Chapter 55 [Capital Illustratia 2: Royal Capital's King's Office (Part 2)]
Upon receiving the astonishing news from Vazari, the four individuals convened once again in the office for a confidential discussion.
"Before we delve into the discussion of the urgent report from Vazari, let's first align our information with the latest updates."
"Yes, first about the damages to Count Vazari's estate. Unlike last time, it was unconfirmed, but the thieves flooded the count's wheat storage. As a result, most of the wheat rotted or sprouted, rendering it completely useless as provisions."
"Once again, using the tactic of besieging with famine. They employ subtly unpleasant methods."
"It's undoubtedly effective. Fortunately, this time, without road blockades, the situation is slightly better."
"Continue. Due to the indiscriminate liberation of slaves by demi-humans, around seventy criminal slaves escaped. Their whereabouts are currently unknown, but some of the disturbances that night are presumed to be caused by them."
"...This is becoming troublesome."
"In the troublesomeness, there's one more thing. Among the escaped slaves was someone named Emen."
"Emen? The forger who produced the counterfeit coins!"
"That guy stirred up the whole kingdom with his counterfeit coins..."
"Yes. If they seek refuge with those who have facilities and funds, it could become troublesome..."
"We'll have to issue a wanted notice."
"Now, let's move on to the most significant trouble. Prime Minister."
"Yes. First, keep this information within this room. Even if it's just a slip of the tongue, revealing this is unacceptable. Among the kidnapped slaves, there is the heir of the dismantled Duke's family from the neighboring country, Manastella."
Silence engulfed everyone.
"To be honest, I'm not sure where to start with this... First of all, why was the Duke's family dismantled? Isn't a duke part of the royal family? Also, normally, instead of dismantling, wouldn't they just replace the head?"
The King himself answered the General's question.
"The reasons for their dismantling haven't been publicly disclosed. It could be due to a recent feud with the new king or disputes related to the succession of the throne."
"If that's the case, why is such a young noble turned into a slave?"
"I don't know. However, slave traders secretly received a request to deliver the heir to someone in our country. The slave trader wasn't informed of who that someone was, and they were supposed to confirm the identity using a marked token. The inclusion of the heir among the slaves was to conceal their identity, and it's reported that they weren't subjected to abuse."
"Who tasked the slave trader with this challenging request?"
"As for that, the trader staunchly refuses to talk, even under duress. They consider not revealing their client's information a point of pride. It's almost admirable."
"This... odd form of asylum, is there a possibility that the Manastella royal family is silently allowing it?"
"Of course, it's possible. However, there's no way to confirm it."
"I see. This is an exceptionally troublesome matter."