"I-I'll just take the slave contract."
"Good choice. Hey, let this guy out."
The guard came over and unlocked the door.
Claude was thrilled to finally have someone to take on some of the workload.
"Looking forward to working with you. Let's make it big, bro."
"Make what big, exactly…"
Lowell took a step back to avoid Claude, who kept clapping him on the shoulder. Every time Claude came closer, Lowell felt a chill run down his spine; something about this person made him instinctively sense trouble.
***
On the way back to Fenris territory, Lowell felt a little relieved after Ghislain explained why he'd sought him out.
'This is my last chance! I have to prove I'm useful if I want to survive.'
Lowell eagerly started to share his ideas, hoping to impress.
Claude was stunned at the sheer breadth of Lowell's knowledge. Ways to exploit the commoners, use crime syndicates, run financial schemes, and even ruin other noble families for gain. It was as if he knew every dirty trick in the book.
Sure, Claude cut corners now and then, but nothing like Lowell.
"Wow, you're seriously trash. Never seen anyone like you. So this is what real corruption looks like."
Lowell grinned proudly. In Digald, being called "trash" was the highest form of praise. The more he extracted from the people, the more the lord valued him.
"Thank you. I'll squeeze even more if you'd like."
"…There really isn't a single normal person in this estate."
Claude shook his head.
It seemed Lowell thought Ghislain was running the estate the way the Digald family used to.
Ghislain, listening to their conversation, gave Claude a warning with a smirk.
"You'll need to give him a proper orientation unless you want to lose your head with him."
"…Understood."
Claude sighed deeply.
Still, there was hope. Though Lowell's sense of right and wrong was warped, he had experience managing a territory. That was valuable.
With a little "re-education" and some strict guidance, he could be useful.
Lowell, unaware of his glaring flaws, only gave a puzzled expression as he listened to their conversation.
'Once I'm in charge, I'll start squeezing money out of the place. Even that monster Ghislain will change his tune once he tastes profit.'
Lowell followed Ghislain confidently.
But his expectations shattered the moment he arrived in Fenris territory.
"Wh-what's going on? Why does the estate look like this? Are you sure this is Fenris? Did we come to the wrong place?"
Was that a merchant guild over there? Lined up at the gates?
And what was that? Piles of food everywhere?
The newly built structures were immediately noticeable, not to mention the bright, lively atmosphere of the commoners.
'No, this can't be right.'
Lowell couldn't stop looking around, trying to take it all in.
As someone from Digald, such a sight was utterly foreign and unsettling.
Claude tapped him on the shoulder and smugly said,
"All my handiwork."
"Please don't touch me… Really? You made all this happen, Head butler?"
Feeling a bit embarrassed by Lowell's enthusiasm, Claude sheepishly clarified,
"It's the work of me and the lord."
The rapid development of the estate was due to Ghislain's funding and drive.
Even Claude couldn't take all the credit, no matter how shameless he was.
'But let's be clear—I'm the one cleaning up the lord's messes.'
Claude felt his contribution was significant, at least half the credit.
"The estate… is like this…"
Lowell wandered around in a daze, taking it all in.
He'd grown up barely eating enough to survive, scraping by, always struggling.
He'd learned to read and studied to make a better life for himself.
He once dreamed of creating an estate where no one went hungry.
'I thought it was impossible…'
As a commoner, he'd risen to a fairly high position, but he could do nothing to change things.
If a lord wasn't willing, an estate would never change.
So Lowell accepted reality and started working in the way his lord wanted.
He thought everyone lived like that.
But then…
"What's with the dazed look? How's it feel to be back?"
Lost in thought, Lowell snapped to attention at Ghislain's voice and shook his head quickly.
"It's… incredible. To think this place could change like this…"
As someone who'd once been in charge of the entire county, he'd visited this area a few times.
Back then, the lord who ruled here was nothing short of a demon.
Those who managed to escape were considered lucky. Most were so downtrodden they couldn't even consider leaving.
And yet, in just a few months, the place had changed so dramatically. He could hardly believe his eyes.
"You'd better get it together. If you try to run things here like you did before, I'll be taking your head."
Ghislain's cold gaze bore into him, and Lowell's face went taut with tension as he nodded.
"I'll work hard to contribute to the estate's growth."
"Even if Count Digald forced you to work that way, it doesn't mean you're innocent. From now on, work for the benefit of the people."
"I understand."
In truth, it was what he'd wanted all along. Lowell had always dreamed of working in an estate like this.
Above all, he was too afraid of Ghislain to consider doing anything underhanded.
Ghislain narrowed his eyes at Lowell, studying him, then turned to Claude.
"So, how do you plan to use him?"
Claude thought for a moment before responding confidently.
"He seems well-versed in shady dealings, so I think he'd be perfect as an intelligence officer. He can also double as an administrative secretary to help me with my workload."
An intelligence officer needed to be clever and familiar with the criminal mindset.
Lowell was ideal.
Since he'd already handled various tasks before, adapting to the estate's unique conditions shouldn't be hard.
Even just that would make Claude's job a lot easier.
Ghislain nodded.
"Having done every dirty job under the Digald Count, he'd know what's what. Let's go with Claude's plan."
"Thank you!"
Lowell bowed deeply.
He resolved to work hard and lead a proper life this time.
"For now, keep the information in our estate tightly controlled. No leaks."
"Understood."
Before the crops started sprouting, Ghislain had already cleaned up the estate.
He'd weeded out spies and restricted merchant guilds from coming and going as they pleased.
He even paid extra to essential external personnel, keeping them half-detained.
Ghislain set up walls around new cultivation areas and had the residents stand guard.
"Let's keep things hidden for as long as we can."
Desmond, too busy backing Amelia, had no time to pay attention to Ghislain.
Combined with the lockdown, the estate's information was thoroughly contained.
Ghislain gave Claude a strict reminder.
"We'll have the quantity we set as our initial goal ready soon. We'll be leaving in about two weeks, so make sure everything goes smoothly until then. Prepare any materials we'll need in advance."
"Yes, sir. Hey, let's get going. We've got a lot to do."
Claude slung an arm around Lowell's shoulders in a show of camaraderie.
After falling out with the mages over their wager, Claude had no one else to talk to.
With a competent assistant now under him, he felt a bit more at ease.
"Ugh, why are you clinging to me?"
"Clinging? I'm just trying to get along. You're acting all jumpy—got something to hide?"
"No, it's just uncomfortable."
Ghislain watched the two bickering and smiled contentedly.
The more the estate grew, the more information there was to manage.
Eventually, he would need someone to manage intelligence full-time, and Claude had recognized that.
If Claude didn't train him well, he'd only make his own life harder.
'Now that I've given him an assistant, maybe I should increase his workload a bit.'
With a mischievous thought that would make Claude scream, Ghislain turned away.
He still had plenty to finish before heading to the capital.
***
Claude returned to Ghislain before the two weeks were up, looking visibly troubled.
Before he could even open his mouth, Ghislain spoke.
"You're out of money, aren't you?"
"The funds are nearly depleted… Wait, you knew?"
"Of course. Don't worry. As soon as the cosmetics start selling, we'll fix that."
"We'll be out of money before then!"
"If that happens, we'll just mine some more runestones and sell them."
Claude pounded his chest in frustration.
"No, I mean there's no cash available right now. Even if we mine runestones, it'll take time to convert them into funds. How about pausing some of the projects we're working on? Or delaying the trip to the capital?"
"No."
Claude clenched his fists, trembling with irritation, before sighing.
"Just saying 'no' won't make the money appear. How do you plan to keep everything going without it?"
"Come with me for a second."
"…Where? You're not going to hit me, are you? I haven't said anything wrong."
"I'm giving you money."
"Huh?"
Claude followed Ghislain, curious yet hopeful at the mention of money.
He was already managing all finances, so where would extra money come from?
Ghislain led him to a private storage room adjoining his office.
The room was filled with large wardrobes and chests.
"You said you were giving me money… Are you just showing off your clothes?"
Ghislain gave the room a cautious look before whispering seriously.
"Hey, you can't tell my father about this. If word gets out, I'm as good as dead."
With that, Ghislain threw open the wardrobes and chests.
They overflowed with gems, expensive ornaments, and gold coins.
"Take half of it for now. That should keep things running for a while. There are plenty of merchants around, so it'll be easy to convert it to cash, right?"
Looking at the room packed with valuables, Claude spoke in disbelief.
"W-What is all this? When did you hoard all this money?"
As far as Claude knew, Ghislain had no income source besides runestones.
That alone made him obscenely wealthy, but this was on another level. How could he have secretly amassed so much?
Ghislain shrugged nonchalantly.
"Oh, this? It's spoils of war. I cleaned out Count Digald's personal wealth, along with his vassals."
"…Spoils of war?"
"Right after the capture, I stripped the whole estate bare. Went through the vassals' homes and warehouses, took everything. Set it aside for emergencies."
"…You maniac…"
Claude felt dizzy, nearly stumbling back.
Now he understood why Ghislain had stressed keeping it a secret.
Strictly speaking, the rightful owner of this treasure was Ghislain's father, the Count Perdium.
Despite Ghislain's status as the acting lord, he was technically only a commander under the count.
Ghislain had just admitted to secretly pocketing the resources of the conquered territory.
"If they catch wind of this, you could face the death penalty, you know that?"
Taking a lord's wealth without permission was akin to treason.
Even as the young lord, Ghislain would find it hard to escape punishment.
But Ghislain's piercing gaze cut Claude off before he could finish.
"What are you talking about? Do you have any idea how many runestones I gave to Perdium? I didn't take this—I traded it. Do you know anyone who'd just give away runestones for free?"
Claude could only close his mouth, utterly at a loss.
In the end, it was clear that no one out-schemed Ghislain.
[T/L: Please support me and read extra chapters here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]