Chapter 58. Devil’s Contract (3)
“Of course, pay a hefty water bill every month.”
cooong!
The viscount’s heart sank.
Even the Viscount himself could not figure out why.
In fact, I didn’t even understand what the water tax meant.
But I didn’t know the meaning, but the feeling came.
From the moment I heard it, I started to feel nervous.
A sense of crisis that “something went wrong” wriggled.
The Viscount mustered up the courage to ask.
“I’m sorry…What is the water tax?”
“Ah, are you hearing this for the first time? It’s simple. It is a tax paid for drawing clean water from the waterworks and using it.”
“So the water tax?”
“You understand quickly.”
“You tax water?”
“yes.”
Lloyd grinned as if asking something so obvious.
“From the water intake through a clean conduit to the reservoir in the manor. We provide a stable supply of water of the highest quality that customers can trust. Clear, clean water for grandfather to drink, grandmother to wash, mother and father to make soup, and children to splash in the water. How is it. Doesn’t your heart beat just thinking about it?”
“….”
The viscount had no answer.
Lloyd laughed.
okay.
Of course my heart will race.
Your heart must be beating a triple axel to the 16-beat Jajinmori rhythm at the unheard-of concept of imposing a usage tax on water.
‘So you touched the wrong person.’
Lloyd’s smile suddenly turned evil.
Suddenly, I remembered the first time I was planning a waterworks.
Perhaps it was the day when he and Xaviel were climbing the eastern mountains and surveying.
At first, he was just full of thoughts of overcoming the crisis facing the Baron.
At this point, even if it costs money, I was soothing myself that if I made a stable water supply system, it wouldn’t be a big loss.
But the truth was that I was upset.
making water supply.
it was good.
It was really good.
However, it seemed that the lump in his heart would not be resolved to go over with relief that he had passed the crisis.
‘No matter what, I wanted to feed you big taffy at least once.’
self-made in front of your eyes.
What did you do when you asked me to give you the Marez reclaimed land?
Toxic wastewater was illegally discharged into the river.
When I asked for it, it came out like a pear.
No, even threatened.
He even sent a knight under his command to convey the message that the discharge of toxic wastewater would not be stopped until half of the Marez reclaimed land was released.
or not polite.
or no case.
It was a literal tyranny that went far beyond the line.
‘That’s why I couldn’t sleep well at night.’
As I lay down to sleep, gold coins flickered in front of my eyes.
Ondol rooms are still being made and sold one by one.
Even in the middle of paying the interest, there was a little bit of money left over.
With that money, various projects have been carried out.
Even after that, I saved up a lot of leftover pennies.
‘But suddenly something happened that I had to pour it all out. Because of you.’
Lloyd’s eyes turned cold toward the viscount.
As I recalled the emotions of that time, my blood ran cold again.
Maybe it was because of those feelings.
The day I was surveying with Xaviel.
When I discovered the limestone bedrock in the valley halfway up the mountain range, I clenched my fists without realizing it.
What made me shout ‘this is it!’ and burst into cheers.
A slightly exposed limestone bedrock.
Water flowing down one side of a wide valley.
It was when I found out that the water was the upper reaches of the ‘Frona River’ that flows into the Viscounty and Barony.
Calculations exploded in my head.
The angle came out in an instant.
A picture was drawn.
Originally, a plan that almost ended with only waterworks.
It was the moment when the strategy to fuck the viscount was added to that plan.
‘It was from then.’
Lloyd reset the nature of the waterworks project.
It wasn’t just for the development of the territory.
It was set as a literal secret weapon to attack the Viscount.
So it was.
“Don’t worry. You will never run out of water to supply. because. I designed the scale of the water supply pipe and water intake by calculating everything from the first preparation for the construction of the waterworks to the amount of water to be supplied to the Viscount’s dye workshop.”
Yes.
everything was as planned.
“And we’ve researched all the routes to install water supply pipes from our side of the estate to the Viscount’s dye workshop. The ground was very stable. The slope was also appropriate, so it was quite convenient to set the flow rate of water in the conduit.”
“What is that…?”
“It means that not only the measurement but also the design has been completed. If the viscount sends an ok sign, we can start construction right away from tomorrow. Maybe after 15 days at the earliest, you will be able to get clean water from the dye studio.”
Lloyd’s smile was relaxed.
I’m just saying it now, but I really missed the viscount’s face that was shaking like that.
“So think carefully. I hope you will consider the position of the Viscount as well. Don’t you feel that charging for water is unfair?”
“that….”
“Yes, it may be a bit repulsive because it is an unfamiliar concept. But if you don’t like something, the dye workshop, Lakonata’s specialties, and everything else will go bankrupt.”
“….”
The Viscount’s fingertips trembled terribly.
Lloyd’s smile grew even more relaxed.
Looking at the two of them, Xaviel had to clench his fists unconsciously.
‘It’s terrifying.’
Xaviel unconsciously brushed off the goosebumps on his forearms.
The young master he serves, Lloyd Frontera.
I knew from before that my back end was dirty and my personality was twisted.
But I didn’t expect it to be like this.
‘I never thought he’d have such a plan.’
Even when the water supply work was finished earlier.
Even when Lloyd suddenly said to go collect money in the middle of it.
Xaviel had never imagined a situation like this.
No, I just thought it was incomprehensible.
It was the same when I came down the mountain with Lloyd.
It was the same even when Lloyd visited the Viscount’s mansion and even when he requested an interview that could not be accepted.
‘I just thought that Lloyd-sama came to vent his anger to relieve his emotions.’
so it dried
It’s called cold-hearted behavior.
It’s like creating more disputes by being swayed by emotions.
Did he sternly stop Lloyd?
‘But I was wrong.’
Xaviel readily acknowledged it.
I couldn’t help but admit this.
The boy he serves is really….
‘It’s completely lethal to the point of thoroughness. It’s to the point where I feel sorry for the viscount who I’ve hated so far.’
It was his honest impression.
Lloyd was great, but the Viscount was just as pitiful.
In fact, his feelings toward Viscount Lacona were not very good.
He was the one who persecuted his master, the baron.
But now I felt sorry for such a viscount.
No, it was so pitiful, pitiful, and pitiful.
In reality, while Xaviel was watching, the viscount was shaking not only his fingertips, but also his lips and eyebrows.
Feeling like an ant in ant hell.
It was because he was acutely aware of such emptiness.
‘Wrong. There’s no way out of this.’
I never thought he would be such a thorough guy.
I never thought I’d put pressure on myself in this way.
I didn’t even expect it in my dreams.
No, he had never imagined that there would be a way like this.
water supply.
Bringing clean water from far away.
To think he had calculated in advance the amount of water to be supplied to the dye workshop while making such a thing.
‘That bastard was properly determined to kill me from the beginning.’
The Viscount’s eyes turned to Lloyd.
The young guy still spinning around looking this way.
I didn’t feel like a kid anymore.
The more I looked at it, the more I got goosebumps.
‘Why did I touch a guy like that?’
If I could, I would have liked to turn the clock back two or three months ago.
He wanted to slap his own cheek for calling the director of the dye workshop and ordering the wastewater to be discharged into the river.
But it was already too late.
There is no way to turn back time.
There is only one way to revive the dye workshop.
“…Whoa. I see.”
In the end, Viscount Lacona nodded sadly.
One of Lloyd’s lips curled up.
“What do you mean you know?”
“I will accept your offer.”
“Are you saying you want to install water supply in the dye workshop?”
“…That’s right.”
“You did well.”
Flutter!
As soon as he finished speaking, Lloyd moved.
He took out the rolled-up papers from his pocket.
It spread out on the table.
The viscount’s eyes shook.
“What is this?”
“What is it? It is a water supply contract.”
“….”
The Viscount was at a loss for words.
Seriously, I wondered if there were all these guys.
Once again, the real feeling came right to my skin.
Even the contract was meticulously drawn up in advance.
I thought that he must have been seriously determined to scrape and suck every bone in this side.
‘Big….’
The viscount’s somber eyes moved.
He looked at the contract as if he were reading a declaration of defeat.
In the meantime, the viscount’s eyes widened once more.
“What is this?”
“What do you mean?”
“Here’s this.”
The viscount pointed at the contract with a puzzled hand.
Where he pointed out, the water tax the viscount had to pay to the Frontera family every month was written.
“Isn’t this a wrong number?”
“why? Do you think it has an extra zero or two?”
“That’s right. I think I wrote it wrong because there was a mistake….”
“It is written correctly.”
“….”
“The amount in the contract is correct.”
“what….”
“Do you think it is expensive?”
“Yeah, of course….”
The viscount was speechless and looked at the contract again.
An unbelievable amount was written in the item called water tax.
‘It’s just water.’
Putting a price on water was also stunned.
However, that amount was unrealistic enough to slap his stunned cheek by adding about 3,000 round trips.
Lloyd’s criticism flew towards such a viscount.
With a really sad expression.
“what the. Do you still feel that water is free?”
“….”
“Did you know that it’s okay to use it profusely because it just flows down the river, right? But what should I do? You are the one who first taught us the importance of water in the river.”
“….”
A self-inflicted toxic wastewater discharge.
Remembering that, the viscount’s face darkened.
Lloyd’s words continued.
“Thanks to that, all of our Yeongji family came to a realization. Water isn’t free. It’s a resource that can be harpooned at any time. Sometimes they say that it was something that could only be obtained at a great price.”
It was true.
Just a sip of clear water.
A glass of water that you can safely drink.
To get it, most of the young people had to roll up their sleeves.
Even children had to move stones to create a temporary reservoir. Even the ondol construction was completely stopped, and all the engineers had to climb the Dongbu Mountains.
It was a time when I had to sweat countless times cutting huge bamboos, shoveling, and building aqueducts.
It was only after such a process that the residents of the Baron Territory were able to regain clean water.
A painful lesson that sometimes water isn’t free.
It was time to return the lesson to the Viscount.
“I mean. I can’t understand at all. Why do you think this is expensive? Think about it. Don’t you think about the effort it would take to bring clean water up here?”
“….”
“Is designing and installing water pipes a snap? It is a job that requires a huge amount of technology and labor. And just install it and you’re done? don’t you manage? Besides, who manages it?”
“Yeah sure….”
“yes. I do. Our Prontera family does it. Always check the plumbing for leaks. It is also necessary to manage floating matter and soil in the water intake. Occasionally, old plumbing also needs to be replaced. Does that sound like child’s play? Do you still say that the water tax is expensive?”
“That is….”
“If you don’t like it then don’t.”
flutter.
The contract spread out on the table disappeared.
To be precise, it rolled in an instant in Lloyd’s hand.
I was trying to get back into his arms.
The viscount moved reflexively.
“Wait a minute!”
snap!
Unknowingly, the viscount reached out his hand.
I grabbed Lloyd’s wrist as he took the contract into his arms.
Only then did the Viscount realize his urgent action.
“Ah ha ha ha.”
The viscount laughed awkwardly.
Lloyd smiled refreshingly at the viscount.
“Have you changed your mind?”
“It seems like that.”
“great. You are wise.”
Chark!
The rolled-up contract returned to the table again.
said Lloyd.
“I won’t say much. Same for both chapters here here and here. Please sign.”
“….”
The viscount picked up a pen.
Grief filled his face as he took the ink.
However, the Viscount was acutely aware that there really was no other way.
“Whoa.”
The signature followed with a long sigh.
While the signing continued, Lloyd’s clown also secretly ascended to heaven.
‘done. This is a complete liberation from the interest paid to loan sharks.’
He clenched his fists.
He remembered the debt the baron family owed to the loan sharks.
He pondered over the enormous interest he had to pay every month.
But from now on, that interest worry was over.
The reason was simple.
The contract I handed over to the viscount.
That’s how you might get paid each month.
It was because the amount of the water tax was equal to the interest paid to the loan shark.
In other words, the viscount would pay the baron’s interest instead.
A future with zero interest worries.
From now on, you can use the money you collect step by step to pay off your debts!
‘Actually, I just wanted to devour the dye workshop itself in the Viscounty’s territory.’
Or I wanted to tell them to pass on that skill.
But Lloyd shook his head.
‘The Viscount would not have accepted that offer even if he died.’
It was obvious even without seeing it.
Not to mention not accepting it, it could have caused even greater backlash.
‘In the worst case, the Viscount could send a petition directly to the King rather than to the noble court.’
By changing the composition of the river water, it spoiled the specialties.
There was a huge difference between asking for a water tax in exchange for reviving it and asking for the dye workshop itself.
If the former is an act that can be seen as a line of trade.
The latter can be seen as an obvious category of intimidation.
‘If you try to swallow a rice cake that is too big for no reason and get caught up in gossip and stamped on by the king, you could suffer a great loss. It’s politically and realistically just right to benefit this much. I have to continue to be neighbors with the Viscounty anyway.’
The reality is not a game like the Three Kingdoms game.
To receive a huge water bill every month.
That’s how you insert an extra large sized straw and suck money over and over again.
That much was exactly what Lloyd thought was the wisest, maximum practical gain.
“Whoa. May I sign here too?”
Before I knew it, the viscount’s signature was being finalized.
where the viscount points.
If you sign only the last one, the contract will be complete.
It was the moment when Lloyd was about to answer.
“Wait a minute, lord!”
Quaang!
The door to the living room was slammed open.
Through the open door, a stout-looking man jumped in.
and shouted
“You shouldn’t pay water bills to such a coward! So please stop signing that unfair contract and kick out that rude bastard!”
A desperate cry shouted through the black beard.
Not big, but stocky physique.
It was Sir Cruneau, the senior knight of the Viscounty.
He pointed this way and shouted sternly.
“Lloyd Frontera! How dare you despise my lord like this and you’re safe!”
It was literally a sudden intrusion.
It was an act of tackling a contract that had already been completed.
So it was.
Lloyd looked at Lord Cournot warmly.
He responded wholeheartedly to what Sir Cournot had just shouted.
“huh.”
At the same time he thought
Come to think of it, that guy was pretty annoying before.
I did, but I forgot about him, not like myself.
‘However, how beautiful it is to come to you on your own and appeal to you with all your might.’
Lloyd’s smile at Lord Cournot became even more rewarding and heartening.
