CH 208

Words : 1029 Updated : Sep 23rd, 2025

They Would Deal With The Store A Little Later “So the count offered the funds, and then received a portion of the profits… If things went according to plan, the business would be a success. So he would not lose anything.” “Why would the count do such a thing…” “I am not sure. Is it to hurt His Grace, or merely increase his fortune… Well, I doubt it is that alone…” As for his intention, you would have to ask him to find out. What purpose could he have for doing something in such a roundabout way, and hurt innocents in the process… “If all he wanted to do was make a profit, he could do that on his own lands… There would be less risk of it being known outside. And there would be less taxes as well.” As Sebastian said, if he wanted to ensure that no one found out about it, doing it on his own land would make more sense. Sebastian and the others would not have found out, and he would not have made an enemy of a duke. But then again, he would be making his own people suffer, and there would be a lot of other problems that would arise. However, he went out of his way to do it on the duke’s lands. It had to be a purposeful act of hostility… Though, that was assuming that he was even acting with any rationality. “In any case, we know so much more now. Shouldn’t we have that store closed immediately?” “Well, I think we should wait a little.” “…But why?” If the store was gone, then people wouldn’t be fooled into buying their herbs. I wanted to lessen the number of people who suffered, but Sebastian was against it for some reason. “Thanks to you, Mr. Takumi, good herbs are being sold in Ractos again. Also, I made sure that certain rumors of that store are spread.” “Rumors?” “Yes, it’s quite simple. That store sells herbs of terrible quality, and one must not buy them even if they are cheap. Instead, Mr. Kalis’s store…is run by the duke, and sells effective herbs at low prices…” “And is the rumor working?” “I checked while you had gone to Range village. It seems to be adequately effective… People do love to talk. Besides, a lot of people were helped by the herbs you made, Mr. Takumi.” Through spreading rumors about the malicious store, Sebastian was able to guide customers over to Mr. Kalis’s store instead. “It really is thanks to you. Because you lowered the price of the Ramogi.” “Really?” So now that there was enough Ramogi to go around, the illness was no longer spreading at a rapid pace. If we continued like this for a little longer, it would naturally subside altogether. And it was the people who bought it at Mr. Kalis’s store that were helping to spread the rumor. Word of mouth really has a powerful effect in any age. “However, why can’t you deal with the other store now?” Even if their reputation was ruined and no one bought from them anymore, that was no reason to leave them be. “To let them squirm… Well, not exactly… But I think they can be pushed a little closer to the brink.” “What do you mean?” “There is no doubt that their herbs are no longer selling now. So they must be very frantic. And so it’s the perfect time to use that wine you purchased that was selected by Leo.” “The wine?” Sebastian started to look highly amused. I felt a chill run down my back as he talked… Even Ms. Claire looked a little put off. “Mr. Takumi’s wine… It will arrive in a few days. We will take some of it to the store.” “And then…?” “We will say that it is a gift, and make them drink it. …But if they should hesitate or refuse…” “You’ll tell them that you know that it was used to spread the disease…?” “Exactly. Of course, they may use some other excuse to avoid drinking it. But we’ll just insist that it was from the duke himself.” If we went to the store empty-handed, they might feign ignorance. We did have evidence, such as the diluted herbs and medicine, but they might still find some way to avoid taking responsibility. I suppose Sebastian wanted to make them as desperate as possible, and then use the wine to finish them off… If he said that it was from the duke…they would find it difficult to refuse. It would be like refusing a drink from the boss of a client company… Well, maybe not exactly. Still, it was rather ruthless of Sebastian, and the atmosphere in the room changed noticeably. However, he continued to look amused. …Yes, he was clearly very angry inside as well. “Aside from that, I must also make a report to His Grace.” “To Mr. Ekenhart?” “Yes. Lady Claire and I have been given the authority to act on his behalf. But we are still merely representatives.” Yes, it was true. While they could act in his place on many matters, it didn’t mean they could make decisions about everything. Especially since this was related to another nobleman. It would be necessary for Mr. Ekenhart to deal with it himself. “When Leo returned to the mansion…I sent word to him about the glass sphere. However, now that we know so much more, I must write to him again.” “Yes. Father must decide what is to be done.” “I doubt His Grace will have any objections on the matter.” “He will not forgive those who hurt his people.” Yes, Mr. Ekenhart would likely deal with them with a firm hand. Like Sebastian said, what would likely happen is that he would send the message and acquire permission. And then we would act… As the main house was quite far from the mansion, he may not want to come here directly.

CH 208

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