Chapter 75

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 75

Chapter Title: The Marquis's Misfortunes

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After a long journey, Patrick, the eldest son of the Marquis Stefan family, finally returned home.

After that, he shut himself in his room for three whole years, agonizing over his thoughts until he finally resolved to publish his autobiography.

He harbored grand dreams of sharing his various impressions and profound realizations from his distant travels abroad with high society...

To the nobles of the Kletan Empire, publishing an autobiography held tremendous significance.

It carried nearly the same weight as a noble lady making her debutante entrance into society.

That was why the Marquis Stefan spared no support for his son, who had holed up in his room without a word to anyone after returning from his trip.

"Spend whatever it takes on money—promote Patrick's autobiography aggressively!"

"We'll place ads for the young master's autobiography in every magazine and get approval from the administration to post them on the capital's bulletin boards as well!"

But as the saying goes, life doesn't always go as planned.

Before the ink on the books had even dried, thunderous news struck like a bolt from the blue.

"M-Marquis! The central bookstore in the capital is refusing to display the young master's autobiography—they're throwing a fit about it."

"What in the world for!?"

"Some manga books have come out... Because of that, the magazines are saying they'll refund the ad fees we've already paid and pull the ads!"

"Does it make any sense that there's no space in magazines dozens of pages long for even one ad about my son's autobiography!?"

"That's... yes, sir."

Even so, through the tearful efforts of the Marquis Stefan household, the autobiography did manage to sell a few copies.

Exactly as many as there were people in the marquis's household.

"Father, was the writing I did really that awful?"

"Just think of it as bad luck, Patrick. A real man grits his teeth and endures."

The Marquis Stefan desperately tried to console his disheartened son.

In truth, a thousand regrets burned in his heart, but it was probably more accurate to say he lacked the courage to challenge the manga craze that had completely conquered imperial high society...

In any case, they consoled themselves that it was just bad timing, but before they could even recover from the initial shock, they faced a new setback.

"See that glossy sheen flowing like water? These crystal silk curtains are the ace up our sleeve from the Marquis Stefan house."

"You've worked hard pushing this business forward, Your Excellency the Marquis!"

"Oh, come now. Robert, you've done all the real labor shuttling back and forth to the eastern continent. Ha ha ha!"

"It'll cause a massive stir in high society."

And yet...

Right before sales of the crystal silk curtains could begin, "blackout curtains" appeared out of nowhere, ruining everything.

Since time immemorial, nobles had never favored sunlight blazing brightly into their indoor spaces.

So how on earth had curtains that blocked out light become so popular?

No matter how much the clueless Marquis Stefan slashed prices and ramped up promotions, the silk curtains showed no signs of selling.

And so... the crystal silk curtains, prepared as their trump card, ended up gathering dust in a warehouse without ever seeing the light of day.

The blood and tears shed at that time could have easily filled one of the imperial palace ponds.

As the Marquis Stefan recalled those past events and swallowed his rage, his face darkened.

'We suffered enormous losses back then.'

And the incident from just a short while ago was like pouring salt in the wound.

"Wh-what is this? What's this on my precious curtains!?"

"Gasp, it's mold, Your Excellency! Silk is such a delicate fabric, so..."

"Mold? Mold!? Arrrgh!"

Black mold blooming on the pristine white fabric.

In a situation where it was now too iffy even to try selling them, who wouldn't harbor resentment at ending up with massive losses?

And to top it all off, there was the infamous "magic teacup" incident that delivered the final blow to his patience.

For five years, the Marquis Stefan had poured astronomical sums into developing a magic teacup that maintained the temperature of tea inside it.

He'd even groveled before those finicky folks from the Magic Tower!

...What happened afterward was all too predictable.

He'd targeted nobles as the sole customers from the start, and with the massive development costs, each teacup was priced at 5 million trees—absurdly expensive compared to the thermoses and tumblers already on the market, which went for just 10,000 or 20,000 trees apiece.

And yet their performance was so bafflingly superior that even the Marquis Stefan secretly used one of those "enemy" tumblers as his personal drinking vessel.

'I don't want to admit it, but who would dodge if someone splashed shit water right in your face?'

Thinking of how he'd nearly suffered devastating losses and failed to recover because of that damned Duke of Brail made the marquis tremble with rage even in his sleep.

'This isn't the end, Duke of Brail.'

As long as the empire's supreme figure, Crown Prince Raiden, stood firmly on his side...!

There was nothing for him to fear.

After a commotion swept through the duchy.

I received a summons from the Empress and came to the capital.

The duke, who was originally supposed to come with me, ended up having to stay behind in the territory.

After the massive blackout curtain refund fiasco, he'd been personally going around to restore order in the chaotic fief.

'I'm alone, but it'll be fine.'

Figuring there was no point in just sitting around clutching my head, I relaxed the stiff corners of my mouth while gazing at my reflection on the palace walls.

'They won't spit on a smiling face.'

In any case, after a short wait, I finally met the Empress again—and gripped the hem of my dress tightly at the unexpectedly poor atmosphere.

"Lady."

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty."

The soft smile she always wore when talking about manga or merchandise had vanished, replaced by a rigidly set mouth.

There was no overt pressure, but her changed demeanor alone let me predict this meeting would be extremely uncomfortable.

And sure enough...

Skipping even the formal greetings, the Empress revealed her displeasure outright.

"You're aware of the vicious rumors circulating throughout the empire, aren't you, Lady?"

"Yes, I am."

I nodded immediately, knowing exactly what "vicious rumors" she meant without needing specifics.

The blackout curtains, and even the tumblers.

It was about the scandals besmirching all the merchandise tied to the manga I'd released so far.

"As a devoted fan of Safety Rules of the Haunted Duke's Castle, I cannot stand by and watch it tainted by such dishonor."

"......"

"So I want you to take responsibility and uncover the truth."

At those words, I couldn't nod so easily.

We hadn't even traced the source of these rumors yet, so I couldn't make any bold promises.

Seeing my lukewarm reaction, the Empress didn't stop there and laid down the law in an even colder voice.

"If there's something wrong with products made with my gracious financial support, then whoever is responsible must answer for it."

She didn't name anyone specifically, but I knew full well she meant me.

And in that moment, I realized I'd grown too accustomed to the favorable attitude the Empress had always shown me.

'I'd forgotten for a moment that it's just a story on the page.'

The woman who had stirred up a bloodbath to make her son the crown prince.

Empress Oriana was the very one who had driven the Duke of Brail—who had lost his mother—out to his duchy without even giving him time to mourn.

In that case, I couldn't brush off this situation with a smile or a light excuse.

"I will do my utmost to uncover the truth, Your Imperial Majesty."

"You had better."

The Empress replied in a resolute tone and turned on her heel.

From that gesture, I could tell she was sincerely giving me one last chance.