Chapter 141 - Chapter 141: Sister Attacks Again
Steve had come to Brian's mansion after being summoned by Brian. There was a visitor waiting for both Steve and Brian.
It was someone Steve knew well.
"Big Sister, is this an incident?"
"It's a big incident."
The visitor was Freya. Baronet Parker was with her as well.
"What happened?"
"I got involved in futures trading again and lost a huge amount."
Freya pointed at Baronet Parker, treating him as the cause.
"Didn't my brother-in-law say he couldn't spend money however he pleased?"
Because of his failure in stocks, Baronet Parker had been stripped of the right to manage the estate's operations and could not touch the budget at all. At least, that was what Steve remembered.
"I thought he had reflected on his mistake and let my guard down, but he did it again."
Freya had thought Baronet Parker had learned his lesson, so recently they had been managing the estate together. When that Baronet went to Sowell Land, he heard that the cotton market was bustling. Moreover, rumors were spreading that his younger brother-in-law Steve was starting a new business that would use a massive amount of cotton.
So, Baronet Parker had built up a long position by buying. This was the story just before Steve met Joseph.
He had perfectly caught the high prices that Aurora and Evelyn had artificially inflated. Moreover, he had bought quite a lot.
From then on, the price of cotton fell relentlessly, and Steve knew that it was dropping towards the original price.
"So, you want to borrow money again?"
Freya delivered the main point.
Brian asked the daughter who was brimming with a sense of doom.
"How much?"
"One hundred thousand gold coins."
"That's quite a lot."
"The loss from futures isn't that bad, but I want to make a bold reform. I can't lose to Sherry."
Driven by her rivalry with her younger sister Sherry, Freya was planning a large-scale estate reform.
She intended to recruit technicians to educate the villagers and cultivate new industries.
"I see."
Brian looked at Steve.
"Father, please do as you wish. Managing the estate's funds is your authority, so I have no intention of interfering."
Steve was wondering why he had been called. Whether to lend money or not was Brian's authority. Moreover, since part of the compensation money borrowed from the Kingdom of Merda had been refunded, there was now a surplus in the finances. An amount like one hundred thousand gold coins would have no impact.
"Understood. I will have you write an IOU, but repayment can be at any time."
"Thank you, Papa."
Freya hugged Brian. Steve thought this was resolved and was about to stand up when Freya stopped him.
"Steve-chan, wait."
"What is it?"
"This time too, there were rumors about Steve-chan, so my people got caught at a high price. Do you understand?"
"I understand that."
"So, please do something about it this time too. It hasn't been settled yet."
"The one spreading the rumors is Lord Sowell anyway, so if there are complaints, please ask him."
"Impossible."
Freya could say it to her younger brother Steve, but she couldn't say it to Aurora. Even so, it was better that she could still say it to Steve; the other nobles who had been tricked with cotton were completely forced to swallow their losses.
The merchant guilds in the Royal Capital were included in those forced to swallow their losses.
This was the Lumoigne Trading Company, headed by Jesse Lumoigne. Although Lumoigne Trading Company was a major firm, it could not join Prince Carter's faction and instead belonged to Prince Alex's faction. In short, they were Prince Alex's designated merchants.
Lumoigne's own company was flourishing because Prince Alex's finances had become warm. At that time, they heard about the rise in cotton prices. They investigated the rumor that Steve, who seemed to be involved in the achievement that became the opportunity for Prince Alex, and found out that Aurora and Evelyn, who were deeply connected to Steve, were the main buyers, so they bought without any doubt.
When Joseph sold, the person himself was in the Royal Capital, and the agent in Sowell Land increased their position trying to support the cotton price.
It would have been fine if they had just closed the position instead of buying more, but by increasing their position further during the decline, they were put in a desperate situation.
Aurora would not miss such information and was consulting with Valier and Salieri on how to cook them up.
Although Steve was currently unaware of these circumstances.
Steve cast a look of contempt at Baronet Parker.
"Well, it's impossible in this situation."
"But isn't it a business using cotton?"
Freya pressed on.
"Yes, it is. But we won't use that much. Even if sales expand the business, that's a matter for years from now."
"So what do you want me to do?"
"Spot sell it to me? However, I won't buy it in cotton form."
"Then I'll do it myself. I'm thinking of trying the textile industry with the money I borrowed from Papa. I even plan to buy sewing machines."
"Then isn't that resolved?"
"I don't know how many years away that is. This is about what to do with the current futures."
Steve wanted to say, "You said it yourself." Still, he understood that his sister was desperate, so he felt like moving a little bit.
"Well, I'll try consulting Lord Sowell just in case."
"That's great. You're going to move the goods."
"I haven't said that far."
In this way, Steve got dragged into wiping the rear end of Baronet Parker.
By the way, during this discussion, Baronet Parker did not utter a single word.
And then, Steve visited Aurora.
"Welcome. How unusual. You coming to visit from Your Excellency's side."
"Something has gone wrong with cotton."
"Did a relative fail in the market and come crying to you?"
"It's good that you get to the point quickly."
Aurora was confirming the people who had bought at high prices. Since Baronet Parker's name was among them, upon hearing Steve say he had trouble with cotton, she deduced it must be about Baronet Parker.
"Can't we push the price up to high levels one more time?"
"No. I don't want to volunteer to help those holding unrealized losses."
"That's right."
Steve thought Aurora wouldn't try to manipulate the market again. Even so, he thought there might be some kind of hint.
"But, if it's anyone other than me, there is a possibility."
"Tell me that in detail."
"There is a fairly major firm called Lumoigne Trading Company in the Royal Capital's merchant guilds. They also got caught at a high price. If things continue like this, they seem like they might collapse, so I think they will take some sort of action. There are still two months until the final trading day."
The expiration month for cotton futures was in three-month intervals. There was no monthly settlement day.
Steve tried to gauge Aurora's true intention in telling him this information.
"So, the target is Lumoigne Trading Company's assets?"
"Yes. If we crush them now with a sell-off, the profit won't be significant, so if they can keep going a bit longer, we'll enjoy a delicious meal. That's why I'm doing nothing for now."
"As for me, it's a guild I have no connection with, so I probably can't do anything special. Shall we let my brother-in-law confirm the loss this time?"
"I think that's best. If Lumoigne Trading Company moves, I'll tell you at that time."
While Steve was having such a conversation with Aurora, Jesse Lumoigne, the head of Lumoigne Trading Company, was thinking desperately.
"I must somehow support the cotton price. No, not just support it, but raise it. I need to delay the profit remitted to Prince Alex for a while and take measures in the meantime."
Lumoigne intended to drag his feet on paying the tribute to Prince Alex and not keep the deadline. He planned to pay when the cotton price recovered, using some excuse.
It was a sweet thought that Prince Alex, who had plenty of money flowing around, would overlook a slight delay in the deadline.
"Originally, it was said that Your Excellency Archibalt would release products using cotton. If those come out into the world, the tide might turn a little."
Lumoigne expected Steve's new products. Or rather, that was the only material he had. This year's cotton harvest was expected to be normal. Neither a bumper crop nor a poor one. Therefore, price movements depended on the demand for cotton caused by new products.
And then, the jeans that had been eagerly awaited were released in the Royal Capital immediately.
When Daphne and Nancy, the commanders of the Royal Guard Knights Order, wore matching jeans and walked through the Royal Capital, it became a topic of conversation. Since the sales method was not tailoring but purchasing ready-made goods, the initial stock sold in the blink of an eye.
It was accepted not as a need for work clothes, but as fashion.
Steve was inspecting the factory's sewing department with Christina and Nancy.
"The popularity in the Royal Capital exceeded expectations."
"I can't accept that it's thanks to Daphne's fame."
Nancy was resentful that she lost in terms of buzz to Daphne. She couldn't beat the title of Commander of the Royal Guard Knights, but she had a pride that her sword skills and appearance were superior to Daphne's.
Steve, thinking that saying the wrong thing to Nancy might lead to trouble, turned the conversation toward Christina.
"For now, I plan to avoid increasing production and create popularity through the imbalance of demand and supply due to shortages."
"That seems appropriate. Also, increasing factory staff is difficult right away. If you force it, it will reflect back on quality."
The sewing department originally had work. With the addition of jeans manufacturing, there was a shortage of personnel. When deciding to make jeans, they reduced the number of doll productions and even transferred personnel from other departments, but basically, there was still a shortage of staff.
Since sudden increases in staff would make quality unstable, neither Steve nor Christina intended to proceed with increasing production.
They were also aiming for the effect that scarcity would generate more buzz and further increase demand.
Cold-forged rivets far exceeded the production number of jeans in terms of production speed, so they decided to sell rivets individually as well. Due to the spread of the recognition of using rivets on clothes, there was a certain demand. Moreover, tailors in various places started to think about making jeans themselves.
Especially, nobles were not satisfied with the ready-made products made by Steve and wanted custom-made items for themselves. Steve had no intention of picking up such demand, so he wanted to make a profit by selling just the rivets.
Seeing this popularity of jeans, Lumoigne thought about using Steve to raise the cotton price.
And then, he asked to be introduced to Steve by Prince Alex, but
"Don't get involved with that."
He was firmly rejected.
"Your Highness, please do something about it."
"You're being persistent, Lumoigne. That is a double-edged sword. If you approach lightly, you will hurt yourself."
Lumoigne tried to press on, but Prince Alex spoke harshly, so he didn't go further and withdrew.
After Lumoigne withdrew, Alex wondered why Lumoigne wanted to connect with Steve so desperately.
And so, he decided to have his subordinates investigate the background.
On the other hand, Lumoigne, who had been refused an introduction to Steve by Prince Alex, was at a loss.
The price of the cotton market brought from the western region rose slightly due to the release of jeans.
This was because merchants who thought that the sales of jeans would increase the demand for cotton placed buy orders. However, it was not an increase that would resolve Lumoigne's unrealized losses.
As the settlement day gradually approached, Lumoigne was anxious.
At that moment, information was brought by a servant.
"Head, there is a report that a commoner who looks exactly like Your Excellency Archibalt has been found in Mackintosh Land."
"Is it true!"
It was Jacob. Lumoigne rejoiced at this information.
If the real one won't work, a lookalike who looks very similar will do. Falsifying noble status is a capital crime, but if the one who falsified it is that commoner, I won't be guilty. That was his thinking.
"Bring him here immediately. I'll cover the costs."
In this way, Jacob came to the Royal Capital.
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