The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 873 - 9 Paris Officialdom_3

The wealthy reside in large villas, ride in two-wheel convertible carriages drawn by purebred English horses, wear Chevreler brand clothes, gloves made by Walker, hats by Bondoni, boots by Gargano, and canes by Thomason. Even their cigar boxes are made by Gilroncs. As long as I can solve their problems, the reward is not an issue at all.

But in this city of Paris, in this country of France, we lack many things but certainly not criminals. I know many con artists who come from affluent backgrounds, but their families fell on hard times. Unable to change their extravagance, they wander near the palace daily, peddling their worthless counterfeit antiques.

There are also audacious ones who pretend to be bankers. They rent an office in the most bustling areas of Paris, recruit a few young and beautiful women to pose as cashiers, and have salesmen deceive fools into conducting banking transactions with them. They operate honestly for a while until people regard them as legitimate, then they start making big money by altering bills of exchange and having other banks honor them. Once they’ve made enough, they vanish overnight without a trace, moving to a new place and opening shop under a new name.

I’m not exaggerating; currently, there should be about twenty thousand con artists across France, active in every corner of society. In Paris alone, there are at least five thousand. Suppose one idle scoundrel can swindle 10 francs a day; five thousand con artists daily would be fifty thousand francs, one hundred and fifty million francs a month, and eighteen million francs a year!

Gentlemen, do you realize how massive this market is? The Victor Detective Agency is poised for great success! Since the agency opened, bankers and businessmen nearly break the threshold every morning. To recover their commercial losses, they have always been generous with their offers."

At this point, Victor winked at Arthur and said, "Mate, I know you aren’t in a hurry to get to Hanover. Would you be interested in working a short stint with me during this time? All Parisians know about the renowned detective Victor, but they still don’t know what the Grand Duke Sir Arthur Hastings of Scotland Yard is really like.

Or we can settle for less. If you don’t want to handle cases, it’s no big deal. You just need to have breakfast at my place every day, flirt with the young ladies at my detective agency, and tell your legendary stories. Don’t be shy; Parisian girls are much more passionate than you think. freeweɓnovel-cøm

As for the rest of the time, you don’t need to do a thing at my place. Just use your Duke’s title when the big clients come in and flaunt the "Greater London Police Department’s Police Management Regulations" you authored. I can still offer you quite a substantial reward."

Arthur finally understood Victor’s scheme.

To put it bluntly, this guy was thinking of using his Duke title and the Assistant Police Director experience at Scotland Yard to attract clients to the newly opened detective agency.

One must admit, Victor is indeed clever. Such a capable person, even if he left the Security Department, would transform into a millionaire in no time with just a bit of time.

Arthur smiled and said, "I’d be honored to help you. However, if you want me sitting in the office at the detective agency, I might have some scheduling conflicts."

Victor’s eyes twinkled; he thought Arthur wanted to refuse him: "Mate, if it’s a matter of price, just name your number. Even if I face difficulties, I’ll do my best to meet your demands."

Arthur waved his hand: "Mr. Victor, it’s not a matter of money. After all, on this trip to Paris, I have to visit many friends and take a moment to go to the Paris Academy of Sciences. Of course, the most important thing is, I need to accompany Louis to the Tuileries Palace to pay respects to His Majesty the King. However, if you need me for any big clients, requiring me to visit them with you, I don’t mind helping you out. Because I’d also love to meet the current influential figures in Paris; Mr. Talleyrand has told me many times about Parisian social gatherings, and I’ve long been longing for them."

This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢