Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt - Chapter 127



Only Noblemtl

Episode 127

24-Family

I don’t know what his past experiences were, but Arthur thought the man in front of him was a formidable opponent.

It was difficult to shake people who were honest about their desires and knew what they wanted, with sophistry. What they wanted was so different that negotiation and compromise were impossible.

To be honest, it was a time when there were no legal regulations or social awareness regarding the protection of minors, and scandals of nobles lusting after young girls could often be found, in addition to Baron Kshan.

Compared to the old nobles who can’t even get up without a cane, the middle-aged Baron Kshan seems like a pure-hearted person.

Moreover, since she was a young girl, it was not uncommon to find relationships between men and women with an age gap of the same size as Baron Kshan and Amelia in an aristocratic society where political marriages were common.

Given this historical background and Baron Kshan’s attitude, Arthur decided that persuasion or negotiation was impossible.

“I’ll call it a day for today.”

“What about my offer to sponsor Amelia?”

“I will only accept money.”

Arthur added, just in case there was any misunderstanding.

“Oh, of course Amelia will not meet the Baron privately.”

The Baron frowned at those words, but did not stop Arthur as he politely bowed and left the study.

***

“I heard that Teacher Cho-reng was arrested. Are you okay?”

“It’ll be okay. You’ll be released soon.”

Arthur consoled Amelia, who was worried about Cho-Reng. He didn’t bother to tell the girl about the pervert nobleman who loved(?) her youth.

Arthur reassured Amelia, but he suddenly realized that the girl was already like family to him. If the people he was responsible for and had to protect were not family, then what was family?

He described to Samuel and Jaran his impressions of Baron Kshan. In a word, he was a man of noble character and honesty in his desires.

If you’re not a pedophile, you speak and act in a noble manner that deserves respect.

“Is it noble to lust after a young girl?”

Samuel frowned, but Arthur had no intention of arguing with Samuel about the definition of the word noble; he simply made the situation clear.

“There will be aristocratic pressure.”

“What a headache.”

Arthur’s expectations were met with furrowed brows. Being pressured aristocratic meant using connections and influence.

“How much political damage are you willing to take?”

“You probably won’t think much about risking it. You probably won’t think you’ll lose much.”

In response to Jaran’s question, Arthur told him what he felt about Baron Kshan.

“First, we need to quickly strengthen the Ridis Theater.”

“That’s true.”

The aristocratic pressure of Baron Kshan was to use his influence to eliminate Amelia’s stage. In that case, the only stage Amelia could perform on was the Lydis Club or Lydis Theater.

However, the Lidis Club had limitations in terms of facilities, and the Lidis Theater had many weaknesses. There were many areas that could interfere with the operation of the theater, such as the legal aspects of operating it, taxes, and the personnel essential for its operation.

For example, if you were going to disadvantage performers playing at the Lydis Theater, it would be burdensome for any artist who wasn’t quite so courageous.

“Choreng-nim needs to come out quickly… … .”

Even though Jarani muttered, Cho-reng couldn’t come out easily. A creditor suddenly appeared from somewhere and sued Cho-reng for a debt he had incurred in the past. Cho-reng applied for bail, but the permission was delayed day after day.

This incomprehensible situation and action was the circumstance that convinced Baron Kshan to take action.

Arthur sensed Baron Kshan’s cleverness in this situation.

They focused their attack on Cho-reng, who was identified as the key figure of singer Amelia. Cho-reng was Amelia’s manager and also the key figure in running the Lydis Theater.

With such a person in prison, there was no way Amelia could perform as a singer, and the stage of the Seol Ridis Theater could not be properly prepared.

By focusing solely on keeping Viscount Cho-Reng in prison, Baron Kshan was able to avoid wasting his political power. If he had tried to strike from various directions, he would have had to meet many people and exert a lot of influence.

Didn’t you become rich just by luck?

Becoming a millionaire is possible through luck alone, but maintaining that luck is a matter of one’s ability. In other words, Baron Kshan was a capable man. To the extent that Arthur considered extreme measures.

Baron Kshan was a man who would be difficult to stop unless Arthur sacrificed something, unless he suddenly died one day.

I couldn’t ask the Mato Company. Samuel and Zarani helped, but they only helped out to see Arthur’s face.

It must have been sad and shocking for Amelia to hear these words, but they had a hard time understanding why Arthur was so busy protecting her.

Was it really necessary to go to such lengths to fight with such a powerful noble for a girl picked up on the street, not even related by blood? In any case, if the powerful ones pressure you, you have no choice but to accept it. Those who do business with nobles knew that very well.

When Jaran was alone with Arthur, he had hinted at this point, but Arthur had nothing to say.

“Then why are you in the gold deposit business?”

“… … .”

It was the same for everyone to try to resist an unreasonable fate.

Wasn’t it the case that he was trying to do business as a gold depository to protect his rights as a merchant? To seize the power of money? He realized this and remained silent for a moment, but his doubts still remained.

“What does Amelia mean to you?”

“You have a responsibility to protect them until they become independent.”

“Why? Haven’t I given you enough so far?”

“Because you gave me hope.”

“… … .”

Hope is not always a good thing. At the end of hope, there is not happiness, but despair, and at best, there is only emptiness. Many people are mistaken in the happiness they taste for a moment while chasing hope, but Arthur knew well.

Happiness is relative, changeable, and impermanent. Those who have had the good fortune to taste happiness by chasing after hope soon feel the feeling of happiness fading away and look back on the hopes they chased.

There, the wise realize that happiness is not a fruit but a process. Therefore, living with hope itself becomes happiness. Therefore, the broken hope becomes unhappiness.

Arthur had to take responsibility for giving hope to a street girl.

The reason why the serpent who gave Eve the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was truly evil was because he ‘made her realize’ and did not take responsibility for it. If she had been able to distinguish between good and evil, he should have taught her how to do good.

Arthur had given the girl hope, so he had to protect that hope with his own hands, at least until she became independent. That was responsibility.

Although Zarran did not fully understand Arthur’s words, he could sense the painstaking thought behind them.

He was able to nod his head sufficiently, confirming that Arthur had not simply given in to impulse.

Still, I had to say this.

“There’s not much I can do to help.”

The most that a non-noble person could do was gather information.

The influence of the Matou Company was powerful, but it was a public good that had to be used to protect the interests of all its members. It was not something that could be expended on the behalf of a poor girl who was not even a member of the company.

Arthur answered.

“It’s enough to help me now. I’m receiving a lot of help. And there’s no need to move in a hurry.”

Arthur reassured the grown-up.

Baron Kshan had not made any moves since capturing Cho-Reng. Arthur guessed that he intended to wait and see what kind of response he would make.

I guess I’ll have to react depending on the situation, whether I bow down and come in or resist. In that case, I had some time to spare.

When the opponent was letting his guard down, he had to strike with a fatal blow. So Arthur hurriedly went to find someone.

“What brings you here?”

It was none other than Countess Tzak.

“Baron Kshan. Do you know him?”

“Oh, that pervert who only likes young girls?”

Countess Tzak’s words and the smile on her lips meant that she knew about Baron Kshan and Amelia.

Arthur said.

“I have a good business proposal to propose to Count Tzaq and the royal family.”

“You want me to accept the business plan and suppress Baron Kshan?”

“Considering the benefits the business plan will bring, I think that is a reasonable amount.”

“Shall I give it a listen?”

Arthur explained what Mato Trading Company had been doing recently.

As a result of the changed plan for the gold deposit business, Mato Trading Company acquired a large amount of land, and the price of gold and silver fell significantly. The competing trading companies were gnashing their teeth at being defeated by Mato Trading Company, but they were left with no idea what they were really after.

“It’s paper money… … .”

Countess Tzak was shocked.

“It’s not my place to decide.”

“I know. It is for His Majesty the King to decide.”

Arthur came to see Countess Tzak because he needed a way to communicate secretly. Security was essential to the progress of this matter.

“Go and wait.”

“All right.”

Arthur went back to his daily routine. However, it was a little different from his usual routine.

He told Zarran to prepare for the next step of the gold deposit business, and with Samuel’s help, he took care of Amelia and Cho-reng.

But Amelia was a smarter child than expected. The girl came to the conclusion that the reason Cho-Reng was locked up in prison might be because of her.

“Uncle Arthur. Is it because of me that Master Cho-reng is still being held captive?”

“No? Is it because Cho-reng hit a powerful noble?”

Arthur’s lips were moist even without saliva as he answered Amelia’s question. After all, it was true that he had hit her.

But the girl was convinced that he was lying.

“But you said that Cho-reng was still imprisoned because of me?”

“who?”

“These are the ladies who frequent the salon.”

Is the rumor already spreading?

But Arthur lied without wavering.

“I don’t know what you heard, but it was a misunderstanding.”

“Lies! I heard it clearly! It’s because of me that Cho-reng hasn’t been released yet!”

The girl was convinced that Arthur was hiding the truth with lies. Her conviction was based on the stories she had heard and the sympathetic gazes of the guests.

Arthur was at a crossroads with the girl’s confident attitude. What made him hesitate was whether the girl could handle the fear she would feel when she found out the truth.

“If you really want to know the truth, listen carefully.”

Amelia pursed her lips and nodded at his serious expression, hiding her smile, and her face turned pale when she heard the whole story of Cho-reng still being in prison.

The girl didn’t know anything about sex.

She learned about women’s conduct from Viana, and she also remembered her father trying to sell her to a brothel and her mother fiercely resisting him despite her illness.

The image of my father backing down as if he was tired of his crazy mother’s resistance, my mother then sitting down and hugging me as she cried, and me crying with her.

For a girl who carries such memories as trauma, being held in a man’s arms was not a vague fear, but a specific terror.

He was definitely aware that this was something that was affecting his life to the point that his mother, who had been so protective of him, resisted so fiercely.

“What should I do?”

“We must resist.”

“Ha, but the opponent is a noble.”

“Choreng is also a noble. I am also a noble in name.”

Even though he is a semi-noble.