REBEL AGAINST THE KING?
"In summary, we planned to implicate that bastard Oriese and the Mithridocus family for the sacking of Maher city and for invoking blood magic. Our allies in the other families would use this as an excuse to persecute the Mithridocus family and confiscate their wealth", Queen Emerald explained to them.
"How did that plan fail? We can still blame the Mithridocus family for the fall of the city. They are the only survivors from the city, they must be culpable", Emily asked.
"Because that bastard Oriese must have captured all our spies who were about to plant incriminating evidence on the Mithridocus family and passed the evidence to the apostles before this. He also brought the Conjurers of the Conjurer Court of Drachia here as independent witnesses and alibi", Kolgane explained.
"That scheming bastard", Darklord commented.
"The bastard also has a newspaper that will retell the story in their favor", Kolgane added.
"I don't understand the need to run all these schemes. We can just flatten the enemy with the might of our army", Lord Zesgumath said to them after hearing about their plots.
"We can achieve more with fewer casualties if our plans have worked", Kolgane said to the demon lord regrettably.
"Your plans did not work. In the end everything still depends on the might of our demons", Lord Zesgumath told them.
"Enough said. We retreat now", Queen Emerald told them.
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"Breaking News…Breaking News"
"Maher city has fallen over night to the demons"
"Traitors Gamanos Hermaios Diabolese on trial for colluding with the demons"
"First Starri, then Maher. Which is the next city to fall to the demons?"
"Young master, the other trading houses are lining up in our office to purchase grains from us, we followed your instruction not to sell to them", Hagar reported to me.
"Alright, we can sell to them now, but the price shall be increased by a factor of ten, and they must purchase in large quantities", I replied to him.
"Are you sure they will pay for this exorbitant price, son", Orol asked me as he came in with Prince Geoffraie and after overhearing our conversation.
"Tell them if they don't buy now the price will increase to twenty times in a week's time", I replied to him to his shock and surprise.
"Ten.. Twenty times? That is an insane profit", Prince Geoffraie asked me.
"That is how to profit from war. We prepared for this for a very long time", I replied to him.
"Is that what you were preparing for all this time? By hoarding essential grains and goods? You knew about the demon invasion all along?" Orol asked me.
Orol knew what I was doing when I bought enormous supplies from the Trogdol merchants and all the other trading houses. He just didn't know what I was planning. He, however, allowed me to continue with it because he believed in my business acumen.
"Yes, the demons will invade sooner or later. This is the right time to profit", I replied to him.
"The people will be angry with your profiteering. Wouldn't that affect your reputation in the city?" Prince Geoffraie asked me.
"We are in the business of making money. As for reputation, we buy them back later when we have the chance", I replied to him to his puzzlement.
"How can you buy back your reputation?" Geoffraie asked.
"Don't worry, we've done this many times before. By the end of this episode, we will become saviors of the city", I explained to him.
"Well, my son did become the savior of Starri city and he was formerly its Bully", Orol told Geoffraie.
Suddenly Hagar came back immediately after he relayed my message to the traders and reported.
"All our inventory of grains has been booked and bought at ten times the usual price. It is a windfall again", Hagar told us happily.
"Is it so easy to make money here?" Prince Geoffraie asked.
"It wasn't so easy before my son came to help with business", Orol replied to him.
"What about the common people? They cannot afford the high prices of grains", Prince Geoffraie asked me.
"Don't worry, the price will fall back below the normal price in a month's time, and we may even buy the grain back for a song", I told him to his surprise.
"Why will that be, son?" Orol asked me.
"Because the apostles are winning the war with the demons. They will return to Drachia kingdom soon to collect protection money… erm tithes", I replied to them.
"The elders of the Mithridocus family in Maher are worried about the future livelihood of our people, what should we do to help them?" Geoffraie asked me.
"That is a simple solution, our families shall contribute to the efforts of the Church. They are holding a Grand Inquisition soon and we should take part in it", I told them.
"What Grand Inquisition?" Prince Geoffraie asked me.
"The Inquisition on the traitorous families of course, Gamanos, Hermaios and Diabolese, and some unrelated parties", I replied to them.
"How will volunteer work take care of our family?" Orol asked me.
"The Church will confiscate the properties of the traitors in all the cities of Drachia. We will have the first preference to acquire the confiscated assets on the cheap", I replied to him.
"Is that another way to profit? Profiting from other's misery?" Prince Geoffraie asked me.
"When someone gains, there will always be others who lose", I replied to them.
"The Gamanos, Hermaios and Diabolese family will soon be gone from Drachia kingdom. Where did you learn how to profit from your enemies like this?", Prince Geoffraie told me with understanding and asked.
"Well, I read it in books and learned from the Demon Queen. This is exactly the plan she had for our family if I didn't discover her treachery in Maher city", I replied to them.
"We will become the paramount family of Tarah city and the kingdom soon", Orol said to us delightedly.
"There is something else that we need to do in Tarah city", I told them.
"What is there to do now?" Geoffraie asked me.
"We need to take over the administration of Tarah city", I replied to them to their shock and horror.
"Are we rebelling against the king now?" Orol asked me worriedly.
"Sooner or later it will come to that", I replied to him.
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