Chapter 113. The Black Curtain Behind the Stage (1)

The dictionary defines "black curtain" as a dark curtain or a hidden, sinister inner workings that aren't outwardly visible.

According to the meaning in the term, it means handling matters without anyone knowing.

A perfect crime, or more directly, making it so only the phenomenon of a person dying can be observed.

"Of course, in reality, those called black curtains didn't end all matters that cleanly."

I tapped my fingers on the desk.

The mistakes they made can be used when checking before or while carrying out an operation.

The important thing is how they kept the sins hidden beneath their very few mistakes from being revealed to the world.

Although I pondered for about 30 minutes by my feeling, the only answer I came up with was one:

"Is it best to give instructions minimally, short and concisely, and plan to control the rest by anticipating how the other party will read and interpret them?"

It's hard to understand even after saying it, but for example, it's like this:

When elderly grandmothers and grandfathers think their children's interest in them has waned.

They suddenly say things like "When you get old, you should just die."

But this intention is contained in those words:

'I'm this lonely, pay more attention to me.'

Hearing those words, the children go to their parents' home with grandchildren and precious food.

Even without any explicit verbal instructions, communication happens, and the elderly couple can receive filial piety from their children without 'directly demanding' it.

"To the retainers of other factions whose bonds I hold..."

While I was organizing my thoughts, muttering to myself, I heard a knock on my office door.

"It's Chris, may I come in?"

"Come in."

As soon as she entered, Chris handed me a bundle of documents.

"As you know, Baron, Baron Olbia and Baron Sisia are currently engaged in a battle of nerves. At first, it was just Baron Olbia attending a ball wearing formal attire made by a craftsman who worked for the imperial family, but..."

What's scary about battles of nerves, especially nobles' battles of nerves, is that reckless actions endlessly follow reckless actions.

It's similar to how PC rooms with many students start by charging 700 won per hour to attract kids, then later cut it to 500 won, 400 won.

At first, they'll definitely see the effect of reducing the opponent's number of customers each time they cut prices.

But gradually they'll have no choice but to witness their own sales plummeting like a roller coaster.

If they were people who could think rationally, they should agree with each other and stop at an appropriate point...

Following the principle that after graduating school, competition becomes 'you must die, and I must live for now', a situation arises where even food, the core of PC room sales, is provided for free.

Free ramen, discounts up to cost price for hot bars or hamburgers, etc.

In the end, the customers benefit, but the two owners have no choice but to go bankrupt.

'It's not for nothing that large companies engage in collusion.'

Baron Olbia's battle of nerves seems likely to flow in a similar way.

"Now that the 'rumors' Roberto leaked have reached Baron Sisia's ears too, wearing clothes inferior in quality to the opponent would reveal his own lack of discernment. So Baron Sisia went to the extreme of bringing in a craftsman who worked for the imperial family as a retainer to make and wear even more splendid clothes."

PC room owners' competition is a competition to survive.

It's something understandable even rationally.

But nobles' competition for dignity takes place in a realm incomprehensible to reason and common sense.

Even though I'm a baron, I honestly don't understand it.

Just looking at clothes, no one really says much if you spend a lot of money only on formal attire for balls and suppress other clothing expenses as much as possible.

Of course, if you dress shabbily in everyday life without having ability, you're just increasing reasons to be cursed at.

You should make efforts to become a capable person who looks frugal by wearing slightly cheaper clothes while focusing more on territory management and such, but…

'But these gentlemen feel like dying of envy if someone with a similar title to them dresses more splendidly.'

There are times when this is utterly incomprehensible.

"As a result, the Sisia and Olbia families are gradually increasing their spending under the determination not to fall behind each other. In small ways, they're giving Cafe Medici cakes to servants, not just attendants, every week, or having coachmen wear plate armor and carry swords when going out. In big ways, they're hosting balls every two weeks at the family level, and holding overly splendid banquets for barons, showing extreme overspending. If this continues, those two families will face enormous financial difficulties."

Those two are probably thinking inwardly like this:

'Please, please stop! We'll all die at this rate!'

But just as the one who cries first loses in children's fights, the one who bows their head first loses in nobles' honor battles.

Apologizing first is equivalent to declaring that I was wrong and will pay the price for all sorts of unreasonable reasons attached to it.

Those two families will go bankrupt without even knowing who's behind it.

"Those two families won't be able to think of antagonizing you for the next few years, Baron. They'll be focused on washing away the aftermath of that overspending."

Honestly, it's good that things are rolling like that.

Baron Olbia tried to put a false charge of 'lack of faith' on me who was just minding my own business, using selling coffee as an excuse, right?

Lack of faith isn't a crime deserving of losing your head.

But if you get framed with that charge, you'll have to struggle to death dealing with the aftermath.

'Still, unable to handle it, they'll die with their assets split in half except for their territory.'

But I can't forgive that with just mutual destruction from overspending.

I need to give them a more intense blow.

They won't even know who hit them in the back of the head with an iron mace, so they won't regret trying to mess with our family even after being struck.

There's no need to boast everywhere that I took revenge on someone who tried to make me eat shit.

It's enough to know it alone.

"This alone seems insufficient. I need to give a more direct hit."

Chris hesitated slightly and answered:

"We've already achieved the goal of preemptively blocking the political attack the other side was preparing."

"We achieved the minimum goal long ago. As a bonus, we dealt a fatal blow to Baron Sisia belonging to Duke Sforza's faction, killing two birds with one stone."

We necessarily get vaccinations as we live.

Even though it costs money to get them.

But there's no one in this world who says the money for vaccinations is a waste.

Because everyone knows how important it is to change the probability of getting a serious illness to converge to '0'.

Of course, it's impossible to prevent all life problems we'll experience in advance.

But it's good to prepare in advance for at least the things we can handle right away.

'It's good to step on the Sisia baron family too since they're an antagonistic faction anyway.'

"Chris. There's an opportunity to make money right in front of you. Will you stop because you've made enough?"

"If it doesn't involve taking a big risk, we should absolutely take it. The more money, the better."

At my level, if I'm satisfied living as a baron, I don't have to worry about money at all.

My official wife is the Duke Visconti's granddaughter, and money doesn't rot, so I can't say it's overflowing to the point of rotting.

But there will be almost no occasions where my wallet runs dry even if I spend as I please.

But if I'm satisfied with this, my competitors will overtake me before I know it.

'And they'll come at me with knives to fill their own pockets.'

"We still haven't fully grasped the capabilities of the Rothschild baron family's spy organization. We've already cornered them, but they haven't used their trump card yet, right?"

The trump card is using retainers of noble families tied up in debt.

Inserting false information to start a 'political war', or blowing up the family from the inside, etc.

'Why do you think America made nuclear weapons and dropped Little Boy and Fat Man?'

95% was to make Japan, the core of the Axis powers, surrender, but the remaining 5% was to directly confirm the power of nuclear weapons in actual combat.

"The financial officer of the Olbia baron family said they're having financial difficulties lately, so I paid part of the interest on his behalf to the trading company he borrowed money from."

"Yes, thanks to that we were able to obtain information in advance that Baron Olbia was using evil schemes."

The information received in return for extending the lifeline of the financial officer is honestly too sweet.

Thanks to that, I completed a difficult QUEST, so I should give a REWARD.

"Forge the Triale Trading Company seal and send a document saying we want to meet appropriately. Say we'll demand interest if they don't come out."

And the next day, I met the financial officer of Baron Olbia at a secluded inn.