<Duke’s POV>
Rex’s declaration of freeing slaves had split his territory in half.
The central and northern regions, which were not heavily reliant on slave labor, quickly accepted the new system, whereas the south refused to comply.
Given the south’s active agricultural economy driven by slaves, resistance was inevitable.
Industries like sugar, cotton, wheat, and logging would be severely affected.
Business owners in these industries, along with lower-tier nobles, merchant guild leaders, and mayors who profited from them, led massive protests in the south.
There was a real risk that, like some nation’s history, the situation could escalate into war.
However, the protests did not turn into war.
“At this moment, the superior order has come down: those who support slavery will be judged as rebels and executed on the spot.”
Black flags waving, the royal guards approached with a menacing glare, leaving no room for protest.
In the end, the local gentry, including the plantation owners, had no choice but to free their slaves.
This way, the population of Providence Realm, which was not reflected in any official statistics, began to rapidly increase.
“Long live the Lord!”
“Long live the royal guard!”
Thanks to this, Providence Realm was filled with cheers from the citizens who had suddenly appeared.
But even in this atmosphere, there were inevitably those who could not yet let go of slavery.
Even in a world where killing is understood to be wrong, the average morality would not change just because the law did.
“After all, the Lord has no way of inspecting our area.”
With the size of the territory, they believed their area would go unnoticed, and they continued their illegal activities nonchalantly.
When the royal guards, waving their banners, approached, they would hide the slaves in the warehouse. Once they left, the slaves would be brought back out, a constant game of cat and mouse.
And this dawn of the age was precisely the time for Duke, the Secret Inspector, to make his move.
“Secret Inspector?”
Even the commander of the royal guard tilted his head when I suggested this fact.
It seemed like they had never heard of such a position before.
And it was my first time hearing it, too. I hadn’t thought about how everything would fall into place smoothly.
But I had a capable deputy by my side.
“A Secret Inspector is a knight who receives special orders from the Lord to catch corrupt local officials throughout the domain.”
My deputy automatically assumed my intent and explained, creating a misconception for me.
Of course, this position of Secret Inspector was inspired by the Secret Inspector of old.
Not the real secret inspectors of Joseon, but the dramatically adapted secret inspectors from the historical dramas I’ve seen.
I don’t really know if this can function in reality. I hadn’t given it much thought until now.
I just thought it would look cool and threw the idea out there, but my deputy and Rex did a great job refining it.
“Secret Inspectors will be given a special emblem by the Lord to secretly leave the capital and patrol the provinces. They will have the authority to deal with local officials who violate the laws proclaimed by the Lord, then file a report afterward.”
After my deputy finished his brief explanation, the commander of the Dark Elf raised his hand.
“I understand. Then, how do we select the personnel?”
I immediately nominated him, as if I had been waiting for this.
“You and me.”
“Me?”
“Will we need more manpower?”
Of course, other teams will operate with several knights, but I only needed the commander who assisted me.
However, the commander I selected seemed hesitant to accept.
“Why specifically me?”
My reply was given by the Gnome Deputy instead.
“I apologize, but in my heart, I want to personally beat up the beasts who have forsaken humanity. But given my age… ”
Regrettably, this Gnome Deputy is one of the top non-combatants in the knights.
His lifespan is not long, and his days are numbered.
I needed to race through the territory, but I couldn’t drag such an elderly person along.
“I apologize, but with this body of mine…”
Through his pale eyebrows, the Gnome Deputy looked at the Dark Elf.
Even someone as clueless as me could understand the meaning of that look.
– Am I supposed to support the commander while hobbling around the country at my age?
In other words, it was a way of dodging the assignment.
The Dark Elf commander turned to the other commanders.
“What’s the matter?”
A sneer of mockery crossed the lips of the 2nd commander as he revealed his fangs.
Frustratingly, as the Dark Elf had been outranked by this commander for the past four years, he lost the staring contest and turned to the 3rd commander.
The pale-skinned 3rd commander opened his mouth with a jaded tone.
“There was no contract, but… if you pay me more, I’ll follow you.”
The Dark Elf’s face stiffened.
It was unclear what kind of problems would arise if this cynical man were to accompany me.
Finally, by elimination, the companion for my Secret Inspector journey naturally became the Dark Elf’s responsibility.
“Hmph.”
I wanted to pat his shoulder, reminiscent of my previous life’s military days, but it didn’t fit my current image, so I left it at that.
The Dark Elf commander adjusted his glasses and put on a professional smile.
“It is an honor to serve you.”
“Please take care of me, Sir Hedoineus.”
Sorry, but I’ll have to buy you a lot of good food.
<1st Commander, Hedoineus’ POV>
While Duke was looking at Hedoineus with a sympathetic gaze, Hedoineus was filled with gratitude and observed his fellow knights.
‘To think they are giving such an honor to me…’
Over the last four years, a bond of loyalty had formed between them.
Although they were not blood-related, the knights were bound by an unbreakable camaraderie similar to family ties.
‘Mr. Clambel…’
Hedoineus gazed at Duke’s Gnome Deputy.
Aware that he was nearing the end of his natural lifespan, the Gnome was in the process of preparing to hand over the deputy role to Duke.
The other commanders understood the intentions of this Gnome, and this honor was being passed on to him.
Hedoineus silently expressed his gratitude to them.
‘Understood.’
If you are giving me such an opportunity…
‘I must live up to your expectations, then.’
With solemnity, Hedoineus accepted the mission.
<Back to Duke’s POV>
For our Secret Inspector mission, the commander and I created new identities.
To avoid raising suspicion, we decided to go with the concept of a fallen nobleman and an elderly butler.
The fallen nobleman was to be played by the Dark Elf Commander, while I would take on the role of the old butler.
In my case, I removed my helmet and used an enchanted transformation spell to create fake wrinkles and white hair. The less recognizable commander camouflaged himself as a human by bleaching his skin and shortening his ears.
That’s how the two of us set out on our journey.
“Com…”
I sharply glanced at the Dark Elf who had habitually started to call me “Commander”.
Realizing his mistake, he hastily corrected himself.
“Mr. Dominique.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Wouldn’t it make more sense for me to play the role of the butler?”
His uncomfortable gaze landed on my wrinkled face.
I glanced around to ensure no one was listening and reverted to my Duke voice.
“No, that won’t work.”
“Why not?”
Because the idea of a Dark Elf calling me “master” near cotton plantations just doesn’t sit right with me.
…which is partly a joke, and partly because I genuinely want to play the role of a retired butler hiding his past.
Of course, I didn’t say that and instead consciously put on an amiable smile suitable for my fake wrinkles while making an excuse.
“It would be less suspicious this way.”
People generally distrust fallen nobles, but they don’t suspect their servants.
Therefore, it would be more likely for them to reveal incriminating evidence in front of a butler like me.
Apparently, my excuse worked, as the commander nodded.
“You’re right. It’s my lack of foresight, Mr. Dominique.”
“No, Sir Hylduin.”
I nodded, aware of my new identity as Dominique.
The commander also seemed to have accepted his new identity as Hylduin.
Thus, the journey of Hylduin, the fallen noble, and Dominique, the old butler who would never leave his side, began.
Hylduin explained our destination while staying true to his role.
“Our next destination is the trade city of Elyssis, which is located on the border of our domain.”
Elyssis was in the southeastern border of Providence Realm, a city that actively traded goods with neighboring domains.
On the surface, the main industries were wheat and sugar.
However, these goods often included people as well.
“Most merchants from southern cities use this city to buy and sell slaves from the outside. Therefore, this city is highly likely to still engage in slave trading.”
Of course, the mayor wasn’t a fool. Since the law was announced, the slaves were officially freed.
But we don’t trust human conscience.
“We’ll investigate the black market first, and if the opportunity arises, we’ll expose the mayor.”
We didn’t even consider the possibility that the mayor might be clean.
After all, the dispatch of secret inspectors or knights implies a certain degree of suspicion.
According to intelligence, this trade city of Elyssis still maintained slave trading, lacking only concrete evidence.
I confirmed the briefing content again and explained our next plan.
“First, Sir Hylduin should try to find employment as a fallen noble.”
At my polite tone, First Commander Hylduin’s face crumpled.
Ignoring that, I continued.
“I’ll investigate the black market during that time.”
<Third Person POV>
The trade city of Elyssis.
In the past, it was a slave market, but now it had transformed into a human resources office. Two people entered this place.
“I am Viscount Hylduin. I heard this place was a slave market. Is that still the case?”
One person introduced himself as Hylduin, a viscount, while the elderly man who looked like a butler stood silently beside him.
The people at the human resources office heightened their guard at the appearance of these two who seemed out of place in this barbaric space.
“What are you talking about? We no longer sell slaves.”
At this, Hylduin’s gaze darkened with irritation.
“What do you mean?”
“Recently, the Lord prohibited the trading of slaves. We freed all of our slaves long ago and transitioned into a legitimate business of job placement. Seeing as you didn’t know this, you must be from another domain?”
“Che. Well, I’ll look elsewhere then.”
The so-called fallen noble, Hylduin, turned and left the office.
However, the elderly man who seemed to be his butler didn’t leave immediately.
The elder smiled disarmingly and handed a silver coin to the manager.
“Apologies; my master has grown irritable from a long journey.”
The manager’s gaze went straight to the silver coin.
People may have their good and evil, but what crime does money bear?
“Hum… hum.”
The manager slipped the silver coin into his pocket.
Then, Dominique, the butler, glanced around before asking.
“Is there any other way to find slaves or servants? At least for a trip across the domain, employment might be too difficult.”
To Dominique’s question, the manager flailed his arms in alarm.
“I already said I don’t sell slaves!”
“That’s unfortunate. My apologies.”
With a slightly disappointed look, Dominique, the butler, left the store peacefully.
Soon, similar scenes were observed at various manpower offices throughout the city.
An emotionally unstable fallen noble at the manpower office and a polite butler apologizing for his rudeness.
By the time this duo became well-known in just a week, butler Dominique received a letter.
– Meet at the location when the clock tower chimes nine in the morning.
Dominique’s lips curled slightly upon receiving the letter.
‘Finally, they took the bait.’
Butler Dominique executed the instructions in the letter promptly.
Upon arriving at the alley, another letter was waiting.
– Turn right at the abandoned warehouse ahead.
After following the given direction and completing it, new instructions would drop, several times.
Dominique reached a place with no further letters and waited for someone.
‘Now we get to the black market…’
At that moment, Dominique sensed a killing intent falling from above.
“!”
The butler instinctively leaped backward.
Just then, a faceless figure fell from above to slash where Dominique had been standing.
Zwang!
The figure who had carved a deep slash into the ground looked up and locked eyes with Dominique.
“You dodged. Not just an ordinary butler, I see. Who are you?”
“Hmmm, if you want to know who I am, you should introduce yourself first, don’t you think?”
“I care not. The likes of you who still seek slaves are trash.”
Upon hearing this, Dominique nodded his head gently.
“So you’re from the Vigilante.”
The masked figure neither confirmed nor denied it, charging at Dominique instead.
Seeing this movement, Duke (Dominique) internally lamented.
‘Someone else took the bait.’
