"If you're thinking that after insulting our Queen you will be able to do business with one of her Houses, you can go fuck yourself." Mariam said the moment Aiden entered the room. He looked astonished for a moment before laughing out loud.
"So, I was right. The butler did complain to you about my words." He laughed as he entered the small study room of her which was filled from top to bottom with books, papers and files and in the middle of it all was Mariam Kauffman, the current head of the Kauffman House and the treasurer of the Xerith Treasury. She handles all the money which flows through the nation is considered one of the three pillars of Xerith right after Julián, the Lord Protector of Xerith and Madoc, the Underground Lord. Her title, or perhaps nickname is the Golden Secretary for other than being the treasurer of the Xerith Treasury, she is also the personal secretary of Queen Isabella.
"Madam Mariam, I—"
"Miss." She interrupted promptly as she glared at the small kid infront of her. "Since you so well insisted on being of the same rank as me, why don't you call me Miss like all other of equal rank."
Aiden shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, you're the boss, Miss Mariam." he said as he sat in the only sofa in the room, directly facing Mariam. As for Alice, she silently stood behind Aiden like his guardian.
For a moment, Mariam's eyes darted towards Alice and she sneered in contempt, "Must be nice having women protect and feed you like a baby while you enjoy a lavish life."
"Heh! If I wanted a lavish life, I wouldn't come here to ask for a territory to rule, do I Miss Mariam? But I'm not here to talk about my fellow ladies, am I? Let's talk business."
"What do you want?" she said, not willing to interact with him any more than needed.
"I want a loan of 5 thousand Gold for now. Also, what is the cost of buying a shop in Vanessa?"
She looked a bit surprised, "A loan of only 5 thousand Gold, that's quite low for someone like you."
"Don't want to owe anyone. The amount can help me arm my convoy sufficiently with a little leftover." He answered calmly, leaning back onto the sofa.
"Hmm… well, that amount is like a pocket change for even the lowest member of families like ours but if that's what you want, who am I to argue. But why do you want to know the cost of a shop here? You aren't planning to open one, are you?" she inquired, her initial dislike slowly fading a little as her more professional-self took over.
Aiden shrugged his shoulder and replied, "Well, I researched a little and found that Earl Chester doesn't have quite a presence in the Capital. This is of importance since if something bad or fishy were to happen in the Capital I would like to get that piece of news first before anyone else. You get what I mean, don't you?"
Mariam nodded her head and said, "Quite true. Even though the chances for a riot or something else is nearly zero considering Madoc's massive presence here but its not bad to have a piece of defense nonetheless. I can look for a piece of land for you and can even give you a loan if you want." She said in a saleswoman tone.
"Ah! Hmm... does Earl Chester have any reserved funds stashed somewhere in here? If so, I would like to use those funds to buy the piece of land you recommend. If there is none, just keep the land on hold for the moment. After I acquire a little funds back in my turf, I would buy it."
"Haha! Its idiotic to think that an Earl wouldn't have some reserved funds. Chester obviously has some here and its enough to not only buy that piece of land but also refurbish it to fit a noble's standard. Of course, if you want to buy a shop in a more crowded space, it might not be feasible but then again, I can give you a loan, if you would like."
"Hmm… let me think about it…" Aiden thought for a while as he folded his arm and thought silently for a good few minutes. All of a sudden, the aura around Aiden changed and for a moment Mariam felt like the person infront of him wasn't a five-year-old but a far more mature one, the comedy mask of him, in his thinking position, looked very scary and creepy but she silently waited for him.
After a good five minutes, Aiden looked up and said, "Well, I've decided on something. Show me the plots of land there are and their locations."
Mariam nodded her head and pressed the bell on her table. A moment later, a teenager boy entered the room and stood in attention position, "You called for me, mother."
"Yes, go bring all the papers pertaining to the plots and shops available for sale in the Inner City—"
"Oh! I would like to add something. Don't limit the choices to only Inner City, I would also like to look at Outer City, the Commercial District and the Residential District. Thank you!" he said crisply.
Mariam looked a little shocked but nodded her head. "Follow his commands, son."
"Yes." The boy said obediently and turned around but before he left, he gave Aiden a hard stare.
'What was that for…' Aiden pouted inside but didn't think much of it.
Mariam looked inquiringly at Aiden and said in advising tone, "You know, you can expand your influence after you have a foothold in the Inner City. I'm not trying to prevent you from buying, after all that's against my interest too but I would like to advise you to not do it."
Aiden waved his hand in a denial motion, "Oh! You don't have to worry about that. I'm just going to skim through on what's available and what's not." He said denyingly but Mariam felt like he wouldn't just skim through a hundred or more papers for nothing.
"By the way, didn't you say you were unmarried?" Aiden asked, all of a sudden, with interest.
Mariam smiled wryly and replied, "I said I'm not married, I didn't say I Haven't married."
"What happened?" he asked to which she just shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Typical noble scum. Wanted me to embezzle funds from the treasury for his pleasure and fun. I divorced him, reported him to Her Imperial Majesty and then she hunted him down like a dog and hanged him to death." She said wryly. "And now, I'm a single mother with a son who hates me and personifies me as a demon, a family who looks down on me and my brother-in-law wanting to overthrow me and become the head of the family."
"Oh… quite a drama. Let me guess, your brother-in-law must be Steven Kauffman, right?" Aiden said.
"Ha! I bet you met with his son, Aaron on your way." She said and to which Aiden nodded his head affirmatively.
"Also, I feel like the head butler is against you. You might wanna be wary of him."
"Haha!" she laughed tiredly, "Like I said, my son, my family and everyone around me wants to kill me. If it weren't for my Queen's protection, I would wind up dead in a ditch or somewhere. Which leads me to ask you, how come you aren't afraid of the Queen. She's almost a Deus and you're not even an Apprentice, you should've died from her mental pressure alone."
Aiden gave a small laugh and replied, "Killing an Angel is harder than one might think, especially through mental energy. We have a bond with the Heaven and anyone trying to kill us will have to sever that Heaven's bond. And that's easier said than done. Not to mention, these ladies present here." He pointed at the ever so silent Alice.
"Right, right. Heavens. Wish I had a backer like you…" she said tiredly but right then her son entered the room along with a few other servants carrying large cardboard boxes. He placed them roughly on the table infront of them.
"Here's all the plots of land and shops available for sale. Here's a map for your convenience." He said before leaving the room with the servants.
Aiden's eyebrows shot up at his behavior but he didn't say anything. After all, its best to not poke someone unless they don't poke you.
Mariam smiled wryly before pointing towards the map and the boxes, "Well, those are everything, I think. Let me call someone to help you—"
"Ah! No need." Aiden rejected her promptly before spreading out the map of the table and placing the big cardboard box down. After that, he sat silently for a good time as he went through each and every piece of paper, marking down locations, street numbers and everything of import.
At the end of the nearly two hours of going-through, Aiden placed his pencil down and picked a few papers and the map full of markings, writings and notes.
"Lady Mariam, what is the current amount of funds under Earl Chester's name?"
"Almost a hundred thousand Gold." She answered, a little surprised at seeing a five-year-old doing such a feat. She was flabbergasted at the amount of patience and determination Aiden had the entire time while going though the heap of papers.
Aiden again became a little silent for a while and removed a few papers from the ones he had before placing the rest on her table.
"Calculate how much it would cost?" he said confidently at Mariam.
"Well, okay." She replied and went through the papers. Her brows shot up a few times while going through the papers and after a while she answered him, "One piece of land of 10 sq meters in the Lorvic Road near Vinbonne, three bars in the Residential District, two pieces of 10 sq meters land lot in Commercial District and five empty shops in Outer City. The piece of land in Inner City would cost nearly 20k Gold just for the purchase and all the procedures, 8k for the three in Residential District, 12k for the two in Commercial District and 5k for the empty shop lots. What will you do with this much land and bars?" she asked.
"Of course, I will make a brewery in the land in Inner City and as for the two land lots, I will make inns and taverns. As for the empty shop plot, I have something different in my mind." Aiden said ambitiously.
Mariam looked quite surprised but then shook her tiredly, "Very well, I will submit all these applications for you. I will even fill the forms for you but in return I want five thousand Gold as commission, you agree?" she asked in a businesswoman tone but Aiden retorted in a pouting tone, "Geez! But no. I need to have a look at the papers and see the terms of trade and the land laws, so I will fill them myself. As for commission, leaving 30k for the renovation and building the brewery and 5k for my journey, you can have the rest."
She looked surprised and double-checked, "You sure about that? That's a whole 30k, you know. You can probably buy another big lot for that amount."
"Haha! If I wanted to, I would but there's no need. At least not for now. As for the 30k, consider that a friendly bribe."
Mariam shrugged her shoulders and said smilingly, "Consider yourself lucky, Allen. If not for the fact that you're only five-year-old, merely a child by our standards, I would've ripped you off. You should know that the commission of the Kauffman family, especially from my side, is a hefty price tag. But since you're a child and one of the future Kaiser of Xerith, I will make an exception for you and not take the 30k. Later, when you've some footing in the North and in the Capital, I will help you acquire another shop like the one you bought near Vinbonne but then, I will surely take a commission. Not less 200k." she said as she placed the papers away.
"I like the offer." Aiden nodded his head.
"Well, then, I think that's the end, for now. I will send some men when the acquisition process is over and also send someone for the renovation. Don't forget to give your input before leaving the capital."
"I will." He said and after a few small pleasantries before leaving the room with Alice.
…
"Someone is following us, Master." Alice said the moment they left the mansion and were on their way to board the carriage.
"I know." Said Aiden coldly. "Alice, go and sit beside Henry. Protect him." He ordered and she obediently followed his command.
"Do visit again, Your Highness." Said the head butler when he saw them off near the entrance of their mansion and for some reason, Aiden felt something fishy.
He was dead sure that there would be people on his head but didn't expect that the Head Butler would try something dastardly. And today, he was going to show them who's a tiger and who's a rat.
"Take the Saint William's Road, Henry. I would like to visit the church there." Aiden said in his normal childish tone but Henry was experienced. He had been a carriage driver of many important people, even the Queen's at one point and could easily see the slight change in his new Master's tone. And as such, he hurriedly turned the carriage and dashed towards Saint William's Road.
A few minutes after entering, Aiden created a small mental link with Alice and gave his orders.
'Kill them all. Teach them who's at the top of the food chain and who's a bottom-feeder.'
'As you wish, Master.' She said before leaping off from the carriage and vanishing into the street, leaving Aiden alone with Henry.
Soon enough, the inside of the carriage turned darker and darker and a visible wave of a black substance floated in the air mysteriously.
After giving the command, he had closed his eyes to recover from his mental fatigue since creating a mental link was harder than his current level permitted. But when he opened his eyes, the shadowy figure was sitting diagonally opposite to him with the same comedy mask on his face.
Aiden had been expecting him for some time.
'When did you start needing me so much, dear~' the shadowy figure said in a creepily, distorted tone.
'How many are following me?' Aiden asked calmly.
'As many as you can think of. Do you want me to take care of them? I mean, you shouldn't be needing me if that gal is already there.' The figure leaned back on his seat.
'No, I don't want you to kill them. That's a waste. I want you kill someone else for me. The head butler of the Kauffman family.'
'Ooh! That's a much better target.' The shadow figure jumped up in excitement. 'How do you want me to kill him?'
'Kill him in the most gruesome way possible. Give him the best fright he has before killing him.' Aiden said in a cruel tone.
The smiling mouth of the comedy mask of the shadowy figure widened like it was alive before the figure vanished from his sight.
...