It was early in the morning, and Count London immediately got into the carriage. The meeting with the Golden Bank was scheduled in the same city, but 100,000 gold coins couldn’t be transported on foot.
Every time the carriage moved on bumpy ground, the carriage shook. Because the budget of the nation wasn’t that great now, the capital was as bad as a rural place.
Inside the carriage, Count London stared at the gold coins. The hard-earned money and even London’s land and heirlooms would be used to overcome the crisis of the nation. And the people who knew the truth said Count London was insane.
If he stood one step away from the reality of the nation and looked at the situation, he would be able to live comfortably regardless of being in Redford or not. The Kronos Empire was tolerant to many. If they raised their voices to betray the nation, Kronos wouldn’t even touch them.
He knew that too. Merchants were known to be good at calculating the best in things and would never step into a loss.
‘The debt with the Golden Bank is just the beginning. With this, Redford’s game will change.’
If the debt was paid, he would find the King. If he didn’t accept the choice for the sake of the nation again, he intended to overthrow the nation, even if he would be called a traitor by the people.
In the meantime, he suppressed his thoughts of rebellion as a last resort. However, a few days ago, the King’s successor, the Prince, agreed to it.
“Count London. The nation is driven to the brink. If my father’s reign is leading to the downfall of the nation, I must make a decision for Redford, as I am bound to inherit it.”
Actually, the King of Redford wasn’t like that from the start. Before falling into a gambling addiction, he was the kind of King who was strong. The people wholeheartedly respected the King, but a few years ago, something happened that broke his spirit.
The three children of the King. Among his two sons and one daughter, his eldest son died in an accident while he was practicing horseback riding, and his youngest daughter suffered from losing her brother and hung herself.
The series of accidents made him fall into despair. He drank each day and found pleasure in gambling. It was the pleasure of making money. The intense stimulation of blowing away the sadness of losing his children made him unable to escape it. For that reason, the Count didn’t want to give up on the King.
Apart from the fact that the nation would be ruined by traitors after a rebellion, it was difficult for him to accept a situation where the King would get backstabbed.
But it was now past the limit. Now that the debt is going to be settled with Dmitry’s money, Redford would have to use this opportunity to not get into any more debts and pay them back slowly.
Rebellion was complicated. Memories of his past complicated his mind. And so…
Clack.
The carriage began to rock, and the horses neighed as the carriage halted.
“Protect the carriage!”
“Attack!”
A knight shouted. The outside of the carriage seemed to be in intense chaos.
On the wide road, at a quiet time when there were still a few people coming and going, people appeared from all sides and rushed at them at once.
“Attack!”
“There are gold coins there!”
There were as many as a hundred people, and all of their eyes were shining with greed. Their shabby appearance and the weapons they were carrying were rough, and their number was what filled the vision of Count London’s men.
The soldiers hurriedly raised their shields. They went close to each other to protect one another, but they didn’t expect to get attacked right in the middle of the capital.
At last, the people rushed in. At the sight of them running with greed, the knights raised their auras and screamed,
Grrrrnnggg!
“Protect the carriage!”
“Attack!”
It was the start of the battle. As soon as the soldiers ran into the people, dozens of people screamed. It was because the people didn’t have any armor. The spears and knives of the soldiers cut through the clothes of the people at once, but the people didn’t stop running at them and trampled on the corpses.
Puak!
Arms flew, and some had their throats slashed. In the midst of blood and death, someone finally drove a knife through the heart of a soldier.
Puak!
Blood splattered, and the entire place was in chaos. The soldiers couldn’t overcome their numbers and began to die, while the London knights gritted their teeth at the sight.
Their opponents were just normal people. It was impossible for them to deal with aura swordsmen, but there were those who were taking advantage of this chaos.
Puak!
“…!?”
A knight was shocked when a thorn got stuck in his neck. It was thrown by someone, which meant that an unusual person was mixed in with the crowd, but he couldn’t do anything as he was already losing consciousness.
His body staggered. The knight, who swung his sword and slashed the enemies until the moment he collapsed, had his face splattered with blood and his entire body cut to pieces by people rushing at him from all sides.
Thud.
The death of a knight deepened their defeat, and Count London, who checked the situation outside the carriage, screamed with a pale face,
“Stop this right now! The wealth in the carriage is important in solving the problems of the nation! If you are from Redford, you must not attack us! Stop! Please just stop! If this money gets stolen in the mess, Redford has no future!”
The purpose of the opponents seemed to be the money. So Count London shouted, but no one listened. At that moment….
Puak!
The world shook. Count London slumped forward, and his eyes began to lose focus. Blood flowed from the back of his head. His senses were fading, and he couldn’t even check who attacked him.
“Check the carriage!”
“Gold! Gold coins!”
The people were screaming for joy, and Jacqueline was among them. At first, he was only a thief who wanted to attack the mansion for the sake of money, but now, he boldly attacked the Count.
“… P-Please.”
He couldn’t say anything more. He wanted them to stop, but his dying voice didn’t reach them.
Suddenly, he thought of Roman Dmitry’s words. When he said that he didn’t have to help with the meeting with the Golden Bank, Roman Dmitry handed over the box of 100,000 gold coins and said,
“Be careful. The Count made the mistake of being lenient when help was needed. It doesn’t matter what the story of the people who attacked the mansion is. The London family and the Redford Kingdom. The moment they realize that the wall isn’t so high, it wouldn’t matter what strange things happen from then on.”
His words. Despite knowing what he meant, he ignored them. At least he didn’t want to accept that the nation he was trying to save had changed.
He gasped on the cold ground. Looking at Jacqueline taking the coins, he was speechless. With his consciousness fading, Count London passed out.
This attack. It came from a piece of information that the bar owner provided.
“Jacqueline. Early tomorrow morning, I received information that London is stealing the wealth of the nation. The information is given by a servant of the London family, and it seems like it is being moved to a safe place. The meeting with Dmitry was also for that reason. It is clear that he is leaving for Dmitry and not the Kronos Empire.”
Hearing that, Jacqueline was furious. The people of Redford knew the nation was dying, but there was no way to use their hands, and Redford’s most powerful man was running away.
He couldn’t tolerate it. The money the Londons earned by destroying others had to be retrieved.
“Dirty bastard. We can no longer stand by the sides and let the nobles do whatever they want.”
During the last incident, Count London stepped back. Even though they used crude weapons, he was willing to talk and compromise, and that gave Jacqueline the confidence. So that was how he robbed the wagon.
His eyes widened at the sight of the box of gold coins.
“H-How much is this?”
“Tens of thousands! Right?”
At that moment, he felt angry. Tens of thousands of gold coins were enough for a year of sustaining lives without worry, but this man, this noble, was ready to run away with it.
He was right. Redford’s people, who suffered and made the nobles rich, didn’t like how the money was being kept from them. He headed to the square and screamed, looking at the people.
“Everyone, gather here! From now on, I will give you one gold coin stolen from the traitor Count London!”
Jacqueline. He didn’t consider himself a rebel. He thought of himself as a righteous enemy. He was an existence that brought back the stolen money to its rightful place.
People flocked to the words ‘Gold Coins’ because they hadn’t eaten properly for months, and he gave each of them gold coins—one by one.
Jacqueline smiled brightly as the coins in the box became less. Even at that moment, he believed that he was doing the right thing.
When Count London didn’t show up past 9 o’clock, a man seemed upset.
“Treasurer. I think the Golden Bank understood the circumstances of the Redford Kingdom. We believed in His Majesty’s words and lent him a large sum of money and waived part of the interest until the end, even though the interest wasn’t paid and not even the principal was paid! What do we do now? It’s already past the scheduled time, so why is Count London not showing up?”
It was a member of the Golden Bank. He was an Executive Officer. He was a man with power who could plunge Redford into the abyss with a single word, so the Treasurer spoke with caution.
“We are truly sorry. Count London is not someone who wastes the time of others. I am sure that something must have happened…”
“Please do not say such nonsense!”
Pak!
He threw the papers, making the Treasurer’s eyes go wide in shock.
The Executive Officer said,
“We are not ignorant of that man’s reputation in Redford. He has a reputation for destroying the homes of others with his cruel business skills, and he handles things for his own interests. Even so, the Golden Bank doesn’t judge people based on such things. If our relationship had been smooth, I would have believed the Treasurer’s words and waited longer. However, all this while, has Count London fulfilled his promises? He had taken on this task on behalf of Redford and delayed repaying the money, and today, when he promised to meet us here, he didn’t even show up. Trust isn’t built in an instant. Rather than you saying he had something happen to him, I think it is better to say that he has abandoned the task.”
Kiik.
He got up from his seat, as there was no reason for him to stay any longer.
“From now on, the Golden Bank will classify the Redford Kingdom as a bad debtor. We will not choose any means for the debt to be repaid, and we will formally protest this issue to the International Community as soon as possible.”
“E-Executive!”
Wheik.
The Executive Officer turned around, and his attendants followed him. The Treasurer tried to hold onto him, and it was then….
“The heir to the Dmitry Duchy, Roman Dmitry is entering.”
From the door, the voice of a servant was heard. And as the door opened wide, people’s eyes were directed to one place at the same time.
