CHAPTER 28: CHAPTER 28: THE TWO FACES OF NOBILITY

"This woman actually inquired about the Frozen Lands."

To be honest, Ryan was still rather surprised. After all, his Frozen Lands were situated on the remote border of the Northern Wind Province, cut off by forests and swamps. No one wanted to go there—especially not in winter.

"Lady Irina certainly has her sources."

Ryan smiled. This woman definitely didn’t know the real situation of the Frozen Lands—his territory didn’t even have proper roads.

So, it could only be Baron Hatton.

With that baron’s level of intelligence, he was probably being completely manipulated by this woman.

Ryan understood—Irina, at most, was using a bit of cleverness to extract information. After all, nobles were under no obligation to follow any rules when dealing with commoners.

"We merchants make our profits through information gaps. A single deal with a lord might be enough to earn me a top position in the guild."

Irina looked at Ryan with a pitifully charming expression, then handed him a silver-forged card.

"With this card, Baron Ryan can enjoy a five percent discount at our Blade & Rose Company. I hope you’ll favor my business in the future."

She believed that dealing with a young baron should be an easy matter.

After all, the Baron Ryan in front of her seemed completely captivated by her.

Looking at that face—enough to make countless women swoon—Irina didn’t mind deepening their "exchange" further.

"A five percent discount? That’s rather convenient."

Ryan waved the silver card in his hand.

"I plan to purchase 200,000 jin* of grain from Blade & Rose."

(*Note: 1 jin ≈ 0.5 kg or about 1.1 pounds)

"Two hundred thousand?!"

Irina’s eyes widened, this time not feigned. That barren place—the Frozen Lands—could possibly consume that much grain?

"Not just grain. I also want to buy 300 slaves. If you have slaves who can forge metal, I’ll take them all."

"If not, think of a way. Find me some blacksmiths willing to return with me to the Frozen Lands. For each one you find, I’ll pay you a gold coin as a reward."

"If you can handle this properly, I’ll give Blade & Rose priority in future trades with the Frozen Lands."

Most of the time, the Imperial Chamber of Commerce was the first choice for nobles to conduct business. Under such conditions, other merchants had to offer more benefits just to get a piece of the pie.

From Ryan’s earlier words, Irina had already picked up on which goods were likely to rise in value soon. But after some hesitation, she gritted her teeth and decided to sell them at the original price.

"Two hundred thousand jin of grain will require us to source from other areas—it may take a few days."

"The grain will cost 2,000 gold coins. Lord Ryan, you mustn’t cheat me."

"As for the 300 slaves, that’s not a problem. The Northern Wind Province may lack many things, but not slaves. Plus, our Blade & Rose Company just kept a batch of hardy field-working slaves—1,200 gold coins in total. But slaves who can forge..."

Irina clenched her teeth.

"Five hundred gold coins... no—six hundred. I’ll get ten of them from other firms for you, Lord Ryan."

In the end, once the deal was done, Irina had someone bring out 2,200 gold coins. The glittering chest of gold drew more than a few glances.

But this belonged to Baron Ryan—no one dared have any ideas about it.

The grain and slaves would take some time to arrange. Ryan gave Irina three days, as he would need time to transport everything back to the Frozen Lands. The orcs could appear in the Northern Wind Province at any time, and he didn’t want to risk running into them on the way back.

This also showed just how powerful Viscount Miles was. All the goods Ryan had just traded for were already prepared and ready for pickup by the steward within half a day.

"Rosen!"

With one successful transaction behind them, Ryan naturally stayed as a guest at the Blade & Rose Company. But he wasn’t going to just sit around doing nothing.

Calling Rosen over, Ryan handed him a warhorse he had obtained from Viscount Miles.

"Take my letter and immediately travel to Viscount Dragen’s domain to pay a visit. Say nothing—just give him my letter, and then bring back whatever he says."

"Once you’ve completed this, return directly to the Frozen Lands."

"Yes, my lord!"

Rosen clutched the letter tightly, treating it as more precious than his own life.

"Don’t be so nervous. It’s nothing major,"

Ryan said with a smile.

A noble must possess virtues such as integrity, courage, and dignity—but at the same time, a qualified noble must also have cunning, deceit, and greed.

Some things couldn’t be sold to others. In the entire Lingdu County, only two nobles were qualified to know in advance about the orcs moving south.

Having acquired 20,000 jin of grain and 70 warhorses from Viscount Miles, he now intended to obtain even more from Viscount Dragen.

After all, there were only two viscounts in Lingdu County, and the two were rivals—both personally and between their families.

In this calamity of the black goat orcs, a single piece of insider information could mean the difference between survival and the downfall of many nobles.

After giving Rosen his orders, Ryan began chatting with Irina about where in Zero Ferry City (Lingdu) one could buy enchanted armor. He also subtly asked about the relationship between the Black Goat Men and Viscount Miles.

"Fifteen years ago, there was a massive orc invasion of the Northern Wind Province. It was led by a not-very-intelligent bearfolk tribe, but it still caused enormous damage."

"During that invasion, a Black Goat tribe joined in. They took advantage of Viscount Miles leading his army to fight the bearfolk, and raided his territory."

"They stole all his wealth—and even ate his eldest son."

"His first wife couldn’t eat for days after the incident, and eventually passed away."

"The current eldest son, Kristan, and the other children were born to Viscount Miles’ second wife. It’s said that when his first wife was still alive, this woman was merely his mistress."

"As for the original eldest son, it’s said he was once considered the one who most resembled the Viscount—showing remarkable political and military talent even at the age of ten."

"I see."

Ryan sighed. No wonder the Viscount had been so furious upon hearing about the Black Goat Men.

His true heir had died. Viscount Miles must have felt utterly hopeless.

After all, the current Kristan was performing worse than even the youngest son, Lagg.

"Does Viscount Miles have any conflict with the Rimehart Count family?"

Ryan was realizing how well-informed these merchant houses truly were.

Irina looked at Ryan with some confusion. Over the course of the day, she had gathered more information on this young baron.

"When Grand Duke Meyers conquered the Northern Wind Province, not a single Meyers appeared in the region. It’s said that Rimehart Count had a hand in that."

"Ah?"