The Demon King is unfathomable

Chapter 335: The One Who Sold His Soul to the Devil
The next morning, Dantes and his family got up early and hurried to the place where they had agreed to meet Lumière. They took a carriage to King Street in the core area of ​​the Holy City to see their future new home.

The carriage stopped at the entrance of the street, and the driver looked at everyone in the carriage with an embarrassed expression.

"Sir, we don't allow cars without family crests to enter here... Look, why don't you get off here?"

Most of the wealthy areas in the Holy City prohibit the entry of foreign carriages, and the reason is that untrained horses will shit randomly.

This is actually inaccurate.

After all, Edmund had seen with his own eyes that a carriage with a unique family crest dropped a large piece of garbage when it passed through Loyalty Street, and it took several days for a neighbor who couldn't stand the smell to pick it up.

"That's all."

Lumière handed two coins to the coachman, and as the latter thanked him, he gestured to Dantes and his family to follow him and head towards their destination.

The bright sunshine shines on the wide and neat stone road. The tall oak trees and flower beds on both sides of the street are surrounded by gorgeous and elegant single-family villas, which are very pleasing to the eye.

The villas behind the green lawn are all built with light-colored stones, with clean windows, carefully trimmed potted plants on the balconies, and occasionally young servants in long skirts can be seen.

The environment here is like two completely different worlds compared to Loyalty Street.

Although the people living on this street are not kings, at least they have escaped from the class of leeks...

perhaps?

Edmond Dantes looked at the street scene around him, feeling mixed emotions, both yearning and timid. He subconsciously pulled his collar, trying to make himself look more respectable... at least not to look like a newspaper deliveryman.

Just at this moment, a newspaper boy ran past him, shouting loudly as he ran.

"Breaking news! Breaking news! Regent Granville Porta hosted a banquet for Her Royal Highness Roxel Colin from the Janna Continent at the Valencia Manor! There was important news at the banquet, right on page 2 of the newspaper! This news, which was worth tens of thousands of gold coins, is now only 5 copper coins! Ladies and gentlemen, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and buy a copy! It's really not expensive!"

The young man shouted very hard, and the appeal of the surname Colin was almost immediately reflected.

Gentlemen and ladies passing by threw coins into the newsboy's hat, took the newspapers and stood on the street to read them carefully, with wonderful expressions on their faces.

Seeing those people concentrating so intently, Edmund, who originally felt a little inferior, suddenly felt as if he were infused with the grace bestowed by Saint Sith, and his sunken chest unconsciously straightened up again.

His wife Anna followed him, breathing rapidly, holding a silk handkerchief nervously in both hands, and kept reminding the children: "Lucian, Sophia, Francois, you must be polite when you go in later. Don't run around. Do you understand? Especially you, Emily!"

Little Emily tugged tightly at her sister Sophia's skirt, opened her curious eyes wide, and nodded vigorously.

"Yes! I know."

Lucien tried to act calm and showed the spirit of an eldest son, but his clenched and unclenched fists still revealed his inner excitement and anxiety.

His younger brother François seemed even more shy, looking around as if he was looking for a crack in the ground to hide in.

Sophia did raise her head, but there was not much confidence in her timid eyes. She looked at the passers-by on the road from time to time, fearing that they would realize that her family did not belong here and would be thrown out of the street by the patrolling guards.

Of course the guards couldn't do that, but the occasional glances from them still made the family feel uneasy.

The only one who looked normal was Lumière.

There was no ripple on that face that had seen strong storms, as calm as a lake without wind.

This is the skill he learned after carefully observing the Demon King.

No matter what happens, keep a straight face, imagine yourself as part of your surroundings, and completely integrate into your surroundings.

"Looks like we're here." Lumir stopped in front of a quaint milky white villa and admired it, with a hint of satisfaction in his picky eyes.

Edmund's breathing became noticeably faster, and he hesitated for a moment as he looked at the magnificent door inlaid with a bronze doorplate.

Lumir asked him to pick a house at random, but he didn't know which one to choose so as not to embarrass His Royal Highness the Prince and not make the other party think that he was too greedy. So he remembered that he always heard people say that the powerful and wealthy businessmen in the Holy City lived here.

This is indeed the case. The emblems printed on many of the doorplates are of aristocratic style...at least they are baronial titles.

He didn't know the housing prices here, but just by looking at the elegantly decorated gate and neatly manicured lawn, he knew that the price here was definitely not something he could consider.

Saint Siss above...

Edmund couldn't help but groan in his heart, trying hard to maintain his expression that was about to collapse.

The stable in the yard was almost bigger than his original house!

The real estate agent who showed everyone the house was a neatly dressed young gentleman, whom Lumière had contacted in advance through the address in the newspaper.

The man in the tuxedo stood at the door. His eyes swept over the clothes of the Dantes family. The smile on his face froze for a moment, and then turned into a polite but slightly alienated expression.

"Good morning, everyone," he bowed slightly, speaking in a casual and professional tone, "Excuse me...are you the guests who have made an appointment to view the house?"

Edmund's heart tightened, but he quickly forced a smile and nodded, "Yes, yes, we are here to see the house... Uh, this is the one that's for sale, right? Are you the landlord?"

The agent raised his eyebrows and smiled, but his eyes unconsciously showed a hint of coldness.

"Sir, you are such a joke. How can a guest who can live here have the time to show people the house in person?"

"Oh, so that's how it is."

An unnatural blush suddenly appeared on Edmund's face. He moved his mouth and was about to explain, but Lumire, who was standing behind him, took a step forward at the right time, calmly took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to the agent in a tuxedo.

The agent lowered his head and glanced, his expression suddenly froze, and his whole body seemed to be petrified, with his eyes completely glued to the dazzling and noble Purple Moon badge.

No mistake——

This is the Colin family medal!
He just saw it in the newspaper this morning, and he had seen it more than once before!
In just a moment, his expression seemed to be cast under a spell, glowing with unprecedented earnestness and enthusiasm.

"So you're a guest of Colin's! I'm so sorry! I thought I recognized the wrong person just now..."

He quickly and carefully put the business card into his breast pocket and bowed respectfully.

"Forgive my impoliteness... Gentlemen, please come in!"

As he spoke, he hurriedly took out the key, opened the door of the villa, and stepped aside to make way.

His whole face was filled with meticulous care, as if the cold attitude just now had never existed.

Lumire didn't bother with a small person, but just turned his attention to Edmund.

The latter quickly came to his senses, put on a solemn and serious expression again, and squeezed his wife with his elbow... as if she was the one who was embarrassed just now.

"Let's go, let's go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Edmund regretted it, fearing that the tigress would turn hostile because of his unconsciously blunt tone, and finally bring shame to the Colin family.

However, to his surprise, Anna, who was always fussy about details, said nothing this time and was as quiet as a sheep.

She hummed softly and snuggled up to him, like a noble lady who was dependent on her husband.

This...what's going on?

Who made his wife like this?
Edmund opened his mouth in surprise, looking at his wife who suddenly looked more than ten years younger... as if she had returned to the time when they first met. For a moment, he actually felt a little strange.

"Is there something on my face?" Anna frowned slightly and reached into her bag to find a mirror.

That frown instantly made Edmund regain his lost memory, and he was sure that the person standing next to him was undoubtedly his wife.

Not wanting to cause any trouble, he spoke quickly.

"No, nothing, I just suddenly thought of something. Let's catch up with Colin - oh no, Mr. Lumire."

……

The group filed in, walked through the stone path in the front yard of the villa and arrived at the main building.

This is a three-story western-style house, with the same number of floors as the house on Zhongcheng Street, but the space is incomparable to the latter.

not only that.

Although no one lives here, there are always servants cleaning the place. The clean floor is spotless and reflects the light coming through the window like a mirror.

The moment they stood in the hall, the Dantes family immediately felt the elegance and comfort that was completely different from the outside world.

The agent was generous with his flattering tone and enthusiasm, and like a bard in a tavern, he patiently guided them around the room.

Not only that, he also praised every brick and tile here to the sky, and hinted to them with implicit words - everything here is so suitable for them, and it is even tailor-made for them!
"There are two living rooms on the first floor, one for home enjoyment and the other for entertaining guests. One is small and the other is large. The small one is cozy and the large one is grand. The lighting is excellent! Look, this fireplace is made of the finest white marble, so there is no need to worry about the cold winter..." At the corner is a study, which is very suitable for the owner to read quietly.

"The owner here told me that what he likes most is to read here for an hour before going to bed and taste a glass of wine produced in 970 AD from the Lane Kingdom Winery. This will help him think."

Can drinking help you think?
Edmund was startled and stole a glance at his wife.

Seeing that the latter did not frown, he secretly memorized this useless knowledge, but he completely forgot the year and origin of the red wine.

Anna didn't hear what the agent said to her husband just now. She was completely distracted by the fairyland-like environment in front of her.

Reaching out and gently touching the soft velvet curtains in the living room, his fingers trembling slightly, he muttered to himself: "This is... velvet? What is that in our house?"

Sophia whispered.

"Maybe it's duck down... but it's actually pretty warm."

Anna blushed and glared at her daughter.

"I know! Also, don't mention this matter in the future...especially don't mention it to Mr. Colin."

Sophia blushed and nodded, saying "hmm" softly to indicate that she understood.

Her mother had hinted at it, and she also knew that she could not rely on her father alone. She had to make some sacrifices for the family. Whether it was justified or not was not important at all.

Besides, it’s not a sacrifice.

The nobles all did this, and then in turn used integrity and morality to restrain the poor.

It was precisely because she had read books that she was particularly aware of this.

Emily was curious and wanted to touch the swan's feathers. She had only seen it in picture books so that she could tell her good friend Margaret about it when she returned to school.

But thinking of her mother's warning, she quietly withdrew her hand.

Edmund walked into the study carefully, looking around at the neatly arranged bookshelves on the walls and the exquisitely carved mahogany desk, and a surge of eager excitement surged in his heart.

He suppressed his joy and maintained his composure on the surface, but he spoke unconsciously.

"Not bad...very good..."

The man in the tuxedo was delighted and continued to lead them to the second floor. He continued to talk nonstop, "The second floor is the bedroom area. The master bedroom is on the south side, with plenty of sunlight and good ventilation. On the north side is the piano room, which is equipped with a top-notch piano. It is very suitable for young ladies to study music."

Sophia walked slowly into the piano room, her fingertips gently sliding across the black and white keys, and the sound of the piano was crisp and pleasant.

Her eyes were filled with joy, and she whispered to her mother, "Mom, the piano here is much better than the one in the academy... Will the owner of the house leave it to us?"

"Of course! Everything here is yours!" the man in a tuxedo said attentively, "The owner of this place is going to a new world to develop soon. I heard it's the Janna Continent... Maybe this is fate."

"Be careful, Sofia, don't break it!" Anna's tone was full of nervousness, but she could not hide her inner pride and expectation. After visiting the interior of the house, everyone returned to the yard again, because the eldest son Lucien, who was full of dreams of being a knight, insisted on seeing the stables here.

This seems to be a separate yard. Different from the main yard in front of the door, the lawn is more lush and softer. Even if you fall on it, you won't die. It must be some magic that accelerates the growth of plants.

Edmund didn't understand either, but he heard that this thing was not suitable for growing crops, but it was very effective in growing grass.

The stable was on one side of the yard and was well maintained. There were three empty horse troughs and hay and wood piled next to them.

Lucien ran excitedly to the stable, opened the small door, stuck his head in, and turned around with a gleam in his eyes.

He couldn't wait to say, "Dad, this is much better than the one in the suburbs! I really... like it here so much!"

Edmund nodded to his son with a little restraint, but a hint of satisfaction and joy quietly emerged in his eyes, but he could not hide a trace of embarrassment and uneasiness.

He secretly observed Lumire's expression, but had no idea what the latter was thinking.

This guy is clearly a butler, but he gives him the feeling of a priest in a church.

And it's the most old-fashioned kind.

"The servants' quarters and storage are behind the stables. Not only can they be used to raise horses, but they can also be used to raise some harmless magical beasts, such as hybrid unicorns or giant deer," the tuxedoed man continued to introduce enthusiastically. "The overall design is very thoughtful, and it is very convenient for daily life... Is there anything else you need me to show you?"

"No, no, I've already found one." Edmund's heart was already filled with excitement, but he still tried to put on a calm and composed attitude, cleared his throat, and asked casually, "Well, the house... looks good, so, how much is it?"

The man in the tuxedo replied with a smile.

"The selling price is 5052 gold coins, but I think if the owner hears about your noble status, he should be willing to make friends with you... I can negotiate for you!"

These words floated into Edmund's ears, but exploded in his heart like a thunderclap, and a fine bead of sweat oozed out of his forehead uncontrollably.

Fifty million copper coins!
This money can buy half the road in Loyalty Street!

"Fifty million...well, I mean five thousand gold coins isn't a lot," Edmund tried to keep his voice calm, luckily not revealing that he was a poor guy who usually bought things with copper coins.

He was silent for a moment, trying his best to hide his inner panic, and forced a smile and said, "The house... is indeed nice, but my waist has always been in bad condition, so I'm afraid the lawn in the yard is not easy to take care of..."

Lucien was anxious when he heard that his father seemed to want to give up, and he quickly said, "Dad! I can clean the lawn, I can definitely do this!"

When he goes to the farm to practice equestrianism in the summer, he occasionally helps his father with farm work. This little thing is nothing to him!
The agent was slightly stunned, then he smiled and politely explained, "Sir, you are such a joke... This kind of work is of course the responsibility of the servants, unless you are particularly keen on this kind of activity, which is another matter."

Edmund's face turned redder and he felt embarrassed.
"I, I do have this hobby..."

The agent immediately said attentively.

"Then this house is even more suitable for you! You will have exclusive use of the 2000 square meters of lawn and become the most distinguished guest on King Street. Everyone on this street will be impressed by your hard work!"

This statement is by no means sarcastic.

Maintaining a harmless quirk appropriately can help deepen one's impression on distinguished guests and serve as a topic of conversation to ease awkwardness. This is something many aristocrats would do.

Anyway, "hard worker" is also a positive nickname, which is much better than the nickname "shoe loser"!

However, Edmund was not in this circle, and he couldn't even tell whether the other party was giving sincere advice or sarcasm.

Just when he was hesitating and unable to speak, Lumir took a step forward and spoke slowly.

"I don't think I need to choose. I haven't seen any house bigger than this one along the way..."

After a pause, he said.

"This is it."

As soon as the words fell, Edmund was stunned for a moment, and everyone's face showed an expression of disbelief.

He looked at Lumire in astonishment, opened his mouth, and managed to utter a sentence after a long while: "Mr. Lumire, this, this is not possible..."

Lumier smiled faintly, without pointing out his subconscious embarrassment, and said casually: "I will arrange for the servants and gardeners, you don't need to worry about these trivial matters."

"This, how can I feel embarrassed..." Edmund's voice became softer and softer, and the corners of his mouth could no longer be suppressed, revealing his irrepressible ecstasy and emotion.

This is human nature.

It's not just him—

And so do his children!
The young people could no longer contain their joy and hugged each other excitedly. Even the youngest, little Emily, joined in the fun with silly laughter.

Looking at the heartwarming scene, Anna kept wiping the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, and sighed softly: "Saint Sis, thank you, Your Highness... Thank you, Your Highness..."

Lumire looked at the lady who was praying constantly, smiled and nodded.

"I think it is the blessing of the gods that has brought Mr. Colin and Mr. Dantes together after five hundred years of separation. I hope you will remain as pious as ever."

……

The property transfer procedures went extremely smoothly. Under Lumière's familiar arrangements, the villa was officially registered under the name of Mr. Edmond Dantes before the sun set.

In addition, he asked the real estate agent not to mention the Colin family's name and just pay the original price.

It's not that I'm worried about the owner asking for a high price, but it's just too cheap to think of making friends with Mr. Colin for just 52 gold coins.

5052 gold coins is definitely an astronomical figure for ordinary people, even for ordinary nobles, but it is just a number to His Majesty the Demon King.

Besides, maybe it won’t be long before the money returns to that adult.

In the next few years after the big storm, there will be no more suitable investment project than "Jana Dream" in the entire vast ocean.

When Edmund saw his name on the contract with his own eyes, he still felt as if he were in a dream.

Standing in the living room, he looked at his wife and children happily discussing their future life, and couldn't help feeling deeply moved.

At this moment, he turned his head inadvertently and his eyes fell on Lumire who was standing aside and waiting quietly.

The other party happened to nod slightly, as if waiting for him to come over.

Edmund quickly calmed himself down and hurried to Lumire's side with a respectful look.

"Mr. Lumire, do you have any other instructions?"

After spending the whole day today, he was completely impressed by the butler beside His Highness Colin.

Lumire raised his hand gently, motioning him to follow him to a corner of the room, then slowly took out a map cut from a newspaper from his pocket and handed it to him calmly.

"Do you remember what I said before? His Highness Colin wants you to help him manage his business in the Holy City... We recently found a good target, but it is not convenient for him or me to go and discuss it in person. At this time, you need to come forward."

Edmund quickly took the map and asked, "Your Highness, if you have any instructions, just tell me!"

He knew very well who gave him everything he had.

If that person wants to take it back, it's just a matter of words.

A contract is only valid when both parties are civilians.

As for the nobility, that is another rule, and this rule has nothing to do with the Dantes family.

Lumier said in a gentle tone.

"To put it simply, he plans to invest in a winery in the Holy City, and the site is located in the suburbs about 50 kilometers away from the Holy City. It is not far from the port controlled by the Castellón family, the transportation nearby is convenient, and the land price is relatively cheap."

The storm affected not only cornfields, but also sugarcane fields in the New World.

The hot and humid climate of the Janna continent is just right for growing sugarcane. They can open a sugar factory in Deadwood Port, then transport the syrup to the Holy City to be processed into rum, and then use the profits to develop real estate in the Holy City, harvesting the wallets of the middle class and the souls of the nobles.

As for those who have nothing—

They got the job.

To be honest, the Demon King doesn't really want to reap them, but if they really want to, they can wait until they have saved enough money, practiced their skills, and then buy a boat ticket from the Empire to work in the Janna Continent.

The Demon King called it the "Simplified Version of the Rum Triangle Trade". Since the empire's cattle and horses were in the empire, they did not need to go to Africa to look for them.

Lumir didn't understand the meaning of this sentence, nor did he know what Africa was, but he firmly believed that the Demon King was right.

When the adult makes the first move, he often has already seen the last move.

While waiting for Edmund to digest the huge amount of information, Lumire continued in a slow voice.

"In short, His Royal Highness hopes to acquire this land in your name and set up the Dantes Group to operate it. Apart from the equity, this group has no direct relationship with the Colin family."

"As for the land purchase fee, taxes, and other issues, you don't need to worry about them. You only need to do some things for him as the chairman when necessary, and then you can get a family dividend of 1% of the annual profit."

"I see!"

Edmund nodded solemnly.

Not to mention such a small matter, even if His Highness Colin asked him to die, he would not even frown.

He quickly unfolded the map and looked at it carefully. Suddenly he saw a familiar badge and was stunned for a moment.

"Is this it? The Barony of Devol?"

He had seen a carriage with this emblem on Loyalty Street before, and it seemed... he passed it by it just this morning.

But this is not important.

What really alarmed Edmund was that these country barons were always the most difficult to deal with.

There are often two sets of laws in their land, one is the imperial law, the other is the aristocratic code. As for which one to use, it depends purely on which one is more beneficial to them.

In comparison, he would rather do business with the great nobles. At least those guys were careful about their reputation, abided by the rules and had a sense of dignity, and looked down on the few cold, hard copper coins in his pocket.

Alternatively, doing business in the land directly under the empire is relatively safe.

The bureaucrats in those places mainly came from church schools and were of citizen origin. Even if they were greedy, they were limited and rarely wanted everything.

As for why he said this, it was because his ancestors and Baron Devol belonged to the same ecological niche.

Edmund was about to persuade him, but Lumire just glanced at the map in his hand and pointed to the circled location.

"Not this one, but the one next to it."

"Next to it? Where?" Edmund was confused as he couldn't find the second mark on the map.

There is a lot of land next to it, dozens of square kilometers, which is equivalent to two or three baronies, or roughly equivalent to an administrative district of the holy city.

What kind of factory needs such a large area? !
However, just as he was thinking this, Lumir's next words made him freeze in place.

"Of course all of them."

"Talk about as much as you can."

(End of this chapter)