"I have been scammed…." Leo murmured, feeling an intense wave of hatred emerging in his heart towards the East Duke at this moment.
"I told you to beware of the noble's boy…. When a noble offers you something and it sounds too good to be true, it's probably some trap" Ben said, as he clutched his head in despair feeling as scammed as Leo did.
"I'm sorry master…. I was a fool.
I didn't even ask the East Duke to make me a Baron, he proposed it himself and then I was too caught up by his words to see through his schemes.
I've been scammed" Leo admitted, as he regretted making such a foolish mistake.
"What's done is done… no point fretting over it, however, now the question is… how shall we turn this shitty Barony into the dream land that we envision it to be?" Ben said, as he tried to keep up the optimism and figure out how they could transform this place into their dream land.
"Alright, Gregory. Let's move on. Tell me about the financial position of the Barony. How do our finances look?" Leo said, trying to feed off Ben's positive energy and look for some positive news, however,
Gregory's expression grew even more somber, when posed with this question.
"The financial situation, my Lord, is dire…. The salaries of government workers have not been paid for the last one and a half years, prompting many to leave their posts. The current administration is in shambles." Gregory said, as at that moment, Leo got up from his squeaky chair, picked up a small piece of wood and smashed it through the already broken glass window.
*CRASH*
"Bloody hell! Is there anything decent about this place?" Leo questioned, finally losing his calm completely, as Gregory began trembling because of Leo's leaking killing intent.
"One and a half years? How has the Barony functioned at all?" Ben questioned, and then realized that the Barony had not been functioning at all.
The piles of shit and the increased crime rate in the region were proof that the Barony's administration had not been functioning at all.
Trembling, Gregory continued. " The news only gets worse my Lord, the royal treasury does not have a single penny. In fact, the Barony owes the administration 150,000 gold coins in back pay and reparations."
Listening to these words, Leo clutched his head and slumped back in his chair as the weight of the information settled heavily on his shoulders.
"150,000 gold coins? How am I supposed to pay that off?" he questioned, as had he not received a significant chunk of money from Shane, he would really have found it hard to pay such an astronomical debt off.
"Additionally, within the palace staff themselves, such as myself and the other palace workers, we haven't received our pay for the last six months. As a result, we had to sell off the paintings within the palace to raise money for our sustenance." Gregory reported, as Leo looked around the room, suddenly realizing why the palace looked even more barren than it should have.
"That explains the missing paintings," he muttered, not blaming Gregory for what he did in order to survive, since things did look pretty dire around these parts.
"So, not only do we have a Barony filled with poverty and crime, but we're also drowning in debt. This just keeps getting better." Ben muttered, as he began clapping his hands sarcastically in appreciation of the East Duke who had tricked Leo into this mess.
Running his hands through his hair and feeling overwhelmed, Leo finally posted the last and most important question–
"Alright, Gregory. I understand the financial mess we're in. Now, what about our military position? Do we have any forces at all?" Leo asked, already anticipating a shit answer that began with 'I'm afraid not…' However, he still asked Gregory the question, just for the sake of it.
This time Gregory's expression did not change, remaining as grim as before as he said "The military situation is just as bleak, my Lord. We have a small group of soldiers, but they are poorly trained and ill-equipped.
Many of our experienced soldiers who had previously served in the army have now deserted due to the lack of pay and proper equipment, and it is mostly the ex-military officials who have now set up the local mafia gangs that control the local markets"
Leo nodded slowly, processing the information.
"So, we're defenseless as well. Great. Anything else I should know?" Leo asked, sarcastically, however, little did he know that Gregory would still bombard him with even more bad news after having already served the shock of a lifetime.
"There are also reports of bandit groups and rogue elements within the Barony. Without a strong military presence, they have become more brazen, and lawlessness is on the rise." Gregory said, concluding his report, as his words left Leo in shambles.
It was almost like Leo hadn't inherited a land with any sort of development, but was rather starting from a negative starting point.
He had debt, no working infrastructure, no working militia and to top it all off, a problem with local gangs and lawlessness.
Even if he wanted to bring factories and industry to this land, he would first need to restore public order and the administrative structure which in itself seemed like a handy task.
"I'm sorry master, but I think we will need to work hard in these coming days if we want to restore the law and order of this place.
It seems like the legend of Ben Faulkner can't rest yet–" Leo said, as he realized that if he wanted to restore the public order of CrestHill Barony, he would need to lend the legendary reputation of Ben Faulkner.
"Alright…. Let's fix this Barony in the coming year and have a happy retirement life after" Ben said, as he decided to help Leo turn this place around and earn his retirement through it.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the GT Target, good job everyone! ///