I Became A Black Merchant In Another World

In a tavern in Florence, rumors were swirling as usual.

“Did you hear? The third Young Lord of the Bologna Clan got a Maid pregnant after laying his hands on her.”

“A Young Lord without a marriage ends up with a child first? The Bologna Clan sure has many children to deal with.”

“They say the church only advises loving one’s wife, but that’s just nonsense.”

Most of the gossip floating around the tavern was just hot air.

But in an empire where the only entertainment was vigorous activities with the wife at home or drinking and chatting,

each rumor was incredibly precious.

Therefore, the words exchanged in this very moment were bound to be recycled countless times.

“I heard the Bologna Clan sent the Maid away to a town in the countryside for a while.”

The head of the Bologna Clan considered the incident a case of statutory assault by the third Young Lord, who couldn’t simply ignore the pregnancy that could be a chance for social elevation.

If it had been just a one-night adventure, perhaps they would have offered some money and advised to wait until marriage. Yet with a child on the way, silencing the Maid even with noble power would be too challenging.

Therefore, Lord Bologna had decided to take the maid to the countryside for her recovery.

In the Toscan Empire, the relatively educated Florence citizens were all aware of such situations.

“They say a woman’s fate rests in a man’s hands; looks like she hit the jackpot. Here’s to the nameless Maid who turned her life around!”

The man spreading the rumors raised his glass.

Others around him did the same and toasted.

“If I had known, I would have chosen to be born a cute maiden!”

“What are you talking about? You look like shredded cabbage; you should be thankful to have been born a man.”

“Is this fool someone you could just smash his head in with a hammer?”

Normally, such ambiguous rumors would end in laughter and banter.

However, a man quietly sipping his drink from a corner smirked.

His slight shrug was overwhelmingly arrogant.

“Is this really the best you could come up with to giggle about?”

All eyes turned to the mood-dampening man.

In taverns like this, it was customary to create fictional stories about clans they could mock without fear of repercussions.

Now, however, the noble citizens of Florence found themselves in the midst of this broken decorum.

“Hey, don’t ruin the mood, just get lost! You clearly don’t belong here.”

The man, told to leave, downed his beer in one gulp.

He intentionally placed his mug down with a loud thud.

“There’s a much more interesting rumor. It’s about the Medici Baron Clan.”

Even though it was slightly risky to spread rumors about the Baron, it wasn’t entirely off-limits.

The Medici Clan was a juicy target, far more satisfying than some humble knight clan like Bologna.

“Those living around here probably know, but the Medici Baron and Noble Lady Farnese just got married, right? I hear Young Lord Fabio provided massive financial support then!”

Florence citizens generally knew quite a bit about Fabio.

Even if they had never purchased the expensive seaweed or cake he sold, they had witnessed nobles clamoring to buy those items at least once.

Seeing those high-ranking individuals hopping around had been a source of endless amusement.

“It’s common sense for the eldest son of a house to support the younger brothers, but of course, the wealthy Young Lord is different!”

It’s typical for the head of the clan to financially support the younger siblings; even common folk understand that principle.

Those who fail to follow it aren’t regarded as decent human beings.

Thus, it was rare for the situation to be reversed…

Hungry for rumors, the crowd turned their attention to the suspicious man.

“However, the Medici Baron is quite a generous fellow. Even though his brother has become a successful merchant, he has promised to return the favor massively.”

When it comes to stories related to nobles, there’s typically a set narrative.

No one explicitly agreed to it, but there were unspoken rules, and they went something like this:

Aim for nobles that aren’t too high or too low, making fun of their foolish actions in a vague manner.

Breaking this principle could lead to an unfortunate abduction by the servants of some noble family on a dark night.

This rule was designed to entertain while also protecting themselves, but it inevitably led to tedious tales filled with cliches…

A new rumor, however, was a shocking twist that shattered the narrative they knew.

Those tired of the same-old stories were fully drawn in.

“The Medici Baron has stated he will generously allocate territory to repay his brother’s favor. Isn’t it beautiful to see brothers helping each other out?”

Even as conversations about noble folly turned into noble praises, fresh stories are still fresh stories.

Everyone wholeheartedly agreed with the statement.

“If a brother receives money, he must naturally repay it. That’s a fact; there’s no way the Baron would eat the money!”

“That’s why Noble Lady Farnese would agree to give her daughter to Baron Medici. Truly generous, isn’t it?”

Amidst this, one man asked,

“By the way, where did you hear this story? You didn’t get it from your acquaintances, did you…?”

Just like how fake news runs rampant in 21st century South Korea, usually hearing something from acquaintances in the Toscan Empire meant it was likely fake too.

Of course, even if it was false, there was no need for those who heard the fun story to seek vengeance.

But it was a bit disappointing.

The man who brought up the Medici Clan shrugged and chuckled.

“I heard it directly from my cousin, who serves as the house steward for the Medici Clan.”

Since they mentioned the source’s precise position, the rumors were likely true.

Because if he just said he heard it from someone nearby, he could easily retract if caught by a noble.

But mentioning the position enabled them to hunt down the one spreading the lies.

“Wow, I thought noble families only fought amongst siblings.”

“Seems the new Medici Baron is different.”

“You’ve shared an entertaining tale, so buy us a drink!”

And this false rumor quickly spread all over Florence.

Even Albert, now the Medici Baron, couldn’t ignore it.

Albert hadn’t been feeling too great lately.

Looking at the objective situation, his life was developing smoothly like a sailing ship caught in a favorable wind.

He had formed a marriage alliance with the highly esteemed Farnese Count Clan, and to his surprise, his wife was quite beautiful.

Of course, even if she weren’t beautiful, he wouldn’t even have considered refusing the marriage.

Having an unattractive main wife? Two hundred billion times worse!

Even in a world where it’s common for the main wife and husband not to get along.

“What kind of jackass spread this nonsense?”

Fabio often treated Albert as an idiot, but he was certainly not a fool.

Of course, he had an inkling of who might have started the rumor…

“Can’t my brother just casually give me seven thousand gold coins to support me? That’s practically pocket change for him if he saves for a few months!”

If Fabio heard this, he would have probably thought,

“Even for a large corporation chairman, a hundred billion won is a lot, you crazy idiot!”

Yet Albert was quite displeased at his younger brother, who should be obedient yet wasn’t.

Though he felt inclined to criticize him for not helping out even a little…

“The Duke Visconti and my father-in-law surely wouldn’t look kindly on me picking at Fabio for such a trivial reason.”

Given that a marriage alliance had already been formed, it wouldn’t jeopardize his standing.

Nonetheless, while it wouldn’t be disastrous, his position as the Medici Baron would clearly diminish.

Although the Medici Baron himself was among the highest echelons of the nobility, counts and dukes wielded powers far beyond his reach.

“Usually, the notes of a loan between family should only be for ‘form.’”

While that may be common sense among nobles, it came with conditions.

They only wrote it down to serve as proof that the eldest son helped the second and third sons when they were in dire straits.

It’s extremely shameful for the eldest to demand payment from the younger brother and not fulfill his promise.

“Now that the rumor is out, I can’t avoid giving up territory…”

After all, since he signed a note himself, failing to pay would make him a scumbag who doesn’t honor his own agreements.

“Fabio, that bastard.”

Albert gritted his teeth at Fabio.

However, he wasn’t inclined to see his younger brother as an outright enemy just yet.

Despite having a backing, turning family members into rivals could easily lead to criticism among nobles.

He merely noted this incident in his mental list of grievances.

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