Chapter 263: Dorothy’s Provocation

The mist-shrouded Tea Party in the Dream, the Great Witches once again gathered around the tea table at Queen Alice’s summons.

“……To summarize, the first transaction with Fenrir went very smoothly. The gold obtained from the transaction has already been safely escorted to my territory. Barring any accidents, it will be delivered to Moiland Island and placed into storage before the end of the month.”

Dorothy stood and reported the recent transactions with Leon to the Queen.

“Mm.” Queen Alice responded. Dorothy bowed and sat down.

At this moment, Arachne spoke up: “Setting aside the fact that we’re actually expected to bear the risk of transporting the gold across borders, according to the transaction volume you reported, it’s basically only one-third to one-half of Earl Foyle’s. According to my investigation, with the amount you’re supplying plus what they’re producing themselves, the market is already completely saturated.

And he controls one less territory than Earl Foyle did back then, nor does he have the ability to expand the market westward. Even if he stopped producing anything himself and bought everything from us, there’s no way he could reach the volume from back then. This channel you established feels like quite a regression.”

The other Great Witches exchanged glances. Some sighed, some smiled wryly, but most maintained an attitude of watching from the sidelines.

Ever since Earl Foyle died, Arachne and Dorothy had both been stationed in the Empire. Now, the matter of reestablishing a smuggling channel into the Empire with that Viscount Arend was frequently brought to this tea table.

Every single time this issue was discussed, Arachne and Dorothy invariably went head-to-head.

“Meals always have to be eaten one bite at a time. Earl Foyle’s initial transaction volume wasn’t even half of what it eventually became. As a starting point, this is already high enough. And it’s not as though there’s no room for growth. According to my investigation, they’ve already started shipping their surplus goods to Auglan and the Highland Kingdom.

I also did a little investigation into the current situation on Temple Island. At present, Fenrir is constructing a new port on the island. Geographically, that location was already a hub connecting to the southern countries during the Ancient Ailander era. Viscount Arend’s territory is developing very quickly. At this rate, he should be able to reach the Earl’s scale within five years. I don’t think we need to worry too much about him being unable to take our goods in the future.” Dorothy continued explaining.

Earl Foyle had invested the enormous profits earned from the smuggling business into his territory, turning it into a prosperous commercial and trade center in the east. The territory’s industries provided cover for his Underworld business, while the Underworld business provided funds for those industries. Under this cycle, he had spent ten years climbing to the pinnacle of the eastern lords.

Fenrir, or rather Viscount Arend, still could not compare with the Earl at present, but his starting point was also far higher than the Earl’s had been back then. He had skipped the Earl’s accumulation from scratch and directly inherited the territory the Earl had built up.

Fenrir’s territory was geographically quite favorable. Temple Island had been larger during the Ailander era and had even been a prosperous island city, until the great evacuation three hundred years ago, when the Ailanders used the power of Labyrinthization to sink most of the city ruins into the mountain or beneath the sea.

“By your reasoning, if he keeps developing like this, won’t he eventually escape our control? Last time, he went mad and bit the Earl to death. When will he turn his fangs toward us?” Arachne continued questioning.

“My, my, when he doesn’t develop well, you worry that he won’t be able to take our goods. When he develops well, you worry that he’ll escape our control.

Back when you were doing business with the Earl, why didn’t I see you displaying this kind of foresight? If you’d kept a closer eye on the Earl, perhaps you would’ve discovered long ago that he was secretly having people operate a Labyrinth, wouldn’t you?” Dorothy mocked.

“The Earl’s business with us was always stable, and there was never a single problem! But look at this brat you chose. His background is unclear, no one knows where he obtained his Blessing power, and he inexplicably killed the Earl. Where exactly does your confidence come from that he won’t become a threat to us once his strength increases?” Arachne asked.

“Arachne, you can question things that haven’t happened in the future all you want, but right now, you can’t provide anyone more suitable than him. If we give up on him, who knows how many years our plan will be delayed?” Dorothy said.

“Wasn’t it because he killed Earl Foyle that our plan was delayed in the first place?” Arachne retorted.

“The Earl never formally accepted our proposal. Cooperating with him was indeed stable, but there was no future in it.

I hope you haven’t forgotten that operating the Labyrinth on Temple Island was Earl Foyle’s instruction from the very beginning. He had long wanted to break free of us. The Earl could give us money, but he wouldn’t cooperate with our plan.” Dorothy said.

“And that brat of yours will cooperate with us in the future?” Arachne questioned.

“He’s very interested in the power of the Moirai Blessing, and his ambition surpasses even the Earl’s. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone so far as to kill the Earl. There’s a possibility that he’ll accept our proposal. I believe winning him over is the best option at this stage.” Dorothy said.

“If all we do is win him over without restraining him, sooner or later he’ll become trouble.” Arachne said.

“Then what do you want to do, Arachne?” Dorothy folded her arms and tossed the question back to her.

“Since I’m responsible for monitoring him, I’ll find a way to make him accept my parasitic infection. If he makes any suspicious moves, we’ll eliminate him together with the people around him. That would also absolutely guarantee his cooperation with us.” Arachne said.

“But he possesses Cursed Blood.” Dorothy reminded her.

As Blessings belonging to the same cursed-blood category, Cursed Blood had a considerably strong restraining effect against parasitic infection. Cursed Blood could kill parasites during the incubation period, thereby removing the parasitic state.

“It’s only Second-Rank Cursed Blood. As long as the infection dosage is sufficient, once the incubation period passes, he won’t be able to resist anymore.” Arachne said.

“He can also come into contact with Lamia and obtain intelligence from her. If Lamia is willing to help him, your parasitic infection might not truly be able to threaten him. If we really wanted to control him, we’d have to use Her Majesty’s blood.” Dorothy said.

“No! If Her Majesty were to travel into enemy territory, those old fossils from the Church of the Prophet would immediately notice!” the elderly Great Witch Isula immediately warned.

“Of course I didn’t mean that. I was merely saying that Arachne’s proposal is completely unreliable. Other than pushing Fenrir toward the Church, it serves no purpose, unless…… the goal is to kill him outright, or eliminate the people around him and destroy his business.” Dorothy stared at Arachne as she spoke.

“You actually suspect that I would defy Her Majesty’s orders?” Arachne narrowed her eyes.

“Maybe you wouldn’t dare do it openly, but who knows what you might do in secret? Your desire to stick your foot in is pretty obvious right now!

Don’t become psychologically unbalanced just because the Earl died and I took over the business, Arachne. We’re doing all of this for Moiland’s future, aren’t we? How could we undermine each other?” Dorothy smiled.

“You dare say that?” Arachne immediately frowned upon hearing those words.

“Everything here is going smoothly. You’d be better off obediently accepting reality. No matter how uncomfortable you are with it, there’s nothing you can do right now. Considering things will remain this way for quite a long time, you’d better let go of your resentment as soon as possible and get used to it early.” Dorothy said in an openly mocking tone.

“Dorothy……” Dorothy’s blatant provocation immediately made Arachne burn with rage.

Dorothy had taken control of the smuggling business directed toward the Empire, instantly reversing their positions. In the future, she would instead have to continuously endure Dorothy suppressing her and flaunting her superiority for who knew how many years. How could she possibly get used to that?

“That’s enough. I don’t want to hear meaningless quarrels.” Queen Alice spoke, “Dorothy, mind your words.”

Queen Alice could tell perfectly well that Dorothy’s final remarks were no longer part of an argument, but were purely intended to provoke Arachne.

“My apologies, Your Majesty.” Dorothy immediately apologized.

“Since everything with the transaction is proceeding normally, maintain the status quo and continue observing for now. Dorothy will be responsible for direct negotiations, while Arachne will be responsible for monitoring.” Queen Alice ordered.

Dorothy wanted to secure control over the transaction, while Arachne harbored hostility toward Fenrir and would not overlook any suspicious movements. With the duties divided this way, both of them would give it their all.

“Yes.” Arachne and Dorothy lowered their heads in acknowledgment.

……

After withdrawing from the dreamscape, Arachne opened her eyes while sitting on her chaise longue, and her expression immediately twisted viciously.

“That bitch!” she cursed through gritted teeth, crushing the armrest with a squeeze of her hand.

Given Dorothy’s smug, bitchy attitude right now, she would inevitably try to seize power within the Nemesis Agency next. How could Arachne possibly tolerate remaining beneath her like this?

The maid waiting outside the room observed the situation inside and did not dare make a sound.

Anyone who had served Arachne for some time knew full well just how impulsive this mistress was. If someone accidentally displeased her, being killed cleanly on the spot could already be considered merciful. If they were dragged away for plague experiments…… that truly was a fate worse than death.

Arachne irritably bit her fingernail as she kept thinking.

“There’s nothing you can do right now!” Dorothy’s voice lingered in her mind.

It was still too early to say there was nothing she could do.

Before Her Majesty formally recognized the transaction between Dorothy and Fenrir, she could still remain in the Empire, and she had plenty of opportunities to make a move.

But conversely, if she was going to make a move, she had to do it quickly. Once she was recalled, there truly would be nothing she could do.

Once she began thinking seriously, several plans started emerging in her mind.

After all, what she excelled at most was sabotage.

“Someone come.” she ordered aloud.

The maid standing guard outside did not dare delay and quickly entered, lowering her head in a bow: “I’m here, Mistress.”

“Compile a list of the Earl’s former clients for me.” Arachne ordered.

Back when she had done business with Earl Foyle, at her request, the Earl had shared a considerable amount of intelligence with her, including a partial list of his clients.

And now, with Fenrir having inherited the Earl’s territory, most of those clients had probably become Fenrir’s.

“I can’t kill him, but no one said I can’t destroy his business.” Arachne sneered inwardly.