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“Do you think I’m going to sell everything by myself? You need to come along and help figure out how we’re going to sell it.”

“No, I’ve got a lot of things to do! I’m busy, where would I have time to go?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. The moment I’m not around, you’ll just slack off.”

Ghislain knew very well what kind of person Claude was.

“N-no, that’s not true! I’ll work hard, I promise!”

“You’re good with words.”

Ghislain clicked his tongue and continued.

“Well, even if you’re telling the truth, you still need to come see things firsthand if we’re going to keep selling. We’re planning to distribute the products all over the kingdom, starting from the capital, so the person in charge needs to be familiar with how things are going to work.”

“Then what about my work here?”

“For now, the main framework has been set, someone else can oversee things temporarily. Find someone to handle it while you’re away.”

“Ugh…”

Claude had no words, so he just held his head in his hands.

Even if he found someone to help, it wouldn’t mean his workload would decrease.

He’d still have to check on how things were progressing while he was gone, which would only add to his work.

But that didn’t mean he could refuse to go.

As Ghislain had pointed out, if he was going to oversee the cosmetics sales, he needed to visit the capital, find outlets, and prepare for distribution.

Currently, Claude was acting as the leader of the Fenris Merchant Guild.

Though, in reality, it was more like a phantom guild that did nothing but buy things rather than sell them.

As Claude was writhing in discomfort at the thought of going, a sudden idea flashed in his mind.

“Wait a second. Do we really have to sell it ourselves?”

“And if we don’t sell it ourselves, what’s your plan?”

“Why not sell it to a reputable, large merchant guild? They’ll handle all the verification and sell it to the nobles.”

The cosmetics were that effective.

A major merchant guild could easily find people to verify the product.

But Ghislain clicked his tongue and looked at Claude with disdain.

“Why would I do that?”

“I mean, it’d be more convenient to just hand it over to a large guild, wouldn’t it?”

“We have our own guild, so why should we give up that opportunity?”

“Our guild is just a name with no recognition, only created to make buying things more convenient.”

“That’s exactly why we need to grow it, starting with cosmetics. If we sell directly, we get to keep all the profits. Why would we involve another guild? I’ve never handed over what’s mine to someone else.”

Claude let out a hollow laugh.

“Wow, the greed is real…”

“And if we leave it to another guild, it’ll take too long. We need to establish sales channels and raise funds as quickly as possible. We need to grow the guild, so stop whining and just come along.”

“Why are you in such a hurry when you already have plenty of money? There’s still a lot of Runestones left too.”

As Claude grumbled, Ghislain responded calmly.

“It’s not enough. Time and money are always in short supply.”

‘There’s no telling when the duchy will make a move. I need to be prepared before that happens.’

For now, the Fenris Estate won’t be attacked.

Desmond would focus more on seizing Raypold as soon as possible to make up for his loss in the last war rather than attacking here.

I needed to use that gap to strengthen the estate’s power as quickly as possible.

Considering what needed to be done moving forward, even the money I had now wasn’t enough.

‘The Runestone is starting to show its limits, too.’

The Runestone hadn’t run out yet, but there were plans that required its use in large quantities.

If I also considered the amount I had to hand over to the tower, it was cutting it close.

‘I don’t have the luxury of going back to the Forest of Beasts.’

The current strength was still insufficient to pioneer the Forest of Beasts anew.

Until I could build more strength, I had to utilize other bases outside the Forest of Beasts.

‘I need to establish connections, too. I need people who can at least hold them back.’

Going to the capital wasn’t just about selling cosmetics.

To confront the immense power of the Delfine Duchy, I needed the strength of the opposing factions.

‘There’s no need for me to fight the Duchy alone. The Royal Family must be gnashing their teeth at the Delfine Duchy too.’

Now was a time when the confrontation between the royalists and the Duchy was intensifying, making it a perfect opportunity to leverage.

I had to meet them and form an alliance.

‘The war will start at the time and place I choose. If a war is to break out, I’ll be the one to initiate it. There will never be a fight on my land. I’ll smash their bases to the ground.’

Ghislain clenched his fist tightly.

Expanding the estate was crucial, but that was merely a means to confront the Duchy in the end.

Yet, others who didn’t understand his true intentions couldn’t grasp why Ghislain was always in such a hurry.

Claude was no different.

The food problem was resolved, there were Runestones, and they had even developed a specialty product.

Even if they stayed the course, the Fenris Estate would continue to prosper.

But Ghislain always seemed to be in a rush, as if he was constantly being chased by something.

‘This is definitely it. He’s one hundred percent holding a grudge against someone. Ugh, this is driving me nuts.’

It wasn’t that Ghislain was wrong.

After all, developing a hit product only to hand it over to other merchant guilds would just be doing them a favor.

However, Claude would rather die than personally go around selling cosmetics.

He was already exhausted, and if he had to take on merchant guild duties as well, he might as well be dead.

Once the cosmetics began to sell, things would get busier than ever before.

“Ah! Seriously! I have to check how things have changed when I get back from the capital! How am I supposed to handle all this alone? And now you’re telling me to take on merchant guild duties too? No way! I refuse! I can’t do it! Just kill me already!”

Claude eventually started to protest, almost throwing himself onto the floor.

“I told you to hire more people. Just delegate some of the tasks to other managers.”

With Ghislain’s suggestion, Claude slapped his chest in frustration, looking as if he was about to cry.

“Those people are already barely managing their own tasks. They don’t know anything outside their fields, so they can’t help each other. You need to know the work to actually do it.”

“Hmm…”

Ghislain had to admit that there were far too few people capable of handling the workload.

He personally managed the critical tasks and had brought Claude on board to take charge of overall administration, but there were still too many things happening simultaneously.

No matter how exceptional the two of them were, as humans, they had their limits.

Ghislain was aware of this, but with time running short and so much to do, he had no choice but to keep squeezing more work out of Claude.

“There’s no other way. You just have to keep going… Hmm? Wait a moment.”

Suddenly, Ghislain thought of someone.

He wasn’t exactly a trustworthy guy… but he was still capable of handling most of the tasks needed to run an estate.

That man would be a suitable assistant for Claude.

With a sudden benevolent smile, Ghislain said, “It’s been tough lately, hasn’t it? How about I introduce you to someone? I know a guy who could help you out.”

“Is it a woman? Is she pretty?”

“It’s a man.”

“… I don’t want it, then.”

“Then keep doing it all by yourself.”

Claude bit his lips nervously. This damned lord always acted like there were options, but in truth, the answer was always predetermined.

Eventually, he let out a sigh and asked, “Who is it? If you’re going to leave estate work to him, he at least needs to have the minimum knowledge.”

Even the help of a cat’s paw would be welcome right now.

But to entrust him with running the estate, he would need to at least know how to read and do basic arithmetic.

“Why don’t you meet him and find out? Let’s get moving right away.”

“… Right now?”

“Time is money.”

“No, why are we rushing… We should at least notify him beforehand. Do you think he’ll just work if we tell him to? What if he refuses?”

Ghislain smirked and responded, “If he refuses, he dies.”

* * *

Ghislain and Claude made their way to the old castle of the former Count of Digald.

On the way, they took the opportunity to inspect the estate and couldn’t help but frown at what they saw.

“Wow, this place is a mess, too. It’s like looking at our estate. Actually, we’re much better off now.”

The Digald Estate had yet to recover properly after losing the war.

Ferdium lacked both money and manpower, so they could hardly extend any help to the Digald Estate.

The estate was barely surviving, thanks to the relief supplies that Ghislain had sent using Runestones.

The land they’d managed to expand had become more of a burden, as it was draining money instead of generating tax revenue.

“We might need to send them some food later. Or maybe it’d be better if I just take over this place.”

“You’re blatantly acting like a prodigal son.”

“But it’d be a waste. Leaving it to Ferdium would take too long.”

Ghislain planned to absorb the Digald Estate once Fenris had stabilized to a certain degree, but for now, he turned away.

It would be a waste to leave the land idle, but there wasn’t much he could do at the moment.

Right now, even pouring all his efforts into developing Fenris wouldn’t be enough.

As soon as they arrived at the Digald Castle, Ghislain went straight down to the underground prison.

“Hmm, where could that guy be? I told them not to take him away, no matter what.”

The lower-ranking officials who hadn’t participated directly in the war had already been taken by Ferdium.

However, one person remained in the prison at Ghislain’s request.

“Wow, there are a lot of new faces I haven’t seen before. It’s a complete mess.”

The prison was packed, with no empty cells left.

Most of the prisoners were criminals who had been caught causing trouble in the chaotic estate.

Clicking his tongue, Ghislain checked the prisoners one by one until he finally found the person he was looking for.

The man seemed to be receiving special treatment, as he was sitting alone in a relatively clean cell, staring blankly.

It was none other than Lowell, who had managed to survive by amusing Ghislain with his terrible arithmetic.

“Hmm, was his name Lowell? He’s still alive, I see.”

Lowell, who was gaunt and skeletal, jerked his head up at the sound of Ghislain’s voice.

“Wh-Who are you…?”

“It’s me. Don’t you remember?”

“U-ugh!”

Lowell scooted backward on his hands and feet, pressing himself against the wall.

It was too dark to recognize him right away, but how could he ever forget that face?

The one who had stormed from Ferdium to Digald, slaughtering the surrendered count and all his vassals.

To Lowell, Ghislain was a terrifying, grim reaper-like figure.

“W-Why are you here? Are you here to kill me?”

Right after being imprisoned, Lowell had felt relieved to be alive, but as time passed, he grew more uneasy.

Everyone else who had been locked up with him was released, yet he remained in the cell.

Since then, he spent every night in anxious fear, worried that he was being left there just to be executed later.

And now, the demon who held his life in his hands had reappeared before him.

“Please, spare me! I swear I’m innocent! I was just following orders! I was only doing my job!”

Ghislain didn’t respond to his pleas but instead repeated a question he had asked before.

“So, what’s 750 times 1,920?”

“One million, four hundred forty thousand!”

The answer came out at lightning speed.

Every day in his cell, Lowell had regretted the answer he gave back then, mulling over how he should have responded.

Claude, who didn’t know this, was shocked at how quickly Lowell answered.

“What the—? How is he so fast?”

There wasn’t even a moment of hesitation.

‘If he’s this sharp, he should be able to adapt quickly with just a bit of training,’ Claude thought.

He quickly spoke to Ghislain.

“Please, let me have him. I’ll make good use of him.”

“So? Do you like him?”

“Yes… Though he looks just like a skeleton soldier. I guess the meals here aren’t very good.”

“It’s probably because he hasn’t been eating well in prison. Just feed him properly, and he’ll be fine. But that’s not the point, is it? Are you really going to take him?”

The conversation was oddly unsettling.

They liked him? They wanted him? They’d feed him well and put him to good use?

Lowell instinctively tried to back away, but the wall blocked any chance of escape.

Then, Ghislain gripped the bars and spoke quietly.

“You. How about working with me?”

“W-What kind of work?”

“Before I tell you that… How about signing a 20-year slave contract? Think of it as agreeing to work hard for 20 years.”

“Twenty… years?”

If it meant he could live, he wasn’t in a position to refuse, even if it was 20 or 30 years of slavery.

But the flow of the conversation just before that made him too uneasy to give an immediate answer.

Ghislain sighed, clicking his tongue in frustration after a moment of thought.

“Fine, if you don’t like a slave contract, I won’t force it. So, pick something else. Option 1: Starve to death in this cell. Option 2: Execution. I’m being quite generous, giving you more options.”

It wasn’t exactly forcing him, but it was a proposal that left no other real choices.