I Became A Black Merchant In Another World-Chapter 256: Pearl and Revenge (10)

Albert's funeral was held in a lavish manner.

Noble families from various houses came to pay their respects, and he was laid to rest in the same burial grounds as the past heads of the Medici Barony.

Considering the things he had done, burying him in a heap of manure would have been too kind...

‘Officially, though, he died of acute heart failure.’

By now, Albert, who would be sold as a sex slave to a noble in the Sultanate, had at least managed to preserve his social reputation.

Of course, it wouldn’t be of any comfort to him, who would be forced into a female role despite being a man, with his Achilles tendons severed.

“Fabio.”

Father looked at Albert’s gravestone with a sorrowful gaze and asked.

“How did you send Albert off?”

People spread rumors about me, calling me a devil who has spread the wisdom of the British Empire and the East India Company across the world.

They even spread the absurd tale that I’m a demon without any human emotions...

I don’t understand who would say such things about me, a person who’s very human.

Did I kill innocent civilians or, to cover trade deficits, sell opium while calling myself a crusader of justice?

No, I merely made a small move that caused those who were interfering with my interests to collapse on their own.

‘I, too, am a person with both a cold reason and a warm heart.’

So, I decided to tell my father a kind lie.

“I recited the wrongs Albert had committed, and then I gave him poisoned wine. Since I used a poison that would kill him instantly, he didn’t suffer.”

Albert, who would soon be on his way to the Sultanate, would never return, having opened his eyes to a new world.

Father would never meet Albert again.

And there was no reason for my father to suffer unnecessarily because of what Albert had done.

‘Sometimes, a lie is necessary.’

Father listened to my words and, without saying anything, gently stroked Albert’s gravestone.

“......”

Even though Albert had committed unforgivable sins, he was still my blood-related older brother.

And to my father, he was still his son.

It must have been unbearably painful.

Even so, he could not justify the crime of trying to kill me, and he could not blame or resent me for it.

“I’m grateful that you sent him off without making him suffer too much. Thank you, truly.”

“Although he committed sins that can never be forgiven, he was still my brother. I didn’t think it would be right to make him suffer more than necessary.”

“No matter what the world says about you, you truly are a warm-hearted child.”

I am not a person so merciful that I would allow Albert to die without pain.

But at least I can tell a lie to console my father’s heart, who is innocent.

Even those who don’t believe in the afterlife will say, during funerals, that the deceased has gone to a better place and offer their condolences.

“I plan to raise Gusto, as I mentioned before.”

“Yes, Father.”

The condition for me inheriting the Medici Barony was to ensure the future of Gusto.

Honestly, what harm could a two-year-old child have done? If I couldn’t even guarantee him a barony, that would make me a thief.

“Think of him not as Albert’s son, but as your younger brother. I’ll raise him as my adopted son, considering him my son—my son whom I’ve had late in life.”

Father must have been worried a lot.

As long as Father is alive, I can’t just cast Gusto aside, but if Father were to die, what if I took up my sword and sought revenge?

Gusto would never survive then.

So, Father must have made this declaration to adopt him.

“And... one more thing I ask of you.”

Father grabbed my hand tightly and made his request.

“You must ensure the family stays united, so that you don’t suffer the pain I’ve gone through. I don’t want anyone else to endure the same heart-wrenching pain I’ve felt.”

The reason I spread the wisdom of the British Empire and aim to become a giant of historical proportions is for one single goal.

To protect my own happiness and the well-being of my family.

If I can’t rise to the top, someone else will inevitably eye my position, and along the way, there will definitely be sacrifices.

Those sacrifices could be me, or Chloe, Kris, Erika, or Leo.

So, I must rise to the top by any means necessary and protect what’s mine by any means necessary.

“Don’t worry, Father. I will do whatever it takes to ensure the peace of our family.”

Even if it means my hands are stained with blood, even if history brands me as the embodiment of Satan and the devil.

I will stop at nothing to protect my precious family and house.

Now, I must begin to act, to honor the loyalty and integrity of those who fought for me, those who died in pain while keeping their loyalty to the end.

With that in mind, I packed my things and headed for Bío Village.

To protect the final moments of those who never leaked a single piece of information to my enemies.

Bío Village, where one-fifth of the population had been killed, was filled with a deathly silence.

It felt like the people were so drained from crying that they had no energy left to mourn.

This was inevitable.

Half the families in Bío Village had lost their heads of household.

‘At least I made sure their basic needs were met, so it hasn’t turned into a wasteland.’

When a disaster like this strikes a village, the entire village is destroyed, and the villagers become city beggars.

Men become thugs, and women become prostitutes.

We held a joint funeral for the village people in a gathering place where all the villagers were present.

Before the funeral began in earnest, I gathered the villagers and began my speech.

“The tragedy that befell us happened because I failed to properly manage this domain. Because of that failure, some of you have lost your husbands, some your sons, and some your fathers, meeting a tragic end.”

The root cause of all this, of course, is Albert.

But, regardless, I have a duty to protect these people.

How hurt and bewildered would they be if someone who failed to take responsibility for their own actions blamed others?

“I will not offer any excuses. I have failed in my duties, and I could not fulfill what I should have.”

The people of Bío Village vehemently denied my words.

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“Those pirates were the ones to blame! What fault does the Baron have in this?”

“Please, take that back, Baron.”

While I appreciate them defending me, I had to protect them by any means necessary while ruling over them...

“But they fulfilled their duty to the end. I, Fabio de Rothschild, swear by my name and honor that I will repay their devotion and loyalty.”

There was a man named Ogi during the Warring States period of China.

A psychopath who would kill his own wife to get ahead, but who earned absolute loyalty from his subordinates.

He ate the same food as his soldiers, slept in the same place, and worked alongside them.

Not just in a showy way, but continuously as long as time allowed.

He even took care of his subordinates’ issues as if they were his own, and even sucked the pus out of a soldier’s abscess.

The soldiers fought to the death for a general who would suck out their dirty pus.

Even his own son, when he got the same abscess, fought for Ogi and ultimately died for him.

Even a psychopath who killed his own family did this for his purposes, so I couldn’t ignore the loyalty of the dead.

“To the families of the deceased, I will provide a pension of five gold coins per year, as well as any necessary food and clothing. Furthermore, if they wish, I will guarantee their admission to the university I established, with a scholarship and living expenses fully covered.”

In modern society, it might seem excessive to give children of those who have fallen honorably the benefit of university admissions and full scholarships, but...

In the Tuscany Empire, this would be seen as a tremendous gesture of goodwill.

“Additionally, I will buy indulgences with the family funds to ensure the deceased can escape purgatory and enter heaven, and I will hold a grand mass in their honor at the Barony’s church.”

What good will it do for the deceased if I conduct a grand mass or buy indulgences that the church prints to make money?

‘It’s all meaningless, it means nothing.’

But at least it will bring great comfort to those here, to the hearts of the deceased.

Religion is for the living to worry about the afterlife.

“And one more promise.”

The greatest comfort I can offer to the living relatives here today.

It is to make the murderers pay for their sins.

“I will thoroughly take revenge on the Black Death, the bandit guild that harmed your families, and the Kingdom of Lyon that made them move.”

This vow is not only for them, but for myself as well.

“I swear it.”