Chapter 350

Deep night, western Lause Arcade.

Unlike Red Cedar Avenue, nicknamed by the capital's residents as the "Noble District" and lined with numerous old noble estates, the western Lause Arcade, known as the "Rich Man's District," though also home to many nobles, rarely housed grand manors.

Since its construction was nearly a century later than Red Cedar Avenue, the capital's precious land no longer permitted the enclosure and building of large estates; moreover, most residents here were new nobles who rose through commerce, their political standing far inferior to the old nobility, so standards were continually lowered.

To own several elegant, refined townhouses here was already considered "top-tier" within the entire "Rich Man's District"; if one could also add a medium-sized garden, the owner was likely a major figure controlling the capital's political scene.

Yet this rule was not entirely absolute.

After all, though Lause Arcade was fully completed late, it had not been barren land before construction—several older noble estates had been incorporated into its boundaries, and the Emerald Feather Manor belonging to the Jin Juan family was one such case.

…

Strange… what could Jin Juan, the Marquis, possibly be after?

As Li Ang stepped on the originally pristine but centuries of rain erosion had turned deep yellow paving stones, approaching the entrance of Emerald Feather Manor, he gazed at the lavish structure partially revealed through the dense woods, his brow slightly furrowing.

Logically, though the Bao Hua Manor clearly had a larger footprint, the manor before him was not much smaller.

And judging by the intricate bas-reliefs on the main building's facade, the marble statues scattered throughout the garden, and the ornamental carvings on the outer portico—clearly the work of a master—the Emerald Feather Manor's sheer opulence far surpassed the plain-styled Bao Hua Manor.

So were they mad? Abandoning their own centuries-old home to forcibly seize Emma's abandoned estate, vacant for six years?

Filled with confusion, Li Ang stepped out of the dark night into the glow of the manor's gate lights, entering the night watch's field of vision, and slightly opened his mouth.

"Meow~"

"Who's there?!"

Seeing a hazy figure approaching, the guard on duty immediately grew alert, instinctively wanting to wake his sleeping partner in the watchroom to question this stranger's identity and why he was approaching Emerald Feather Manor alone at night.

But just then, perhaps due to excess oil dripping from the lamp, the streetlight directly above the guard suddenly flared violently—the soft night light turned blinding, causing the guard to squint involuntarily.

When he blinked hard and looked again at the figure, he realized it wasn't a person at all, but a cat with something hanging around its neck.

Strange… cats and humans differ so greatly in size—how could I have mistaken it?

He stared intently at the kitten again and again, but no matter how he looked, it was merely a short-legged, fluffy-haired cat with no trace of transformation into a cat-girl; the Jin Juan guard could only hiss twice at it, then returned to his post, utterly baffled—

"MEOW!!!"

Accompanied by a furious cat cry, the gray-and-white cat transformed into a blur of gray and white, instantly lunging before the guard's eyes and violently knocking him to the ground.

I… was punched by a cat?

Before the fallen guard could accept this absurd reality, the tiny, short-legged cat used his chest as a springboard and slipped through the open window into the watchroom.

The gatekeeper inside, responsible for registration, barely managed a startled cry before falling silent; the other two night-shift guards, after a muffled groan, also went still.???

Noticing the watchroom had become unnaturally quiet, the struggling guard's expression turned alarmed—he rushed over and looked inside, then was utterly stunned to find all three men sprawled helplessly on the floor.

Tiny cat paw prints littered the entire room, but the strange little cat had vanished; yet behind his neck, he felt an almost imperceptible breath…

"MEOW!!!"

…

"Well done."

Catching the hazy little cat, Li Ang scratched its chin, then lightly flicked the small red Cha hanging from his chest.

With a dreamlike, melodious chime, the hazy gray-and-white cat vanished; in Li Ang's palm appeared a door key engraved with a cuckoo pattern.

Sorry, I'm not very familiar with this device—seems I went a bit too hard, but tonight you can all clock out early.

Apologizing inwardly to the guard lying unconscious with terror on his face, Li Ang slid him through the window into the watchroom, then used the key found by the Dream Cat to unlock the already-locked front gate and walked boldly into the Jin Juan family's manor.

The 【Dream Invader】, forged for him by the old patriarch using the weapon of 【Lord of Desire Dreams】 as the core material, has an extremely discreet activation method.

As long as any meaningful "interaction" occurs with the target, their soul is disturbed, and the power of the Dream Realm briefly intrudes into reality through their soul as a conduit.

As an ordinary person with no abnormalities, the Jin Juan guard, upon hearing Li Ang's "meow," fell under the 【Dream Invader】's control and "dreamed" of a little cat.

This dream-cat, having invaded reality through the guard's soul, effortlessly knocked out everyone in the watchroom under Li Ang's command, leaving behind a trail of paw prints.

When the Bureau sends investigators, if they're not thorough enough, merely cross-referencing the guard's memory will misdirect the entire investigation—even toward some absurd "cat transformation" anomaly.

Even if no conclusion is reached and suspicion eventually falls on me, this non-existent target will indirectly dilute my own suspicion—that's my second alibi, following the carriage driver's "alibi."

Where there's one, there's two; where there's two, there's three and four. As for my third alibi…

"Get to work!"

Patting his button, Li Ang summoned the Black Goat, then pointed calmly at the distant main building still brightly lit:

"Come on! Help me find someone!"

…

"Ssshh… ssshh…"

Though it was deep past midnight, even with the horizon faintly tinged with dawn, some still remained awake, laboring at their desks.

After filling half a sheet of paper with elaborate, ornate cursive script, the weary man folded the letter and handed it to his secretary standing beside the desk.

"Go. Seal it, stamp it, and deliver it to the Mining Guild tomorrow with my official order."

"Yes, sir."

Carefully storing the letter, the secretary, equally tired, forced himself to focus:

"My Lord Renard, after your letter arrives, should we continue to court the Mining Guild as before, or—"

"No need. They've lost all value."

Taking another document from the pile, Renard, after glancing at the signature at the bottom, frowned:

"I supported the Mining Guild's request solely to use tax cuts to relocate them to Meilinuo County for mining; the spices from Meilinuo's plantations are our Kuke family's greatest rivals.

Since both mining and spice cultivation demand vast water, once the mines open in Meilinuo, they'll compete with the region's major spice gardens for water—suppressing our rivals while reducing the kingdom's spice output and raising prices.

That's why I backed the Mining Guild—not because the miners themselves had any value. Now that they've received the order and begun mining, we needn't waste further effort on them."

"Ah, yes!"

After noting Renard Marquis's instructions, the secretary hesitated slightly, then ventured:

"But the miners have already clashed multiple times with Meilinuo's side over this—dozens have died, seven or eight dozen in total. If things escalate—"

"Then let them go to the Princess. The policy encouraging energy guilds was her initiative; if trouble arises, she bears responsibility."

"Besides, she's long sought to bypass the Finance Ministry and Parliament to find independent revenue sources to fill the military's budget hole. These citizen-formed industrial guilds are her strongest supporters—even donating funds to equip two full regiments."

If more people die this time, it might wake up those peasants and make them realize the power struggle between the Royal House and the Finance Ministry isn't their place to meddle in—perhaps it's even beneficial.

Also, who delivered this letter to my desk?"

After skimming the earnest petition, Renard frowned, visibly displeased:

"The Weavers' Guild submitted a petition begging for tax relief? If we cut their taxes, how will the city pay for next year's expenses? The church district and arcade's greenery needed renewal last year—where will I get the funds if I don't collect their taxes?"

"Well… the Weavers' Guild is indeed struggling…"

After flipping through the relevant documents, the secretary cautiously reminded:

"After their defeat six years ago, the kingdom lost two overseas trade routes; the textile route was one of them, causing many workshops to shut down from unsold goods.

Though your and Bao… that family's northern land route still transports textiles, it's heavily taxed by the Ashito Kingdom, leaving minimal profit—so they may genuinely be struggling."

"Why are you talking so much today?"

Renard narrowed his eyes coldly at his secretary, his tone hostile:

"Did the Weavers' Guild bribe you?"

"They did give a little… but these are facts."

The secretary chuckled sheepishly, then said:

"You know, most weavers' guilds are still small workshops—they can't compete with wealthy merchants. A slight change can easily break them."

"Then let them break!"

Renard snorted:

"I don't care about your bribes, but tax cuts are absolutely out of the question!

Don't think I don't know—I once worked this trade myself. To make money here, you simply drain the weavers' blood. A weaver can produce two hundred bolts of cloth; giving back fifty or sixty bolts' worth of pay is enough.

So instead of begging me for tax cuts, just squeeze harder—cut their wages to forty bolts and they won't starve. If you can push it to thirty bolts, that's better than cutting taxes twice!"

"That's true, but the weavers might…"

"Then expel the troublemakers. Do I have to teach them that too?"

Crumpling the weavers' tax relief petition and tossing it into the trash, Renard waved his hand impatiently:

"If you can't hire enough workers, just drag them from the slums! They'll work for a bowl of rice. They can't do skilled dyeing, but can't they weave? Just move their arms and legs!"

"Also, don't think your surname being Kuke means I'll tolerate you endlessly. No matter how many favors they've given you, this ends now—every copper coin of tax must be collected!"

"Yes, I'll tell them the day after tomorrow…"

"Go tomorrow! And how's Bao Hua Manor doing?"

After drinking a cup of imported stimulant tea, Renard rubbed his swollen temples, eyes closed:

"They've been cleaning for four or five days now—has the main building been restored? Can anyone live there yet?"

"Well… it'll take another three or four days…"

The secretary stammered:

"My Lord, you know it's been abandoned for six years. Aside from the garden, which someone occasionally tends, most of it's fallen into ruin, so…"

"I don't care how ruined it is—just get the living quarters ready!"

"But… that place is so dilapidated—won't it be…?"

"Ruined or not doesn't matter. As long as it doesn't collapse, it's livable."

Stopping his temple-rubbing, Renard explained wearily:

"The Princess has the support of the Lionheart Duke—she's secured the Military and Road Administration Departments, and effectively taken the Vice President's seat in the Upper Academy.

For Prince Joshua to challenge her, merely having the Finance Minister's backing isn't enough—he needs influence within the Upper Academy.

As the Finance Minister said, if I publicly acknowledge my marriage to that woman, he'll maneuver to seize the Bao Hua family's Upper Academy seat for me—then both princes will be back on equal footing.

【101】 Moving from Emerald Feather Manor to Bao Hua Manor is the first step in this maneuver. Even with the Finance Minister and Royal House backing, my people must be physically present there—must at least appear to be doing it properly—before I can inherit the Bao Hua family's political legacy. Understood?"

"I understand…"

"If you understand, then go do it!"

Looking at his cousin—who was nominally his secretary but actually here to learn state affairs before seeking an external posting—Reinard pushed with his last shred of patience:

"Set everything else aside, but this is an order from the Minister of Finance. If we secure Bao Hua's seat, the Emperor himself will give strong support—it must take priority!"

So go now and pressure them—wake up those workers and get them working through the night!"

"Yes! I'm on it right away!"

The secretary rose quickly and hurried out of the office. With the disturbance gone, Reinard set down his teacup and resumed reviewing the towering stack of documents on his desk. The room fell silent once more, save for the soft scratch of pen on paper—until…

"Crack!"

The whale oil in the desk lamp trembled slightly, emitting a faint hum, causing the light to flicker twice—and rousing the man hunched over his desk, writing furiously.

After glancing at the empty side desk, Reinard frowned and called out loudly:

"Mark?"

"Where are you?"

When no answer came, not even from the guards outside, Reinard frowned and rose from his chair.

"Mark?"

"I'm here."

With a slightly muffled reply, a faint, blurred figure appeared at the door—but its build seemed off, slimmer than the slightly overweight Mark…

"Mark?"

"Mm."

At the confirming reply, the figure stepped from the shadow beyond the door. The once-blurred form now steadied under the lamplight, becoming clear and solid.

Seeing Reinard's tense body relax, the secretary—still weary in his eyes—smiled gently and said calmly:

"Lord Reinard, I've come."