The Founder of the Great Financial Family

Chapter 102 (2)

After finishing their conversation with the lord, the overseer informed Joshua, who was in the territory, and the news was soon passed on to Rockefeller.

Rockefeller, who was working at the store, checked the two letters he received.

One was sent by the lord, and the other was a letter from his younger brother working in the Montefeltro territory.

Both letters contained congratulatory messages on becoming a guild master and stories about the recently discovered gold ore.

As he read the letter from the lord and chuckled, his assistant Ricardo approached and spoke.

"What's the good news?"

At that question, Rockefeller looked up at Ricardo.

"Not exactly good news, but... just funny, I guess?"

"Who sent it?"

"The Montefeltro lord sent it. It says he congratulates me on becoming the guild leader."

Ricardo was also well aware of matters related to Montefeltro territory.

"If he sends a congratulatory message to the person who made him half of what he is, I guess the relationship isn't too bad."

Rockefeller smiled faintly at his words.

"Well, we have a relationship. My younger brother married their daughter."

"Marriage, huh..."

"I didn't want it originally, but my younger brother really liked that girl. And when I looked into it, it seemed like it would be beneficial for me too."

Ricardo, who had heard rumors, asked casually.

"Why did you refuse to become the lord of that territory when you could have? I've heard rumors that you put the lord in debt and took over the rights to the territory."

Rockefeller answered honestly.

"I almost did. I could have become the lord if I wanted to, but I didn't want that."

"You refused to be part of the ruling class?"

"Even if I wanted that position, it would probably be best if I didn't. The royal family wouldn't put a commoner like me in the lord's seat."

Ricardo felt more positive than negative about that statement.

"I see."

"So you gave up that position knowing the royal family would oppose it?"

Rockefeller nodded slightly.

"You could say that, but I also found being a lord to be troublesome. So I just let the person who was already doing it continue and decided to hold the reins instead."

"In what way?"

"I control the money. We manage all the finances of the territory. Joshua is probably managing it now, not me."

Controlling a territory's ruler by controlling the money.

Ricardo had his own feelings about it.

'Did he subdue the lord with money instead of power? It's not impossible, but it feels different.'

Rockefeller changed the subject.

"More importantly, this is a problem."

Ricardo showed interest, and Rockefeller told him the contents of the letter.

'Even if I don't say anything, he'll somehow find this letter and read it without anyone knowing. It's better to just reveal it openly and gain his trust instead.

"Recently, a large amount of gold ore was discovered in Montefeltro territory."

Ricardo wasn't unfamiliar with stories about gold.

'I've heard such rumors.'

"That happened, huh?"

Rockefeller continued.

"If gold ore that hasn't been mined flows out after a great upheaval, it seems that the land isn't dead yet."

Shining gold.

Who could resist it?

It was the beginning and end of all greed.

"Since ancient times, gold has been called the daughter of the sun, and silver has been called the tears of the moon."

That story.

Ricardo had heard it somewhere before.

"The daughter of the sun... I remember hearing that somewhere."

"It's a happy thing that it comes from the land where I practically have the rights, but..."

Rockefeller's expression wasn't entirely bright as he spoke.

That's why Ricardo questioned him.

"You don't seem too happy about it even though you have most of the rights. Is there a particular reason?"

Rockefeller had the same thoughts as the lord who wrote the letter.

"It's not certain yet. That land used to be of interest to the dwarves. It was called Azrak Goldmine, and it was one of the top gold mining areas on the continent. Now, it's been abandoned, and its former reputation has faded."

"But there's still a possibility, isn't there?"

"The possibility is there. But whether the gold really comes out or not isn't the important thing."

Rockefeller immediately continued.

"If I don't have the power to protect it, it doesn't matter if it comes from my land or not."

Ricardo agreed with that statement.

'If you don't have the power to protect it, it's not yours.'

"I agree. If the Tepez family or Sinclair family find out about this, things could get ugly."

The Ismail family wasn't even mentioned here.

Why?

Rockefeller knew why.

'The family with all its limbs cut off can't compete with the two families with good momentum right now.'

That's why.

'Since I can't show interest even if I know about it.'

"There's that, and it's not even certain, so it would be a problem if I got excited and ended up disappointed. And..."

People eyeing the gold veins?

Tepez? Sinclair? Or the royal family?

No, the real concern was elsewhere.

"The biggest concern is the dwarves. I don't know if you know this, but that land was abandoned by the dwarves in the past."

"I heard that it used to be dwarf territory."

"But they never handed it over to the empire. The empire just took the land they abandoned."

The following words could be roughly anticipated.

"Since the dwarves are crazy about gold as much as beer, if they suddenly appear and assert their rights, trouble is bound to arise. We won't give up easily, and they'll cling to it because of their cursed greed engraved in their blood."

If the Montefeltro territory was indeed not dead, as the letter said, Ricardo could be sure of one thing.

'A war with the dwarves is inevitable.'

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