I Inherited a Beautiful Wife and a Territory - Chapter 69

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Inheriting a Beautiful Wife and Estate Episode 069

69. Greed

Jaide, who had delivered two carriages worth of goods to Berkheim Baron under Cliff’s orders.

But he couldn’t have imagined this.

At the time, he simply thought it was diplomacy with the Berkheim Family…

‘I never thought you’d conduct business this way!’

Seeing his surprised expression, Cliff smiled.

“This is the way of nobles.”

“I… see. Certainly, this kind of thinking is impossible unless you’re a noble. Then… did you believe from the moment you gave me that order that you could extract such payment?”

“No.”

Cliff shrugged his shoulders.

“Of course I thought I’d get it back eventually. But don’t you think this much right away is a bit excessive?”

Hearing Cliff’s words, Jaide nodded.

Excessive.

This expression Cliff used was exactly right.

‘No matter how I think about it, this is…’

Too much.

He couldn’t understand why the Berkheim Family would reciprocate to this extent.

Yes, unless there was someone inside embellishing words favorably for Cliff, and that person had even offered up all their possessions.

‘So here, no matter how much the other party is Jaide… I should answer no.’

Cliff smiled bitterly.

Here, it shouldn’t be.

Belgur.

The one who had effectively controlled Berkheim Domain.

Such a person had transferred all their accumulated wealth to the Elimis Family. This didn’t make sense. Going that far to make Berkheim Baron gradually hand over his possessions to the Elimis Family.

Among all this, there was something absurd.

‘Free passage rights for the Elimis Merchant Guild.’

It wasn’t just exemption from tolls.

The Elimis Merchant Guild could now freely enter Berkheim Domain. And what did this mean?

‘Under the pretext of escorting the Elimis Merchant Guild, even our army can enter Berkheim Domain without inspection.’

Absurd rights had been transferred to them.

To this extent, it was fair to say the Berkheim Family was half-subordinated to the Elimis Family.

Such conditions were usually only applied to knights who received manor fiefs from lords. Even the king’s army couldn’t pass through a domain without the lord’s permission.

‘Of course, if you refuse passage to the king’s army, your position becomes quite difficult.’

For example, being accused of treason.

So there was no possibility of a lord refusing entry to the royal army. But it meant any king’s army must first obtain the lord’s permission.

“How on earth did you manage such an absurd contract…”

“Belgur probably sweet-talked him appropriately. Saying that for us to freely enter his domain like this… we could quickly support him in emergencies.”

“You mean he really handed over such authority just from hearing those words?”

“He probably doesn’t think much?”

The Berkheim Baron he had met was that kind of person.

Simple.

To put it nicely, and stupid.

And gullible.

‘The type who’d fall for it quickly if you spoke well enough.’

This was all the harm of the class system.

Since he became a lord through status rather than ability, such people emerged.

Setting that aside, the benefits gained from this were enormous. And that wasn’t all.

Cliff handed something to Jaide.

“Here.”

“This is… why are you suddenly giving me a bundle of papers?”

Jaide tilted his head.

The reason he was showing this to Jaide.

Seeing his grinning face, Jaide’s expression soon began to change.

“Su-surely not…?”

“Exactly that ‘surely not.'”

“Gasp!”

Jaide dropped the papers he was holding in surprise.

The precious papers fluttered down to the floor. But the papers no longer seemed merely precious.

“Is, is this real?”

“Would it be a lie?”

“How can this be…”

Jaide’s changing expression.

He hurriedly got down on the floor and picked up the fallen papers.

Jaide’s face was colored with emotion as he touched the papers.

“This is… isn’t this superior quality too?”

At his shouted words, Cliff just shrugged his shoulders.

Jaide’s eyes had already turned to calculations.

“Paper of this quality… we could get two and a half silver coins per sheet, no… four silver coins!”

Paper was certainly ridiculously expensive.

The price per sheet didn’t skyrocket as absurdly as porcelain. Naturally, since paper was a consumable item.

‘But if we can get silver coins per sheet…’

It would be sufficient to become a valuable source of income for the estate.

Moreover, while Jaide called this superior quality, it wasn’t at all. Cliff said.

“What if there’s paper of even better quality?”

“Gasp! Then we might even aim for royal deliveries!”

Paper delivered to the royal family.

Thinking about it, such words were ultimately most important to nobles.

‘If it’s paper used by the royal family, the price… goes up to gold coin units.’

Paper delivery at truly absurd prices became possible.

“Then we need to sell to Central?”

“It seems so…”

“Hmm. Through where would it be best to deliver this paper?”

Cliff fell into happy contemplation with raised corners of his mouth.

Paper to be taken to Central.

He had two delivery destinations. One was Tom’s Shop, for which he had created connections with the Duke’s Mansion.

And the other was the Platice Family, whom he had similarly advised.

‘Giving paper to the Platice Family here wouldn’t be bad either…’

For now, the economic benefit was selling through merchants.

That way he could handle a lot of money. No, not just handle but possibly rake it in.

And the House of Count Platice.

‘Considering political benefits, it would be this gentleman?’

Conversely, if he sold paper without going through him, he might feel slighted later.

It would be troublesome if resentment arose.

But the problem was it was difficult to receive big money from him.

“Then what should we do.”

Still, it seemed the House of Count Platice had no more help they could offer him.

They had given and received enough.

Then handling money would be right.

“There’s a problem.”

Jaide, who had been listening to Cliff’s words, spoke with a dark expression.

Cliff tilted his head.

“…Incidents like this one might occur again. Though the chances of us being targeted are low now that we even have Dark Elves under our command, we need to recruit reliable guards for the trading guild.”

The trading guild needed better guards.

In the past, four Beast Warriors had been sufficient, but they alone were no longer enough.

Cliff nodded at Jaide’s observation.

“Don’t worry about that. I just happened to think of a good mercenary company for guards.”

Cliff smiled as he spoke.

“If we need trading guild guards, there’s no one better than them.”

“Amazing! All of this was sent from the Berkheim Family?”

Priscilla, draped in luxurious fur over her shoulders.

She asked while stroking the fur.

Cliff nodded with a smile.

“Yes.”

“Really… Ever since marrying Cliff, it’s been one amazing thing after another. If you hadn’t become the master of me and my family, I would never have experienced changes like this.”

She seemed to love the fur.

She beamed at the soft texture of the fur. Seeing her like that made his shoulders rise with pride as her husband.

With his spirits soaring, he wrapped his arm around her waist.

Step by step.

An intimate moment for the couple, even without the twins around.

He asked Priscilla.

“So how is the manor design coming along?”

He had completely entrusted the Lord’s Castle design to her.

The Lord’s Castle was one of the most important parts of the city construction plan.

She said.

“Oh, about that. At first everyone was being cautious, but once the floodgates opened, they all started expressing their wishes, you know?”

The house they wanted to live in.

Things they wanted to have in the house.

“Sophia said she’d like to have a banquet hall. She visited the Platys Family in the past, and they had a hall where banquets could be held.”

“Oh?”

Come to think of it, he had been there too.

‘There definitely was such a place.’

Cliff smiled.

A banquet hall in his own estate too.

It certainly seemed like a good idea. Cliff nodded and said.

“Right. Considering how much our estate will grow in the future, we should have a hall like that.”

It might be extravagant, but Cliff was planning to pour a tremendous amount of money into this Lord’s Castle construction.

He was preparing for it extensively as well.

‘It’s going to cost an enormous amount of money.’

That was fine. It wasn’t construction that would be finished overnight anyway.

‘It will create jobs too, which will stimulate the economy.’

Though things were like this now, many workers would come to the estate later.

Cliff planned to settle them in the estate.

Right now he had plenty of money but few people.

“Sir Vivian insists there must be a training ground in the castle. And since she’ll be sweating in the training ground, she said it would be nice to have a place to wash nearby.”

A training ground and shower room.

Since she was a woman, she would need a separate space as well.

“Leticia said she’d like to have a garden or secret garden. She wants to live with a spacious garden and a secretive back garden that only some can use.”

The garden refers to a garden placed unilaterally in front of the main building.

It would be that spacious and open to everyone.

The secret garden is a garden prepared behind the main building.

‘A secret garden used only by family members?’

A secret forest not permitted to just anyone.

Cliff smiled.

“Then what about you?”

“I am…”

Priscilla stopped mid-sentence.

Her expression changed as if she were imagining something.

“I didn’t particularly think there was anything I wanted to have.”

What she said next was completely different from what Cliff had expected.

She continued.

“I just imagine things whenever I hear about them. What would it be like to dance with Cliff in the banquet hall when it’s built, our children will probably find their partners there when they grow up…”

The banquet hall that Sophia had mentioned.

“Then I can imagine dear Paul sweating in the training ground. So I’d like a balcony where I can see the training ground. I’ll watch Paul training from there while talking with Temi.”

And the garden too.

The children would run around there, and they’d hang a swing from a tree in the secret garden.

Imagining tea time in the secret garden spent only with family made her happy.

Cliff smiled wryly.

‘She has no greed.’

Priscilla had no greed.

So she couldn’t think of things she didn’t have on her own.

But that wasn’t unhappy either. She had learned to live happily, satisfied with what she had.

“Right. If that’s what makes you happy.”

Cliff smiled and stroked her head.

Unlike her, he was overflowing with greed.

He kissed her. Though she seemed surprised at first, she soon responded to him.

He was greedy.

And the anticipated event occurred.

An event to satisfy his greed.

-A Quest has been generated.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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