The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

If there is a standard template for nobility, then Jefferson can be considered the epitome of that template.

His hair was meticulously combed, complementing his gleaming golden beard and showcasing his noble status and power. A magnificent coat covered his broad shoulders, adorned with the insignia of the town of Fasen, proclaiming his family lineage and prestige.

Jefferson's languid yet elegant movements made Lind glance at Rena, who was standing awkwardly to the side with her toes pointed inward, and wonder who the real nobleman was.

Even a viscount from a remote border region has far superior etiquette than Lena, so it's no wonder that in the game, the fourth prince, Crane, completely dislikes Lena.

“Viscount Lind Rolle, I have heard about your situation and I deeply sympathize with you.”

After speaking, Jefferson looked at Lind and Rena meaningfully, leaving it unclear whether he was expressing sympathy for Lind losing his original territory or pitying Lind for marrying the granddaughter of Grand Duke Lars.

Jefferson did not show much respect to Lena, and his manners were merely those befitting a noblewoman.

It's not that Jefferson didn't understand etiquette. In any case, Jefferson's etiquette course was at least better than that of someone who cracked the teacher's ruler with his big butt and broke the teacher's defenses before passing.

The social status among nobles was very complex, taking into account the political environment, marriage alliances, family wealth, and so on. Lena's status was indeed beyond that of ordinary nobles, but due to the political turmoil in the capital and the fact that Jefferson was not an ordinary viscount, Jefferson only treated Lena as Lind's wife.

Of course, the main reason was that Jefferson could tell at a glance at the dinner table that Lind was the real leader among the upper-class white-collar workers, while Lena was just a pretty face.

To be honest, although Jefferson was polite to Lind, he did not show any respect. In the eyes of the nobles of the North, Lind was just a son-in-law of the Lars family, and did not even have the title of the Lars family. He was not even a branch of the Lars family.

Moreover, even though Lena is the eldest granddaughter of the Lars family, she did not participate in the war for succession in the North, at least not from Jefferson's perspective. Jefferson, however, had secretly invested in several other Lars families. No matter which Lars family came to power later, Jefferson remained unperturbed, his status far superior to that of Lind, the son-in-law.

Therefore, Jefferson did not hold a ball or invite any other nobles in response to Lind's visit. Lena's reputation was now so bad that even if he had invited other nobles, they would most likely have refused.

“Mr. Jefferson, I’m not here to complain to you. Besides, I’m doing quite well in my gray-collar job, and I really enjoy my life.”

Because he inherited the heroine's charm, Lind always spoke with a gentle and approachable magic, which made Jefferson feel a little favorably towards him, but that was all. Jefferson even thought to himself that with the material assistance from Grand Duke Lars, things couldn't be too bad.

"I'm here mainly to discuss a business deal with you."

After saying that, Linde took out a box that wasn't particularly exquisite.

Although there were quite a few exquisite gift boxes thanks to the aid of Grand Duke Lars, Lind simply couldn't understand the nouveau riche aesthetic popular in the kingdom and had to design them himself.

Seeing the rustic wooden box, Jefferson chuckled to himself: "Hey, what kind of junk is this?"

It's probably because of poor management of the territory. This son-in-law took out the fashionable little junk that Duke Lars gave him and put it on the market. Jefferson had even thought about how to politely refuse Lind.

But the moment the wooden box was opened, Jefferson jumped up and sat up straight, thinking to himself: "Holy crap, I have to sit up and talk to him."

Inside the wooden box was a handful of crystal-clear white sugar. Unlike the white sugar made from strange and unusual materials, the white sugar in the wooden box was almost free of impurities and of very high quality. Moreover, Jefferson understood that Linde was definitely not reselling the white sugar that the Duke of Lars had brought over, because even the white sugar made by the Lars family from a pot of bee droppings and a bunch of expensive materials was not of such high quality.

Considering the report from his attendants that Linde had purchased a large quantity of alchemical supplies at the Champagne market, Jefferson was almost certain that Linde had mastered a new sugar-making formula and was preparing for large-scale production.

"Viscount Linde, may I have a taste?"

Sugar was fatally attractive to the nobility, and even Jefferson made no attempt to hide his greedy gaze.

“Of course, this box is for you, Mr. Jefferson.”

Upon hearing Lind's answer, Jefferson even felt that the somewhat simple wooden box had become antique, minimalist, and grand, as if it possessed an aesthetic that differed from the current aristocratic preference for complexity, revealing a sense of sophistication.

Jefferson wiped the silver spoon in his hand repeatedly with a napkin, carefully scooped up a spoonful of white sugar, and put it in his mouth.

The taste of the sugar was like a sweet breeze under the warm spring sun, gently brushing across the tip of the tongue, evoking Jefferson's endless joy and satisfaction.

This sweetness is unlike that of white sugar, which cannot completely mask the taste of other alchemical ingredients; it is a pure sweetness.

The sugar stimulated Jefferson's brain, making him unable to maintain his aristocratic composure. Somewhat impolitely, he placed the wooden box beside him and solemnly closed the lid.

"How many Silver Leaf Coins do you plan to sell? How much stock do you have left? Can you sell all of these snowflake-like candies to Fasen Town?"

After asking a series of questions, Jefferson realized he had been rude and blushed as he wiped his mouth with a napkin to cover his embarrassment.

Linde pretended not to see it and instead answered Jefferson one by one: "The current stock is not much. There are too few people in our territory. Producing these snowflake candies has already used up a quarter of the population of our territory."

The quarter refers to the remaining quarter of the workers, excluding Lena's knights and the veterans in management, who are the elderly, weak, women, and children. As for the name Snowflake Sugar, Lind thought Jefferson's description was accurate, at least it sounded better than white sugar, so he went along with it and continued to use it.

"As for who to sell to, Mr. Jefferson, as you can see, our territory is just beginning to develop and there are not many merchants. Transportation is also inconvenient except by water. Therefore, we plan to have Viscount Jefferson temporarily handle the sales on our behalf."

"Okay, okay, I'll buy as many as you have."

Upon hearing this, Jefferson disregarded etiquette and interrupted Lind, immediately stating that he would accept all such requests from now on.

Afterwards, the two sides discussed some details, such as if other nobles wanted the agency rights for snowflake sugar, Lind had to notify Jefferson first and negotiate with him. There was no other way; before the gray-collar workers started building the road, they could only rely on Jefferson's champagne market and connections for sales.

Jefferson also regularly organizes merchants of daily necessities to trade with gray and white-collar workers.

As for the price, Linde originally planned to sell a box for sixty silver leaf coins, but in order to hide the cost, Linde asked for two hundred silver leaf coins. Unexpectedly, Jefferson agreed without hesitation. Only then did Linde realize that he had underestimated the wealth of these nobles.

A wealthy farmer might only earn less than twenty silver leaf coins a year, but a nobleman could buy a box of candy for two hundred silver leaf coins and still feel like he'd made a profit.

No wonder Lena felt that her weekly allowance of over two hundred silver leaf coins was still too little; Linde's poverty limited his imagination.

And so, to Lena's somewhat surprised look, Jefferson placed an order for one hundred boxes of snowflake candy. This was only the minimum order quantity Jefferson stipulated. If Linde produced any more afterward, Jefferson would take it all.

The deal, worth at least 20,000 silver leaves, was thus struck.

Midway through the event, Jefferson made an excuse and temporarily left the banquet with the box of snowflake candy.

Jefferson grew increasingly fond of the simple, antique box in his hands, especially the sense of sophistication revealed in its unadorned lines. It seemed as if this was something that should be used in the homes of a distinguished noble family. After handing the box to the butler, Jefferson said, "Make a few replicas of this box for me using sandalwood and gold thread. I'm sure they would be more popular with the nobles than the nouveau riche aesthetic of the Augustinian family."

Faced with his master's outrageous remarks, the old butler did not react. After all, in the North, the most influential word was gold, followed by the Lars family, and only then the royal family. Jefferson just happened to have a lot of gold.

"Also, have your men buy all the alchemical materials and equipment that Viscount Linde purchased at the Champagne Market today, and then have the family alchemists try to use these materials to see if they can make the same snowflake candy."

After arranging everything, Jefferson returned to the dining table with a warm smile.

"By the way, my dear brother, the matter you asked me to do in your letter has also been resolved."

Jefferson upgraded his address to Lind to "brother" and also handed him a roll of parchment.

In his previous invitation, Linde specifically asked Jefferson to help him find information about Isa Nebert, the female protagonist of the original game. However, Jefferson did not take it seriously at the time. Now, in order to build a closer relationship, Jefferson had no choice but to temporarily have someone find all the relevant information, regardless of its authenticity.

"The evil heretic, the White Witch Isa Nebet, is amassing an army of 100,000 in the North, attempting to overthrow the rule of the Kingdom of Capet."

Linde almost spat out his tea during the very first sentence.

For the first time, Linde learned about information transmission in this world, or rather, how unreliable those bards were.

The parchment contains messages about the heroine Isa, recorded by a bard from the North.

Moreover, several versions have been derived, and each version is different.

This includes Isa becoming the chosen one of the goddess of the dead, leading 100,000 undead to conquer cities and territories.

And Isa became Yuri, now she has nearly a million brainwashed people under her command.

Isa has accepted 500,000 gold coins from the demons and is now causing chaos throughout the North.

The most outrageous thing is that Linde even saw his own name on the list of victimized nobles.

Not only that, I heard that when Isa and Count Yage were fighting, a sudden gale arose, the sky and earth went dark, and then a meteor shower suddenly fell on Luye Territory, instantly killing Count Yage.

What is all this nonsense? Did they summon Liu Xiu or Judy?

A more plausible version says that Isa led refugees and serfs in a rebellion, but it also emphasizes how cruel Isa was to the nobles, with details so detailed that Lind suspects the person who wrote the message was actually an R18G writer.

The only certainty is that the original female protagonist led a rebellion, even before Rena, the future rebel, did.

"It's all gone mad, the world has gone mad"—this was Linde's only thought after reading the message on the parchment.