Translator: Nox

Chapter 40

40

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“He turned tail and ran!”

That afternoon.

After driving away Danae and her party, Marc raised a glass in celebration. He boasted loudly as if recounting a heroic epic.

“A direct descendant of the Winzers couldn’t even squeak a word of protest before leaving!”

“Oh my, is that really true?”

“Indeed!”

Recalling the morning’s events, Marc burst into laughter.

A direct descendant of the Winzers? They were nothing special.

To lose heart and tuck their tail after being turned away just once at the gate. How pathetic they looked from behind!

Just as he had heard, they didn’t have an ounce of spirit.

“The Winzers are toothless tigers. I heard the Duke is a weakling who’s gone mad for money and lives buried in paperwork.”

Hadn’t his confidant, Priest Morius, told him so?

“He looked like he didn’t even have the strength to hold a pen.”

Perhaps it was because he had lived in the capital, but Priest Morius was well-versed in outside information.

For Marc, who had never stepped a foot outside this territory in his life, Priest Morius was his window to the world.

‘Those trashy Winzers.’

Originally, the Winzers were the guardians of this border.

But what were the Winzers doing now?

“The Winzers are only interested in making money; they no longer care about their duty to protect the border.”

The Kurs family had been vassals of the Winzers for a long time—but that was all in the past.

‘That’s right. The Winzers the Kurs family swore loyalty to were a great military family that guarded the border.’

They weren’t snobs obsessed with a single gold coin like they were now!

The current Duke Winzer had no interest in his duty to protect the border. Had he not failed to visit this territory even once?

‘Yes. The Winzer Territory is the land my father and I have protected! It is the Kurs family that has guarded this border!’

The Winzers surely knew that as well. That was why they had turned back so easily.

Those people only held the deeds to the land; the actual rulers of the Winzer Territory were the Kurs family.

“My Lord.”

Just then, his confidant, Priest Morius, approached.

“Someone from the Malkan Merchant Group has arrived.”

At those words, his mistress, Bianca, her eyes sparkled.

“Oh? Could it be!”

“Yes. Didn’t I tell you? I’d get you the Heart of the Moon as your birthday present!”

“Eek! Quickly, let’s go see it!”

He took Bianca’s hand and hurried to the drawing room. Bianca chattered away in excitement.

“I thought you were lying. I didn’t know you’d actually get it. I heard that necklace is incredibly rare; how did you find it?”

“Hahaha. What did I tell you? There’s no jewel I can’t obtain!”

The Winzer official seal given to the acting lord.

With that one stamp, even obtaining legendary treasures was easy.

Furthermore, since the funds sent by Duke Winzer for territory management were vast, purchasing a national treasure-level jewel was not difficult.

However.

“Huh?”

Waiting for them was a young errand boy.

To think a mere messenger would come?

‘What does he take me for!’

He felt embarrassed in front of his mistress, but Marc pretended to be composed.

“The Heart of the Moon. Where is that necklace?”

“The necklace has been delivered to its owner.”

“There seems to be a misunderstanding. I am the owner of that necklace.”

“The owner is Lord Marc? What do you mean by that?”

The boy looked as if he couldn’t believe his ears.

“Does the necklace not belong to the Winzer family?”

“……!”

“The necklace was delivered directly to a direct descendant of the Winzer family.”

Marc couldn’t process the words immediately.

Delivered directly to a direct descendant of the Winzer family?

What on earth did that mean…?

‘Did those Winzers snatch it away!’

Veins popped out on Marc’s neck as he shouted.

“What are you talking about! I’m the one who bought that necklace! I’m the one who paid for it!”

“That’s strange. The contract was ordered under the name of Winzer. Please check for yourself.”

However, Marc violently snatched the contract the boy held out and threw it.

“How dare a mere messenger try to play tricks on me! Bring the head of the merchant group here this instant!”

“You seem to be mistaken about something, Lord Marc.”

“What?”

“A messenger should talk to a messenger. Aren’t you also just a messenger for the Winzers?”

For a moment, Marc was completely speechless.

A messenger?

Who? Me?

“I came here to tell you this. From now on, we plan to deliver goods directly to the Winzer descendants, so please be aware.”

It was a declaration that they were cutting ties with Marc.

“One last piece of advice before I leave.”

The boy looked at Marc with pitying eyes.

“Even if you live at the edge of the world, you should know what’s going on in it.”

“What?”

“I’m begging you, please read a newspaper or something. Or at least hire a decent aide. Try to become a civilized person.”

That damn brat, how dare he say such things to me! Should I just cut him down?

But the humiliation didn’t end there.

“Hmph. What is this? It was just a bluff after all.”

“Bi-Bianca. It’s not like that.”

“Forget it. I’m leaving.”

Even his mistress ignored him and vanished. Marc slumped into his seat.

‘Did the Winzers intercept the necklace I ordered?’

When? No, how?

He had seen them leaving this morning—could it be that they hadn’t left entirely?

‘No, even so, the Winzers will leave soon.’

Marc quickly pulled himself together.

Let them hold out outside the castle for a hundred or a thousand days. The gates would never open!

Then eventually, they would give up and go back.

‘That’s right. The Winzers have no real interest in a remote territory like this.’

Coming here was probably just a fleeting whim anyway. If he held out without opening the gates, they would go back soon.

And then, just as they had done before, they wouldn’t show their faces for decades.

When that time came, the Malkan Merchant Group would regret it. Regret betraying Marc!

‘Yes. And they aren’t the only merchant group.’

There were plenty of merchant groups he traded with. Losing just one was nothing.

‘Right. It’s just one.’

It was then.

“We have a problem, my Lord.”

The door burst open, and Priest Morius rushed in, panting.

“The merchant groups we trade with have sent messengers saying they’re cutting ties with us!”

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“I had no idea that Marc Kurs was claiming to be the Lord of the Winzer Territory!”

An executive from the Malkan Merchant Group appealed desperately.

“Had we known, our group would never, ever have traded with such a traitor.”

Dana looked at the merchant with cold eyes.

This morning, Dana had headed straight for the territory’s gateway.

She then told the soldiers guarding the gate:

“If any merchant carriages pass through the gate, bring them all to where I am.”

As she handed over the Winzer direct lineage identification plaque and gold coins.

“I will reward you according to the number of merchant groups you bring.”

She provided them with plenty of motivation.

The first carriage the soldiers brought was from the Malkan Merchant Group. At first, the merchant had raged, asking what kind of tyranny this was.

“Da-Danae Winzer? Are you Lady Danae Winzer?”

But after seeing her identification plaque, he became rapidly docile.

‘As expected, these people are intellectuals, so they’re easy to talk to.’

Dana interrogated him, framing the Malkan Merchant Group as Marc’s accomplices.

The merchant’s reaction was as expected—

“It’s true, Lady Winzer! Our group simply thought he was working as the acting lord! It’s the truth!”

He struggled desperately to avoid being implicated.

It was only natural.

Impersonating a lord was no small matter, and if it became known that they had looked the other way while knowing the truth, they would fall out of Duke Winzer’s favor.

‘Who would want to be on Duke Winzer’s bad side?’

But then again, did they really not know?

‘There’s no way they didn’t know.’

Merchants were quick-witted and well-informed. There was no way they didn’t know. It was just—

‘They probably looked the other way because it was profitable.’

Buying a treasure as expensive as the Heart of the Moon and spending money so freely.

The merchants would have nothing to lose.

“I don’t know. My brother might not see it that way.”

When she threatened him blatantly, the merchant’s face turned pale.

If they were targeted by Viego Winzer, that merchant group was dead.

Literally, they could go bankrupt in an instant.

“Wh-what should I do?”

Dana smirked.

“First, cut off all dealings with Marc Kurs.”

“Of course! We will never trade with that shameless man again.”

“You should send messengers to inform other merchant groups of this fact. Don’t you think?”

“Of course!”

Dana was certain. It wouldn’t take even three hours for this message to reach all the merchant groups currently trading with Marc Kurs.

‘The Merchant Union is the place where information travels fastest in this world.’

First, cut off all his business partners.

And then.

“How many messengers does the Malkan Merchant Group have?”

“The number of errand boys we can mobilize right now is about fifty, but……”

“Call them all and send them to every shop in the territory that sells food. And buy up everything, regardless of the type. Charge it all to Danae Winzer.”

“If you mean everything……”

“I mean literally sweep up every single edible thing. And then spread a rumor to the people of the territory.”

Dana smiled brightly.

“That a direct descendant of the Winzers will be distributing food for free.”