In the first place, Milton was able to see Robinâs Loyalty stats. It was only 23, a number that was so low, itâd be considered fortunate if Robin didnât stab him in the back. Even if Robin was talented, there was no way Milton could trust him so easily.
âIf I give you 5,000 gold, how much more can you turn that into?â
Robin laughed on the inside when he heard Miltonâs words
âI knew it. Of course itâd be like this. An honorable nobleman? What a load of bullshit.â
In the end, it didnât matter whether you were a nobleman or not. There was no one in this world who wasnât greedy for money. Even if you were a noble and pretended to be dignified, in front of Money, you were nothing. Sure of his own philosophy, Robin was convinced that he had the nobleman in the palm of his hands.
He put on a serious expression and pretended to think.
âIf you trust me and entrusted the gold to me⊠I will increase it by at least ten times the amount within a year.â
âOnly ten times? Thatâs all youâre capable of?â
As Milton flatly questioned him, Robin hurried to answer.
âAh, no sir. When I said ten times, I was playing it safe. If I really wanted to, I could make it twenty times, no, even thirty times is possible.â
Since he was planning on running off with the money, there wasnât any reason not to say a hundred times the amount. Robin was full of shit.
âHo⊠thirty times?â
âYes, Sir. And thatâs not all.â
âWhat else could there be?â
âSir, I can do away with all the pirates who attack us while I am navigating or participating in the sea trade. If youâll trust me with it, within a year I will settle the sea within the vicinity.â
âOh⊠thatâs amazing. Then, is it possible to develop a route to the Waterport Kingdom in the far South?â
Robin put on a confident expression at Miltonâs question.
âOf course, sir. I originally worked in that area. If you trust me, Iâll create and show you a route from your estate to the Waterport Kingdom, Marquis.â
The thing about lying is that the more you lie, the bigger the lie gets. Since Robin planned to bail after cheating Milton, he just kept lying and lying.
In fact, most of what he had said right now was the future he had once imagined in his head. Raking in an enormous amount of money by traveling along the trade routes and seizing all trades that sailed on that route. Isnât it great just thinking about it?
âHm⊠thatâs really amazing.â
Milton nodded as if he was thinking the same thing.
âPlease trust me, sir.â
âGood, Iâll leave it to you.â
Finally, the words Robin wanted to hear came from Miltonâs mouth. Robin looked so moved that tears could drip down from his eyes at any moment.
âThank you, Marquis. This⊠Iâll never forget thisâŠâ
âBut!â
Milton interrupted Robin.
âItâs a bit too much for me to just âtrustâ you.â
âSir? What do youâŠâ
âIt hasnât even been a day since I met you. Even if you look competent, do you think I could trust you when you were a pirate until yesterday?â
âThat⊠thatâs true⊠Yes, youâre right Marquis.â
âDamn it. So this nobleman isnât dumb. Guess Iâll be sent out with a knight or two to watch over me.â
Robin thought Milton would set a couple of knights to watch him, but that didnât matter. Even if youâre a knight, out on the sea, you must obey the captain. Itâd be easy to lure a naive rookie who didnât know anything and push him into the water.
âSo you accept?â
âYes, sir. The Marquisâs words are correct.â
âGood, Iâm glad you understand. Then, Iâll have to do something about that.â
âDo as you think is best, Marquisâ
As Robin gave in to Milton, Milton had his soldiers bring someone over.
âWha? Whyâd ya call me over?â
That someone was Bianca.
âWhâ who is she?â
Robin was dazed when a sexy beauty appeared instead of a stupid knight. No way, here? No, it didnât seem like that. Milton immediately answered Robinâs curiosity.
âLet me introduce you. This is Bianca, a Magician that Iâve invited over.â
âAh⊠A Magician?â
For a second, Robin had a feeling that something wasnât right.
Milton turned so that Robin wouldnât see him, and wink at Bianca.
âMiss Bianca. Youâve said once before that there was a curse you could cast to suppress a subordinateâs betrayal?â
âHuh? Ahhh.... That?â
Bianca was quick on her feet and immediately understood. With just a couple of words, captive pirate and curse, she could tell what Milton was trying to do.
Bianca responded with a very serious expression.
âItâs possible. But when I talked about it before, didnât ya say ya didnât need it? Something along the lines of how ya couldnât suppress ya men with such a vicious and ruthless curse?â
âA vicious and ruthless curse?â
Robin was greatly frightened by Biancaâs words.
Milton seamlessly took over from Bianca.
âThatâs only for my men. I canât have a curse so cruel and evil like that cast on my men.â
âCruel and evil?â
Robin wanted to immediately flee from his location.
âBut that guy over there isnât officially my subordinate yet, and itâs not like we deeply trust each other either. And he also agreed to it, so I think you can cast your curse on him.â
âNo, when did I agree to a curse?â
Robin thought this was the first time in his life that heâd be wronged to this degree.
âHm⊠alright. I see. If he agreed to it thenâŠâ
âI never agreed to it? Donât agree with him, you crazy bitch!â
âBut would this really be aite? He wonât have a peaceful death.â
âIt should at least be like that.â
Listening to Milton and Bianca discuss this while excluding him, the person directly involved in the matter, Robin was scared shitless.
Bianca finally turned towards him.
âAite, then Iâm starting.â
âUm⊠Magician.â
âRelax. Itâll be over soon.â
Then, Bianca placed her hand on Robinâs forehead.
âWhatâs up with her freezing hands?â
In Robinâs eyes, Biancaâs freezing hands didnât feel like the body temperature of humans.
âIs this what they call a witch?â
Itâs true that Biancaâs body temperature ran on the colder side, but everything seemed even more scary to the terrified Robin
And thenâŠ
âKing of darkness, I offer this man to you. I put the heart of the sacrifice on the table and fill your cup with his blood, and his soulâŠâ
âWhat is this? Why is the curse so brutal?â
Robinâs legs were shaking. King of darkness, sacrifice, heartâŠÂ everything was so brutal. He wanted to run out of the room right now, but he knew Milton would kill him.
âUh⊠uhhhâŠâ
Milton laughed to himself as he watched Robin break out in cold sweat.
âMiss Bianca is playing along surprisingly well?â
Milton had rarely seen Bianca cast spells out loud when she used her magic. And even if she verbalized it, itâs not like he could understand what she was saying. But to think that sheâd say such obviously understandable words, and the words themselves were so bloodyâŠ
Seeing Robin break out in cold sweat, it seemed as though this play had worked.
âPlease place a curse of bondage on him!â
When Biancaâs curse(?) was finished, a bright purple light appeared in her hand.
âAâ Ahhhhhhh!!â
Robin couldnât stand the fear and screamed out loud like a child.
Bianca spoke after catching her breath.
âThe curse is finished.â
âAre you alright, Miss Bianca?â
âUh huh⊠Iâm just a bit tired after casting a powerful spell.â
Bianca headed towards a chair on the side. She even staggered slightly, as if she really was tired. Milton supported the âtiredâ Bianca and helped her to her seat before turning towards Robin.
âAre you okay?â
âYes. Yâ yâ yesâŠâ
Milton spoke to the spiritless Robin.
âIâm glad. Guess the curse settled properly?â
âI donât want it to settle!â
Robin screamed  inside, always inwardly.
âDonât worry about it too much. As long as you donât betray me, thereâll be no problems.â
âI⊠I see. But, Marquis.â
âWhat is it?â
âIf⊠What would happen if I did betray you?â
âThatâŠâ
âYa canât tell him.â
Before Milton could even speak, Bianca quickly interrupted him.
âWhat is it, Miss Bianca?â
âHeâs now a sacrifice thatâs been offered to Him.â
âMe?â
âThe curse could be triggered immediately if ya say anything about his fate.â
âThe curse could be triggered? Just by knowing what would happen?â
âAnd if that happensâŠâ
Bianca shuddered as if she was afraid to speak anymore.
And Robin was drained of all his energy.
Milton turned to speak to him.
âThatâs what she says. Hm⊠Iâm sorry.â
âThenâŠâ
âDonât worry. As long as you keep all the promises you made me, Iâll release you from the curse one day.â
ââŠâŠâ
Robin looked stunned.
âWait, what did I say earlier?â
To multiply 5,000 gold thirty times.
To calm the waters around the Lester Kingdom.
To create a sea route to the Waterport Kingdom.
These were the main promises that he had basically made.
And he had lied saying heâd do all this within a year.
âIâm âŠX âŠXâ
Robin wanted to cry.
***
Originally, Robin was very smart and quick on his feet. There was no way this kind of empty threat could properly work on him. But, he didnât know much about the rare beings that were Magicians, and Milton and Bianca had played along with each other so well, that there wasnât a moment of doubt.
Eventually, Robin left the room looking like there was nothing more left in the world for him.
And as soon as he disappearedâŠ
âPuhahahahaha⊠Iâm dying. That was hilarious.â
âYour acting was perfect, Miss Bianca.â
âHehehe⊠Iâm a woman who lives to tease people.â
The two of them laughed for a very long time.
âBut what was the real spell that you cast on him?â
âItâs just a simple tracking spell. Wherever he is, youâll be able to find him.â
âReally?â
âYeup. Itâll last about a year, so you can rest easy?â
âHo⊠Then weâll have to renew the curse every year.â
âKukukuk⊠I like that. Letâs tell him weâll slowly release the curse and tease him.â
âHow about we tell him that itâs a necessary part of the ritual to release the curse and have him soak in the ice water for an hour in the middle of the winter?â
âThat sounds like fun. Hm, is there anything else?â
âHow about we starve him for a couple days saying that he needs to be completely clean to get rid of the curse?â
âYa a genius? Where did ya get such a fun idea?â
âJust someone called Na PD.â [1]
âI donât know who that is, but I wanna learn from that person too!â
âPuhahahahahaâŠâ
At this point, it's questionable whether these two werenât more villainous than the pirates.
***
Speaking of results, there was nothing Robin could do but work for Milton. As long as he was shackled with the Magicianâs curse, there was nothing else he could do. The only comfort Robin had was that Milton provided considerable support for him. Milton had assigned ten large ships, and not counting the crew member, had assigned 500 soldiers and ten knights to Robin. This gave him some hope.
âAlright, letâs at least give it a shot.â
In order to get rid of the curse, Robin decided to work to the best of his abilities. It wasnât a complete lie when he had said he was confident in commerce and sailing. Â And since he had a noble supporting him from behind, Robin didnât think it was impossible.
âMy Lord, is it really alright to entrust that man with much authority?â
âItâll be fine. Iâve made sure to thoroughly shackle him.â
Even if Robin found out that the curse was a fake, the tracking spell on him was real. If he did betray Milton, then, Milton could deal with him then.
âFrom now on, weâll leave the sea trade to Robin, and Max, youâll devote yourself as the Chief Administrator.â
âYes, My Lord.â
Although it seemed as though one problem had been handled, there was still a lot of work to be done.
1. Na Young-Seok is a famous Korean television producer best known for producing popular variety-reality shows like 1 Night 2 Days, New Journey to the West, Grandpas Over Flowers, Three Meals a Day and their spin-offs.
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