Home and Plot

I look at the stack of paper in front of me and sigh a little. I forgot that I have a massive amount of paperwork that needs to be done. I take the first paper and begin to read it. The paper is the financial report of my land.

Richard places the most important thing on top while the least important paper will be on the bottom.

Anyway, I look at the paper and begin to read it. The first one is the taxes. Because of my new title as Duke, the other northern lord sent their taxes to me. After that, I will send fifty percent of that tax to the royal family.

Before you said something, yeah, this is a stupid economic system. With this system, a Duke will always be a rich family. What makes this even more stupid, the royal family only takes fifty percent of a normal tax.

What I mean is that the normal tax is ten percent of the overall income of the lord. However, the lord who has a vassal can increase this tax. So basically, if the lord usually gets one thousand gold every year from his vassal, they can get more than one thousand golds if they increase the tax they insist on their vassals.

They then sent ten percent of that normal tax to the royal family.

Now you can imagine how much money the Duke would get if he decided to place thirty percent of tax into their vassal and only give fifty percent of the normal tax income to the royal family.

Anyway, today is not tax day. Right now, I'm looking at the merchant tax. Every merchant who comes to Sea Dragon City needs to pay taxes. One silver for every ship. Transportation ships need to pay seventy bronze coins.

This month's shipping tax alone got me a hundred and twenty-five gold coins.

I continued to read the paper and put back the financial report on the table after I finished reading all of it. I then take the next report. This one is the report from Richard. I read it and frowned a little.

It looks like Richard and his shadow have already captured ten spies coming from the outside. Even though I already know this from the ward telling me about it, it is still a worrying report. Ten spies in a week. That is ridiculous.

What makes it even worse, half of them are sent by the same person. Duke Phineas Frederick. Richard already interrogates them thoroughly using the Veritaserum and gets what we need to know.

They come here to sabotage and steal the secret of the northern success in agriculture. The report also said that Richard's shadow already captured twelve more spies coming from Duke Frederick in the other northern lord land.

It looks like I really need to create a Ward around the rest of the north for a spy.

I snap from my thoughts when I hear someone knock on the door.

"Come in"

After I said that, the door opened up, and coming from the door is Richard bringing a tray in his hand. On the tray are tea and some snacks.

"Excuse, my lord. Here is your morning tea and snack."

"Ah! Richard, I am just about to ask you to come here."

"Oh? What can this humble servant do?"

"How many shadows do you have right now? The one in the north."

"Around one hundred and fifty, my lord."

"Can you spread your shadow across the northern land?"

"At the current state, it is a little bit hard, my lord."

"I see, then this will be hard."

"Is there something wrong, my lord?"

I passed him the paper, and he read it.

"I just read your paper, and I'm thinking of making a barrier across the northern region to watch for a spy. However, I cannot capture them myself. I need you, and your shadow will be the one that captures the spy on my behalf. I will then appoint you as the master of the spy ward. You will be noticed if a spy is walking inside the north."

"I see."

"Sadly, if what you said is true, then we need more men to do it. We cannot just arrest someone without reason. I don't want to be seen as a tyrant after all."

"Then how about using the Queen's Watchman?"

"Queen's Watchman?"

"They are the personal spy and assassin of the queen, my lord."

Huh. I forget that the Queen brings back more than a hundred assassins and spies with her to the north. Like Richard's shadow, Queen's Watchman is a top-tier Assassin and spies. My wards only report a person with bad intentions and will flare up if there is someone who intends to spy and kill someone.

The Queen's Watchman is different. They did not have any intention. They are like blank paper that does not have anything written on it. The only reason why I know they are here is that every human being has energy inside of them.

My passive sense from using the Green Magic notice them after a few seconds inside my radius. Even with that, I can only feel them after a few seconds. They are inside my passive sense.

"If you can ask the Queen Dowager to lend you her Watchman, I will give you the green light."

"A green light?"

"I mean, I will agree with your plan."

"I see. Then I will immediately ask Queen Dowager about this plan. If there is nothing else, my lord?"

"No. You are dismissed."

"Then, excuse me."

I see Richard walk away from my room, and after seeing him disappear, I begin to read the report once again.

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|Valerie Gideon von Vulux POV|

"You want to borrow my watchman to become an anti-spy personnel for the north?"

"That is right."

I don't really mind lending the shadow of the north my watchmen as I know their potential will not be wasted. But, while I'm not willing to admit it out loud, I admit that Richard in front of me is a superior spymaster.

"I don't really mind. However, I have one condition."

"Of course. Please tell me the condition."

"I want your shadow in the capital to report their findings to me as well."

"... You did not want to overtake them?"

"No. I'm retired, remember~?"

I chuckle a little when I see him twitch a little.

"Very well. Do you want all of them or only the special one?"

"What is the special one?"

"The special spy is the one I place inside the palace and the royal family."

I raised my eyebrow at what he was saying. I know there are three spies inside the royal palace, but I never knew their names and faces even with the full power of my watchman. I already checked every servant, guard, and even my watchman background, and all of them come out clear. Not only that, but my watchman also catches every raven coming out from the capital and checks every letter carried by the raven, and all of them come up clear.

How he still has a shadow in the capital city even with all that security.

"I really want to ask you how you can successfully place a shadow inside the capital even with all my watchmen watching any suspicious movement, but I know you will never tell how, am I right?"

Richard only gave me a polite smile. Seeing him smile, I sigh a little and say.

"Another condition and I will give you the command over my watchmen."

"Of course, tell me."

"Let me interrogate the spy you caught."

"Of course. It was an honor seeing the Mistress of Poison in action."

I twitch a little at what he says—mistress of Poison, my nickname in the underworld. Because of my knowledge of how to make many kinds of poison and how I kill many assassins that try to kill my family and me with poison, the Assassin guild decided to bestow me with that title, and only a high ranking guild member knew about that title.

"If there is nothing else?"

"No. There is nothing else."

"Then, excuse me."

I look at the back of the Steel Butler back and chuckle a little. Father is right. The Lionheart family is more dangerous than what the southern noble thought it was. Every honorable lord coming from the Lionheart family has two hands. Right and Left hands. Right is usually their wife, who becomes their regent and takes care of the land if the lord is unavailable.

Then there is the left hand—the shadow of the lord. If the lord is the shining beacon that gives hope to his subject, then the Left hand is the one taking care of the threat from the outside without tarnishing the name of their lord.

They lurk in the shadows. They have a kind but stern butler mask, but they are the most poisonous snake you will ever encounter when people provoke, tarnish and threaten their lord.

I chuckle once again and get up from my chair. It is time to let my own left hand know that she needs to learn from the master.