Episode 143: Is this really a good opportunity? (1)
Things started moving quickly the day after the banquet.
Under the orders of the Marquis of Branford, slave traders from each region came to see Giselle.
Although they were considered big shots in dealing with slaves of different races, they were all at a loss in front of Jiselle.
“But… … Are you really able to handle this amount? I understand that you are interested in foreign slaves, but there are just too many.”
“If the flow of funds is blocked, you may go bankrupt. The slaves of different races have strong pride and it will be difficult to manage them.”
An ironic situation was unfolding in which the buyer had no concerns but the seller was worried.
Jiselle answered with a relaxed expression.
“I see how the merchants worry about their customers. I will prepare the money without any problems and take care of the management, so you don’t have to worry.”
The slave traders glanced at each other and nodded slightly.
‘Ugh, it’s taboo to do big business with a kid like this… … .’
‘He’s someone the Marquis of Branford is pushing for. There’s no way to refuse. Most of the royalist nobles support him.’
Jiselle glanced at the hesitating slave traders and gave them a warning.
“You have to bring everyone with you, without exception. If something goes wrong… … you know?”
“Do you have any concerns? Don’t worry. But I would like to ask you to pay the fee. I am a little worried because the amount is so large.”
“I will pay the balance on time as promised, so take care of your people.”
Jiselle answered curtly.
No matter how well the cosmetics were selling, we couldn’t afford that huge amount of money right away.
But because the amount was what it was, the slave traders refused to accept installment payments without collateral.
“Don’t forget that the Ferdium estate is held as collateral.”
“I understand. I’ll make sure to take care of the work.”
“You have received permission from Count Ferdium, right?”
Jiselle spoke confidently without blinking an eye.
“Don’t worry, I’m the successor there, so just go ahead and do it.”
“Ahem, I understand. Then I will prepare as quickly as possible and come back. See you at the estate.”
“Oh, and don’t forget to send the dwarves as quickly as possible. Especially the dwarves I mentioned, you must bring them back safely.”
“Yes, yes. I will handle it as a top priority.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t go far.”
The slave traders left with unpleasant expressions on their faces.
‘Damn, if something goes wrong I’ll have to complain to the Marquis of Branford and hold him accountable… … Will he accept it?’
‘Isn’t the territory that was taken as collateral in a barren place at the northern tip? My head hurts just thinking about splitting it up and selling it.’
‘I should be feeling good since I sold everything, but why am I so anxious?’
As the slavers retreated, Belinda clicked her tongue and muttered.
“If Count Ferdium finds out, he’ll faint.”
“It’s okay. Even without me, Dad is always in trouble.”
Belinda sighed and shook her head.
“Even if they live as slaves, what are you going to do about the immigrants?”
“What should I do?”
“It could be in the thousands, or even tens of thousands. We have to take care of all their food, clothing, and shelter until they settle down, and that would cost an astronomical amount of money.”
“It’s okay. You saw the wheat growing then. I can handle it.”
“No, does man live on bread alone? What about the other things!”
“It will cost money in the beginning to get established. But as the number of people increases, the market will quickly become active.”
That’s not wrong. But that’s only possible when the fundamental problem is solved.
“Where would people who have suddenly been displaced have money to go to the market? What can they do? They have to work to earn money and spend it.”
“Those who need money right now can invest it in the construction of facilities within the territory, like they are doing now. And… … .”
“And?”
“I’ll make all able-bodied men into soldiers. Our territory is seriously short on standing troops. Isn’t that a problem?”
“omg…….”
Belinda was speechless with shock.
They’re going to turn everyone who’s left into soldiers, the scale is out of this world.
Belinda grabbed Claude and asked.
“Does that make sense? Is it really possible?”
Claude nodded.
It was a radical but plausible opinion. In this day and age, there were many people who would serve as soldiers if they were given food and shelter.
It’s just that no one tried it because they didn’t have the money to do so.
“It’s possible if you put all your Runestone and Cosmetics profits into it. If you just hold out until the economy becomes somewhat active in the beginning, it’ll work out fine on its own. However… … .”
“but?”
“The problem is that we will spend all the money we earn. Our finances will be tight for several years.”
“I guess so. It’ll just increase over time anyway, so why are you in such a hurry?”
Claude scratched his chin for a moment before speaking his mind.
“What… … . Isn’t it preparing for war?”
“War?!”
Belinda screamed loudly, then covered her mouth with her hand in surprise.
And then he asked again, softly.
“War? With whom? Who is coming and why?”
“Well, there are many places where they could invade. Desmond, as I heard before, could come for revenge… … or another territory could have its eyes on our territory.”
Belinda asked, her brows furrowed.
“Desmond, even if that’s true, why somewhere else?”
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“It’s because of food. Right now, we’re blockading the territory as much as possible, but someday, rumors will spread that production has increased significantly. Then, won’t there be more people looking for that?”
“Well, I prepared for war for similar reasons when I first obtained the Runestone.”
Claude nodded, then glanced at Giselle and lowered his voice.
“I think my guess is right. Your Majesty wouldn’t attack anyone first out of the blue, right?”
“Of course, our master is not that kind of person.”
“Hey, if you do that for no reason, you’re a gangster. It suits you though. Hahahaha.”
“I can hear you all, slave.”
Giselle narrowed her eyes and glared at Claude.
Claude, who had been laughing and chatting with Belinda, was startled by her gaze and ran away.
Jiselle clicked her tongue and then fell into thought again.
‘The budget is really tight. It’s hard to start the next plan like this. I can’t sell all the rune stones because I have other uses for them.’
The next plan would require a huge amount of money to process, but as things stand now, it would take too long.
‘I need to find a way to make money a little faster.’
I must have met slave traders, there was no reason to stay in the capital any longer.
Now that cosmetics sales have become established, I plan to return to Yeongji and look for other ways to make money.
If only things hadn’t gotten so weird.
“Hey, get out of the way!”
“Oh, I told you I came first!”
“Aren’t you going to get out of the way right now?”
The entrance to the Crow Mansion was crowded with customers who had come to buy cosmetics.
After the banquet ended, more and more people started coming to the mansion, and at some point, it became so crowded that they couldn’t even admit all the guests into the mansion.
“You said that Baron Fenris cured the illness of the Marquis of Branford?”
“They say it’s all because of the cosmetic effects.”
“Oh my, I need to buy that quickly!”
Upon hearing the rumor, not only the nobles living in the capital but also the local lords and the nimble merchants flocked to the mansion.
At first, only servants from noble families came, so there was a certain degree of control, but after the impatient nobles themselves began to come, the problem became bigger.
They were a people who had never in their lives experienced standing in line or being ordered.
Line? What is that? Is it something to eat?
“Oh my, who are you blocking right now!”
At the sound of the nobleman’s shout, the servants who had been lining up were frightened and disappeared.
But would the nobles remain silent when they hear that their servants have been expelled?
The vicious cycle continued as the nobles who came in droves out their servants, and their masters come back again.
Claude tried to step forward and control the people, but it didn’t work at all.
“Hey, get in line! Get in line!”
No matter how much they shouted, the proud nobles didn’t even snort.
If there was a difference in class, they would have lined up in that order, but that method did not work among the nobles who had similar class and influence.
Since nobles from all over the kingdom came to visit, there was no point in distinguishing between high and low.
Some of the lower-ranking nobles began to glare at each other and argue.
“Oh, I came first.”
“What are you talking about? I came first. Didn’t you leave your eyes at home?”
“What? You know who’s behind me and you’re talking! If you touch me, Count Boyer won’t stay still!”
“Who dares to sell his name? If you don’t want to get scolded by Count Bromson, then get out quietly!”
There were several people who started arguments like this every day, selling the names of people they knew.
Those who only argue are relatively good people.
The nobles who were not on good terms with each other started a sword fight as soon as they saw each other in front of the mansion.
“You got caught today. You started this fight first. I have the excuse.”
“Huh, it looks like you’ve finally chosen the day to die! What a great day!”
Chachachang!
Only the poor knights, unable to resist their master’s orders, swung their swords at each other.
“It’s a fight! A fight!”
There is no way people would miss such an interesting spectacle.
Even people nearby who had no intention of buying cosmetics gathered in front of the mansion and began watching the fight.
“Oh, we’re in big trouble. The area in front of the mansion is a mess. I can’t let people in. If we’re not careful, there could be a riot.”
Claude came to Giselle in a hurry and told her. Giselle was also flustered and quickly went out to the front of the mansion.
“Oh… … This wasn’t planned?”
The entrance to the mansion was chaos itself.
It was a total mess, with people fighting, people watching, and even neighborhood dogs following the people. Even a battlefield wouldn’t be this chaotic.
“Move over a little bit! Don’t block the road!”
“I told you I came first! Oh, don’t push me!”
Woof woof woof! Woof woof!
“Hey! Stop barking!”
Jiselle, who had been blankly watching the scene, laughed in vain and exclaimed in admiration.
“Wow, this is a real mess.”
Claude grumbled with a sour look on his face.
“We’re trying to get in first, so I’ve closed the door for now. If we open the door now, they’ll take over the mansion. They’ll take the cosmetics too. What do we do now?”
“hmm…….”
It was a difficult situation for Jiselle to resolve, because she couldn’t just grab everything as she pleased.
“Ah, I have to go back to the territory.”
Claude looked as if he was taken aback when Giselle muttered.
“In this condition? If we go back now, the entire mansion will be looted. There’s no way to stop it with the servants.”
“Then what should we do?”
“I have to stay and manage it somehow.”
“Oh, I have to go back quickly.”
“It doesn’t make sense. We can’t handle it right now. Do you think the employees can handle it?”
Jiselle hesitated for a moment and then opened her mouth.
“If you can’t handle it, you should leave it to someone who can.”
“yes?”
“Let’s close down for the time being.”
“What is that… … .”
Before Claude could finish speaking, Giselle jumped up onto one of the walls of the mansion and shouted loudly.
“We are closed for the time being! Everyone, please go back! We will reopen in a few days!”
The nobles who had gathered around him shouted at those words.
“What are you talking about! I’ve been waiting for this since morning! I have to buy it today!”
“Baron Fenris! It’s me! It’s me! Didn’t I see you at the banquet?”
“Baron Fenris! This is not right! Let us buy it first!”
When Jiselle appeared, the commotion became even louder.
Of course, despite the nobles’ protests, Giselle shouted without blinking an eye.
“Hey! Block the main gate! We’re closing down for business today!”
Claude and his entourage looked at each other in embarrassment.
The water is rising right now, so I didn’t know what kind of complaints would come out if I kicked out all the customers like this.
“I, Your Majesty… … No matter what, I have so many guests… … .”
Claude opened his mouth cautiously, but Giselle cut him off in an irritated tone.
“What are you doing? Quickly, close all the doors.”
‘Oh, why are you doing that again?’
Claude grumbled to himself as he ordered his mercenaries around.
The entrance to the mansion was tightly blocked with wooden planks and a cart, ready to block the road in case of any disturbance.
Boom! Boom!
When the bars of the main gate were completely covered, making it impossible to see inside, the nobles protested loudly.
“This is an act of ignoring us!”
“Why aren’t you selling it?”
“Open the door quickly! Let me talk to you!”
But there was no response from inside the blocked door.
