Early in the morning, the entrance to the Baronial Manor was already packed with every noble in Nafu City.
"Good morning, Lord Viscount!"
"Good morning, Lord Viscount!"
Claire smiled as she greeted them as well. "Good morning, everyone. Please, have a seat."
Once the nobles sat down, the maids placed fruit, desserts, and other refreshments on the tables. However, those things were merely decorations. Aside from children like Melly, no one paid them much attention. They had come mainly because of the words government official Frank had passed along yesterday.
Baron Eugene got straight to the point. "Lord Viscount, I heard from Frank that you are willing to send troops to help us suppress those bandits. Is that true?"
"Of course," Claire said. "They previously sent assassins to kill me, and now they have robbed your goods. Clearly, they do not take Nafu City seriously!"
Hearing this, the nobles all nodded. They had nearly forgotten that they themselves had spread the rumor that the bandits outside the city had tried to assassinate Claire. If Claire had simply decided to help them for no reason, they would have suspected some trap was waiting for them. But with the reason that she had been targeted for assassination as well, they felt much more at ease.
"Exactly, exactly! Lord Viscount was just assassinated the day before yesterday, and then our goods were stolen. Those bandits simply do not respect us! Lord Viscount, you must send troops to wipe them out!"
"Of course, I can send troops, but I will need some compensation," Claire finally revealed her true purpose.
"That is only natural!" Eugene patted his chest in assurance. If Claire had not wanted their money, he would have been even more uneasy.
"Lord Viscount, name any amount you want! As long as it is within our means, we will certainly provide the funds to support you!" Baron Eugene was a shrewd man. He first said Claire could name any price, then added the condition that it had to be within their means. If Claire asked for too much, they would still have an excuse to refuse.
Claire narrowed her eyes. "I do not want your money."
The nobles present were all stunned. You do not want our money? Then why did you say you needed compensation?
Claire looked up at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. "Ever since I was nearly killed by an assassin last time, I tossed and turned in bed that night and could not fall asleep. All I could think was how fragile life was."
She then looked at the nobles. "Tell me, how can a person die without ever having had the chance to enjoy anything in life?"
The nobles nodded in agreement. "Naturally not."
"So that night, I realized something. When people are alive, they should enjoy themselves properly. Other people's opinions, judgments, and views do not matter! I was too naive before. I always thought that, as the heir of the Griffin Family, I had to lead the viscountcy back to its former glory. But after that night, I became a completely different person inside."
"There are always unexpected events in life. I cannot die before I have had the chance to enjoy anything. There are still so many wonderful things in this world: fine wine, women, and money!" As she spoke, tears appeared in Claire's eyes, as though she had truly gained some profound realization.
"So I must apologize to all of you. I was too naive before. I could not distinguish between myself and those commoners, and I even treated you as enemies. Now, I just want to enjoy myself properly! To have piles of money and drink the finest wine in the world!"
Approval appeared in Baron Eugene's eyes. This fellow had finally come to his senses. He was clearly a noble, so why had he insisted on mixing with those lowly commoners?
Claire reached out and patted Baron Eugene on the shoulder. "Keep the clinic open as usual! Just give me twenty percent of the profits!"
Baron Eugene excitedly stood up and raised his glass of wine. "Thank you, Lord Viscount!" Giving up twenty percent of the profits was still better than getting nothing at all.
The other nobles also revealed delighted smiles. It seemed their lord viscount had finally seen the light.
Meanwhile, government official Frank watched coldly from the side, sneering inwardly. Hmph, a bunch of fools. They have all been deceived by his acting. That smiling fellow is the real devil!
Lord Wilbur spoke up. "After saying all that, where will Lord Viscount's money come from?"
The others looked over curiously as well. They also wanted to know where the compensation Claire had mentioned would come from.
Claire smiled lightly. "Naturally, just as before, it will come from the hands of those commoners!"
"Oh! Taxes?" The nobles now believed even more firmly that Claire had awakened.
"No! A lord must have a legitimate reason for everything! Those bandits have just tried to assassinate me and robbed your goods. This is a perfect excuse!"
"What do you mean?"
"We will come up with a pretext and ask them to donate in the name of funding the troops."
"What if they refuse to donate?"
"You donate first. Only after you donate will they follow suit. The more you donate, the more they will donate as well."
"What happens after the donations?"
"I will return your money in full, and we will split their money thirty-seventy."
"Who gets thirty, and who gets seventy?"
"I get thirty, and you get seventy!"
"What if we do not donate?"
"Of course you can choose not to. But then you will not get any of that seventy percent. The more you donate, the larger your share will be, and the more money you will receive."
Only then did the nobles finally understand. It seemed this lord viscount was even more ruthless than they were.
"Fine! No problem!" Eugene agreed.
"Then how much would you all like to donate?" Claire leaned forward slightly.
Lord Wilbur immediately raised his hand. "I will donate one thousand Gold Coins!"
Claire pursed her lips. That was still far below her expectations. Her eyes casually glanced at the silent government official sitting nearby.
Frank's scalp went numb from that single glance.
"I will contribute thirty thousand Gold Coins."
The nobles all looked over in shock. Were you insane? You wanted to contribute thirty thousand Gold Coins? They had all thought a few thousand Gold Coins would be enough for something like this, yet you were donating thirty thousand Gold Coins?!
"Are you crazy?!" Lord Wilbur shouted on the spot, pointing at Frank's nose as he cursed.
This made him lose face. I offered one thousand, and you immediately offered thirty thousand—thirty times as much as me. What are you trying to imply?!
Frank looked completely indifferent. "How much I am willing to donate is my business. You are only donating one thousand, so shut up. The money will be returned to me in full anyway. The less you donate, the more money I will get."
Only then did the nobles recall the importance of the four words Claire had just said: "returned in full!" In other words, this was a contest of wealth.
Even so, they still had some concerns. This was not a matter of a few thousand Gold Coins. Losing tens of thousands of Gold Coins would be a serious blow even to them.
Seeing this, Claire felt it was time to speak. "It is fine. You can donate one or two thousand Gold Coins, or even just a few hundred. I will not force you. Thirty thousand Gold Coins should be more or less enough for this matter."
Yet the more Claire acted this way, the more anxious the nobles became. If Claire had begged them to donate, they would still have had doubts. But now that she appeared completely unconcerned about whether she received their money, they became anxious themselves. This was a risk-free deal, a guaranteed profit!
Recalling what Claire had said earlier, Eugene slapped the table and made his decision. "I will contribute fifty thousand Gold Coins!"
"What boldness!" Claire praised, though she did not forget to add more fuel to the fire. "Eighty thousand Gold Coins should be enough. Everyone else can just donate a token amount."
"No! It is our honor to help Lord Viscount. How can we donate so little? I will contribute thirty thousand Gold Coins as well!"
When the other nobles saw someone else following suit, they began calling out their amounts one after another.
"I will give forty thousand!"
"I will contribute thirty thousand too!"
"Thirty thousand from me!"
"Twenty thousand from me!"
In the end, nearly all the nobles had donated most of their fortunes. Only Lord Wilbur, who had spoken first, was still at one thousand Gold Coins.
"Alright! That settles the matter." Claire clapped her hands and stood up.
"Please wait, Lord Viscount!" Lord Wilbur panicked and immediately said, "I will contribute fifty thousand Gold Coins too!"
Claire gave him a friendly smile. "Lord Wilbur is truly generous."
Thank you to "Yang" for the two monthly votes!!!!
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