HTLCCBFT Chapter 23

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 23

“Fur merchants from Gregor City want to see me?”

Oliver blinked and readily agreed, “Of course. Bring them in.”

Since today was the first day of the Summer Market, the wood-chopping maniac had paused his frenzied sweep for experience points.

After all, it was the first major business recruitment event since he’d arrived in Laina City, so he had to be present to oversee it.

Besides, all that corn and those sunflowers would start ripening tomorrow…

Oliver’s mood soared as he thought about the huge amount of Farming experience points he was about to pocket tomorrow.

“Fosse, you and Noel stay,” Oliver said with a smile. “And Johan, you stay as well.”

Although fur merchants weren’t of much use at the moment, they were still a connection. Moreover, the fact that they knew to request an audience with the lord right after arriving in Laina City showed their eagerness and sincerity in making a deal.

Not expecting to hear his name, Johan’s eyes widened in astonishment, and the step he had just started to take froze. “Yes, yes, Your Grace!”

Fosse gave him a cool glance but made no comment.

Meanwhile, Nisse and his party, who had been led to the castle gates to await the result of their request, were quietly discussing what level of gift they should present.

Nisse was truly in a bind.

He was about to meet the one and only Duke in the entire kingdom.

Even though he had been defeated in the coup, lost his power, and been driven out of the capital… for a common little merchant like him, just meeting the Duke was enough to brag about for a lifetime.

And judging from the facts that the new king had spared his youngest brother’s life and hadn’t found an excuse to strip him of his title, it was possible this Duke might be recalled to the capital in the future.

In that case, the gift he had prepared based on his previous visits to former lords seemed far too modest; it would have to be several times more valuable.

But he had made a special long journey and wasn’t going to make much profit to begin with… Was he really going to have to take a loss on this venture?

Neil noticed his brother’s hesitation and, after a moment of thought, suggested in a low voice, “My dear brother, even if we offered all our goods as a gift, that noble and wealthy Duke might not deign to give them a second glance.”

Hearing the implicit warning in Neil’s words, a cold sweat suddenly trickled down Nisse’s back.

That was right. If he was too stingy, he might instead offend the Duke who had agreed to receive them.

Before this Duke, the most noble person he had ever had the honor of meeting was just a baron, and even he had been sufficiently capricious.

If he were to truly anger the Duke…

Nisse slowly exhaled, his mind made up.

“The noble Duke is willing to see you. Your attendants are to remain in the market square.” Just then, the castle gate was pushed open again by the same knight, who gestured with his eyes for them to follow him. “You two, come with me.”

He said nothing more after that.

Although they had seen far more magnificent castles before, Nisse and Neil, having been inside one so few times, were already growing nervous. After walking for an unknown amount of time, the three of them, led by the knight at an unhurried pace, arrived before a heavy, closed wooden door.

“We’re here.”

The knight of few words stopped. After tossing out these words as if talking to himself, he respectfully announced their presence to the master inside.

Nisse vaguely felt he heard a very pleasant voice, but he suspected it was a delusion brought on by his excessive nervousness.

Before he could react, the knight had already placed his hand on the door. Before pushing it open, he gave the two uneasy men a meaningful glance.

“Remember, mind your etiquette.”

Looking at these two merchants who knew nothing about Duke Oliver, the knight, Kane, offered a rare piece of kind advice: “After performing the first bow, when you raise your head to look directly at the Duke, do not forget to perform the second bow.”

Then he slowly pushed the door open, paying the two no further mind.

Nisse and Neil had no time for further thought. They hurried into the reception hall and skillfully performed the first bow. “May God bless you, great master of Laina City!”

The moment the brothers raised their eyes to look at the person seated in the main chair… the two strikingly similar siblings simultaneously dropped their jaws in a most discourteous manner, their faces showing identical, almost comical blankness.

It was a short while after lunchtime. The afternoon sun, bright and scorching, shone through the wide windows, making the entire reception hall appear clean and spacious.

But even the bright, clear sunlight could not compare to the intoxicating splendor of that head of soft, lustrous golden hair.

Beneath thick lashes, a pair of eyes, bluer and more beautiful than a cloudless sky, gazed at them with a hint of a smile. They were like a whirlpool from the deep sea, poised to pull the mesmerized travelers deep within.

His skin was as fine and white as snow, his features so beautiful and exquisite that not even the most critical person could find fault. His long, well-proportioned limbs were in a relaxed posture, like a holy and beautiful angel sitting gracefully on a branch, lightly stretching its pure white wings.

His divine beauty, so deeply favored by God, was alone enough to make one dizzy and unwilling to look away. And the reserved nobility that stemmed from his highborn bloodline instinctively inspired awe.

No wonder.

Nisse thought in a daze. No wonder the old king not only praised him as the ‘Angel Duke’ and doted on him to the extreme, but even the new king, who had seized the throne through brutal means, could not bear to lay a fatal hand on his youngest brother…

Oliver, his mind preoccupied with taking this opportunity to purchase a large quantity of livestock and seeds, did not notice that the two men had been utterly bewitched.

He looked with considerable interest at the two brothers, who were still insisting on wearing leather hats and boots in this increasingly hot weather, and asked with a smile, “Are you the fur merchants from Gregor City?”

In the end, it was the expressionless Fosse who had to cough heavily twice to awaken the two dazed men from their dreamlike state.

“Oh, oh, oh, Your Grace, may God bless you.” Nisse’s second bow was performed with extreme vigor. Not only did he kneel on one knee, but his entire body was just short of prostrating completely on the floor. “Just as your wise self knows, we are indeed from Gregor City… but please believe us, believe me, we have been utterly and completely conquered by the charm of this beautiful city under your rule!”

Oliver: “……”

Watching Nisse ramble on, expressing his shock at Laina City’s many changes and his deep love for the reborn city, Oliver blinked blankly, the smile on his lips stiffening slightly.

What was going on?

Red. [mfn] In Chinese fiction (especially web novels), authors often use a single-color word like “红。” as a stylistic beat — a quick, almost cinematic cut to describe a reaction or visual without a full sentence. It’s a very Chinese literary rhythm trick — using a color or adjective alone as a visual flash before resuming normal narration. [/mfn]

Being gazed at so gently by the Angel Duke, whose beauty surpassed his own barren imagination, Nisse’s face flushed red with excitement.

He had always thought he wasn’t one for beautiful faces. Having traveled to so many cities and seen so many beauties, he usually couldn’t even be bothered to visit a tavern, engrossed only in selling his furs for a higher price.

He never dreamed that here, in the remote and desolate Laina City, he would feel such a strong impulse to offer up all his goods just to win a smile from this Angel Duke.

Oliver gave an awkward yet polite smile and posed his second question: “As for the source of your furs, do you purchase the animals and skin them yourselves, or do you acquire them from butchers or slaughterhouses?”

Oliver, of course, hoped the answer was the former.

The former implied a connection for purchasing animals in large quantities. The latter held little reference value for Laina City, which was still too poor in livestock resources to even support the profession of a butcher.

“Your esteemed Highness, our furs are all collected from the best butchers and hunters in Gregor City, then tanned using our family’s secret methods—”

Unfortunately, Nisse unhesitatingly gave the latter as his answer.

Oliver nodded slightly, the smile on his face unwavering, but his interest in the merchant had already waned considerably.

Completely oblivious to this, Nisse was so overwhelmed by the blood rushing to his head that he was on the verge of spouting the mad words, “I’ll offer all my goods to you.”

Butler Fosse, who had been watching silently from the side, seething with anger at the reckless duo, finally received his young master’s look for help.

“His esteemed Highness has heard your request.” The ever-composed and reliable Fosse did not disappoint this time either, immediately “sending” the two out with a cold expression. “You should take your leave now.”

Although Nisse very, very much wanted to stay, he was more afraid of this stern-looking butler, and also feared displeasing the gentle and amiable Angel Duke.

With his heart pounding wildly, he reluctantly led his younger brother Neil, who was still too stunned to have recovered his senses, out of the dreamlike reception room.

“What a passionate, hmm, and strangely lively person.”

Oliver commented with a light chuckle, paying no mind to what Nisse had just said.

Although it had surprised him, once he considered that this was just a sociable, silver-tongued merchant trying to curry favor with the lord of the territory for better profit… then it wasn’t strange at all, no matter how fawning he was.

Looking at his innocent and kind-hearted young master, Fosse opened his mouth to speak several times, but ultimately held his tongue.

Although Oliver had the self-awareness of being ‘slightly better-looking than most people,’ he had never thought of using this advantage and was thus naturally unaware of the destructive power of his own appearance. He took out the account book he had his subordinates prepare over the past few days. After skillfully flipping to a few specific pages, he only glanced at them briefly before closing the book again.

The frenzied squandering of the previous few pleasure-seeking lords had made Laina City’s financial situation—already unable to make ends meet due to poor harvests in recent years—even worse, plunging it into a severe deficit long ago.

Even the nobles in the castle, who did not engage in production and only needed to collect seasonal taxes, were living somewhat frugally. The common people, on the other hand, were living as if in purgatory. Just as Nisse had realized before his arrival, most people couldn’t even get enough to eat, making it utterly impossible for them to afford rare items like furs.

To Steward Fosse, who served the Duke with his twenty-odd chests of rare treasures, the jewels inlaid on a single one of the young master’s formal outfits were enough to buy all of Nisse’s goods. Of course, he would never deign to look at such cheap pelts.

Oliver sighed with some regret.

He would have to wait a few more days and see if any livestock merchants would show up at the Summer Market. Before that, he still had to find a way to sell off the large batch of liquor that the previous lord had selfishly bought on credit.

---

TL Note: Happy Monday! Bulk update