126 – Charles Augustus Milverton (3)
‘Do you have less money than you thought?’
Charles Augustus Milverton thought after responding to Professor James Moriarty’s invitation.
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As the carriage carrying him approached the mansion of Professor James Moriarty near Oxford, the mansion could be seen with the naked eye.
It was a sparsely populated place, as expected of a villain who was somehow connected to a criminal. The mansion itself could be vaguely seen from a distance, but it was not as luxurious as Milverton had expected.
I thought maybe I wouldn’t be able to get the full 7,000 pounds I expected from Moriarty. When it seemed like the expected profits would not come in, Mill Burton distorted his face and secretly expressed his resentment toward Moriarty.
“This is why Irish hillbillies, tsk tsk….”
Charles Augustus Milverton was an expert. He was an expert in trickery.
No matter how much the other party begged, pleaded, and threatened, he always negotiated without reducing a single penny from the amount he proposed, and in the process, sometimes someone took their life or their family was ruined. Even when he witnessed his life being ruined, he had no pity.
Of course, he was not a murderer in his opinion. Because that was vulgar. Milverton himself had never had anyone’s blood on his hands.
The fact that nearly dozens of people died over a period of ten years because of Milverton himself was only a minor point to him.
What was important was one’s own business, and the way to extract as much as possible from the other party.
The best thing for the other party and Milverton himself was if the other party paid the entire amount suggested by Milverton.
However, thanks to his long experience, Milverton, who was able to make his own estimates based on the opponent’s estimates, had a hunch that it would be difficult this time.
For a man with a promising future, a genius mathematician who is already attracting attention in many European academic circles, and a handsome investor, he seemed to have less money than expected.
Of course, Milverton did not neglect to conduct preliminary research on James Moriarty, the partner he was looking for this time.
And the results were disappointing.
I knew that Milverton was not from a wealthy noble family that he usually dealt with, but the person he was dealing with was not from a wealthy family either.
That meant there was a high possibility that there would be less to tear off.
Milverton got out of the carriage that had slowly stopped, laughing inwardly at the young Irish hillbilly who would become his victim this time.
As a famous professor, information about James Moriarty’s history itself was easily obtained. And it was disappointing.
I’m from the Irish countryside where those hillbillies live. As the second child of a fallen landowner’s family, there was little chance of inheriting the family’s wealth, and more than anything, the family he would inherit was like an Irish hillbilly, meaning he had nothing.
Family relationships were insignificant. The professor’s eldest brother was a soldier, and he seemed to have some talent as a soldier. He was already promoted to major at a young age, and it was almost certain in the military that he would become a general in the future.
However, as the military profession itself was not wealthy, it was still not enough to fill the 7,000 pounds that Milverton wanted.
My younger brother was working as a station master at a train station, so he was living an even more boring life.
“Wait until I come out. “If that doesn’t happen, you know better, right?”
“Yes, I know very well, Sir.”
After giving the coachman his usual warning, Milverton began his journey towards his mansion. Normally, a butler or servant would have come out to meet him at this point, but as negotiations would not be easy, he had to walk to the gate of the mansion alone.
Mill Burton smiled as he checked to make sure his pistol was in his pocket.
Someone could have called it foolish to readily accept an invitation from a person who was threatening me. But Milverton was always confident, and since he had been safe every time he did this, he figured he would be the same this time.
Above all, he always carried a pistol and was armed, and before coming here, he had already told those around him that he was visiting Professor Moriarty, so he could not for a moment think that something unexpected would happen. .
Since people originally thought for their own advantage, Milverton’s pride was a natural kind of human.
Above all, Milverton’s main customers were ladies from aristocratic families who were far from violent, wives who had affairs, or gentlemen, so he could not think of anyone seriously threatening him.
As he waited, knocking on the door and humming to himself, Milverton couldn’t help but be a little surprised when he saw the person who came out to meet him.
“You must be Mr. Milverton. The master is waiting. “Please follow me.”
In a cold voice, but as if she would treat a guest well as a maid, the young maid checked on him and went inside to guide her.
The cold attitude itself was something I experienced all the time, so of course it was expected. However, Milverton could not help but be surprised by the sight of her maid.
The maid herself was very young, no, she was a young woman who seemed to have not yet reached adulthood, and judging by her face alone, she was the most striking beauty wherever she went.
Aside from her cold demeanor, one could tell from her every step that she had received a variety of educations, to the point where one could doubt whether she was really a maid.
But what on earth is that woman, or ‘that’?
Milverton was confused. He tried to act calm, but he couldn’t hide his confusion inside, and he couldn’t help but look at the animal ears on the head of the maid ahead and the huge wolf’s tail stretched out behind her back.
In fact, this was not Milverton’s fault.
Those with knowledge of magic, such as Fred Forlock, may be able to recognize Moran’s identity right away, but most people have difficulty even encountering wizards or werewolves in their lives, so they dare to imagine the existence of an imperfect werewolf hybrid. I couldn’t do it either.
However, Milverton could not help but feel a little uneasy. The appearance of a woman in the form of a beast gave me the intuition that James Moriarty might not be an easy opponent.
Of course he was still confident.
“Sir, Mr. Milverton is here.”
“Ask them to come in.”
The place we were guided to was the study room.
Professor James Moriarty was a very tall, but thin young man who looked less healthy. He was dressed in a suit in his study, looking more like a young businessman or politician than a professor, and even Milverton had to admit that he was a very handsome man.
Of course, in his mind, he evaluated his opponent as someone who made a living with his face. If he were to act as the lover of noble women, he might have more money to extort.
“Thank you for accepting my invitation, Professor James Moriarty.”
“I received an interesting letter. I should repay you, right, Charles Augustus Milverton?”
We exchanged brief greetings with each other.
That sharp gaze, somewhat reminiscent of a reptile, was looking at me as if observing, but how long would I be able to relax?
Milverton laughed inwardly.
But there was something to say first.
“… Wouldn’t it be better if we talked alone, Professor? “For the professor’s honor.”
For some reason, the maid stood silently next to the professor, like a secretary. She glanced sideways at the maid, but Professor Moriarty spoke to her first.
“It doesn’t matter because Peony is like my nephew.”
“Ha, fun. Well, since it is the professor’s own freedom, I don’t mind.”
Meanwhile, Milverton tried to open his mouth. However, he couldn’t help but ask back at the strange words that came out of the professor’s mouth.
“The frontal lobe is less developed than I thought.”
“What?”
“It’s a joke. These days, people around me recommend phrenology, so I studied it, but it’s still bullsh*t that only con artists would learn. “I wonder what Mr. Milverton thinks.”
“Ha, if you think I’m a fraud, I can immediately reveal parts of the letter that may tarnish the professor’s reputation.”
There was silence.
Milverton laughed to himself. Even though he pretends to be strong, he is just a guy who has a lot of trouble. Now, I wanted to generously suggest once again a way to save him.
The letter only vaguely hinted and did not specify the exact amount. And Moriarty spoke those words.
“So, how much do you want to sell a letter that may damage my reputation?”
“We can finally communicate, Professor. “I intend to be generous and hand over the unfortunate letter for seven thousand pounds.”
“More than I thought… “You are really simple.”
“… What?”
“Why not do it this way? “I’ll buy each of your eyeballs for 7,000 pounds.”
“Ha, now you’re saying this is all a joke, Professor Moriarty!”
Only then did Milverton realize that his opponent was still out of his wits and was just playing around. He pretended to be angry and stood up to leave.
Abominably, that teacher still stayed in his seat, pretending to be relaxed. In the end, Milverton realized that cumbersome procedures were necessary for smooth negotiations.
“Are you going already?”
“You will regret it, Professor Moriarty. “You tested my generosity, so now I might have to prepare 9,000 pounds instead of 7,000!”
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“Make sure you don’t see them off.”
You’re such a foolish saenim, I’ll make you regret it.
Milverton left the failed negotiations, suffocating his anger in his heart.
The first place he headed was one of his connections. He was the owner of a mid-sized magazine in his own right, and he was planning to secretly commission an article related to Professor Moriarty in order to put pressure on him.
After the magazine came out, of course, they planned to send it to the professor to put pressure on him and increase the level of threats, so everything went smoothly.
However, strangely, unlike usual, Milverton could not help but feel puzzled by the person who was shocked and did not even meet him.
It was strange, but his connections were diverse, so he started looking for others.
And similar things were repeated. At this point, Milverton was in trouble. He still didn’t know fear yet.
Although he didn’t like it, he decided to use his magazine and had one of his employees write his article.
Two days later, Charles Augustus Millton received news that the entire magazine printing shop had been destroyed by an unknown fire and that a subordinate he had ordered to write an article had suddenly hanged himself.
