《Road to the Crown》35 - Taking the matters into my own hands
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"Is that everything?"
Looking at the two small chests brought to me by Elia's family and the association of my men, I couldn't help but grin internally while faking a serious expression on the outside. While I would love to make use of my super-duper-ultra-great system to either scan the expression of the two exiles-to-be to make sure nothing was hidden inside that wasn't supposed to leave the mansion… Either this system had no such usability in the first place, or I simply had no idea how to find it.
"Yes, or do you want to take even this little bit from us?"
Sending me a hateful look as if I was the cause of their downfall in the first place, Onar spat out those words through his gritted teeth. With his saber - the most valued companion of all the lower nobles - still in the hands of my people, he continued to alter his sight between longing looks directed towards his weapon and a gaze filled with despise and pure hate aimed at me.
"Well, it depends on what you put in there. Men, search them again."
In a situation like this, I wasn't going to take any chances. Following my orders in an instant, a new batch of men that didn't help Elia's family pack before jumped towards the crates and started throwing everything out on the floor, looking for the stuff that they might've managed to sneak in.
And just like that, three pouches filled with coins, two pieces of golden jewelry generously embedded with various kinds of gems, and surprisingly, a small notebook, that I had to pick myself after my men simply dropped it on the floor and discarded it as something unworthy of their attention!
Just like a stupid friend of mine who fell into the trap of supplying his… friends with substances that weren't strictly legal, either Onar or his mother actually written off the list of their own damned people inside the city!
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As I browsed more and more pages of this handy book, more and more details about various shady businesses unveiled its secrets in front of my eyes!
"Explain to me this one thing… If you never intended to go back or meddle with our affairs, why did you need this notebook for?"
Finally closing it and holding the thin book in my hands while waving it in front of the kneeling people, I didn't get any reaction out of them outside of the usual, filled with hate stare. Since they were going to play this game like that, I didn't mind tuning myself to their own tastes.
"Elemo!"
While I didn't mind asking anyone from the militia to do other kinds of mundane tasks, handling the affairs with money had to be done through the hands of the nobles directly under me. Throwing one of the pouches that those fuckers attempted to hide towards my retainer, I looked at Elia's former family for a moment, before shifting my gaze to my fake fiancee.
"I hope you won't mind it, but this thing here…", I waved the notebook I still held in my hand, as it was too precious to give up even for a second, "... proves that they were going to break their words anyway. With that said, I can't be as nice to them as you wanted to be."
"Sure, do your thing."
Shrugging her shoulders, Elia turned her head away, as if she thought the things were about to get dirty. But contrary to her expectations, I wasn't going to get violent with those people. There were better ways to make sure they wouldn't pose any threat during the first few months that would take us to stabilize the situation and establish ourselves in this city.
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"Elemo, leave only two red goldens in the pouch. You can split the rest equally among everyone."
While I only judged the worth of the coins inside the pouch basing on how much it weighed in my hand, in the end, I never expected to find additional gold in this situation, so raising the morale of my men just like that was as good as using it on any other project. With the few ideas, I had in mind, making money wouldn't be any problem in just a matter of a few days anyway.
Making cement was one of the first things I wanted to introduce, along with the beer that I required to establish control over one of the most profitable and popular aspects of the economy of my lands, but so far, neither of those two projects could be turned into a raw profit in a short amount of time, requiring vast amounts of gold for the wages and all sorts of initial costs instead. That's why, during the time we had to waste to reach Pilzno, I looked through the system to find something that I figured out all the way back when I couldn't enjoy the soup of my recipe as much as I thought would be.
While hearing the cheers of the militia while watching the sour faces of Elia's family as they most likely realized the first part of my plan that I was going to explain them anyway, I couldn't help but recall one particular kind of memory from my past life.
"Listen now. Since you couldn't follow either of your promises, let's have some fun. I'm not a monster to kill you right here and now… Or rather, I don't think it is worth wasting two weeks of my life in house arrest only to obtain the satisfaction of killing you guys myself."
Reaching my hand to the side, I grabbed now light pouch that Elemo instantly placed on top of my palm, before throwing it in front of the kneeling duo.
"This money is all that you are allowed to take outside of what you have on yourselves right now. What's more, I will have my men escort you outside of the city, so that you won't get in touch with any of your former… friends."
While I officially claimed this, the real intention behind my scheme, was to deprive them of the ability to rent or buy any horses in the city, where people would still respect them enough to exchange the gold coins for a currency used by normal people. Forcing them to organize their mounts outside of the city walls, meant that if they didn't want to simply be robbed by some random thugs, they would have to go to the next city on foot!
"Also, if I were in your place, I would make sure to travel fast. After all, the nights are dark and full of…. Bandits!"
Stopping myself in the last moment from making a reference of one of the shows that I loved all the way till its producers took the initiative to destroy all their hard work with the final season, I graced them with devious smile number seven from my collection of repulsive expressions, before turning my back to them.
"Men, lead them away!"
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The Beast and The Swallow
Of all the tales in all the lands, there isn't a story more famous and more heart-wrenching than the one about the Beast and the White Swallow. Never heard of it? Then come closer, for it is about to unfold before your very own eyes. In a far-away land of snow and mystery, the fates of two bastards entangle. He is a warrior and a ruler. She is a physician with a tormented past. Now both of them will have to learn not only to live together but also to fight against any and all that threatens to ruin their happiness. Amongst chaos, schemes, and war, will they manage to fulfill the most difficult task - finding the way to each other's heart and soul? The path won’t be easy. A dark cult and even darker magic are resurfacing after years of slumber. And while they wreak havoc in the lands of Norden, the Star-gazer’s voice echoes in the night, heralding a dangerous future: When the Beast falls, the Swallow shall triumph. For the Sun to shine over Norden, the Swallow must be devoured. Many thanks to @AngrySpider for composing this soundtrack for the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrzUOUCrMA4
8 234Uralter
He fought his way to the top. His birth was lowly. His life had been insignificant. But his will to survive was unwavering. One day, his soul merged with an unknown existence. From that point forward, he was destined for greatness. Each step of his path was marked with danger, but he did not stop. From nothing, he rises with an era of legends.
8 202Magician's Pact
A young boy with a special key finds himself caught up with an old wizard, an ancient prohpecy, and a possibly conspercy. This sounds like the sort of thing most childern would love to be a part of, but there are just three small problems. The first is that he is not the hero. Someone already got that role. The second is that he isn't a wizard. He is a Magician which complicates things. The third is that there might be a chance that the whole 'problem' might be comming from his end. Personally he never understood (or interacted with) the 'secret' magical world, but that becomes a problem when the magical world apparently has what his role is supposed to be according to their ancient book... and they are not to happy about him not matching their book. Still it shouldn't be to hard right? All he has to do is go to a school, learn some wizard magic, make sure nobody takes his key... also avoid dying. Thankfully he has had a lot of expereince with that last part and a bunch of Twig Twirling childern can't be too dangerious? Right?
8 102HATEFUL SIN
Sin was his name and hate was all he knew. Born under cruel circumstances and treated as if he was the lowest scum to have ever existed, it was impossible for him to know what love was. The only thing that kept him going was the thought, that one day he would be able to return all that he was given, ten fold. ^_^ >. As you can see i suck at writing synopsis, but if you wish feel free to read the first chapter and then you can decide wether you wish to continue reading my first attempt at this genre or you can turn tail and run, whichever you please.
8 75Capital of Greed
[Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] The Cosmic Realm, the Infernal Realm, and the Mortal Realm constitute the world of Avaritia, a prosperous land of might and magic. With Humans, Elves, Dragons, Hobbits, Dwarves, and even Gods inhabiting its lands, it is a world that is as rich in history as it is in strife. For thousands of years, the Three Realms were locked in relentless conflict; the Mortal Realm serving as the battlefield. The three sides secured victories both large and small, but none managed to truly prevail over the others. Unable to watch his children slaughter each other, the God King Raidriar sacrificed his own life and split the Three Realms, stopping the endless wars. However, with his death, he left a prophecy. “On the eve of the Fourth Millennium, when the tears of Ausar finally run dry, the Throne of Fortune will appear.”“And he who ascends the Throne will be named ‘King of the World’.” And now, many years have passed and the fabled time has finally come. The Three Realms have shown signs of reuniting once again and the Gods have begun to place their bets on their chosen champions. Amidst this contest of epic proportions arrives one pesky transmigrator. -------------------------------------------Main Character Introduction: Atlas Constantine, previously John Doe, is the newly transmigrated 13-year old Prince of the recently fallen Constantine Kingdom. He is a genius, narcissist, a megalomaniac, and an ex-politician with nearly sixty years of experience. He is known for his treacherous character, bottomless greed, and glib tongue. He is also petty, vain, shameless, paranoid, and manipulative. A person whose moral standards are egregiously low. To summarize him in a sentence... "If people ever ask you to define the word 'Genius', just tell them my name.":- Atlas Constantine-------------------------------------------Tags: Transmigration, High Fantasy, Male MC, Weak MC, No Cheats, Kingdom Building, Wars, Territory Management.Upload Rate / Time: 1 chapter/ day. 8:00 AM CST. Note: This novel is a High Fantasy set in a world with varied cultures and multiple races. It is important to note that the characters, events, and motives are PURELY FICTIONAL and have no relation to real events or people whatsoever.
8 180Temporary Alliance
They used to be inseparable as they grew up together. Now, she doesn't even want to look at his face, much less be in his presence. She had successfully avoided him for the last 4 years, but when her safety becomes gravely compromised and her parents go missing, she has no choice but to turn to him for help.He's willing to help. The only problem is, it's not for free.
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