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nA luxury hotel’s lounge.

nThe hotel arranged by my merchant Thomas was a historic building renovated to modern standards.

nIt was a waste of money, but this was how evil lords were supposed to use their funds.

nCrossing my legs as I sat down on the couch, I looked at the two people Thomas had mediated a meeting for me with.

nDressed in a suit while having his blonde hair set in a seven-three ratio, was the young head of the Clave Company– their president Elliot.

nHis appearance was that of one in their early twenties, and he actually seemed to be that age.

nHe sent a smile my way,

n“I’d like to thank you for meeting with us today.”

nSitting next to him was an executive of the Newlands Company– Patrice.

nShe had crimson hair and emerald green eyes.

nHer suit that emphasised her chest seemed to match it… was she aiming for a certain colour scheme?

n“It brings me great joy to finally meet with the famous Count– no, I’m very pleased to meet the future Duke, Lord Liam.”

nShe was a beautiful lady with an alluring voice, but I didn’t like girls like her.

n–she reminded me of my former wife.

nI didn’t like flashy women.

nTurning towards Thomas, he seems to have curled himself up, trying to have as little presence as possible.

n“Lord Liam, there’s some things we want to talk to you about today. This concerns us becoming your exclusive purveyors.”

nThe biggest vendors in the imperial capital have approached me to become my merchants.

nBecause the scale the operated on was far larger than Thomas’ firm, they had the potential to be quite useful in many ways.

n“My exclusive purveyors?”

n“Yes, please allow us to serve you, Lord Liam. The Clave company is an imperial merchant group with deep ties to tradition and history. I’m sure that we could be of value to you.”

nWhen Elliot said so with a smile, Patrice– who was sitting next to him, also tried to appeal to me.

n“While it is true that the Clave company is the best in the imperial capital, our Newlands Company does business across the entire Empire. Our company is widely supported by innumerable nobles, whose connections will surely be useful to you, Lord Liam.”

nI love people who shamelessly sell flattery to me.

nHowever– their offers seemed too good to be true.

nAnd I’d never trust anyone who said they were willing to help me only out of the goodness of their own hearts.

n“Thomas is my exclusive merchant, do you understand what the implications of your proposals are?”

nThomas made a flustered expression.

nHe really should try acting more dignified sometimes.

nElliot made another gesture to persuade me.

n“Of course I understand. Make no mistake, I have no wish to expel the Henfrey Company from their position, but I’d appreciate it if you used our Clave Company in addition to them.”

nPatrice did the same.

nThey both smiled while trying to sell me dreams of what the future could be like.

nIf I joined hands with them, they would do various things for my sake– it was just too convenient.

n“…and so? What are you aiming for, approaching me like this?”

nAt my query, Elliot and Patrice’s smiles didn’t seem fazed at all.

n“What are we aiming for? I’m a merchant too, my lord. Of course my aim here is the monetary profit that I predict you’ll bring me.”

n“The Newlands Company holds the momentum your quickly rising Banfield house has in high-regard, and doesn’t wish to miss out on this opportunity to build a connection with you.”

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nI quietly observed the grins plastered on their faces.

nThey gave off the same feeling as my ex-wife.

nI still haven’t forgotten the face of the woman who made a fool of me.

n“Wipe those damn smiles off your faces already.”

nWhen I said that, all expression seemed to vanish from Elliot’s face.

n“…I’ve heard rumours that you were a virtuous lord full of affection, but I guess there are some things you just can’t understand without meeting the person in question face-to-face.”

nPatrice was still smiling, but it seemed to have a different ‘depth’ to it.

nIt looked like one full of expectations, but also one of impatience.

n“Is this what your true nature is like? I can’t say I hate it though.”

n“I see… so? What do you want from me?”

nWhen the atmosphere behind the two changed, Thomas quickly went on to explain,

n“Lord Liam, both of them are seeking the strength of your Banfield house.”

n“That’s somewhat reasonable, but I don’t understand why such powerful merchants would need to rely on me.”

nMany merchants have expressed their desire to borrow the Banfield house’s power.

nHowever, they must have other nobles in their pockets they can rely on.

nThey wouldn’t be big merchants otherwise.

nFor the powerful imperial merchant group of the Clave Company, there should be no reason for them to reach out to my house at all.

nElliot covered his mouth with his hand.

n“I’ve only succeeded as the head of my group a few years ago, and I’ve been clashing with the other executives ever since.”

nConsidering the situation, it looks like the Clave Company was too close to noble politics.

n“There are a lot of people who seek to take advantage of my youth and manipulate me. To be honest, after investigating my father’s death, it turns out he was assassinated.”

nIt looks like the big trading companies had their own fair share of problems to deal with.

n“Why haven’t you reported this to the Empire?”

n“Because the Empire needs the Clave company, not myself as an individual. It was actually the government itself who hired the people that killed my father.”

nJust like the other executives, it looks like he was looking for an aristocrat to become his backer.

nI turned to Patrice, and when she explained her circumstances– she revealed her ambitions.

n“Unlike Elliot, who wants someone to defend himself, I want the Newlands Company for my own.”

nAlthough Elliot didn’t seem interested, she had piqued my interest.

n“Continue.”

n“The Newlands Company has many executives, including myself. Although we generally work together, things are different now that the ownership is changing. Everyone is wondering, ‘who will be the next head?’”

nPatrice took a pose that emphasised her chest, to try to appeal to me.

n“Lord Liam, will you lend me your power to help me become the Newlands Company’s next president? Of course, I’ll make sure to reward you appropriately.”

nThomas looked away from the two.

n“Lord Liam, with these two’s support, the Banfield house will be able to reach even greater heights, but they also come with various problems.”

n“Right…”

nThese powerful merchants sought me out because they want my strength for their internal struggles.

nNow isn’t that easy to understand?

nIn other words, they held the power of violence I could wield in high regard.

nI called out towards them,

n“…because you’ve piqued my interest, I’ve decided I’ll lend you my support.”

nThe expressions on Elliot and Patrice’s faces were serious.

n“You do understand what this means, right?”

nElliot warned me, but for these two to seek me out means that they’re considerably evil, no?

nThey should’ve already heard from Thomas of all the villainous things I’ve done so far.

n“Don’t worry about it, but let me say this– as long as you two make sure I profit from this, I’ll support you in turn. Don’t you think that a mutually beneficial relationship would be the best for all of us?”

nLoyalty? Gratitude? Honour?

nI don’t believe in such things.

nBut as long as they can profit from this situation, I know they won’t betray me.

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nSimple, isn’t it?

nPatrice placed a finger on her lips.

n“…you’re different from what I imagined, Lord Liam. Of course, in a good sense, but I thought you would’ve been a person who valued honour over profits.”

nHonour? What’s honour to an evil lord? Ahh, was she referring to the sense of honour that might appear in some television drama?

nI never valued such a thing before, and I don’t value it now.

n“Are you afraid that your profits may be thrown away in favour of morals? What great merchants you are, don’t you think so as well, Thomas?”

nWhen I turned the conversation to him, Thomas made a troubled expression.

n“W-what do you want me to say?”

n“…well, as long as they can bring me profits, I’ll support them. Now, isn’t that quite simple and easy for a contract?”

nElliot began to smile, but it wasn’t that fake smile of a good and serious youth he showed me at first.

n“I completely understand. Rather than the invisible ties of morals and honour, the material bindings of a contract are far more trustworthy.”

nPatrice’s cheeks flushed red in excitement.

n“I’ll bring you the contract immediately. Lord Liam… I’d like for you to sign the contract together with me, personally.”

nMuch better.

nRather than the polished expressions they first showed, I prefer them far more as they are now.

n◇ ◇ ◇

nAfter having signed their contracts with Liam, Elliot and Patrice were now alone in the elevator.

nIt’s walls were made of glass, making the beautiful night view of the imperial capital visible.

nElliot loosened his tie and called out to Patrice.

n“…he was easier of a person to talk to than I thought.”

nPatrice crossed her arms, refusing to show her back to him.

n“Don’t act so over familiarly with me. This doesn’t change the fact that we’re still enemies.”

n“Oh? I would’ve thought it’d be far more beneficial for us to cooperate with each other.”

n“…it’s meaningless to join hands with the head of a group that has no power.”

n“You’re telling me…”

nThere were various reasons why they approached Liam, but for Elliot, it was because many of his company’s executives had close ties with the Berkley family.

nAs long as you paid the Pirate Nobles, they’d support you, that’s just how society was.

nBut if the pirates gained any more power, they’d start interfering with business.

nElliot hated this idea and decided to support Liam, who was openly fighting with the Berkley family from the front.

nAt first he was worried when he heard about how serious he was, but that’s exactly why Liam’s true nature was so interesting.

n“But I thought you were in the same situation as me. Aren’t many of your company’s executives close to the Berkley family as well?”

n“There’s no point in following in their footsteps. If they’re going to bet on the Berkley family, then I’m going to put my chips on the Banfield house instead.”

nPatrice wanted to use Liam to gain power within her company.

nOriginally, she was going to skillfully manipulate him with her language skills, but she was completely caught off guard.

n“Still, things sure have taken an interesting turn. I’m glad that he’s not just another goody-two-shoes.”

nThe majority of aristocrats prioritised their personal profits, but Liam didn’t trust such one-sided relationships.

n“…we’ve gone too far now, the Count needs to win this war.”

nWhen Elliot said so, Patrice agreed.

n“He has to, because If he doesn’t, we’re screwed.”

n◇ ◇ ◇

nWhile Liam was in the middle of training, problems had clearly arose with his designation of supplies.

nThey mostly came from those his policies affected– the corrupt soldiers.

n“Damn it! That Banfield brat is getting full of himself!”

nIn addition to the nobles who had lazily wasted their time in the patrol fleets, the soldiers who had been living indulgent lives in the regular fleets until now were enraged.

n“Seriously, the amount of alcohol we’ve been receiving has decreased.”

n“What the hell does he mean by he can’t waste funds on premium liquor on us?! We’re nobles damn it!”

n“On top of that, he’s messed with our fleets! After giving some random reason, he reduced the number of vessels I was in charge of!”

nEverything that was wrong with their lives was the fault of the Banfield house’s Liam.

nTheir opinions were in sync.

nAnd the guide was silently watching over all of it.

nSitting down in a chair, he started applauding while swinging his legs.

n“It looks like he’s smoothly creating more enemies for himself. Now, let’s put these guys to work.”

nAfter snapping his fingers, black smoke began to emanate from the guide’s body.

nThe dark smog quickly filled up the room, but the nobles didn’t seem to care.

nThat’s when one of them spoke out,

n“I’ve heard rumours that the Berkley family is going to settle things with the Banfield house soon.”

nThe gathered soldiers suddenly became interested in that story.

n“Really?”

n“It looks like they’re recruiting soldiers, so how about this? –As an imperial nobleman, won’t you join me in helping the Berkley family restore the military to how it’s supposed to be? They said they’d provide us with a mountain of rewards.”

nThe military men broke out into grins.

nThe guide was preparing human resources to join the Berkley family’s army, further increasing Liam’s enemies.

n“This still isn’t enough. I need to make all the contingency plans possible to ensure Liam’s defeat.”

nHe needed to make sure he wasn’t negligent.

nOr else he’d never be able to kill Liam.

nStanding up, the guide fixed the position of his hat, and left the room.

nHowever, a faint light in the shape of a dog was watching everything from the room’s corner, and silently followed after him.

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