Chapter 101

Nina wondered what to say at Kirill’s words.

“An interesting story······. Oh, I was confessed by the Imperial Prince.”

“What?”

What, what is that disbelieving sound about?

Kirill’s eyes sparkled with excitement at once.

“Let me tell you.”

Nina began to talk and it was soon after dark.

Three days later, the second party arrived. Then Adrian held a meeting with the schedule and plans he had set up.

All those with important positions participated in the meeting.

“I’ll put all my energy into the Duchy for two years.”

The end of the plan, which began with a short and simple line, was set for years later when the Duke of Luverne had finally become the number one imperial figure.

Adrian said.

“The greatest sword of the empire is in our estate, and nothing else can fall short of that.”

“Of course.”

Louis, the General Manager, replied with a smile. Lorocomo replied, “I’ll do my best.” Chief Officer Geramim also had sparkling eyes, and so did Nina.

Jack also showed his face, saying that he was in charge of information. Nina was bewildered because he had a completely different face from usual, but she didn’t show it.

Now is the time to stretch out the roots and grow the stems to make them visible to others at once. As fast as how much they have been waiting for.

They have to grow as quickly as possible without giving their opponents time to stop them.

Adrian tapped his finger on the desk.

“Let’s start with the local government.”

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After that, the next half of the year had been brutal. The Dark Knights had to deal with the dissent of the surrounding territories at the same time as the extermination of bellacs.

When the surrounding territories pressured the Duchy to pay off the remaining debts together with the interest one by one, they simply did not accept them.

They demanded more interest or raised the price.

So Nina solved those problems with a duel.

They didn’t refute and paid for the shockingly high interests of 40% or even 50% a year, but now they were even ridiculously asking for something that wasn’t in the contract.

Though of course, that hasn’t happened again since they learned that the Dark Knights were really strong.

The first harvest in autumn was tremendous. Usually, a single grain of wheat could yield between 10 and 12 grains. But the Luverne’s Duchy wheat could produce at least 30 grains per single grain used.

As the minimum yield was doubled and tripled compared to the past, of course, the amount of money earned had also increased.

During the tax season, the Imperial Auditors wandered around the Duchy with their greedy eyes, but learning that the Duke has been working hard these years, they couldn’t say a single thing.

Nina eventually had to force him to sleep when Louis and Jean said with trembling faces, “Because it’s only Nina that can do this.”

Even if they were lucky, other lands would only have a subpar harvest compared to Luverne. Provinces and countries that wanted the Duke’s wheat reached out.

Lorocomo and Mimina’s “Romie Merchant Guild” quickly swelled in size due to export trading, reaching not only the whole of the Ebensel Empire but also other kingdoms.

In the second year, the reconstruction of the mansion began when Louis declared, “I think I can now handle three or four dragons bathing in gold coins.”

From Badun Island in the North to the Arakil in the South, the “Romie Merchants” attracted the finest materials and the old Silver Lake Castle was reborn as a Silver Lake Citadel.

Nina demanded water and sewer pipes, and the architects ripped their hair to meet her demands. That concept was new to them, too. Thus, water pipes and sewage pipes were installed under the Silver Lake Manor.

That year, the capital’s townhouse was also rebuilt, which became a great spectacle for the people of the city.

“Oh, my God. It’s Akarian marble. It’s so beautiful.”

“I heard that all of the Silver Lake Manor on the estate is made of marble from Akara.”

“I’ve never seen such a big glass! Are all the windows in the mansion like this?”

“Did you hear? That cedar especially came from Killai.”

The architects who had been attracted to the challenges had maximized their skill and spent the budget like water, but the Duke’s funds had only increased instead of bottom out.

The money was overflowing, and people began to gather. Even if they weren’t farmers, there was plenty of work to do.

Waterways were built to distribute the water and new roads were paved. The Duke paved the roads and landscaped the area surrounding it.

All the big roads were covered with bricks, and trees were planted on the sides.

It was the first time in the Ebensel Empire to lay stones on a road and plant trees on the sidewalks that were not inside a city, so all the nobles sent spies to see if the rumors were true.

Thanks to that, Jack was busy as well. He showed his teeth and growled and grumbled, “Can you please stop showing off?”

Large planned cities were also established, some of which Randell planned himself. He wanted to make a new gathering hub for the wizards.

Adrian’s fastidious aesthetic became famous, and the architects and artists all struggled to be chosen by the Duke of Luverne, even an inn was built for those who asked for an audience with a letter of recommendation.

Rumors circulated among people that “even the dogs at the Luverne estate wear a silver collar.”

The number of soldiers increased and the training was brutal. Soldiers were also given weapons mixed with lency steel, and the uniforms were all given in different types depending on the mission.

The greatness of the Luverne Duchy was that there were funds to do anything.

Lorocomo ran into Nina while walking through the gorgeous conference hall.

“Commander.”

“Manager.”

They greeted each other formally, raised their heads, and smiled lightly.

“Is the construction coming to an end?”

Nina nodded at Lorocomo’s question. The three-year-old construction project was also nearing its final stage.

The Silver Lake Castle has been refurbished to match its new name of Silver Lake Citadel.

Marbles from the Akara Mountain, and golden faucets from the Lency Kingdom.

The colorful fountains and gardens created by the continent’s top architects were no less in quality than the ones found in the imperial palace.

No, there were even reviews that it was actually better than the Imperial Palace.

The Ghota family’s Stable also grew in an instant. Now, the three years old Luverian half-breed species had small, transparent horns, unlike the unicorns.

It was far less strong if it was set side by side with the original, but it was not comparable to any common horse.

When asked to race with a normal horse, it quickly sprinted to the front, leaving the opponent way behind. Moreover, it was excellent, fearless, and very clever.

There were a lot of requests to sell the Luvernian Steeds, but they turned it down declaring not to sell it until all the members of the Black Knights had one to use.

The uniforms of the Dark Knights have also improved. In collaboration with Randell, flameproofing, heating, and even self-restoration functions were added, allowing small scratches to be fixed on their own.

It was also great that the uniform could maintain constant temperatures in the middle of summer and winter. The request for the sale of the uniform cloth had also flooded through Lorocomo, but all were refused because it was a family secret.

Now that more Dark Knights had also been recruited and trained, the new recruits removed their tags of fledglings and the number of elite knights also increased.

The servants who moved from Viscount Chara to this side, have now completely settled in the Luverne Duchy, creating a certain framework even within the Luverne Family’s traditions.

Adrian spared no expense in calling experts in various fields; such as Vivian, who trained the servants in a dense etiquette course.

The Duchy uniform was also made anew, and a brooch was also made separately. Once the servants took off their uniforms because they were not at work, they proudly wore the brooch on their chests.

For the commoners of Luverne, working in the manor was the greatest advancement in a career.

The Black Shield Castle was also remodeled. Adrian was sorry to remove Nina’s personal interior design, but Nina pushed his sentiment away, saying, “Please change it quickly.”

It was a mystifying development for everyone.

When it was said that people could work without a letter of recommendation, a large number of scammers and people with ill-intended hearts also flowed into the estate but they all fell helplessly from the interviews with Louis, Randell, and Kirill.

High-ranking bellacs were often seen in the Duchy, but they would always be defeated.

“Three years seems very short, but in retrospect, it’s been very long.”

Lorocomo smiled.

His “Romie Merchant” was now one of the top three merchant Guilds, not only in the Empire but the whole continent.

“Right? I think we’ve gone crazy.”

Nina grinned.