Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Niesista Baron's Visit
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In noble society, having no proper roots was always regrettable in so many ways.
Even setting aside the nouveau riche label, nobles like us weren't treated as real nobles, so of course it felt unfair.
Just like right now.
"Haha... Uh... I didn't expect you to come all the way to our mansion..."
"What is this..."
Rozalin and I peeked our heads out together, watching one particular person. The situation was that absurd.
Common sense dictated that when a noble visits another noble, they should at least send a letter first and give some time to prepare. To show up without any of that?
The person who had suddenly arrived at the mansion and was occupying a table in the reception room was the lord of Niesista Territory.
To be precise, Ella Niesista's father.
The Niesista Baron.
...Why on earth had he come straight here without even a letter?
"...Mother, I'll go first. He's probably here about what happened at the last tea party."
"Are you sure you'll be okay? Even so..."
"It's probably about business. Nothing serious, so tell the servants to get back to work... and just bring Lize."
"...Alright. If anything comes up, call me right away."
With that, Rozalin left for now... and it was time for a one-on-one.
...I already wanted to bolt. Even if I had talked about business and such with him before, dealing with a baron was... not easy.
We were a viscount family, a step above barons, but still upstarts. In the end, we weren't treated properly.
"...I didn't expect you to come like this. It would've been nice if you'd sent word ahead."
"Sit down."
"........"
A blatant command.
Even if I looked young... it rubbed me the wrong way. The whole Niesista Territory idea had come from me in the first place.
Anyone would think... he was some duke, count, or marquis.
"Yes. So, what's this about? Coming without any notice."
I stayed calm anyway.
I kept a slight smile on my face. No need to sour my expression in a deal involving money.
In the end, this was something Niesista needed. For me, it was just an investment. No immediate gains, just handing over some money.
"Ah, is this about what I told the young lady of Niesista last time?"
"Where's the family head."
"You should call him Viscount. Of course, he's not at the mansion right now, so no issue."
"I'm not talking to a child."
"Hmm..."
He clearly didn't think the idea his daughter heard came from my head.
Well... it wouldn't make sense for an eight-year-old to bring it up first. I got that. But his attitude still grated.
Separate from thinking William was a jerk, I still had my Leonhardt identity.
"When Father's not here, you can discuss business with me. He's stepped down, after all."
"Hah."
"Why? Aren't the fields in your vast Niesista farms not enough anymore?"
"........."
"And I really don't get why you're acting like this, Baron. Even if Leonhardt is an upstart family without roots or real authority... you still have to observe basic decorum."
"You damn foxes..."
"Those fox cubs can solve your territory's problems. The ducal families in the North are buying more and more of Niesista's wheat every year. Some eastern coastal territories are starting to buy more crops from Niesista too... Aren't your territory's people starving these days?"
I was pissed.
To be exact, not because he insulted Leonhardt, but his attitude toward me was seriously off-putting.
With his people starving and wailing, why was he being such an asshole?
"So, the key point is we're offering to buy land in your territory that's not yours personally. Why act like you've forgotten that?"
"........."
"And I was the one who passed this deal to you, and the one who came up with it. Everything except the final decision is on me. Honestly, we Leonhardts don't even need to do business with your family."
No immediate profit. Building ties with a baron? Practically giving it away for free. Better to deal with other families.
I said it straight. His eyebrows furrowed inward with every word, but I ignored it.
He started it, after all. No one told him to provoke me.
"Ready to have a proper conversation now?"
"...Fine."
"Haha..."
I hated how he held his head high like some big shot baron. But now it felt okay.
Of course, I didn't say that out loud.
No matter how much he annoyed me or pissed me off, he was still a baron. One with ties to dukes and marquises, even if not super close.
Still, more established than us fox cubs, acknowledged and all.
Anyway... the business talk began.
I had Lize bring a map of the Niesista family lands. I roughly colored in the farmland. With crayons, of course.
It looked a bit cheap, but no choice—those were the only coloring tools in my room. I couldn't use brushes anyway...
Anyway!
"I've calculated that to meet current demand... we need to convert land up to here into farmland. Factoring in the current wheat and barley planting by size."
"Isn't this commercial area? Owned by the Adventurer's Guild, no less."
"No problem. The guild's been wanting to move buildings toward the square's center for a while. Just pay them to relocate this time."
I buy the land, the Adventurer's Guild sells it and buys new land. But who's the owner of that square?
"...Hmm."
"No loss for Niesista. Plus, we're paying to convert it to farmland, right?"
"Yeah. True."
"I can't see why you'd pass this up, Baron. The terms are great."
"......."
He didn't argue. He knew it too.
Of course, it wasn't a huge expense for us. Just some Adventurer's Guild land in a baron's territory. Pocket change for upstarts like us.
We had more money than you'd expect for nouveau riche, though?
"So, what's in it for the foxes... no, Leonhardt?"
"Obviously, collaboration with Niesista. And a good image with the families you deal with."
Just do some good deeds so they think, Huh, these guys are better than expected?
Change from fox cubs to foxes. That's all I wanted.
William didn't badmouth this project either. It was what he wanted too.
If he knew more about the Niesista Barony, he'd have started this business talk like me.
Just a difference in information. I knew about Niesista's farmland shortage, rising demand, and list of associated families ahead of time.
Hmm... Should get Lize something tasty next time. She played a big role in getting me this info.
"Next time. I'll visit again. I'll send a letter first."
"Yes. It was a good meeting. Niesista Baron."
"Yeah. Leonhardt Lady. You were... different from what I thought. I'll come again."
We wrapped up. Not completely done, just first negotiations concluded. More talks next time.
The Niesista Baron left the reception room, our mansion.
I watched him depart from the reception room window. Satisfaction that it went well, plus amusement at the cranky old man turning meek...
"Pfft..."
Seeing someone who underestimated me at first tuck tail and go passive was just...
"So fun..."
The thrill of business? Negotiation?
I felt a tiny bit of that excitement. My mouth curved up without me noticing.
"Camellia. Did the talk go well?"
"Yes. Really well."
"That's a relief... Must've been a shock with him showing up out of nowhere. You handled it great."
"Not that hard..."
Rozalin stroked my head, praising me.
I didn't hate it, so I let her. Joy from the success lingered, but... this felt even better.
Because it was Rozalin's hand...?
"Still, I want to praise you. I was really worried, actually. When you said you'd handle it alone... I felt guilty for feeling relieved."
"No. You've done business talks like this a few times, right?"
Separate from her being from a count family. This was business talk. She wouldn't have found it easy.
I didn't have bad thoughts about Rozalin anyway. Just, oh, okay.
"And you called Lize, calmed the servants. I'm grateful."
"You're so mature."
"Mature........"
It was natural, but Rozalin's praise made me feel good anyway.
Just patting my head and calling me mature and admirable.
"You seem like such a good kid, Camellia. Mature... admirable... handling talks like this alone."
"I can't do a lot of things."
"True. So... sometimes rely on adults, okay? It's not been long since we met. But in situations like today, I... might not do well, but."
"........"
"I can really try for you, Camellia. Okay?"
"Uh... yes. Got it. I'll try."
Probably because I insisted on handling the Niesista Baron alone.
I thought it through, but Rozalin might've felt a bit sorry for me.
Of course, I didn't feel sorry for her. If anything, her feeling sorry and telling me to rely on her sounded nice... lingered in my head.
Hearing her slightly downcast voice while she stroked my head... maybe felt special since it was new.