Chapter 8: Chapter 8: A cover
In the capital city of the Laurendt dukedom, Singre, the bustling of people and carriages filled every street. The main road was blocked by a long queue that began at the entrance of the castle and stretched as far as the eye could see. Vendors of every kind pranced around, while carriages with noble crests made their way up to the main gates.
"Hey, you! Don't cut in line!"
"Ale! Ale! Get yourself some cold ale!"
"Has the queue moved at all since this morning?"
"Move aside! A carriage is passing through! Step aside!"
The chatter and yelling were a constant buzz in everyone's ears, and the pungent smell of the filth from a developed city was stagnant in the air.
Inside the castle's main hall, a large crowd occupied every available space, leaving only enough room in the middle for a couple men to stand in front of the elevated platform where the Duke sat with his most trusted aids beside him.
Since the procession of carriages from noble houses had precedence over the commoners upon their arrival, only seven audiences had been granted to the normal citizens by noon.
"Count Evernon is entering the main hall."
The wall of people parted to make way for a smartly dressed young man who swiftly bowed towards the Duke.
"Greetings, my Lord."
"Ah, Count Evernon, I heard your father recently retired from his position as the former Count. Congratulations! Now, tell me, what can I do for you?"
"Thank you, Duke Laurendt. It hasn't been long since I inherited the position, but when I heard about the open assembly I came to Singre as fast as I could."
The young man raised his face with a confident smile.
"As you already know, my Lord, the Evernon County is a coastal fief and at the same time the closest territory to the eastern continent of Creya in the kingdom. So far, the only thing we trade with the exterior are luxury goods, and in a very small quantity, but we have begun talks with the Nalia Empire to bring cheaper grain through our ports."
The nobles' reaction was varied. Some were showing interest in a possibly profitable business venture, but the elders remained impassive, only looking at the young man with pitiful eyes. Not noticing this, the Count excitedly continued his explanation. His voice rose in a steady crescendo until his cheeks flushed and his wild gesticulations disrupted his breathing.
"Since most of the grain in the country has been requisitioned for the war effort, its price has risen dramatically over its real value due to the low supply for average consumers. If we were to bring more from outside, where no wars are being waged and the cost is still low, we would be able to earn quite the margin before the prices drop. We could even limit the supply to maintain a favorable margin above the real cost!"
Count Evernon cleared his throat, fixing the disheveled ascot around his neck.
The commoners in the main hall only understood a small part of what was said, but their faces grew sour at the mention of the high prices and the apparent joy they brought to this man. The Count simply ignored their indignant stares. There was nothing they could do anyway. They were just commoners.
"The only thing we need is sufficient funds to create a fleet, since the cost of a ship has also risen after the naval warfare began."
The Duke stared down at the man, rubbing his chin while pondering over his words.
'What a fool.'
Although some nobles were naïve enough to believe this was actually possible, he and his advisors knew better.
In the kingdom of Cambria, more than two thirds of the fertile land was owned by the noble class, where the crown requisitioned practically all the commoner-produced grain, but could not do the same with the rest to avoid an uprising from the nobility as they supplied most of the soldiers from their fiefs. So the high prices benefited the nobles, who were able to sell most of their grain to the army. This was specially so with the rising taxes, which was the way of the royalty to regain some of their lost gold in the soldiers' supplement. The normal citizens, on the other side, had most of their crops taken, forcing them to buy from the little supply of produce from the houses at an exorbitant price in order for them to choose to sell it to them instead of the crown. In this complex political environment, the Count's proposal would in fact bring quite some revenue, but at the same time, it would earn the ire of the rest of the nobility for the loss in their income.
'And I have to take the long term into account as well.'
With the crown being so debilitated in its dependency on the noble houses, the only way for the Duke to get his hands on the throne through a political marriage was with their support.
"My Lord, with the Prince's coming-of-age only a couple of years away, there is no need to antagonize our fellow noblemen."
A few of the advisors whispered similar statements into his ears until he raised one of his hands to silence them.
"Count Evernon, I do appreciate your enthusiasm, but you should not forget we are currently at war. As the head of a house, you must understand what I mean when I say that this is not the right time to undertake such risks. What if this is a trick from the kingdom of Nalia to bring an army through the fleet you mention? An army that we would bring with the money of our citizens?"
The Count was taken aback as some people in the crowd immediately turned aggressive, just as the Duke had hoped.
"You are 'gonna open the port for another kingdom to attack us as well!"
"We don't have more food or more people to make another army!"
"You only want to fill your pockets!"
"Traitor!"
"Bastard!"
Quickly grasping the situation, the rest of the court abandoned any hope of participating in the business deal. As subjects of the dukedom, they were not brave enough to go against their lord, and this proposal was against his will. Any offer the young man could have received from the nobles perished in the spot.
Once objects started flying across the room, the Duke deemed the disturbance had been sufficient, raising his hand to silence the people.
"My Lord, I never-"
"Count Evernon, I don't intend to insinuate that you are the kingdom's enemy, I only called out the flaws in your proposition due to your inexperience as the head of the County. It is expected for you to not understand the deeper implications of your business plan, but as the Duke of Laurendt it is my duty to keep my citizens safe, so I would recommend for you to discard this idea. It would be rather... Dangerous for you to proceed any further."
Understanding the indirect threat, the young man bowed as low as he could go, trying to hide his raging eyes with his downcast gaze.
"Thank you very much, my Lord, I hadn't recognized the potential danger in my reckless plans. I assure you I will work diligently to improve myself as a nobleman and as the head of the house of Evernon."
"Excelent. You may be dismissed."
"Thank you again, my Lord. I shall now take my leave."
Some of the audience wanted to protest against him once more, but the Count's face as he left the hall was a strong deterrent. You should never meddle with an angry noble.
With long strides he finally reached the entrance to the castle, where he called for one of the servants who stood aside.
"Bring my carriage. Now!"
The young boy quickly ran towards the stables, leaving the Count on his own, pacing from side to side on top of the main stairs.
'Those damned nobles, they can't even see what's in front of them. The Duke is just an idiotic man. Who cares if the aristocracy from the rest of the kingdom is against it? Money could buy us enough soldiers to fight the whole continent if necessary. We could even overthrow the reigning monarchy with enough meat sacks in the front lines. Stupid bastard.'
"Excuse me, Count Evernon."
The Count stopped his internal rambling and turned to the young voice calling out to him.
A little girl in a blue dress stood discreetly behind a pillar, with her head bent down in a slight bow and her hands demurely clasped at her waist. At a glance, he could tell she didn't have a high standing from the quality of her clothes, but her manners prevented him from classifying her as a commoner straight away.
"Your business proposal has interested us. Would you mind joining me somewhere more private to discuss it in more detail?"
She straightened her back to look him in the eyes. Her gaze was sharp but cold. He would've considered her pretty if it weren't for the emotionlessness of her face.
"Who are you?"
The girl looked around, noticeably concerned about bystanders.
"I cannot say here. Please, follow me."
Turning around, she disappeared behind the pillar. The Count hurried after her, irritated at the fact that she didn't wait for his reply and simply left, expecting him to follow her.
She wordlessly guided him into a secluded section of one of the detached gardens. Her movements were so swift and certain that he assumed she was one of the castle's residents. Figuring they were far enough, she turned and once again met his gaze.
"As I was saying, you have piqued my Master's interest with your trade proposal, and they would like to offer the financing of the project."
"Who is your master?"
"My Master wishes to keep their identity a secret, so all transactions are to be developed through me. I will then replicate all the information to them."
The Count looked at her in ridicule.
"Through you? And I am just to assume that all of this is true? Who works with someone they don't know?"
"Your doubts have reasoning behind them, and we obviously do not expect for you to trust us that easily. We shall send you the capital for the fleet in a month's time after signing a proper contract."
"And who is to appear in this contract?"
"My Master's name, obviously, alongside yours if you are willing to join this partnership."
"Is your master not worried about leaving all his business matters to a child?"
The girl's gaze suddenly became darker, fiercer.
"I can assure you, I am competent enough for the job. My Master relays the instructions to me, and I just have to follow through them. You can rest easy, as I don't partake in the decision making."
The man stared at her for some time. Her unblinking eyes were eerie to him, as if she was analyzing his every move.
"What would this contract entail?"
"My Master wishes to relay all management rights to you as long as they receive a seventy percent of the revenue. Accounting books shall also be provided for my Master to revise on a monthly basis, along with the request of their approval for any addition to the management staff. Of course, all of this would be conditional to the initial down-payment for the fleet."
"So, aside from a ridiculous portion of the gains, your master expects me to do all by myself, report everything I do and everyone I work with back to him?"
"Not to them. To me. As I mentioned before, my Master wishes for their identity to remain private, so all information should be presented through me. I will be in charge of interviewing the employees according to my Master's standards and collecting the accounting books and then relaying the information back to them. I shall then report back to you any information they wish to convey."
The Count pondered for some time as she blankly stared at him. It felt odd for such a young girl to discuss all that business jargon with such a childlike voice. He felt uncomfortable about something, but it was hard to pinpoint what it was exactly.
'This girl is just odd.'
"Isn't your master expecting a bit too much? Seventy percent is simply a ridiculous figure."
"Count, you don't expect us to believe you don't know we are most likely the only offer you are going to get? The Duke made himself pretty clear in the assembly. No one besides us is willing to invest in this project and go against the lord of the fief."
He frowned and tried to change the subject.
"Is that why your master is so shy? Is he so afraid of the Duke that he has to send a little girl in his place?"
She just smiled politely, making her look more alive for a couple of seconds.
Sighing, he continued the negotiations.
"Still, seventy percent is too high. Let's make it a thirty percent, then I might think about it. I will be doing all the work anyway. It would be only fair for me to earn that much more."
"This is a very risky project, such a low revenue would make it meaningless. You should also consider we are taking the financial risk of the investment. We could go down to sixty."
"Thirty five."
The girl grimaced. He could tell she was really troubled.
"Fifty is the lowest I can go. I was instructed that if I were unable to achieve at least half of the revenue the deal should be called off as it wouldn't be worth it."
The Count smiled at that. Children will remain children at the end. He could tell by the way she had spilled everything to him that this child was inexperienced in negotiating. Also, the fact that she lowered her offers so quickly instead of pushing slowly was a sure indicator of her nervousness. He decided to use this for his advantage. She would never know he was willing to settle at fifty five. After all, he was truly at a disadvantage here.
"Alright. Fifty percent it is."
The girl smiled brightly at this, having accomplished her given task.
"Thank you. I will tell my master of our agreement. Please come back tomorrow for the signing of the contract. Also, all information transactions should be completed in this manner, with you coming to the castle as discreetly as possible and meeting me in this same place."
"Why?"
"I currently reside here as a member of the harem."
"Then I shall be trading with the Duke's plaything?"
She swallowed the bitterness the next words brought.
"That does not represent my true capabilities. It is only temporary. A cover."
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