Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Turning the Tables
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“Welcome back, Master.”
The ghost butler was standing behind the door when he returned home from his outing.
“You’ve become clearer.”
Now that he had found his peace of mind, the ghost butler’s form had become much more distinct than before.
It meant his power was growing.
“I have prepared some lemon tea.”
At least within the house, he could exert physical force just like a human.
Wang-sik, in Vega’s form, sipped his tea and awaited the visitor who would soon arrive.
Before long, a man in his late forties with a bushy beard arrived.
It was Captain Taylor, the man who had been leasing the maritime trade rights.
He came to see Wang-sik still in his salt-stained clothes and, having likely heard the rumors, bowed his head respectfully.
Still, he couldn’t help but glance around warily.
He didn’t fully believe the story he had heard from Gayle yesterday.
But the atmosphere around Vega, who drank his tea without even glancing his way, was undeniably different.
Just three months ago, a drunken Vega had told him to just leave the money and get lost. Now, the man exuded an aura so overwhelming that Taylor didn't dare speak carelessly.
“The contract is until the end of this month. Fifteen days left.”
Gold bars, equivalent to three thousand gold coins, were already sitting on the table.
They had an agreement to lease the maritime trade rights until the three thousand gold coins were repaid.
The rights were granted in the emperor’s name and couldn’t be sold, which was why they hadn't been transferred completely.
“M-My Lord Count. If you reclaim the trade rights so suddenly, what am I to do? My livelihood is at stake…”
Captain Taylor had assumed Vega would never be able to repay the three thousand gold coins. Believing this, he had expanded his business by increasing his fleet, and now this thunderbolt had struck.
“And why should I have to consider your circumstances?”
“P-Please, have mercy! The livelihoods of five hundred men depend on me.”
“Then I will be the one to take responsibility for those livelihoods.”
At the firm reply that left no room for negotiation, Taylor found himself kneeling.
“P-Please, have mercy! I beg you!”
It wasn’t a matter of life and death.
He would be getting his 3,000 gold coins back, after all.
Besides, his family had been in the major fishing business for generations and had accumulated more wealth than most trading companies.
The very fact that he could lend 3,000 gold coins in the first place proved it.
And yet, such is human greed; it sets its standard not by the five it had in the past, but by the ten it holds in the present.
“This hardly seems like a matter of life and death.”
“I beg you. From now on, I will calculate the profit shares precisely and offer them to you as tribute.”
“Tribute?”
“No! I will distribute them precisely!”
Wang-sik’s expression softened slightly. That alone changed the air in the room.
“How many ships are you currently operating?”
“Three large trade ships and five medium-sized merchant ships. There are also five more that we use as fishing vessels.”
In terms of scale, he was among the top in the coastal city of Alat. But that wasn’t all.
“We are currently constructing one more trade ship and two merchant ships. They will be operational in two months.”
This put him in second place among the five families that held trade rights.
‘It’s because he ran his own business.’
Unlike the noble families who only managed their affairs, Taylor invested his own money, and his profit margins were correspondingly high.
“I staked my family’s survival on this business. Please, I implore you to let me continue.”
As he said, he had taken on debt to make investments in order to lend the 3,000 gold coins in the first place.
He never intended to get the money back.
‘I thought I had bought the trade rights.’
He thought he had bought them for a cheap price, but now that the debt was suddenly being repaid, his head was spinning.
“Shall I give you a chance?”
“Please, say the word!”
“Make it number one within three months. Not in scale, but in profit margin.”
“What? But that’s…”
Currently, Taylor Maritime’s share of the Seven Islands trade was just under thirty percent.
In contrast, the number one holder, the House of Count Delo, exceeded forty percent. This was because they monopolized the Seven Islands’ key trade goods: medicinal herbs and spices.
“From now on, Taylor Maritime will be renamed Lennox-Taylor Maritime.”
“What?”
Using a noble family’s name was not a bad thing for a trading company.
Furthermore, if his own name, Taylor, was included, it was something to be grateful for.
But that was only when the family name carried weight.
Right now, the name Lennox brought no benefits, only liabilities. But Wang-sik, ignoring Taylor’s calculations, offered another pouch.
“Ten thousand gold coins.”
“Why this, all of a sudden…”
“I’m saying I will formally invest in you.”
It was a surprising offer, but not what Taylor wanted right now.
“The profit split is eighty-twenty.”
Hearing this, Taylor’s expression hardened.
‘I should just give up.’
This was a clear sign that he intended to swallow Taylor Maritime whole.
‘They used to say he was mad, but now he’s become a devil.’
He felt it was a waste to even be on his knees. Just as he was about to give up and stand, Wang-sik spoke.
“Bring me twenty percent of the profits every three months.”
“What? So when you said eighty-twenty, you meant… I get the eighty?”
“Why? Are you reluctant to part with even that?”
“N-No, not at all!”
The man, who had been about to stand, put his weight back on his knees and settled down.
‘He doesn’t seem mad, then?’
But one problem remained.
Whether the Lennox family name was worth that much.
‘I can barely understand it with the ten-thousand-gold investment, but right now, there’s nowhere to invest that money…’
He had already secured enough ships and had no reason to operate any more.
His current fleet was more than enough to handle the trade volume.
The additional ships under construction were for covering repair downtimes and ensuring crew safety, a necessity of maritime operations, not strictly for business expansion.
But Wang-sik placed another item on the table.
It was a box wrapped in luxurious velvet.
Taylor understood the gesture and, still on his knees, moved forward to open the box.
Inside was a magnificent ruby necklace.
It was an item that even a man would find beautiful, and inside the box, the word ‘Amaranth’ was written in an elegant script.
It was the brand that had appeared a year ago and become the most favored among noblewomen.
“This is…”
“This is what you will sell in the Seven Islands.”
Wang-sik revealed the true purpose of this negotiation to the astonished Taylor.
“You can’t become number one by relying on imports. From now on, you will focus on exporting luxury goods. You’ll establish a company in the Seven Islands and sell them there directly.”
The calculations began to form in Taylor’s mind.
Due to its political nature, the Seven Islands didn’t have many nobles. But that didn’t mean there was a shortage of wealthy people.
However, due to political checks and its island nature, its culture was underdeveloped. If he brought the continent’s finest luxury goods, there would be no shortage of buyers.
They held both hatred and fascination for the continent’s nobility.
“How much volume can we secure?”
“As much as you want.”
“If that’s really possible, I’ll do it.”
But Wang-sik, looking unsatisfied, asked again.
“Is that all?”
“What?”
“Are you planning to just sell luxury goods and be done with it?”
“Ah!”
Taylor’s mind raced.
Luxury goods are bought by the wealthy.
That meant he could build relationships with influential figures in the Seven Islands.
“I’ll build connections and secure key imports as well.”
“And?”
“I’ll grow the trading company in the Seven Islands and establish a monopoly.”
Only then did Wang-sik nod in satisfaction.
“Go to the Amaranth jewelry workshop. They’ll hear you out.”
“Thank you.”
Unlike when he arrived, Taylor’s face was now filled with hope. He bowed several times before taking the jewelry box and the pouch of gold coins.
The gold coins must have been quite heavy, but he lifted them in one go, showing his strength.
“I’ll be on my way, then.”
When Wang-sik gave a nod of permission, Taylor hurried away.
“Is there a reason you changed your mind?”
Originally, he had planned to give up on maritime trade.
His goal was to relinquish the lease and take the money, but Oh Min-jae had contacted him urgently.
“Hyung, I think it’s better to maintain the trade rights. I found something while investigating Bellard…”
Min-jae explained the situation in detail, and after discussing it, the two of them changed their plan.
“That fellow Taylor turned out to be surprisingly useful. It’d be a waste to just throw him away.”
He didn’t say everything, but the butler understood enough.
Competing in trade against four noble families as a commoner was no easy feat.
To confirm this, Wang-sik had even gone to the Thieves’ Guild to learn more about Taylor.
‘He’ll serve as great bait.’
Oh Min-jae had agreed with Wang-sik’s plan and promised the cooperation of the Amaranth jewelry workshop.
Amaranth was a jewelry workshop established by the Mirje Trading Company through their gate-related trade.
“We can use this opportunity to expand into the Seven Islands, too.”
The Seven Islands was a place even the Mirje Trading Company had failed to enter, making it highly valuable from a business perspective.
“Now that Taylor is handling that, is it time to go pray?”
“May I accompany you?”
“You can’t leave the house.”
Instead of answering, the butler handed him a handkerchief.
Looking closer, it wasn’t a handkerchief but a pocket square, meant for the breast pocket of a suit.
Even now as a ghost, a pocket square was tucked into his jacket.
“This has been in my family since my grandfather’s time. I can move around by using this.”
It seemed that because the item symbolized the butler, he could enter it.
“Feeling like you want to take a trip?”
“Won’t you be in need of my assistance?”
Wang-sik saw no reason to refuse, so he changed his clothes and tucked the butler’s pocket square into his breast pocket.
“It suits you well.”
The slim-fitting black suit clung to his body, and a small, silver carriage symbolizing the Lennox family was embroidered on the sleeve.
It was once a symbol of the greatest wealth in the eastern part of the continent, but now, few even remembered it.
“Let’s go.”
The ghost butler’s body was sucked into the pocket square as if being vacuumed in.
They arrived at a coastline about a three-hour journey north of Alat, the largest city on the eastern coast.
A vast meadow stretched out behind a wide, sandy beach, a place so beautiful it would make anyone pause.
In fact, it was a famous spot that would be crowded with people during the summer.
And House Lennox had won the development rights for it.
“The amount invested exceeds one hundred thousand gold coins.”
It wasn’t something that could be obtained simply with money.
The Lennox family had always been the imperial family’s greatest supporter, and more importantly, they were known for never extending their reach beyond the east.
While accumulating wealth, they not only strictly adhered to the imperial ban on private armies but were also the first to provide material support when war broke out.
The most loyal among the houses of the counts.
House Lennox had grown because of this reputation.
There were even stories that the emperor himself had lamented the fall of the Lennox family.
“What’s that?”
On one side of the meadow that wrapped around the beach, there were workers. They were laying the foundation, and the attire of those supervising them was peculiar.
Blue robes embroidered with a crescent moon.
They were priests from the Hemian Temple, one of the greatest temples on the continent.
Wang-sik approached a Hemian priest who was busy giving instructions.
“Lovely weather. Are you here to see the sea?”
The priest, a man in his late thirties who recognized from Wang-sik’s attire that he was a nobleman, asked with his characteristic relaxed expression.
“I have something to settle with the Hemian Temple.”
“Ah, a visitor to the temple. And whom might you be looking for?”
Before answering, Wang-sik took a document from his coat.
“I’m here to see High Priest Daily.”
The priest looked at the document Wang-sik held out.
It was a loan agreement with the development rights to Toipa Beach, where the construction was underway, as collateral.
“Uh…”
As if his thoughts had momentarily frozen, the priest couldn’t respond right away.
“Would you please inform him that I’m on my way to repay the debt?”
“What?”
“I borrowed money, so I must repay it.”
Wang-sik continued as he walked past the priest.
“And since you’ve been digging up my land without permission, I’ll be seeking separate compensation for that.”
The priest could only stare blankly as Wang-sik tapped him on the shoulder and walked past.