"Where are the tools?" A middle-aged man was staring at the construction of a big bridge not far from the city.
"I have asked my man to grab them from the shop, Sir." The butler that stormed Douglas's shop earlier reported.
He nodded with a serious expression. "All of his tools are excellent and he has all the perfect tools for everything. He even sells them at a low price. That's why we've been developing the city at a fast rate. How about the other projects?"
"They are steadily progressing."
"Good." The man looked at the paper in his hand. "There are a total of ten big projects and sixty smaller projects. We have to begin changing our tools to new ones."
"Of course. I'll definitely bring you all the tools, Sir."
"You're a good butler." The man nodded in approval.
But as he just acknowledged him, a huge problem occurred. The man, who the butler sent earlier, had returned. He appeared to be rushing and without the carriage that was supposed to bring the tools.
"Report… Bad news!" The guy shouted while panting.
"How rude of you? Don't you know you're in the presence of the Count?" The butler hurriedly shouted, glaring at him.
However, the Count was more focused on the bad news and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I…" The guy hesitated for a moment before reporting what he saw. "I've gone to the shop, but… he has disappeared."
"What?" The Count and the butler were dumbstruck. The Count asked, "What did you say? He left the city?"
"That's what most likely had happened. When I reached the store, all the items had disappeared. I investigated a bit more, but there was no sign of him living there anymore. All the clothes and other necessities had disappeared. Only…" The guy took out a piece of paper that had been folded neatly. It didn't seem the guy had seen it because there was "For the Count" written on it.
The Count hurriedly grabbed the paper and read what he had left.
'It's time for me to go. This is how I'm going to repay what you've done to me… especially that butler. Have a good day.'
It was a simple but powerful message.
The Count understood that Douglas had left the city. And the butler might be the reason for it.
The Count's body was shaking as he couldn't help but recall all the projects he had as well as Douglas's help.
He had taken on a lot of projects because Douglas often gave him some suggestions which were doable and perfect for the project, allowing him to cut costs. Then, he used it to negotiate with another partner and lowered the price they had to pay, making his family become the favorite in those people's eyes.
But now that Douglas had disappeared, it meant that the tools he provided would disappear.
Of course, the Count could easily ask some workshops to provide some tools, but they wouldn't be able to do it as good as Douglas.
There was also another option, which was asking them to make the same tool as the one they had. However, it would definitely take a lot of time to make by unfamiliar hands. And the price would be extremely high. He didn't know if the quality would be the same or not.
After all, he had tried this method and got disappointed.
However, that wasn't all. Even if he somehow solved the tools' problem, he would have to face the design problem.
Douglas had been giving some advice on all kinds of structures, making them beautiful and cost-effective. He even knew where to procure materials and used the natural landscape to cut more costs.
If Douglas was gone, the cost would rise so high that he would go in the red. He might not have any more money to pay the workers or materials.
That problem would cause a chain reaction that would reach the ones paying for the construction.
In other words, a lot of projects would definitely fail and his family might have to use loans to pay off their debts. Then, the situation would become worse. The citizens would lose their trust.
Even if he could extort the citizens, they would be dried sooner or later. In fact, there was a chance that the citizens would migrate to another territory.
He had a lot of enemies, which would be happy enough to accept the refugees and take advantage of this situation to strike his enemies.
Just thinking of all the problems the Count Family would face, Count Helsbert's face became pale.
He glared at the butler and shouted, "What did you do that ended up forcing him to leave?"
"What?" The butler was confused. He didn't know what to say. Not only was he afraid of the Count's anger, but he also didn't know why Douglas would leave. After all, he had been doing similar things in the past. "I don't know."
Looking at the butler's expression, it seemed that he wasn't aware of the problem as well.
But the messenger noticed something from the shop and said, "Sir… When I investigated the shop earlier… I noticed that the shop's door was bent and the window was shattered. Did they get attacked?"
"What?" The Count's face became pale. He thought that there was someone aiming for Douglas because he was the core of his plan. But the moment he turned to the butler and witnessed his shocked face, he realized that it was the butler's work. "Were you the one who did it?"
"What? I… I…" The butler couldn't answer.
"I have told you to treat him with respect!" The Count gritted his teeth, wanting to kill the butler that he had praised earlier.
"I…" The butler looked down. The Count might probably be the only one who treated Douglas warmly. However, the other family members, such as the madam and the Count's sons, had been looking down on Douglas, thinking of him as a mere commoner. He was also influenced by them and treated Douglas as such.
"You…" The Count was fuming in anger. He raised his head and shouted, "Guards. Bring this guy out of here. I'm going to execute him!"
Even if the Count executed him, Douglas wouldn't return. Of course, the Count immediately ordered his people to search for Douglas.
As for the one who caused all this problem, Douglas was walking with Noel, Dimitri, and Jack.
"That's probably what's going to happen." Douglas finished his explanation, which was similar to what the Count experienced and predicted. "It might not be enough to destroy the Count. If he used this and that, he should be able to maintain the family. But he would be weakened so much that he would soon be harassed by his enemies. Unless he could somehow restore his wealth, he wouldn't be able to stop them."
Noel sucked a cold breath. "I see. So, that's why you're the pillar of the Ardagan Family."
"You could say so. Though, your father built the Ardagan Family with a solid foundation, not reckless, but not extremely careful. Even if one pillar was gone, the other pillars could easily fill up the spot."
"Like producing something at a certain limit, not the maximum amount, so that it can be pushed to the maximum limit when something goes awry?" Noel asked.
"Yes. Something like that."
"The other pillars should be doing the same. Who are you planning to meet after this?"
"Balott and Charlotte."
"Balott, huh? If I'm not wrong, he has become a free accountant that a lot of merchant groups sought. Though, he's not doing something big currently, so even if he's gone, there won't be a lot of things to happen. As for Charlotte…" Douglas is scratching the back of his head.
"What's wrong?"
Dimitri looked at Douglas's troubled expression and explained, "Charlotte is probably the only one who can stop his madness. Charlotte can actually track everything in the city. If you inquire anything about the city, Charlotte will probably know it. I think Rose should learn from her since Charlotte is already quite old."
"I see." Noel nodded in understanding. "By the way, how many pillars did we have?"
"There are ten pillars. Dimitri is the Worker Pillar, and Balott is the Economy Pillar. Charlotte is the overseer. There are also farming, information, city development, defense, public relationship, and two other pillars that aren't much visible. It's said that your father is the only one who knows. Dimitri might know about it."
"I only know one of them. It's not that different from the information pillar, but they are in charge of eliminating threats. As for the other one, it's just a rumor. There is another pillar that is secretly protecting the people of the Ardagan Family."
Douglas pointed at Dimitri. "That one… I heard that people who are recruited won't encounter any problems for the rest of their lives. Sometimes, there is someone who is dealing with anything that might cause them problems."
"Hoh?" Noel looked down. It seemed that in governing a territory, his father was still far beyond him. "I wonder how he managed all of you."
"Are you sure you are asking about that from me?" Douglas made a wry smile as if telling him it would be awkward after this.
"Hahaha. In any case, I might not be following my father's footsteps, but I'll continue to strive to be a better lord." Noel chuckled.
"In that case, Master. May I know where we'll be going?"
"I'm planning to ask you to stay with Harley?"
"Are you going to revive the city?"
"No. We're going to a new region. I'll manipulate the royal court to get us there. So, I want you to stay with Harley for the time being."
"Instead of that, how about telling me the name of that region? I can go there and survey the location. In fact, I can plan ahead so that we can begin the moment we're granted that land."
"Still, it's going to be dangerous, considering that place is near the border." Noel thought for a moment. "How about going to Harley for the time being? Since he is planning to get Howard, you should be safer that way, no?"
"I see." Douglas contemplated. "Understood. I will follow your arrangement."
"Thanks. I'm planning to become a noble in about five months. So, get ready."
"Understood."
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