The capital, home of Marquis Stefan
“Hahaha… hahaha!”
Marquis Stefan was in a very good mood today.
Why? First, because sales profits from “Silk Curtains,” a piece of merchandise associated with his newly released comic book, were so high.
Secondly, because all his efforts to sabotage Duke Blair's work are finally bearing fruit!
Thanks to all this, he felt so satisfied that he didn't even need a meal to feel full.
Look at all this money...
He began to slowly turn the pages of the ledger, caressing them with his thick fingers.
When he saw that the numbers had turned into a sudden surplus, his eyes were filled with tears of joy.
“Sniff…”
Was it really that easy?
Greedy readers began buying old, smelly silk curtains in large quantities after the publication of “The Secret of the Ghost Duke.”
Thanks to the packaging phrase “Silk curtains selected by the Ghost Duke!”, even those annoying remaining curtains were sold out as a lie.
“Whew! Worthless junk sold for ten times the cost! Wow!”
Thanks to the combined success of the comic strip, the counterfeit mugs, and the sales of silk curtains, the previously empty coffers of Marquis Stefan's household—emptied by repeated commercial failures—were refilled in a short time.
Yes, that's how it was always supposed to be.
While he was checking the amounts in the ledger with a look of satisfaction, he suddenly spoke.
“There you are, servant.”
“Yes sir.”
“Book a table at the best restaurant on Central Street. I want to have a great dinner tonight.”
“Understood, sir.”
Watching the butler bow politely only made the Marquis feel more cheerful.
As soon as he closed the door and was left alone, he sank into his chair with a more arrogant posture.
Surely, he thought, wasn't he the person best suited to rule others from above, rather than be at their mercy?
But then—
Knock knock knock.
The quiet morning ended abruptly with a knock on the door.
Marquis Stefan, who had just started drinking in anticipation of all the good things to come, turned his gaze towards the door.
“Sir, Viscount Robert is here. He says the matter is urgent.”
“…Viscount Robert? Haha. This man isn’t usually this indifferent… Hmm.”
Although Stefan frowned at the rudeness of the unannounced visit, he remembered his previous good mood, so he answered indifferently.
“Insert it.”
“Yes sir.”
Moments later, the slender Viscount Robert burst into the room.
Although the weather was not hot, he was drenched in sweat – something that clearly bothered Marquis Stefan.
“Viscount Robert, I didn’t think you were such a reckless man… You can’t simply appear suddenly without warning!”
Even if Robert had contributed significantly to their scheme, business was still business.
As usual, Stefan prepared to rebuke him to assert his control, but Robert's urgent voice interrupted him.
"This is not important now, Marquis! We have a serious problem!"
“What do you mean by serious problem? I looked in the newspaper this morning!”
Not once, not twice, but three times.
He took every precaution to ensure that the plan to discredit Duke Blair succeeded without a hitch.
They bribed Duke Blair's former performers to falsely claim they had been exploited.
He then claimed that the authors of “Safety Rules for the Duke’s Haunted Mansion” had stolen the story they had written.
Since the movie “The Secret of the Ghost Duke” was released a few days ago, it is natural for public opinion to side with the “exploited” artists – or so it seems.
So far, things have gone very smoothly, without any hiccups.
“Hmm, Robert...”
As Stefan thought about the situation, his eyes narrowed.
Things were going very smoothly. Did Robert come to make trouble and take more money?
Their relationship was built more on mutual greed than any real trust, so the suspicion wasn't unreasonable.
“Huff, huff...that's not it!”
Sensing Stefan's doubts just from his eyes, Robert couldn't hide his disappointed expression.
“Marquis, have you seen the comic issue issued by Duke Blair’s family?”
“I thought it hadn't been released yet.”
"That's why I got an advance copy. Look at this!"
Stefan, who had thought that Duke Blair's comic project would fall apart, frowned as he received the comic book from Robert.
Honestly, he wasn't expecting much when he turned the first page...
“…Huh?”
By the second and third pages, he realized something was seriously wrong.
"What is this? Why is this different?!"
“That's what I was trying to say!”
Even Robert's panicked voice disappeared amidst the sound of Stefan burying his nose in the comics, reading voraciously.
The more he read, the clearer it became.
“The story…”
It was completely different. Shockingly.
His trembling face was full of astonishment.
This is unbelievable! No, this doesn't make sense!
He stole letters from Baroness Favron, the writer of the story, and deciphered them flawlessly!
Rather, they were deployed first to pre-empt Duke Blair's campaign.
If Blair's team delays publication to review the overlapping story, the accusation of exploitation of artists will become even more damning!
The whole plan was to destroy the reputation of “Safety Rules for the Haunted Duke’s Mansion” and push readers towards the rising star, the Ghost Duke.
But now... now!
"What the hell is going on?! Is there a way to fix this?"
Finally realizing the seriousness of the situation, Stefan turned to Robert.
"We will have to claim that they copied us but were quick to change it. We will try to turn the narrative in our favor."
"And you think this will work? How about the next part then?"
“This is the real problem.”
"What? What now?!"
Our animators say the following story cannot be connected to any other story. The content of the first comic and this newly released story is completely different...
"What did you just say? Viscount Robert! How could you go ahead with this plan without thinking of something so basic?!"
jingle!
Stefan slammed the table angrily, and Robert had to make a great effort to keep calm.
In fact, Marquis Stefan was the mastermind behind all of this. He must bear responsibility for this unexpected factor.
But the crisis has escalated to the point where it is difficult to argue about who bears responsibility.
“Marquis... there... there is a bigger problem.”
“We're already in big trouble, and you're saying there's something worse?!”
Marquis Stefan's flushed face trembled, and he almost exploded.
Robert closed his eyes tightly. Because the next case was much more serious than any comic book.
“Silk curtains, sir...”
“What about them? They are our best-selling product!”
It was a bestseller, that's true.
The best-selling fire-causing materials.
Robert continued speaking with a trembling voice, choosing his words carefully.
“Apparently, because of the mold on the silk curtains, people developed respiratory diseases... A support group was formed by these patients.”
“What? Just a little mold? They're blaming us for no reason, right?”
Stefan became angry.
But coincidentally, everyone who bought the silk curtains developed the same respiratory symptoms. Even the priests - who received many bribes - believed that the curtains were the reason...
“This situation is getting out of control. Buyers are planning to stage a protest in front of the Traders Union today. What should we do?”
"Hah! Unbelievable!"
His nostrils flared, and Stefan jumped to his feet.
"I'll go myself! You think I haven't dealt with some annoying pests before?"
He did not intend to respond to the demands of so-called patient advocacy groups.
But what the Marquis didn't know was this: everyone has a plan... until they get punched in the face.