Chapter 118
Chapter 118: It’s Better If I Eat It All. (2)
“Um, I’ll just go with the slave contract.”
“You’ve thought it through well. Hey, release this guy.”
The guard approached and opened the locked door.
Claude was overjoyed to finally have someone to put to work.
“I look forward to working with you from now on. Let’s make it exciting, bro.”
“What exactly do you mean by exciting…?”
Lowell took a step back to avoid Claude, who kept patting him on the shoulder.
Every time Claude came closer, a chill ran down Lowell’s spine, giving him the instinct that there was nothing good about getting involved with this person.
*
On the way back to the Territory of Penris, Lowell felt a bit relieved after hearing why Ghislaine had come to find him.
“This is my last chance! I have to show I’m a useful person. If I don’t, I can’t survive!”
He actively shared his ideas to demonstrate his abilities.
Claude was surprised by Lowell’s vast knowledge.
How to plunder the territory residents, how to utilize crime organizations, how to engage in money games, and even how to manipulate and bankrupt other nobles.
It seemed he knew all the tricks and malpractices of the world.
Though he sometimes took shortcuts too, never to the extent of Lowell.
“Wow, you really are trash. I’ve never seen someone like you. This is true systemic corruption.”
Lowell beamed with pride at Claude’s words.
In Digald, being called trash was the highest praise. The more money he could squeeze out of the territory residents, the more likely he was to win the lord’s favor.
“Thank you. I’ll squeeze even harder.”
“… There really isn’t a normal person in this territory.”
Claude shook his head in disbelief.
It seemed this guy thought Ghislaine managed the territory like in Digald.
Ghislaine, who had been listening to their conversation, smiled and warned Claude.
“You’ll need some serious mental training. If you don’t want to lose your head, that is.”
“… Yes.”
Claude sighed deeply.
But there was hope. He seemed a bit out of his depth mentally, but he was someone who had experience managing a territory. Experienced individuals are always welcome.
If they could wash away all the corruption in his head and teach him well, it would be a great help.
However, Lowell, who was completely unaware of his own issues, just wore a dazed expression as he listened to their conversation.
“If I get assigned a task, I should be able to churn out money. Once that monstrous person tastes money, his attitude might change.”
With that thought, Lowell followed Ghislaine confidently.
But the moment they arrived at the Territory of Penris, his expectations were shattered.
“What, what is this? Why is the territory like this? Is this really the Territory of Penris? Or is it a different territory?”
Is the merchant group here? Are they lined up right at the castle gate?
What’s with all these mountains of food?
Not to mention the new-looking buildings. And why is the atmosphere among the territory residents so cheerful?
‘No, this can’t be right?’
Lowell struggled to calm down as he took in the surprising sights.
For someone from Digald, this scene felt incredibly strange and unfamiliar.
Claude, boasting proudly, tapped Lowell on the shoulder.
“This is all my masterpiece.”
“Ah, please don’t touch… Really? The Chief Officer developed this much?”
Lowell’s over-the-top reaction made Claude feel a bit embarrassed, so he timidly corrected himself.
“It’s the work of both me and the Lord.”
The territory had developed at such an astonishing pace thanks to Ghislaine’s funding and drive.
Even the shameless Claude couldn’t deny that.
‘But! I handled the aftermath of the Lord’s reckless projects.’
So Claude thought that he had at least half a stake in the territory’s growth.
“The territory… How could it be like this…”
Lowell looked around in a daze.
He had struggled all his life, barely even getting a proper meal when he was young.
He desperately wanted to succeed, so he learned to read and studied.
He wanted to become an excellent administrator and create a territory where no one would go hungry.
He definitely had once dreamed of such a thing.
‘I thought it was impossible…’
Though he’d risen to quite a respectable position for a commoner, he had nothing he could actually do.
If the Lord didn’t take action, the territory would never change.
In the end, Lowell accepted reality and worked as the Lord desired to survive.
He thought everyone lived like that.
Yet…
“Why are you in such a daze? How’s it feel since you haven’t been here in a while?”
Startled from his thoughts by Ghislaine’s voice, Lowell shook his head.
“It’s… amazing. I can’t believe this place has become so lively…”
He had been here several times when he was in charge of the entire Count’s territory.
Back then, the Lord governing this place was akin to a devil.
It was rather noble to just run away; many were too hopeless to even think about abandoning their lives.
To see this place transformed in just a few months was unbelievable.
“You better stay sharp now. If you try managing the territory like before, you’ll lose your head.”
Ghislaine glared coldly at Lowell. With a tense expression, he nodded in response.
“I will do my best to contribute to the territory’s development.”
“Even if you were forced by Count Digald, you still have your part to play. From now on, work hard for the territory residents.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
This was exactly what he had always wished for. Lowell had dreamed of working in a territory like this.
Above all, he was too intimidated by the person in front of him to even think about doing anything bad.
Ghislaine squinted at Lowell, then turned to Claude to ask.
“What are you planning to do with him?”
Claude pondered for a moment before speaking clearly.
“Well, since he seems to know all the bad stuff, it’d be best to put him in the spy position. He can also assist me as an administrative secretary.”
A spy needs to be clever and familiar with a criminal’s mindset.
Lowell was truly the perfect fit.
He claimed to have experience in most tasks, so a little teaching to fit the territory’s needs would suffice.
With that, Claude would find his work considerably easier.
Ghislaine nodded.
“Having gotten up to no good under Count Digald, he’s bound to know more about those matters. Let’s go with Claude’s suggestion.”
“Thank you!”
Lowell bowed again.
And with that, he resolved to truly work hard this time and make something of himself.
“We need to thoroughly seal off any leaks of information from our territory for the time being.”
“Understood.”
Before the crops could sprout, Ghislaine took sweeping measures to clean the territory.
She weeded out spies and prevented the merchant group from entering at will.
They even half-restrained any necessary external personnel by promising to pay more.
She built walls around the new farming areas and gathered the territory residents to set up defense.
“It’s better to hide what we can.”
With Amelia receiving support from Desmond, Ghislaine had no time to worry.
This, combined with the sealing orders, meant information from the territory was tightly shut down.
Ghislaine also gave Claude a stern warning.
“The first batch of goods we’ve set as a target will be prepared soon. They will set off in about two weeks, so ensure this guy is well-trained before that. Also, have all necessary materials prepared in advance.”
“Understood. Hey, let’s go quickly. You have a lot to do.”
Claude threw his arm over Lowell’s shoulder, pretending to be friendly.
Having fallen out with the wizards over their wager, there was no one around who understood him.
In such circumstances, having someone fairly sharp join was a relief.
“Ugh, why do you keep sticking to me?”
“Sticking? Who’s sticking? I just want to get along. You’re being overly sensitive, which is suspicious. Hiding something?”
“Oh, not at all. Just feeling uneasy.”
As the two bickered while leaving, Ghislaine watched them with a content smile.
As the territory expanded, the amount of information to manage grew vast.
Eventually, someone dedicated to information management would be necessary, and Claude had caught on to that part well.
He needed to teach Lowell properly to make full use of him, but that was up to Claude.
‘If he teaches him poorly, he’ll only tire himself out more. Now that there’s someone around, I might give him a bit more work.’
Ghislaine turned, thinking of the things that would make Claude gasp in shock.
There were still plenty of tasks to take care of before heading to the capital.
*
Before two weeks had passed, Claude came to see Ghislaine with a troubled expression on his face.
Before he could say anything, Ghislaine spoke first.
“You’ve run out of money, haven’t you?”
“Our funds are running low… Huh? How did you know?”
“Hmm, it’s about that time. Don’t worry. Once cosmetics start selling, it will be resolved quickly.”
“Before that, I feel like we’ll run out of money completely.”
“Until then, we can sell runestones.”
Claude pounded his chest in frustration.
“No, I mean I need money right now. You have to consider the time it takes to cash in those runestones. How about we pause a few ongoing projects? Or maybe delay the trip to the capital a bit?”
“I don’t like that.”
Claude clenched his fists and trembled, then sighed.
“It’s not something you can just say you don’t like. How can we assign work when there’s no money?”
“Just follow me for a moment.”
“… Why? You’re not going to hit me, are you? I didn’t say anything wrong, did I?”
“I’m going to give you money.”
“Yes?”
Claude followed Ghislaine, puzzled by the notion of her offering money.
He had already transferred all money management responsibilities to her, so where was this money coming from?
Ghislaine led him to her personal storage room connected to her office.
The storage was full of large wardrobes and chests.
“You said you’d give me money… Did you bring me here to show off your clothes?”
Ghislaine glanced around the room warily before whispering with a serious expression.
“Hey, this is a secret from my father. If word gets out, be prepared to die.”
As soon as she finished her sentence, Ghislaine flung open the wardrobe and chests.
They were filled with dazzling jewels, valuable decorations, and gold coins.
“For now, just take half. That should help you last for a while. Since a lot of merchants are coming, it’s easy to cash this in.”
Claude, taken aback as he surveyed the room full of riches, asked incredulously.
“What on earth is this? When did you stash away so much money?”
As far as Claude knew, Ghislaine had no funding sources besides runestones.
Sure, having that alone made her quite wealthy, but there was no way she could have stashed away such a huge sum.
Ghislaine shrugged casually.
“Oh, this is spoils of war. It’s the personal property of Count Digald and his retainers.”
“…What? Spoils of war?”
“I plundered the territory completely on the day we seized it. I searched through the retainers’ mansions and warehouses and brought it all back. I planned to use it as emergency funds.”
“You’re insane…”
Claude felt dizzy for a moment.
He understood now why Ghislaine had urged him not to spread rumors.
The rightful owner of the vast wealth piled in that storage was Ghislaine’s father, Count Perdium.
No matter how great of an achievement she had made, Ghislaine was still merely a commander and not a lord.
Now she was boldly claiming to have secretly made off with property from an occupied territory.
“If you get caught with this, you know it’s a death sentence, right?”
Secretly appropriating a lord’s property is treated on par with treason.
No matter how small a lord Ghislaine was, she wouldn’t be able to escape punishment completely.
Before Claude could finish speaking, Ghislaine glared at him fiercely. Her eyes seemingly saying, how dare you say such a thing?
“What are you talking about? Do you know how many runestones I’ve given to Perdium? It’s not like I stole it; I traded for it, you see, traded. Who gives away runestones for free?”
Claude couldn’t even manage a wry smile and kept his mouth shut.
Just like that, Ghislaine was flying above Claude.
