Lord of Rot

Leech brought out a pen and paper and had Hawke Wood write the letter.

He even had his wax seal with him.

A raven from Porcupine Castle flew away with the letter.

”I think we’ll have a reply soon,” Hawke Wood said to Leech.

”Hopefully,” Leech replied.

Before setting out, Leech arranged for men to quarry stone for the construction of the catacombs on the headland.

As long as the pay was good enough, people wouldn’t complain about hard work. And if the pay was great, what was a little slaving away?

Otherwise, you could whip them all you wanted, and they still wouldn’t put their heart into their work.

Mutual benefit would always create more value than pure exploitation.

There was one condition, however: Baron Leech reserved the right of final interpretation. When faced with workers simply looking to take advantage or a management team intent on exploitation, he could decide their fate directly.

For instance, in cases where it was obvious to anyone with eyes that someone was taking advantage by exploiting a legitimate loophole, Leech didn’t have to play by the rules. He could simply convict them for misappropriating the lord’s property.

Generally, he hoped to avoid such situations, but they were bound to happen sooner or later.

The best way to make a rule memorable and ensure no one dared to break it was to wait for the first offender and then make a thorough example of them, demonstrating the consequences of their crime.

Leech never worried about giving his people too much money, or what might happen when they became wealthy.

He was only worried about one thing: What if Porcupine Territory had too few goods and people earned money with nowhere to spend it?

’Hoarding their money instead of spending it? That just won’t do.’

’This trip to East Port is a good chance to look around,’ he thought. ’I’ll see if there’s anything worth learning from or adopting.’

As long as the money circulated within Porcupine Territory, it was just like moving money from his left pocket to his right.

Once his affairs were in order, Leech set out with his squires and a few cavalrymen.

The Baron of Three-fork River Castle also traveled light. The group mounted their swift horses and set off toward East Port.

If the *Porcupine* hadn’t been tasked with ferrying the four-armed mercenaries to clear out the islands in the High Magic Land, Leech would have much preferred to travel to East Port by ship. It would have saved a great deal of time.

’Perhaps after a while, once funds are less tight, I can consider buying a few more ships.’

Finally, East Port appeared before their eyes.

The massive city loomed like a great beast. Even Leech, who had seen the great cities of Iron Stone City and Burning City, couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of East Port.

It was so massive.

And unlike those other two, East Port was a port city.

As nobles, the two of them entered the city without any obstruction. An escort of Soldiers, clearly waiting for them, approached to lead the way as soon as they were spotted.

Leech guessed that the transient population of East Port alone numbered over a hundred thousand.

The wealthy elite of the East Gorge were probably all gathered here.

’It’s going to take a long, long time for Porcupine Territory to develop to this level,’ he mused.

But it wasn’t entirely impossible.

He was filled with confidence.

Led by the Golden Soldiers, they arrived at Roaring Castle.

Roaring Castle was built within the city, looking like an integral part of East Port. The entrance to the castle was a barbican, flanked by arrow towers on both sides.

After entering Roaring Castle, the two were shown to separate rooms to rest.

After days of hard riding, Leech was indeed exhausted.

After a quick bath and a light meal that was brought to him, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

He hadn’t even eaten the dinner prepared for him the previous night. After washing up, he left his room, where a familiar red-haired figure caught his attention.

Leech walked over with a smile. ”Good day, beautiful Miss Evangelina!”

’How could I not be happy to see the Red Rose? She’s my key to getting rich!’

Startled by the sudden greeting, the Red Rose turned her head and smiled. ”Ah, so it’s my knight.”

She was quoting his own slick, flirtatious lines from his letters right back at him.

But Leech was thick-skinned and didn’t mind at all.

”Are you waiting for someone?”

”There’s a tea party today,” she said.

The Red Rose turned to look at Leech’s profile. It had been over a year, and she felt that Baron Porcupine had changed a great deal since they first met.

’Is he more confident?’ she wondered.

Perhaps his status as a lord had brought about a change in his bearing.

”Your Porcupine Brand soap is selling very well,” she said, deciding to break the silence.

She never initiated conversation like this with other young noblemen.

It was probably because the soap Leech had introduced had won her so much favor. Or perhaps it was because his letters were always so unconventional, not as stuffy and formal as those from other young noblemen.

Like Philip Cavendish, for instance.

An idea sparked in Leech’s mind. He had just been wondering how to get the Red Rose to endorse his silk, and here she was bringing up the topic herself.

”Porcupine Brand is about to launch a new product, one you might find very interesting.”

”What new product?”

”Clothing woven from the material of an Extraordinary creature.” Leech exaggerated the silk’s origin just a little... bit. ”It comes from a moth as large as an ox. Its wings could scatter a rainbow of iridescent dust, like a cascade of stars from the heavens. I came upon this moth by chance, but sadly, it was already on the verge of death.”

”However, it left behind a few cocoons. I used them to create a fabric far more delicate than velvet, which I’ve named ’silk.’ Wearing silk helps your skin retain moisture, and it protects you from the sun in the summer. The ultravio... anyway, let’s not get into that. What you need to know is that this material is extremely precious and rare.”

The Red Rose took a small step to the side with her right foot, clasping her hands behind her back as she turned.

Her red hair cascaded like a waterfall, settling smoothly over one shoulder as she moved.

Shifting from standing beside Leech to facing his profile, she said, ”I’m charging a fee this time!”

”Miss Evangelina, you must have misunderstood. This is just a small gift,” Leech said with a sigh. ”I only obtained a very small number of cocoons, and they’re worth their weight in gold.”

He threw up his hands. ”When giving someone a gift, you can’t very well pay them to take it, can you?”

”I was only joking. Besides, I’m quite looking forward to this gift you’ve described.”

Evangelina had indeed just been teasing Leech, and his reaction was quite surprising. Other nobles who gave her gifts worried that she wouldn’t ask for more; only Leech complained that she was asking for too much.

But that only proved how precious the silk Leech spoke of truly was.

’I don’t need expensive gifts from you—it’s not as if you’re wealthier than I am. But I will treasure the sentiment of you offering me the most precious thing you have.’

This, she thought to herself, was probably why she felt so warmly toward Baron Porcupine.

”Good day, Evangelina~” a lady said as she approached.

”Good day, Lola,” Evangelina replied.

”And this is...?” she asked, looking at Leech.

”Good day, my lady,” Leech introduced himself. ”I am Leech Clarence, Baron of Porcupine Castle.”

”Sir Leech!” she exclaimed, her voice suddenly sharp with excitement. ”You’re Sir Leech! I love your—”

”Hm?” Leech felt a sense of déjà vu. Her way of speaking was very familiar.

”—soap!” she finished in a rush.

Leech immediately asked, ”Is Sir Johann well? We once fought side-by-side.”

’If I’m not mistaken,’ he thought, ’she must be the Red Chicken Knight’s wife.’

Lola nodded eagerly. ”He praises you endlessly, saying what a powerful knight you are! How did you know that Johann and I were...”

She looked at him expectantly.

Leech answered with great seriousness, ”Sir Johann has mentioned you countless times in my presence, especially when he’s been drinking.”

’Of course, that was when he was drunk and complaining about your body odor, wanting to buy some soap from me,’ Leech thought.

’He didn’t say a single word of praise.’

’No need to tell the whole truth; there was nothing to be gained by ruining their marital bliss.’

Lola was deeply moved. Blushing slightly, she feigned annoyance, though her joy was practically overflowing. ”That man... he just runs his mouth. I’ll settle things with him when I get back!”

’More like give him a reward,’ Leech thought wryly.

’Ah, Johann,’ Leech thought to himself, ’not only did I not sell you out, I even helped you. How will you ever repay me for this kindness?’

A few more noble young ladies came over after that.

Upon learning that the man before them was Baron Porcupine, they quickly surrounded him.

”Lord Leech, does Porcupine Brand soap have any new scents?”

”Sir Leech, your Porcupine Brand soap leaves my hair smelling wonderful, too.”

An idea struck Leech. ”In the future,” he announced, ”Porcupine Brand will also produce shampoo, to keep your hair richly fragrant.”

”Really?”

”That’s wonderful!”

’It didn’t matter when he would actually produce it,’ he thought. ’The first step was to promise them the moon.’

Meanwhile, several gentlemen passing by saw Leech surrounded by a crowd of noble ladies and wives, and couldn’t help but comment amongst themselves.

”He’s quite the ladies’ man.”

”Hmph. He’s about half as popular as I was in my youth.”

The others shot the man a puzzled look. ’And who are you supposed to be?’