194 - Chapter 194
Extracurricular 16
Money.
The short, weighty one-syllable word savagely yanked Mrs. Wilhelm from behind the name of nightmare where she was trying to hide.
“When are you going to pay me my money?!”
Mrs. Wilhelm reflexively shouted at the coachman’s abrupt words.
“How dare you!”
“How dare I? Pay me my overdue wages before you say such things.”
The coachman shook the door handle roughly, as if he would tear the carriage door off.
“Open it, Ma’am.”
“It is an honor to help one’s master in times of difficulty.”
“Master, ha!”
“If we overcome this difficulty together… Kyaaaaaaak!!!”
Mrs. Wilhelm, who had been trying to soothe him with words, screamed, covering her face as the carriage window shattered.
The coachman, who had broken the carriage window with an iron bar, thrust his arm through the window and spread his palm wide.
“Yes, Master.”
Mrs. Wilhelm was terrified and on the verge of hyperventilating. The coachman shook his hand at her.
“The jewelry you’re wearing. Hand it over.”
“……”
“Honorably.”
Rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings.
Having been robbed of all the jewels she was wearing, Mrs. Wilhelm couldn’t bring herself to leave the carriage for some time after the coachman disappeared. Only after dusk had fallen was she barely able to get out of the carriage, and before her lay a ruined nation.
The main gate was open haphazardly. The steps leading to the main gate were littered with trash, whether intentionally or not. It was dusk, and no lights were lit on the exterior or inside. Several windows on the second floor were wide open, and the curtains fluttered wildly like a madwoman’s hair.
Mrs. Wilhelm entered the mansion, faltering like a person groping their way.
Was this what a ruined Royal Palace looked like? It was as if they had tried so hard to steal even one more thing, and didn’t even bother to hide it. Worthless cloths and fragments of pottery that had been broken while trying to steal them were scattered everywhere on the floor.
Despite the lukewarm air of late summer, it was as cold as if her skin was being cut. In the biting cold, she huddled and looked around.
“Ha… haha.”
Mrs. Wilhelm climbed the stairs, bent over like an old woman. Then, she slipped into the bedroom, the most devastated room in the mansion, and collapsed onto the bed.
“Indeed… those baseborn, vulgar things… their true nature is bound to be revealed in the most extreme moments. The vulgar nature of vulgar things is like this. It’s a vile nature engraved in their bones that cannot be reformed by education…”
She curled up and lay on the bed. It was so, so cold that she wrapped herself tightly in the blanket and sheets, hoping for the darkness to recede.
“Ansen… Ansen.”
Regain our glory.
Regain the glory stolen by that vulgar girl with no roots, regain my sword that was taken away…
Ansen, Mrs. Wilhelm’s only hope, was in front of a shabby building on the outskirts of Pulder.
[Mr. Wilhelm, our publishing house has decided to terminate the contract we had with you. Your manuscript will be returned by mail…]
Ansen Wilhelm was once a man whom even the King of a nation had difficulty meeting. But he was so shocked by a single letter that he rushed to the publishing house.
He reacted roughly, as if he would grab the publisher’s collar and shake him.
“What is the meaning of this?!! We have already signed a contract, and I have handed over the manuscript!! How can you unilaterally terminate the contract like this!!”
“We are sorry.”
Ansen’s protests continued for a while longer, but the publisher was adamant. Rather, he even handed him the manuscript, saying it was good that he came.
“Please look for another publishing house.”
Ansen stared blankly at the bundle of papers tucked in his arms. It was a moment when the manuscript he had written over several months felt like trash.
His head was pounding as if it would break, perhaps due to the aftereffects of the alcohol he had drunk the night before. Ansen contorted his face as much as possible, then said as if chewing and spitting out the words.
“You’re stupid.”
“……”
“This was a story that only I could write. A story that no one else could tell. In terms of value, it’s worth hundreds of millions? No. Hundreds of millions, billions of Kerte.”
The publisher nodded roughly.
“Yes, yes.”
“It’s a record filled with Princess Olivia’s college life. People won’t be able to resist their morbid curiosity and will flock to bookstores, and this book will sell tremendously.”
He strongly urged the contract with an attitude of giving alms. Had about ten minutes passed? The publisher was now silent, not even giving him a glance.
Ansen Wilhelm’s jaw tightened. He took a deep breath and paused for a moment. He stared at the floor, beyond the window, and then swept his gaze around the shabby, small publishing house before exhaling and laughing.
“Your eyes are on the floor, so you can’t recognize the gold that’s rolled in. You are destined to rot in this shabby, shabby place.”
It seemed as if his curse was his last bit of pride.
The young man, once called the Emperor of the Wilhelm Empire, still boasted an outstanding figure. The glossy navy suit was undoubtedly from a famous boutique that anyone would recognize, and a private carriage was parked proudly below the building, which he glanced down at.
In terms of appearance alone, he was still the Emperor of the Wilhelm Empire.
The problem was that it was all debt.
The publisher put a cigarette in his mouth and opened his mouth as if doing a favor.
“Mr. Wilhelm.”
Ansen, who was about to leave, stopped abruptly and turned to look at him. Had he changed his mind? If so, should he pretend to give in?
But the words that came out with the hazy smoke were completely different from his expectations.
“Publishing will be difficult. No, it will be impossible. The information about Princess Olivia that comes out of your mouth… well. I don’t think even a small leaflet will be able to come out into the world.”
“That’s ridiculous. Haven’t you heard of freedom of the press? There are plenty of places to publish my manuscript even if it’s not you.”
“Duke Rosemond’s Hunting dogs are roaming around.”
He paused for a moment, but a more ferocious tone returned.
“Is this Herot?”
“Money and power can cross borders.”
“……”
“You know that very well.”
The end of the cigarette in the publisher’s mouth burned red.
“I know that you took out a loan from Kingsguard Bank using this contract as collateral. I had no choice but to inform the bank that our contract had been terminated. You will be contacted soon. So, wouldn’t it be better to solve that problem instead of looking for another publishing house?”
Ansen seemed as if he didn’t understand, or perhaps he had expected this to happen. He remained still to the point of being unresponsive, then turned around and disappeared without saying goodbye.
The publisher stood at the window with a cigarette in his mouth and looked down.
The carriage carrying Ansen Wilhelm ran for a long time on a deserted road before turning around a corner where a large tree stood and disappearing.
The publisher took a last drag on his cigarette and stubbed it out in the ashtray. Then, he dropped the cigarette butt into an empty whiskey bottle, and his only employee opened his mouth.
“Our boss was so happy that he had caught a big fish. It’s a shame.”
“I thought it was an easy-to-eat tuna, but if it’s actually a disaster that will bring a school of Coelacanth, shouldn’t we let go of the fishing rod?”
“Is that so?”
“You would understand my feelings if you had seen that Meson Loktar or whatever his name is.”
“What was he like?”
The publisher shook his hand as if he didn’t want to think about it, then pulled out another cigarette. Then, as if afraid someone would hear, he changed the subject.
“Anyway, Ansen Wilhelm has fallen so low.”
“Yes. To be honest, as a Pulder person, I was rooting for Ansen Wilhelm. I feel sorry for Princess Olivia, but it’s like Herot stole the Magic Dome, you know?”
“That’s true.”
“To be honest, the court was very lenient with Ansen Wilhelm. They said he would go to jail, but he was eventually released on probation, and the fine wasn’t that high. He stepped down as the CEO of Wilhelm Corporation, but he didn’t give up his management rights. I thought he would make a comeback. That’s what I thought.”
The problem wasn’t Ansen’s punishment. There was a bigger problem.
His Magic Dome had lost its credibility. Moreover, while Olivia’s Magic Dome was undergoing innovation after innovation, his Magic Dome remained stagnant.
The empire collapsed in an instant.
