My Villainess Ex Won't Leave Me Alone

One week later…

'How to become a noble...fast?'

Lucian tapped his finger on the wooden surface as he stared at the stack of papers on the table. The top page had the word "noble" scribbled on it several times, as if he was trying to manifest the word into reality.

One could buy a title of a Baron, for example through infrastructure funding worth around 3000 gold coins.

However, an obviously bought title was viewed as a joke in the circles of high society if it didn't include family privileges, like inheriting land.

They called the people who bought their way up, merchants, who could not earn their title through virtue.

That's why many young barons went to the frontlines. It was the fastest way to become a viscount. The gap in standing was enough of a motivation for anyone to want to bridge it.

A baron's yearly income was around 1000 large gold coins, a viscount's around 5000, an earl's 15 000, and a marquess' 30 000. A duke's was over a 100 000, and a grand duke's was over 300 000.

Those were no official numbers. Lucian analyzed their wealth, spending power, and other factors to roughly estimate the amount.

The last Grand Duke, Adrien Rochefort, died around two hundred years ago, and with his departure, came a war.

The nobles didn't want to give that much power to anyone else ever again, and thus his territory was split into three duchies to avoid another Grand Duke from rising to power.

'A hundred thousand...' Lucian continued to scribble.

He only made 10 000 a year, 1800 after all expenses. (For scale, 1800 large gold coins could support an army of 500 men for two years.)

"Do any of you know how to sail a ship?" Lucian finally looked up from his papers to ask the eight people gathered around the oval table.

Leaf has earned enough money to build himself a mansion. It was located near the lands Lucian bought and was used as a meeting spot. His seven Vices would assemble half yearly to meet each other in person and discuss their plans.

Since Lucian named the lands he owned in the south after Leaf, Leaf named his property after his boss: "Sunrise Manor".

Leaf couldn't own land as a foreigner, so it was put under Lucian's name. The boy trusted his boss that much. Afraid of being captured again, Leaf invested heavily into his security. He split the bill for the guards with Lucian, and now a small garrison of 25 men guarded their property and the plantations.

Lucian surveyed the faces of each person at the oval table. The silence was enough of an answer. They didn't know how to sail.

"Alright then. You have half a year to prepare and a year to learn the skill," Lucian said and continued to explain his plan.

The competition against the nobles on land was harsh (everyone was vying for the King's favor), and that's why he decided to turn to the sea.

"W-wait," Fishbone interrupted, "What about our current position?"

"You pass it down to your best candidate," Lucian answered, "You don't plan to stay there forever, right? I want to expand my trade routes to the Varia kingdom, and I need the most experienced people for the job."

Fishbone's and Rovan's expressions turned grim. They liked the comfort of their positions as a trading merchant and a debt collector.

Fishbone bought himself out of slave status and started a family with his new wife in the Southern Alliance.

Rovan and his gang of thugs had a cozy base in their hometown, where they ruled the streets. They were feared and respected, and they had no desire to start over.

Goblin was excited to leave his greenhouse and travel.

Leaf was nervous to leave the workshop and the plantation unsupervised for that long, but he understood the importance of the new mission.

Jax was excited to meet new ladies.

"A honeymoon on the high seas, what a romantic idea," Cansan teased, his arm wrapped around the emotionless girl with a long green braid, who was sitting beside him, "Can I bring a plus one?"

"Sure, you can," Lucian answered. Those two were inseparable since the day he met them.

The man's long blue hair was leisurely tied to a side ponytail as he cheered on the new plan to expand their business.

Cansan was the son of a fallen noble and Mumbai was a servant girl from the Southern Alliance. Lucian offered his help to them in exchange for her ability to communicate telephanically with Fishbone's wife.

Fishbone didn't have a love marriage like in Cansan's case, it was an arranged one, by Lucian himself. Safety and comfort were sometimes the only requirements needed for a woman to agree to a marriage. (Fishbone's wife was the village girl they met during their travels.)

This way, Cansan and Fishbone could communicate with each other more effectively.

Lucian moved his gaze to the last member of his group, sitting silently at the table. Loran, the alchemist who helped him turn the rubber they knew so far into a more durable and flexible material.

Leaf's rubber tree plantation and Loran's alchemy would bring a new stream of money to Lucian's business. They didn't know that yet. The demand for the material was low for now, but once Lucian got his plan rolling, it would become the next big thing.

"Loran," Lucian called out.

The man's tapping foot stilled, and he turned to look at Lucian as if asking to be put back into his own world, the workshop where his alchemy equipment and experiments were.

"You will need to set up your work in a new place," Lucian continued.

Loran shook his head. He was mute and couldn't speak.

"I won't have the best ships sailing the seas if you don't come with us," Lucian argued. Inspiration could come from the most unexpected places. Loran might get new ideas for his experiments while on the ship.

Loran used to be Lucian's ex-debtor. He had spent all his money on the research and had to borrow from Lucian.

Because of his lack of business sense, all his earnings were being managed by his personal assistants, who made sure the alchemist was fed, clothed, and had the materials to experiment with.

Lucian and the other Vices checked on Loran regularly to prevent the guy from getting scammed by his own team. They would also come to him when they needed something, like when they complained about their equipment's durability, from axes to chop wood, to the sole of their shoes being uncomfortable.

Loran was also the most protected and hidden member of the group.