Chapter 87 – The House of Marquis Broderick

“More wine! Bring more!” shouted a bearded man stacking wine cups on the far side of Caduceus’s vision—this was Marquis Broderick.

While using the Thieves Guild’s information network to investigate alchemists and apothecaries, they had also stationed Caduceus to observe whether the Marquis would reveal his true intentions.

The man known as Marquis Broderick constantly hosted events—balls, banquets, dinner parties, salons. Even on days with nothing scheduled, he seemed immersed in wine and women.

The rumors about his excessive indulgence appeared to be true. Just observing the frequency and scale of his events made one worry about his financial stability. No wonder his house was declining.

While monitoring the Marquis’s household, they had gathered various pieces of information.

Broderick originally owned iron mines in his territory, but after the Termwills mine shafts became labyrinthine, they began producing various base metals, precious metals, and gems. Combined with transportation cost issues, the mines had apparently lost their importance.

Yet the Marquis maintained the same lavish lifestyle as during his prosperous days. Naturally, his finances deteriorated. That was when he set his sights on a nearby Count’s household.

The territories of Count Gartner and Baron Silun were grain-producing regions. Since labyrinths don’t produce grain… while supply stability was one thing, constant demand was guaranteed. Once the development of the shortest route to Termwills was completed, the situation would stabilize.

With inevitable human traffic, Broderick could significantly reduce transportation costs by riding on this development and compete with the labyrinthine former mine shafts.

However, the shortest route apparently passed through treacherous areas teeming with monsters, causing pioneers to avoid it. This was likely why development had been slow.

Thus, Marquis Broderick proposed to the previous Count Gartner: send unemployed miners as pioneers or adventurers, supply iron weapons at low prices for monster countermeasures, and strongly lobby the central government to allocate funds for route development, thereby greatly advancing the project.

Well, at that point, it was probably a mutually beneficial arrangement.

The Marquis and the previous Count recognized each other as partners. They sought to strengthen their bond by marrying the Marquis’s daughter to the Count’s eldest son.

“Milord. This is harmful to your health,” the steward advised, but the Marquis laughed it off.

“This much won’t even get me drunk,” he said, draining his cup in one gulp and exhaling deeply.

After a pause, the steward spoke hesitantly.

“—My deepest apologies. I fear I must report something to you, Milord.”

“…Speak.”

Perhaps detecting an unfavorable tone in the steward’s voice, the Marquis frowned seriously.

“The veteran servants attending Lady Kathryn have been dismissed.”

“—Is that true?”

“Yes.”

They had stationed Caduceus here, and finally, they heard what they wanted. He’d been growing tired of all the pointless chatter.

The Marquis furrowed his brows and bit his lip.

“This means… we must withdraw our hand from the Count’s household.”

He didn’t seem particularly worried about his daughter. More importantly, his information was outdated. Father had already taken the next move against the Marquis’s household.

“That would be the prudent view.”

“Utterly vexing. Nothing goes as planned,” he said, taking a sip of the newly brought wine.

Well, well. So he really had been trying to interfere with the Count’s household through Kathryn. That much could be considered confirmed.

Father had probably manipulated the information about the servant dismissals to delay its leakage. Compared to Father, who had likely anticipated this and was preparing countermeasures, the Marquis’s household seemed to be constantly one step behind.

The Marquis’s mines had apparently been declining in output in recent years. Even if the route development finished, if the crucial products dried up, it would be a slow decline. If they could exert greater influence on the Count’s household… they could expect preferential policies toward the Marquis’s household to further reduce transportation costs, providing future security. That much was understandable.

Still. To bring up the matter of Kathryn’s servants now… The fact that they were discussing this meant—

“Report.”

At that moment, Sheila arrived after gathering information from the Thieves Guild informant.

Caduceus temporarily severed his connection and turned to Sheila.

“Apparently, there are no alchemists with deep connections to the Marquis’s household. There are some apothecaries who visit, but only a handful per year. The Marquis doesn’t seem to care much about his health.”

“…So it seems.”

Given all his unhealthy habits. They’d seen plenty of evidence that he disregarded physicians.

Binge drinking and overeating… Recalling the heartburn-inducing scenes, he decided to purify himself with the herbal tea Grace had brewed. Combined with the sound of Irmhild’s lute, it was healing, or rather, calming his thoughts.

Ah… How to put it. Using Kathryn was one thing.

Regarding the secret potion, he couldn’t help but feel it was part of the Marquis’s scheme.

If he could prepare something like that, he wouldn’t have fallen so low, normally.

“Kathryn’s movements on the day in question?”

“She definitely visited the Marquis’s household. Her carriage was witnessed.”

“The situation at the Marquis’s household that day?”

“A ball. Here’s the attendance list. I obtained a copy of the registry.”

She handed him the list.

“Uh, how?”

“I don’t know the specifics. But I heard that if you approach servants, they sometimes sell this kind of information for extra money. Young people wanting to make connections in high society desire these kinds of rosters.”

“Hmm.”

Should this be attributed to the Thieves Guild’s prowess, or does it reflect poorly on the Marquis’s servants? Maybe the Marquis is bad at paying them. It’s a harsh world.

Looking through the list—the Marquis’s household seemed to have frequent comings and goings. So Kathryn must have met someone there.

Was there someone with such interests… particularly someone who could provide a secret potion?

At this point, even someone who seemed likely to interfere with me or Byron would do.

Kathryn’s use of the drug was largely because Father held her responsible following the incident with Byron.

Given that they weren’t even aware of the servant situation, it seemed unlikely the Marquis’s household provided the secret potion. The original purpose might have been different.

“Ashley… Can you tell anything?”

“Um. I believe this person is the eldest son of a family enrolled in the academy.”

They filled in the gaps in their understanding by discussing with Ashley, Sheila, and Irmhild.

As he added notes to the list with a quill pen, the overall picture gradually emerged. Knights, baronets, lower nobility, merchant family children… Not many major figures.

Was the Marquis’s household seen as being in decline? The assembled company seemed rather insignificant. It gave the impression of having become merely a social gathering place and meeting spot for the younger generation.

But among them was one person with an unusual title.

“A fortune teller?”

Anastasia Almendaris.

“That’s a somewhat famous fortune teller. She comes from a wealthy family, and because her predictions are accurate, she’s favored by court nobles. I hear she appears in high society quite often.”

Sheila supplemented.

There had been years when Kathryn came to Termwills to build connections with Byron and others, disregarding Father who remained in the territory. If this fortune teller appeared in high society, it wouldn’t be strange if they were acquainted.

“…Shall we go meet her once? If she’s a fortune teller, she probably won’t refuse, and we might hear about that day.”

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous if she’s the perpetrator?”

Grace, who had been listening nearby, tilted her head.

The perpetrator, huh. Well, certainly. Having connections to court nobles, being wealthy—in terms of possibility, it’s possible. She might even have a motive.

The question is whether Kathryn would believe in the efficacy if given such a drug—but since no evidence would remain anyway. If they drugged a servant and demonstrated it, belief wouldn’t even be an issue.

“If we’re careful with food and drink, it should be fine… Well, we have countermeasures anyway.”

Now that they knew about the magic potion, they could prepare countermeasures.

…The Amulet of Evil Repulsion. A necklace that nullifies debuffs and bad status effects.

While it’s powerful equipment, it has drawbacks—it equally nullifies buffs and beneficial magic potion effects, and has a certain probability of breaking. But this characteristic should work similarly against Alraune’s Kiss, which falls under the category of magic potions.

The method for creating the necklace requires embedding prayers from shrine maidens or clerics of Goddess Shuath into magic stones instead of normal spell formulas… In my case, I have very good connections in exactly the right place.

Or rather, wouldn’t the royal family and nobles need these necklaces more than me?

If the existence of Alraune’s Kiss was known, countermeasures would definitely be taken. The fact that they aren’t means… the very existence of the drug must be unknown.

Currently, both its existence and countermeasures are unknown, making it highly dangerous. All we need to do is break that equilibrium.