LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 171
Duke Goldman has been in a good mood lately.
Things were going well. His gambling house, which he had operated in confidence and made a small profit from, was now experiencing an unprecedented boom.
This was all thanks to the Emperor keeping his promise.
At first, when he started running the gambling house at the Emperor’s urging, he was worried.
Gambling was illegal, even with the Emperor’s backing, and he didn’t know when the Emperor would turn his back.
And to his skepticism, the Emperor assured him.
— “I plan to legalize gambling.”The Emperor’s plan did not end there.
He intended to build a large entertainment district within the Empire.
In the name of entertainment, he would levy high taxes and secretly control the establishment to monopolize power.
— “Wouldn’t we need a family to stand in for the imperial family at that time?”At that time, Goldman was chosen as the family that would command the nobles instead of the Emperor.
Duke Goldman thought this was an opportunity.
Averine and Bouser were already annoying.
The same goes for the businessmen who had been gradually increasing their power and accumulating wealth, and Bouser, who should have fallen long ago, has now become a war hero.
Goldman, on the other hand, was falling behind both families. At this rate, he would lose his position as the third Duke of the Empire and his authority.
Duke Goldman didn’t hesitate to accept the Emperor’s offer. If things went well, he would be the next in line for power after the Emperor.
‘I don’t like the fact that you even dragged Marquis Myers into it.’
The Emperor’s goal was for the imperial family to gain the most power, and it was only natural that he would want to keep the rising figure of Averine in his grasp.
The Emperor chose Marquis Myers as his puppet. Averine and his in-laws, the Marquis family, had their succession rights.
‘With the Emperor backing him, why not?’
The Princess was not a flower in a greenhouse when news came that she had won the business of Veloa, but it was not as much as they had prepared for: they were going to buy a large tract of land in the Empire and build a mega-casino.
For this purpose, not only the Imperial family but also Goldman’s capital was invested. He had promised to take some casino shares.
But it also left him short of money. The gambling house would have to be expanded at the height of the peak, so that Marquis Myers wouldn’t take advantage of it later…
But that too would soon be resolved.
‘Because Princess Averine was in our hands.’
It was thanks to his second son.
“Father, this is River. Can I come in?”Duke Goldman raised his head happily at the voice he heard at that moment. He let out an excited voice.
“Come in.”With his permission, the office door opened and a familiar figure appeared.
Goldman’s blood, brilliant blonde hair, and a face that looked a little young. It was his second son, as usual.
‘I never thought a guy like that would come to his senses.’
In fact, until recently, he did not have high expectations for his son.
He was useless from birth.
As a child, he was weak and staggering, and when he grew up, he fell in love with a lowly maid and lost his mind.
He was sent off to war to become a man, only to be left behind by Bouser’s heir.
The best he could hope for was a place at the side of Princess Averine, but even then he was chasing the maid’s tail again.
‘I had given up.’
But who would have thought that one day he would bring news of his engagement to the Princess?
Not only that, but his son completely captivated her. Every day, precious gifts were sent to Goldman, and he was thrilled.
‘I wonder what I should ask for as a dowry.’
With my son’s grip on her so tight, it was likely that she would grant him whatever he asked for, which meant that all the Princess’s wealth and her share of it would be his.
Perhaps he could even ask for the business of Beloa. Thinking of the bright future, the Duke looked at his son with pride.
“So, what was it?” “This was the matter I mentioned before.” “Oh, you mean the investor?”Moreover, the second son’s change did not end there.
For some reason, his son wanted to help him with his business, the gambling house, which the other children were reluctant to do.
— ‘Now that I think about it, I’m ashamed of my immature past. I didn’t know the grace you gave me up until now… I’ve only disappointed you so far, so I want to make up for it and show you a good side of myself.’The Duke was puzzled by his son’s sincerity as he knelt before him, but inwardly he was glad for him.
He needed someone to run the gambling house, even if it wasn’t him. If things went according to plan, the gambling business would grow and eventually become too much for him to manage alone.
He needed to pick someone close to Goldman, preferably his own blood.
— ‘I’ll give you one more chance.’In the end, he was skeptical and entrusted the job to his second son.
Surprisingly, his son was very supportive of growing the business.
One day, he remembered him grumbling about the lack of funds and suggested,
— “Why don’t we find an investor and scale up during the boom?”He said,
“I’ll find investors, and it’s more profitable to scale up while the market is booming.”His son’s proposal was exactly what he was thinking, and the Duke agreed.
But in truth, he didn’t expect much, he thought that he could simply seduce the Princess to supplement his funds…
“You mean you really got her? How?” “I memorized some tops she usually deals with, and then I tried to sneak up on her… slip her the word.”The Duke asked with a twinkle in his eye.
“And there was a top who showed interest?” “Yes. I spoke to them privately, and they responded positively, so I thought it would be good for father to meet them, so I brought them here.” “You brought them?”The Duke’s bewildered voice was followed by the sound of a door opening. At the same time, a cheerful voice entered.
“I’ve been expecting you, Duke.”
A young man emerged from behind the door.
At first glance, the man with curly brown hair, eyes of a similar color to his hair, and a freckled face looked ordinary, but his playfully sparkling eyes made an impressive impression.
Upon his arrival, he introduced himself as
‘Honey Sweetie’
.
The Duke eyed him suspiciously at the unfamiliar surname but nodded reluctantly when told he was not from the Empire.
“I come from the ghost top.”He immediately gave a series of explanations about the top he belonged to.
Boasting that it was a ghost top in name only, that it rivaled any of the great tops in size. And that it was a rising power that had grown explosively in a short time thanks to the current top master.
The Duke listened to the young man’s useless hesitations and suddenly remembered.
“Isn’t this the same ghost top that had the cure?”‘Why at such a top?’
However, his doubts were buried by the investment amount that came out of the young man’s mouth.
“You can afford that much?”Despite the Duke’s surprised tone, the young man kept his tone light.
“Of course, if it’s not enough, I’ll give you more. I can’t force you, but at least double it…” “No, no. It’s enough. It’s just…”‘I’m just surprised it’s so much,’
thought the Duke inwardly.
The Duke swallowed hard at the words that were about to spill out of his mouth.
The young man’s offer was the equivalent of several years’ worth of the Duke of Goldman’s budget.
“And you’re willing to double that?”He doubted it was true, but he was also greedy. For that amount of money, he could build a gambling house that would rival the Marquis Myers’ casino.
But he wasn’t ready to celebrate just yet.
Everything comes with a price. In exchange for his investment, they might make some ridiculous demands.
“What do you want?” “Nothing much. I just heard some good information from Lord Goldman.” “Good information?” “That the Empire will soon legalize gambling?”It made sense to the Duke that they would offer such a sum.
After all, they’d teamed up with Rebeauvel and Myers to target the casino in the first place. It must have sounded like a good business deal.
“Isn’t your business the goose that lays the golden egg? We just need to get in on the action.” “Was that all you wanted?” “Well, the specifics aside, yes, for now, because it’s something we’ve been aiming for.” “Aiming?” “We’ve been aiming for the Empire’s casino construction business for a while now, but Rebeauvel’s been playing the game, so it’s a good thing we’re finally getting our chance.”‘So that’s why you’ve been so quick to snub our offer.’
The Duke nodded in understanding. But the young man’s muttering to himself didn’t end there.
“…but I’m a little worried.” “…?” “I’m sorry to say this, but the legalization of gambling, are you sure it’s going to pass?”The Duke flinched and asked,
“What do you mean?” “I’ve been doing some research, and I’ve heard that there are quite a few nobles who are against it.” “…” “Well, the Empire has banned gambling for hundreds of years, so there must be a lot of conservatives out there, so wouldn’t that prevent the law from passing, or did you appease them all?” “That’s…”The Duke opened his mouth to say something, then closed it.
For everything the young man said was true.
The Emperor and Duke Goldman had already won over many nobles to their side, but most of them were of the lower and middle classes.
The high-ranking nobles were split down the middle.
Some saw gambling as a mere pastime, while others were still reluctant, believing it to be more of a harm.
Few, however, expressed their views clearly.
‘Most of them are neutral and on the sidelines.’
It was just a ploy to get to the end of the line and do what was in their best interest.
‘Bastards
.’
He narrowed his brow and thought for a moment, then finally told the truth.
“No, I haven’t convinced them yet.” “Then…” “Still, the number of supporters was significantly higher, so I think we have a chance. Plus, if we can get a few neutrals from the higher-ups on board, we’ll be able to get a few more people to join us…”The young man must have heard him muttering because he suddenly stuck his head out of nowhere. T
hen, with a twinkle in his eye, he asked.
“So it’s not a problem to legalize if it only attracts a few people?” “Oh…? Well, yeah.” “Maybe not all of them, but a few might.” “What?”At his frown, the young man chimed in with a cheerful tone.
“That’s easy, there must be some on the neutral side who are interested in gambling, right?” “Yes.” “Invite them to the Duke’s gambling house. There, you can open their eyes to new pleasures.” “…”The Duke, listening carefully to the young man’s words, let out a wry chuckle.
“You don’t think I didn’t think of that, of course, I invited them.” “What didn’t work out for you?” “Well, gambling was stimulating, but it’s only fun when you’re winning, and some of them would get interested, but then lose interest and go home,”said the Duke.
“Is that so? No, do you mean you let them lose money?” “What do you mean?”The young man said in disbelief.
“Of course, we have to manipulate it, right?” “…?”