Episode 248: Let’s Get Some Investment. (2)
Marquis Branford figured he’d accept the proposal since it benefitted the Crown Prince Faction, but he also wanted to minimize Ghislaine’s influence even a little.
He wanted to avoid the emergence of a new Duke Faction after victory in the civil war.
He thought the chances were slim, given his confidence, but… when it came to that Ghislaine guy, he couldn’t make any hasty statements.
“The military strength is increasing too rapidly. For now, letting it be works in our favor, but… the aftermath of the civil war is concerning. We can’t allow that guy to keep pouring funds into his coffers.”
If the royal family and he supported the road business, it would definitely succeed. He had to siphon off as much of the profits as possible to enhance military power.
Only then could he suppress Ghislaine’s reckless actions after the civil war.
“What percentage would be acceptable for you?”
Lowell asked, to which Marquis Branford responded with a disinterested expression.
“I’ll double Count Penris’s 20% to 40%. If you don’t accept this, just relay that we will consider it void. Come back after you’ve contacted them and received a decision.”
“No, there’s no need to contact anyone. I’ll proceed as you said.”
“…?”
Branford raised an eyebrow at the prompt answer. A mere administrator accepting a doubled offer? How curious.
“Have you received full authority? Are you sure you can make this judgment on your own?”
“Yes, I’ve received full authority. I will proceed as discussed.”
In truth, Lowell had already been briefed by Ghislaine. He had been told to raise the stakes but to ensure it wouldn’t exceed 50%.
What was essential for Ghislaine wasn’t actually the profit itself. Sure, getting income would be nice, but it was just a supplementary factor to easing funding.
— The important thing is that I am the owner of that road, that justification.
He only needed to be publicly acknowledged once. He could then crush any future dissenters by force.
For now, the power of Marquis Branford and the Crown Prince Faction vastly overshadowed Ghislaine. Thus, Branford couldn’t help but think that he could sufficiently control Ghislaine by just keeping similar profits.
But reality was different. All Ghislaine needed was time. Once he had power, he could sweep everything away without any justification.
He was merely using this method to shorten that time. To take on a Duke Faction, he needed to amass power faster than he currently was.
Oblivious to Ghislaine’s thoughts, Branford regarded Lowell with suspicion.
‘It’s as if he’s predicted my reaction and prepared an answer. Why would he so easily concede profits?’
In all the time he had watched Ghislaine, he’d seen that he was obsessed with money. More accurately, he was fixated on his own benefits.
So when Porisco’s name was used for donations, Branford was sure there was nothing pure about it.
Suspicious. Very suspicious. Not knowing the intent made it all the more discomforting.
I couldn’t figure it out, which made me feel even more uneasy.
“It’s certainly a business that will benefit us. If that rich guy leads it, even better. But why do I feel so uncomfortable?”
I was suspicious of his intentions, but it felt like he could read my thoughts, making me feel worse.
Whenever I got involved with that guy, this subtle and unpleasant feeling always came with it.
I couldn’t shake off the feeling of being dragged around in the game he set up.
However, Marquis Branford was not someone who handled things with emotions. He calculated the current situation and benefits, making decisions in a realistic and beneficial direction, so I had to go along with it.
“Alright. I will give the right to collect taxes in the name of the royal family and will pass it on to each lord. The rest, let them handle themselves.”
“Thank you. Thanks to your noble grace, we have resolved a difficult matter. I will always remember that you are our greatest benefactor and will follow your intentions.”
Marquis Branford smirked and continued speaking.
“You have quite the smooth tongue. Regarding the other investment matters, you should consult Rosalyn.”
“I will do so.”
After stepping away from Marquis Branford, Lowell immediately went to find Rosalyn.
She reviewed the business plan in detail and nodded happily.
“If the House of Marquis helps us, it is a business with a good chance of success. Good, I will persuade Lady Meriel and the noble investors of the investment meeting. Has the share ratio been finalized with my father?”
“Yes, it has.”
“Did Count Penris mention anything else? Anything other than money?”
“No, he did not.”
“……”
Rosalyn felt her face heating up again and exhaled deeply. Ever since she fell ill, her face would get hot whenever she was angry.
‘That jerk really has nothing to talk about with me except money!’
Seeing her puffing up with frustration, Lowell felt a bit tense and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
‘What’s up with her? What’s bothering her?’
Rosalyn chewed her lips and said.
“As soon as the investment is secured, I will send the payment for the cosmetics together. We will recruit laborers on our side to start the work in the capital and nearby territories.”
It’s a business that would rake in a whopping 40% profit. And since it was not just Rosalyn’s personal project but one involving the House of Marquis directly, they couldn’t afford to be careless.
Although Ghislaine talking only about money bothered her greatly, she wasn’t the type to handle business with personal feelings either.
With Rosalyn’s cool decision, Lowell smiled broadly and bowed deeply.
“Understood. Thank you for your swift decision, Young Lady. We will start work right away.”
After Lowell left, Rosalyn gathered a large number of nobles to secure funding.
“Oh! If it’s a business led by the House of Marquis, it must be trustworthy.”
“If the royal family and Marquis support it, it’s bound to succeed.”
“We have to invest without question! Not investing would be foolish!”
With the flood of investment proposals from the nobles, it became necessary to start selecting who to accept.
Although Ghislaine was the main body of the business, no one thought of him as the owner. If Marquis Branford got involved, it belonged to the House of Marquis.
That was the level of Marquis Branford’s reputation and the trust he had built up. Thanks to that, Rosalyn was able to gather an astonishing amount of investment.
Since the House of Marquis was involved in the business, no one dared to disrupt or delay the work halfway through.
The lords of each territory were hesitant but didn’t dare to refuse.
“Ugh, that brat is doing all sorts of things.”
“Trusting in Marquis Branford just to act tough. It’s really hard to watch.”
“We’ll have to discipline him later. For now, since it’s an important business, we can’t help it.”
Grumbling, they still supported the recruitment of laborers. After all, the labor costs would be covered by Penris, so there weren’t going to be significant expenses.
There was no reason for a large expenditure of money.
If they deducted some tax from the money earned by the laborers, it could even turn out to be beneficial.
The construction of a road connecting Penris Territory to the neighboring territory had begun, and in the capital, road construction was also underway under Rosalyn’s command.
In each territory, the stewards and technicians dispatched from Penris supervised and directed the laborers in building the road.
An enormous number of laborers were called in to simultaneously construct the road. Naturally, with all that money and manpower being funneled in, the work speed was bound to pick up.
Most of the laborers participating in the road construction worked quietly, focusing solely on their tasks, but three people stood out, quietly chatting and continually moving their mouths.
“Boss, what’s going on? We’ve been working all day long. I’ve never seen a territory work this nonstop.”
“Count Desmond wouldn’t push us this hard. At this rate, we’ll run out of stamina to escape.”
To this, a very ordinary-looking middle-aged man with a glum expression spoke up.
“Yeah… Why isn’t this work ever finished? Why are we always stuck just working?”
These were spies dispatched by Count Desmond.
Due to the territorial blockade, the spies hadn’t been able to enter Penris Territory until now.
However, with immigrants coming in from all over the kingdom, they had successfully infiltrated among them.
Among the immigrants, there were many poor ones without identification, so Ghislaine couldn’t filter out all the spies.
The leader of the spies, a man, sighed and continued speaking.
“There’s quite a bit of work, but… we have no choice if we want to gather information naturally. We need to work hard.”
“But… we haven’t managed to steal any cosmetics or incubation technologies yet, have we? Can we even manage to steal them?”
“Let’s put that off for a bit. We need to find a way to access those technologies or get work done.”
The spies discovered quite a few surprising things while working in Penris Territory.
Strangely, the food supply wasn’t diminishing. Rumor had it there was some monster grain.
They also learned about the existence of a large incubator that cranked out chickens. Cosmetics were already on their investigation list before they even got here since they were well-known products.
However, they hadn’t been able to get any details on the production techniques. At least they figured out that the monster grain was being produced in bulk in the old Penris region, but they still couldn’t get any more specific information.
Wanting to investigate further, reality proved to be harsh.
“Escaping later will be a problem, but the bigger issue is not gathering any information at all. They don’t leave a single person alone, huh?”
“Why not just say you’re too tired to work and quit now? Then you’ll have some time to investigate.”
“Ah, that’s risky for us, who don’t have any connections. It’s better to just keep working. Haven’t we seen those unlucky guys who got dragged away as soldiers after coming in with us? They go there to die. They have to fight against our territory’s army. No matter how great Count Penris is, he can never beat Count Desmond.”
Ghislaine implemented special policies for newly arriving immigrants after lifting the territorial blockade.
Among those lounging without connections and those with unclear identities, anyone who looked like they might cause trouble—or had already caused trouble—was rounded up and thrown into manual labor units.
Prisoners who had committed crimes in the territory were also taken to those labor units—strangely named ‘Labor Assault Corps.’
And those managing that unit were Kaor, famously known as the ‘Mad Hound,’ and knights who were former members of the Mad Hounds.
The spies shivered at the thought of those dragged into the labor units. They absolutely did not want to go there.
“Ugh… that’s true, but… it’s really tough here…”
For the spies, the most important thing was to be recognized as territory residents. That way, they could freely gather a lot of information.
It’s because that way, I can freely gather a lot of information.
How happy I was that, thanks to the immigrants, I could enter without being suspected, without any special preparations!
But it turned out that just getting into the Penris Territory was not the end of the problem.
I learned there were cosmetics and a large incubator, and that there was some amazing technology. But how can I understand anything if I can’t even get access to it?
I started working at the construction site to avoid being caught as a spy, but that was a huge mistake.
“I’m about to die right now. My whole body aches.”
“I’m busy trying to sleep too. What information? You need some free time to get information.”
“Can’t we just run away right now? Ever since we got dragged into road construction, I haven’t been able to contact the merchant group.”
The spies mumbled with gloomy expressions.
After applying for labor support, we ended up dragged into roadwork without any choice. Everyone was struggling because they had never experienced such hard labor before.
Still, not attracting suspicion was the top priority, so I was working really hard.
“This is what they mean when they say a thief gets caught by their own foot.”
“I’ve been hauling materials all day, and I can barely lift my arms.”
“Other people seem to be working hard too. Why are we the only ones in so much pain?”
It was only natural we were struggling since we were just working hard without any tactics.
As the team members grumbled, the leader cautiously scanned the surroundings and whispered quietly.
“How about we just quit being spies and live here?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“We’re making a lot of money here, and we even bought a house… ”
“What does that have to do with anything…?”
“Think about it. Do you guys have a house in Desmond Territory?”
At the leader’s question, everyone shook their heads.
“No, I came from my parents’ house. Housing is expensive in our territory.”
“I do have a house… but it’s just a shabby log cabin in a small village.”
Seeing this as an opportunity, the leader’s eyes lit up.
“Exactly, so why not just live here? We have a house and are making lots of money, right? Isn’t it much better than being spies?”
“No! What are you talking about? Live here? What about our families?!”
“That’s right! They won’t just leave our families alone if they find out we’ve betrayed them!”
No territory sends spies without any measures. Naturally, a leash is put on them to avoid betrayal. The most commonly used method is taking their families hostage.
As the voices of the team members grew louder, the leader waved his hands in a panic.
“Shh, shh! The families will be fine if they live there. We can pretend to be dead if we get caught. Then they won’t bother our families. They’re just keeping an eye on our families to prepare for when we might betray them.”
“You crazy traitor…”
The team member stopped as he was about to continue. There seemed to be a commotion nearby, suggesting someone of high status had arrived.
The leader lowered his head slightly and muttered.
“It seems the lord has arrived. Let’s talk about this later. For now, let’s keep a low profile.”
Soon, Ghislaine appeared at the construction site. It was well-known that the lord inspected various construction sites without fail every day.
As Ghislaine carefully checked things here and there, he spotted the three people huddled in one corner.
“Hmm? I feel like I’ve seen those guys somewhere. Where did I see them?”
At Ghislaine’s mumbling, the leader broke out in a cold sweat. Although they hadn’t committed a major crime yet, they came to commit one, so it was only natural to be tense.
After a moment of pondering, Ghislaine nodded and said,
“Aha, I remember those friends from when we were doing the housing work. But I feel like they were always together like this back then too, right?”
At those words, the spies turned pale.
