Chapter 357 |
Various companies in the Empire went bankrupt one after another.
Among them were many companies whose stock prices had been soaring.
Business owners were unable to regain their composure from this massive shock.
They held hope that perhaps the city or state would provide assistance, but even that was futile.
The Empire thoroughly ignored them.
Anyone with sense would have noticed that they obviously wouldn’t help.
After all, it was well known that the companies now collapsing and the Imperial family had taken opposing paths regarding Theon’s investment.
As investors flooded in from all directions due to falling stock prices, corporate headquarters became crowded.
People were shouting to get their money back.
Police officers standing by for potential incidents quickly subdued and arrested such individuals.
“…Damn it.”
Chairman Ranpartz frowned as he watched people gathering at his mansion.
People who had lost enormous sums of money due to Ranpartz’s stock hitting the lower limit day after day had come.
Why would they demand others return money they themselves had lost?
The responsibility for investment lies entirely with oneself.
When that thought crossed his mind, Chairman Ranpartz bit his lip hard.
That was also what he had heard from Duke Kayden Lumos not long ago.
‘Kayden Lumos. So you’re going to use me and throw me away like this? Fine, we’ll see about that.’
Drachen Ranpartz made a vow at that moment.
That he would surely take revenge someday.
Against Kayden Lumos who used him, Oliver of Royal Street who took his position, and Theon who ignored him.
‘Ranpartz won’t fall. Although it was a painful loss, our core business is still intact, so we can rise again.’
He barely managed to protect the core assets after liquidating all the business ventures he had spread out.
If he maintained and operated just those well, though not like before, he could rise to a level where others wouldn’t look down on him.
That’s what Drachen thought, until he discovered mysterious visitors at the entrance of his mansion.
‘What’s this?’
The commotion spreading through the gathered crowd reached Drachen inside the mansion.
The surreal sight of people who had gathered in madness quietly making way to the left and right.
Drachen’s brow naturally furrowed.
‘Who could it be?’
The moment he saw the knights in black uniforms barging in through the path that had been created, Drachen’s face contorted.
“…The Night Crawler Knights?”
Why on earth would they come looking for him?
A chill ran down Drachen’s spine.
He wasn’t unaware of why the Night Crawlers had come to find him.
Rather, the problem was that there were too many possible reasons to guess.
‘No. No way. After staying quiet all this time, they wouldn’t suddenly come for that reason.’
Drachen Ranpartz decided to receive the visitors for now.
Even if it was the Night Crawler Knights, surely they wouldn’t dare do anything to him.
“Are you Drachen Ranpartz? Arrest him.”
But the Night Crawler Knights immediately arrested Drachen the moment they saw him.
The superhuman physique of knights who had transcended humanity didn’t even allow Drachen to resist.
The surrounding servants and guards were the same.
No matter how much they were being paid, they didn’t dare think of opposing the Night Crawler Knights.
Drachen, now in handcuffs, glared at the leader of the Night Crawlers, Terina Lionhowl, and shouted.
“What is this! Coming without a warrant! I will formally protest!”
“You seem to have forgotten what kind of people the Night Crawler Knights are.”
“Are you saying you have the privilege to arrest people without warrants? Even so, an innocent person…!”
“Why do you say you’re innocent?”
At Terina’s gesture, her adjutant Lloyd who had been waiting behind stepped forward.
“Drachen Ranpartz. Here is evidence of all the corruption, illegal solicitation, embezzlement of public funds, and illegal stock manipulation you have committed as chairman of Ranpartz Corporation until now.”
Papers spread out with a swoosh.
Drachen’s complexion turned deathly pale as his eyes scanned their contents.
Terina held up one of the sheets and waved it.
“You even dabbled in weapons smuggling, secretly supplied them to the mafia and gangs, and formed collusive relationships with various public officials.”
“T-that…”
“Did you think we left you alone until now because we didn’t know about this?”
The atmosphere froze at those words.
Drachen, who had been trying to argue, could only open and close his mouth but no voice came out.
Like prey before a lion, his body was consumed by fear.
Terina stared at Drachen with eyes that looked at something worthless and disgusting.
That gaze, looking at something not even worth eating, mercilessly trampled what remained of Drachen’s pride.
Only then did Drachen realize that it wasn’t that he had hidden things well and avoided detection.
They had known from the beginning.
They had been gathering evidence, accumulating it, looking down on him all along.
It’s just that until now, since Ranpartz was such a huge corporation, they hadn’t carelessly interfered because the money they brought to the Empire was more than their corruption but now that Ranpartz had fallen, what had protected him was gone.
Thanks to this, the Night Crawlers had more than enough justification to take action.
“Given what you’ve done so far, you won’t face execution. But you’ll spend the rest of your life in a cold prison cell with other heinous criminals. Take him away.”
When Terina gave the order, the knights took Ranpartz away.
Drachen was dragged away powerlessly like a puppet with cut strings.
The remaining knights immediately began searching Drachen’s mansion, to completely uproot what remained of Ranpartz.
“Wow. To think that Ranpartz would fall like this. It’s really something to see.”
Next to her, her adjutant Enya muttered in a voice that still couldn’t believe it.
She had never thought the head of a major corporation would meet such a miserable end.
“What had to happen simply happened. It was just moved up a bit earlier than originally planned.”
“I see. For something like that, Commander, you don’t look very pleased?”
“Hey, Enya. Can’t you be quiet?”
“What! Senior!”
Terina ignored Lloyd’s rebuke and Enya’s protest.
Rather, she was irritated because this whole affair didn’t sit well with her.
‘What could Her Highness the Princess be thinking?’
The one who ordered Ranpartz’s removal this time was First Princess Eileen.
Of course, it wasn’t coercion. Terina had also been planning to eventually eliminate Ranpartz, who had been doing bad things behind the scenes.
But even with the same goal, the two people’s intentions were different.
For Terina, it was the realization of justice by removing a leech eating away at the Empire but for Eileen, it was something else.
‘In that process, she also made some kind of deal with Oliver, the masked man of Royal Street.’
Terina knew about the relationship between the now-fallen Ranpartz and Royal Street through her investigation.
From Theon’s sponsorship to Ranpartz’s corruption being exposed one by one, and someone short selling the falling stock.
With Eileen involved as well, Terina couldn’t help but be on edge.
‘Oliver, was it?’
That man she had encountered before the street completely changed that day.
That masked man who said he had burn scars on his face – there was something about him that stimulated Terina’s instincts.
He probably wasn’t another limb raised by the First Princess.
His actions were far too suspicious for that.
‘I’ll need to keep an eye on him.’
* * *
The fall of the major corporation Ranpartz had no impact within Theon.
There had been false rumors that many investors had withdrawn and there might be a hole in this year’s second-half budget but those rumors cleanly disappeared with the appearance of new investors.
To begin with, students who only cared about studying magic and playing had no interest in matters like the school’s investors or budget.
However, for those who weren’t like that, this incident was nothing short of an enormous ordeal.
“You stupid fool!”
Hugo shouted in an angry voice in the classroom.
“How much have you learned until now, and you still don’t know this!”
“…I’m sorry.”
The commoner student lowered his head at Hugo’s rebuke.
In fact, Hugo’s anger now was just picking on an innocent target.
It wasn’t wrong not to know something that hadn’t been taught but Hugo often did this to students originally, especially to commoner students.
That was Hugo – putting down arrogant commoners who took his classes while accommodating noble students.
Usually at times like this, noble students would sneer at the commoners asking if they came to this class with just that level of preparation but unlike usual, even the noble students couldn’t laugh today.
It was because Hugo was particularly more sensitive today.
Even they thought this was going too far.
“Listen well! You commoners should be grateful just to be able to hear my lectures here! Not only are you unable to do that, but you only listen to my class with half an ear? If you’re going to be like that, quit right now!”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Damn it. This is why we should have only accepted nobles. Having dirty commoners mixed in just ruins the classroom atmosphere.”
Hugo clicked his tongue and fiddled with his mustache.
At that sight, the student being scolded felt anger raising his eyebrows, but.
Thanks to his friend in the next seat holding him back, he was barely able to suppress his anger.
‘What’s wrong with this guy today?’
‘Don’t know. He was always like this, but he’s especially going crazy today.’
‘Just ignore him. Are we avoiding poop because we’re scared of it? He must be in an especially bad mood today.’
Ignoring the students whispering among themselves, Hugo left the classroom as soon as the class ended.
He headed to the faculty office with thundering footsteps.
Students, servants, and other teachers who encountered him on the way cleared a path when they saw Hugo’s distorted face.
It was a scene that showed Hugo’s usual reputation.
Hugo ignored such people’s reactions.
In fact, he didn’t even have time to pay attention.
‘Ranpartz has fallen? The chairman arrested? Complete bankruptcy? To think my last lifeline would be cut so meaninglessly! This can’t be!’
Hugo became desperate.
He had joined hands with Drachen, the chairman of Ranpartz, a major outside investor, because he saw sufficient potential but Drachen had fallen.
Ranpartz had been literally torn apart and swallowed by various companies, and the remaining core was dismantled by the Empire’s audit.
‘What did I lower my head and join hands for!’
Honestly, it’s bewildering.
From his position watching his alliance rapidly collapse day by day, it felt like this might be a dream.
But this was a terribly vivid reality.
Hugo became desperate.
Although there might not be evidence of joining hands with Ranpartz, people would surely know about what he had planned to do within Theon.
He needed to somehow hide related evidence and quietly pass time while ducking his head and pretending nothing happened but doing so made his stomach churn because he had lost too much.
Many teachers who had formed factions had left, and gradually even students seemed to be disrespecting them.
‘Do they think I’ll fall so easily? Me, Hugo Burtag?’
Hugo entered his office with a huff and slammed the door shut.
It was a space several times larger than other teachers’ offices.
Although he didn’t utilize all of it, Hugo deliberately used the large space alone as if this was his authority.
“Assistant! Where’s my assistant!!”
Unable to contain himself when his assistant wasn’t there despite him entering, Hugo burst out in anger.
I’m already about to die from irritation, and where did this bastard thoughtlessly go?
“There’s no one here.”
A voice suddenly heard.
Only then did Hugo realize his vision had narrowed due to anger.
Beyond the office desk where he usually should be sitting, he saw the back of a man with his hands behind his back looking out the window.
“Except for you and me, that is.”
“R-Rudger Chelici…”
The moment he met those blue eyes staring this way with only half his head turned, Hugo felt cold sweat running down his whole body.
He trembled before steeling himself.
“What brings you here?”
“You ask what brings me here?”
As if finding it funny that Hugo would ask such a question, Rudger quietly savored those words.
“Yes. What do you think brings me here?”
Words that were businesslike and hard, without any honorifics or courtesy towards him.
The nuance of looking down on him was quite thick as well.
At Rudger’s question, Hugo rolled his eyes.
“…I’m not sure, but. Would you leave now since I’m busy? I have lots of work to do related to classes.”
“For something like that, your desk is quite clean. To the point where I wonder if you do any work at all.”
Rudger turned completely to face Hugo.
“So, Teacher Hugo Burtag. Why do you think I came?”
Rudger’s eyes staring this way were no different from someone who knew everything.