I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 150: Request

"I didn’t bring the whole phone call, just an audio clip of the part where they were talking about her."

Arthur can still remember the look on the Baroness’ face when she heard it.

Silence falls around the dining table.

Arthur looks as if he’s daydreaming, but in truth, he’s replaying his meeting with the Baroness in his mind.

That is until Julian’s voice snaps him back to the present.

"Art. Art? Oy, Art!"

Arthur startles slightly. He looks around and sees Julian waving his hands at him.

"What is it? Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention."

Julian chuckles. "Yeah, you weren’t here for a few minutes. Where were you?"

"I was remembering the Baroness’ reaction."

"Oh?" Maurice sounds interested, his head tilting just slightly.

"Was she mad? I bet she was. I would be," Julian says.

Arthur nods. "Mad is an understatement. She was furious. She knew I didn’t bring that audio clip out of the goodness of my heart. She knew I wanted something."

He pauses.

"And she called me out on it."

Leila gasps. "Oh, really? Was she mad at you for bringing her the audio clip?"

Arthur tilts his head. "I don’t think she was mad at me for bringing it. I think she was mad at Stille and Ryan. Especially at Stille, for the things he said about her."

He pauses. "When it came to me, I think the Baroness was angry that I heard the recording. That I know what those two vile men think about her. She was more embarrassed than angry."

"In a way," Arthur continues, "I think she was even grateful that I brought it to her attention. That’s why she agreed to my request so quickly."

"What did you ask?" Julian asks.

Arthur smiles. "Nothing that would harm her. I asked only for something that would benefit her."

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"Tell me," the Baroness said, her voice calm and elegant, "what do you require of me?"

There was no trace left of her earlier outburst.

Arthur bowed slightly. "Your Ladyship, I apologize if it appeared that I came here to embarrass you. I assure you, that was never my intention. It never even crossed my mind. I was just as shocked as you were when I first heard it."

He paused, then leaned back in his chair.

"After the initial shock passed, it became clear to me that this information would serve both your interests and mine. I would be dishonest to pretend otherwise."

The Baroness smiled faintly. "Go on."

"I am not so presumptuous as to believe I can tell Your Ladyship what to do," Arthur said calmly. "I merely suggest that Your Ladyship do what is best for your own benefit."

The Baroness’ eyebrow shot up as she leaned back in her chair.

"My own benefit? Hm." She appeared to be thinking, though in truth she was delaying her answer.

She looked Arthur straight in the eyes.

"If it were up to me, I would cut all ties between myself and Stille."

A beat.

"And that Ryan Blackwood as well."

She tilted her head slightly. "You youngsters might call it a ’breakup’ nowadays."

Arthur smiled faintly. "Your Ladyship, breaking ties with Chief Stille would be the best decision you could make right now."

The Baroness chuckled. "Oh? Please elaborate, Young Arthur."

Arthur sighed.

"To be honest, Your Ladyship, my relationship with Chief Stille over the years has not been good. For reasons unknown to me, he has repeatedly tried to obstruct me in any way he can. Especially when it comes to mining Heartstones."

He continued, "I believe Your Ladyship is also aware of the division of Heartstones from a cleared dungeon. Sixty percent goes to whoever clears the dungeon, thirty percent is divided among other exploration companies involved in that dungeon, and the remaining ten percent goes to the city."

"This division exists to acknowledge that clearing a dungeon is extremely dangerous work, hence the largest share. However, all parties involved must receive something, and the city must benefit as well."

"And if only one company clears the dungeon, the city receives forty percent instead."

The Baroness nodded. "I am aware of this regulation, and I believe it is a fair division."

Arthur nodded and continued, "At Montrose Corporation, we have our own dungeon team. Their primary task is to clear dungeons. However, since our team is relatively small, we almost always have to cooperate with other companies that specialize in dungeon clearing."

"As a result, the city has almost always received ten percent of the Heartstones from the dungeons we discovered." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

He sighed softly. "I believe Chief Stille never liked the fact that the city only received ten percent from us. Because of that, he constantly found ways to obstruct us. Sometimes he used safety regulations as an excuse. Other times, he accused us of fabricating cooperation with other companies, insisting that only our team cleared the dungeon."

"He did many things, all in an attempt to force the city into claiming the forty percent share."

"I was patient with him. I always tried to find a middle ground."

Arthur leaned forward slightly. "But, Your Ladyship, there is one thing I do not tolerate: corruption. At first, I heard rumors that Chief Stille had siphoned some of the Heartstones allocated to the city into his own shell companies."

He frowned, his expression turning serious.

"It wasn’t just one person who said it. I heard it from multiple sources. At first, I admit, I started digging simply to make Chief Stille stop bothering me. But, Your Ladyship, the more I looked into it, the more I uncovered."

He sighed.

"Chief Stille had been siphoning not only Heartstones, but money as well. He owned more than twenty shell companies, some overseas, others within Concordia itself."

Arthur leaned back in his chair and met the Baroness’ gaze directly.

"I took it upon myself, as a citizen of this city and of this country, to ensure that Chief Stille would be removed from his position and put on trial for everything he had done."

"I have everything I need to take him down. And it would be in your best interest, Your Ladyship, to cut all ties with Chief Stille. Completely."

Arthur stopped and stared at the Baroness.