Merchant Noble is out (1/2 chapters for today)
Leo and Casablanca
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Leo was arrested.
This news spread throughout the kingdom two weeks after Louis began searching for the missing Leo. Leo was arrested by the Warden Household and was already being held in the royal capital. It was said that Casablanca and Marie were also heading to the capital.
Louis was furious. He had been tearing through Leo’s territory every day in search of him.
“Damn it! I was supposed to find Leo and solidify my position as king. The Warden Household is part of Leo and Casablanca’s faction, isn’t it? I’m the one who defeated Leo last! And yet, and yet!! The credit for this has slipped right through my fingers!” (Louis)
“Well, isn’t it fine? In any case, Leo has been captured. With this, Louis-sama can rightfully reclaim the throne both in name and reality. Now, let us return to the liberated royal capital.” (??)
The nobles surrounding the fuming Louis tried to calm him. Surprisingly, the nobles were not angry. Rather, they seemed relieved. They all thought the same thing, that it was good that a baron from the Casablanca faction found him. If one of the nobles in Louis’ faction had discovered Leo… that noble would have had all the glory for themselves. They would take the lead in the race for promotion among the other nobles. However, the one who found Leo was from a baron household in the Casablanca faction. At best, they might get promoted one rank or receive some monetary reward.
In terms of Leo’s capture, all of Louis’ faction lost together. There was no more peaceful conclusion than this. The nobles, who had been terrified that one of their peers would steal the glory, could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Casablanca has returned to the royal capital, liberated from Leo, leading the Casablanca Seven. Louis and Marie were expected to return soon as well.
“You’ve returned, Casablanca-sama.” (Sanya)
The 6th unit member, Sanya, spoke happily.
“Yes. The Mikanda region was also quite peaceful and nice, though.” (Casablanca)
Casablanca said as she entered the royal palace. She opened the door and sighed. Whether it was rioters or starving people, the palace had been thoroughly looted. From the carpets, door decorations, and even the wallpaper, everything had been stolen and ransacked.
“It’s amazing how much damage was done in just a few months.” (Casablanca)
“Most of the guards and law enforcement have been destroyed. Rather, we should be thankful it ended with just this much damage. Even though it’s the royal capital, the population has drastically decreased, so maybe there wasn’t much to loot.” (Fran)
Among the stunned Casablanca and the others, only Fran remained calm.
Arc then arrived. He had entered the palace ahead of time to drive out the squatters and prepare for Casablanca’s arrival.
“Casablanca-sama. We’ve been expecting you.” (Arc)
“Arc. Well done. I can’t believe you managed to capture Leo.” (Casablanca)
While praising Arc, Casablanca spoke with a slight hint of dissatisfaction.
“But, couldn’t you have told me? One day I woke up, and all of Tyr and the soldiers from the Mikanda region were gone. I thought you had left me behind and fled.” (Casablanca)
“The plan to capture Leo was a top-secret operation known only to a few people, including my brother and me. My apologies.” (Arc)
Since the plan was conducted in complete secrecy, even Casablanca couldn’t be informed. If the plan had leaked and reached Leo’s ears, both Arc and Yulia would undoubtedly have been killed. Of course, it wasn’t that they suspected Casablanca of being linked to Leo. But it was true that Casablanca felt as though she wasn’t trusted.
“Well, it’s over now, so it’s fine. So… where’s Leo?” (Casablanca)
Surprisingly, Casablanca smoothly changed the topic and asked somewhat awkwardly about Leo’s whereabouts.
Leo was a member of the royal family. So, he was not in the underground prison for common criminals. Instead, he was kept in a room in the royal palace. He was not in handcuffs, and except for the guards posted outside the room, he had freedom.
Arc led Casablanca to the room where Leo was held. After dismissing her worried personal guards, she entered alone. As she stepped inside, a strange face emerged from the dimness.
“…Casablanca, huh? It’s been a while. About six months, I think? I’ve been bored with nothing to do. You’ve come at just the right time.” (Leo)
The windows in Leo’s office were sealed to prevent escape, so despite it being daytime, the room was dark. Perhaps to prevent suicide, there was only one chair in the room, with nothing else in it. Leo sat in the chair placed in the center of the room.
“This is the most boring room I’ve ever been in. There’s nothing here.” (Casablanca)
“Yeah, there’s not even a chair for you.” (Leo)
Their conversation was as usual.
“Hey, guards!” (Casablanca)
Realizing there wasn’t a chair for herself, Casablanca shouted to the guards outside to bring one.
“So, what do you want?” (Leo)
“I wanted to see what kind of face you’d be making.” (Casablanca)
“Hahaha. So, how did my face look?” (Leo)
“Absolutely unchanged. You never intended to become king from the start, did you?” (Casablanca)
Without any preamble, Casablanca asked him directly.
She had ambitions for the throne, and because of that, she had been investigating the ambitions of her siblings, who might become rivals. That was why she had always been curious. Unlike Louis or herself, Leo seemed to have no desire for power. She wondered why did he start a rebellion.
“That’s not true. If I didn’t aim to become king, I wouldn’t have been able to fight against the nobles or my brother, and I wouldn’t have been able to burn down the capital.” (Leo)
“Good grief. Normally, war is used as a means to achieve some purpose such as ‘I want this land’, or ‘I want this power’. Don’t wage war just as a way to cause chaos. Thanks to you, the kingdom is in ruins.” (Casablanca)
Hearing Leo’s response, Casablanca was utterly exasperated. He was like a child saying, “I want to be king so I can eat lavish meals!”, but no, children wouldn’t have the insanity to say they wanted to be king just to wage war. Leo was far worse than a child.
“Well, you and Arc will sort it out somehow. Thanks for cleaning up after me. Future Queen.” (Leo)
“Honestly… Oh? You remembered Arc’s name. It’s rare for you to take an interest in someone’s name.” (Casablanca)
“Yeah, Arc was an interesting guy. For someone like me, who trusts nothing but my own strength, his tactic of making enemies kill each other was a real eye-opener.” (Leo)
Leo reminisced happily about his time with Arc. From what Casablanca heard, Arc was indeed quite ruthless. Though, she assumed Leo’s exaggerations and lies were mixed in. Surprisingly, Leo and Arc might have been a good match.
Leo approached Casablanca as they talked. Casablanca tensed up for a moment but then remembered that Leo was not the type to offer unnecessary resistance. Leo leaned in and whispered to Casablanca.
“I don’t know how many more times we’ll see each other, so think of this as my last words. My first and last warning from your brother.” (Leo)
Then, he lowered his voice and said.
“Be careful of Arc. He’s more like me than you think.” (Leo)
“I’m not like you at all, though.” (Casablanca)
Perhaps amused by this unexpected response, Leo smiled with satisfaction at the glaring Casablanca.
“Hahaha. You’re both self-centered, you can’t stand anyone having power besides yourselves, and you believe the world revolves around you. You hate nobles. You’re exactly the same.” (Leo)
“I’m not that bad.” (Casablanca)
Ignoring her protest, Leo continued.
“Arc’s not like you in personality. It’s something else…” (Leo)
Leo seemed frustrated as he struggled to put it into words.
“I set the kingdom on fire because I wanted to fight. As you have said earlier, my means and my goal are reversed. Arc is the same. He’s a merchant. Money is supposed to be a means to something, right? To eat a good meal, embrace a fine woman, or buy luxury goods. Money is supposed to be for those things.” (Leo)
He took a moment to catch breath.
“But for a merchant, money is made for the sake of making money. Money, which for me is a means, is a goal for him. So… his value system is different. He’s the type who would do anything for money. He’ll latch onto you like a parasite and suck you dry, leaving you a mummy.” (Leo)
“Okay, okay, I’ll take your warning.” (Casablanca)
Casablanca nodded nonchalantly and stood up. She felt a little awkward since someone who rarely spoke seriously had now given her such a sober warning.
“I’m leaving. Fran must be worried outside.” (Casablanca)
“Yeah, don’t ever come back.” (Leo)
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” (Casablanca)
As she walked to the door, Casablanca showed a smile to her brother for the first time in about 10 years.
“Goodbye, Brother Leo.” (Casablanca)
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