Chapter 119

Chapter 119 It’s Better If I Eat It All. (3)

It wasn’t for free; giving out the Runestone meant he had brought back loot of equal, if not greater, value.

Claude, who was sweating nervously, cautiously asked.

“Does Count Ferdium or his retainers know nothing about this?”

“Of course not. Digald is notoriously poor, right? They probably think he spent almost all his fortune on war expenses. That’s what I reported, after all.”

As soon as the war ended, Ghislain rushed over to Digald.

While his intent was to eliminate Count Digald to prevent any future trouble, his main goal was to seize all the nobles’ wealth.

No matter how poor the estate was, a noble was still a noble.

Moreover, the Digald Estate was known for exploiting its residents. That meant there was a lot of wealth hidden by the lord and his retainers.

Claude let out a hollow laugh as he looked over the gold coins in the chest.

“Still, that’s quite a lot. I can understand why the estate was in such a state.”

“Oh, not all of this is from Digald. I raided the baronies on the way back too.”

“...What?”

“I looted everyone who joined the war. It was on the way, so I figured why not.”

“Wow... and you took all of that for yourself?”

“Who else would I share it with? I hate nothing more than having what’s mine taken away.”

Claude closed his eyes at Ghislain’s shameless words.

‘Isn’t his father still someone else? And wasn’t it originally his father’s? This guy is more of a bandit than a noble.’

He had seen plenty of greedy nobles in the Kingdom of Seiron, but this was the first time he had come across someone so blatantly obsessed with money.

“Hey, you don’t have some sort of secret about your birth, do you?”

“What? What do you mean?”

When Ghislain glared at him, Claude frantically waved his hands, trying to explain.

“No, it’s just that you said you didn’t tell Count Ferdium. Do you really have to keep it all to yourself? Your father would be disappointed.”

“I can guarantee you, it’s much better if I handle everything myself.”

Even if Ferdium got his hands on it, it would just end up leaking out in dribs and drabs until it was all gone.

They were in such a dire state that they could barely cope with the present, let alone prepare for the future.

So it was better for him to use it where it was actually needed.

Thanks to that, even Ferdium was benefitting from it.

Listening to the conversation, Claude’s eyes sparkled.

Though he was surprised, he couldn’t let this opportunity slip by.

“Hehe, unless you reduce my workload right away, I might have to share this little fact with Ferdium....”

Before he could finish his sentence, Ghislain rolled up his sleeves and flashed a sinister grin.

“Good, I was waiting for you to say that. I’m not really a fan of warnings that are just empty words.”

“What? Aaaah!”

A moment later, Claude stood up from the corner of the warehouse, sniffling.

“I’ll stay quiet until I die.”

“Good, don’t forget that feeling. To be honest, it wouldn’t matter if you spoke, but it wouldn’t look good, right? No need to make a scene.”

Ghislain clapped his hands with a smile. As if on cue, the warehouse door opened, and Wendy and a few mercenaries walked in.

“Huh?”

Claude was startled.

When he and Ghislain had come in, there was definitely no one around.

He had no idea when the mercenaries had started waiting.

Whether he was surprised or not, Wendy and the mercenaries greeted them briefly and began to gather the goods.

Claude, feeling dumbfounded, soon shook his head.

‘He had everything figured out, completely.’

It seemed Ghislain had already anticipated that Claude would run out of money and come to him. He had even called in mercenaries to act as porters in advance.

Ghislain draped an arm over Claude’s shoulder and smiled.

“If you run out of money again, just tell me. Stop worrying about pointless things and just focus on your work. I’ll get you the funds.”

“...Tch.”

Claude turned his head away, pouting slightly. Somehow, his pride felt hurt.

Even though Ghislain was unpredictable and a mess, whenever a problem arose, he always managed to present a solution.

“Are you really sure about this? If the nobles don’t buy, we’ll be facing huge losses. Freezing preservation isn’t a perfect solution.”

“Ah, I told you not to worry. We’ll sell every last one. It’s not like they spoil easily.”

“Sigh, if you say so. I suppose the Lord has everything planned out.”

Claude let out a sigh of resignation.

This time, they would be dealing with nobles that even a lord couldn’t afford to offend.

He couldn’t begin to predict how this temperamental lord would manage to persuade them and market the products.

“Young Lord! Everything’s ready over here, too!”

Belinda approached, smiling brightly as she gave her report.

Behind her stood about twenty attendants, all carrying heavy loads.

“Sigh... I told you, we don’t need this many people.”

“You’re a noble, after all. We need to make a strong impression. Haven’t you heard of asserting dominance? You can’t afford to show any weakness in the capital.”

Ghislain was about to say something, but Belinda cut him off firmly.

“If you’re not careful, they’ll dismiss you as a country bumpkin. It’s already bad enough that they’re sure to mock you for playing the role of a merchant!”

She wasn’t wrong, so Ghislain couldn’t say anything and kept his mouth shut.

Just then, Gillian and Kaor arrived, leading about fifty fully-armed mercenaries who lined up in front of Ghislain.

“We’re ready as well, Lord.”

“What’s this? You’re bringing this many mercenaries too? I told you, we don’t need so many.”

“The road to the capital is long. We’re transporting expensive goods, so we need this many people. And we need to make sure the Lord is well taken care of.”

Gillian’s expression was stern, showing he wouldn’t back down. Ghislain let out a deep sigh.

“Alright, fine. Since we’re already prepared, let’s all take a trip to the capital together. No one else is planning to join, right?”

Belinda and Gillian both nodded.

“Oh, right. Young Lord, what are you going to call it? Have you decided on a name?”

“A name?”

“Yes. We need a name if we’re going to introduce and promote it.”

“That’s true. Hmm... How about ‘Lovely Bling Bling’? Doesn’t it sound pretty?”

At Ghislain’s words, Claude burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.

“Wow! What kind of naming sense is that? It’s like something out of a girly fantasy!”

Claude’s earlier worries and concerns melted away, replaced by the absurdity of it all.

When Ghislain glared at him with a blank expression, Claude quickly averted his eyes and pretended not to notice.

Belinda clicked her tongue.

“That’s a bit... Nobles expect even the names to have a certain level of sophistication.”

“What’s wrong with ‘Bling Bling’? I think it’s cute. You really don’t like it?”

Ghislain quickly turned to Gillian. Caught off guard, Gillian gritted his teeth as he answered.

“It’s... fine.”

Ghislain then looked at Wendy, who was standing next to Claude.

She tried her best to maintain a neutral expression, but she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from twitching. There was no need to ask; her face said it all.

“Young Lord, seriously, that’s not it.”

When Belinda furrowed her brow, Ghislain clicked his tongue and revealed the original name of the cosmetics.

“Deneb.”

Deneb was a name the Duke of Delfine had used for the cosmetics in his previous life.

He had heard that it was named after an ancient star.

It was a classy name, but since it had been chosen by the Duke of Delfine, Ghislain felt no attachment to it.

That’s why he had tried to use his own name, ‘Lovely Bling Bling,’ but it hadn’t gone over well at all.

“Hmm, well, it’s not bad. It has a vibe that nobles would probably like,” Belinda finally said, nodding in approval.

Standing behind them, Kaor tilted his head slightly, thinking to himself.

“Lovely Bling Bling? I actually think that one’s better.”

Clearly, everyone had different tastes.

Anyway, now that the name had been decided, all that remained was to head to the capital and sell the product properly.

Ghislain mounted his horse and looked around at everyone. Seeing the reliable people around him brought a smile to his face.

Beaming, Ghislain tugged on the reins and shouted loudly.

“Alright, to the capital we go!”