"I would like to start a business... but my current finances are lacking" Duke parroted every word Vivian taught him.
"Hrmm?! There are no Women, Human Trafficking, or Illegal Drugs involved in these so-called 'businesses', I PRESUME? Hmmrhmm?" Benjamin stared intensely at Duke with his single-lens monocle, intensifying at every second Duke didn't give him an answer.
"I-I don't think so, no…" Duke stuttered from Benjamin's overpowering gaze.
"You don't THINK so?!" Benjamin's stare intensified even more!
Benjamin began questioning Duke inquisitively.
But at the end of the interview (Interrogation), Benjamin was surprised to find out that Duke really had no evil intentions... For all accounts and purposes, the man was even cleaner than a politician that got assassinated as a baby in his mother's womb!
"Yes... That is all sir Pendragon" Benjamin ended the inquisition, satisfied and reassured that he wasn't funding some human-trafficking drug-kingpin.
"O-Oh, thank you" Duke sweated like a pig as he finally breathed a sigh of relief that the old man's questioning was over.
"Since you have asked for a considerable amount, I believe it will take some time before we are able to fully process your request. But there's no need to worry, as your request seems substantially valid, I don't think it will be denied by the Central Branch under normal circumstances..." Benjamin softly reassured the young Count.
"O, thank you, thank you very much!" Duke enthusiastically shook Benjamin's hands repeatedly as he left the building feeling satisfied, returning back to the carriage with a large smile on his face.
Vivian: "So? How'd it go?"
Duke: "It was… ok? I think it did well!"
Vivian: "They didn't flat out deny it right?"
Duke: "Yup! They said they'll process it!"
"Yes! Hahahaa~" The tension Vivian felt suddenly disappeared as she laughed.
As this loan was their final desperate option, Vivian felt extreme nervousness about how things would play out.
But now that everything was over she felt as if a heavy burden disappear from her shoulders.
*Clap* Vivian childishly clasped Duke's hands with her innocent excitement as she cheered: "We did it, Duke!"
Duke enjoyed seeing Vivian happy...
Duke gave Vivian a thumb's up as he replied: "I told ya' leave it to me, didn't I?" Duke confidently stated with a smug face plastered on.
"Yes, yes. You did indeed say that..." Vivian brightly smiled back as she too gave Duke an approving thumbs up.
Before Duke and Vivian went home, Duke urged Vivian to visit the streets of Milanne with him under the pretext of 'discovering the outside world':
"Vivian! You don't really go outside much, do you? So while we're here, why don't we take our time and discover the outside world in front of us!" Duke stated as he gestured out into the world.
[Gehehehe, Vivian doesn't realize that this is actually a date! Yes, only in dates can a man show his true worth and masculine charms~!] Duke grinned as he slyly planned to go on a date with Vivian... even though it was only him who acknowledged it as one.
"Fine..." Vivian agreed, unbeknownst to him that she had already seen through his not-so-subtle ploy.
But in the end, she still went along with it as she decided it wouldn't be too bad to reward Duke for his hard work with her o' so gracious presence.
[And maybe going with Duke wouldn't be too bad… I mean he 'is' practically harmless… Wait, no no, what am I thinking! This is Duke we're talking about! I can't go with him on a date!] Vivian inwardly blushed at her own words.
Vivian looked at Duke as she then imagined a chonky little puppy.
[Well, Duke's not really much of a man, now is he... Yeah, he's more akin to a pet?... A rather cute pet! Yes yes, it's like I'm going on an outing with my trusty and adorable(?) pet! Nothing wrong there…] Vivian fervently denied the outing as a date, blushing to herself at the mere thought of it.
Duke and Vivian chose the City Markets instead of browsing through stuff at the expensive stores for their first 'outing' (Date) as Duke felt it was a much better way of showing Vivian the great wide world.
Duke: "L-Let's go to the markets, I mean the stores are overrated anyway, right?"
Vivian: "Yeah, sure! I mean, we're here to see the world, right? Not some stuffy old building! Haha-ha..."
But as the two stared at each other, they both knew the real reason as to why they chose the markets…
They were dead broke.
And the Markets were far cheaper places to see and buy things than stores.
And so, with this in mind, their first date started…
The two began to look through the different products and specialties being sold in Milanne's markets as Vivian took down notes from time to time, asking the different Merchants and Caravaneers about the local and national prices.
"Yer' a real curious young lady, aren't ya! Pretty rare to see a girl goin' about with these things in mind..." An old merchant merrily laughed.
"Yeah, I plan to become a businesswoman!" Vivian victoriously smiled back.
"Ohh? Now that's a rare dream a young missis like you should have. Good on yer' brother for supporting you... Just don't take it too personally if ya' fail, alright? Business is already dangerous even for a man, let alone a frail young lady like you... You better pay close attention to your sister now, you got that?" The merchant nodded at Duke.
"Haha… b-brother huh…" Duke was visibly staggered. First, it was the friend zone and now he fell even deeper into the brother zone!
Luckily for Duke, he didn't know that he had also entered the pet zone quite recently.
"Yeah, I'm a g-good 'brother'..." Duke sighed as Vivian laughed next to him.
Because Duke looked too derpy next to Vivian, no one would've guessed that they were actually a married couple.
"I'm surprised you know your way around Markets like these, Duke. Don't Noblemen usually send their servants to buy things instead?" Vivian asked as she and Duke continued on to their date.
Duke: "Hehe, I've been visiting them since I was a kid. My mom used to control what I ate, so I would sometimes secretly sneak outside to eat… But hey, I'm more surprised a princess even knows about Markets these days, didn't you guys normally stay in the Imperial Palace the whole time?"
"Well, the palace is surprisingly quite lenient towards Princesses. So lenient in fact, that they sometimes forget we even exist. So sometimes I sneak out here and there whenever nobody's looking…" [Which is like most of the time, sadly...] Vivian smiled as she explained to Duke.
"Woah, you were quite adventurous then, huh…" Duke felt happy that he had learned more about Vivian's life as a child.
"Oh~ look! Vivian!" Duke pointed out as he ran towards an old man with white long hair and a white long beard, both dirty along with the old brown robes he was sporting as he sat down on a brown picnic blanket containing the different items and baubles he had for sale.
The old man was quite distinct from the other stalls as he looked like an old beggar selling different pieces of metal junk that he had just salvaged.
Duke went up to the old man as he asked: "This is a really weird metal thingy-majig you have for sale, how much does it cost?"
"No no no, that's no thingymajig! That is what I call a 'geer'! Now if you connect it with this sporky like thingamabob and this chunk of chunky chink you'd get yourself a fully operating rotating axle! Lessening the force needed to pull its other end! Now THIS, this is what I call a thingy-majig! And If you combine it with another rotating axle… Bla Bla Bla" The old man started to speak weird jargon as he connected some of the metal pieces together to form surreal artistic machines that formed and swayed wherever the old man intended it to.
"Ah~ I see, I see! That's amazing, old man!" Duke exclaimed as he thought [Those are some really complex words! It must be incredibly profound… Maybe if I pretend to understand Vivian would think I'm quite smart too gehehe...] Duke sneaked a glance at Vivian's reaction, sadly she wasn't really looking at him.
Instead, Vivian was staring at the old man in front of her as she evaluated him according to her own metric of usefulness.
And she, much like everyone else there had one word to describe the old man, and that was:
[This old man is obviously 'crazy'!] Vivian thought to herself as she tried to pull Duke further away.
Everyone around them looked at Duke and the old man with pitying stares.
Staring at the weird pair composed of a crazy bumbling old fool and the laughably gullible fat Count next to him that seemed like he was actually trying to understand the old man's senseless words!
At this point, Duke had already forgotten about Vivian's reactions as he genuinely conversed with the old man. Asking him questions here and there about the odd machines he so gleefully showed Duke.
Vivian sighed as she stared at the weird duo. Her disappointment soared as she watched Duke who was merrily nodding in agreement with the old man's crazy words.
[From now on I must make sure to know who Duke acquaints himself with...] Vivian gravely vowed to herself, worrying that Duke might fall into some weird scam in the near future.
"You must be a really amazing Inventor, old man! You're even wearing those weird robes scholars commonly use!" Duke complimented the old man on his attire, ignoring much of the dust and dirt that covered most of it up.
Duke might've been a big idiot who had little to no talents he could be proud about, but the one thing that separates Duke from the rest of humanity was the frighteningly sharp intuition he had when it came to seeing the good in other people...
Or more specifically, and may I say even more useful, was his uncanny ability to see through the hidden potential that lay deep within the hearts of men that they themselves sometimes don't often see.
That's right, the unwavering positivity Duke had towards himself and towards other people, although mundane, happened to be one of the many things that made Duke special.
It was not some vague talent nor mysterious superpower that truly made Duke worthy of being this story's main character.
Instead, it was his simple yet unwavering belief in the kindness of humanity that make him stand out.
Whilst the rest of the people there disregarded the old man for nothing but a useless old bum, ignoring him as they pushed him aside. Duke, on the other hand, would actually care long enough to sincerely hear the old man out despite how the rest of the world sees the both of them.
It wasn't like Duke couldn't hear the jeering and mockery that was being thrown at him and the old man.
But to be honest, Duke didn't care.
This, although somewhat derpy, was the greatest superpower Duke had.
What? You actually thought Duke used up all 900 of his gold coins just because he thought Vivian looked pretty?! Bah!... You're absolutely right! And he would also tell you the same thing, but...
Duke couldn't deny that there was also this vague and unexplainable feeling that got him to fight for her despite only seeing Vivian for the first time. (That and he's a total SIMP!)
Even though Vivian herself didn't see it.
Duke, saw potential in her... much like how he also saw the potential of the old man right in front of him.
"Your inventions... they're amazing old man!" Duke sincerely praised the old man for his weird unexplainable baubles.
"I'm... I'm amazing?… Y-You think I'm amazing?" The old man mumbled as his eyes suddenly became teary from Duke's simple compliment.
"O-Of course I'm amazing…" The old man continued as if years of lost self-worth suddenly came rushing back.
"I am Galleo La Vinsilica Diovanni Davinci! Philosopher-Candidate of Venicia..." The old man, Galleo, puffed his chest out as he remembered something dear to him that he had forgotten throughout the years.
"Of course I'm amazing!" The old man repeated with a somber reminiscing voice.
"Hey old man, what are those papers over there?" Duke tapped Galleo as he pointed at the rolls of paper stored in a basket next to Galleo.
"Ohh, those are my Machinistic Blueprints. Look over here, this one's the design for a drainage system for droughts and floods. And this one's..." Galleo started to talk about his works even more enthusiastically than before.
[The Philosophers of Vinicia?!] Vivian who was just casually listening in on their conversation suddenly became interested as she heard Galleo speak.
But Vivian's thoughts were interrupted by a shouting noble that came running towards them.
"You! Stop right there, you crazy old man! Didn't I tell you to stop bothering other Nobles in my fief?! My friend just ignore this crazy old fool- Fat Duke?!" The young noble who shouted at the old man stopped in his warning as he suddenly recognized Duke.
"Duke Pendragon? I can hardly recognize you since you left the Academy! Did you lose a couple of pounds?" The young noble sarcastically remarked as he made a sinister smile.
"Oh, h-hello Darius... m-maybe it's the exercise I've been doing... haha" Duke suddenly sweated when he saw Darius, an old bully that used to torment him in the Imperial Academy.
"Hahaha, I was being sarcastic you dumb idiot! The way you eat, I'd die before you become even lose 5 pounds! Ahh~ man, maybe I should've just been honest in saying you've grown fatter! I forgot how simple humor got over you stupid little head like that" The young noble, Darius, mockingly laughed as he made sure to make Duke as uncomfortable as he possibly could. Utterly humiliating Duke right in front of everyone there.
"Ha-haha, I see you still have a good sense of humor as always..." Duke, even though he was obviously being bullied, forced himself to play it off as Vivian was standing behind him and he didn't want to show her this pathetic side of his.
[Please! Not now! I'll even give you a year's worth of my allowance this time... But please not in front of Vivian...] Duke pleaded in his heart, wishing for Darius to leave them be.
"Hmm, what's this?" Darius suddenly saw Vivian in the corner as his lecherous eyes eyed her up and down.
"Oh, and what might your name be, my lady?" Darius tried to grab Vivian's right hand, trying to intimately kiss it which was a customary greeting in Noble society.
But just before Darius could reach for Vivian, Duke quickly blocked his path as he shook Darius' hand instead, saying: "D-Darius! Haven't you become even more dashing than last time we met! A-Are you sure you're still the same person before?! H-Haha, I heard y-you already became an Earl recently?" As Duke was only a lowly countryside Count, he couldn't act disrespectful towards Darius who was the heir of a prominent Marquiss and was already an Earl himself. And so, Duke opted to play on his prideful vanity instead so as to redirect his attention on Dure rather than Vivian.
[Tsk, this fatass dare block my way?!] Darius was furious because someone he considered lower than him dared to block him in his pursuit of Vivian.
"Earl? Ha! You are now talking to a Marquis! We are standing in Milanne 'my' new territory..." Darius flamboyantly bragged as he wanted Duke to see the large disparity between the two of them.
"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss..." Duke knew that Darius was the heir to Marquiss Moraine, who he once met as a child.
Duke also remembered that Darius' father wasn't a complete asshole... unlike his son.
At least when Marquiss Moraine scammed them and stole Milanne from their family, he at least had a guilty enough conscience to 'pretend' to be sad about it! Darius on the other hand?
"Sorry? For what?" Darius asked as if he didn't understand Duke's words.
"Your... father?" Duke thought as he falsely presumed Darius would be just as sad as he was when he lost his grandfather.
Sadly, Duke was horribly, horribly mistaken.
"My father? Ha, the only thing that old fool did right was dying early" Darius scowled at the idea of mourning for his deadbeat father.
"But enough about that! I would rather have you introduce the beautiful lady behind you..." Darius eyed Vivian again which made her visibly uncomfortable.
[And who is this rich cunt, now?] Vivian thought to herself as she cursed out his existence.
Vivian might've been a cultured and refined young lady on the outside but she was quite the expressive person once you get to know her deeply enough.
Sadly Vivian didn't have too many friends, and so, only Duke currently knew what she was actually thinking.
[Uwah~ Vivian looks pissed!] Duke thought as Vivian introduced herself:
"My name is Vivian Alastor Pendragon, it's a pleasure to meet the Marquiss of Milanne..." Vivian forcibly curtsied.
She didn't like the dumb cunt in front of her, but as a woman in a misogynistic society like Brune, it wouldn't do her any good to be rude in front of a Noble with a higher ranking than her husband.
And the fact that she knew Maine was currently somewhat reliant on Milanne right now, Vivian had no choice but to be polite, forcing down the hate she had for him for making fun of Duke earlier.
"So you're the Princess the 'Fat Count' wasted his entire fortune on... You are indeed as beautiful as they say you are! Here, I am about to hold a ball in two weeks. It would delight me if the two of you could attend" Darius said as he handed Vivian the invitation, strangely polite in the way he acted towards her.
[I am not interested in used goods, but maybe the two of you could serve as good entertainment for the party HAHAHA!] Darius couldn't hide his disappointment at hearing that Vivian was already married to Duke. Although Vivian normally hid her beauty in thick makeup, Darius still liked it enough to think that it was a shame for her to be married to the fat loser in front of him.
And so, as the petty cunt Darius was, he planned to humiliate both of them at the ball.
"Now if you'd excuse me, as a Marquiss and the Lord of Milanne, I am quite busy. Unlike some fat idiot busy talking to a begar" *Ting* Darius humiliated Duke in front of Vivian one last time as he threw a silver coin at the old Inventor and walked away.
Galleo was visibly enraged at the remark as he threw the silver coin in the direction where Darius went: "I'm not a begar! You're the beggar! You're whole family's a beggar!" Galleo wildly shouted as he caused a big scene.
Galleo looked at the humiliated Duke as he patted him on the shoulder: "Ignore fools like that. For a young man your age, you are already quite discerning in finding value in my items, hohoho. Unlike that idiotic, moronic, stupid Marquiss who ignored my quality services and threw me out of his palace without even giving me an audience!!!... I am sure that that ignorant fool's future won't be as bright as yours, Duke!"
"G-Galleo!" Duke felt strengthened by Galleo's words.
"I don't have much… but here you go!" It pained Duke to see an old man such as Galleo out here in the streets looking like a beggar, and so, Duke thought it would be a nice idea to give Galleo a whole gold coin...
"Ughhh… As I told you before, I am not a, huh, never mind" Galleo sighed, grumpily accepting the coin as he thought:
[Maybe he wasn't as sharp as I thought he was...]