Recapturing Shining Gold Town, He Even Has to Thank Us

As Denise saw the haggard Raven descend from the carriage, a rare smile graced her lips. "My Lord Baron," she teased, "was your 'reclamation' of Shining Gold Town smooth sailing?"

"Thank you for your concern, Aunt. It was extremely smooth," Raven stretched. "Shining Gold Town will be back on the map of Eagle Territory within a week."

Denise didn't believe him for a second. A dismissive smile curled her lips, and she crossed her arms, pushing her ample chest out further. "Ha! If that were true, I'd be willing to wash your feet!"

Raven's eyes lit up. "Then you'll have to wear a maid's outfit."

"I don't want to go! I don't want to go! I don't want to go to school—"

A pig-squealing howl erupted. Weston, bound like a hog, was being dragged out by Gaul and Link.

But the moment his gaze met Raven's, he immediately became still, his face draining of all color.

He was utterly terrified of Raven, constantly fearing that he might pull out his hand crossbow and shoot him again.

Raven glanced at Weston. With the aid of divine magic, the wound on his shoulder had completely healed, but regrafting a severed limb was out of the question. Not only in Eagle Territory, but perhaps no one in Monen City could do it.

"What's going on here?" Raven asked.

"Sending him back to Monen City," Denise said coldly. "He's been relaxing here for too long and needs to return to his studies."

This might not have been a complete lie, but it certainly wasn't the whole truth either.

Raven could understand. No matter how much a mother loved her son, after discovering a betrayal, she would inevitably hold some resentment.

Weston pleaded in a low voice, "Mom, do I really have to go back? Please let me stay, I promise I'll behave..."

The words caused a flicker of genuine reluctance and affection in Denise's eyes. She patted Weston's shoulder. "Be good, go back, study hard, and become a real man. Mom will also help you find a way to restore your arm."

Watching this scene, Raven sighed inwardly.

Denise's care and affection for Weston were genuine, but her resolve to send him away was also real. Weston had betrayed Denise, and his reluctance to leave now was also genuine.

Perhaps this was the complexity of human nature.

As soon as he returned to the hall, Raven bumped into old Gordon.

Seeing his appearance, old Gordon was startled, a hint of anger appearing on his face. "Lord Raven, how dare Viscount John humiliate you like this?!"

Raven felt a warmth in his heart and smiled. "No, I just played along with him for a bit."

"I'm going back to my room to sleep for a while. You go to Eric's and divide the money in the box into three portions: three thousand, two thousand, and one thousand gold coins. Then wake me up when Viscount John's carriage appears on the horizon."

"Understood, Lord Raven..." Old Gordon agreed, then reacted to the amounts Raven had mentioned. "My Lord, did you just say gold coins!?"

"Yes," Raven nodded matter-of-factly. "Is there a problem?"

Old Gordon swallowed. "This money... it wasn't taken from the Snow Maple Fortress treasury, was it?"

Raven chuckled at old Gordon. "Don't worry, it's all from legitimate sources. I don't have the ability to rob a Viscount!"

"But don't budget based on these six thousand gold coins, it's uncertain how much will be left."

Old Gordon was a bit confused by Raven's words, but considering that everything Raven had done since arriving in Eagle Territory had been successful, he didn't ask further and helped Eric sort the gold coins.

Although he was mentally prepared, when he saw the chest of gleaming gold coins, he couldn't help but hold his breath.

Six thousand gold coins!

During its peak, Eagle Territory's annual revenue was only around a thousand gold coins.

With this money, not only could they renovate Eagle Fortress, but they could also buy more civilians from other lords, cultivate more land, and generate more income!

Yes, the continent prohibited the slave trade, but only those with human rights could give up their human rights to become slaves. Serfs weren't considered people, so no one would protect their rights.

The Cairns Empire had enjoyed a century of peace, and many territories' populations had swelled to their limits. For many lords, they were no longer an asset but a burden.

"I hope this money can stay, at least a part of it," old Gordon prayed inwardly. "Even a thousand, no, five hundred gold coins would be fine!"

Raven was unaware of old Gordon's plea; his mind was on something else.

In last night's conversation, he had cast three lures.

The Slate Family, the Bloody Highlands, Angel's Tear—no matter which point John noticed, it would ultimately lead the "bandit attack" back to the Slate Family itself.

Now, it was up to Viscount John whether he would take the bait.

Do your best and leave the rest to fate. Overthinking was useless. Raven lay down on the bed without even taking off his clothes—he was simply too exhausted.

Just as he was drifting off, a hurried and heavy knocking sounded.

Raven opened his eyes and saw the midday sun shining through the curtains. He asked with slight impatience, "What is it?"

Eric's voice replied, "Lord Raven, it's Viscount John! His carriage has passed through Eagle Town!"

"What!?" Raven sat up in bed with a jolt, surprised and delighted. "Why is he here so early?"

Eric said, "I heard his steward had both his legs broken in Shining Gold Town."

"Oh, I didn't expect Viscount John to be so impatient," Raven said with a smile.

His request to Hyde was to refuse all invitations from the Luke Family. He hadn't expected Hyde to exceed his expectations.

But then again, Hyde was such a proud fellow. First, he had been completely controlled by Raven, and then Viscount John had only sent a steward to see him. It was hard not to get angry.

Opening the door, Raven quickly instructed, "Go to the kitchen immediately and find some leftovers from last night. Put them on a plate and bring them into the meeting room. Then, you and old Gordon should try your best to act indifferent towards me."

As he spoke, he removed his gloves and began to vigorously slap his own cheeks.

A little over ten minutes later, when Viscount John met Raven in the conference room, he was stunned.

Raven looked even more dispirited than before. His eyes were almost drooping shut, and his cheeks had an unnatural flush. On the table sat dry, hard black bread, and the bowl of soup was dark and murky, even surrounded by flies. He looked utterly dejected.

At this point, John believed every word Raven had said.

When he had entered the castle earlier, he had seen a few familiar faces, but those personal guards were all wearing chainmail and their eyes held undisguised killing intent – definitely not something a group of peasants could fake!

"Baron, Mr. John has arrived," Old Gordon said in a low voice.

"Oh! Is that so!?" Raven shook his head as if coming to his senses. He pointed to the seat opposite him and said, "Viscount John, please sit! Forgive me, I'm not quite myself right now."

As he spoke, his hand brushed against the soup bowl, and he erupted in anger, "Where are the maids!? Themaids! Why is this kind of thing left on my conference table!?"

Old Gordon reminded him expressionlessly, "The maids are all dead."

"Oh, right, dead," Raven nodded neurotically, then looked at John. "Viscount John, what brings you here?"

Looking at Raven's disheveled state, John felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. A sense of shared misfortune spread through his heart.

If I still refuse to hand over Shining Gold Town, will Raven's current situation be my future?

He swallowed. "Baron Raven, regarding Shining Gold Town..."

"Shining Gold Town is truly a good place; many people, very beautiful, and quite a bit of tax revenue," Raven murmured. "It really is a good place."

The more erratic Raven's words became, the more flustered John felt. He said, "I've come to return Shining Gold Town. If you can produce five thousand gold coins, I'll immediately return the original lease agreement to you!"

He raised his hand, took the parchment bag handed to him by his retainer Penglie, and pushed it towards Raven.

However, the latter did not accept it as John had expected. He merely twitched the corner of his mouth and pushed the parchment bag back.

"Baron Raven, you...?"

"It's too late, Viscount John." Raven scratched his nose, leaned back in his chair, and stared blankly at the ceiling. "Shining Gold Town is no longer important to me..."

As he spoke, his eyes suddenly welled up with tears. "Oh, my little Jady, my pearl, she's never coming back, never coming back..."

This stunned not only John but also Old Gordon and Eric.

Who is little Jady? We haven't seen any maid named that in the castle!

But Viscount John understood.

Raven was always nicknamed "Little Bee," so it was perfectly reasonable for him to have an illegitimate daughter outside. It now seemed that Hyde had been using this illegitimate daughter to threaten Raven.

Because Raven had been incompetent, Hyde had simply killed her!

It must be like this.

"Baron Raven, the dead cannot be revived," John advised. "You are still young; you will eventually find a suitable partner and have new offspring."

This, of course, was also a lie. How could the Slate family allow a puppet to have descendants?

A flicker of life returned to Raven's eyes. "Yes, you're right. I'm still young; I still have a chance!"

He sat up and asked again, "What was it you came to see me about again?"

John was so angry he almost broke down.

So everything I just said was wasted, huh?!

But with the safety of Eagle Territory at stake, he had to compose himself. "I've come to return Shining Gold Town. As long as you can give me five thousand gold coins, I can hand over this lease agreement to you immediately."

"Oh! Right, Shining Gold Town!" Raven slapped his forehead and gave a wry smile. "It's too late. I told you, Hyde only gave me four thousand gold coins, but I couldn't persuade you, so naturally, I couldn't keep that much money..."

"I only have my own thousand gold coins on hand now."

John's brow furrowed. "That's too little! You know, when we signed the agreement, I spent ten thousand gold coins upfront!"

"Then take the agreement back," Raven said. "Mr. Hyde is already gone. What's the point of me having this agreement now?"

This time, it was John's turn to persuade Raven. "It's useful, of course, it's useful! Baron Raven, think about it this way: the reason you lost little Jady was due to your incompetence, and you were punished by Hyde."

"But if you can take back Shining Gold Town, it will be a meritorious deed for your past failures, and the Slate family will surely reward you!"

A gleam appeared in Raven's eyes. "Reward me?"

"Yes, reward you!" John pressed his advantage. "Fine wine, good food, beautiful women! The Slate family is an Earl's family; they won't be stingy!"

"In that case..." Raven scratched his head. "Besides my own thousand gold coins, Mr. Hyde also left me three thousand gold coins for payment, which was intended for purchasing raw materials, building factories, and recruiting personnel after he took back Shining Gold Town."

Hearing this, John felt both relieved and apprehensive.

It seemed the Slate family had indeed decided on a forceful resolution, otherwise, they wouldn't have left so much money.

Fortunately, I came early. If the bandits from the Bloody Highlands had attacked, I would probably have lost everything!

"Then it's four thousand gold coins!" John said. "Four thousand gold coins, and you can take back Shining Gold Town!"

Raven ran his fingers through his hair and looked at Old Gordon beside him. "Then take out all the gold coins from the warehouse."

He also gave a slight wink.

Old Gordon, being experienced, although he didn't know Raven's plan, he had guessed most of it from their conversation and instantly found his role. "This is still too much. You can use your own gold coins freely, but the Slate family's..."

Raven put on a helpless expression and looked at John. "Then I'm afraid I'll have to refuse..."

"Three thousand gold coins!" John exclaimed. "Three thousand gold coins, and you can take back Shining Gold Town."

He looked at old Gordon, his eyes sharp. "Mr. Gordon, three thousand gold coins is definitely a worthwhile deal. If we really have to resort to force, the losses caused by the bandits would severely impact the future development and production of the territory, which wouldn't be covered by one or two thousand gold coins!"

"Mmm..." Old Gordon adjusted his monocle.

Though his expression was calm, his heart was already bursting with joy.

To have Viscount John grovel and beg, and to get Shining Gold Town back for three thousand gold coins!

This was something Gordon hadn't even dared to dream of!

How on earth had Baron Raven managed it?!

"I think it's worth a try. What do you say, Lord Raven?"

Raven drew circles on the table with his finger. "Then my one thousand gold coins will be gone..."

Gordon's heart skipped a beat. If they continued to haggle like this, what if Baron John stormed off in anger?

"Two thousand five hundred gold coins!" John gritted his teeth. "At least consider how I stood by you during the funeral!"

"Then I can still keep five hundred gold coins..." Raven nodded numbly. "Alright, since Viscount John has said so, Eric, go get the gold coins."

"Ah... okay!" Eric shot up from his chair, still utterly bewildered.

How had they managed to get Shining Gold Town back for just two thousand five hundred gold coins?!

However, his strength lay in not thinking too hard about things he couldn't understand. Clad in heavy armor, he trudged towards the treasury.

Not long after, he returned carrying a chest.

"Would you like to count it?" Gordon pointed at the chest.

Viscount John waved his hand. Penglie cradled the chest, gave it a gentle shake, and then nodded at Gordon.

John breathed a sigh of relief and tossed the paper bag to Raven as if it were a hot potato. "I have matters to attend to on the territory, so I won't impose further."

With that, he turned to leave!

Gordon snatched the paper bag, immediately took out a letter opener to open it. When he saw the lease document bearing the seals of both families and individuals, his eyes welled up with tears!

Ten years! Shining Gold Town had been leased out for ten whole years!

Old Gordon had thought he would never see it return to Eagle Territory in his lifetime. He never imagined that Baron Raven, who had only been in power for two months, would bring it back, and at what he considered the impossibly low price of two thousand five hundred gold coins!

Considering his future relationship with Viscount John, old Gordon asked in a low voice, "My Lord, did we... go too far..."

Raven raised an eyebrow and replied softly, "Too far? He should be thanking us!"

As if to echo Raven's words, Viscount John, who had reached the meeting room door, turned back and bowed. "Thank you for your generosity and magnanimity!"

As Viscount John's figure disappeared down the corridor, Raven revealed a relaxed smile!

The charade of the past two days hadn't been for nothing.

Shining Gold Town had finally been reclaimed by him!

And in his hand, he still had a hefty sum of three thousand five hundred gold coins!

"Gordon, Eric, pull yourselves together!" Raven slammed the table and declared loudly, "From now on, the meeting officially begins."

"The agenda is—

Spending money!"