True Love's Seventh kiss: Part 2 Dungeon Break

Ch.12 A Merchant's Eye

Gianna was someone who had a good eye for people, and Marion was definitely someone valuable. A young lord with no attachments to other women or bad habits; A capable swordsman and he was just so good-looking. He played the dangerous card well and it looked good on him. When the god had come to her to seduce this man, she knew it wasn't a task she run into without preparation.

So, she did her research.

Information about Cliffgard County was surprisingly sparse despite its semi-famous inhabitants. Likely, it was just that gossip about other nobles was just saturating the market in comparison. With nearly dozens of other counts and hundreds of barons and knights. The ranks of the middle nobility were always bustling with some news since there were always ambitious nobles who were both clever and incredibly stupid.

Cliffgard seemed to have the former since regardless of the news about the poor health of the lord and lady, the territory was stable and flourishing. As the sole provider of some of the more Niche things from the Cliffgard forest, they had a monopoly on the goods, yet taxes and tariffs never increased. The goods also never diminished in quality, which was very important for merchants who knew the value of trust.

They had modest aspirations compared to some of the other counts yet gave no ground under the pressure of greater nobles. That was likely due to both the nature of the territory and because of the interpersonal connections cultivated by Novak Cliffgard. Since he was directly tied to all six of the current Sword Saints he wasn't someone others were able to antagonize out in the open lest you end up on the wrong side of his friends. Not only that, but it was also no secret that the Cliffgard territory was once given to a hero more as a means to keep him and his posterity in check. Since the forest could never be tamed and the land surrounding it was either infertile or occupied the County was reliant on the forest and it came with enough cons to impede the growth of the county.

The only variable that the Goldbloom family was able to take a hold of was the brother of lady Cliffgard. Rumors about him searching for a cure and a way to make money for more cure research were widely known. So, when he arrived at the doorstep of the Goldblooms with an Idea and was looking for a partner Gianna knew her chance was before her.

When her dad was about to send Ivan on his way, Gianna stepped forward. She convinced her father to buy in, and Surprisingly Ivan was able to produce the exact results he promised and then more with only half the initial investment he requested. He was brilliant and his only requests outside of his business obligations were materials for researching both his idea and a way to cure his sister.

Although the cure never came to bear fruits, he never slipped on his work with the Starbrand, and she waited for her chance to bloom. Finally, news came that Marion, the son had begun his training as a count and also searched for a cure... and one day he not only found it but shook the world by waking a dragon.

When Ivan came forward about moving operations to Cliffgard to be closer to this family, Gianna jumped on this opportunity. And her father who raised her with dollar signs in her eyes was eager to invest in a chance to rise to a noble rank.

Marion was everything she expected and more, not only was he a young lord he had potential. Especially if his father and mother were anything to go by he'd grow into a total heartbreaker. His signature sneer was offset by his surprisingly warm smile was already the stuff of legends among the gossipers. And surviving an attack by the witch queen put Cliffgard back on the map.

It was already being propagated and exaggerated. Gianna's people were making it even more fantastical since it would only increase business for the Starbrands when they were released. Marion wasn't only Gianna's shot at a noble title, he was her cash cow.