15

"Greetings, Master!"

Although perplexed about how Konrad could summon her out of the blue, Freya still didn't lose decorum and promptly gave her greetings. Seeing her, Iliana's eyes contorted into a frown.

"Her?"

Considering how she'd tried to take her life; Freya's face was hard to forget. Quickly, however, Iliana recalled how she'd been suppressed by Konrad. When even Semi-Saints could surrender, Freya was indeed not surprising.

Although he'd contacted her to check her progress, Freya had not seen Konrad for almost two weeks. The lack of his presence and rod leaving her with a profound emptiness she didn't know how to cope with. So, she dedicated herself to her task and successfully robbed her husband's house of sixty-five million purple crystals, all of which would now fall within Konrad's hands.

With such merit, surely, he would properly reward her, right? She pulled out a purple card which she presented to him.

"Master, this purple card is currently on my name and contains the sixty-five million purple crystals I robbed from house Schoner. We can open an account on your name and transfer the money onto it if you so wish."

Konrad pushed the purple card back toward her while shaking his head from left to right and vice versa.

"No need. What is yours is, of course, mine."

A bank account that could be directly traced back to him wasn't something Konrad wished at the moment. It would bring more harm than good.

Taking his words as a show of trust, Freya felt elated.

"You robbed sixty-five million purple crystals from house Schoner? Isn't that your husband's total wealth?"

Iliana asked in stupor.

House Schoner's wealth was divided between Viscount Thorsten, Freya's husband who controlled one-third, and Count Wilhelm who controlled the remaining two-thirds.

Was Freya truly ruthless enough to make her doting husband go bankrupt, or was she compelled by Konrad? In any case, house Schoner had suffered a crushing blow.

"It's Thorsten's honor to serve as Master's steppingstone."

Wolfgang who'd used Freya's robbery to subjugate house Schoner wasn't surprised in the slightest. Still, remembering how Thorsten wept and cursed upon realizing his wife's deeds, he couldn't help but shiver.

The cruelty of an infatuated woman was truly beyond imagining.

Konrad then brought out Daphne, Zamira, and Wulf from the space pouch.

"Daddy!"

Needless to say, Daphne was keen on showing her affection while the sorrowful Wulf was still getting accustomed to house Kracht's new realities.

Of all those gathered, he was the only one not aware of Konrad's demonic nature. And when the truth was slammed into his face, he almost collapsed. However, with Wolfgang to suppress him, and his daughter already within Konrad's grasp, there was nothing to fear.

"Now that we've settled this let's move on to house Henlein. Father-in-law's sudden return is bound to raise questions within the church. Especially since he was being monitored by one of their assassins.

Therefore, they will put his every move under close observation. It's no longer viable for him to handle house Henlein. Instead, I will have some of my new connections within the church take care of this from the shadows.

As for you, father-in-law, your task, for now, is to lay low, and wait for the wind to pass. When the church lowers its awareness, you will begin preparations to open a black market to deal in forbidden goods."

There were many cultivation resources within the empire. From forbidden pills to forbidden cultivation methods. Most came from the Barbarian Continent and were banned purely due to their origin. Others indeed possessed terrifying effects and if not kept in check, could bring disasters.

After looting the inquisition's vault, Konrad had obtained many goods among which a substantial amount of forbidden materials were present. With even the recipes in hands, setting up shop wouldn't be difficult. The problem was evading law enforcement.

After all, there was already an established black market within the city with deep connections to the authorities. Should they show up as competition, they would surely receive a lot of trouble.

But that was something to deal with at a later date. The most pressing matter was to make sure Konrad could return to the imperial palace's inner court while not leaving any loose end on the outside.

And currently, there were many. According to Holger, the emperor's marriage decree was coming soon. Moreover, the crown prince was planning to have Konrad assassinated in three days.

Another issue was that he couldn't just vanish. The name "Anselm Kracht" had received too much limelight for him to disappear out of the blue. His disappearance would raise too many questions and prompt an investigation on house Kracht.

They could do without that.

"Father-in-law, what are the rules on widowhood within the empire?"

Though perplexed by the question, Wolfgang still answered.

"Well, regardless of gender. Widows are not allowed to remarry before a mourning period of three years has passed."

"Three years mourning period, huh?"

A mischievous smile appeared on Konrad's lips as he did a quick calculation.

"What are you thinking about?"

Iliana asked, knowing that such a smile meant he was up to no good and would make someone suffer.

"I was just wondering if you were willing to become my wife and widow."

Those words threw all the gathered individuals into confusion. Iliana was, of course, the most perplexed.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I received news that the crown prince will have me murdered in three days to prevent a potential marriage between us. So, let's beat him to it. Let's get married in two days."

"And on that day, we shall make sure Anselm Kracht dies under the blows of the crown prince's assassins."