Fabian closed the door of his Lord's chambers gently.
He looked at the seven shadow guards in the hallway hidden in plain sight. Their piercing gaze was intruding and searching. It always amused him how, despite being more powerful than them and serving three generations of Nightshade Archdukes, they dared to be so imprudent.
But of course, their loyalty was exclusive to their master alone and Fabian has been long accustomed to it.
His pedigree, power nor history matters to them.
It hasn't for thousands of years and he doubts it would change any time soon.
He walked down the corridor smiling appropriately at those who approached him, resolving issues regarding the Estate as he went. Soon he reached his private office, nothing very grandiose yet his use of over 50 years could be seen evidently.
He didn't dally with his Lord's orders and sat down to draft a letter on his behalf to the Count Lonis of Sarles, a small fief to the east. He was the vassal lord presiding over Greim and its ports, where Thibild the merchant lived.
While carrying out his duty mechanically, he pondered over what his Lord had mentioned.
The shocking request to open his father's inheritance ahead of reaching 25 years of age all previous Nightshade Lords had, was unprecedented and worrying. Yet, despite their difference in age and experience, Fabian resolutely chose to follow his Lord.
Not just because of his loyalty, but also because of the special nature of the heirs to House Nightshade.
They were born to be intellectually and physically superior.
Even their young age doesn't hold their inherent qualities back so it wasn't surprising to have them take over the duties of the previous lord as early as 13 years of age. Needless to say, the 21-year-old Lucien was at the peak of his prowess.
Just by observing the way the young Archduke dealt with the problem of the House of Ascart trying to saddle him with moral debts to try to marry off their daughter and gain the backing of House Nightshade was truly worthy of his title. And the young Archduke must have even calculated the wild ambition of House Ascart to try and challenge the authority of Imperials with his name to try to sit on the throne themselves.
Otherwise, why would he bring a commoner merchant into a negotiation with the nobles?
Although Fabian was incredibly relieved that the Archduke didn't give a second thought to the young Lady Ascart, who was known as the 'Lily of West' for her incredible beauty, he was worried about his Lord's continued disinterest in the matter of his marriage.
Nightshades only ever had one child every generation.
Or, it is perhaps more apt to say that Nightshade Lords were unable to have more than one child per generation owing to their bloodline. While it was rumored that the earlier Nightshade Lords bore multiple children, the current fact of the matter remains so.
Either way, as a loyal vassal to this House, Fabian had to urge the Lord to find a suitable lady soon.
If possible, multiple.
He had no good impression of the dainty Lady Ascart who knew nothing except laces and needlework and possessed no other redeeming quality except that. But if things were not looking up, he wasn't above requesting his Lord to take the offerings of Ascart House.
After all, a mere fledgling Dukedom wouldn't be too hard to be dealt with by the Archduke.
Fabian enclosed the letter with the crest of Estate Argenlon Blanche and the Vanehiem Dunchy before sending it with the footmen.
It was time to prepare the Archduke's early supper.
*
Two Days Later
County Of Sarles, District Eindaal, East of Helios Empire.
"Hurry, hurry, you bloody fools! You dare dally in the face of His Grace the Archduke's missive?!"
"My Lord! Please! Watch your step!"
Count Remington Lonis heaved his heavy body while his servants cried in horror. As expected, he lost his footing on the carriage stairs and fell backward. The resourceful butler pushed a sturdy footman nearby to break his Lord's fall.
"My Lord!"
The fat nobleman and the dumbstruck footman fell in a heap, crushing a nearby pottery plant into smithereens.
"Alfie! Conner! Where in the nine hells are you idiots! Lift me to the carriage, you fools!"
Responding to the Count's screech, two messily dressed men came running and helped the panting Count up. They helped the obese nobleman up the bejeweled carriage as he kept firing orders:
"Send riders! Quick!"
"Find that merchant Thibild! Immediately!"
"Ready the carriage immediately!"
"Move, move!"
"Guards!"
The carriage was soon speeding past the cobblestone streets, the precious bred horses whipped till they bled so that they keep up the mad dash in the direction of the port.
Count Lonis was not always the unreasonable man that he was this morning.
Sure, he might be a bit more indulgent than any other noble out there but he never lost his head when his superiors sent missives to his hold.
Why should he when he never embezzled nor took bribes?
Some might accuse him of such misdeed just because of his indulgent lifestyle but other than the gold-coated bronze that fills his home, he was but a pauper in noble clothes. So if one day Earl Ambrose's Estate sent imperial soldiers to investigate the rumor mill, he was ready to face it all belly first with righteousness.
But this morning, even his wildest dreams couldn't have predicted what happened.
Ten intimidating men dressed in black and platinum stood in scary contrast to his tacky manor décor. Bearing the domineering coat of arms which had the iconic dragon motif—a crest that no one in this half of the continent could ever get wrong.
Count Lonis wasn't ashamed to admit that his, a forty-year-old man's, knees buckled.
Even he who was sure that he did no wrong couldn't stop almost blacking out in fear.
This was the Black Beast of Vanehiem!
So it was understandable why he was in such a hurry to reach the port and find that damned commoner who was asked to be found by the Argenlon Blanche for the Archduke.
Why was this guy living in my fief?!
Now the scary Archduke's people know my pitiful name!
The fat Count was crying without tears while carrying the rare and expensive white paper away from his sweaty body, lest he stain it.
Soon the carriage entered the bustling port side.
The commoners who were busily moving about to welcome the trade ships immediately made way for the Count's carriage. But the cacophony of horns, yells and goods moving never ceased, until the carriage entered the nearby residential area. Even though it was quieter than the portside, one could still pick up the scent of sea and copper in the air.
The guards went ahead and spoke to the gatekeeper standing in front of a mansion bearing no crest. He hurried inside and soon came out with four men following after him, one of them a heavy-built bald man with a thick curly beard.
This man walked up to the carriage and knocked politely.
"Milord, I am Thibild the proprietor of Monolith Enterprises. May I know why your esteemed self is visiting this humble man's abode?"
The doors to the carriage opened and Thibild bowed.
Count Lonis examined the commoner for a moment before clearing his throat, getting ready to present the will of his Lord.
"You are summoned to the noble Estate Argenlon Blanche of His Excellency Archduke Lucien Maximillian Nightshade of Vanehiem Duchy in three days. Do not take this incredible honor lightly, commoner Thibild."
With his fleshy chest puffed out and delivering words on behalf of the Archduke, he felt a deep pride.
And while Count Lonis is preening in his honor, Thibild was shell-shocked and so were his aides watching from afar.
It was one thing to associate with the likes of Count Lonis, but the name like that of Archduke Nightshade inviting a commoner like him to the Vanehiem stronghold was equivalent to inviting a worm to a phoenix nest.
"M-Milord… May I enquire why?" The large merchant asked tremblingly.
If there was one thing he had picked up in his long time of trading, it was that dealing with nobles never brought benefit for commoners.
"You dare to question His Excellency?" Count Lonis furrowed his thinning brows.
"No, no! This humble one doesn't dare!"
"Good." He fell back on his cushion. "His Excellency has heard of your business acumen and wishes to converse with you. Be sure to make use of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
He gave the letter from Argenlon Blanche to his footman who then immediately passed it on to Thibild, who was flustered.
"My… business acumen…?" He repeated dumbly.
"Do you have problems with your hearing? Are you not a merchant? Isn't Monolith enterprise yours?" The Count was impatient.
"Yes, yes. My apologies."
"Then be sure to arrive early to Estate Argenlon Blanche."
"Of course, Milord."
The Count waved to his servants to go back.
Soon Thibild's big frame was standing alone in the courtyard of his home, staring dumbly into nothingness. His aides approached him tentatively.
"Sir, are you alright?"
"Huh? Yes, I am alright." He scratched his head and offered a wry smile. "Why don't you all head home and let's discuss the audit some other time?"
"….Okay."
Thibild sent away the concerned men before turning to his mansion. But before he could step past the threshold, he noticed a familiar sandy blonde curls.
"Anne-Marie?"
There stood a woman behind one of the pillars, her positioning cleverly hidden by a few ornamental plants such that the noble party never saw a glimpse of her. It was a shame as this woman was perhaps the most beautiful woman Count Lonis would have ever seen, including his little circle of pampered noble Ladies.
Her doll eyes were a pleasing burnt brown complimenting her curly blonde hair.
Her features couldn't be called delicate yet they were, for lack of a better word, cute.
Button nose, bow lips the shade of the prettiest pink, her round cheeks dusted with a healthy flush, and her skin tone a charming beige.
And despite her 5'2 stature, she stood quite domineeringly with her legs apart and hands tied under her generous bust.
"Did you just hear everything?" Thibild asked sheepishly.
"Yes, I did."
Thibild heaved a sigh.
Anne-Marie was his youngest daughter, born from his mistress.
While nobles would oftentimes have a harem of women accompanying them, it was never the norm for commoners. It was looked down upon to have a mistress. Even he as a rich businessman, societal values never gave an exception.
Thibild's wife was the daughter of his family friend and he was hardly given a choice on the matter of his own wedding. And this wife of his was notoriously ugly. But he sucked it up and married her, had three children, and lived with her as a loyal husband for 10 long years.
But who would have thought that she would soon start finding him unattractive as he started aging?
He was furious, believing all this while that he was doing her a favor by marrying her and giving her a good life for her to only denounce him as the ugly one in the relationship.
So, out of spite, he cozied up to a pretty farmer's daughter and kept her a mistress outside.
But things went out of Thibild's hand again when his mistress was confirmed pregnant and she wished to enter his home legally so that her child wouldn't be a bastard. And ever since that night two decades ago, he never tasted peace.
The only good thing that came out of that disaster was Anne-Marie.
From the very young age of 5, she showed impressive intelligence and even more impressive business skills. By the age of 7, she was already running the accounting books and management of one of his shops in the harbor.
Thibild, who had only ever been mediocre at running his family shops and had similar children from his wife, was overjoyed.
He defied his shrew-like wife and braved verbal warfare between the two women for a thousand nights before he was able to groom her into a good successor.
Who would have thought that she would take her father's modest enterprise and make it as prosperous as it was currently?
That's right.
The 'NPC who can predict the market with astonishing accuracy' that Lucien was looking for was none other than this cute nineteen-year-old.
"So what will you be doing?" Anne-Marie raised a brow nonchalantly. "I hear that this Archduke Nightshade is a very astute nobleman who doesn't even fear the Imperial family. If he thinks that you were lying, he wouldn't lose a sleep over beheading a random commoner."
Thibild closed his eyes in thought.
Of course, he knew that. But it was also bad for his business to let it be known that he was just a puppet proprietor and the enterprise was run by his daughter. Above all, he also cared for his daughter. If he could he wouldn't want her to mix with the muddy world of nobles.
"I think I will meet him. It is dangerous for you to meet the Archduke." He shook his head with a frown. "He is called the Dark Beast by many for a reason."
"And if he figures out that the person he was looking for isn't you? Do you think a pretentious noble such as Count Lonis would spare any of us once you are killed for perjury by the Archduke? Dad, we are in danger whether you go alone or not."
Thibild didn't speak, the both of them knew that she was right.
Anne-Marie turned to the well-maintained garden and frowned, deep in thought.
"But when you think of it…"
She began but stopped to think again. Thibild looked up hopefully, waiting for her to finish her line of thought. It wouldn't be the first time his genius daughter saved him from trouble.
"Annie?"
"When you think of it, doesn't the best of the profits lie in perilous places?" She boldly finished her words.
Thibild was struck dumb.
In the whole of Helios Empire, it was perhaps only his daughter who would categorize the Nightshade Archduke as a risky profit.
He suddenly felt a painful bout of migraine when he faced his daughter's sparkling eyes he was weak against. And just as he expected, she spoke to him with conviction,
"Dad, take me with you."
"Why?"
"Let us come clean with the Archduke and claim that we do not wish to deceive His Excellency." She speculated. "His Excellency wouldn't be asking you to come to his Duchy for no reason, he must require a trustworthy merchant who knows what they are doing for some venture. What is the better way to gain someone's trust other than by giving them a sincere gesture first?"
Thibild nursed his head in defeat.
This little demon child of his was going to get him killed.