I Inherited a Beautiful Wife and a Territory - Chapter 96

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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 096

96. The Hero of Platys

The banquet hall of the Platice Family.

Cliff met with the nobles of the Count’s house. It was different from the dining occasion led by the Count when he first visited the Platys family.

First of all, there were more attendees than before. Almost all the key figures of the Count’s house had gathered.

‘And…’

Cliff wore a troubled expression.

Initially, he had naturally expected a heavy atmosphere. But that expectation was off the mark.

This was a matchmaking gathering.

“Ahem. This is my second daughter…”

“My daughter is…”

He hadn’t expected it to be to this extent.

This was their first meeting. He naturally thought it would be a space for probing or checking him out.

But it wasn’t heading in that direction at all.

‘This is just a place for introducing their daughters.’

This was all a flow created by Belgimov. The words he had spoken to them at the end using Keren’s body.

Because of those words, rather than focusing on Cliff, the nobles ended up paying more attention to which girl he would choose.

And they were eager to be chosen by him.

It was a perplexing situation for Cliff.

‘I never thought this would become a place for introducing women…’

At least it had become a favorable occasion for him. However, this was in order to marry off their daughters to him.

The moment he refused, they might turn into enemies.

‘Thinking about it, maybe it was a good thing to leave it to Priscilla…?’

Simply put, he needed to buy time. Here, he too had to be sparing with his words.

He still needed the cooperation of the Count’s house nobles present here.

Cliff stood up. Everyone was paying attention to him anyway.

Cliff opened his mouth.

“I have received the conditions you gentlemen proposed through Sir Keren.”

Everyone’s interest would surely be focused on this part anyway.

That’s why they would have brought their daughters here.

“As the adopted son of the previous lord, I wish for the prosperity of the Platice Family and the continuation of its bloodline, so I will gladly accept your gentlemen’s conditions.”

Everyone would already know up to this point.

“However, choosing that person will be left to my beloved wife.”

Everyone showed puzzled expressions at Cliff’s words.

The Platice Family was similar to the Elimis Family. The male’s authority was high between spouses.

There was little room for a wife to intervene in taking a concubine. Beyond that, there were few things a wife would do in the first place.

‘But the Baron is leaving the task of choosing a concubine to his wife?’

It was an unfamiliar method.

But one thing was clearly conveyed.

There was no point in trying to seduce Cliff here. They really needed to make a good impression on his wife, not him.

And the nobles with seasoned political sense nodded at Cliff’s such decision.

‘…Excellent. After all, from the Baron’s position, the Platice Domain is not yet his own foundation.’

Having the choice lie with Baroness Elimis, Priscilla, was an excuse. Cliff was clearly saying he would choose nobles who lobbied well to the Elimis Family through the name Priscilla!

Priscilla was just a pretext. At least that’s how it was in their thoughts and judgment.

‘Hmm.’

‘Then indeed, how much should we offer for him to…’

At least they had figured out where the communication channel was. Priscilla. More precisely, the Elimis Family where she was.

They needed to send their daughters and gifts toward that place.

“What you’ll be most curious about would be such matters. And…”

Cliff naturally wanted a quick inauguration. Even now, he wanted to immediately complete the Quest that was flickering before his eyes.

‘But that won’t work, right?’

However, he didn’t bring up such words.

More precisely, he couldn’t.

He had also discussed with Belgimov. Proceeding with the inauguration ceremony right now would be reckless.

“We cannot continue to leave the lord’s position of Platys vacant, but we don’t know whether the domain residents of the Count’s territory can accept the death of the great lord yet.”

More precisely, the death of so many troops was more problematic than the Count’s death.

Hundreds had died.

The death of hundreds of trained soldiers at once was significant. First of all, each soldier was the head of a household and a pillar of village defense.

Such people had suffered damage close to annihilation.

So when rumors spread, anxiety would be amplified.

“Therefore, we each need to prepare to mitigate that shock.”

The way to reduce that shock.

It was difficult for Cliff to say it with his own mouth, but it wasn’t that difficult either.

“This is precisely the appearance of a new hero.”

Are heroes born, or are they made?

Cliff clearly thought it was the latter. Heroes aren’t as great as people think.

Or there were more true heroes than people thought.

But what makes a hero is precisely the art of packaging.

Cliff was thinking of packaging himself from now on.

“Throughout the Count’s territory, news of a new hero must reach each of your manors.”

The task of intentionally creating a hero.

That wasn’t something others would do.

“From now on, I will become the ‘Hero of Platys’. And making me a hero will be accomplished by the hands of you gentlemen present here, not by me.”

After mentioning this much, Cliff added.

“And I will bless the nobles and their families who help with this task, and I will never forget them and will remember them.”

He needed to present a reward.

The nobles’ eyes changed.

Seeing the strange light crossing their faces, Cliff smiled.

‘If I’ve said this much, they’ll handle it themselves.’

They would surely send various gift offensives to the Elimis Family, and above all, each would certainly be eager to praise him.

And Cliff was thinking of doing this actively.

The start of that would be calling bards.

Ospal.

Among the merchants here, there were some who knew the war results. But even they didn’t all speak of it.

It was because of a request from the Elimis Merchant Guild.

-Please remain silent.

What they should remain silent about wasn’t conveyed. But merchants who had already heard war news could all guess.

‘They’re talking about the defeat in the preliminary battle.’

The defeat in the preliminary battle.

And the death of Count Platice and the annihilation of his forces.

The entire kingdom hadn’t been defeated yet. Rather, in the war that followed after Count Platice’s defeat, their side was gaining the upper hand.

In any case, the merchants didn’t bother to create unnecessary trouble. They remained silent for a while and observed how the atmosphere of the Count’s territory would flow.

Above all, they wanted the products made by the Elimis Merchant Guild.

So they didn’t take actions that would unnecessarily provoke the Elimis Merchant Guild. Then the Elimis Merchant Guild called the Ospal merchants again.

“I’ll tell you one piece of information.”

“…?”

“The Elimis Baron’s domain has two rivers that can reach not only the southern Yusta Peninsula but also the Rajahara Sea.”

“…!”

The fact that there was a path to reach the Rajahara Sea.

At that mention, the merchants’ expressions changed.

Of course, a river simply connected to the sea wasn’t a major advantage in itself. But if the Elimis Merchant Guild was mentioning this at this point, they had no choice but to be suspicious.

They had…

“Furthermore, we have already completed our voyage on the sea.”

Meaning they possessed the naval power and technology to navigate sea routes.

Jaide gathered the merchants and informed them of this. As the merchants showed surprise, Jaide continued speaking.

“Before this year ends, many trade goods from the Rajahara Sea—expensive spices, silk, and more—will arrive at the main house.”

“Really… are you saying you can navigate the Rajahara Sea?”

“The Rajahara Sea has pirates along its coasts, and if you venture far out, not only is it difficult to know the routes, but the Tyrant of Rajahaar and mermaids appear to cause trouble.”

Just because they bordered the Rajahara Sea didn’t mean they could boldly venture out to sea.

Because they didn’t know what threats they might encounter.

They needed to know the sea routes well and also have the power to overcome threats.

‘It’s true that the Elimis Family is growing rapidly, but… do they already have that level of power?’

To the bewildered merchants, Jaide spoke firmly with a smile.

“We have the military strength to not lose to any pirate that dares challenge us.”

In truth, Jaide didn’t know the exact details either.

But even without knowing, he had to say it. Jaide continued.

“Also, we have secured Tiramil—that is, pirate wheat.”

As he spoke, Jaide felt admiration for Cliff.

Tiramil.

A type of wheat that was less palatable than regular wheat, serving as the staple food of the Tira Kingdom.

Simply put, securing this wheat meant that the Elimis Family had traveled to the Tira Kingdom—that country said to be overflowing with pirates.

“Huh.”

“Are you saying you’ve been all the way to the Tira Kingdom?”

This alone forced them to acknowledge that the Elimis Family possessed naval power.

In reality, the Elimis Family did have naval forces. They already owned at least six ships.

The Elimis Domain had already been producing various skillfully crafted specialty goods.

Now it seemed that would expand even further.

‘It wouldn’t be unreasonable for the Elimis Merchant Guild to rake in money from now on.’

And something that would add wings to this endeavor was mentioned through Jaide’s words.

“Also, Baron Elimis… it has been decided that he will inherit his adoptive father’s title and domain.”

“…!”

The merchants here were based in Ospal.

So they had no choice but to understand.

That Cliff had become the lord of the land they governed. If that lord had little to offer them, it might be different, but if he could produce even more goods than before…

“Ahem.”

“What should we do?”

“The master of Elimis said he would definitely remember those who help with this acquisition.”

Simply put, it was a request for bribes.

Every merchant put their minds to work. They never considered not giving anything from the start.

They only thought about how much they should give.

This too was business.

‘How much profit will this bring us?’

‘To the extent that we won’t suffer losses…’

Each merchant formulated their own strategy.

All the merchants here were people who made money through Cliff—those who had grown through the goods of the Elimis Merchant Guild.

As such, being stingy about Cliff’s appointment was impossible.

“We will gladly offer our loyalty to Baron… no, Count.”

This level of lip service was certainly possible.

And they could show the degree of their sincerity.

“Thank you.”

They gathered funds in this manner.

And through their connections, they also gathered bards.

The bards sang of that prosperity in Ospal.

Ospal, Platys, and… Cliff.

‘Good.’

The songs spread everywhere.

The Elimis Merchant Guild traveled everywhere promoting Cliff. It was primarily promotion through Ospal.

And then they also promoted the growth of the Elimis Domain.

Other merchants in Ospal also went around praising Cliff.

“Isn’t he the great man who saved the Elimis Domain that was falling to ruin?”

“He’s an influential noble of the south who has won every battle so far and earned the respect of the Renheim and Berkheim families.”

“Ospal, which was just a fishing village, has now become a massive trading city surpassing Serpal. This was all primarily due to the cooperation of Baron Elimis and his merchant guild.”

Besides that, there were stories of Cliff exterminating goblins.

Stories of how he created numerous specialty products of Elimis, bringing specialty goods to the Yusta Peninsula that attracted various merchants, and so on.

This amplification wasn’t done only by merchants.

“What? There are songs praising Baron Elimis?”

“Ahem. Call that bard to sing at our manor as well.”

All the nobles of the Platys Domain sought out bards.

Bards from all over the Yusta Peninsula gathered in the Count’s territory. And they created lyrics praising Cliff and sang them throughout the Count’s territory.

Merchants and nobles of Ospal supported this.

‘Such a person is our lord’s adopted son?’

‘Not just any adopted son—how wonderful would it be if he became our young lord?’

‘How happy would life be serving such a lord?’

Things gradually ripened.

Meanwhile, Cliff encountered an unexpected guest.

“…Baron. Please help me.”

It was none other than Rusten Serphal, the nephew of the deceased Serpal Baron.

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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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