"I'm furious! I'm furious! That Claire actually dared to humiliate us like this!" Baron Eugene gripped his longsword and continuously hacked at the furniture in the room.
The nobles seated nearby all wore furious expressions as well. By now, how could they not see that they had been completely played by Claire?
"I'm going to kill her!" Baron Eugene continued hacking at the furniture to vent his rage. He had suffered the greatest loss—fifty thousand Gold Coins, gone just like that. That was most of his fortune!
"That bastard!" Baron Eugene swung his longsword a few more times before finally stopping, panting heavily, though his mouth still kept spewing curses.
"Where's that bastard Frank? Why isn't he here?" Eugene asked with his hands on his hips.
Lord Wilby curled his lip. "He moved his entire family out of Nafu City last night. He must've arranged this with Claire beforehand to swindle us out of our money. Once they got it, he ran."
"Damn it!" Baron Eugene grew even angrier at the news. "That damned bastard came back that day to join forces with Claire and trick us! I was wondering why he looked so pale! Where did he run off to? Drag him back here! Killing him wouldn't be enough to vent my anger!"
"He left last night. By now, he's probably already reached another territory. Besides, who knows where he ran off to?"
Baron Eugene was so enraged that he raised his longsword and went on another hacking spree. Only then did he finally manage to calm down.
"Forget him for now. Our top priority is figuring out how to get our money back!"
At those words, pained looks appeared on the nobles' faces. The money they had donated already amounted to most of their wealth. If that damned Frank hadn't suddenly donated thirty thousand Gold Coins, they would not have followed suit and given away so much. Now it had all fallen into Claire's hands!
Lord Wilby's eyes shifted as he lowered his voice. "If it really comes down to it, we can do the same thing as last time..." As he spoke, he drew a hand across his throat.
Baron Eugene froze. A faint smile had just appeared on his face when a sound from outside interrupted him.
Clop, clop, clop!
The loud, crisp sound of hoofbeats rang out once more, interrupting Baron Eugene's plan. Ever since they had returned, groups of knights had been patrolling outside their homes without rest. They claimed it was to inspect the city, but everyone knew they were watching them.
"Damn it!" Baron Eugene slammed a fist onto the table. "With them watching us like this, we won't get a chance!"
Baron Eugene had no doubt that the moment he made contact with those assassins, thirty or forty knights would rush in the next second and clap him in irons.
Hearing the synchronized hoofbeats, the other nobles instinctively shrank their necks, somewhat frightened.
The sight of those knights drawing their greatswords right in front of them had left a deep impression on them. Back then, with just one charge, every one of them would have died on the spot.
"Forget it. We shouldn't provoke her anymore." Eugene practically ground the words out through his teeth.
The other nobles exchanged looks and nodded in agreement. After all, in a direct confrontation, they were no match for Claire.
"Don't tell me you donated all your money. You must have something left, right?" Baron Eugene looked around and continued, "Let's pool some more money and bring in another batch of goods. Nearly every shop in Nafu City is in our hands. If we go bankrupt, all of Nafu City will go down with us. Claire won't dare touch us!"
"As long as we bring the goods back in, Nafu City will still be ours!"
"Mhm, mhm!" The other nobles nodded repeatedly. Noble Law protected their private property as sacred and inviolable. Even if Claire was a viscount, she could not use force to make them hand over their shops.
"My lord Baron, something terrible has happened!" A servant pushed open the door and rushed in, looking extremely flustered.
Baron Eugene rose angrily from the sofa. "We're having a gathering! Can't whatever it is wait until it's over?"
The servant panted heavily and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Something truly terrible has happened."
Baron Eugene frowned. This servant was usually quite steady. If something enormous had not happened, he would not be this panicked.
"What is it?! Speak!"
"The viscount is giving away goods for free at the city gate! They're all things sold in our shops. If this continues, no one will come to buy from our stores!"
Boom! Baron Eugene felt as though a bolt of lightning had struck him. His entire body went limp as he collapsed back onto the sofa.
He muttered to himself, "How... how is that possible? Where did they get goods to hand out to those lowborn peasants for free?"
Suddenly, Baron Eugene slapped his forehead, connecting every clue into a single thread. His voice trembled as he said, "Could it be... there were no bandits at all?"
At that thought, he hurriedly climbed to his feet and grabbed the servant by the sleeve. "Quick! Prepare a carriage! I'm going there to take a look!"
Although the other nobles did not know what had happened, they followed Baron Eugene to the city gate.
The moment they arrived at the city gate, the nobles understood everything. Weren't those carts carrying goods their families' carts? Claire had dragged them out without even trying to hide it. She had not even removed the labels from the merchandise—they all came from the same supplier they used.
Baron Eugene collapsed onto the ground, staring blankly at the lowborn people continuously receiving goods from the knights. Those goods had originally belonged to them...
"Baron Eugene, are you all right?" A concerned voice came from nearby.
Baron Eugene turned his head. The figure stood directly beneath the sun, and the blinding light made it impossible to see her face clearly. He narrowed his eyes before finally recognizing who it was.
"Claire!" Baron Eugene said through gritted teeth.
Claire crouched down and tugged at his collar before releasing it. "Baron Eugene seems rather down on his luck now."
"Isn't this all thanks to you?!"
"No, no, no! It was caused by your own greed." Claire smiled.
"Did you come here just to laugh at us?" Eugene rose to his feet and dusted himself off. No matter what, he could not lose a noble's dignity.
"No!" Claire raised one finger and waved it. "I came to make a deal with you."
"You think we'll foolishly make a deal with you again like before?" Lord Wilby stepped forward as well.
"Hear me out first." Claire continued, "Give me all your businesses in Nafu City, and I'll give you some money. You can still continue developing in another city."
"Impossible!" Baron Eugene reacted especially fiercely. He had worked so hard to build up his businesses in Nafu City. If he moved to another city, it would be impossible to establish such a monopoly again.
Claire was in no hurry. She merely smiled and said, "Are you sure you don't want to think it over? How long can your money keep you going in Nafu City?"
She pointed to the convoy distributing goods behind her. "Most of your money is in my hands. I can keep giving out supplies for free like this for years. During those years, your shops won't earn a single Copper Coin. Are you sure you want to keep dragging this out with me? How long can the money in your hands support your comfortable lives in Nafu City? That's all I have to say. Think it over carefully."
Claire's words made the nobles' eyes flicker as their minds raced. If this continued, they would undoubtedly lose. They truly did not have much money left; otherwise, they would not have needed to pool their funds to bring in another shipment. Claire's promised years would not even be necessary—within two or three months, they would all be unable to hold on.
"Think it over carefully. I'll head back first." Claire turned to leave.
However, Baron Eugene stopped her. "I'll leave! But you can't give me too little money!"
With someone taking the lead, the remaining nobles agreed one after another.
"You're all smart people!" Claire smiled and clapped her hands, then waved for Tax Official Robin to come over. "Discuss it with him."
Surrounded by the nobles, Robin walked to another spot. The nobles began bargaining, hoping their businesses could be exchanged for enough money to let them live comfortably and freely in another city.
Claire merely glanced at them before walking over to where the goods were being distributed.
When the people saw Claire approaching, they fell to their knees. "Thank you, my lady Viscount!"
Claire did not know whether to laugh or cry. She waved her hand and quickly told them to stand.
Hant also emerged from among the people distributing goods.
"My lady!"
"How is it going?"
"The more remote villages have already had those brats haul the carts over. Everything should be finished by this afternoon."
"Good." Claire turned to look at the nobles who were still bargaining, and Hant's gaze followed hers.
Claire said cryptically, "Work overtime tonight."
Hant was clever and quickly understood what Claire meant. He flashed a grin, revealing his large white teeth. "Understood, my lady!"
Claire smiled as well. Those nobles could die, but they absolutely could not die within Nafu City. Did they think Noble Law had been issued for fun? Otherwise, with Hant and those knights under her command, she could have easily wiped out nobles like Eugene. Why would she have dragged this out until now?
Everyone could know that those nobles had died at her hands, but there could not be any evidence proving that she had done it. The great nobles all understood this perfectly well. Quite a few lesser nobles serving under great nobles had died mysteriously—didn't everyone know what had happened? They did, but as long as it was not brought into the open, no one would bother to make an issue of it for a few dead lesser nobles. Besides, it was only speculation. There was no evidence at all.
Before you continue