"Then we'll have to move quickly to prepare for what's ahead. Sebastian."
"Yes, young master."
"Take these received documents and have them all reported to the media outlets below."
Lucent was startled by that bold statement.
"Is, is that okay? Even if we launch a media campaign now, it'll be hard to make an impact."
"That's only because until now, it was mediocre folks spreading the news. The media outlets our family owns are on a different level. We've even added one recently."
He must be referring to Gears Mill.
"And this is nothing more than a distraction for the opposing side anyway. Have you forgotten? You're the one who needs to step up."
"That's true."
"All I'm doing is clouding their eyes and ears. But that alone should be enough, right?"This time, Delan asked that while looking at Ossian.
Ossian nodded with a slight chuckle.
"Yes. That's all we need. Sebastian. Get ready. The next few days will be busy."
"Yes, I'll do as ordered."
"You all should stay here for a few days during that time."
Although he had volunteered to be bait, there hadn't been any clear discussion of what exactly would be done.
So Lucent decided to feel relieved for now.
Delan left with Sebastian, and Osian's group was guided to a guest room by the mansion's servant.
It was much larger and more luxurious than Delan's office.
While Lorraine was beaming with gold coins in her eyes at the glittering interior,
Lucent, struck by a sudden doubt, posed a question to Ossian.
"Um, is this okay?"
"What do you mean by okay?"
"Staying here for a few days, I mean. It's safe, but...is it alright for us to not do anything?"
Osian, understanding what Lucent was worried about, asked with a smirk.
"You think the Saint Tree board members might run off with the money during that time?"
"Well, yes..."
"We're not doing nothing. Now that Delan has stepped in, all sorts of messy things will start happening."
"Is that enough? If the Goldiron family gets involved, wouldn't those old men get scared and run away with whatever money they have now?"
The current board members are likely planning to sell Lucent's technology to other capitalists, presumably overseas.
They need Lucent for that, but if he takes refuge with the Goldiron family, it becomes quite troublesome for them.
"If it were mediocre people, the board would try to pressure them, but when the opponent is the Goldiron..."
Goldiron wasn't famous simply for having money.
Among the wealthy, they were known as one of the Four Madmen, a title given to particularly eccentric individuals.
Goldiron was the family known as the Madman of Gold among them.
If there was a reason the board members wouldn't touch them, this would account for the largest share.
After all, even dealing with a fierce tiger requires steeling oneself, but it would be better to give up when facing a mad tiger that sees nothing else.
"You don't need to worry about that. If that were the case, they should have given up on all surveillance the moment they saw you enter the Goldiron family."
"You never know."
"Besides, they can't just run away. The fact that an executor has stepped in means the city is keeping an eye on this situation too. If they suddenly try to flee in this situation, that would be like tightening their own noose with their own hands."
The board members had no reason to run away. Rather, they had found themselves in a situation where they couldn't escape.
They hadn't been proven guilty yet, legally speaking. The city of Tirna knew this too, which is why they could only watch their actions closely without being able to take legal action.
The board members knew this too, which is why they were brazenly acting as if nothing was wrong.
"What's important is how well we use the bait."
The catfish lurking outside the legal net, watching intently for the bait.
Since they care tremendously about their own safety, they'll be careful about taking the bait under normal circumstances.
If we don't give them enough angle, they might give up, but if we get too close, they might just grab the bait and slip away before we can catch them.
'No matter how much I think about it, the answer doesn't come easily.'
While pondering how to handle this, Lorraine offered a suggestion.
"Then, how about getting help from someone who's good at thinking?"
"Someone who's good at thinking?"
"Yes. The smartest person I know."
"Who would that be?"
"You should know too, right?"
Lorraine smiled slyly as if saying to just trust her.
*
The next morning two people visited the Goldiron family villa.
They were Diolan and Edgar, fixers from Violet Fox.
Osian muttered in surprise when he saw them.
"Diolan was the brain type?"
"No, what are you saying? There's no way Diolan would be!"
Lorraine corrected Osian's misunderstanding as if that made no sense.
"Then this guy..."
"What's this? I made time to come because you called, and this is the reaction? Should I just go back?"
Edgar frowned, biting down on the lollipop in his mouth.
"No no no. You came all this way, how could we? Come in, come in. Make yourself at home, think of it as your own house."
Lorraine immediately soothed Edgar and guided him into the mansion.
She was acting as if she were the owner of this mansion, but they decided not to point that out.
"By the way, why did you come?"
"If both Lorraine and Edgar are going, it would be weird if I didn't join."
"What about Violet Fox? Wasn't it attacked?"
"That's fine. Ena is there, and more importantly, we have reliable friends watching over it."
Osian thought of the Knights, Asmer, and Lupona who followed Ena.
As long as they were guarding it, Violet Fox would be safer than ever before.
Following Lorraine's guidance, Edgar naturally sat down on the sofa in the reception room.
"So, you needed my help with something?"
"Yes. You see..."
Lorraine eagerly shared their current situation and concerns about future direction.
Edgar listened quietly with his arms crossed, wearing a disgruntled expression.
"That's how it is. So I was wondering if we could ask for your help."
"Crunch."
Edgar finished crushing his lollipop and threw the empty stick in the trash.
While everyone watched silently, Edgar thoroughly chewed up the candy and swallowed it.
"Well, I can picture what needs to be done in my head."
"Really?"
"Yeah. In short, you want to dig up the crimes of those Saint Tree geezers and make them pay."
"Right, right. But it's not as easy as it sounds. They haven't committed any legal crimes yet, so even the city can't do anything about it."
"If there aren't any, we make some."
"Make some? What?"
Edgar raised his finger to point at Lucent.
"That clueless fellow. He's still the chief researcher of Saint Tree, right?"
"Y-yes? You mean me?"
"What's important is his status. It would be perfect if he returned to Saint Tree just as he is."
"No no wait."
Lorraine interrupted, seemingly not understanding.
"Return to Saint Tree? The people there are trying to catch him and beat him up, and you're saying he should go there willingly?"
"You asked me for a solution."
"I did."
"So I'm telling you the best solution right now."
"How is that the best...?"
Lorraine tried to argue further, but had to back down when Edgar frowned as if annoyed.
"If you don't like it, forget it."
"No, that's not what I meant..."
"Whatever, what's your opinion?"
Edgar asked Osian. His manner of speech and way of addressing people was still rude, but Osian decided to let it slide.
After all, there wasn't any real malice behind that behavior.
"I see, I understand what you're trying to do."
"What? You understand? What was it then?"
"To expose their corruption and crimes, we need to enter the heart of enemy territory."
Edgar nodded with a satisfied expression.
"Right. Good to see someone understands. That's exactly it. Enter the heart of enemy territory and become a whistleblower."
"But isn't that strange? Lucent already tried to expose this crime to the outside. Isn't this the same thing?"
"Yeah. He did something similar. Anonymously."
"Anonymously...Ah!"
Lorraine's mouth gaped open as if she finally realized.
"Um, when you say anonymously..."
"Lucent Philburg. Have you ever revealed your identity when trying to expose Saint Tree's crimes?"
"Ah, that..."
"Answer properly."
"...No."
Lucent's information leak to the press was anonymous.
It had to be. If he had revealed his identity as the chief researcher, the newspapers would have highlighted that point and made it headline news.
That's why the media outlets that received money from Saint Tree could counter-attack by calling it slander.
It was natural for Lucent. Revealing his position and identity would only make things more dangerous.
"But, becoming a whistleblower..."
Edgar spoke with an expression that seemed to ask if he really needed to explain this.
"Go back to Saint Tree and formally expose the situation to the outside."
"That's, that's crazy! The moment I return, I'll be captured and subjected to horrible torture!"
"Of course I'm not saying you should go alone."
Edgar pointed to Osian, Diolan, and Lorraine.
"You'll need guards, right?"
*
Saint Tree's board members were in a state of emergency.
Four days had passed since Lucent Philburg went to the Goldiron family.
As their fears became reality, Goldiron had started all sorts of operations.
First, they mobilized Tirna City's civil servants based on their vast funds. All of them were people they had bribed with money.
They pointed out the situation at Saint Tree and argued that an inspection was necessary.
Until then, the voices of those they had bribed were louder than such claims, but now the tide had turned.
It didn't stop there.
The media outlets owned by Goldiron and those receiving their support all joined in providing covering fire.
Because of this, the pressure from the outside was not insignificant.
"What should we do about this?"
The other board members couldn't offer any solutions to Director William's question.
William felt frustrated at their response. But he knew. How could they not want to answer?
It was inevitable since the situation had come this far.
"How about we just slip away?"
One director cautiously suggested. But to William, that was one of the worst moves.
"Are you crazy? The hyenas outside are watching our every move with sharp eyes, and you want to walk outside the fence on your own?"
The director who made the suggestion closed his mouth. In fact, though he said that, he shared William's thoughts.
"We've already come this far. And we're all in the same boat. How can we give up and lose everything after taking so much money?"
The board members nodded vigorously as if strongly agreeing.
"Fortunately, even the Goldiron family can't launch a more aggressive offensive than this. They know too, how big the current bubble is. So we just need to wait quietly. The executors? They can't move without orders from above. And the principle behind their actions is ultimately the law."
Law.
William emphasized that word in particular as he spoke.
"We haven't broken the law. They have no grounds to investigate and inspect us."
That justification was exactly why they could still be so confident.
Of course, there was still a tiny fragment of anxiety remaining in that justification.
"Then what should we do about Lucent Philburg?"
Another director raised the question.
That was exactly the problem. What should they do about that damn youngster who joined hands with Goldiron?
'As much as I'd like to kill him, the problem is the value of the technology he possesses. That cunning youngster deceived us with his naive appearance and didn't reveal the core information of the technology. They're still waiting, this is troublesome.'
Because they lacked that core information, they still couldn't sell this technology.
That's why they were still hanging onto Lucent.
"That...we can resolve that gradually over time."
William had no choice but to answer that way. He didn't have any particular solution either.
Just then, the door opened and his executive secretary rushed in urgently.
"What is it? What's the matter?"
"Th-that...Lucent..."
"What about Lucent?"
Words that would surprise the board members came out of the secretary's mouth.
"Lucent Philburg has returned."