Chapter 86: A Prepared Reversal (5)

Splash!

“Hmm…” Aubert woke up when the water was poured on his head. He was in so much pain that his body felt like it would break into pieces. He had never been beaten like this in his whole life. He was also the last person in his family to be beaten, which meant that the beating lasted the longest.

Aubert had passed out four times during the process and suffered twelve fractures. He was also forced to drink several bottles of the healing potion sold in the temple to withstand the beating.

Aubert looked around, but he could not sense anyone's presence around him, as if he were in solitary confinement.

“You’re awake.” Someone spoke, and Aubert quickly turned toward the voice to see a man whose face was shadowed by the darkness. He had a small iron cage.

“W-who are you?”

Despite the pain, Aubert’s senses were extremely sensitive. However, the man replied in a calm tone, “A guard.”

“A guard…?”

“I’m watching you while you’re confined, what else could I be if not a guard?”

“Are you a relative of the traitors?”

“No, I’m just a guard sent by the empire.”

“The empire sent you?”

“Yes.”

Aubert quickly became hopeful. “H-hey! Since you’re a public servant, I have an offer I’m sure will interest you.”

“An offer?”

“Send a letter for me, n-no! Actually, send two letters and I will give you all my hidden assets.”

Aubert did not want to lose an opportunity like this. If he didn’t convince the guard to help him, he would be trapped in this hell to rot in the cold for the rest of his life.

“Your hidden assets?”

“Yes! I can guarantee it’s an amount that no other aristocrats would dare give. If you don’t believe me, check the amount first!”

The guard thought about Aubert’s offer for some time and decided to accept it. “Alright, I’ll check the money first before sending out the letters.”

“Smart choice. I will let you know how to check the amount, but can you bring me some paper and a pen?”

“Alright.”

Aubert took the pen and paper and began to write on the floor of the cold cell.

‘I must get out of here and take revenge on that Eisen bastard…!’

It didn’t matter how he sat, his entire body was full of bruises, and he could barely see what he was writing because the room was so dark. However, Aubert was determined to get out and he completed the letter eagerly.

Once he was done writing, he handed two letters to the guard and said, “Send one to Duke Arthus and the other to Marquis Alfred.”

“Alright, let me check the money now.”

“...Alright. I own a small town called Momont where I secretly entrusted my assets to an old man named Hansen.”

“So?”

“What do you mean ‘so’? If you go there and look for Hansen, you’ll be able to check all the money I have.”

“What a joke.”

“What?”

“The news of your downfall has already spread throughout the entire empire and in such a situation, do you think the old man will just hand over your hidden assets?”

“I think you’ve misunderstood something. Hansen is not human.”

“What do you mean he’s not human?”

“Hansen was commissioned by the Magical Spire a long time ago as a sort of alchemist, so it's not possible for him to betray me.”

“If he’s an alchemist, he’ll need something like a secret code.”

“I will give the code once you bring back the responses to my letters.”

“That won’t do. If I pass on the letter of a traitor and get caught, you’re not going to take responsibility for what happens to me, right?”

“...I guess you have a point. Alright.”

Aubert was frustrated with the guard, but there was nothing he could do about it because the guard was his only hope and opportunity to get out.

“If you tell Hansen that you want to ‘drink salt water,’ he will understand and give you the treasures,” said Aubert.

“Sounds good. I will send the letter once I have them.”

The guard took Aubert’s letters and left the cell. Outside, a familiar handsome man waited.

“How’d it go?”

“It went as expected, he tried bribing me.”

“It’s said that a leopard can’t change his spots. He is still looking for a way to get out even though he was captured and brought here.”

“That’s how desperate he is. Anyway, it was wise of you to lock him up separately and not kill him.” Henry had been the guard hiding his face in the darkness.

By the time the entire Crimson family was sent to Salgaera, Henry had already heard the news and waited for them there.

“What are you holding?”

“It’s letters. He asked me to pass them to Arthus and Alfred.”

“They didn’t help him during the reporting order, does Aubert still think that they’re on his side?”

“Maybe he has a trump card or something to win them over, since he was known as a master schemer before”

“Master schemer my ass. How can a guy like that lose to Eisen?”

The handsome man was Von. He’d wanted to watch the downfall of the Crimson family, so he had gone with Henry to Salgeara.

“How are the others doing?”

“They’re all locked up in the underground prison.”

“All in one cell?”

“Yes. Just like you asked, everyone is in one cell regardless of their age or gender, but why did you want them all in one room?”

“So that they’ll be able to think together.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’ve all suddenly become traitors because of Aubert. They can’t do anything other than suffer, so they’ll need a target for their resentment. Since Aubert isn’t with them, he’ll naturally become that target.”

“How cruel of you. You’re planning to completely alienate Aubert from his own family?”

“We’re only paying back what we got. If we leave him alone for a few days and let his family think about his wrongdoings, his own family will beat him to death.”

Just because people were from the same family did not mean that they all got along. In fact, it was common for powerful families to be divided rather than harmonious. Henry intended to destroy Aubert little by little through his own family.

“What about the aura users?”

“I’ve ended them for good. It will be hard for them to pick up things, let alone use aura.”

The members of the Crimson family were intelligent, and some of them even knew how to handle aura. To avoid future trouble, they were sent to their deaths.

“Now that Eisen is in charge of Salgaera and I am in charge of its management, Salgaera belongs to us. We can finally relax and do as we please.”

“As it should be. By the way, you really are incredible. How could you think of using Salgaera as a prison?”

“It just occurred to me out of the blue. Shall we check the contents of the letter?”

The two read Alfred’s letter first.

“...This is it?”

“I think so?”

Since Aubert was in a desperate situation, they expected the letter to be full of begging, but to their surprise, the content was simple:

“Alfred, if you help me get out of Salgaera, I will give you those things of mine that you have desired for a long time.”

“Things he’s desired for a long time?”

This was probably Aubert’s only chance to avoid rotting in Salgaera for the rest of his life, but his message was only a sentence long.

“He has the guts to write something as simple as this. What does it mean?”

“It seems like Alfred wants something from Aubert.”

“Is there something that even the Three Great Families can’t get their hands on?”

“I don’t think it’s anything material. If it was something he could buy, I’m sure he would have gotten it a long time ago.”

“What could it be…?”

“I don’t think it will be easy to find out. However, we have lots of time, so let's look at the letter for Arthus.”

The letter to Arthus said this:

“If you get me out of here, duke, I will not only join you in the scheme that you proposed last time, but once again become your loyal servant.”

“What the hell does this mean?”

“Hmm… You can feel his desperation in this letter.”

“Damn them…! If they write in a way that no one else can understand, how are we supposed to know what they’re talking about?” Von became angry.

Henry rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought.

‘Marquises act as the duke's hands and feet, but Aubert has rejected Arthus’s offer. And yet, Arthus still needs Aubert, which means Aubert is irreplaceable…’?

Henry was more interested in Arthus’ business.

‘Alfred isn’t important, but we need to look into Arthus carefully.’

It wasn’t possible for Henry to send a fake reply without knowing the context. If someone as wily as Aubert had rejected Arthus’ proposal, it would certainly not be in the nation’s interest.

‘It’s possible that this can also upset the emperor.’

Henry’s goal was still to destroy the Three Great Families and see the death of the current emperor. Even if it meant some delay, he had to use tools like the emperor for as long as possible.

“Let’s put more thought into this. Shall we first look for Aubert’s hidden treasures?” said Henry.

“How much did he say he’d give you?”

“I’m not sure. He didn’t tell me the exact amount, but he said that he would give me more than what most aristocrats possessed, so I’m assuming it’s quite a large amount.”

“He’s a part of the Three Great Families, why would he need to hide his assets?”

“Probably because he has dirty money. Don’t high-ranking officials undergo periodic asset inspections?”

“Do they? I’ve never been wealthy, so I wouldn’t know.”

“Either way, thanks to him, we’ll be the ones getting the goods.”

“Is it in a dangerous place?”

“No. Aubert owns a small town called Momont and he said he hid his treasures there. I’ll go and quickly return.”

“What should we do about them?”

“As I said before, you can do as you please, I just ask that you provide them with just enough food so they don’t die, regular medical treatment, periodic beatings, and mentally ruin them.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll pay them back for what they’ve done to me.”

“I leave it up to you.”

Henry departed Salgaera, but first, he had to stop by a place before heading to Momont.