Chapter 143: A Choice Between Two (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 143: A Choice Between Two (1)
The power broker of the North.
Count Douglas had been in an exceptionally foul mood lately.
Slam!
"Have you still not found those rats?!"
"...My apologies, my lord. We have wiped out all the bandits operating in the vicinity, but we couldn't find any trace of the secret fund."
The trouble had started with the Barco family.
Douglas and Barco. As the respective power brokers of the North and the Northeast, they had established a friendly rapport after meeting at a noble's banquet. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. Count Douglas lacked connections in the Central Government but wielded absolute influence in the North, whereas Viscount Barco possessed the political ties the Douglas family lacked.
It was a relationship built on mutual cooperation. While they weren't close enough to sacrifice themselves for one another, they were willing to lend a hand when needed.
He had no idea back then. He never could have imagined that this very relationship would breed such a disaster.
"Count Douglas. Could you lend me some money?"
A single message.
On the eve of his war with Lawrence, Viscount Barco had leveraged his connections to scrape together as much coin as possible, supplementing his loans from the Golden Bank. It was a battle where defeat was simply not an option. Needing to prepare for any unforeseen variables, he pooled the funds borrowed from friendly forces like Count Douglas to make the bold move of hiring Homeros.
Count Douglas had been absolutely certain of Barco's victory.
He never imagined Barco would lose to a mere Lawrence. Hoping to solidify their alliance, he had overextended his own finances to lend out a massive sum. It was money he assumed he would get back shortly anyway. Once Barco tore Lawrence to shreds, they would rake in a fortune. There was no way Barco wouldn't repay the debt.
But then, Barco lost.
To make matters worse, he died while fleeing in the dead of night. The debtor had vanished from the face of the earth.
The Douglas family was thrown into an uproar.
Having overextended themselves to lend the money, their own financial situation grew tight. They had to recover the funds by any means necessary. The problem was the Golden Bank. The bank had already descended upon the Barco family and seized everything of value. Since the Golden Bank was asserting its primary claim, Count Douglas didn't have the courage to step forward and demand priority.
He kept silent.
But he hadn't given up on the money. Fortunately, Count Douglas knew of one way to get his gold back.
'The Barco family has a hidden secret fund. The Golden Bank doesn't know its exact location, but I picked up a clue about it during a drinking session with Viscount Barco. If I can just secure that fund, I can recover my loan and make a massive profit on top of it.'
He hired an information guild.
They investigated the clue Viscount Barco had dropped, and eventually, they located the secret fund. It was a substantial hoard of gold bars. They loaded the gold, which had been hidden in the Northeast, onto a carriage and attempted to transport it secretly to the North.
It was a perfect plan.
That is, if they hadn't run into bandits along the way, resulting in the complete disappearance of the gold.
Count Douglas growled.
"There is no way a band of bandits could dispose of that much gold without leaving a trace. Search the Northeast—no, search the entire Cairo Kingdom if you must—and find out where that gold went. That gold doesn't belong to Barco anymore. It is our rightful compensation, and I will not let anyone else steal it."
His eyes were bloodshot.
By now, he had managed to resolve his immediate financial issues. But whenever he recalled the brief period of financial distress he had suffered, his blood still boiled.
He had completely wiped out the bandits in the surrounding areas. Countless lives were lost, but Count Douglas had no intention of stopping until he saw those gold bars with his own eyes.
It was then that he received a message from the information guild, Black Moon.
"My lord! We have finally found the location of the gold bars!"
*
The leader of Black Moon, Donovan, came to see Count Douglas.
"At first, we believed the secret fund had fallen into the hands of the bandits. The soldiers transporting the fund were dead, and alongside them lay the corpses of notorious local bandits. However, no matter how closely we monitored the black market, there was no sign of anyone trying to sell the gold bars. Melting gold bars down into gold coins requires specialized skills, so we reasoned they would eventually have to use the black market to secure usable currency. We kept up our stakeout, and we finally found a lead."
"So, which bastards stole my gold?"
"The thieves were not bandits. It was the Northeast Association. They are the ones who stole the gold."
"What?!"
Thud.
He leaped to his feet.
The Northeast Association. What on earth did that mean?
"It is true that bandits initially ambushed the convoy transporting the secret fund. However, forces from the Northeast Association happened to witness the clash. After wiping out the bandits, they must have discovered the carriage loaded with gold. They likely faced a dilemma. Even though they knew full well it was your carriage, Count Douglas, they chose to bury the truth and take the gold for themselves. As proof, gold bars appeared on the black market a month ago. They matched the exact quantity and shape of Barco's secret fund, and the person who put them up for sale was a henchman serving Viscount Conrad of the Northeast Association."
"Those fucking bastards."
His anger exploded.
All this time, how much anxiety had the loss of that gold caused him? His resentment had piled up layer by layer, and now that his financial issues were resolved, only pure, unadulterated rage remained.
Watching Count Douglas fume, Donovan bowed his head to suppress a smirk.
'There isn't a single lie in the information I provided. The Northeast Association really did find the carriage loaded with gold, and they chose to steal it despite knowing it belonged to Count Douglas. If I hadn't revealed this, they might have gotten away with the perfect crime. But by turning my lord into an enemy, they have brought this crisis upon themselves.'
Black Moon.
An information guild highly renowned in the Northeast. The public did not know the change they had undergone behind the scenes. Black Moon had been absorbed into the Hao Sect led by Lucas, though they outwardly continued to act as a neutral faction.
Therefore, they had leaked this information under Roman's direct orders.
Unaware that he was being played like a puppet, Count Douglas spat out his fury, his face flushed crimson.
"Contact those bastards in the Northeast Association immediately! I will take this opportunity to tear those thieving sons of bitches limb from limb!"
It was just as expected.
True to his aggressive nature, Count Douglas chose to take immediate action.
*
A single communication.
Panic swept through the Northeast Association. Their mood was already grim due to the situation with Roman, but this new problem was far more severe.
"What on earth are we supposed to do?!"
"Count Douglas is the power broker of the North. If our relationship with him goes sour, there's no telling what he might do to us."
Count Douglas had given them a three-hour window.
Within that time, the members of the Northeast Association had to gather and explain themselves. Upon hearing the full story, the nobles of the Northeast Association turned pale.
"...We shouldn't have touched Count Douglas's property after all. Unlike gold coins, gold bars aren't easy to handle. If we were bound to get caught eventually, it might have been better to contact Count Douglas directly and propose a deal."
"Exactly. We all know what Count Douglas is like, don't we? He won't let this slide."
Count Douglas.
He was a man known as the Beast of the North. He was famous for charging headfirst once angered, completely disregarding any harm he might suffer in the process. Thus, regardless of how powerful his forces actually were, most people tried their best to avoid making an enemy out of him.
Viscount Conrad spoke up.
"What on earth are you all talking about? The Barco family's secret fund doesn't belong to Count Douglas. We also lent money to the Barco family, and we have every right to claim our share from that fund. Besides, wasn't Count Douglas the one who tried to secretly smuggle the fund out first? If his conscience were clear, would he have tried to sneak it away like a rat? We must not bow our heads first. The moment an apology escapes our lips, we are finished."
Just as he said, the Northeast Association had lent money to the Barco family.
Barco had borrowed money not only from Count Douglas but also from the families of the Northeast. Since they had aligned themselves with the Barco family in the first place, they had no choice but to empty their pockets for them.
Perhaps that was why their animosity toward Dmitry was so deep. Dmitry's actions had caused Barco's downfall, resulting in the loss of their massive investments.
Stealing the secret fund.
They had their own justification for it. They believed they were entitled to it, rather than just seizing money they had no right to.
"...Do you really think Count Douglas will buy that excuse?"
"Whether he buys it or not isn't the point. Can any of you actually spit back the money we made from those gold bars? We've already spent it all. The moment we admit fault to Count Douglas, we might have to cough up even more than the value of the gold we took. He is exactly the kind of man who would demand that. That's why we must speak with one voice from now on. We must relentlessly press the point that Count Douglas made the first move, and muddy the waters."
"That makes sense."
"Let's follow Viscount Conrad's lead. The damage is already done anyway, isn't it?"
They reached a consensus.
Though weak as individuals, they found courage under the single banner of the Northeast Association.
Just then, a knight entered the conference room and spoke.
"The Douglas family has requested a magic communication."
In that instant, Viscount Conrad and the other nobles of the Northeast Association unconsciously gulped.
*
It was just as they expected.
The moment the connection was established, Count Douglas made no effort to hide his emotions.
[What is the meaning of this?! Stealing my money! Explain yourselves this instant!]
His anger boiled over. His voice was like a roaring lion.
Facing Count Douglas's furious visage, Viscount Conrad spoke in the calmest voice he could muster.
"Please, calm down first. And 'your money'? I understand perfectly well why you are angry, Count Douglas, but the Barco family's secret fund does not belong to anyone. We, too, lent money to the Barco family, just as you did. If you had openly declared the existence of the secret fund and asserted a greater claim, we might have accepted a minor loss and settled for reasonable compensation. But wasn't it you, Count Douglas, who tried to smuggle the money out first?"
He pointed out Count Douglas's wrongdoing, attempting to divert the focus.
It was a logical argument. It fell within the bounds of common sense, but the problem was the resentment that had built up over time.
[These sons of bitches steal my money and dare talk back?! That is all my money! From the very moment I discovered Barco's secret fund, the rights to it belonged to the Douglas family!]
"Count, please calm down—"
[Shut up!]
He cut him off.
Was it three months ago? Count Douglas had hosted a party, inviting the nobles of the Northeast. At the time, though he hadn't explicitly called it a secret fund, he had mentioned his distress over losing a large sum of money during transport. Viscount Conrad and other members of the Northeast Association had been present. They had clearly known exactly what he was referring to, yet they had put on fake smiles and pretended to console him.
It was laughable.
Recalling how he had briefly taken their consolation at face value now fueled an immense wave of fury.
[At that party three months ago, you bastards smiled fake smiles and told me, 'Count Douglas, we don't know what happened, but we're sure everything will work out.' You think I'm a joke, don't you? Just because we laughed and chatted together, you thought I was some ordinary noble on your level, didn't you?]
There was no stopping him.
Viscount Conrad tried to speak, but Douglas blocked him out and poured out his rage.
The Beast of the North.
He was completely set off. If he didn't unleash his boiling rage, he felt as though he would suffocate.
[Listen to me carefully. As soon as my preparations are complete, I will contact the Central Government and declare a Territory War against you. Let's see if you pathetic Northeast trash can band together and stop me. Now that you no longer have the Barco family's protection, I will show you exactly how pathetic the Northeast Association truly is.]
Click—
The communication cut off.
Viscount Conrad tried to reconnect. But when his calls went unanswered, he turned to the nobles of the Northeast Association with a pale face.
"...I think we are in deep trouble."
At those words, the nobles felt their minds go completely blank.