The Lazy Genius of the Duke - Chapter 33



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The Lazy Genius of the Duke’s Family (33)

A man’s jealousy is ugly (3)

Tepor Somnus.

The Somnus family was known as the Somnus of Abundance, and was known to have the largest granary among the imperial nobles, producing over 30% of the grain consumed by the empire.

Tepor Somnus of the Somnus family, who had amassed great wealth based on their massive grain production, was the eldest son of the count’s family and was gradually preparing for the future succession to the countship as a member of the Academy of Glory.

To him, Benio Kepler was a toy he absolutely wanted to have.

Originally, he was a scumbag from the Kepler family who didn’t even need to be treated like that, but the moment Benio started to stand out, Tepor wanted him.

The reason was simple.

Because it will help the future of Count Somnus.

The Count of Somnus exports most of the food produced in the territory. Since it is impossible to consume such a large amount domestically, the Count of Somnus exported food to the outside and accumulated enormous wealth.

But human greed was endless.

Where grain is scarce, grain prices are high.

Following this simple logic, Count Somnus wanted to establish a merchant company himself, rather than selling grain to merchants in the central region who came to his territory. He thought that if he could advance into the eastern Black Forest or the western mountainous regions, where grain production was low, he could make a greater profit.

That did not seem like an impossible task to Count Somnus, who had enormous wealth.

But there was something that Count Somnus overlooked.

The unity of merchants.

Merchants led by Duke Kepler, who controlled 30% of the empire’s distribution channels, formed an alliance to rebel against the emergence of a powerful rival named Count Somnus.

But everyone knew.

This means that the Kepler family is trying to keep the Somnus family in check.

Their methods were simple, but others would never have thought of doing so.

The grain produced by the Count of Somnus accounts for 30% of the empire’s output. So, the Duke of Kepler and the Merchant Alliance chose to purchase grain from somewhere other than the Count of Somnus and supply it.

It also strongly opposed the advance of Count Somnus into the market by lowering prices and enduring bleeding.

in result?

Of course, it is the defeat of Count Somnus.

At first, they also tried to secure price competitiveness by lowering the price of the grain they produced themselves to compete with the Kepler Dukes, but they were unable to win against the Kepler Dukes in terms of stamina.

A merchant’s stamina means money.

The stamina to withstand bleeding and bear losses.

Although the Counts of Somnus amassed a great fortune by selling grain, the size of their wealth could never surpass that of the Dukes of Kepler.

In the true war of money, the loser was Count Somnus.

They faced the high wall of the Kepler family that they could not overcome and felt the difference. Then, swallowing their tears, they handed over the Somnus superstructure, which Count Somnus had invested a huge amount of money to the Kepler family.

It’s like surrendering with a white flag.

Then, the merchant association including Duke Kepler stopped lowering the price of grain and raised it back to the original price.

Thanks to the war of money between Duke Kepler and Count Somnus, the lands that suffered from grain shortages benefited that year, but it was Duke Kepler who benefited the most.

Bleeding and deficit due to competition with Count Somnus?

Because it was nothing compared to the benefits he gained by winning the war of money and showing that the Kepler family was still going strong.

Grain was not originally the main item of the Kepler family. It was only a part of their household, but Count Somnus did not know that.

So the amount of damage that Count Somnus suffered in one year was 300,000 gold.

The damage was equivalent to the annual budget of an average writer. After that, Count Somnus had one goal.

The Kepler Dukes.

Beyond the Kepler family, who ruled the empire with money.

The wealth of the Kepler family, accumulated over a thousand years, is not something that can be easily surpassed, but it is still a goal for the Counts of Somnus.

And Tepor, seeing Benio’s rise to prominence at the Academy, reached out to him, thinking that it would be beneficial to the family if he were to make him a knight of the Count Somnus family and become his lord.

Although he is second in line to the Duke’s succession, he is still Kepler.

If he becomes a knight of Tepor, in case of emergency, such as the sudden death of the lord or some other unfortunate accident, Benio will become the duke.

When he heard that the Duke’s treatment of Benio was poor, the soon-to-be Count Tepor extended a hand to show his generosity.

“bouncer.”

Tepor felt deeply insulted and ashamed that a man who would at best be a knight, let alone a duke, had refused his offer to become a count.

No matter how prominent he was, being rejected by Benio, who had been called the disgrace of the Academy for the past five years, left a deep wound on Tepor’s pride.

And there is only one way to heal that wound.

‘If he knows that the world is big, he will become more well-behaved.’

Now, everyone at the academy says he’s great, so he acts like he’s great, but you just have to make him feel like that’s not true.

So Tepor took action.

In the name of Count Somnus, he put all kinds of requests into the Mercenary Guild Academy branch.

That was an idea that Benio could come up with because he had already learned that he would be going to the Mercenary Guild for an internship at Professor Chutney’s recommendation.

This idea came to mind when he realized that the number of mercenaries staying at the Academy branch was always small, but Tepor added one more trick to it.

‘Yoo In-hyang.’

Benio’s clothes, which he wears while going to Dudek Territory, a place famous for its monsters, are covered in an incense that attracts monsters.

Neither Benio nor his servant would have dreamed of this, since he had given a few pennies to the man working at the laundry.

‘So, if you save my life before I die, I’ll come back and apologize to you for what I did to you.’

No matter how good my swordsmanship is, I will still be lacking in many ways compared to a real knight. That is why Tepor sent his knight to save Benio when his life was in danger.

Sent Lord Amblan, an auror user.

Since Aura users would be able to cut down most monsters that pop up, they were a good fit for this mission.

If you save his life like that and he comes back and apologizes, you can accept him as your knight and make Kepler kneel in the name of Somnus.

Someone found Tepor, who nodded and said it was a perfect plan.

“The Gwanghwiwon has summoned you, cadet.”

“Gwanghwiwon?”

The arrival of Lawrence Ismail’s butler meant that the Master of Light had come to find him. Tepor neatly dressed himself at his summons.

Unlike Kepler, who was a man of many gold coins, it was better to be careful with your body and words in front of Ismail, who had power. Tepor, who was called in like that, felt nervous inside when he saw Lawrence Ismail’s smiling face.

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‘I heard that many people fell for that smiling face.’

All children of noble families belonging to the Department of Administrative Affairs were members of the Gwanghwiwon. The Gwanghwiwon had a qualification requirement that only children of noble families who could inherit a title could join.

There, after graduating, the Gwanghwiwon alumni helped each other, pushed each other, and pulled each other along. So, for Tepor, who would become a count, the Gwanghwiwon was a more important place than the academy.

The pinnacle of that is Lawrence Ismail.

Lawrence, who was widely rumored to be the next Duke of Ismail, was known as an enigmatic person.

“Tepor Cadet.”

“I heard you called, Dean.”

The head of the Gwanghwiwon was called the director, or chairman. Lawrence said to Tepor with a smile.

“You’re doing some pretty interesting work.”

Rattling.

The moment he said those words, Tepor felt his heart sink. Lawrence spoke with an expression and tone of voice that seemed to know everything.

But that couldn’t be the case.

‘Even if he is Ismail, he is still a cadet.’

Tepor’s plan was perfect, and since he was only pushing forward with his own people, no one among the other cadets knew about it.

“I heard you’ve submitted over 30 requests to the Mercenary Guild. Thanks to that, I’ve heard that the Academy branch is busier than ever. I didn’t know that Count Somnus would have so many opportunities to seek out the Mercenary Guild.”

No it wasn’t.

Tepor’s face changed. The plan that I thought only my people knew was leaked. What’s even scarier is that I have no idea where this information leaked out.

“I don’t mean to blame you. I just called you here out of interest to hear the opinions of the Tepor cadets.”

Lawrence waved his hand lightly as if to tell people not to misunderstand. But no one would believe him after seeing that.

The Gwanghwiwon is a small aristocratic society.

In the society of the nobles, even such small things are not overlooked. This is also the case among the cadets of the Gwanghwiwon.

“What do you want to know?”

“Bennio Kepler, are you sure you can handle the aftermath?”

‘Did you know that?’

Tepor had no choice but to admit that Lawrence knew everything. Tepor’s expression disappeared and he frowned slightly.

“How did you know?”

“Ismail’s eyes are everywhere.”

“….”

Ismail of Power. The reason the Ismaili family is called Ismail of Power is because they are a group of cold-blooded people who would even throw away their own blood if it meant power.

The Ismails are the ones who can even report their parents for power. Tepor told him that he would soon contact his family and change all the people.

“I have no intention of killing.”

“So, did you apply the perfume?”

“…I have attached one of the knights of the family.”

“Hmm….”

Lawrence seemed to be thinking about something, then snapped his fingers. At that moment, Tepor was startled. A black shadow suddenly fell behind Lawrence.

‘Ismail’s dagger. Does that mean that the dagger has already sworn allegiance to Lawrence?’

Ismail’s daggers were famous. They were a secret organization that followed only the orders of Prince Ismail and were famous for various assassinations, kidnappings, and intelligence gathering.

Their true identity was known only to Duke Ismail.

Even though there is only one such knife, it is attached to Lawrence.

This means that Lawrence has come close to the center of Ismail’s power.

“Kill Lord Amblan.”

“Cadet Lawrence!”

But the words Lawrence spoke made Tepor stand up. Lawrence had ordered him to assassinate Emblan, the knight of the family, and not Benio.

Sssssss.

The dagger turned into a shadow and disappeared from the spot. Tepor stood up with the veins on his temples standing out and glared at Lawrence.

“What is this! Killing the knight of the main family! Are you trying to humiliate me?”

“No, that’s not possible.”

Smile.

Lawrence smiled at Tepor. It was a pure and innocent smile. But to Tepor, it seemed like a sinister smile.

“The great king, Lord Amblan, must die.”

“He is a knight of the family!”

“Cadet Tepor, calm down. I am trying to help you now.”

Lawrence’s eyes emitted a serpent-like light. Tepor gritted his teeth. Sir Amblan was a knight with a promising future. If he died, the damage to the family would be great.

Because the cost of raising one knight was similar to maintaining a thousand soldiers.

“The dagger will produce evidence.”

“Evidence?”

“Evidence that Benio Kepler killed Lord Amblanc.”

“…!”

Tepor’s eyes widened. He immediately realized what Lawrence was trying to do.

“Make a formal complaint to the Kepler family. Then it will be easier to make Benio Kepler a knight of the cadets. The knight is dead.”

If a duly commissioned knight died, regardless of the cause, the Counts of Somnus had the right to protest to the Dukes of Kepler and receive compensation.

If the evidence Lawrence prepared with the dagger could prove Benio’s intention.

In doing so, not only will he receive a reward from the Kepler family, but he will also be able to absolve Benio of his sins and make Benio Kepler a Knight of Somnus.

It seems that Tepor is receiving more than what he originally aimed for.

“Why are you helping me?”

Tepor asked him. Then Lawrence smiled brightly and answered.

“Because you, Benio, dared to hit my man. I am the kind of person who would return the blow with death.”

Lawrence’s eyes sparkled and radiated madness. Tepor turned his head away, feeling uncomfortable looking into those eyes.

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