The Founding Monarch Became the Mastermind

Chapter 88

Before his wife Stella passed away, Si-on traveled to many places with her.

Stella was an energetic and active woman, not at all like the typical princess of a kingdom.

However, during the Dark Dragon War, she couldn’t even think about traveling, and after marrying Si-on and moving to the duchy, she rarely left Sionia.

It was because when Si-on led his knights to drive out monsters, Stella took full responsibility for the internal affairs.

Stella was extremely intelligent.

Moreover, most of the people in charge of the duchy’s administration and those who assisted Stella were from the royal capital, who had followed her to Sionia.

With her sharp mind and the authority that came from being both the duchess and the only sister of the Hero King, the duchy and family grew rapidly, even when Si-on was absent.

In the beginning, the population was small, so once things got started, everything proceeded smoothly, allowing the development and stability of the duchy to progress even more quickly.

Over the course of 20 years, Stella bore and raised children out of her love for Si-on.

Though still beautiful, she had reached an age where wrinkles had begun to show.

It was at that moment that Si-on realized something.

He had worked his wife too hard.

The primary reason why Si-on decided to pass his title to his eldest son, Theo, and retire, was because of Stella.

This lively, curious, travel-loving young woman had followed him to this rural land and spent her youth there.

Realizing this, Si-on suggested to Stella that they leave after giving Theo three more years to prepare for taking over the duchy, and she accepted with a bright smile.

And so, after handing everything over to their children, the couple traveled freely.

Although they only passed down the ducal family’s wealth, the couple (especially Stella, who had grown her fortune through investments made during her time as a princess) had plenty of money, so they lacked for nothing.

The only minor annoyance was the scout from the information guild who followed them around like a shadow, but the couple never directly encountered them, and over time, they didn’t even pay attention to it.

Thus, the couple traveled to many places over the next ten years.

Sometimes they were knight and lady, other times aunt and nephew, and sometimes a married couple with their faces covered, happily exploring the world together.

Among the places they visited was Yazan, a city that was growing into a major metropolis and expanding its influence into the surrounding region.

“Were we there for about half a year?”

Initially, they had planned to stay for about ten days, but unexpectedly extended their stay, experiencing many different things.

And staying in a city for half a year meant, of course, they formed connections with many different people.

Among the people Si-on met while staying in Yazan with Stella was a young and ambitious city council member named Theodor.

A year after Si-on left the city, Theodor was elected mayor.

Yazan’s first and last four-term mayor.

He served for an impressive 20 years, but died of illness just before his fifth term.

Naturally, Si-on didn’t attend Theodor’s funeral.

Although Si-on had a rough idea of what Theodor thought of him (and deliberately distanced himself from it), he didn’t consider Theodor a close friend.

In truth, they were somewhat close, as Si-on had done something for him.

But their closeness wasn’t to the extent that Si-on would travel across multiple countries and territories for over a month, and then take a six-day boat ride to attend the funeral in Yazan.

So, Si-on had forgotten about Theodor for a few years after his death.

That is, until he returned to Yazan while investigating Eltis Island in the middle of the Inner Sea and discovered the malicious(?) gift Theodor had left for him.

* * *

“Hey, get up.”

“Huh!? Sniff…”

This is where the skill ‘Intimidation’ comes in handy.

Belin, having witnessed Si-on’s overwhelming display of impossible strength right in front of her, dropped her usual arrogant and haughty demeanor and crawled to her feet.

“Ugh…”

Si-on coldly spoke to her as she glanced nervously at her unconscious lover, who lay sprawled on the floor, face down in an undignified position with his rear in the air.

“You know him, right? You know that his bones are tough. He’ll wake up soon, so come sit over here. Oh, and the mayor.”

“Yes, yes, sir!”

As Calbert, who had been sitting on the sofa, jumped up in a panic, Si-on pressed a finger to his lips.

Understanding that this meant to keep Si-on’s true identity a secret, Calbert nodded enthusiastically and sat back down.

“You’re from Yazan, right?”

“Y-yes…”

Recognizing both the strength Si-on had displayed and the unique atmosphere that only true ‘powerful’ individuals or rulers possess, Belin responded obediently.

Whatever happened later, for now, she had no choice but to bow down before the man who had reduced even the mayor of Rozin to such a pitiful state.

“The mayor… no, this idiot misjudged the situation. I understand that the communication with Hender and the officials in Sionia was delayed, so I can see why this happened. However, we had our own circumstances. My forces and I hadn’t finished our training. And as you know, sending an army to deal with not just a few dozen but hundreds or even thousands of monsters without any plans or preparations is absurd, right?”

“Y-yes, that’s correct.”

“You there, the woman from Yazan?”

“I-I think you’re absolutely right.”

Absolutely right, my foot, Belin thought.

She could come up with at least five reasons to refute Si-on’s words.

But for now, she had to stay quiet.

The priority was to somehow get out of this situation safely.

Once they were in a safe place and had assessed the situation, and once the mercenaries arrived in Rozin…

“But…”

“…!”

At the sound of Si-on’s low and chilling voice, the same one he had used when they first entered the room, Belin felt her legs go weak, and she straightened her back.

“I found out that you people from Yazan played a significant role in leading the mayor of Rozin to make poor decisions and judgments.”

“Who…”

The words “Who told you that nonsense?” almost escaped her lips but got stuck in her throat.

While Belin had never directly killed anyone, she had spent enough time around people who made their living through murder and violence to recognize the expression and gaze Si-on wore.

Killing intent.

But not the kind you see in low-level killers who prey on the weak.

It was the kind of intent that only someone who had killed countless people on the battlefield could emit, and it now enveloped Belin.

While Si-on had such experience, in this instance, it was actually the skill ‘Killing Intent’ at work.

“Huu…”

Frozen in place, Belin was on the verge of wetting herself when Si-on handed her something.

“Judging by your status, you seem to hold a considerable position in Yazan, so you should recognize this, right?”

“Huh…?”

Belin’s trembling eyes moved toward the small object Si-on held out.

Her pupils dilated as she took in the sight.

It was a small, palm-sized metallic hexagram.

“T-this is…!”

“That’s right. The Star of Yazan.”

“This really exists…?”

For a brief moment, the thought crossed her mind, “Could it be a fake?” but she quickly dismissed it.

Not many people even knew of the existence of the Star of Yazan, or the Hexagonal Seal as it was also called.

And anyone from Yazan who recognized the Hexagonal Seal knew that when faced with its owner, no matter who it was…

“I greet the Saint!”

In the suffocating atmosphere of murderous intent, Belin immediately bowed her head low.

In Yazan, there wasn’t a single prominent family that didn’t know of the existence of the Star of Yazan, the Hexagonal Seal.

Though there were only a few dozen people who owned one, they were the true backbone of Yazan, the ones who truly owned the city-state.

And they owed their allegiance to the Saint who had rescued Yazan during its greatest crisis in history and invested thousands of gold coins in several key trading companies.

That Saint, the benefactor who had saved Yazan in every sense of the word, was none other than…

The owner of the Hexagonal Seal, who was now standing before her.

‘Damn you, Theodor.’

Si-on wanted to dig up Theodor from his grave and beat him for creating such an annoying item.

Long ago, at the insistence of his wife Stella, who said it would greatly benefit Si-on and their descendants in the future, Si-on had saved Yazan from a genuine crisis and invested nearly half of his fortune into several key trading companies in the city.

Of course, the investment had been properly documented with contracts, with one copy held by Si-on, one by the respective trading companies, and the last by Yazan’s city hall.

As a result, Si-on could prove his status as a shareholder at any time, with a 30-49% stake in the trading companies, entitling him to dividends.

However, perhaps Theodor had felt a bit disappointed that Si-on never returned to Yazan, despite his enormous achievements and the decades that had passed.

In his will, Theodor had instructed the creation of the peculiar object known as the Hexagonal Seal.

He had imprinted the seals of Yazan’s six leading trading companies into the six triangles of the hexagram, with the Yazan mayor’s seal placed in the center, making the Hexagonal Seal a symbol of the Saint.

Theodor’s will specified that this seal should be passed to Si-on or his descendants should they ever return.

Si-on only received this seal during his visit to Yazan, decades later, while investigating the situation on Eltis Island and casually checking how much profit his past investments had yielded.

‘He said it would be helpful someday? What a sly bastard.’

This went beyond slyness—was it prophecy?

Si-on chuckled as he recalled the young city council member, brimming with ambition.

In any case, Theodor’s will had proven accurate.

The woman, who had been glaring at Si-on with a defiant look even after her hulking lover had been knocked out with one blow, and even while being subjected to his killing intent, now bowed her head.

The Hexagonal Seal had certainly proven its usefulness.

‘But that’s that.’

“Raise your head.”

“Yes.”

Belin, her fierce gaze now completely gone, cautiously raised her head, and Si-on spoke with an indifferent expression.

“The reason I showed you this is simple. First, to stop you from talking nonsense in front of me. And second, I want to know why Yazan is trying to exert influence on the Si-on Duchy.”

“I’ll tell you right away. It’s because…”

In front of the majority shareholder and actual owner of ‘Spio Trading Company,’ which held 49% of her family’s stock, Belin couldn’t keep any secrets.

After all, Spio’s ownership had dropped from 51% to 30% over the years.

In other words, if the owner of the Hexagonal Seal wanted, he could…

‘He could replace everyone, from the president to the top executives. On top of that, he has connections with the King of Obla? If we’re not careful, we’re screwed.’

Belin Spio was a woman who feared the power of ‘money’ far more than physical strength or pain.