NOVPUBThe day after the banquet, things started moving quickly.
Under orders from Marquis Branford, slave traders from different regions came to see Ghislain.
These were not just any traders; they were among the biggest names in the business, specializing in dealing with non-human slaves. However, in front of Ghislain, they were all visibly nervous.
"But... Are you really capable of handling such a large number of slaves? I understand your interest in non-humans, but the quantity is quite overwhelming."
"If there's any cash flow problem, you could go bankrupt. And managing non-human slaves is difficult; their pride makes them hard to control."
It was an ironic situation where the sellers were more concerned about the buyer's finances than the buyer himself.
Ghislain responded with a relaxed expression.
"Isn't it amusing to see merchants worrying about their customers? The money is ready, and I'll handle the management myself, so there's no need to worry."
The slave traders exchanged glances, nodding slightly to one another.
‘Tsk, it's usually taboo to make such large deals with someone this young...’
‘But he's backed by Marquis Branford. There's no way to refuse. Most of the Royalist nobles are supporting him.’
Ghislain glanced at the hesitant traders and gave them a warning.
"Make sure to bring every single one. If there's a problem... you know what will happen, right?"
"Of course, of course! No need to worry. Just please make sure to deliver the payment. The sum is quite large, and we feel a bit anxious about it."
"I’ll pay the remainder exactly as promised, so focus on delivering the people."
Ghislain responded curtly.
Even though the cosmetics were selling well, he couldn’t immediately handle such an enormous sum.
However, the amount was so large that the slave traders insisted they couldn’t allow installment payments without collateral.
"Don't forget that Count Ferdium's estate is being held as collateral."
"Yes, yes. Just make sure to handle everything properly."
"Have you received permission from Count Ferdium, by the way?"
Ghislain responded boldly, without even blinking.
"I’m his heir, so don’t worry and go about your business."
"Ahem, understood. We’ll make the preparations as quickly as possible. We'll see you at the estate."
"Oh, and don't forget to send the dwarves first, as quickly as possible. Especially the one I mentioned—he must be delivered safely."
"Yes, yes. We will prioritize that."
"Good. Don't make me wait."
The slave traders left, looking uneasy.
‘Damn, if things go wrong, we’ll have to blame Marquis Branford... Will they even take responsibility?’
‘The estate we took as collateral is in some barren corner of the northern region, isn’t it? Just thinking about selling it in pieces gives me a headache.’
‘I should be feeling good after selling everything, but why do I feel so anxious?’
As the slave traders retreated, Belinda clicked her tongue and muttered.
"If Count Ferdium knew, he’d faint."
"It’s fine. Father is always in trouble anyway, even without me."
Belinda sighed deeply and shook her head.
"Buying slaves is one thing, but what about the immigrants?"
"What do you mean?"
"There will be at least thousands, if not tens of thousands. We’ll have to cover all their living expenses until they settle in, which will cost a fortune."
"It’ll be fine. You saw the wheat growing, didn’t you? We can handle it."
"But people can’t live on bread alone! What about everything else?"
"Sure, the initial setup will cost money, but once we get enough people, the economy will activate quickly."
She wasn’t wrong, but that would only be possible if the fundamental problems were solved first.
"How will newly relocated people even have money to spend in the market? What kind of jobs will they do? They need to work to earn money and spend it."
"Those in urgent need of money can be put to work on construction projects, just like we’re doing now. And..."
"And?"
"All the able-bodied men will be turned into soldiers. Our estate lacks a standing army, so this solves that problem."
"What the...?"
Belinda was at a loss for words, shocked by the sheer scale of his plan.
She grabbed Claude, asking him, "Does this even make sense? Is it really possible?"
Claude nodded. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓾𝒷.𝒸ℴ𝓂
It was a bold plan, but not entirely unreasonable. In this era, people would gladly join the army if they were fed and given shelter. Most simply lacked the funds to attempt such initiatives.
"If we pour all the revenue from runestones and cosmetics into it, it’s doable. We just have to hold out until the economy stabilizes. However..."
"However?"
"We'll be spending every penny we earn, which means finances will be tight for the next few years."
"Exactly! So why the rush? The economy will eventually grow on its own over time."
Claude scratched his chin thoughtfully and shared his perspective.
"Well... It might be preparation for a war."
"A war?!"
Belinda shouted in surprise, quickly covering her mouth with her hand, then asked quietly again.
"A war? With whom? Who would attack us?"
"Hmm, there are plenty of possibilities. Desmond might want to get revenge, or other territories could set their sights on ours."
Belinda frowned, confused.
"Desmond, I get, but why would others?"
"It’s the food supply. For now, we’ve sealed off the estate as much as possible, but word will eventually spread that we’re producing a surplus. People will come looking to take advantage of that."
"Now that you mention it, we did prepare for war before when we first acquired the runestones."
Claude nodded, glancing at Ghislain as he lowered his voice.
"I’m guessing I’m right. The lord wouldn’t randomly attack someone first, right?"
"Of course not, our young master isn’t that kind of person."
"Haha, doing that without reason would make him a thug. Though... it would suit him, wouldn't it? Haha."
"I can hear you, slave."
Ghislain narrowed his eyes, glaring at Claude.
Startled, Claude hurriedly withdrew, laughing nervously as he went.
Ghislain clicked his tongue and fell back into deep thought.
‘Our budget is way too tight. At this rate, it’ll be hard to execute the next phase of the plan. I can’t sell all the runestones either; they have another use.’
He needed a massive amount of money for his next move, but in the current state, it would take far too long.
‘I’ll have to find a way to gather a large sum quickly.’
Having met with the slave traders, Ghislain saw no further reason to stay in the capital. The cosmetics business was stable, and it was time to return to the estate to look for new ways to make money.
As long as nothing went wrong, of course.
“Hey, move over!”
“What? I got here first!”
“Get out of the way!”
The entrance to the Crow Mansion was packed with people who had come to buy cosmetics.
Since the end of the banquet, more and more people had started visiting, until one day, there were too many guests to fit inside the mansion.
“Baron Fenris cured Lady Branford's illness, didn’t he?”
“They say it’s all thanks to those cosmetics.”
“Oh my, we must buy them quickly!”
Nobles from the capital, provincial lords, and even merchants from far and wide flocked to the mansion after hearing the rumors.
At first, only servants of noble families came, so it was somewhat manageable. But once impatient nobles started showing up themselves, things got out of control.
These were people who had never in their lives stood in line or waited their turn.
Queue? What’s that? Is it something you eat?
“Do you know who you're blocking?!”
At the mere sound of a noble’s angry voice, the line of servants would scatter in fear.
But would the nobles who were chased away just let it go? Of course not.
This vicious cycle of nobles driving out each other's servants continued, escalating tensions.
Claude tried to step in and maintain order, but it was no use.
“Form a line! Everyone, please queue up!”
No matter how loudly he shouted, the prideful nobles didn’t even acknowledge him.
If there had been a clear hierarchy, Claude could have arranged them by rank. But with nobles of similar standing from all over the kingdom gathered, there was no point in trying that.
Some minor nobles even started glaring at each other, getting into verbal arguments.
“I was here first.”
“What are you talking about? I was first. Did you leave your eyes at home?”
“What did you say? Do you know who you're messing with? The Earl of Boyer won’t stand for this if you touch me!”
“How dare you throw around someone’s name? You’d better watch yourself, or the Earl of Bromson will have a word with you!”
Every day, several people like this would show up, bickering and dropping names.
Those who limited themselves to verbal spats were actually the better-behaved ones. Nobles who didn’t get along would start dueling the moment they saw each other in front of the mansion.
“Well, well, I’ve caught you today. You started this, so I’ve got the upper hand.”
“Hah, looks like you’ve finally chosen the day you’ll die! How delightful!”
Clang! Clang!
The poor bodyguards were forced to swing their swords at each other, unable to defy their masters’ orders.
“Fight! Fight!”
The chaos attracted people who had no intention of buying cosmetics, eager to watch the spectacle.
“Sir, things have gotten out of control. We can't let anyone in. If this keeps up, there could be a full-blown riot.”
Claude rushed to Ghislain in a panic, prompting him to go outside and see for himself.
“Well... This wasn't part of the plan.”
The entrance to the mansion was utter chaos.
People were fighting, watching, and even local stray dogs were mixed into the crowd, barking loudly. It was more chaotic than a battlefield.
“Move aside! Stop blocking the way!”
“I was here first! Stop pushing!”
Woof woof! Bark bark!
“Hey! Someone shut those dogs up!”
Watching the scene unfold, Ghislain couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.
“Wow, this really is a mess.”
Claude, looking exhausted, grumbled.
“We had to close the doors to keep them from storming in. If we open them now, they’ll ransack the mansion and take all the cosmetics. What do we do?”
“Hm...”
Ghislain pondered the situation. He couldn’t exactly beat everyone up.
“I really need to return to the estate.”
When Ghislain muttered this, Claude looked at him in shock.
“Return now? If you leave like this, the mansion will be looted. The servants can’t hold them off.”
“So what do we do?”
“We need to stay and manage the situation somehow.”
“I really need to go back.”
“You’re not listening. We can barely handle this. Do you think the servants can?”
Ghislain thought for a moment before speaking.
“If we can’t handle it, we’ll leave it to someone who can.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s shut down the business for a while.”
“What...?”
Before Claude could finish his sentence, Ghislain jumped up onto a wall and shouted loudly.
“We’re suspending sales for now! Everyone, go home! We’ll reopen in a few days!”
The nobles gathered outside shouted in protest.
“What do you mean?! We’ve been waiting since morning! We have to buy it today!”
“Baron Fenris! It’s me! We met at the banquet, remember?”
“Baron Fenris! You can’t do this! Let us buy first!”
With Ghislain’s appearance, the commotion only grew louder.
Despite the protests, Ghislain didn’t flinch and shouted again.
“Block off the front gate completely! We’re closing up shop today!”
Claude and the others looked at each other in shock.
They were at the height of their success, and shutting down like this could lead to backlash.
“Um, my lord... Isn’t this too much? We can’t just turn away all these customers...”
Claude cautiously began, but Ghislain interrupted in an irritated tone.
“What are you waiting for? Block the gates.”
‘What’s gotten into him now?’
Grumbling to himself, Claude called for the mercenaries.
They began blocking the entrance with wooden boards and carts, which had been prepared in case of a riot.
Thud! Thud!
The gates were sealed completely, blocking even the view inside, and the nobles began shouting in anger.
“This is an insult!”
“Why aren’t you selling?!”
“Open the gates! Let me talk to you!”
But inside, there was no response.
