Chapter 119: Better I Eat It All (3)
When I say it’s not free, it means I’ve taken as many spoils as the Runestone I gave—no, even more.
Claude, sweating coldly, cautiously asked, “Does Count Perdium or his retainers have no idea?”
“Nope. Digald is famous for being poor. They probably think he’s used almost all his wealth for the war costs. That’s how I reported it.”
Ghislaine rushed to Digald as soon as the war ended.
While there was an intention to eliminate future troubles by killing Count Digald, there was a significant motive to grab all the nobles’ wealth.
No matter how poor a territory might be, a noble is still a noble.
Plus, the Digald territory was notorious for exploiting its territory residents. That means the lord and retainers had a lot of hidden treasures.
As Claude examined the gold coins packed in the chest, he chuckled.
“Still, that’s a lot. I can understand why the state of the territory is like that.”
“Oh, not all of this came from Digald. I looted all the baronies on the way back.”
“……What?”
“I took everything from those who participated in the war. Since it was on the way, why not?”
“Wow……. You ate it all by yourself?”
“Who else would I share it with? I hate having my stuff taken by others the most.”
Claude closed his eyes at the shameless remark.
‘Isn’t Father a stranger? And it’s originally Father’s anyway……. Seriously, is this guy a noble or a bandit?’
He had seen many greedy nobles in the Seiron Kingdom, but this one was the first to be so blatantly obsessed with money.
“Um, do you have some kind of birth secret?”
“What’s that? What do you mean?”
As Ghislaine glared, Claude shook his hands in denial.
“No, it’s just that you didn’t tell Count Perdium either, right? Do you really have to eat it all by yourself? Won’t your father be sad?”
“I can guarantee that it’s much better for me to use it all.”
It was clear that even if Perdium took some, he would just let it slip away again in a haphazard way.
They weren’t even in a position to endure the present, let alone prepare for the future.
In that case, it was better to use it where it was needed.
Thanks to that, Perdium was also reaping the benefits.
Claude’s eyes sparkled as he listened to the conversation.
He was surprised, but he couldn’t let this opportunity slip away foolishly.
“Hehe, if you don’t cut down on the work right away, I’ll tell Perdium about this…”
“Otherwise, I’ll have to tell Perdium about this….”
Before he finished speaking, Ghislaine rolled up his sleeves and let out a wicked laugh.
“Right, I was waiting for you to say that. I don’t really like warnings that are just talk, you know.”
“What? Uwaaaah!”
Moments later, Claude got up sniffing from a corner of the warehouse.
“I’ll stay quiet until death.”
“Good, don’t forget that mindset. It’s not that it’s a big deal if you tell me, but it doesn’t look good, does it? No need to blush for no reason.”
Ghislaine clapped her hands in amusement. As if she was waiting for this, the warehouse door opened, and Wendy along with a few mercenaries walked in.
“Huh?”
Claude was taken aback.
There had been no one around when he and Ghislaine came in.
He couldn’t even guess when the mercenaries had been waiting.
Regardless of his surprise, Wendy and the mercenaries greeted him and began gathering their supplies.
Claude shook his head in disbelief.
‘They completely read me, really.’
It seemed they anticipated both that he would run out of money and that he would come looking for help. They even called in mercenaries to play the role of porters in advance.
Ghislaine wrapped her arm around Claude’s shoulder and smiled.
“Let me know when you run out of money again. Don’t waste time worrying and just work hard. I’ll find the funds.”
“……Tch.”
Claude turned his head and pouted. His pride was a bit hurt.
Despite being reckless and messy, Ghislaine somehow always offered a solution when problems arose.
The way she did it was incredibly outlandish, but it was the fact that her absurd methods worked that was the real problem.
“Ahem, this amount should be enough for a while.”
“Yeah, hurry up and get ready to leave.”
With the money he received from Ghislaine, Claude hurriedly bought necessary materials.
He had thoroughly trained Lowell to manage ongoing tasks.
While Claude was preparing to leave for the capital, Ghislaine headed to Perdium.
During her absence, someone was needed to manage the territory’s troops and conduct basic training.
‘Randolf should be able to manage it adequately.’
The best would be to teach the mercenaries the Mana Circulation Method while she was gone, but there wasn’t enough time for that.
Since most couldn’t handle mana, teaching it would require her to guide each one individually, just like she did with Vanessa.
It might not be a problem with one or two people, but supervising several hundred mercenaries until they could circulate mana themselves was something Ghislaine couldn’t manage right away.
‘Before teaching the circulation method, I also need to renew contracts. Right now, it’s better to teach them other lacking skills first.’
Randolf could certainly teach basic military knowledge suitable for regular troops.
Since she’d need to teach not only the mercenaries but also the newly recruited soldiers, she was planning to ask him that as well.
*
Randolf nodded at her story without any objections, but Zvalter frowned and questioned her.
“You’re going to the capital? You’re a lord. A lord leaving the territory just for trade?”
“Yes, it’s an important matter that I must attend to personally.”
“Hmm, how can a lord, like a mere tradesman, be moving goods himself? People will mock you.”
“I don’t care. What’s important is not my face.”
“The important thing isn’t my face.”
Zvalter was not pleased with his son’s attitude.
It seemed that, perhaps because he just received his fief, Ghislaine had no awareness of what it meant to be a lord at all.
“If that’s the case, I cannot send you. Now that you have become a lord, you must understand how heavy and important that responsibility is.”
Zvalter was not usually such a rigid person.
However, since Ghislaine seemed completely oblivious to the weight of being a lord, he planned to teach him indirectly.
Of course, it did not resonate with Ghislaine.
“One year’s worth of food.”
“Huh?”
“I will provide a year’s supply of food for Perdium Territory once I get back.”
“…Now that I think about it, it seems it’s time for you to expand your horizons beyond the North. Have a good trip. I will send Randolf as soon as he is ready.”
Zvalter smiled kindly and patted his son’s shoulder.
It was too much money to refuse.
*
Although he had easily overpowered Zvalter, upon returning to the territory, Ghislaine was met with fierce opposition.
As he announced his departure for the south, not only were his retainers busy saving face, but even Belinda and Gillian, who knew Ghislaine well, voiced their negative opinions.
“Just send someone else! Why does Young Master have to do it?”
“Lord, if you head out yourself, everyone will laugh. The merchant leader is the chief officer; how could you possibly take action yourself?”
“No, I need to do it myself for it to be the fastest. I’m not just going to trade; I have things to do in the capital too.”
Despite their attempts to persuade him further, Ghislaine remained as immovable as ever.
Belinda and Gillian gave up and sighed in resignation.
Given the situation, as always, they had to go along and, if he tried to do something strange, they could only throw themselves in the way to stop him.
A few days later, Ghislaine surveyed several heavily laden wagons and smiled satisfactorily.
“This first batch should be just right.”
“Do you really think we can sell it all?”
“As long as the promotion goes well, there won’t be any problem. Once they try it, the nobles will go crazy for it. Don’t worry.”
Claude scratched his chin at Ghislaine’s confident words.
The efficacy of the cosmetics was assured, so word would eventually spread.
However, the initial stock was just too much.
They weren’t items that could be stored long-term, and he just couldn’t understand how they planned to sell it all.
Moreover, the wagons carrying the cosmetics were anything but ordinary.
To keep the goods from spoiling, they had inscribed freezing magic circles on each wagon. Each magic circle also required a runestone to be embedded.
“Are you really sure about this? If the nobles don’t buy it, it would be a massive loss. Refrigeration isn’t a cure-all.”
“Oh, just don’t worry. We’ll sell every last bit. It’s not something that spoils easily.”
“Well… I suppose so. You must have your plans, my Lord.”
Claude sighed in exasperation.
The people they had to deal with this time were nobles that even the lord couldn’t just rashly handle.
He couldn’t even begin to predict how this short-tempered lord would persuade them to promote it.
“Young Master! This side is all ready too!”
Belinda approached with a bright smile and reported back.
Behind her were about twenty servants, all loaded up with cargo.
“Sigh… I told you we didn’t need to take this much.”
“You’re a noble, so you should be able to keep up. Don’t you know about seizing the initiative? You can’t let even the slightest hint of being looked down upon in the capital.”
Just as Ghislaine was about to say something, Belinda interrupted firmly.
“If we’re not careful, we’ll be treated like country bumpkins. It’s obvious they’ll laugh at us for a noble acting like a merchant!”
She wasn’t wrong, and Ghislaine couldn’t argue, falling silent instead.
Just then, Gillian and Kaor arrived, leading about fifty fully armed mercenaries behind them.
“We’re ready too, Lord.”
“What? You brought this many mercenaries? We don’t need this many!”
“The journey to the capital is long. We need this much personnel to transport valuable goods. Plus, we have to ensure the Lord’s comfort.”
Gillian’s expression was solid, as if he wouldn’t compromise. Ghislaine sighed deeply.
“Fine, since we prepared already, let’s all explore the capital. No one else is coming, right?”
Belinda and Gillian nodded.
“Oh, right. Young Master, what are we calling this? Have you thought of a name?”
“A name?”
“Yes. If we’re going to introduce and promote it, it needs a name.”
“That’s true. Hmm… how about ‘Lovely Blingbling’? Isn’t it pretty?”
Claude burst out laughing, holding his stomach.
“Wow! What a naming sense! What a girl vibe!”
It was so absurd that all the worries and concerns that had been stuck in Ghislaine’s heart dissipated.
When Ghislaine shot a blank expression at Claude, he quickly looked away, pretending not to notice.
Belinda clicked her tongue and said, “That’s a bit… Nobles believe a name should have dignity.”
“What’s wrong with ‘Blingbling’? I think it’s cute. Is it really that bad?”
Ghislaine turned to Gillian. At the sudden question, Gillian bit his lip and replied, “It’s… okay.”
Ghislaine locked eyes with Wendy, who stood beside Claude. She tried her hardest to maintain a straight face, but her lips were twitching. It was an expression that didn’t even need questions.
“Young Master, seriously, that’s not it.”
As Belinda frowned, Ghislaine licked her lips and revealed the original name of the cosmetics.
“Deneb.”
Deneb was the name the Duke Delphine had attached to the cosmetics in her previous life.
She had heard it was named after a star passed down from ancient times.
It was cool, but since it was a name given by the Duke, it didn’t feel right to her.
So she had tried to use the name she came up with, ‘Lovely Blingbling’, but it fell flat.
“Umm, it’s not bad. It gives off a vibe that nobles might like.”
Only then did Belinda nod.
Kaor, who had been listening from the back, tilted his head in a crooked manner, thinking, ‘Lovely Blingbling? I think this is better.’
Indeed, everyone had different tastes.
Well, now that a name was decided, it was just time to head to the capital and start selling properly.
Ghislaine got on her horse and looked around at everyone. Seeing her reliable companions made her smile automatically.
With a big smile, Ghislaine tightened the reins and shouted, “Alright, let’s head to the capital!”
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
