“If I cause a mess, most of the Kalinos family will turn against me. If that happens, even if Duke Kalinos backs me, there would certainly be limitations.”
But what if I had the support of the Kalinos Senate, especially the Senate Chair?
‘A comfortable life of causing trouble in the Kalinos family would be guaranteed.’
Plus, maintaining connections with the Senate Chair would give me more opportunities to make money.
‘…Now that I think about it, there was a way to target Hennessy in the original.’
He had a huge secret that he had never shared with anyone.
“I see you’re watching Senate Chair Hennessy. He’s quite a quirky person; I haven’t really talked to him much.”
If Duke Kalinos himself acknowledged him as quirky, then Hennessy must be an extraordinary person…
“I’ll try meeting him and persuading him.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“The first operation is ‘Pretend to be normal, marry, and then properly stab him in the back!’”
“In other words, a fraudulent marriage?”
I tilted my head slightly and smiled at him with a playful grin.
“Yes, I’m really good at that!”
Chapter 3: The Arrival of a New Type of Chaos
Kalinos Senate Chair, Hennessy, let out a grunt as he grabbed a potion bottle.
‘That arrogant young senator, every regular Senate meeting, he’s rubbing me the wrong way.’
Bragging about his own achievements while belittling others—such an arrogant guy!
Seeing the young senator, Agnes, raise his chin with a satisfied expression only made Hennessy more irritated.
“Ahem.”
The Kalinos Senate.
The Senate was a gathering of elders highly respected within the family—ten people over the age of 40 who had made significant achievements in both direct and collateral lines.
The head of the family had close ties with them, and they exchanged opinions and consulted on important matters.
However, including the conservative Senate Chair Hennessy and the newly appointed progressive junior senator Agnes, the ten senators fought fiercely to control the internal power of the Senate.
But when it came to crucial matters, they couldn’t afford to fight.
“This matter concerns Duke Kalinos’s marriage. The lady he intends to marry is… Lady Giselle Floret.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Since she was the Duke’s choice, Hennessy expected her to be someone special.
However, after hearing all sorts of rumors, she didn’t seem like such an impressive person.
‘She’s a fragile lady completely unsuited for such dangerous places.’
The Duke’s territory was located near the land of monsters, which was highly dangerous.
Only someone with the courage to face monsters could become the Duke’s wife.
He closed the documents and whispered coldly.
“I’ve checked. There’s nothing more to discuss. I’m opposed.”
“Ah, well… Wouldn’t it be better to at least meet her?”
“Is that necessary? If there’s a chance to meet her with Duke Kalinos in the future, perhaps. But a one-on-one lunch seems like a waste of time.”
Just as he was shaking his head and putting the papers away, a sound caught his attention.
‘What is this…?’
A bluebird was flying and pecking at the window with its beak.
What’s more, there was a note tied to its ankle.
Hennessy hurriedly opened the window and grabbed the note from the bird’s ankle.
“What is going on here?”
“Excuse me? Is something happening?”
As he quickly opened the note, the corner of his mouth curled up slightly.
“It’s nothing. I’m going for a short walk…”
“Excuse me? What about the other matters?”
“For now, postpone them. It’s not that important!”
Hennessy hastily got up and quickly ran out.
To the anonymous person in charge,
I am providing the sales details for Volume 1 of “The Nobility and Protestant Ethics, Nicomachean Ethics, and The Open Society and Its Enemies” and the royalty payment of 1 silver per book.
‘Finally, someone has bought my book!’
In truth, Hennessy had a quiet desire to gain attention not as the “senior senator of Calinos,” but as a famous writer and columnist.
Thus, he published a self-help book under a pen name no one knew.
But!
Over a year had passed, and no one had bought his book.
‘I’m a man who never gives up, so I invested my own money to start advertising.’
He invested in the largest bookstore in the capital, covering a display stand with copies of his book “The Nobility and Protestant Ethics, Nicomachean Ethics, and The Open Society and Its Enemies.” His promotional strategy worked, and within a month of launching the campaign, a single copy sold.
He rushed to the bookstore where his book had sold.
However, when Hennessy arrived at the bookstore, he froze at the sight of his books spilling from the display stand.
“E-excuse me.”
“Hmm?”
The boy who was pulling Hennessy’s books from the display responded irritably.
“Sir, please move along. I’m busy.”
“Why are you taking this book out?”
“It’s not selling. Books like that should be placed at the bottom of the display. No, it might be better to just shred or throw them away.”
“W-what did you say?”
“Move aside. Who even writes books like this? Must be some pathetic person.”
Hennessy, who was considered one of the ‘greatest people’ in the empire, slumped his shoulders.
‘If I published a work as the senior senator of kalinos, many people would read it… But no, my pride won’t allow that.’
As he watched his book fall to the floor, Hennessy swallowed his tears and thought,
‘My book is just a victim of bad timing.’
He lowered his hat further over his face and walked away from the display in a gloomy mood.
Just then, a cheerful voice echoed from the display.
“Hey, you there, small-minded person who speaks rudely, so small in heart as in stature.”
“Excuse me? Lady, what did you say? Small person? Ha!”
“What? How did you know I was talking about you? I must have been thinking that too.”
Sometimes, a personal attack can be more impactful than a thousand others.
“Ha! You… rude…”
“What’s wrong? You spoke rudely first, didn’t you?”
She kicked the pile of books the boy had stacked, sending them crashing to the floor in a domino effect. The boy, staring in disbelief, began shouting angrily.
“No, what are you doing? When did i act rudely?”
“No, no, I didn’t act rudely.”
“What are you saying?” ( the three are the boy’s sayings )
The woman smiled sweetly, placing her hands in a flower-like gesture.
“No, no, is it okay to badmouth other people’s books while selling them?”
The boy, unable to contain his confusion, blinked his eyes.
“Ha… Did I badmouth this book? Are you saying you’re upset because of that, customer?”
The woman put one hand down and twisted her mouth.
“No? You’re a child, and I’m an adult. I was teaching you to respect adults. Don’t you know Confucianism?”
“…What? What’s Confucianism?”
“…You don’t know Confucianism, so that’s why you don’t understand ‘The Nobility and Protestant Ethics, Nicomachean Ethics, and The Open Society and Its Enemies.’”
Hennessy, the author of “The Nobility and Protestant Ethics, Nicomachean Ethics, and The Open Society and Its Enemies,” stared blankly.
‘I don’t know what Confucianism is either.’
Still, Hennessy couldn’t help but listen to the first mention of his book, feeling a strange excitement, while calmly observing them.
Before she directly hit him with a cannonball to his heart.
“That book? It’s pretty good, actually. It’s interesting.”
“…Yes.”
At this moment, the boy who had hurriedly turned and walked away no longer mattered to him.
‘Did she say my book was… interesting?’
As he stared blankly at the one and only book he had sold, his eyes suddenly lit up as he turned his head.
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