Viscount Andrew

The Blood Plum Blossom moved quickly; two days later, Liewen heard the news that Helen, Leonard, and the butler had died suddenly.

The deaths of the three caused a small ripple of discussion within the noble circles of Fenlai City, but after a dozen days or so, no one paid them any mind.

Helen and Leonard were merely minor nobles, and the butler was not even a noble at all, so they could not attract much attention.

After all, Fenlai City was the economic, artistic, and political center of the Holy Union, teeming with nobles and the wealthy; struggles for money, power, and beauty played out every single day, and unclaimed corpses were often found in the sewers of the slums, which could just as easily have belonged to some noble family.

Compared to the infighting between those great nobles and tycoons, this little matter involving the Andrew Family was only enough to serve as gossip for a few days.

The official authorities of the Fenlai Kingdom did approach Liewen to conduct an investigation.

With Helen and the others dead, the greatest beneficiary was Liewen, so he naturally became the prime suspect.

However, the assassins from the Blood Plum Blossom were truly professional and left behind no evidence pointing to Liewen, so the case was eventually dropped.

A few days later, King Clayde of the Fenlai Kingdom officially issued an order for Liewen to inherit the title of Viscount Andrew.

Liewen even made a trip to the royal palace for this, attending the investiture ceremony to receive his title from Clayde and officially becoming Viscount Andrew.

He sold his own mansion and moved into the Andrew Family estate, but he did not trust the original servants of the Andrew Family, so he simply gave them a sum of money, dismissed them all, and hired new ones.

That day, Liewen was in the study reviewing the asset list of the Andrew Family; besides cash, the family owned hotels, mansions, shops, and other fixed assets, which, when combined with their liquid funds, totaled over thirty million gold coins.

The top nobles of the Fenlai Kingdom generally had family assets worth around one hundred million gold coins, so the Andrew Family could only be considered a mid-tier noble house.

"Viscount, Mr. Walter from the Dawson Chamber of Commerce has arrived," the new butler Liewen had hired reported as he entered.

"Show him in."

"Yes."

The butler slowly exited the study, and before long, he returned leading a middle-aged man in a black robe.

"Greetings, Viscount Andrew," the black-robed man said, bowing to Liewen.

"Mr. Walter, no need for formalities. Come, sit," Liewen gestured for Walter to sit opposite his desk.

"Robert, go brew some tea," Liewen instructed the butler.

The butler exited the study as ordered, and soon returned with a pot of black tea; after pouring a cup for both Liewen and Walter, he withdrew from the room.

After Liewen and Walter exchanged a few pleasantries, Walter got straight to the point: "Is there something you needed me for, Viscount?"

"Mr. Walter is the temporary person-in-charge for the Dawson Chamber of Commerce in the Holy Union, so naturally, I am interested in doing business with the Dawson Chamber of Commerce," Liewen said with a smile as he took a sip of black tea.

In the original story, Linley's failed first love had quite a bit to do with Kalan of the Debs Family.

Linley's good friend Yale was a young master of the Dawson Chamber of Commerce, and to vent his frustration for Linley, he specifically had the Dawson Chamber of Commerce target the Debs Family, with Walter being the one responsible for handling the matter.

"Oh? What kind of business does the Viscount have in mind?"

Liewen turned the Andrew Family asset list on the desk around and pushed it toward Walter.

"I would like to entrust the Dawson Chamber of Commerce with selling off the assets of the Andrew Family."

"That is easy enough. May I ask which assets the Viscount wishes to sell?" Walter asked with a smile; the Dawson Chamber of Commerce had a wide range of business operations, and they handled such brokerage services as well, especially enjoying business with nobles.

Because the assets of nobles were often quite valuable, they could collect significant commission fees, and for some assets that the Dawson Chamber of Commerce took a liking to, they would buy them outright.

Liewen pointed at the list with his finger: "All of them."

Walter was stunned: "All of them?"

Liewen confirmed: "Yes, all of them."

Walter couldn't help but ask: "Has the Viscount encountered some kind of difficulty?"

He did not understand why Liewen would want to sell off his family's assets.

Could it be that he has incurred a massive gambling debt? Walter guessed to himself.

"That is not something you need to ask about," Liewen said indifferently.

"It was my rudeness; please forgive me, Viscount," Walter realized his impropriety, "Rest assured, Viscount, the Dawson Chamber of Commerce will certainly find the best buyers for you."

Liewen nodded: "There is one more thing. I hope you can help me acquire some mansions in Hess City, the capital of the Hess Kingdom."

"Acquire mansions in Hess City?" Walter was shocked by Liewen's words once again.

The Hess Kingdom was to the north of the Fenlai Kingdom, and both countries belonged to the Holy Union, separated by the Hanmu Kingdom and several duchies.

Selling off assets in the Fenlai Kingdom and then buying mansions in Hess City? What is this Viscount Andrew trying to do? Is he planning to take the money and run?

Several guesses flashed through Walter's mind, but this time he did not ask; he quickly wiped the shock from his face and displayed his professional demeanor.

"What kind of mansions does the Viscount wish to purchase? How many? Do you have any requirements regarding location, environment, price, or other factors?"

Liewen said: "No requirements, as long as they are within Hess City. As for how many? Use all the gold coins obtained from selling these Andrew Family assets to buy them; buy as many as you can. There is only one condition: it must be completed within two years."

Walter felt his professional composure being severely challenged, but he struggled to keep his expression calm; he no longer intended to guess Liewen's motives, as he wouldn't be able to figure them out anyway.

"Very well, our Dawson Chamber of Commerce will certainly satisfy the Viscount."

After the two chatted briefly, Walter took his leave.

Liewen sipped his warm black tea, looking at the Andrew Family asset list.

The reason he wanted to sell off his assets was to escape the Day of Destruction that would arrive in three years.

The current year is 9997 of the Yulan Calendar. According to the memories from his past life, on January 1st of the year 10000, Fenlai City will face a catastrophic disaster.

Led by a God-level Magical Beast, the magical beasts within the Magical Beast Mountain Range will launch a beast tide, occupying one-third of the territory of the Holy Union.

At that time, the Fenlai Kingdom, the Hanmu Kingdom, and several duchies will be overrun by magical beasts, and the Holy Union will only manage to halt the beast offensive at Hess City.

The Fenlai Kingdom will perish on that Day of Destruction, and the prosperous Fenlai City will become the territory of the magical beasts.

With the people gone, things like hotels, shops, and mansions will naturally become worthless, so Liewen needs to cash out while he still can.

As for purchasing a mansion in Hess City, it is because under the assault of the magical beasts, the nobles from the Fenlai Kingdom, the Hanmu Kingdom, and several duchies will all flee to Hess City as refugees, at which point the price of mansions will skyrocket several times over.

Liewen is buying in advance now so that he can make a huge profit when that time comes.

After resolving the matter of his assets, Liewen settled down in his mansion to cultivate, keeping a low profile and rarely stepping out.

He spent his time cultivating his battle qi while simultaneously gaining insights into the Laws of Light.

He had already ceased his medicinal baths and physical training, as his current raw physical strength was already comparable to a sixth-rank warrior, the absolute peak for an ordinary person.

Ordinary people who train their bodies purely without the support of battle qi can only reach the level of a sixth-rank warrior; only a very small number of gifted individuals can reach the seventh-rank, and as for eighth-rank warriors, only those with the bloodline of the Four Ultimate Warriors can achieve it.