“Well, if that’s what you think. But the Tower really is amazing. So magnanimous.”

“If you’re going to talk about the embezzlement again…”

“The amount of money you stole could build an entire kingdom. You really are amazing.”

“That much is… huh?”

Roywick, who had been trying to gloss things over, suddenly turned pale.

“You didn’t know it was that much?”

“Th-that’s preposterous. It’s impossible to steal enough to build a kingdom. You have quite the sense of humor.”

The mages who were about to disperse began to raise their voices again in a mix of frustration. They were magicians who lived worse than ordinary citizens.

Even when they tried to make a living by selling magical tools, their contracts with the Tower prevented them from doing so.

Because of their contract, which stated that a fine must be paid if they were caught selling magical tools, they could only wait for the contract to expire.

Because of these circumstances, magicians were considered impoverished by social norms, and they were the least desirable as grooms. Unable to marry, their only option was the Tower, perpetuating the vicious cycle.

But to think there was enough money to steal to build a kingdom!

Roywick glared at the Tower Master, demanding an explanation, but he was busy rolling his eyes.

“All these years, you’ve made the impossible possible, Tower Master. First by raising the prices of magical tools.”

“You can’t make that much money from that alone! You clearly don’t understand, Isabella…”

“Then you started making your own magical tools, didn’t you? All the profits from distributing those would be yours. How convenient it must have been to have free labor from orphanage kids. You really raked in the cash, didn’t you?”

Although the novel did not explicitly mention exploiting orphanage kids for money, it did mention stealing credit from them. However, considering he kept Shasha, a naturally gifted child, by his side, even paying her, it was obvious.

It seemed my suspicion was accurate, judging by the Tower Master’s reaction.

“Uh-uh.”

It appeared that I wasn’t wrong, as the Tower Master started to hiccup while still sitting.

“You can’t lie, can you, Tower Master?”

“N-no, I was just surprised…”

“Then explain. What did I get wrong?”
“I’m all wrong. How could I possibly embezzle that much money?”

Despite his large build, which would seemingly not show trembling, his body was visibly shaking.

“Which part? Then how did you plan to give me money? You said you would personally hand me the huge sum if I left Shanencia to the stable, right? If I trusted the stable owner?”

“That, that is…”

“So, did you brag about money you don’t have?”

Upon hearing this, he nodded his head so much that it seemed it would fall off.

“That’s it.”

“You’re not saying you didn’t say those things?”

I pressed him deliberately to hear those words, and the cornered stable owner moved as I had expected.

“Unfortunately, we have completed the investigation that you have a huge fortune. You’re quite bold. Did you even use someone else’s name? Does that person even exist?”

“That is…!”

“Where did all that money come from?”

The complexion of Roywick, who had been siding with the stable owner, finally hardened.

The stable owner looked at Roywick with regret, but it seemed this was not a problem he could solve for him. Rather, his expression also hardened.

Or, he was actually angry.

“I had thought about letting you off the hook. So you’ve been embezzling all this money since you became a stable owner?”

“That… that is…”

“It was strange… strange from the beginning when you kept offering me things… This is unforgivable!”

“You’ve been receiving everything I offered you, and now you act like this. Elder!”

Perhaps he was planning to let it slide because he had been receiving things. Had they been scamming quite a lot? An old pig and an old fox seemed to have been hand-in-hand in this.

“That was just a gift. You say you received it well? You speak such misleading words so easily, stable owner.”

“He… you can’t do this!”

“What can’t be done?”

Roywick, who had been clearing his throat, looked at me.

“Thanks to Isabella, we’ve come to know a lot. I never imagined you’d make such a big mistake. This matter will be handled by the stable.”

To ‘handle’ means he’ll be removed from the stable owner position, no doubt.

In the novel, the stable owner had already been dismissed for his countless embezzlements and even his whereabouts were unknown, so not much has changed from the past.

Except it was revealed a bit earlier, and that he had exploited even the orphans.

“Yes.”

“Then let’s disperse for today.”

“I’d like to, but I’ve heard stories that I have to take to His Majesty the Emperor. There’s also the matter with Sasha.”

“You were going to let that earlier issue go…”

Somehow wanting to resolve this internally, Roywick persuaded me in a much softer voice than before.

“Yes. I’ll let it go. But His Majesty the Emperor won’t.”