The Doomed Fief’s Dying Lord (22)

“A proposal from riffraff who can’t even repay their debts? Don’t be ridiculous. Proposals are made by the strong. You only have to follow.”

“Then I guess that makes us the strong here.”

I smiled crookedly.

“Your financial situation. Honestly, it can’t be good.”

Ludovica’s eyes narrowed.

That’s the right answer.

‘Well, it had to be the right answer.’

Because that’s how the original story went.

So far I hadn’t had many chances to use the original story’s details.

What can you do?

Still stuck before the prologue.

But now an opportunity has come.

A chance to use the original information.

Now, shall I briefly go over the story after the prologue?

After Denabi was ravaged by the Mana Plague.

A lot of people died, to begin with.

But not everyone was wiped out.

I mean, even when radiation bursts, not everyone dies at once.

If everyone had died, there’d be no original story.

People with high mana adaptability or just lucky ones.

Those people survived.

Of course, they too had to carry Mana crystals on their bodies.

The surviving refugees, centered on the true Astrier, attempt to rebuild Denabi.

And the ones who help with that reconstruction are these people.

They were Ludovica, Rimone’s warlord, and her son Vittorio.

Wait, they help for free?

Are these people actually villains?

‘Of course.’

There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Naturally, Rimone’s help had ulterior motives.

What were those motives?

1. To prevent Denabi’s mana contamination from spreading to Rimone.

2. To recover finances with resources excavated from Denabi’s Dungeon.

In short, the financial problem wasn’t Denabi’s trouble alone.

While Denabi suffered under the threat of the Mana Plague, Rimone was tormented by a different blight.

‘Plant blight.’

It was the problem commonly called blight.

“How did you know that…”

“You thought I wouldn’t know? I’m talking about Rimone’s crop yield last year being a disaster. Rice and barley stalks all turned white and died. Thanks to that, you were brought to the point of worrying about food.”

‘So that became the reason they pretended to help Denabi while invading in the original.’

“You—did you plant some kind of trick?”

“Is that important now? What’s important is money. You need money, don’t you?”

“Yeah…! But the money you brought is only one-tenth of what you owe!”

As Ludovica said that, she gestured to the guards.

I hurriedly said.

“Don’t resist.”

They hadn’t even brought enough people to put up a resistance anyway.

The guards’ spears and blades were pointed at my staff.

“Ugh…”

“Eek!”

A vicious blade hovered beneath my jaw, practically thirsty.

‘Give me blood!’

No.

‘You won’t be drinking blood.’

I looked up at the blade’s owner and thought.

It was Vittorio.

Ludovica continued.

“You want to say you’ll give us money if we accept your pathetic offer? Then be prepared. The brave legions of Rimone will march on Denabi at once and make you pay.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted.”

“What…?”

“2 billion?”

I raised my index and middle fingers.

Vittorio’s blade trembled at my sudden movement and brushed my neck.

‘This brat… an adult is talking about money and he can’t even handle his blade properly?’

I glared at Vittorio.

Then I spoke to Ludovica.

“The principal plus 20% comes to 2.0 billion. Bring your army to Denabi and I’ll certainly give you that money.”

‘What on earth is this?’

Ludovica looked like she wanted to ask that.

The other courtiers were the same.

After all, the essence of this conversation was money.

Who wouldn’t be tempted by an offer of money?

Threatening with blades would be futile.

Do you think I’d be scared?

(I was.)

‘You have to listen to me anyway.’

“Now we’ll get to the real topic. Would you kindly remove that ugly thing?”

“…”

I said to the ones hesitating.

“Isn’t it something you should take? Money.”

‘Money’

The magical word that sets everything in motion.

Not long after, we were sitting on the reception room’s sofa.

Ludovica and Vittorio hadn’t arrived yet.

Thanks to that, I could sprawl on the sofa without worrying about appearances.

‘Ah, I finally feel like I got off the carriage.’

Walking around, shouting, kneeling…

Even after getting off the carriage, it was quite a spectacle.

Ronari, buried in the sofa and melting into it, said to me.

“Sometimes I really don’t know what the young master is thinking.”

“Then let me tell you. I was thinking it would be nice to add cushions like this to the wheeled chairs the staff use. What do you think, ingenious, right?”

Honestly, it’s not that ingenious.

That’s just a modern wheelchair.

Hehe.

“It’s not that! How can you be so relaxed in that situation? Young master, aren’t you really afraid?”

“No fear? How scary was it. I honestly wondered whether my bladder could hold up.”

“…”

Ronari’s eyes narrowed.

Why… why do you look at me like that?

“That person spoke so fluently? And with a blade at his throat?”

“It’s not impossible. Haven’t I said it several times? We are their masters.”

“What if these people come at you with ‘debt be damned, let’s kill each other’ attitudes—what would you have done?”

“…Haha.”

“Why are you laughing? Suddenly?”

“No, sorry. That phrase just doesn’t suit these people at all.”

“That phrase?”

“‘You die, I die’ (mutual destruction).”

That phrase doesn’t exist in Ludovica and Vittorio’s dictionary.

“Lady Ludovica made many threats. She pointed a blade at my neck and said she’d march her troops on Denabi. Was that scary? Of course it was. But did it sound realistic? Not at all.”

I stated firmly.

“I never for a moment believed they could actually do that. It’s the same now.”

“On what basis?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

“Again!”

With that shout, Ronari’s cheeks puffed up.

‘Delaying the explanation again! You wretched young master!’

“Haha. I really will make you know.”

No sooner had I finished speaking than footsteps sounded outside the reception room door.

Soon the door opened and the owners of those footsteps appeared.

Of course, it was Ludovica and Vittorio.

Ludovica spoke the moment she entered.

“Vittorio. Send the guards and attendants away. You stand watch at the door. Make sure no one can hear.”

“Understood.”

Vittorio immediately carried out the order.

Soon a silence settled over the reception room.

Ludovica sat in the high seat.

She looked at us with a composed face.

It was hard to believe she had been enraged like a fire just moments ago.

She spoke in a soft voice.

“I had heard that Alejandro had a third son, but I couldn’t really know what kind of kid he was. Unlike your brothers, news of you rarely seemed to reach me.”

Well, of course.

Shane is just a weak extra.

He’d been holed up inside the castle, so who could know anything about him.

“Is that so.”

She nodded at my words.

“I guessed the third would be no match for your brothers. But you coming here in person… that’s interesting.”

She looked at me and gave a significant smile.

“Your information skills might be thanks to your father, but I have to admit certain things. Unusual courage that doesn’t match your appearance, rhetoric that pulls opponents into your tempo, confidence…”

She trailed off for a moment.

“Indeed, the tiger’s son is a tiger.”

“That’s too much praise, the lord.”

“No. I don’t misjudge people. Well, that’s not the important thing now. The important thing is money, as you said.”

Watching Ludovica say that, Ronari wore an expression of realization.

See?

Ludovica Leviner is this kind of person.

Someone who can change her mask at will.

‘So her fierce act in the audience chamber was ultimately just a mask.’

Seeing I wouldn’t be swayed by that, she immediately changed her demeanor.

If in the audience chamber she was a ferocious warlord, in the reception room she had the eyes of a cold, calculating ruler.

At last, she got to the point.

“So… you want to borrow our army.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“To clear a Dungeon. One suddenly appeared beneath an orchard valued at 40 billion. We have to smash it and harvest the fruit immediately.”

“I see.”

I conveyed the facts plainly.

But I didn’t say we were in dire straits.

‘If I say “the domain will be destroyed in ten days…” we’d immediately lose our bargaining power.’

It would reveal we had no choice.

She spoke.

“So you’re saying you’ll give 2 billion in exchange for lending military power to clear that Dungeon…?”

“Exactly.”

Then her previously soft gaze turned sharp.

“Does Denabi even have that kind of money?”

‘They don’t, right? Better stop the bluffing.’

Ludovica’s eyes said exactly that.

I wasn’t particularly flustered.

I assumed she’d read that far.

‘Who in the world doesn’t know Denabi’s situation is dire?’

All negotiations begin by acknowledging such common sense.

“Yes. Denabi has no means to pay 2 billion right now. Even the money we’ve brought was wrung from dry rags.”

“I see. Yet you still seem full of confidence. Why is that?”

“We may not have immediate means to pay, but we have long-term means to pay.”

“Oh.”

Ludovica prodded my words with a light exclamation.

‘If you want to know, I’ll tell you.’

I took a thick dossier from Ronari.

And I spread it out on the table.

“Now, I’ll begin the business explanation.”

It was the part I was most confident in.

“That way we’ll dominate the market. Making 2 billion will be quick.”

“Market domination.”

Ludovica repeated my words.

My explanation was nearing its end.

“We’ve already finished the brewery. Our craftsmen and workers are ready to churn out alcohol like mad. We’ll produce 600,000 glasses of beer within six weeks. That’s enough to give a drink to fourteen times Denabi’s population.”

And Ronari chimed in with my explanation.

“If we charge just 2,000 won per cup, we can earn 1.2 billion. What if it’s 5,000 won? That’s 3 billion. 3 billion in six weeks. In nine months that’s 18 billion. In less than a year we can fully repay 2 billion.”

“Yes, I know, I know.”

Ludovica waved her hand as if to stop us.

“And once you reclaim the orchard you’ll earn an additional 4 billion. That’s it?”

I answered readily.

“That’s right. The debt repayment will be even faster.”

It was truly an offer that couldn’t be refused.

Money that seemed impossible to ever see would at least start coming in within nine months.

Who could refuse?

Ludovica said.

“The concrete numbers are nice, but… market domination. I really like that phrase. I’m dying to believe what you’re saying.”

“If so…”

“But you still lack evidence.”

“I believe I’ve already explained the rationality of our business sufficiently.”

She shook her head.

“It’s not that. You’ve told me enough about making money. Now it’s time to talk about the purpose of the money you earn.”

She asked.

“How many troops do you plan to request from us? What’s the concrete strategy? Come on, son of Alejandro. If you truly want to save the domain, you must be able to answer.”

That was Ludovica’s final question.

Of course I had already reached a conclusion on that issue.

But what could I do.

The conclusion was this.

‘I don’t even know that!’

Hehe.