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“Good decision. Hey, cut him loose.”

The guard approached and unlocked the door.

Claude was overjoyed to finally have someone to put to work.

“Looking forward to working with you. Let’s make it fiery, bro.”

“What exactly do you mean by ‘fiery’…”

Lowell stepped back, avoiding Claude, who kept patting his shoulder.

Every time Claude got close, Lowell felt chills running down his spine, a gut feeling warning him that nothing good would come out of getting involved with this man.

* * *

On the way back to Fenris Estate, Lowell felt a bit relieved after hearing why Ghislain had come to find him.

‘This is my last chance! I have to show that I’m a useful person. That’s the only way I’ll survive!’

Eager to prove his worth, he actively offered his opinions.

Hearing this, Claude was utterly astonished by Lowell’s extensive knowledge.

How to exploit the estate’s residents, how to utilize criminal organizations, how to play money games, and even how to manipulate and bankrupt other nobles.

It was as if Lowell knew every underhanded and malicious tactic in the world.

Claude had dabbled in a few tricks himself, but nothing on the scale of Lowell.

“Wow, you’re really a piece of trash. I’ve never seen anyone like you. So this is what a true parasite looks like.”

Lowell beamed with pride at Claude’s words.

Being called trash was the highest compliment in Digald. The more money one squeezed out of the residents, the more likely they were to win the lord’s favor.

“Thank you. I’ll make sure to squeeze out even more.”

“…There really isn’t a single sane person in this estate.”

Claude shook his head in disbelief.

It seemed this guy thought Ghislain ran the estate like Digald.

Ghislain, who had been listening to their conversation, smiled as he warned Claude.

“You’d better educate him properly. Unless you want to lose your head along with his.”

“…Understood.”

Claude let out a long sigh.

Still, there was hope. Lowell’s mindset was a bit off, but he had experience running an estate. Experience was always welcome.

If he could clean up Lowell’s corrupt ways and train him well, he would be a great asset.

But Lowell, completely oblivious to his own issues, just looked puzzled while listening to their conversation.

‘If I’m given a job, I have to rake in as much money as possible. Once that monster of a man gets a taste for money, his attitude will change.’

With full confidence, Lowell followed Ghislain.

But his hopes were shattered the moment they arrived at Fenris Estate.

“What, what’s this? Why is the estate like this? Is this really Fenris Estate? Are you sure it’s not some other estate?”

Was the merchant guild here? Were they all lining up to enter the gates?

And what was that? Why was there a mountain of food piled up?

Not to mention the obviously newly built structures. And why did the estate’s residents seem so cheerful?

‘No, this can’t be right.’

Lowell couldn’t calm down and kept busy looking around the estate.

For someone like him, who was from Digald, this sight felt extremely strange and unfamiliar.

Claude arrogantly puffed out his chest, tapping the stunned Lowell on the shoulder.

“All of this is my work.”

“Ah, please don’t touch me… Is that really true? Did you, Chief Overseer, develop this place?”

Claude felt a bit embarrassed by Lowell’s excessive reaction and corrected himself shyly.

“It’s the work of me and Lord Ghislain.”

The estate’s rapid development was thanks to Ghislain’s financial power and drive.

Even as brazen as Claude was, he couldn’t deny that.

‘But! It was me who cleaned up the messes after the lord started everything without a second thought.’

Claude believed that he deserved about half of the credit for the estate’s progress.

“How… How could the estate be like this…?”

Lowell wandered around the estate, dazed.

He had grown up struggling, not even able to eat proper meals.

Determined to succeed, he had learned to read and study.

There was a time when he dreamed of becoming an excellent administrator and building an estate where no one went hungry.

He had once had such a dream.

‘I thought it was impossible…’

As a commoner, he had risen to a fairly high position, but there was little he could do.

An estate would never change unless its lord decided to change it.

In the end, Lowell accepted reality and worked in whatever way the lord wanted, just to survive.

He thought that was how everyone lived.

But now…

“Why are you spacing out? How does it feel to see this place again after so long?”

Lost in thought, Lowell snapped out of it when he heard Ghislain’s voice and shook his head in surprise.

“I-I’m amazed. I can’t believe this place has changed so much, become so lively…”

Back when he was in charge of managing the entire county, he had visited this place a few times.

The lord who governed here back then was nothing short of a demon.

Those who couldn’t endure it anymore and ran away were considered lucky. It was full of people who couldn’t even imagine leaving because they had given up on life.

And yet, this place had transformed in just a few months. He couldn’t believe his own eyes.

“You’d better get your act together. If you try to manage the estate like you did before, I’ll have your head cut off right away.”

Ghislain spoke coldly, glaring at Lowell. Lowell stiffened, his expression tense, and nodded.

“I will do my best to contribute to the estate’s development.”

“Even if Count Digald ordered you to, it doesn’t mean you’re blameless. From now on, work hard for the sake of the residents.”

“I understand.”

In truth, this was what he had always wished for. Lowell had always dreamed of working in an estate like this.

Above all, the person standing in front of him was so intimidating that he didn’t dare think of doing anything bad.

Narrowing his eyes, Ghislain scrutinized Lowell before turning to Claude and asking.

“How do you plan to use him?”

Claude pondered for a moment before speaking up decisively.

“For now, it seems like he knows his way around shady dealings, so it’d be best to place him in the position of Intelligence Officer. He can also serve as an administrative secretary to assist me with my duties.”

An Intelligence Officer needed to be quick-witted and familiar with the mindset of criminals.

Lowell was the perfect fit.

Since he had experience handling most tasks, a little training to adapt him to the estate’s circumstances would suffice.

Even assigning him that much would make Claude’s workload a lot easier.

Ghislain nodded.

“He used to do all sorts of shady stuff under Count Digald, so he’d know his way around it. Let’s go with Claude’s suggestion.”

“Thank you!”

Lowell bowed his head once more.

And he made up his mind. This time, he would genuinely work hard and live properly.

“For the time being, we need to thoroughly block any information from leaking out of our estate.”

“Understood.”

Before the crops began to sprout, Ghislain had already cleaned up the estate.

He weeded out the spies and prevented merchant guilds from entering freely.

For essential external personnel, he offered extra payment and kept them half-confined.

They even built walls around the new cultivation fields, gathering the estate residents to establish a tight perimeter.

“It’s better to hide as much as we can.”

Even in Desmond, they were too occupied supporting Amelia to pay attention to Ghislain.

This, combined with the lockdown order, ensured that information from the estate was sealed off without a leak.

Ghislain also firmly instructed Claude.

“The first batch of goods, our primary goal, will be ready soon. We’ll set off in about a fortnight, so make sure you train this guy well so the usual tasks continue smoothly. Prepare any necessary materials in advance.”

“Understood. Hey, let’s get going. You’ve got a lot to do.”

Claude draped an arm over Lowell’s shoulder, acting overly familiar.

His bet with the mages had strained their relationship, leaving him without a single person around to talk to.

So, having a smart guy like Lowell come under his wing made him feel a bit more secure.

“Ugh, why do you keep sticking to me?”

“Who’s sticking? I’m just trying to be friendly. You’re acting all touchy, which is suspicious. Are you hiding something?”

“N-no, nothing like that. It’s just uncomfortable.”

Watching the two bicker as they walked away, Ghislain smiled warmly.

As the estate grew, so did the amount of information they had to handle.

Eventually, they would need someone dedicated to managing information, and Claude had picked up on that well.

They’d have to train him properly to make good use of him, but that was Claude’s responsibility.

‘If he doesn’t teach him properly, he’ll just end up making more work for himself. Now that I’ve turned Claude away, I’m thinking of plans that would horrify him if he were to hear them.’

There was still a lot of work to finish before heading to the capital.

* * *

Before the fortnight was up, Claude came to see Ghislain with a troubled face.

Before he could say a word, Ghislain spoke first.

“You’ve run out of money, haven’t you?”

“The funds are running low, and… huh? You knew?”

“Hmm, it’s about that time. Don’t worry. Once the cosmetics start selling, it’ll be sorted out.”

“We’ll be out of money before then, though.”

“Until then, just mine and sell some Runestones.”

Claude thumped his chest in frustration.

“No, I mean we don’t have any money to use right now. Even if we mine Runestones, you have to consider the time it takes to convert them to cash. Maybe we should temporarily halt some of the ongoing projects? Or delay your trip to the capital?”

“No, I don’t want to.”

Claude clenched his fists and trembled, then let out a sigh.

“It’s not something you can just say no to. How are you going to keep things running without money?”

“Follow me.”

“…Why? You’re not going to hit me, are you? It’s not like I said anything wrong.”

“I’m giving you money.”

“What?”

Claude was bewildered, but the promise of money made him follow Ghislain obediently.

He had already been given control over all financial matters, so where on earth was this money coming from?

Ghislain led him to a private storage room attached to his office.

The room was filled with large wardrobes and chests.

“You said you’d give me money…did you bring me here just to show off your clothes?”

Ghislain glanced cautiously around the room before whispering with a serious expression.

“Hey, don’t tell my father about this. If this gets out, be prepared to die.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Ghislain flung open the wardrobes and chests.

They were filled with glittering jewels, valuable ornaments, and piles of gold coins.

“Take half for now. That should be enough to get by for the time being. With so many merchant guilds around, it’ll be easy to convert this to cash, right?”

Claude looked around the room brimming with wealth, his voice incredulous.

“W-what is all this? When did you stash away this much money?”

As far as Claude knew, Ghislain had no other source of funds besides Runestones.

Even though that alone made him immensely wealthy, there was no way he could have squirreled away such a huge sum.

Ghislain shrugged nonchalantly.

“Oh, this is spoils of war. Personal assets from Count Digald and his retainers.”

“…What? Spoils of war?”

“When I took over, I cleaned out the estate. I raided the retainers’ mansions and storages and brought it all back. For emergency funds.”

“You… you’re insane…”

Claude felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, making him stagger.

Now he understood why Ghislain had been so adamant about keeping this a secret.

The rightful owner of all this wealth was Ghislain’s father, Count Ferdium.

No matter how much credit Ghislain deserved, he was still just a commander, not a lord.

Right now, Ghislain was openly admitting to secretly pocketing the conquered estate’s assets.

“You know this is a death sentence if you get caught, right?”

Embezzling a lord’s property was treated as treason, on par with rebellion.

No matter how much of a young lord Ghislain was, he wouldn’t be able to escape punishment entirely.

Before Claude could even finish speaking, Ghislain shot him a sharp glare, as if to say,

‘How dare you talk like that.’

“What are you talking about? I’ve given Ferdium plenty of Runestones. I didn’t take them; I exchanged them. Who in their right mind gives away Runestones for free?”

Claude was left speechless, unable to even muster a laugh.

Claude might be quick on his feet, but Ghislain was flying circles above him.

‘If I give him some help, maybe I can push him a bit more.’