Chapter 144 - 144 Impersonation
Until the margin money from Lumoigne arrived, the selling was thin, but once the margin money arrived, a torrent of selling began. Moreover, Aurora had no intention of hiding her orders anymore; she used the Salieri Trading Company and the Valier Trading Company to drive down the prices.
The servant Lumoigne had dispatched to Sowell Land judged that he could not withstand this selling with his own funds and the margin money entrusted to him, so he contacted Lumoigne.
Lumoigne, receiving that report in the Royal Capital, found himself cornered.
"It's dangerous, but I have no choice but to take Jacob to Sowell Land and have him declare that he is buying cotton right there."
He muttered to himself while looking out from the guildmaster's office.
What Lumoigne had considered was taking Jacob to the futures exchange, having him act as Steve, and making him declare a purchase of cotton.
Until now, to avoid being exposed as a fake, he had not allowed him to speak in public. But now that it has become difficult to prepare more margin money, he had been driven to the point where he felt he had to take the risk to drive up the price on the lantern.
Once he made that decision, he decided to go to Sowell Land as soon as possible to support the market, took Jacob out from the basement, and headed to Sowell Land together.
Lumoigne came to the basement and threatened Jacob with a deep, booming voice.
"We are going on a long journey together from now on. Do not say anything unnecessary on the way. If you do, I will dispose of you right there."
Jacob, frightened by Lumoigne's words, nodded silently.
Then Lumoigne, along with Jacob and three servants who also served as guards, headed to Sowell Land by steam locomotive.
There were no problems during the journey. Jacob was treated as Steve and received the highest level of hospitality befitting a noble.
When the group arrived at the station in Sowell Land, since Steve was a celebrity in the western region, the station staff bowed their heads to Jacob. Even during the transit through the town, the townspeople bowed their heads to Steve. Jacob waved politely at such people.
Lumoigne worried that the fact that the Steve accompanying him was actually Jacob might be exposed, but since no one approached them, they were not discovered as someone else on the way.
Thus, the group arrived at the futures exchange.
Before entering, Lumoigne whispered an order to Jacob.
"This is it. Declare here that you are buying cotton."
"I understand."
Surrounded on the left, right, and rear by the three guards, Jacob, with no escape route, had no choice but to answer that way.
With that brief briefing over, the five entered the exchange. Steve was a celebrity here as well, and the moment they entered, the eyes of the staff and brokers gathered on them.
Emmanuel, spotting Steve, ran over.
"Welcome, Your Excellency. What brings you here today?"
"To trade cotton."
Jacob answered briefly.
"I understand. I will guide you to the special seat on the second floor."
"Thank you for your trouble. These people come with me too."
"Yes."
Emmanuel guided the five to the special seat on the second floor. When the five ascended to the second floor, Aurora was waiting there. Lumoigne had seen Aurora coming to the Royal Capital many times, and he knew that the graceful woman before his eyes was the daughter of Margrave Sowell, and although she was an agent, she was the noble who was the de facto head.
As soon as she saw the five, she moved her bright red lips.
"Oh, Archibalt-sama is here too."
"Hello."
"You are quite distant today, aren't you?"
Aurora voiced her dissatisfaction. However, it was impossible to tell from her expression whether that was her true feeling.
At this moment, Lumoigne's heart beat rapidly like a high-revolution engine. After all, the opponent before his eyes was Aurora.
He thought there was a very high possibility that the Steve he brought would be exposed as a fake, and he was desperately thinking of how to respond if that happened.
He was noticed for his unusually distant behavior today, "You are quite distant today," and anxiety spread from there.
Originally, he intended to claim that he was also deceived when he was exposed, but as such a situation approached, he could not act with such composure.
Lumoigne was a seasoned merchant, but he was not used to exchanges where lives were at stake. This might have been different if it were just after his cheek had been slashed by bandits.
In stark contrast to such Lumoigne, Jacob calmly acted as Steve.
"Perhaps it is because I am bringing a guest different from usual today that it turned out this way."
"That is true. It would be bad if I were to interfere with your new business."
"Please do not worry about it."
The conversation proceeded smoothly like water flowing down a board, but the anxious Lumoigne felt no sense of incongruity.
Aurora did not stop the conversation with Steve.
"Your Excellency, don't you think the price of cotton has risen unnaturally high?"
"I wonder. I myself do not monitor the cotton market movements that closely. However, I am thinking about various things regarding new businesses using cotton fabric. Not satisfied with the current jeans, you know. So, perhaps that information leaked from somewhere. Perhaps people are buying ahead of expectations."
"In that case, will that business become viable immediately?"
"No. That will not happen. Even if we expand the factory, it will take time, and gathering people cannot be done immediately."
As the conversation progressed, Lumoigne finally realized that something was abnormal. Even for improvisation, it was too perfect. He had not ordered him to talk about such things beforehand.
"What are you saying?"
Lumoigne hurriedly asked Jacob.
"How dare you speak to Your Excellency like that? Are you royalty?"
Aurora immediately pounced on Lumoigne's choice of words.
Lumoigne regretted it. Because the real identity of Steve was Jacob, he had inadvertently spoken in a strong tone. However, publicly, they were nobles and merchants, and those were not words he was allowed to use.
"I-I apologize, Your Excellency."
Although he thought he would definitely beat him up later, Lumoigne bowed his head and showed the posture of apologizing.
Against such Lumoigne, Jacob told him to raise his head.
"Now, now. I will not get angry over something like this."
"Thank you. I am grateful for Your Excellency's kindness."
"But..."
Jacob continued.
"I cannot forgive you for using my lookalike. I am angry about it."
"!!!"
Lumoigne was speechless at the sudden bombshell remark. His thoughts stopped for a moment, and he could not come up with a good excuse.
And finally, he opened his mouth.
"What are you saying?"
"Do you think I know nothing? You called Jacob, a carpenter from Mackintosh Land, to the Royal Capital, got him drunk, and threatened him with the false crime of impersonating a noble. Do you think I don't know that?"
The man Lumoigne thought was Jacob brought from the Royal Capital was the real Steve. He had been swapped just before being taken out from the basement.
Lumoigne, who had tried to deceive people using Jacob, was actually the one being deceived.
"I do not understand what you mean."
"That's right. It's fine if you don't understand, but if you don't speak, I think the interrogation will be severe."
The guards reached for the hilts of their swords, but their movements were sealed by iron chains made by Steve's magic.
Then he glared at the guards.
"The three guards. If you draw your swords, the crime will become heavier. Well, if you have the courage to do so, I may release the restraint."
When the difference in power was displayed to this extent, the guards gave up and became obedient.
Lumoigne was also sealed in movement by iron chains.
"Well, since this is Sowell Land, I will leave the investigation to Lord Sowell."
Steve said so and looked at Aurora, who accepted with a smile.
"I understand. I will detain all the concerned parties, so during that time, the futures positions cannot be moved. I hope you have assets enough to cover the losses."
Aurora's gaze was fixed on Lumoigne. At this moment, Lumoigne understood that he was being targeted by Aurora. Everything was a trap set to frame him.
However, Lumoigne did not give up and struggled.
"Please contact Prince Carter. The Prince will take responsibility for me."
Hearing that, Aurora burst out laughing. Then she extended her hand to Harry, who was standing behind her. Harry placed a letter in her hand.
Aurora thrust that letter right before Lumoigne's eyes.
"That Prince sent me a letter saying that there is no room for defense regarding Lumoigne's crimes, so do as you please."
"T-That..."
Aurora had contacted Prince Alex and obtained permission to deal with Lumoigne. She wanted to prevent any unnecessary interference, so she had secured a prior agreement. It was truly Aurora's way of doing things.
Lumoigne, with his retreat cut off, finally resigned himself to his fate.
Harry gave instructions to the soldiers hidden in the back, and they took Lumoigne and his guards away.
Steve and Aurora, who remained, sat in chairs and drank the tea that had been served.
The exchange participants who had been watching the scene on the second floor understood the situation and placed sell orders like a landslide.
Here, the cotton market was completely over.
Steve spoke to Aurora, who was drinking tea elegantly.
"This is all over now."
"Not yet. We must seize Lumoigne's assets. Also, you have to deal with your brother-in-law and the commoner."
"That's right. I will leave my brother-in-law to my sister, but I must nail Jacob down."
Steve thought about Jacob, who was being sheltered in the mansion.
Jacob had been teleported from the basement to Steve's mansion and was being sheltered there. Since Christina and Nancy also knew about Jacob, there was no need for a detailed explanation, so accepting him was easy.
However, since there is a possibility that someone like Jacob might try to do similar things in the future, he had to explain that part properly.
While Steve was thinking about Jacob, Aurora spoke to him.
"I can't help with that side, but I will cooperate with cashing in the positions."
"How do you plan to cash in assets that don't exist?"
Steve switched his mind from Jacob.
Lumoigne, no matter how you look at it, had no ability to pay for the futures losses.
Not all of it was Lumoigne's positions, so not everyone who sold would fail to receive money, but conversely, it meant someone would be left hanging.
Aurora smiled maliciously at Steve's question.
"A merchant's assets are not just money."
"Do you mean converting credit into cash?"
"Correct. We will take over the entire Lumoigne Trading Company and take over its business. However, we cannot use Lumoigne like Valier or Joseph. After all, you used his name without permission. He cannot escape the death penalty. So, I intend to leave it to Salieri. Perhaps I should say the Salieri Trading Company's Royal Capital branch. We have a promise from Prince Alex for continued patronage. However, I have no intention of paying tribute like Lumoigne."
"In return, you will join a faction or support us in the succession struggle?"
"If it comes to that, the risk and return would not match. The only request was not to actively support Prince Carter. It seems Prince Alex thought it would be better to give up on incorporating me early on and prevent being incorporated by others."
Alex did not have confidence in controlling Aurora at this point. So, he gave up on incorporating her into a faction and presented the condition that she should not support Prince Carter.
Aurora originally had no intention of supporting either side; she intended to recognize whoever became king. Although neutrality is considered the most foolish in Machiavelli's The Prince, Aurora judged that it was better than confronting Steve.
Steve's faction would likely become the next king, and in some cases, Steve might build a new dynasty, so she did not want to reveal her stance.
As for Steve himself, he did not want to get involved in the succession struggle, nor did he want to become king.
Thus, this time Aurora gained the sales network of the Lumoigne Trading Company without effort. The profits from futures are not painful to lose, and it is better to give up to generate long-term profits.
Other creditors' shares would be determined at Aurora's whim.
"Oh, by the way, that Prince is trying to incorporate you into a faction, so be careful."
"Me?"
"Since he is lagging behind Prince Carter, he is aiming for a desperate move."
"I have no intention of joining the succession struggle."
"Well, that's natural. But the other party might not allow it. Why not try to aim for the throne yourself?"
Steve was momentarily stunned by Aurora's words, then immediately shook his head and denied it.
"I am barely managing to rule the current subjects; ruling all the people is impossible."
"You have no ambition. If you aim to be king, I will support you."
Since listening to Aurora's talk further seemed dangerous, Steve decided to go pick up Jacob.
Thank you always for your typo reports.