The Scoundrel Prince Sold Out the Empire - Chapter 69

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 69: The Beginning of Betrayal (3)
About ten days had passed since McAlister came of his own accord and volunteered to join the Liberation Army.
Winter said something unexpected.
“Your Highness, let’s move.”
“Hmm?”
Zion looked up from the documents he’d been reading.
The cover page showed a Naval Headquarters personnel roster; inside were magical circuit schematics meant for Blen Industry.
These days, Zion’s mornings typically looked like this.
“Move?”
“Surely hotel living has served its purpose well enough by now.”
“What’s the problem? It’s convenient and I like it.”
“Do you know what Seiel’s high society calls you, Your Highness?”
Winter stood across from him.
There was no urgency in his manner.
“The Inn Room Prince.”
……
“No matter how fine the top-floor suite of a hotel is, it remains someone else’s building.”
“They really call me that? Who? How dare they?”
“I confess — I just made it up a moment ago.”
This fellow?
Well, he wasn’t wrong, so I’ll let it pass this once.
‘The reason I’ve been living in a hotel this whole time is because I don’t have the money to find a mansion befitting a prince’s station.’
To be precise, if he had money to buy a house, it made more sense to invest it and use it for business capital instead.
A difference of a few coins in seed money could compound into hundreds of millions later.
“Hmm. There are quite a few mansions in Seiel that would suit a prince’s dignity, but I don’t have the money to move.”
Zion’s financial situation still wasn’t particularly comfortable.
He was running the business so tightly that there was nothing to be done about it.
True, things would change if he started smuggling gold out through warships, but that would need another month of preparation.
“Surely you’re not suggesting the Marquis Remikoning’s estate? I don’t want that one.”
The great mansions of Seiel all belonged to royalty or high nobility.
Unless they were collapsing or in the process of collapsing, there was no chance anything would come on the market.
Beyond the price itself, finding the right seller was the complicated part — that was the nature of mansions.
“I dislike it as well. And I believe it’s beneath your dignity, Your Highness.”
“Then where?”
“……Heh. You’ll see when you go.”
It seemed Winter had never come at Zion so confidently before.
“Let’s go. I’ve already purchased it, and if you won’t, I’ll have to move in and live there alone.”
The documents slipped from Zion’s hand.
“……What do you mean you’ve bought it?”
“A mansion.”
Winter produced a sheet of paper from his pocket and placed it on the desk.
The name written in the purchaser column was Zion Riobert.
“Where did the money come from?”
“Securities. I made it in stocks.”
……
“There are quite a few stocks with characteristics similar to Brown Defense. Military supplies, shipbuilding, mining. The kinds that rise when war looms.”
“When did you start buying those?”
“Every time you engaged in something suspicious, Your Highness.”
Zion’s eyebrows rose.
“Suspicious?”
“Well, didn’t there come to be several occasions? Particularly when the mark appeared recently — the profits multiplied several times over.”
In other words, this is what he was saying.
‘Before I even gave you a definitive answer about joining forces with me, you were already sure enough to commit to it.’
A mansion befitting a prince’s dignity?
He didn’t know for certain, but it was bound to be a price matching Zion’s entire asset portfolio.
……He’d accumulated such a massive sum through buying and selling securities alone.
Wasn’t this speculation? Would he really not get caught for market manipulation?
‘I thought he’d started that night for the first time, but he’d been sitting at the table all along. It wasn’t his first bet — he’d scouted thoroughly enough to feel it out, and then went all-in at the end.’
“I’ve already arranged for furniture and staff. You need only bring yourself.”
“When should we go?”
“Right now.”
“Right now?”
“The carriage is downstairs, and you’ve hardly any luggage to speak of. I prepared everything yesterday.”
Zion closed his mouth.
Yesterday?
So this fool had unpacked his things without even asking whether his lord would consent to leave.
‘That Winter, always like this.’
Annoying as it was, he couldn’t quite bring himself to hate it.
Hating a capable man was surprisingly difficult work.
“Let’s go.”
* * *
Winter at the wheel, Zion in the passenger seat.
Daien and Reianna in the back.
The seating arrangement never changed, but today the rear seats were uncommonly loud.
“A mansion! Sister, a mansion!”
“……I heard.”
“Do you think there’s a garden? There must be, right? It’s a mansion, so there must be?”
“Perhaps.”
Reianna, giving a terse reply, turned her gaze toward the window.
The tips of her ears had taken on a faint red hue.
‘She’s looking forward to it. Then again, Reianna spent most of her childhood in open fields and farming villages.’
The Dwarf-made automobile climbed the northbound hill road of Seiel with a grand rumble.
This was far removed from the district where Deber’s great noble houses stood shoulder to shoulder.
He was beginning to wonder where they were headed when—
“Winter.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Don’t tell me—”
“I’m afraid so.”
Something was peeking its head above the tree line.
“It came up for auction. I was fortunate enough to secure it.”
With each passing moment, more came into view.
A castle.
Calling that a mansion was a gross misuse of language.
“Oh. Oh my.”
A sound escaped his lips unbidden.
The cream-colored stone keep dominated the crest of the hill, while the wings extending left and right enclosed an inner courtyard.
The front steps spanned fifty paces, and eight columns rose to support them.
Even the bronze weathervane crowning the roof gleamed without a trace of rust.
“I had people polish it yesterday.”
Two columns of servants stood assembled before the gates.
As the car door opened, some twenty-odd figures dropped to one knee in unison.
The traditional greeting of commoners to the Divine Clan.
“The subjects of the Empire receive one of the great Divine Clan.”
“The subjects of the Empire receive one of the great Divine Clan.”
“The subjects of the Empire receive one of the great Divine Clan.”
“The subjects of the Empire receive one of the great Divine Clan.”
“The subjects of the Empire receive one of the great Divine Clan.”
Their voices rang out in perfect harmony.
They must have been drilled.
“That’s enough. Rise.”
Zion waved his hand once and ascended the steps.
The door swung open of its own accord.
“Wow……”
Daien’s gasp tumbled out ahead of Zion from where she followed.
The central hall’s ceiling soared the height of three stories, and suspended in its center hung a chandelier.
Sixty branches of glass set with mana stones.
Twin staircases swept left and right, their paths laid with crimson carpet.
Where portraits might have hung, only empty frames adorned the walls—though there was a certain elegance to it.
The faces to fill them could be chosen later.
“Sir! There are two staircases here! Why are there two?”
“Go up on one side and come down on the other. That’s what it means.”
“Then what happens if we go the opposite way?”
“Nothing might happen at all?”
“But why two paths in the first place?”
“Reianna would know better than I would.”
“Oh, sister!”
Reianna quietly put some distance between them.
In the meantime, Zion opened a random door.
The interior view was, well—first of all, the fireplace was as tall as a person, and the armchair’s backrest angle pleased him before he’d even sat down.
Overall… it was lovely.
‘Lovely didn’t even begin to cover it.’
He tapped the armrest lightly with his fingertips.
Walnut.
Fine craftsmanship.
“With a book in hand, I’d lose all track of time in here. Absolutely.”
Zion threw himself into the armchair.
The backrest caught him perfectly.
The hotel suite hadn’t been bad either.
But that was borrowed, and this is not.
He’d wondered if there was a difference, though that thought had only come to him because he’d never owned anything before.
There was a vast difference.
What’s mine and what isn’t.
My house and someone else’s.
“Reianna.”
“…Yes, Your Highness.”
“Is there something hiding in the ceiling?”
He’d asked because her gaze toward the chandelier wouldn’t come down.
“No, sir.”
Only then did she lower her head.
Zion swallowed his laughter.
She was a child of the streets.
She’d slept without a roof more often than under one, so it made sense she’d be amazed by this.
‘Even I, who at least have memories of living in the palace, react this way—what must it be like for Reianna?’
“Pick whichever rooms you like. Both of you.”
“C-can we really choose?”
“There are plenty of rooms left, so you can pick two.”
Daien dropped the curtain and raced down the stairs.
Reianna followed after her, then paused and glanced back.
“Thank you so much.”
“Go on and choose.”
They spent some time exploring the mansion—or rather, the castle.
At one point, Zion rubbed the back of his neck with the back of his hand.
Just then, Daien spoke up.
“Hmm, it’s hotter in here than I expected.”
It was summer; even with all the windows open, it did no good.
If anything, the stagnant indoor air felt warmer than the outside.
In winter it would be more comfortable, but that structure meant it would be stifling in summer.
“You’re right. It is rather warm.”
“I should have thought of this. I apologize, Your Highness. I’ll acquire a cooling artifact of some kind right away.”
Watching Winter’s expression grow troubled, Zion shook his head.
“Don’t bother. As it happens, this works out well.”
“…?”
“Daien, would you mind stopping by the Communications Office?”
About an hour later.
Daien watched as laborers carried a large white metal box on their backs and spoke up.
“Your Highness, what is that? It looks just like a refrigerator.”
Zion smiled faintly.
“It’s something like a refrigerator. A new product from Blen Industry.”
Blen Industry these days practically buried itself in purchase orders.
They’d gotten the factory running in earnest and were even expanding it further, yet the waiting list hadn’t shortened in half a year.
Looking at just the net profit from last quarter, it exceeds the combined earnings of a dozen respectable trading houses in Seiel.
“It’s Blen Industry’s masterpiece, their pride and joy. I present to you: the Air Conditioner.”
“An Air Conditioner?”
“I know the name’s terrible. I wanted to call it the Cold Maker, but they wouldn’t listen.”
…….
…….
…….
Three faces fell silent.
Daien blinked. Reianna looked away. Winter folded his handkerchief.
“What’s with the silence?”
Winter cleared his throat and changed the subject.
“Your Highness. So what does it do? An Air Conditioner—I’m certain I’ve heard the term before, but I can’t quite recall, sir.”
“You’ll find out once it’s installed.”
The workers dispersed into the Mansion.
The boxes were positioned behind pillars in the hall, in the shadows beneath the staircase, at corridor corners, in wall recesses of the reception room.
Each location was inconspicuous yet situated where air could freely circulate.
Installation itself was simple: fix it to the wall, attach a Mana Stone, close the circuit cover, and it was done.
“We’ve finished, Your Highness.”
“Well done. You’re dismissed.”
Zion remained seated in his armchair and raised his hand.
Then he snapped his fingers.
Whirrrrrrr!
Over a dozen Magical Devices hummed to life simultaneously.
The lukewarm air that had been pressing down on the back of their necks was driven out, replaced by a cool current sweeping through.
A chill crawled across the carpet and wrapped around their ankles.
Soon the entire hall was cold.
“Ah, wonderful! So refreshing!”
Daien threw her arms wide and bounded into the center of the hall.
Winter stared at the Air Conditioner for a moment, then spoke with deliberate slowness.
“Ah. Yes, now I remember. The Magical Device that Manager Rumio originally intended to develop—it was the Air Conditioner.”
That was right.
The device that would scatter cool air throughout a room and transform summer into winter.
His masterpiece—something even Zion had helped perfect at its core, yet Rumio had never managed to complete it.
‘In the end, the Refrigerator was the one that struck gold.’
He’d always planned to make the Air Conditioner eventually.
It was the sort of technology that, given time, he could absolutely realize.
He’d simply expected to wait another year or so.
But things were different now.
‘Since I used the fact that I’ve joined hands with myself as an excuse, I can now craft whatever I want without restriction.’
Winter was watching him.
Eyes that were calculating.
How much to price each Air Conditioner. How many months to extend the waiting list.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
“When will this item be released?”
“You decide. Handle all the arrangements. But listen—”
Zion rose from his armchair and walked a slow circuit around the hall.
Though he’d furnished it reasonably well, there were still many bare spaces.
Picture frames hung empty. The library stood without books. Furniture remained scarce.
“Now that we’ve moved in, we should fill the house with things we desire. Come—let’s all go shopping.”
“Wonderful! Where are we going?”
Zion smiled as he looked at Daien’s face.
“The Department Store.”
The Department Store displayed every sort of modern merchandise.
Dwarven-made timepieces, Elven-woven fabrics, and within glass cases, preserved with care: the most advanced commercial Magical Devices.
In other words—
‘Let’s go and copy everything.’
Ordinarily, such a thing would be impossible.
Disassembling a finished Magical Device doesn’t reveal its manufacturing method.
It’s like tasting water downstream and expecting to know which valley it flowed from.
But.
Zion placed his hand over his right eye.
‘If I have the Magic Eye, things change. I could glance at a magical device and read its circuits—that alone would tell me how it was made.’
Suddenly, the face of Gaigen, the Department Store manager who had refused to join the Seielian Social Club, surfaced in his mind.
The last time he’d seen him was probably when he’d been pestering him about distributing refrigerators.
‘Manager. What should I do about this? I think my irritation from back then never quite went away.’
The thought of playing a prank on him made his excitement grow.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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