episode_0014

Recently, Bradley, Earl of Somerset, was in deep trouble.

Rather than worrying, it was more like a conflict about whether I should be happy or worried.

First of all, it was something to be happy about that the family’s financial situation had improved significantly.

‘Count, as of this month, 30 percent of the family’s debt has been repaid.’

It was amazing.

It was difficult to pay off the interest every month, let alone the interest. Even the principal amount is partially deducted.

Not only that, some of the merchants who came to collect the debt had a completely different attitude from usual.

In the past, people would not hesitate to do rude things such as raising their voices to nobles.

‘Haha, Count, you have money and people, so what’s the big problem if your repayment is a little late?’

Instead, things happened where people took note of the situation and told people not to worry about interest.

Of course, there were words that followed.

‘But, Count, perhaps…? Are there any books left?’

Yes. I always ended with a question about children’s books.

“Is that book really that good?”

There was no news of the eldest son after he said he would go to the battlefield and make a contribution despite opposition, and I was worried that the remaining son was weak, but that started to change at some point.

Originally, I liked drawing and was kind to people, but I was timid and introverted.

‘Father, how about you get out of the family finances?’

My son suddenly urges me to retire.

What was even more shocking was that the vassal, Viscount Klein, agreed with his son’s remarks.

‘What are you saying? There may be a silver mine in our territory now. ‘Can you tolerate this?’

‘No, not even silver ore, but is there a mine that produces silver ingots!’

A mining expert came to visit us when our family’s financial situation was getting a little better.

I was thinking about investing after seeing the silver bars he presented as proof that there was a silver mine in our territory.

It was immediately withdrawn due to opposition from the Viscount, who was responsible for the finances of his son and the estate.

Of course, the Count also had nothing to say. Because the word “mine” caught my eye and I almost fell for such a ridiculous scam.

Since the Elf Mountain special fertilizer incident, he has been unable to keep his cool when it comes to matters related to money.

So, as his son said, he withdrew from financial affairs and delegated full authority to Viscount Klein and his son.

“Still, I can’t stop my son’s path.”

He is a proud son who revived a family that was in decline by creating a new product called a children’s book.

Not long ago, he even received a plaque of appreciation from the imperial family, so he is already considered a sufficient successor.

However, if things continued like this, it was obvious that even if he were to succeed himself as the Earl, he would face difficult circumstances.

“Bring in Viscount Klein. I have something to discuss.”

As a father, I had to do nothing to be a hindrance even if I could not help.

***

“Ugh!!! Prince’s residence!! no!! Little Mermaid!!”

Now Ada has naturally become my first reader.

This time too, I showed Ada the manuscript of “The Little Mermaid” before turning it into a book.

Ada’s first reaction was to put her head down and read intently as usual.

As I reached the end of the book, tears began to form at the corners of my eyes.

In the end, I burst into tears when I saw the ending of the prince not recognizing the mermaid and the prince leaving and returning to the sea.

“I hate you, oppa! Let the mermaid princess compete with the prince!!”

Ada is assaulting me with her small hands clenched into fists.

After getting hit, I turned around and got a massage on my back, filled with joy.

I can control my readers’ emotions.

Ada’s reaction right now is exactly what I wanted.

It’s easy to scare children by making something cruel or scary.

But stories alone can make children feel sad?

This is a very difficult problem.

There are no beings as pure in emotion as children. Children accept both funny and sad things as their raw emotions.

Rather, they react like a knife to emotions created by adults’ clumsy calculations.

In that sense, was a perfect work to show children the feeling of sadness, unlike other children’s books so far.

‘Now I will give you sorrow too. I will give you sadness, which is more precious than love.’

A line from a famous Korean poem comes to mind.

What is the role of children’s books?

Why do children’s fairy tales have tragic endings? If you think about it, this is a necessary scene.

Because children can know love by learning how to feel sad properly.

As Ada reads this time, she will realize the sadness that not everything turns out to be happy and that the choices she makes can turn into tragedy.

This is how children grow.

“Oppa’s residence!!”

Ada, realizing that the punches she throws with her small fists are only giving me a massage, bites the back of my neck.

“Evil!!”

Clearly visible teeth marks.

However, I managed to calm Ada down by hugging her, who was still biting me as if I was still angry.

Seeing Ada fuming and shedding tears, my thoughts changed a little.

Isn’t it really a love affair that makes children grow up?

***

“No! Reservations are made only at the main branch.”

“But branch leader, this is a request from Baron Sleepy, our branch’s biggest customer.”

“But that doesn’t work! The Lord of the Sangsan is now rejecting the duke’s request. It’s not something we can handle.”

As the news spread that the third children’s book was about to be published, each branch of the Yuren upper division went into an uproar.

It was rather easy to deal with the fact that noble families with whom we had no business relations visited us and begged us to hand over books.

Because you can simply ignore it.

However, it was difficult for me to refuse when the families I had a contract with came to me and asked me to get books.

It’s a shame that the supply version assigned to each branch could be sold in a certain quantity. If it weren’t for that, the nobles who were offended would probably have canceled their contracts altogether.

High-end hardcover books could only be reserved at the main store, and it was difficult to obtain a raffle ticket, let alone reserve a custom-made book.

In the case of hardcover books, pre-orders were only accepted if the transaction performance with Uren Sangang exceeded a certain amount, and the same was true for the lottery for custom-made books.

“There is no chaos like this.”

Absinthe, head of the Goldful Valley branch, suffered from the nobles’ anger from the morning.

But there was a smile on his face.

This is thanks to the explosive increase in income as the number of noble families contracting with the new Yuren Merchants to purchase children’s books has increased significantly.

‘I never thought it would turn out just as the Lord of the Sangang said.’

Back when he first signed a contract for a children’s book, Absinthe did not understand that the owner of the business was pouring so much effort into the business.

At the time, I secretly laughed at the supremacist remarks that children’s books might become a strategic weapon to attack the stubborn aristocracy.

When it turned out exactly as he had predicted, I couldn’t help but be amazed.

As expected, it was absinthe that I believe still retains the legendary merchant’s sense of not a single drop of ‘blood’ coming out when pricked.

***

“Ugh!! Get rid of it!! I need a lift!!”

The sight of Rupert Somerset roaring before his eyes gave Esteban a headache.

‘Here we go again.’

Holding back a sigh, Esteban began to comfort Rupert again.

“Fix it, young master.”

“Even if me and the owner of the merchant make money outside. How can I tolerate money leaking at home?”

I have felt this before, but you are very greedy for material things.

Even now, when his father, Earl Bradley, said he would host a banquet, he exploded after checking the amount of money spent on it.

‘He doesn’t seem like a nobleman.’

This meant something good. Because they communicated much better and their ideas got along much better than other nobles who talked about honor and dignity.

But these days, nobles seem to be worried about the money they spend on banquets, which is a given.

As Esteban, it was difficult to understand why he reacted indifferently to expensive clothes and items, but reacted enthusiastically to a new potion from the Alchemy Guild.

‘I’m not a slave to some kind of mine.’

It was like watching a mine worker working because the work was so hard and difficult that no one wanted to do it, so only prisoners and slaves worked.

Because what they loved more than food or other luxury goods was vitality potions.

“Master, do you know why noble families hold banquets?”

“That’s what I understand. This is because of the social situation where you are not recognized as a noble if you do not host a banquet.”

Rupert gives a cursory answer as if he is not interested.

For some reason, I felt like punching him if he answered bluntly with that face, but Esteban quickly put it away and continued the conversation.

“Nobles are not beings who stand alone. No matter how powerful a noble is, if there is no one to support them and guide them, they are no different from commoners.”

After speaking too strongly, Esteban continued speaking as he looked at Rupert, who was concentrating on the conversation.

“The Earls of Somerset currently have too little influence compared to their status as earls. Worst of all, the surrounding nobles are ignoring the influence of the territory and usurping it, so there is no way to respond.”

“What does that mean?”

“Master, do you know how much the estate’s revenue is?”

“That’s roughly… I understand that 50~60 gold is the monthly rent.”

Esteban hits his knee with his palm and sighs in response to Rupert’s answer.

“Does that make sense? Does the earl’s family have revenue from a fiefdom of this size? It should be at least twice that!”

“ Since there is no influence, even if the interest is usurped, there is no way to refute it, so it is a vicious cycle where the influence further decreases.”

Esteban nods at Rupert’s answer.

“That’s it. A family that does not hold banquets and stays away from social circles as an aristocrat is not recognized as a noble family by those around them.”

Esteban’s remarks accurately pointed out the current situation.

After the Earl of Somerset suffered an economic downturn, many of their vassals left, and because they had no money to socialize, they stayed away from the aristocratic world.

In this situation, the decline was accelerating because there were no fellow nobles to side with the surrounding nobles even when they claimed interest in the Earl of Somerset’s domain.

“So, the reason why Count Bradley is going out of his way to hold a banquet is to prepare for when you inherit the title later.”

Not all nobles hold banquets for extravagance or extravagance.

A banquet is a place to declare that one’s family is still alive and well.

Let’s look at Rupert, who is nodding his head and admiring what he said.

Esteban felt proud that his advice had worked.

It was a great benefit to himself to have Rupert, who signed a contract with him, strengthen his position.

“I understand. I never thought there was such a background. But the top… Is there any way to reduce the cost of the banquet?”

Esteban was getting tired of Rupert’s comments, which were worse than him and called cold-blooded.