Chapter 8

Chapter 8 — Bond (1)

I had regained the Hunter System, and I had also obtained a useful weapon.

But just because I had become stronger didn't mean I could manage an entire territory by myself.

I needed capable people who could help me.

There was still no guarantee that the officials and knights in Marcel would be loyal to me. I also had no idea whether they were competent or had any potential for growth.

One day before we arrived in Catalunya, Head Maid Chloe came to my cabin after receiving my summons.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Come in."

"My Lord, you called for me?"

"Yeah. Sit down and make yourself comfortable."

I offered her the seat across from me.

We were already exhausted from the voyage, so there was no need to bother with formalities.

I was wearing a tracksuit and three-striped slippers, while Chloe also sat comfortably in her chair.

"Did the Countess at least give you severance pay?"

I deliberately started the conversation by poking at a sore spot.

"..."

As expected, her expression immediately twisted.

Chloe failed to hide her emotions.

It seemed she was still furious with the Countess.

"The Countess really was cruel. You served her for ten whole years, and she threw you away like this. Someone like me could never imagine doing such a thing."

"..."

"And I don't care about what you did before. The Countess probably ordered you to do all of it anyway. Let's only think about how we're going to work together from now on. We're establishing a new relationship. How does that sound?"

"..."

She still kept her mouth firmly shut.

There were probably two emotions mixed together inside Chloe right now.

Anger toward Countess Lorian, and fear because I knew about the attempt to poison me.

Naturally, she wouldn't be able to speak easily.

"Let's get straight to the point. I heard you were the one who found a marriage partner for the Young Lord. The daughter of Count Dijon from the Kingdom of France, right?"

Chloe seemed to notice something from my words.

The way I spoke made it sound like I didn't consider the Westfalen family my own family, so she had probably guessed that I had another intention.

I didn't wait for her answer.

"Liguria, Veneto, Catalunya."

"...What do you mean?"

"Those are the territories I want to form a marriage alliance with."

After a short pause, Head Maid Chloe finally spoke.

"They all possess enormous trading ports. But Marcel is far too small for you to marry one of their daughters. They would gain nothing from it, so there would be no reason for them to form a marriage alliance with a small family like Marcel."

"A small family?"

Perhaps realizing she'd gone too far, Chloe immediately closed her mouth again.

"Why am I from a small family? I'm a member of the Westfalen family."

"What?"

"I'm the son of the Lord of Westfalen, and I'm also the Lord of Marcel. Don't leave that part out when you advertise me. Make them think that marrying their daughter to me means establishing ties with Westfalen."

She probably wondered what kind of nonsense I was talking about.

Someone as capable as Chloe must have already figured out that Westfalen had abandoned Marcel.

"But Count Westfalen completely abandoned... No, separated Marcel from the family."

"But do outsiders know that? They might think he gave his son an enormous gift. Emphasize that point. Understand?"

Regardless of the truth, outsiders could easily believe that I was deeply loved by the Westfalen family.

After all, they had granted a viscounty to an illegitimate son.

Naturally, people would assume I was a beloved son.

It was the Westfalen family that was dysfunctional. That didn't mean every noble family was the same.

I was simply exploiting that gap in perception.

"Then will I be traveling around the other territories?"

"For now, yes. And after you finish that mission, you'll help manage the territory as one of my advisors."

Chloe looked even more dumbfounded.

"An advisor? I'm nothing more than a head maid."

"I don't believe your value ends at being a mere head maid."

"What do you mean..."

"Everything Countess Lorian accomplished during the last ten years came from your head, didn't it?"

Lorian had discovered the abuses committed by the collateral branches of Westfalen and purged them, strengthening the authority of the lord.

She had negotiated with nobles from other territories and secured profits through trade.

Most importantly, she had persuaded nearly all the retainers, including the knight order, to swear loyalty to Young Lord Noah.

Behind every one of those negotiations, the person who gathered the materials, analyzed them, and provided the necessary information had been Chloe.

The reason I had taken Chloe away from Lorian wasn't simply because I wanted to cut off Lorian's right arm.

I also wanted to use Chloe's abilities for myself.

"What kind of work would I do as an advisor?"

"I'm going to establish a council of secretaries. Economy, civil administration, security, protection, and foreign affairs. I want you to handle foreign affairs. Of course, besides normal diplomacy with other territories, you'll also be responsible for gathering intelligence."

"You're telling me to establish and operate an intelligence department?"

"Exactly. It's what you're good at, isn't it? Extracting useful information from data."

Only four people knew that Westfalen had abandoned Marcel.

Other than them, perhaps my mother had vaguely guessed it because she had always paid close attention to news from her hometown, Marcel.

Yet Chloe had managed to infer the truth just from the circumstances that had been revealed publicly.

I pushed her one more time while she was still thinking.

"Don't you want to see Countess Lorian regret this from the bottom of her heart? She let such an incredible talent slip through her fingers."

"..."

In truth, Chloe only had two choices right now.

She could help me manage the territory...

Or she could simply run away.

For someone as intelligent and honorable as her, especially considering her noble upbringing, the choice was obvious.

After thinking for quite a while, Chloe finally opened her mouth.

"Someday, please restore my family to the nobility. That's my condition."

"I'll make it a count's family."

Chloe gave a small laugh.

"Understood. I will help you, My Lord."

"I'm counting on you."

I took the Westfalen family's signet ring out of my pocket and handed it to Chloe.

The signet ring had suddenly escaped its fate as a mere souvenir and become proof of a marriage negotiation involving the family.

"From now on, Chloe, you are a retainer arranging the marriage of Count Westfalen's son. This seal is proof of your authority."

Chloe accepted the signet ring and smiled faintly, as if something had just occurred to her.

"Countess Lorian used to grind her teeth even at the sight of this one ring."

"Really? I don't hate it that much."

"I know."

Chloe paused for a moment.

"Um... what about my travel expenses?"

"Pay for everything yourself for now. I'll reimburse you later. Really."

"..."

Even if I wanted to give her money, I barely had any cash.

Fortunately, Chloe had probably saved quite a lot of money during her years working for the count's family.

Sorry.

Consider it an unpaid expense account for now.

"When we arrive in Catalunya, start there."

"Yes, Viscount. Then what should I do until then?"

"Attend to me."

At those words, Chloe's eyes widened like a startled calf.

"N-No, I'm not mentally prepared yet! You don't even know my full name!"

Come to think of it, I really didn't know her full name.

So I activated [Low-Rank Appraisal].

Appraisal.

[Chloe Vervier (26)]

[Second daughter of the former Baron Vervier.]

"I know your name. Chloe Vervier, twenty-six years old, second daughter of the former Baron Vervier."

"Ah! Hng! Eek! Huh! You even know that?!"

"But what exactly did you mean by mentally prepared?"

"W-W-Well, serving you at night is still—"

"Enough!"

I pulled off one of my three-striped slippers and threw it at her in disbelief.

Of course, she was now a valuable subordinate, so I deliberately missed.

Thanks to favorable winds, we arrived in the territory of Catalunya seven days after departure.

Considering how badly some members of our group had suffered from seasickness, we decided to rest for two days before boarding a regular ship belonging to Marcel.

The group found an inn and unloaded their luggage, while Martin, my escort knight, and I went out to explore the marketplace.

This port also traded with Marcel.

I wanted to look around the market and get a general idea of the products being sold and their prices.

Martin was stunned by the size of the marketplace, which stretched all the way to the edge of his vision.

"This place is unbelievably huge."

"Yeah. It's the third-largest city in the Kingdom of Iberia. Haven't you seen it before?"

"I was just a tiny brat back then, so I didn't pay attention to anything."

Seems like you're still a brat now.

Anyway, the marketplace was absolutely packed with people.

Because Catalunya's lord's castle was built beside an enormous harbor, commerce had developed greatly here.

There were so many goods that it felt like there was nothing in the world you couldn't find.

"But what are they selling over there? Why are there so many people?"

At the place Martin pointed toward, countless people stood gathered together with ropes around their necks.

"Looks like a slave market. I heard this is the largest slave market in the entire world. You could even call it one of Catalunya's symbols."

I took Martin with me and headed in that direction.

The market was packed with thousands of slaves, leaving barely enough room to walk.

More than half were elves and beastmen.

After them came humans, dwarves, gnomes, and several other races.

"My goodness. I had no idea there would be this many slaves. There are so many different races too."

"This is my first time seeing so many gathered in one place as well."

I'd seen slaves being traded in Westfalen before, but compared to this place, it had been nothing.

"Surely all these people aren't criminal slaves, right?"

"They're probably war slaves brought in from the Balkan region in the far east or from the Southern Continent."

Wars constantly broke out in the Balkan region, where several demi-human nations clashed with one another, and in the Southern Continent, where countless elven tribal nations competed for power.

Naturally, those wars produced large numbers of slaves.

"They lost a war, and now they have to become slaves too. That's unfair."

That was exactly the kind of thing the upright Martin would say.

"Well, if you look at it that way, aren't debt slaves and criminal slaves also unfair?"

"I wish slavery itself would just disappear."

"It would be difficult to abolish it all at once."

Even when compared to Earth's history, slavery in this world would probably continue for several hundred more years.

"Then why don't we abolish it in Marcel first?"

"If I'm answering as the lord, then no."

"Why?"

"Enslavement is a powerful deterrent against crime. And if I want to increase Marcel's population, I'll also need slaves who can settle there."

Besides the slaves Young Lord Noah was supposed to send me, I was also planning to purchase slaves in family groups and settle them in Marcel.

Wasn't that a classic cliché?

"If you buy them and then free them from slavery afterward, isn't that basically the same as abolishing slavery in your territory?"

"The act of buying them itself still supports the institution of slavery. That's why it can't simply be abolished overnight."

"Ah. I understand. As expected, Young Master Eric is truly a benevolent ruler."

"What? How did you suddenly reach that conclusion? And call me 'My Lord.' Or you can call me a great hero."

Martin chuckled while we continued deeper into the slave market.

Naturally, it didn't take long for touts to swarm around us.

They rubbed their palms together while wearing sleazy smiles.

"Ohhh~ My Lord~ What kind of merchandise are you looking for? I'll find you something excellent that fits your budget perfectly. Hahaha!"

"If you're a little short on money, I can arrange a loan for you! We deduct a small amount of interest upfront, but you'll immediately be able to own some magnificent slaves. How much would you like to borrow?"

"How about making a small down payment and paying the rest in installments? We offer the lowest installment interest in the entire industry."

Those lines sounded strangely familiar.

Martin seemed irritated. He placed a hand on the hilt of his longsword and threatened them.

"If all of you don't get lost right now, I'll cut you down!"

"Eek!"

Only then did the touts retreat and disappear.

"Don't be too harsh on them. They're only doing this to make a living."

"My apologies. Something about the way they spoke sounded like a magic spell designed specifically to make people angry."

"Heh. You're not wrong."

As we started walking again, a thought crossed my mind.

Shouldn't you normally stumble across some miraculous opportunity in a slave market like this? All I've found are annoying salesmen.

I continued forward with a hint of disappointment.

Then—

A scream came from one side of the market.

"Aaaagh! Somebody help me!"