Chapter 93
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A villainess locked away in a desolate tower—I had possessed her body. Chapter 93 ―Imperial Capital, Stefan Marquis House.
"Kekeke... Kahahaha!"
Stefan Marquis was in an exceptionally good mood today. Why, you ask? First, because the sales revenue from the 'silk curtains'—merchandise tied to the newly published manga—was astronomical. Second, because all the efforts he'd made to sabotage Blaire Grand Duke's business ventures were finally coming to fruition! Thanks to all of this, he was so satisfied he could skip dinner entirely.
"Just how much is all this...."
With his thick hands caressing the ledger, he slowly began turning the pages. As he confirmed the sales figures that had swung into the black in an instant, tears of emotion welled up in his eyes.
"Kheuk."
Had it truly been this easy? Those pig-headed readers had begun purchasing moldy silk curtains without exception ever since the manga "Secrets of the Monster Duke" was published. The moment he slapped the marketing tagline "Silk Curtains Chosen by the Monster Duke!" on the packaging, the unsellable inventory disappeared as if by magic, selling out completely. 'Worthless garbage selling for ten times its production cost! Kheuheu!' When he combined the manga's success with the knockoff tumblers and the silk curtain sales revenue, the coffers of Stefan Marquis House—emptied by successive business failures—were refilled in the blink of an eye. 'Yes, this is how it should have been from the start.' Scanning the figures in the ledger with satisfaction, he suddenly opened his mouth.
"Listen, butler."
"Yes, sir."
"Make a reservation at the finest restaurant on Central Street. I deserve a truly exquisite dinner this evening."
"Very good, sir."
Watching the butler bow respectfully, Stefan Marquis's mood soared even higher. Once the door closed and he was alone, he sank deeper into his chair with an even more arrogant posture. Perhaps circumstances had simply been unfavorable until now, but wasn't I the sort of person best suited to ruling over others from such heights? ...he mused with such hollow thoughts. But then. Knock, knock, knock. Not long after, the peaceful morning was interrupted by the sound of knocking at the door. Stefan Marquis, who had been leisurely sipping wine while anticipating the events to come, fixed his gaze toward the direction of the door.
"Sir, Robert Count has arrived. He says it's urgent."
"...Robert Count? Kkeuk! He's not usually so discourteous... Kheum kheum."
Though his brow furrowed briefly at such rudeness in arriving unannounced, Stefan Marquis—recalling that his mood had been excellent just moments before—opened his mouth with an indifferent expression.
"Show him in."
"Yes, sir."
Mere seconds later, the gaunt Robert Count came rushing in. Watching him perspire profusely despite the mild weather, Stefan Marquis's displeasure became plainly evident as he spoke.
"Robert Count, I never took you for such an inconsiderate fellow... showing up without an appointment—what's the meaning of this?"
No matter how much he'd contributed to this affair, merit was merit and propriety was propriety. Just as he was about to condescend to the man as he always did, Robert Count's voice cut him off.
"That's not the issue, Marquis! Something terrible has happened!"
"Terrible? What could possibly be terrible? I checked this morning's newspaper myself!"
Not just once, not twice, but three times over. To make a fool of Blaire Grand Duke, whom he'd long regarded as a thorn in his side, he had taken every precaution for this affair. He'd bribed the painters who once worked for Blaire Grand Duke House to make false confessions about exploitation. And he'd even spread the claim that the creators of 【Guidelines for Safety in Goedam Duchy】 were copying the story he'd fabricated. Since 【Secrets of the Monster Duke】 was being released a few days earlier, he'd calculated that people would inevitably be swept up in the public campaign about the exploited painters. And so far, everything had been proceeding smoothly without a hitch.
"Hmm, Robert...."
Stefan Marquis's eyes narrowed as he pondered. His scheme was going so well that he found himself suspicious—Robert Count might be trying to capitalize on manufactured anxiety and make a quick profit. After all, their relationship was built on greed for money rather than genuine trust, so such suspicion was only natural.
"No, no, that's not it!"
Robert Count, who had naturally read his thoughts from his expression alone, couldn't hide his aggrieved look.
"Marquis, have you seen the comic book that Blaire Grand Duke House released this time?"
"I heard it hasn't come out yet."
"I thought you'd say that, so I obtained a copy in advance. Look at this!"
Stefan Marquis, who had anticipated that Blaire Grand Duke's venture would crumble, finally frowned and accepted the comic book from Robert Count. Truth be told, he'd thought nothing of it until he turned past the first page....
"What?"
Only after turning through the second and third pages did he realize something was wrong.
"What, what? Why is this different?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying!"
Stefan Marquis, leaving behind Robert Count's exasperated voice, buried his nose in the comic book and began to concentrate intensely. But the more he read, the more certain he became.
"The, the content...."
It was completely different. Remarkably so. The Marquis's trembling face laid bare his bewilderment. 'This can't be! No, this makes no sense!' He'd heard that they'd perfectly decoded the cipher from the letter they'd stolen from Baroness Fabron, who was handling the story! Since they'd moved first to publish before the other side could do anything, it should have been Blaire Grand Duke House that panicked. If publication was delayed to revise overlapping content, the stigma of exploiting poor painters would only deepen—which would have been even better! In the end, what Stefan Marquis had aimed for was for Goedam Duchy's image to plummet completely, allowing readers to flock to the rising star, 【Secrets of the Monster Duke】. But... but!
"What in blazes is happening! Is there no solution?"
Only then, recognizing the gravity of the situation, did Stefan Marquis's gaze turn toward Robert Count.
"Well, we'll need to steer public opinion by saying they copied us but hastily made revisions...."
"Will that alone be enough? What about the next content!"
"The problem is, the next content is a major issue."
"What? What now?!"
"Our artists said the next story can't be connected at all. The comic content from Issue 1 and what we just released are completely different...."
"What?! Robert Count! How can you proceed with work without thinking about something like this?!"
Slam! Robert Count had to make a considerable effort to recover his composure as he watched Stefan Marquis strike the desk in indignation. In truth, Stefan Marquis bore ultimate responsibility for all of this, so shouldn't he also bear responsibility for unforeseen variables? But the situation had become far too grave to assign blame.
"Marquis... there's an even bigger problem."
"We're already in chaos over this, and you're telling me there's a bigger problem than this?"
The Marquis's face, flushed crimson, trembled as though it might burst at any moment. Robert Count squeezed his eyes shut. After all, something far more serious than this comic book had erupted.
"It's... the silk curtains, sir...."
"The silk curtains? Why? Those are our Trading Company's flagship product!"
Flagship they were indeed. A fire-attribute flagship. Robert Count paused to choose his words carefully before continuing in a trembling voice.
"The mold that grew on the silk curtains caused respiratory illness, and... the Respiratory Disease Patient Association has been formed."
"What? Respiratory illness from mere mold? You're not just blaming us for nothing, are you?"
Stefan Marquis huffed indignantly. Yet all the people who had purchased the silk curtains developed identical respiratory symptoms, and even the priests who had profited so handsomely from Stefan Trading Company concluded it was indeed the silk curtains responsible....
"This has become quite serious. The customers are coming to our Trading Company today for a refund protest. What should we do?"
"Tch!"
At Robert Count's report, Stefan Marquis's nostrils flared as he shot to his feet.
"I'll go myself! Do you think I haven't dealt with situations like this before?"
He had no intention whatsoever of accommodating the demands of these troublemakers calling themselves a patient association. What the Marquis didn't know was that everyone has a convincing plan—right up until they get hit.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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