Chapter 51 - 51 Baronet Parker and His Wife
Steve's pockets had grown warm with the reward from Aurora and the capital gains from selling his shares in the Oclair Trading Company. The day after Baron Thompson's arrest, trading had resumed for the first time in a while, and Steve had closed his position amidst a flurry of heavy trading.
Furthermore, Valier had been unable to fully offload the shares he had accumulated too aggressively, so he spent several days selling them off both inside and outside the market. Having finished his exit and gained some breathing room, he held a meeting with Steve today.
The two were meeting at the Valier Trading Company.
"Your Excellency, all the sell-offs have been completed."
"Good work. Well, Dronne got caught too, so selling off should have been easy, right?"
"Far from it. The exchange officials who took over the task of disposing of Dronne's holdings were inexperienced, and the on-market trading was in utter chaos."
In contrast to the smiling Steve, Valier spoke of his hardships.
"Well, even so, it's thanks to your skill, Valier, that you managed to sell off that many shares so well."
"Hearing you say that makes the struggle worthwhile."
"Even without words, I think you've been sufficiently rewarded by the considerable profit."
"It is not just about the profit. Just as a craftsman is happy when their workmanship is praised, it is an honor for a merchant to have their skill in selling off large quantities of stocks or goods evaluated."
Steve could understand what Valier was saying. There is a sense of accomplishment that can only be gained when someone understands that the job is not something just anyone can do. That is the same for both craftsmen and merchants.
Precisely because Steve came from a craftsman background, he understood that point painfully well.
"With this, haven't you become the top stockbroker?"
"In terms of scale, I lose to the Salieri Trading Company, but in terms of track record, I pride myself on being number one."
"I suppose so. I place my orders with the Emmanuel Trading Company, but if I'm teaming up for a market play, it's Valier."
"It is an honor to be singled out by Your Excellency."
"Emmanuel still lacks experience in these matters."
Looking at Steve as he said that, Valier felt sympathy for Emmanuel, who was being told he lacked experience by a child of about ten years old. Steve's required standards were simply too high. Thinking that he himself might be abandoned by this boy at any moment, Valier reminded himself not to let his guard down.
He had gained evaluation through a single success, but that also meant it could be lost through a single failure.
To become independent from Aurora, working with Steve was the shortest path, and he felt a strong desire to be needed as a partner.
"I suppose that is where the wisdom of age comes in," he said, asserting his own strength.
After nodding, Steve looked up at the ceiling.
"It's a bit much to say this about Dronne, but being able to die without suffering from debt might have been a relief for him."
"He was sentenced to death, after all. Had he lived, he would be scrambling for funds by now."
"Your Excellency is surprisingly kind. You could have made him suffer even more as an example. Well, instead, Baron Thompson is being made a public spectacle."
"Yes. According to what I've heard, although a dagger for suicide was sent to his cell, he could not make the decision to take his own life and chose mine labor instead."
As Valier said, a dagger for suicide had been sent to the former Baron Thompson. Of course, Aurora knew that the former Baron Thompson would be unable to make the decision to end his own life. Thus, she showed the other nobles that he had chosen to fall from the status of a noble to a mine laborer, no different from a slave.
And she intended to relay the sight of the other nobles mocking him to the man himself.
This served as a warning to other nobles, and depending on the situation, she even intended to bring the former Baron Thompson to party venues to display his fallen state as a public spectacle.
"If he hadn't planned Valier's kidnapping, he could have gotten away with just suffering from debt."
"If one knew such a future awaited, one would not make that choice, but humans cannot know the future. He likely saw a glimmer of hope and made one last big gamble. Without knowing that Your Excellency was on this side. Was the scenario where I played the main target designed with that reading in mind?"
"Hmm, well, I just thought it might turn out that way. It's not like I specifically induced them to kidnap you."
So Steve answered, but as previously mentioned, he had been wary of an attack from the beginning. However, because it was uncertain, he hadn't incorporated it into the plan. That it led to the worst result was the former Baron Thompson's own responsibility, and Steve bore no responsibility whatsoever.
"Well, as for that matter, it's not something for me to do anything about; I only wanted to know out of interest in how it affected the market. Now then, regarding the distribution of profits this time..."
"Valier, you can take all the profits. I've already received a reward from Her Excellency. Besides, in the first place, this whole story started from my brother-in-law's blunder, so for me, profit wasn't the priority."
"I see. In that case, I shall gladly accept them, but separately from that, I will later send a gift to Your Excellency as a token of my daily gratitude."
"You don't have to worry about that."
Steve understood Valier's sense of duty and decided to accept the profit in the form of a gift. For Valier's part, he disliked the idea of Steve holding it over him as a favor later on, so he absolutely wanted Steve to accept it here.
"I cannot do that. Aside from the market profits, the fact that I am to take over all the business spheres held by the Dronne Trading Company is all thanks to Your Excellency."
"I think that 'Excellency' is not me, but Her Excellency the Margravine."
"No, no, since it was a trading company under Baron Thompson's influence, if Baron Thompson had remained as he was, those business spheres would never have come to me. Eliminating Baron Thompson was Your Excellency's achievement."
The Dronne Trading Company was forced to cease all activities after its head, Dronne, was sentenced to death. However, by Aurora's order, the Valier Trading Company swiftly took over its operations.
There were almost no voices calling this forced, as everyone was satisfied with the reason that since Dronne could not pay off the debts created by short-selling, they would be settled by substitute performance to Valier.
Baron Thompson's vested interests were also attached to this, and while Aurora managed them, she decreed that commercial transactions would go through the Valier Trading Company, so there was no interference from Baron Thompson's bloodline.
While it was partly due to Aurora's skill, the profit was only possible because Steve had prepared the ground.
"I'll accept your feelings of gratitude. Now then, since Valier's matter is settled, all that's left is my brother-in-law."
"Is there something?"
"I have to go collect the 50,000 gold coins I lent him."
"That's right. Do you have any prospect of recovery?"
"Since his stock losses should have vanished, he should be able to repay me in full."
Steve intended to collect the money he had lent to his brother-in-law, Baronet Parker. Far from his stock losses being gone, he should have a profit, so he should be able to cover the funds for managing his territory with his own capital.
If that was the case, Steve intended to collect it while the money was still there.
Since his older sister Freya had forced the condition of interest-free and collateral-free, there was also the concern of what might happen if he didn't collect it quickly.
"If it is a debt transfer, I would be happy to accept it."
"No, it's fine. It's an interest-free, collateral-free loan, so a transfer is impossible."
"Those are quite the conditions."
"Because we're family."
"I wonder how many people could just hand over money like that for such a reason. Oh, should I speak to Oclair as well? He is also a beneficiary, after all."
"On that side, I got tears of joy and complaints at the same time. So, leave him alone for a while."
The Oclair Trading Company was being flooded with orders for stainless steel statues, and the head, Oclair, was on the verge of getting a stomach ulcer over the order of production. There were orders from nobles across the country, but if he did it on a first-come, first-served basis, some nobles would demand changes based on their rank, and even if he did it by rank, it would cause friction regarding how to handle nobles of the same rank.
He had wanted to complain about the bundle-sale of enormous profit and stress provided by Steve.
"Well then, I'm going to go collect the funds."
"I look forward to your next visit."
As Valier bowed his head, Steve used Teleportation to the Baronet Parker territory and vanished from the spot.
Released from the tension, fatigue washed over Valier all at once, and he sat in his chair, unable to move for a while.
Having teleported to the Baronet Parker territory, Steve visited the Baronet's house.
Since they were originally of the Knight rank and lacked financial leeway, the size of the house was about the same as the original House Archibalt. There was no gatekeeper, so he informed a female servant hanging laundry in the garden of his identity and asked her to announce him to either Baronet Parker or Freya.
The servant, who had thought a child had arrived, panicked upon learning the visitor was Steve and ran to call the Baronet.
Fortunately, both the Baronet and Freya were at home, so he ended up speaking with both of them.
In the drawing room where he was led, Steve faced the two of them.
"Steve-chan, I wonder what you've come for today. It's a surprise to have a sudden visit."
Freya had a rough idea, but she tried to make Steve state his purpose. Steve knew that and told her his objective.
"Since everything in Sowell Land has been settled, I have come to collect the loan to this house."
"I thought so. But, there's no money to return."
When Freya said that, Steve thought it was a joke.
"Ane-ue, this is not an amount to be joking about."
"As if it's a joke. A certain someone saw their stock losses disappear, got overconfident, and lost money again."
Freya's tone was sharp as she pointed a finger firmly at the person next to her. Steve turned his head in the direction Freya was pointing.
At the end of that finger was Baronet Parker, shrinking back apologetically.
"Ane-ue, may I ask for an explanation?"
"I'll make this good-for-nothing explain it with his own mouth."
Prompted by Freya, Baronet Parker began to explain the circumstances.
"The shares I lent to Dronne... I sold them immediately after getting them back, but I thought other foundry-related stocks might still go up, so I poured all the sale profits into them. Then they went down, and now I'm carrying a loss. On top of that, I failed in raw material futures trading too..."
Hearing that, Steve covered his face with his hands.
"At this rate, a massive amount of iron and copper that we don't even use will arrive on the delivery date. And to make the cash to take delivery, we have to sell the stocks that are currently at a loss."
"Is that true?"
Steve's shoulders slumped in disappointment. It was a market war he had started originally to recover his brother-in-law's losses, but that very brother-in-law had expanded his losses as a result of the market war.
He directed a gaze of contempt at his brother-in-law, who gave a small nod.
On the other hand, Freya said,
"That's why I want you to raise the stock prices one more time."
"No, no, no, Ane-ue, that's impossible. How many months do you think it took this time? Besides, it was only because I could move Her Excellency that I could pull off such a large-scale scheme. Even if you tell me to do the same thing again, there's no guarantee I can."
"In that case, we can't return the money we borrowed."
"Please return it."
"Don't say that. You made a fortune this time too, didn't you?"
"No. It was just the reward I received from Her Excellency and a negligible amount of capital gains. It doesn't even come close to the amount I lent you."
Steve explained the detailed profits to Freya. Hearing that, Freya made a sour face.
"You moved for such a small profit?"
"That's right. Because it was all for the sake of my brother-in-law and Ane-ue. I felt bad for the people I dragged into it, so I made sure to take almost no profit. Even if it was their own doing, people have died, so for me, there is nothing to be happy about."
Steve was quite angry inside. He never imagined that his brother-in-law, whom he had tried to save even to the point of creating a situation that led to Baron Thompson's downfall and Dronne's death sentence, would have expanded his losses.
And he even thought that if possible, he wanted to cut ties.
However, since that was the authority of Brian, the head of the family, Steve simply did not declare a severance of ties on the spot.
Freya also realized from her younger brother's demeanor that she could no longer maintain a joking attitude.
"From now on, I will manage the money for the territory's operation. I will not give the Baronet the authority to spend money. We will pay you back little by little from the territory's tax revenue."
When Freya said that, Baronet Parker nodded silently.
"I'll leave that to you. For my part, as long as the money is returned, I won't question the process."
With a truly unpleasant ending, Steve returned home feeling frustrated.