Chapter 47
Edgar stared blankly at Theodore, lost for words. His face betrayed a struggle to decide whether he should be more shocked that his cousin didn’t deny the existence of a hidden woman, or that he was going through such trouble for someone intended to be a mere mistress.
After rubbing his face repeatedly with his thin hands, Edgar finally let out a laugh of disbelief.
“You’re funneling millions of pounds into the King’s greedy hands just to get a royal charter, and you’re telling me you’re not serious? You’re even putting the Battenberg name on the line in a horse racing venture?”
“There are already races held in the King’s name. It’s hardly a novelty.”
“Still, I thought His Grace the Duke despised it.”
“Because there’s no reason to prefer it. Even if the nobility sit around elegantly to enjoy it, it’s essentially gambling.”
“…And despite thinking that, you’re actually going to get your hands dirty in this game.”
Theodore leaned back, leisurely interlacing his fingers.
“Why not? It’s not as if I’m putting the family up for display.”
“If you’re not selling that grand family name of yours, then who exactly are you putting forward as the investor?”
“Dr. Muers.”
“The diamond processing firm.”
Edgar stared at Theodore with wide eyes before bursting into a hollow laugh.
“Now that really is a jackpot.”
The fact that Dr. Muers—the entity with the highest ratio of cash assets among the Battenberg businesses—was entering the fray meant that a racecourse, potentially the largest on the continent beyond just the south, might be established.
Which meant the Duke was indeed serious about this…
‘He just won’t display the family name openly.’
In truth, everyone knew the Battenberg family was behind Dr. Muers. Where else could such wealth—the kind that ruthlessly bought up every mine in the New World—possibly come from? Edgar looked at Theodore, the trace of a smile completely gone from his face.
“Be honest with me.”
“About what.”
“You’re going to all this trouble just for one woman? No matter how I think about it, it makes no sense. It’s more rational to assume you’re hiding something else.”
“……”
“If you don’t give me a proper answer, I can’t let it slide this time.”
Theodore looked at his cousin with an incredulous expression.
“And if you don’t let it slide?”
“I’ll go running straight to the Dowager Duchess and spill everything about your whereabouts. Like a loyal dog.”
“You sell yourself cheap.”
“Who knows what information this cheap mouth might leak to the reporters?”
It sounded like a petulant whine on the surface, but given that Edgar actually had the capability to carry out his words, it was a highly formidable threat. Seeing the rare look of seriousness in his eyes, it didn’t seem like an empty boast either.
Theodore picked up the teacup on the table and tilted it slightly as if checking the color. Dust floated atop the clear, orange tea that had begun to cool. Just like this room—looking decent on the surface, but wretched upon closer inspection.
“I’m not joking. If you don’t explain yourself properly, I’m calling the Dowager Duchess right now and—”
“There’s a new gang that has been rapidly expanding its influence lately.”
Theodore spoke as he set the teacup back on its saucer. Edgar, who had been about to spring indignantly from his chair, quickly sat back down.
“A gang? And that’s related to this?”
“It seems they’ve made quite a bit of money running illegal horse racing dens. They started in the East and expanded their territory to the South. In the process, they’ve been greasing palms everywhere to legalize their business.”
“I can imagine.”
“And when they ran low on capital, they turned to bootlegging.”
The nonchalant words Theodore uttered contained explosive information that could turn Ingram upside down. Edgar, unable to even think of closing his hanging jaw, waited for his cousin’s next words.
“They’ve been selling moonshine for about three years. Apparently, they’ve been exporting their entire production—200 gallons a week at 9 pounds per gallon—to Nordt in the New World.”
“Wait, wait… 200 gallons? Is that even possible for a new gang?”
“It’s not entirely impossible if they have backing. There are members of Parliament who have been receiving regular political funds from those bootleggers.”
Edgar rubbed his face with his hands again. If this information was true, the House of Lords in Ingram was destined for a massive upheaval.
“It sounds like more than just one or two people are involved.”
“At least three to five. His Majesty believes that at the center of it all is the family of the Prime Minister, Marquis Morey.”
“The Prime Minister… No wonder the King is out for blood.”
“He’s been looking for an opportunity to oust him for years.”
“Wow. Now His Majesty can finally sleep with both feet stretched out… Ah, so that was it? The reason the Princess has been so irritable lately.”
Theodore didn’t offer an answer to the probing remark, nor did he even give him a look of disdain. Edgar pressed a hand to his forehead as if he were suddenly dizzy.
“My god, you actually used this as leverage to get the marriage proposal withdrawn?”
Theodore leaned his back against the couch in silence, turning his gaze toward the firmly closed door. The voice of the Earl of Essex, excitedly conversing with his ‘investment expert,’ could be heard continuously.
Their voices rose briefly as if they couldn’t bridge a difference of opinion, then soon lowered again. Occasional coarse swearing drifted through. Edgar, listening to the movements outside, shrugged and whispered.
“But why Essex of all people?”
“I don’t think this is an appropriate place to discuss that.”
“I’m dying of curiosity, so just tell me. You’re putting far too much effort into this just to set a single trap.”
It was difficult to read the Duke’s expression with the light at his back. Theodore’s deep blue eyes, cast in shadow, looked even colder than usual.
“Because Essex and Somerset are on that list. They may only be acting as henchmen in practice, but they should at least have the authority to contact the gang’s leadership directly.”
“So you’re going to lure them in bit by bit and then grab them by the throat.”
“Since inspections on ships bound for the New World were tightened earlier this year, their distribution route for the alcohol has been blocked. There are only two actions they can take: die clutching hundreds of thousands of gallons of whiskey, or find a new route.”
“They’ll expect this horse racing business to be their new lifeline. Those two Earls will be ready to lick your boots.”
“Because they’ll believe that if they use this opportunity well, they can rise to even higher positions. Since the King has no interest in the small fry anyway, they might actually manage it if they play their cards right at the proper time.”
After a brief silence, Edgar let out a hollow laugh of disbelief.
“And after all this, you’re really saying you won’t marry Lady Vanessa? Even after devising a plan to make Somerset the wealthiest power in the South?”
Theodore raised his lowered gaze and stared intently at his cousin’s face—specifically at the harmless look that pretended to have no greed, and the lips pursed in feigned innocence.
Edgar’s only mistake was overlooking the fact that they had watched each other for far too long. Theodore read the ambition his cousin had failed to hide.
“……”
He had known for a long time that Edgar had placed people to watch him under the Dowager Duchess’s permission. From a certain point, the other side hadn’t even bothered to hide the tailing. It was like a warning that they were watching his conduct, so he should be careful.
Even so, the timing of Vanessa being exposed to them was earlier than he had anticipated. Perhaps it was a simple guess because they were entirely ignorant of the situation. They likely assumed the two had been lovers from the start, and that he had chosen that old warehouse as a place to spend his summer vacation. That story made more sense to them, after all.
“Say something.”
Theodore let out a short laugh as he leisurely traced his lips with his hand. He was even pleased by the way Edgar recoiled in horror at that laugh, as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t have. There was no surer way to victory than when the opponent you were playing chess with grew complacent and mistaken.
It probably meant he looked that different from his usual self—to the point that a cold mind pretending to be foolish couldn’t even calculate it.
“I wonder.”
It was indeed an absurd situation. To think that after being accidentally entangled with a woman, he was now going through all this trouble just because he hated seeing Vanessa being ordered around here and there.
In truth, Edgar’s insight was accurate. The roles of the two Earls in this plan were not significant. Their positions within the gang were trivial, traitors could be found for far less money, and there were plenty of other nobles who would be more loyal under the same conditions.
There was only one reason he went through such a cumbersome process: because they were the ones holding Vanessa’s leash. And yet.
“If marriage had been the goal, I would have found a more elegant way.”
“Then you’re going to keep her as a mistress?”
“Isn’t it a good result for everyone? I’ve given the Earl more than enough to count as a dowry.”
“……”
“That woman will get to do what she likes, in a place she likes. Without the fear of being married off to low-life men anymore.”
