Chapter 202: The New Viscount Arend
That night, at the Viscount’s Estate.
Leon held the key and personally opened the door. Behind him followed Father Auden, Adele, and the others serving as guards, including Petra.
From today onward, he was the master of this place.
At the same time, he was also the master of this island. He was the true Viscount Arend. Although some documents still needed some time before they could be officially issued, in the archives of the notary office, the name of the Viscount Arend had already been changed to his.
As for the previous Viscount Arend, or rather Adele’s father, Leon had already sent him to a small estate in Southport County. There were good tobacco and wine prepared there, as well as guards to ensure his safety.
Adele’s father was very happy and full of anticipation for his new residence. It was just that he probably had not considered that after going there, he would basically have to “live in seclusion” there permanently.
“You still need to hire some people to maintain this house besides guards. If you want to enter the circle in the future, you will have to pay a little attention to your image and appearances.” Father Auden suggested.
“These are minor matters. Handle the urgent ones first.” Leon answered.
The most important thing at the moment was to use the industries on Arend Island to quickly complete the money laundering target within two months.
“Alright, we need to carefully reassess the assets in your territory. Then, Miss Adele, could you hand over the important documents and seals of the Viscount’s territory to me?” Father Auden suddenly turned toward Adele.
The certificates and seals used by a lord to manage all the properties of this territory should originally have been managed by Viscount Arend. However, Viscount Arend did not handle any affairs at all. He could not even understand the account books, and had basically pushed everything onto his daughter. Aside from some decisions that required his personal signature, most matters within the territory were actually still managed by Adele.
And now, the first thing Father Auden was doing was demanding that Adele hand over this authority.
“Hand them to you?” Adele immediately became alert. “Those things can only be used by the lord. How can they be handed to an outsider like you?”
“Then let me put it another way. Please hand them to the true Viscount Arend now, and then he will hand them to me, his representative. If such a process can make you feel a little better, then so be it.” Father Auden extended his hand toward Adele, appreciating her displeased expression.
Ever since Viscount Arend had incurred debts with the Watcher Merchant Consortium, Father Auden and Adele had repeatedly clashed over various matters on Arend Island, and could be considered to have accumulated some old grievances.
And now, in Father Auden’s eyes, with Leon backing them, this little blonde girl had finally been defeated by them.
Adele also saw the provocative meaning in Father Auden’s words. She frowned and turned toward Leon. “Fine, you are now the true viscount. Those things are under your authority, but you cannot directly hand them to him, especially the seal. If you continue letting me keep them, I at least will not do anything harmful to the territory. But this unscrupulous priest has connections with too many people. Even if you are his employer, you should not trust him too much!”
“I will keep the things. I will supervise how they are used.” Leon answered.
“Fine, then at least give me the copies of the main asset certificates that directly belong to the lord. I will make a record. Only then can I formulate our plan.”
Father Auden shrugged indifferently. In any case, the procedures Leon needed to go through for money laundering would eventually make him take over. He was not foolish enough to attempt those kinds of clever tricks in front of a dangerous employer like Leon. It did not matter if Leon supervised him.
Adele could no longer offer further objections after hearing this. She turned around to retrieve the things they needed. Petra immediately followed behind her. Ever since Adele had escaped that time, Petra had kept an even closer eye on her.
“Don’t follow me so closely. I’m already married to him. Do you think I would still run away?” Adele turned around and said to Petra unhappily.
Although this could barely be considered her own choice, after officially stepping into this false marriage where she was restricted everywhere, her mood was still far from good.
Petra cast a questioning glance toward Leon. Leon nodded, and only then did Petra choose to wait until Adele had gone upstairs before following her and waiting for her in the corridor.
Leon turned toward Father Auden and lowered his voice. “Now that the title and territory have been obtained, you should be able to get things done, right?”
“I have to tell you the truth. Your request came too suddenly.” Father Auden shook his head. “The financial situation of the Viscount Arend family is too terrible. Even with your investment, immediately establishing a charity foundation, especially one related to the military, is still somewhat difficult. And as for that ten million, I definitely have no problem if given a year, but you want me to do it in two months... That is making things difficult for me. Can’t you try to fight for a little more time?”
“I’m afraid that will not be possible. Johnny Wellman originally was not even planning to give us these two months. Two months. You must get this done for me!” Leon replied.
“Is it really that serious if it cannot be done?” Father Auden asked.
“If it cannot be done, the problem we face will be equivalent to fighting the Earl once again.” Leon said in a deep voice.
If Leon failed to meet Johnny’s requirements, Johnny would most likely consider uniting the remaining cadres to wage a long-term battle against Leon, while searching for other channels to achieve his goal.
Even if Johnny united the remaining cadres, their overall strength still could not compare with the Earl’s. However, considering his combat ability and the previous example of the Earl, Johnny’s threat was still no lower than that of the Earl before him.
“You really know how to put pressure on people...” Father Auden already felt a faint headache.
“But if it succeeds, with his cooperation, the territory left behind by the Earl will be within our grasp!” Leon said.
“I will do my best.” Father Auden said.
“Didn’t you say that after becoming a noble, there would be some privileges? And we have the authority to manage such a large piece of land. There should be quite a lot of room for operation, right?” Leon said.
“Then I need to investigate a little. I have no experience assisting a noble lord like this.” Father Auden openly admitted.
He had basically always moved around in the business world. His biggest clients were Henry Potter, other clients connected to him, and merchant groups. It was not that he had never served noble clients, but those were basically only scattered businesses. He had never directly interfered with the management of an entire territory like this to carry out large-scale money laundering.
To some extent, Adele, who had handled many related matters from a noble’s perspective, might actually be more skilled than him in this regard.
“Do it as quickly as possible.” Leon emphasized.
“You said it was equivalent to fighting the Earl again. Of course, I understand the seriousness.” Father Auden sighed. “However, if the difficulty of the business is different, I will need to recalculate the handling fee.”
With Leon’s style, if something really went wrong, he would probably have difficulty escaping as well.
“Get the matter done first, then we will discuss the handling fee.” Leon replied.
Not long after, Adele came downstairs and handed the seal and some important certificates and documents to Leon, explaining them separately. She then handed some copies to the priest.
“Then I will leave first.” Father Auden took the things he needed and bid farewell to Leon.
Adele’s gaze remained on the things Leon was holding. These things represented everything her most respected grandfather had accumulated through a lifetime of struggle. Now, all of it had fallen into someone else’s hands.
Thinking of this, she could not help but feel somewhat sad.
“Then...”
At this moment, when Leon spoke, Adele suddenly came back to her senses and inexplicably became a little nervous.
Inside the house now, aside from the two of them, only the guards arranged by Leon remained. Her father had already been arranged a new residence by Leon. In name, they were now the newlywed couple of this house.
“I will leave as well. If you need anything, tell Petra.” Leon said to Adele.
Adele was stunned for a moment, then realized that even though Leon had become the true master of this place in every sense, this was still not his home.
However, for Adele, even if she could continue living here and doing her own things, it was still only because Leon allowed it. In a sense, this place was no longer her home either.
With a helpless sigh, she watched Leon’s departing back and said, “Alright, take care.”
……
At night, in the temple deep within the Labyrinth.
Leon sat outside the separated resting room and waited for a while. Weiss walked out and said to Leon, “Alright, the examination is finished.”
Leon stood up and entered the room. Rena was also standing inside. Sally sat on the recliner, arranging her clothes, while potions and simple medical tools were placed on the table beside her.
After completing the procedures, Leon temporarily left Arend Island, went to meet Sally, and confirmed one last time whether she was willing to work for him. He then brought her into the Labyrinth on Arend Island.
From now on, his Labyrinth needed to expand its output as much as possible while also ensuring there was enough combat power here to deal with various situations. After fighting the Earl, a large number of Magical Beasts in his Labyrinth had suffered losses and urgently needed to be replenished.
Sally’s Rebirth Blessing combined with Weiss’s potions would undoubtedly be of great help in this regard. Bringing Sally to the island also made it convenient for Weiss and Rena to conduct a joint examination of her and study the effectiveness of the Special Medicine for Saltification Disease through the progression of her illness.
Most importantly, Sally and him had once protected their agreement and secrets together during the most dangerous moments for each other. Melissa had also always kept Leon’s secrets. Leon’s trust in them was much higher than that toward ordinary subordinates.
In this line of work, there was nothing rarer than trustworthy people.
Therefore, after careful consideration, he had still seriously discussed things with Sally and finally decided to agree to let Sally work for him.
“Your condition is already very stable. Basically, the symptoms of Saltification Disease can no longer be seen.” Rena said to Leon, then said to Sally, “That is wonderful, Miss Sally.”
“This was all thanks to you. I am also very grateful that you were willing to give me an opportunity to repay you.” Sally looked at the three people present with emotion. Rena and Weiss had treated her one after another, and Leon had also made many efforts to save her. She had originally been someone who was going to die, but relying on them, she was now able to regain hope of continuing to live.
“Let’s wait until you become familiar with the work here first. Rena and Weiss will respectively guide you in handling Magical Beasts and the key points of handling Magical Potions. Learn slowly. There is no need to rush.” Leon said.
As a new Witch, Sally still had many things to learn.
“Yes.” Sally nodded.
“As for your residence, I plan to arrange a new one for you on this island. It may take some time. Before that, you can temporarily stay here and endure it for a while.” Leon said.
“I do not mind.” Sally smiled gently.
Hearing this, Rena remembered something. She narrowed her eyes and looked toward Leon to confirm, “Then, you have finished the ‘marriage’ process on your side, right?”