.

But everything depended on interpretation.

I gave him even stronger confidence so he could decide.

“Are you worried it might look like you lack ability?”

“To be blunt… yes.”

“But do you know something?”

“Yes?”

“Connections are also ability. You are the husband of Duchess Yustia, with whom I share a close relationship. You more than qualify for my help.”

“Ah……”

Izka let out a low sigh.

At one point this man had not looked favorably on me.

He couldn’t help but view me with suspicion.

After all, I had been getting along too well with his fiancée.

But I had kept a perfect line with Duchess Yustia.

There had never been even a hint of scandal, so he had no choice but to believe me.

“All right. Then what should I do?”

“You don’t have to do anything special. Just follow me and nod your head.”

“Huh?”

Izka looked completely lost.

But mismatched timing didn’t matter.

All I had to do was go in and smash everything.

I immediately began tearing through the Saltree Marquis household.

When doing something like this, the target was obvious.

Start with the head butler who managed the lord’s mansion and warehouses.

“You know exactly how this works, right?”

—It’s not like it’s the first or second time. I’m a pro at this now.

—Falsifying ledgers is child’s play.

I tossed the seized account books to the head butler. Shugly and Feltron pounced on them like demons.

Whenever they got to crush someone, their combat power skyrocketed.

Typical behavior for fragments of demonic power, I suppose.

The half-demons checked every single item in the safes and warehouses down to the last coin.

Sure enough, the Saltree Marquis family’s finances were leaking like a sieve.

“The lord’s personal assets should always be managed by a trustworthy person. If no such talent exists, the lord must handle it personally.”

“I-I see.”

The Saltree Marquis family’s head butler position had been passed down through generations.

Naturally, the uncles’ influence far outweighed that of the young and inexperienced Izka.

“W-what is the meaning of this madness?”

When he realized everything he had done was being exposed, the head butler collapsed in shock.

Whether it was corruption or negligence, his reputation would hit rock bottom.

No lord would ever hire him again.

Once trust was lost, rebuilding it was nearly impossible.

“Effective today, you are fired. Pack your things and leave immediately.”

I handled it decisively.

The head butler’s pleading gaze turned to Izka.

But the outcome would not change.

Of course, I had no intention of simply kicking him out.

“Wait.”

“What?”

“If you reveal where the leaked funds went, I’ll reconsider. It’s possible you weren’t acting of your own free will.”

Even if he was leaving, I had to dangle at least a little bait.

I floated the idea that someone had ordered him.

Sure enough, he bit the hook hard.

“Ah! Yes, I had no choice!”

“Then we can take that into consideration. Tell me who forced you to do this unreasonable thing.”

“Isn’t it obvious? The ones with the strongest influence in the Saltree family are still the marquis’s uncles.”

“What about Bajiks Saltree?”

“He was the worst… I mean, the greediest. He tried to freely divert the family funds.”

“Give me an example.”

“Lately he wanted to use them for large-scale civil engineering projects. The terrain in the Crawford Duchy is rugged, so he said building bridges would be good. Toll revenue would be quite lucrative.”

Just as I suspected.

A crook like him had no loyalty.

Selling out others to save himself was standard procedure.

Thanks to the head butler’s statement, I now had the money trail.

Only one thing remained.

“We have testimony and evidence. All that’s left is to arrest them.”

I turned to Izka, but the head butler hurriedly spoke up.

“Th-then what happens to me?”

“The trial hasn’t even started yet. We must first prove your innocence.”

“Ah, I see.”

“I expect you to testify honestly in court as well.”

“Of course.”

The head butler spoke with a bright smile.

But I looked at him with cold eyes.

Your fate is already sealed.

He was the kind of rat who would sell out allies at any moment.

Who would ever use someone like that?

I couldn’t tell if he was sharp or completely clueless.

I then ordered the arrest of every key figure in the Saltree Marquis family.

The Crawford political world was thrown into complete chaos.

High-ranking nobles who held important official posts were swept away in an instant.

The most shocking part was that even Accounting Head Bajiks Saltree ended up behind bars.

“It’s a complete bloodbath.”

“Every single day the country flips upside down—I’m scared to death.”

The poor cheered the new jobs, while high nobles trembled in fear that sparks might fly their way.

The reaction from the lower nobles—the mid-level administrators—was different.

“With so many bureaucrats purged at once, I wonder if the National Office can even function.”

“We’ll be short-staffed for a while.”

“Does that mean… maybe I could…?”

The Crawford National Office was a tiny institution, so the number of bureaucrats had always been small.

But the massive purge had left a huge number of vacancies.

It felt like there might be openings now.

Even if someone’s ability was lacking or their reputation wasn’t great, it didn’t matter.

After all, there simply weren’t many people who were truly literate and numerate.

Yet no recruitment notice ever appeared.

“This is strange. They’re hiring tons of construction laborers and loggers, but there’s no word about bureaucratic positions?”

“Exactly. If they leave it like this, big problems will arise.”

“If they can’t handle the backlog, the entire country will fall into chaos.”

“I heard the regent’s office is handling all the work themselves. But they can’t keep that up forever.”

“Let’s wait just a little longer.”

The lower nobles refused to give up hope.

The temporary regent from the empire was rumored to possess heaven-reaching ability.

He had delivered an astonishing verdict that restored public sentiment and swept away the obstructive old powers.

Thanks to him, rumors said the Crawford Duke’s smile never left his face.

The royal family’s prestige had finally been properly restored.

“Huh? Look—that black squirrel and white bat!”

The two sacred creatures raised by the temporary regent had appeared.

Amazingly, they were going around the city pasting papers on every notice board.

“That’s it! The recruitment notice is finally up!”

“Let’s go check it right away.”

The lower nobles read the notice with eyes full of expectation.

But the content was completely different from what they had imagined.

“Construction notice?”

“The National Office will be rebuilt, so stay away from the area for the next few days?”

“What kind of nonsense is this?”

The National Office was the very foundation of the Crawford Duchy.

For hundreds of years, bureaucrats had worked there to create policies for the nation.

Even if the goal was to discipline the disobedient officials, this was too extreme.

It was enough to enrage even the lower nobles who had received no posts at all.

“Demolishing the National Office! Where in the world is there such insane talk?”

“Let’s go see the elders.”

“Right! We should protest and stop this.”

The lower nobles hurried to the National Office.

To their surprise, every single bureaucrat was already outside in nearby tents.

A quick glance showed the building itself was completely empty.

A few lower nobles approached them.

“Hello, Inspector Shelton.”

“Ah, I think I’ve seen your face before.”

“Haha! We met briefly at the Saltree Marquis’s wedding the other day. I’m Milo, third son of the Okstein family.”

“I see.”

“But what exactly is going on here?”

“You mean with the National Office?”

“Yes. The city notice boards have everyone in an uproar.”

Milo made a fuss, but Inspector Shelton looked utterly indifferent.

“It’s too early to be shocked by something so minor.”

“Huh?”

“There’ll be a good show soon. Just wait a moment.”

Shelton waved vaguely and walked off.

Milo and the other lower nobles wore expressions of genuine confusion.

But at that exact moment—

Boom! Thud!

The ground shook violently as something enormous appeared.

A body made of solid rock in the shape of a wolf.

It was the Rock Mountain Keeper that roamed beyond Berkal Mountain.

Overwhelmed by its massive size and weight, everyone’s jaws dropped.

“L-look at that!”

Someone let out a scream-like shout.

All eyes shot to the top of the Rock Mountain Keeper’s head.

Standing there was none other than the temporary regent from the empire, Abel Carrius.

He calmly scanned the surroundings, then gave the order without hesitation.

“Smash it.”

The Rock Mountain Keeper swung its front paw.

Kwoooooom!

No matter how sturdy the building, it was nothing but a pile of rubble before the giant spirit.

The lower nobles watching the miserable sight clutched their heads and screamed.

“Aaaaaagh! The National Office is collapsing!”

“The temporary regent has really gone mad!”

But their cries did not last long.

A bright yellow beam of light suddenly erupted from the basement of the National Office.

“Th-that’s…?”