Reincarnated as the Baron's son: My Infinite Card Upgrade System-Chapter 44: The Duchess’s messenger

Exiting the room, Alaric rested his back on the door, the murmurs of his parents speaking slipping through the small spaces.

Suddenly—

"I find it weird you’d speak that way to his lord. Are you doing alright?" Ava asked.

She had been waiting in front of the door since Alaric had walked in.

"Look at you, eavesdropping on our conversation."

"My apologies. You were loud; it would have been difficult not to hear," Ava responded.

With a sigh, Alaric dug his fingers into his hair. "It was either that, or my father would keep being naive. The only reason this barony has been stagnant in one place is because he lets sentiments cloud his judgment. I am the only one who can speak sense to him in that manner."

Ava was quiet.

Her master had just said something she never expected to hear from his mouth.

She covered her mouth and slightly raised her brow. "Lord Alaric, you have a brain."

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Alaric grunted a bit.

Tilting her head to the side in response, Ava spoke. "Do you not have a brain?"

"I... do..."

"I do not understand what was hard to understand there. Are you perhaps stressed today, my lord?" Ava asked with concern.

But her words did nothing but stab Alaric through the chest.

"You know... you really have a way of getting under my skin..."

"Really?" Ava’s face glowed with happiness, as if she had just received the best news of her life.

"God help me," Alaric mumbled to himself as he began to walk away.

"Uhn... where are we going?"

"To sell the family painting."

...

The day finally came.

It was the last day of the month, the day the Montclair Barony was supposed to show the Duchess how the mining ground was better equipped under their watch. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

As soon as the sun came up, everyone had gathered in front of the mining site.

Rashin and the royal family took the left side of the surrounding area, while Neuk and his soldiers took the other side.

In the middle was the royal messenger for the Duchess. He was dressed in white traditional outfits, with a scroll that showed the seal of approval from Lady Meren herself.

Clearing his throat, the messenger looked to Rashin, his notes close to his chest in case he ever wanted to jot something down.

"Good day to you, Lord of the Montclair Barony. As you know, I have been sent by her lady to investigate the growth and overall importance of this mining ground under your watch. Shall we proceed?"

"Please begin," Rashin responded.

From the other side, the Montclair family could already feel the hatred oozing out from Neuk.

"Very well." The messenger moved closer to the mining cave. "So tell me, how many minerals have you discovered from this... cave?"

That was the first question the messenger asked before he looked at Rashin again.

For a brief second, he could almost swear he saw Rashin sweating.

But then—

"Over 40 wagons of minerals are out for sale, and about 7 different types of resources have been discovered in less than a month," Rashin answered, though his voice was a bit shaky.

That was until he had a shocked expression on his face, mirroring the look everyone wore, including the messenger.

Hearing that a mining ground has anything more than 2 resources in their world was rare.

’No way... this is the kind of stuff the DUCHESS wants to keep with this rotten family....!’ Neuk cursed internally.

"W...why do you also look shocked?" the messenger asked after noticing the look on Rashin’s face.

Kika also tried her best to remain calm, looking to the side with her eyes completely widened.

Only a small group of people were unmoved by the announcement Rashin Montclair made. That was his son, Alaric, and his followers.

For one good reason—

’This... is the fruit of my labor!’ Alaric grinned internally, while maintaining a confident look on the outside.

Before the messenger arrived, he had apologized to his father about his earlier outburst, but not because he felt sorry, only because he wanted his father to follow up with his plan.

Since he had been building the mining ground, he had only been giving his father minimal information, which explained why his father was also shocked to find out the mining ground had 7 resources inside.

Alaric, knowing full well he wasn’t the Baron of the land, decided to use his father as bait.

Any question that was asked by the messenger, Alaric would use his mind communication skill to pass on the answer to his father.

’Ahh~ I can almost taste the wealth coming in after this,’ Alaric thought to himself with a sadistic smile.

"Next question..." The messenger looked at his paper, still trying to process the answer he got from the first question he asked.

Finally, he found another one—

"How many workers currently operate on this mining ground?" he asked.

"121 as of the recent record. If you need proof, it’s available. Every worker signed a contract of agreement before stepping foot here. And yes, we also have equipment fitted for mining," Rashin responded boldly, almost as if he was losing his breath.

Yet another successful feat from the Montclair family. Neuk could barely believe his ears.

Yes, he knew Rashin was working well on the mining ground, but he didn’t expect that it would be going so well, even better than he could make it.

Scared he was going to lose, Neuk began to bite his fingers.

[The Baron Neuk is feeling tense due to your actions.]

[You have gained 100cp to the 1200cp needed to unlock the cash back feature.]

Alaric’s smile widened.

From the impressed demeanor of the messenger and the dying expression of Neuk, Alaric’s happiness was shooting to the roof.

His month of hard work might actually pay off for him.

Though he knew it wasn’t over.

Getting ahead of himself was not something he ever planned on doing.

Not until he had heard those words.

-Naam!

The messenger closed the book in his hand and fully faced Rashin.

With his hand stretched out and a smile on his face, he uttered—

"You have done well, Lord Rashin. I’m sure her lady can see how this will benefit the people of this kingdom in many ways. You have passed the test, and I shall report to her lady of your success."

A smile erupted on everyone’s faces.

Somehow, they managed to keep the mining ground and their barony.