The Demon King is unfathomable

Chapter 350 The Dust Has Settled
The sky fell not only on Baron Devol's family, but also on the citizens of the Holy City who had some assets and lived fifty kilometers away.

Compared with the powerful country nobles, the pain they felt from losing money was undoubtedly much more direct.

After all, it's their own money.

Many people have staked their savings on the land in the Bailu District, just to try their luck at high tide and turn their fortunes around.

However, the development of events was beyond everyone's expectations. When the tide really came, they suddenly realized that the wave was heading towards them.

In the "Golden Griffin" cafe on Sage Street, the atmosphere of fear is like invisible smoke, permeating everyone's brow.

Although the citizens of the Holy City do not have various salons like the nobles in this city, a group of "like-minded" people can always find their own circle - and the Golden Griffin Café is such a stronghold for "land speculators".

It is said that the guy who first excitedly shouted "Let's go to Bailu District to buy land" was the customer reading a newspaper in this cafe.

However, unlike the greedy and excited hustle and bustle of yesterday, the air in the cafe today seemed to be covered with a layer of frost.

The guests no longer boasted loudly about what "high-quality investment target" they had won, but instead gathered in groups of three or five to complain, or talked intensely in low voices, with visible anxiety written all over their faces.

think carefully--

It is foolish to think of suburban land as a good investment.

Before Prince Colin came to the city, they would never have even looked at the rotten land there.

How come they risked all their savings just because this foreign noble just walked over and took a look, without even saying a word in person?
It must be the devil's whisper!
They hated themselves for being bewitched, and they also hated the devil who whispered and bewitched them in their dreams.

"Damn it! I knew it wasn't that simple!" A pale-faced man crumpled up the newspaper in frustration and cursed angrily, "Even His Royal Highness Prince Colin can't get a loan from the Royal Bank. I'm afraid all the gold coins we invested in the Bailu District will be wasted!"

"Calm down, Martin!"

An older citizen sitting next to him reached out and held his shoulder, trying to calm down and persuade him, "Why are you panicking? Didn't the Bailu District Morning Post make an analysis? This is just the conservative style of the Imperial Bank. His Highness Colin will definitely not abandon Bailu Town!"

As soon as he finished speaking, before the guy named Martin could say a word, someone next to him quickly echoed him.

"Don't you see that the Spire Bank has already extended an olive branch to Sir Dantes? I think they are just waiting for a good price! This matter is far from being a dead end!"

It is an animal's instinct to seek out the stratosphere.

Especially when a group of sheep are facing a hungry wolf from which they cannot escape, they will feel safer if they huddle together rather than being alone.

Even if this sense of security is illusory and can be broken with a slight poke, and then there will be another extreme that is completely opposite -

"But what if...what if Sir Dantes is really heartbroken as the Holy City Daily said, and goes to another province with his investment plan? I always feel that there is more to this matter than meets the eye. It may also involve the unpleasantness behind His Highness Colin and the bigwigs in the Holy City."

A trembling voice interrupted.

People turned their eyes to the man who was speaking, and saw that he was trembling like a mouse frightened by a cat.

He swallowed and finally said out the most terrifying guess in his mind.

"…If that's the case, the land deeds we bought at a high price in our hands may not even be enough to wipe our butts with!"

How he longed at this moment, longed for a brave and wise person to stand up and refute him, and scold him harshly to wake him up... from the nightmare of endless fear.

However, he was destined to be disappointed.

Because what he feared was exactly what everyone present was afraid of.

His voice was like the last drop of rain that put out a raging wildfire, completely extinguishing the last glimmer of hope in the hearts of everyone present.

The cafe fell into a suffocating silence, with only the sound of heavy breathing as the only sound.

In this oppressive silence, a businessman who had invested all his fortune could no longer bear the pressure.

He stood up suddenly, and the chair was blown backwards by his violent movement, making a sharp sound.

"I don't care! I must sell the land in my hands before the news spreads and the land price collapses, even if it's a small loss! It's better than losing everything in the end!" His eyes were red, and he roared at his companions beside him, then hurried out the door.

News in the suburbs is always half a beat slower than in the city. Theoretically, if they act faster, they might be able to throw the hot fire crystal into the hands of a confused fool.

His voice was like a match, instantly igniting the panic that had already accumulated to the limit in the entire cafe, and chairs fell to the ground one after another.

"Yes! It must be sold immediately!"

"It will be too late if we don't take action now!"

"By the grace of Saint Sith, that's all my property... I... I might as well just die!"

"For the Emperor's sake, calm down! You can't get away alone if you keep on like this!"

"Let go! Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You persuaded us to stay and then you ran away secretly, right?"

Panic spread like a plague.

The speculators who were still hesitating and waiting could no longer sit still.

They stood up one after another, and the sound of chairs colliding with table legs could be heard one after another.

People were pushing and shoving each other, rushing to the door in a mess, as if if they were a step late, their life's wealth would be gone.

A panic-induced sell-off began in an unnoticed corner... just as this crazy speculation had just begun.

Unlike the panic in the Golden Griffin Café, the study in the Duke's Palace of Castellón was peaceful and serene at this moment, as if no matter how big the waves were, they could not shake this majestic castle.

Leaning back in the velvet armchair, Andre sipped the mellow red wine in the glass leisurely, his eyes fixed on the newspaper spread out on the table.

That is today's Al-Quds Daily.

Unlike yesterday, the focus of media attention has shifted from the quarrel between Sir Dantes and the president of the head office to the speculators flying under the spire.

Looking at the dusty speculator in the magic photo, there was not a trace of sympathy on his face, and there was even a hint of mocking smile at the corner of his mouth, as if he had just watched a wonderful circus.

After a while, Andre praised sincerely and talked to himself towards the forest outside the window.

"I didn't expect you to prepare this... It seems I underestimated you."

With his experience and vision, he had already seen through everything. And this young Prince Colin was even more sophisticated than he imagined.

First, they used false prosperity and huge profit expectations to push the land prices in Bailu District to an absurdly high point, attracting greedy country aristocrats and speculators. Then they used a carefully planned "financing failure" to cleanly cut off the source of funds and trigger market panic.

The real target of His Royal Highness the Prince is naturally not the small fish and shrimps who follow the trend, but the "middlemen" like Baron Devol, who are greedy and reckless, swallowed up large tracts of land but are now in a difficult situation.

This is a precise hunt.

He first used the power of the rural nobles to complete the land annexation, and then threw away the dirty rags neatly.

He didn't even do anything himself during this process, but used a distant relative as a pawn... Apparently he had planned on arranging this "terrifying quarrel" when leaving the Holy City from the first day he stepped into it.

As for those guys who were accidentally injured...Andre did not sympathize with them.

If they sincerely believe that the land in the suburbs of the holy city is more worthy of investment than the holy city, then they should give up their place to those "country people who dream of moving in" and just get out of here.

They simply didn't realize that being born in this city was a great blessing in itself...and yet they still hoped for more.

Andre sat and talked, not feeling the pain in his waist, and shook his head with a smile, then put the wine glass in his hand aside with satisfaction.

At this moment, the door of the study was suddenly pushed open.

His little daughter, Miss Ophelia, trotted in like a frightened deer, and rarely even bothered to knock on the door.

Her long, brilliant golden hair was slightly disheveled from running, and her fair face was full of anxiety, as if something big had happened.

"What's the matter, my dear Ophelia, what's happened that makes you so panicked?" Andre said jokingly, crossing his index fingers on his knees and facing his beloved little daughter kindly.

"Father!" Ophia didn't bother to explain. She slammed the Holy City Daily in her hand on the table and pointed at the report anxiously, saying, "His Highness Colin is in trouble! That damn bank president, how could you say that about him! He is our ally, you... you have to help him!"

Looking at his innocent daughter, Andre couldn't help but burst into laughter. However, after laughing, he felt uncomfortable. Why did his sweet little daughter always go to other people?

He stretched out his broad palm and ruffled his daughter's hair lovingly.

"My dear Ophelia, you are too naive. If you really want to win the heart of that prince, you should first learn how to guide him to devote himself to you, instead of being so anxious about trivial matters as you are now, wishing to give him your heart and soul."

This is the experience Andre summed up himself. No matter whether you are a gentleman or a lady, as long as you are a human being, you cannot escape a rule - that is, people always tend to have a good impression of those they have helped, rather than being grateful to those who have helped them.

"I, I didn't...and why are you laughing!" Ophelia stamped her feet anxiously, her face flushed with anger, and she didn't understand why her father could still laugh.

Was the friendship they promised each other on that day just a formality? She couldn't accept that her father was a man who went back on his word.

Unfortunately, she is still too young, having just reached adulthood. Not only does she have difficulty understanding the distinction between one thing and another, she even has difficulty distinguishing between two different things.

If Colin can't handle this problem, it means that he is not worthy of being an ally of the Castellón family, and how can there be any friendship between them? On the contrary, it is precisely because Andre values ​​the friendship between the two families that he agreed to give "Roxie Colin" a chance to prove herself.

The Colin family not only owns honor and tradition, but also the present.

Looking at his daughter who was at a loss, Andre stopped teasing her. His eyes, which had seen a lot of things, became profound.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine."

He paused and stated his judgment word by word.

"Not only will he be fine, but... this not-so-small show in front of us was actually arranged by him personally."

……

The report of the Holy City Daily is still spreading, and now citizens across the city are hotly discussing which big shot His Highness Colin has offended.

What do those truly distinguished figures think?
Of course they treated it as a joke.

In this matter, the Holy City and the Demon are strikingly similar, even like the two sides of the same coin.

The atmosphere in the study of Dantes' villa was completely different from the hustle and bustle outside. It was so quiet that only the slight crackling of the burning wood in the fireplace could be heard.

Edmond Dantes sat behind his imposing desk with a complicated expression.

Like Prince Andrei, he also had in front of him the two newspapers that had stirred up the entire Holy City, but what he was thinking about at the moment was no longer the superficial public opinion storm, but his eyes went beyond the chessboard and saw the hand playing chess.

His two "guests" - Teach and Lumire - sat leisurely on the sofa opposite, as if they had everything under control.

"I understand..." Edmund finally let out a long sigh and muttered to himself, and a hint of clarity finally appeared in his cloudy pupils.

He finally understood what Lumier meant by "let's not approve this loan first", and couldn't help but sigh that he still had a lot to learn.

But there was only one thing that he had been thinking about for a long time but still couldn't figure out - that is, how this storm would end.

Now the nobles in Bailu District have been forced into a desperate situation by speculators who are selling off their land, and one foot is already standing on the edge of the cliff.

But regardless of whether he had the chance to push them down, even if he pushed them down, what good would it be for His Highness Colin?

So far, it seems that only the townspeople of Bailu Town have been happy, while those country bumpkins who took advantage of the situation have really made money.

After thinking for a long time without any result, he finally asked the question about the confusion in his heart.

"What if those barons... like Baron Devol, have strong financial resources and choose to hold on to the land even if the land price drops, and would rather hold on to it than sell it to us? Are we really going to give up and move our plan to another province?"

He didn't understand why His Highness Colin did this, and he didn't think there was a better place in the Empire than the Holy City to carry out that plan.

This is not something that can be achieved by just having a piece of land.

As if he had guessed he would ask this, Tiqi laughed and leaned back on the sofa, and replied in a teasing tone, "Change location? Why do you want to change location? I'm afraid there is no more cost-effective land in the entire Holy City than the Bailu District."

Edmund became even more confused after hearing what Teach said.

Lumire did not laugh at him, but just shook the Holy City Daily in his hand and spoke slowly.

"President Hogan Nora said that you 'got something for nothing', but the funny thing is that the person who really got something for nothing is now at large... Don't you think we should punish these lawless parasites on behalf of Saint Sis?"

This seemingly casual remark was like a flash of lightning that cut through the fog in Edmund's mind. He suddenly came to his senses, widened his eyes and said, "You mean... Baron Devol has a problem with the funds he used to buy those lands?"

Lumire smiled approvingly and nodded slightly.

"That's inevitable. Since he knew that the land price in Bailu District would increase long ago, how could he be willing to mortgage the land to President Hake of Bailu District at the original price?"

"But...even if it's a mortgage, they can't be unable to pay back this little money, right?" Edmund swallowed hard.

That's the Baron!
"I guess you must be thinking, that's the baron, right?" Looking at the stunned Edmund, Teach said slowly, and one sentence pointed out the humble fantasy of the powerful in his heart.

"Everyone believes that he can definitely pay it back, including President Harker, whom you met once. This is why he was able to get a loan from the Imperial Royal Bank so easily. You can't imagine how easy it was for him to get the loan. Maybe it was just a meal, or just a greeting, and the price was just a promise. You may not believe it when I tell you, but I bet the deed to the Devol family's property is in their own safe, not in the bank at all."

"This is impossible!" Edmund exclaimed subconsciously, "This does not comply with the credit procedures of the Imperial Royal Bank, and... why would he do this? It's just a piece of paper!"

"The rules are meant to constrain you. Of course he can do that, and it's easy. As for why he does that, it's because he can do the same thing with that piece of paper. He can mortgage the land he has already mortgaged for the second time, or even three times... and that's why he can live in a spacious manor and have everything without a penny of money. But you can only hold the gold coins of decreasing quality, and your whole family can squeeze into the garbage bucket on Loyalty Street."

When he said this, Teach's voice had a hint of sarcasm, but he was not mocking Baron Devol, nor was he mocking Edmund, but rather mocking his former self.

"If you must ask me why I know this so well... it's because that's how the nobles play, and that's how a friend of mine fell into the trap."

After hearing the words "I have a friend", Lumir couldn't help but chuckle and didn't expose this shameless guy.

In the book, Baron Cosia was too embarrassed to say that he lost his land because of his heavy debts. He just said in general that it was because of his greed and the evil schemes of villains... After all, this would obviously gain more sympathy from readers.

However, after hearing this, Edmund felt a chill rising from his back, and it took him a long time to swallow the saliva in his throat.

He finally saw the whole picture of the whole plan, and the role he would play next was clear -

Sir Dantes, who represents justice, will publicly call out to the president of the Imperial Royal Bank in the newspaper: "Why does an enterprising reformer run into a wall in the rules, but when it comes to the barons of the White Dew District, the iron-clad principles are like non-existent."

He could even guess the president's next reaction - he would be shocked, pretending to know about this on the first day, then exclaim "How ridiculous!" and kick the ball to the Senate.

He didn't dare to make a big deal out of it and offend real nobles as a commoner, but wasn't there a "Sir Dantes who represented justice"?

Those few country nobles who were snowballing in the Bailu District are now completely finished.

It is true that the nobles do not need to care about public opinion, but this is not a question of public opinion at all.

After all, their title was only that of baron, not noble enough to take money from the emperor's pocket openly...even though the nobles of the entire empire were doing so.

By the end of the "story", the land ownership of the Bailu District has come to an end, and Sir Dantes will shake hands with President Hogan Nora in the newspaper.

As for why it was in the newspaper, it was naturally because in real life they had never quarreled at all, and when they met, they were as friendly as brothers.

The ending of all this may be based on the opportunity of "supplementing sufficient collateral" or "His Royal Highness Colin coming forward to mediate"...but it doesn't matter at all. After all, whether it can be done or not is just a matter of words from His Royal Highness.

They didn't even have to look for the Imperial Royal Bank, there were many people willing to offer their courtesy to them, including powerful nobles, or the private banks they controlled behind the scenes.

"So..." Edmund's voice was a little dry. He had already guessed the follow-up plan, but he didn't know what to say.

Lumir did not mention any subsequent plans, but just spoke suddenly.

"How is your relationship with President Huck Alton? The president of the Bailu branch."

Edmund was stunned for a moment, then answered truthfully.

"We've only met a few times... To be honest, you were the one who introduced me to him."

Lumire nodded and said lightly.

"That's great. We won't have any more contact from now on."

Edmund nodded nervously, silently feeling sorry for Mr. Harker.

He actually had a pretty good impression of the branch manager.

After all, he had just completed his identity change and had never been treated so politely by any bank president.

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the study door, interrupting the momentary silence in the room.

After getting permission, the butler walked in respectfully, bowed slightly and said.

"Sir, Mr. Buckley wants to see you."

"Barkley?" Edmund searched for the name in his memory, but found nothing. He frowned and asked, "Who?"

The butler maintained a respectful attitude and reminded softly, "It was the president of the Spire Bank, sir. He sent you a letter a few days ago, but at that time... you told me to throw it away."

Edmund remembered that this seemed to be the case, so he asked the butler to greet the guests first, and then cast a questioning look at Teach who walked to the window and stood there.

The latter had a smile on his face.

He gently pushed aside the curtain with his index finger and looked at the carriage at the gate. The expression on his face was the same as when he saw President Harker hurriedly coming to him.

That's the look an eagle has when it sees its prey.

"...a vulture smelling blood could no longer restrain its claws when it saw the traveler fainting in the desert."

He spoke slowly, looking back at Edmund before continuing.

"Since someone has guessed what we are going to do, you can go meet him on behalf of our prince."

(End of this chapter)