Chapter 27 : The Baron’s Final Secret

By having the king define the nature of the matter like this, even if he swallowed up the collateral branches one by one, no one could voice any complaints.

In a way, Delprion had ended up helping him.

Of course, the king must have sent that letter without ever imagining he would devour a baron family overnight.

‘If he had known, he would have intervened by any means necessary.’

That was why he acted just in time for his letter to reach the king.

“I really appreciate the help.”

“This is only natural.”

“Are the goods selling well?”

“Yes. The herbal potions the Archduke informed us about are selling out faster than we can keep up. So, about that…”

Jeyron looked at Ethan and got straight to the point.

“How about entrusting the Besos Marquisate to sell these goods directly?”

“Hmm.”

He had expected something like this to happen. Would they want to sell the golden goose’s eggs only through a small-scale guild?

Naturally, the main family would want to handle sales as well.

Ethan pretended not to know and asked.

“To gain more authority as the lord, the current guild’s performance is important, right?”

“That’s correct. That was originally the case. But my father showed great interest in this product.”

“What about the sales record?”

“If we hand over the manufacturing method, he said he would recognize about 20% of the family’s sales as my personal achievement. This was something all the retainers agreed on.”

When the Misas Guild sells a hundred units, the marquisate could sell ten thousand at their scale.

By that calculation, this method of tracking sales was much more beneficial to Jeyron.

“Does the family usually intervene like this after becoming independent?”

“It’s an extremely rare situation. Normally, the family doesn’t intervene at all. At least, there hasn’t been a case like this in the past hundred years.”

“The marquis must be in a hurry.”

“Haha… What merchant would want to miss out on such a product? That shows just how extraordinary the herbal potions are.”

“If my profit margin is guaranteed as it is, I’ll accept the proposal.”

Half of the net profit.

He had no intention of giving that up.

Jeyron nodded hurriedly at those words.

“Of course. My father also readily agreed, so this part will be handled very cleanly.”

The Besos Marquisate would continue to acquire excellent products.

Jeyron would secure solid results worthy of becoming a lord.

And Ethan would make a fortune.

As long as no one was excessively greedy, this was a perfect deal with no losers.

There was no reason to refuse.

“Agreed.”

“Understood. Then I’ll have the contract rewritten. I’ve brought the family’s seal.”

A new contract was drafted.

This time, the deal was between the Besos Marquisate and Ethan’s house.

After adjusting a few details, they promptly stamped it.

‘The money issue will be solved quickly.’

Leaving it to the Misas Guild yielded a monthly profit of about three pieces of platinum.

But with the Besos Marquisate?

It wouldn’t be surprising if the profit was three hundred pieces of platinum instead of just three.

The marquisate was one of the guild families handling the exports and imports of the Kingdom of Hydern.

With some luck, the herbal potions could be distributed to other countries as well.

“I look forward to working with you.”

“Yes. I will do my best to sell them.”

Currently, the only barony the Archduke controlled was Kargas Barony, but in Jeyron’s eyes, it was unlikely to stop there.

“He’s someone who could easily rival ten collateral branches.”

If he truly becomes a duke one day, the Besos Marquisate could soar alongside him.

He was a man whose tomorrow was even more promising than today. That was the Archduke.

After finishing the deal,

Ethan moved toward the third floor of the underground prison with Silvia.

Three knights, including Captain Manhattan, jumped up from their seats.

“…You’ve come, Archduke.”

“How’s the warden’s work going?”

At Ethan’s question, Manhattan trembled.

It had been three days since the baron and his two sons were locked in the underground prison.

The first day passed quietly, but from the second day onward, the sight that met them was jaw-dropping.

A man who introduced himself as the Archduke’s strategist had come down and ruthlessly severed all the life channels in their bodies.

Not satisfied with that, he began torturing them relentlessly to extract every piece of information about the baron family.

It was as if he bore a personal grudge; the strategist’s torture had no end.

Such behavior was not something that could arise simply from being ordered to gather intelligence.

So, Ethan asked the reason and was given an answer.

Excessive taxation in the barony.

Because of that, the entire family had starved to death.

The way he stated it so matter-of-factly was even more heartbreaking.

Whether commoner or noble,

What difference was there in the grief of losing a beloved family?

Only then did Manhattan begin to understand why Lawrence had acted so cruelly.

Moreover, the Archduke fully agreed to extracting information, so there was no stopping it.

After all, he was the one now controlling the barony.

“Archduke… will you really spare the remaining family members?”

“That is my intention.”

Ethan nodded.

They were sorting through those connected to the baron family one by one, collecting information.

Most would be driven out after having their assets confiscated, but some would be kept in the family.

If they were all expelled, the work itself would be paralyzed.

In any case, considering he was going to spare some, it was no different from keeping the promise he had made to Manhattan.

At those words, Manhattan and the other knights sighed in relief.

They had accepted the prison watch quietly all this time to save everyone except the baron and his two sons.

If the intention was to kill every member of the baron family, they would have had no choice but to draw their swords.

It was their minimum duty as knights.

To protect that,

‘Otherwise, they would be dead.’

Even if the other ten knights rushed in, it was doubtful they could even injure the Archduke.

Naturally, they didn’t want to fight him.

In that sense, the Archduke’s answer was truly a relief.

“From today on, return to being captain of the knights instead of warden.”

“Yes?”

“Planning to stay here forever?”

“No, but…”

“Whether you’re here or not, the three locked inside will die.”

Manhattan was rendered speechless.

When the baron and the Archduke clashed, he had heard everything on the spot.

Surely, the baron’s response had far exceeded any limits.

Closing the mana hall and imprisoning them underground meant leaving the Archduke alive but crippled.

‘The one who took everything away even tried to kill me like this.’

Even if he were the Archduke, he wouldn’t spare the baron.

“Understood. May I return to my duties now?”

“Go ahead.”

The knights quietly left the underground prison.

Only Lawrence and Ethan remained.

“Go.”

“Yes.”

The two entered the interior of the third floor.

A prison filled with all sorts of heinous criminals.

In the deepest room, three people lay sprawled.

“L-loyalty!”

A guard watching the prison was startled and shouted a salute.

“Give him the key and have him leave.”

“Yes!”

The door next to the iron bars opened with a creak.

The baron and his two sons, flailing like insects, looked toward the door.

“How have you been?”

“Ugh… A-Archduke! P-please spare me! I must have… I must have gone mad for a moment back then!”

The baron writhed desperately upon seeing Ethan.

Then, Helmut screamed when he saw Lawrence standing behind him.

The demon-like man who had been endlessly torturing them from yesterday until today!

Fear naturally welled up.

Ethan looked at the baron and said,

“I heard from the strategist that you’re hiding some information even until the last moment.”

He heard the baron was stubbornly keeping his mouth shut about what he was hiding.

Ethan came to deliver the final blow to the baron.

“What… what are you talking about! There’s nothing like that! I’ve spilled everything I know!”

“Do you think that if you drag things out and hold on, reinforcements will come?”

“No. No one can save you and your two sons. Even the king has abandoned you.”

Ethan unfolded a letter.

It bore the king’s seal. That was no forgery.

Helmut read the letter and was horrified.

‘It’s a family matter!’

Since the matter was defined as such, even the seven noble houses of the kingdom would remain silent on this case.

The only person who could save him was Count Cheimon, the faction leader.

“If… if they kill me, do you think Count Cheimon will just stand by?”

“If he doesn’t?”

“Would he risk clashing with me just to save someone who’s already drained dry like you?”

No.

Wasn’t it just a few days ago he had been ordered to side with the Archduke?

Cheimon was a ruthless noble who would abandon even his own faction if it wasn’t beneficial.

‘Do you think killing me would let the Archduke take the barony?’

“You raised your children well. Your eldest son was very cooperative.”

Helmut’s vision blurred.

Given Raymond’s temperament, it was understandable he would submit.

There was no way out.

“Wouldn’t you want to die peacefully at least?”

“If you reveal the hidden information, I promise I’ll behead you quickly in front of the guillotine.”

“If I don’t?”

“You’ll be tortured with your life channels severed. You’ll go mad when you reach your limit.”

Helmut’s eyes slowly reddened as he heard Ethan’s words.

It was a mistake.

Underestimating the Archduke’s power and giving such extreme orders while opposing him — all of it.

It was all his own fault.

Since taking charge of the senate,

His once cautious personality had gradually changed under the influx of wealth and power.

He became arrogant, stopped recalling failure, and forgot the past.

A family merciful to the people but crueler than anyone to its enemies.

He had completely forgotten that was the House of Ardan.

Helmut did not know how to turn back time.

“I will tell everything. So… please… let my two sons… at least go peacefully in the end…”

“I beg you, Archduke…”

If there was information he had hidden until the last moment while being cornered like this, it must be valuable.

Ethan looked at Silvia.

“I’m fine, Archduke.”

She nodded willingly.

She had been able to sever the life channels of the baron and his two sons only because of his permission.

If the Archduke hadn’t given the opportunity, not even a little revenge would have been possible.

How could she have any complaints?

‘Because of my personal ambition.’

He couldn’t interfere with the Archduke’s choice.

Then Ethan looked at Helmut.

“Promise me.”

“There’s a fourth floor in the underground prison. That’s where I’ve secretly stored goods. There… are the relics of the former duke…”

“…!”

Ethan’s eyes snapped open at the information that escaped Helmut’s lips.