Chapter 23. Transactions come at a price2020.04.21.
The next day, as soon as I finished breakfast, I looked for Xavier.
“Jjabye!”
“Your Majesty.”
“Let’s go to the bar.” (Let’s go outside.)
“Outside? Do you want to go out to the garden?”
“Not that bar, but the office.
”
“aha. Are you trying to see an aide? I will call you.”
I firmly shook my head.
“I have to take care of it.” (I will go.)
“Is that so?”
Since I would never let myself wander around the imperial castle alone, it was more convenient to carry one on my Xavier. I arrived at the office carrying the bag I had secretly packed last night and holding Xavier’s hand. It is said to be the emperor’s office, but it was one of the few offices I’ve ever been to.
‘Actually, it’s Gustav’s office rather than my office.’
With that in mind, I knocked before entering. It is polite to knock when entering someone else’s room.
“who are you?”
“me!”
jump! Through the wide open door, I saw Gustav with a startled face. I looked at him and smiled brightly.
“Hmm, what’s going on here… No, it’s His Majesty’s office…?”
“It’s Gusutafu.” (It’s Gustav.)
Leaving the bewildered Gustav behind, I looked back at Xavier.
“Jjabye. Let’s go with me.” (Xavier. Bring me a doll.)
“Yes? What kind of doll is it?”
“Hey, no rabbit.”
At that moment, I remembered the fact that I didn’t have a puppy doll, so I hurriedly corrected it. Xavier, tilting his head, nodded to Gustav and disappeared to get the doll.
‘I dealt with one guy for now.’
I looked up at the one remaining thing to deal with. Gustav sat down in front of me, eye level with me.
“Should I tell the ladies-in-waiting to bring ice cream?”
“Ascuim! …ah no.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head excitedly. I almost fell for the ice cream. It’s not an opportunity that comes easily because the nanny doesn’t give me snacks, but I had to give it up with tears in my eyes.
‘Your servants owe me a lot.’
I will definitely pay off this debt. I let out a deep sigh and walked past Gustav into the office. The office was a real mess. On the floor, books of unknown use were spread out randomly, and the top of the desk in the office resembled a graveyard of papers.
“Your Majesty!”
Gustaf hurriedly followed me, probably afraid that I might touch something. Either that or not, I pretended to look around the office and went deeper.
“Exposed.” (Dirty.)
“No, this is because I am too busy with work. I am too busy to have time to clean up. I am not lazy.”
“Ah, Gugger. Gosani Marner Gusutapu.” (I know that. Gustav has a lot of trouble.)
I shook my head fiercely, answering in a half-hearted way.
‘How can I kick Gustav out of here?’
I walked around the office and looked at him. Gustav’s eyes never left mine. They don’t even know what I really want to help. It didn’t seem like it would go out in any way.
“Hehehehe~!”
I looked around for nothing, pretending not to be interested, then sat down in Gustav’s chair. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to notice anything suspicious about me until now. But could that be the case next time? I looked at the papers Gustav was processing a moment ago. top secret. And the papers of the Ministry of Finance, which are quite far from here.
‘This is it.’
I pretended not to know anything and smiled innocently as I picked up the inkwell.
“?”
Gustav’s expression, which had been tilting his head, soon turned white.
“Lungs lungs…!”
gurgle. Ink spilled over the papers without mercy. Gustav, whose face was so pale that he couldn’t be white, walked in front of me. Then he took out a handkerchief and started wiping off the ink. But do you have a chin to brush?
“Your Majesty….”
“Black water. Black!” (Black water. Black!)
“Yes, that’s ink…”
“Inku.”
As he laughed briskly with black ink smeared on his palms, Gustaf let out a deep sigh but didn’t say anything.
“What about red water?” (Is there red water?)
“Yes.”
“Wow!”
It’s hard to pretend to be a real baby. Gustaf tried to revive the papers a few times, then hung his head helplessly.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa… Stay here. I’ll bring a wet towel. Did you know?”
“yes.”
“I’ll be right back.”
Gustav left the office with ink-stained papers in his hands. Perhaps after stopping by the Treasury Department, he will come back with a wet towel.
‘I’m sorry Gustav.’
I made an apology he couldn’t hear. The reward for this colossal accident depends on what I do in the future. I acted quickly. Time was running out because I had to finish everything before Xavier or Gustaf came. First of all, I took out a piece of paper that I had written on in advance from my bag. How many papers he took away by pretending to be an adult and writing crooked letters because his hands were still immature.
‘You have to be careful. No one knows I can read and write.’
It has been four months since I had an unreadable document in front of me like a decoration at a regular meeting held at a set time every day, 5 days a week. That was enough time to learn to write. Just saying this much is enough to call him a genius, but if he writes, it must be even more chaotic. There is a high possibility that there will be typos or sentences that do not fit the context, but when I saw it, it was perfect.
“Joa.” (Good.)
I went to the emperor’s desk to the left of Gustav and brought the seal. thud! After taking a wild seal, I secretly put the documents I had written between the completed documents. It really felt like a glitch.
“Hit.”
I was proud of myself and burst into laughter. When even the seal was returned to its original place, there was no such thing as a perfect crime. It was when I finished all the work and came out of the door that was slightly open.
“Mabel.”
“omg.”
I froze at the familiar voice that came from above.
***
Esteban stared down at Mabel, who was startled. His face was frightened, as if he had done something wrong.
“Mabel.”
“Ugh…?”
“What’s going on in the office?”
Mabel, who was wiggling her fingers, staggered back. He wondered if he should catch him, but Esteban didn’t come close because he feared that Mabel, who distanced himself from him, would hate him even more.
“Can’t wait…” (It’s nothing…)
Esteban furrowed his brow at the sight of him staring at him with no place to put his big eyes.
‘…so cute.’
Standing with that small body and height is the epitome of loveliness, but he even replies every time while looking at his eyes. He struggled to resist the urge to kiss Mabel’s chubby cheek, which hadn’t yet lost its breast meat.
‘for a moment.’
Because Mabel was so cute, Esteban realized that something was wrong only belatedly.
‘Mabel isn’t such a sensitive kid.’
As far as Esteban was concerned, Mabel was a determined, straightforward, and clearly liked and disliked baby. If it was like usual, I would have left even if I yelled at him to leave. As Esteban stared at Mabel, the child pursed her small lips before opening her mouth.
“Gusudapu…”
“Gustaf?”
For a moment, I was puzzled by the aide’s name that suddenly popped out.
“I came to see you.” (I came to see you.)
“…!!”
Esteban was shocked by Mabel’s bombshell declaration.
‘okay.’
In fact, it always bothered me. I couldn’t believe it when Mabel was naturally hugged by Gustav, not herself at some point… just in case. There may have been other business. Esteban asked in a very nervous voice.
“…Why Gustav?”
“Gusudapu…? Joe.”
‘relegation. It’s a demotion.’
At Mabel’s word, Gustav’s fate fell into abyss in an instant. Mabel, who had no idea that Esteban’s mood was also falling into abyss, secretly sighed in relief at the fact that she was free from suspicious eyes.
‘I didn’t hear you.’
Just then, Xavier, who had gone on an errand for Mabel, returned.
“Meet Your Majesty the Situation.”
“Where did you go, leaving your lord alone?”
The sharp voice made Xavier tense. I could feel that the situation was not so good. If I said the wrong thing here, it would be death. No matter how much he was the nephew of his nanny, Count Lupe Alielli, there was no exception. Xavier lowered his head and opened his mouth slowly.
“That is-.”
“Hey!” (This doll!)
Mabel’s sonorous voice interrupted Xavier’s words.
‘I’ll catch a person like that.’
I felt sorry for the trembling Xavier, so I couldn’t just watch it. Mabel laughed and shouted again.
“Hi! (Doll! Meongmeong, no rabbit doll!)
I almost made a mistake in the doll category again. Mabel smiled brighter on purpose, took the doll from Xavier, and held it tightly in her arms.
‘Damn it. I have no interest in dolls.’
lol.
“Hey Joe. Thank you Jjavi.” (I like dolls. Thank you for mercy.)
“I just did what I had to do. haha.”
Mabel looked up at Esteban with a friendly smile with Xavier, as if to say, “We’re so close.” Esteban, unable to bear his anger at the smile on his face, turned a blind eye to Xavier. Still, the bad mood was still there. Mabel looked at Esteban quietly and held out the doll she was holding in her arms.
“To the Lord.” (I will give.)
“…to me?”
“yes.”
Esteban received Mabel’s doll with a bewildered face. I didn’t know if this was a dream or reality. It was the first time Mabel had given anything in the months of being ignored.
‘Mabel… gave me a doll. A favorite doll, too.’
did not spare Mabel took care of the doll that got in the way and waved her hand in a relieved mood. “Good-
bye.
”
‘I reduced one doll.’
Just like that, the dream of the statue of the father and daughter deepened. Esteban, fascinated by Mabel’s gift, forgot about his plan to demote his aide. Unfortunately or fortunately, thanks to that, Gustav was able to avoid demotion.
***
The emperor’s office a few days later. While reviewing the overdue documents, Gustav found an agenda that had already been approved and already executed. -The purchase of the southwestern log wool mine
“What is this…?”
Gustaf is confused. If it was a log wool mine, it was a worthless mine famous for producing only low-quality iron. It was also a loss to have workers, so it was just a neglected mine, but it was purchased in the name of the imperial family. who the hell
“Once I didn’t.”
I didn’t even buy one. It was as if they had just wiped out all the mines in the area. Gustav was not incompetent enough to make such a stupid mistake. It was when I thought that someone must have intervened in the middle. A small sentence written in the corner of the document caught my eye. – High probability of magic stone burial.
“Magic Stone?!”
Isn’t it the fucking magic power source that’s been giving me headaches lately? Gustaf stared at the papers.
“It’s the first handwriting I’ve ever seen…”
The handwriting was somewhat crooked. Gustav suspected that the owner of the handwriting was left-handed.
‘It’s an amount that doesn’t even affect the imperial budget anyway.’
It was too small to be a joke, so I could just skip it. Instead, I continued to pay attention to the writing in the corner. Although it was highly likely to be false information, the magic crystal was a truly tempting lure. If you fall for these words, you will often fall into a trap. Although my life experience has told me so…
‘Let’s do it!’
Gustav’s instinct screamed. Let’s gamble! . . . A week after the start of mining, an enormous amount of magic stones were mined in an abandoned mine that only produced low-quality minerals. It was the appearance of a mine that surpassed the expected reserves of Duke Javier’s mine, which was said to have the largest magicite mine on the continent.
***
“Dudodi.
” Then, a minute vibration resonated on the soft ground that had been quiet, and the dirt-stained head lifted its head.
[Kheung. shiny stones. took it Humans.]
“Now. Gugo is tired. It’s Gomamtta Dudodi.” (That’s right. I needed that. Thank you, Mole.)
[Protect it. Promise.]
“Aratta.” (Okay.)
I nodded happily. Then the mole sniffed left and right happily, then disappeared into the ground.
“Ehh.”
As much as was gained, there was also something lost. What I offered to the mole in exchange for information was to freely explore the ground in the fourth garden of the imperial castle. The fourth garden has already been banned from entering the gardener and everyone else. Flowers and trees will all be ruined, but…
‘It’s cheap if you pay this much.’
He clenched his chin and grinned. The long-awaited day for the regular meeting to be held three days later is coming, as expected.
