Chapter 12

“Drink and listen, Duke Baloa.”

The Marquis of Sherrington laughed loudly.

Instead of showing me the estate, the marquis immediately led me to the marquis’s dining room.

At first glance, the dinner seemed splendid, but somehow the contents were lacking.

There are many dishes, but meat dishes were one of the top five, and even that, there was only one type of beef.

Thanks to this, I was eating beef very evenly by part.

The wine I took a sip to moisten my mouth was certainly expensive, but it seemed to have been slightly damaged as if it was stored incorrectly.

But for now, we have to be polite. So that the Marquis could lower his guard as much as possible.

“Thank you for the grand dinner.”

A smooth voice came out.

“How’s the estate going these days?”

“Well, I’m dying. The land is dry and the famine continues, so I feel sorry for collecting taxes from the residents.”

The Marquis sighed, waving a heavy hand adorned with a gold ring.

“Oh. A bad harvest?”

Pretending to be drinking wine, I added slyly.

“The Baron from the neighboring estate seemed to be doing a pretty good job at farming.”

The Marquis’ eyes flashed for a moment.

“Really? The little young man?”

It was a short word, but it was full of displeasure, envy, and greed.

“Why, is the marquis interested in berry farming?”

“Ha. No. I was just wondering how crops came out of that barren land.”

To interpret it, it was unpleasant that Baron Hanae, whose level was far below Marquis, suddenly flourished greatly in business.

“I know a lot about Berry Farming”.

When I said that, I could see him listening as if he were not a marquis.

However, I was not a berry fanatic, and in fact, all I knew about berry farming was a little bit.

“Berry trees grow well by the river”.

At my word the marquis leaned his upper body towards me.

I laughed softly.

“If only the river had not been polluted…”

The hand gesture of Marquis Sherrington, who was cutting, paused for a moment.

“Is that so?”

However, there was no sign of agitation in his calm voice.

Then there’s nothing I can’t say with a smile.

“Yes. The river that crosses the Marquis’ estate flows into the Baron’s estate, and the Baron’s berry farm has flourished.”

I didn’t even salivate and continued to lie.

The small river flowing from the marquis to the Baron was only one of the numerous tributaries of the largest river that penetrated the Baron’s territory.

In other words, it was just a small stream of water that the baron could do without.

“By the way, unlike the Baron, I am very worried that the Marquis has had a bad harvest.”

Her voice was full of anxiety, as if she had just heard the news of someone’s death.

“I want to help you somehow”.

When I began, Marquis Sherrington glistened his eyes and snapped at the bait.

“These days, the people are clamoring for lower taxes. However, I also have to pay taxes to the imperial family, so it is difficult to readily comply with the demands of the people.”

I’ve never seen a guy like this who pays taxes properly.

“Don’t worry.”

When I reassured Marquis of Sherrington, his mouth was torn long and thin.

“Uhum. The Duke of Baloa, if you could give me a ten-percent cut –“

“I’ll help you to keep the land from drought.”

“…What?”

The Marquis’s expression was grim, but I was sure. A little more persuasion and you’ll definitely get caught.

I raised my voice a tone and spoke in a very thoughtful voice.

Pretending to empathize, pretending to understand.

“Customer, no, Marquis, During the poor harvest and the poor land of the Marquis, the Baron of the neighboring territory was very successful in their berry business, wasn’t he?”

The Marquis of Sherrington nodded in spite of himself, as if he had been absorbed in my story.

“There is no better loyal servant than the Marquis, and I think you should be paid for it.”

“So ten percent –“

“Marquis of Sherrington.”

I naturally cut off his speech and lowered my upper body as if I were talking about a secret.

“Don’t you intend to monopolize the Berry Business?”

“…Monopolize?”

He’s been caught.

Marquis Sherrington’s eyes were filled with greed that was incomparably greater than before.

The berry business is a business that the Baron has virtually monopolized since he first entered the business.

As such, profitability was guaranteed and it was a project that will grow significantly in the future.

“Berry is a plant with short roots. It is a plant that needs sufficient water supply at all times because its roots are short.”

When I spoke of my shallow knowledge of berries as if it were a great trade secret, Marquis Sherrington twitched his moustache.

“Then has the Baron ever used the river in my territory to grow berries? What a thief!”

He was busy cursing the baron without thinking of the garbage he had poured into the river.

Some might think that the Baron secretly came to Marquis at night and scooped water out of a bucket.

But I had no intention of refuting Marquis Sherrington’s foolish logic. If I encourage him more, he won’t know.

“And now we shall regain the legitimate rights of the marquis. In terms of the berry business, it was a success because of the Marquis’ river, so the profit should go to the Marquis.”

“Then it should be! I’ll have to go and check it out right away. I will monitor very thoroughly to prevent farming in my river.”

“There’s a better way than that.”

I added a few words quietly, and the Marquis of Sherrington stopped pointing his finger in the air and listened to me quietly.

“You can build a dam. To prevent the marquis’ precious water resources from flowing into Baroness’s territory.”

I sold the idea with a fresh smile.

“Then the Baron’s land would be too dry to farm berries any longer, and the Marquis would be able to use the abundant water resources obtained from the dam to make your own berry business a success.”

Berry didn’t pop out just because of the water, but Marquis Sherrington’s mustache began to wriggle more intensely.

He seemed convinced that he could beat the Baron easily if he does it, without even knowing the time and sincerity the Baron had spent on berry farming.

“What an insight, worthy of the reputation of the Duke of Baloa!”

I held up my wine cup and blocked the marquis’ saliva, which began to splash in all directions.

But when Marquis Sherrington sprang to his feet and came near me, all my efforts were blotted out.

“Thank you very much, Duke Baloa.”

The Marquis of Sherrington seized my hand, bent over, and spat harder on my face.

“As expected, no one can keep up with the Duke’s wisdom. As the duke said, we must start the construction of the dam at once.”

If the dam is built, the pollutants thrown away by Marquis Sherrington will no longer flow into the Baron’s land.

I was proud to help poor rabbit, but I wasn’t a philanthropist. I didn’t work hard on Marquis Sherrington just to help the Baron.

I slowly began to lay the groundwork for my next purpose.

“But, Marquis Sherrington, you must think carefully. The construction of the dam will eat up a lot of money, but will the marquis, who has been poor for years, be able to afford it?”

I again pretended to be worried, pretending to care, and drooped my eyes.

Marquis Sherrington, who had been tapping the calculator hard in his head, soon tapped my hand and dropped it.

In the meantime, I hurriedly wiped my face with a napkin.

“But the prosperity of the marquis is directly linked to the glory of the empire. The imperial family is willing to lend funds at interest rates lower than market interest rates.”

“Your Excellency, Duke Baloa!”

It was Marquis Sherrington, who again sprayed my face like a sprayer.

For a moment, my perfectly made smile almost faltered.

“I wonder you’re God to give me such grace? I’m just thrilled.”

“Haha, no.”

The Marquis of Sherrington spit out words that would be perfect for treason if anyone heard it.

I looked around the dinner hall because I felt uncomfortable for no reason, but there’s only two of us at the dinner hall. The only thing watching us was a crow sitting by the window.

I waved my hand.

“It’s not the grace I give, it’s the grace of the Emperor, so there’s no need for that.”

I swallowed back the words, ‘Stop spitting now.’

“However, if I were to approve the loan, I would need all kinds of papers.”

I poured out my words without breathing.

Tax returns, a list of properties owned by Marquis of Sherrington, a statement of sources of funds, and a list of transactions.

Having succeeded in saying “Give me all your ledgers,” I smiled brightly again.

After a moment of silence, the marquis nodded slowly.

“I’ll have it ready in a few days.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

I smiled sincerely for the first time since the dinner began.

The Marquis is obviously stinky. It was time to check whether the tax was paid properly.

I followed the marquis with my eyes as he returned to his seat, lost in thought.

He has to pay taxes to protect my neck.

I turned my shoulder slightly. My shoulders were already stiff at the thought of staying up all night to look at the books again today.

｡+.｡☆ﾟ:;｡+ﾟ ☆*ﾟ¨ﾟﾟ･*:..ﾞ

“Is this all?”

I covered a thin book that took less than half an hour to read.

“Yes.”

The Marquis of Sherrington sighed and dropped his shoulder.

“Since the Marquis’ financial situation is not good enough, there is not much to look at.”

I smiled a thin smile.

Even if you cheat, you have to act like you’re being a bit believable.

“But.”

I therw the books back on the Marquis’ office desk.

Then she sat at the top of the table, which was originally the Marquis’ seat, and raised her legs arrogantly on the desk.

“Are you missing out on the luxury mansion on the southern coast? Also, investments from various top investments was also made. And there are shares bought in the name of the butler.”

The marquis’ eyes widened.

“What are you talking about?”

The Marquis belatedly began to control his expression, but could not hide his trembling mustache.

“Do you want me to say more?”