Viscount Maelder

Sure enough, just three days after Antoine borrowed money, Elena's Viscount Mansion received a visiting invitation.

The visitor was also a viscount, whose territory was adjacent to Elena's, but the bordering area was very small, so they could barely be considered neighbors.

The Viscount's name is Miles.

Miles? Elena clutched the visiting card, trying to recall if he had been present at her knighthood ceremony.

Oh, I remember now.

Viscount Miles is the shortest knight.

In Elena's impression, she was about the same height as Viscount Miles, and this became her memorable point.

"Why did he come to me?" Elena tilted her head and looked at Leonard. "To borrow money from me?"

Leonard smiled and said, "You'd know if you knew it in advance."

So Elena snapped her fingers, and after snapping three times, she finally saw the scene she wanted to see.

Viscount Miles really came to borrow money from her, but his loan was not simply a loan, but a mortgage of debt.

Viscount Miles took out Viscount Antoine's land mortgage agreement.

It turned out that Viscount Antoine had borrowed money from Viscount Miles a long time ago. He borrowed a large sum of money by mortgaging land.

However, Viscount Miles now also needs to use a large sum of money, and his winery needs to increase investment, so Viscount Miles plans to use Viscount Antoine's land mortgage agreement as collateral to borrow money from Elena.

The picture disappears.

Elena was speechless.

What is this? A second mortgage?

"How is it? What did you see?" Leonard asked curiously. She looked confused but a little cute, and he didn't know what she saw.

Elena looked up at Leonard, organizing her words in her head, and said, "Viscount Antoine previously borrowed a large sum of money from Viscount Miles, using a piece of land as collateral. Now that Viscount Miles is in urgent need of money, he wants to use this land mortgage agreement as collateral to borrow money from me."

Leonard stroked his chin and said, "It seems Antoine is even more short of money than I thought."

Elena frowned. "If I had known Antoine was so short of money, I should have just let him mortgage the land instead of being so roundabout."

Seeing Elena's face full of loss, Leonard smiled instead: "Don't worry, he's so poor, borrowing money everywhere. He definitely won't be able to pay it back when the time comes. He will definitely have to repay with land. You're being more roundabout. It won't affect the final result, but it will make you look better."

"But," Elena still frowned, "Forget it, let's not talk about Antoine. The money has already been lent out, and thinking about it will only make me more upset. Leonard, do you think I should lend money to Viscount Mild?"

"Why not lend it?" Leonard asked. "Didn't we agree on this before? The first time, you'll lend it to them interest-free to build your reputation for kindness and generosity. Then, when they come back for the second loan, you can let them use their land as collateral. Isn't that a good idea?"

"But, but," Elena bit her lip, "I'm afraid if I borrow too much, others will think I'm a fool."

Elena doesn't want the reputation of being stupid and rich at all.

Leonard laughed heartily: "Don't worry, with me here, no one would dare to treat you as a fool."

Leonard smiled and comforted her: "It's okay, take your time and wait patiently. You can't rush land matters."

Elena nodded silently, and could only think so. Buying land was not a quick transaction, and waiting was necessary.

At the appointed time, Viscount Miles came to visit.

Viscount Miles was the same as Elena remembered him, a little short, about the same height as Elena, considered a short man, but his eyes were very different. Maybe it was because of the preconceived notion of the foreboding scene, but Elena felt that there was a shrewd gleam in his eyes.

This is a smart person.

Such people are unlikely to be potential targets.

Elena couldn't help but show some disappointment on her face.

Viscount Miles was startled by Viscountess Field's expression. What was wrong? Was he dressed inappropriately? Or was she looking down on him because he was short?

I have to say that Viscount Miles is a little too sensitive. Because he is born short, he has always been concerned about this and always tends to associate other people's attitudes with their height.

But now that he had something to ask for, Viscount Miles could only suppress his dissatisfaction deep in his heart.

Viscount Miles maintained a gentlemanly smile as he exchanged social pleasantries (and business compliments) with Elena.

After the social greetings, Viscount Miles took the initiative to lead the conversation to the topic of borrowing money.

"Miss Viscount Field, I heard that you lent money to Viscount Antoine?" Viscount Miles smiled. "Ah, I don't mean to ask. I just... uh, Viscount Antoine also borrowed some money from me."

Viscount Miles cleverly put his position together with Elena's, pointing out that he was also Antoine's creditor.

Elena uttered a soft sigh, "Did you also borrow money from Viscount Antoine? How much did you borrow? I lent him 100 gold coins."

Elena first told the amount of her loan, firstly to take the opportunity to inquire about the amount of Viscount Miles' loan, and secondly to implicitly express that she was rich.

100 gold coins! Viscount Miles was delighted. Viscountess Field was richer than he had imagined.

That’s great, it’s easier for rich people to lend money.

Viscount Miles smiled and said, "He used a piece of land as collateral, and I lent him 150 gold coins. I wonder what the collateral he gave you was? Was it also land?" There must be a collateral, it must be land. Only land is worth so much money.

Elena let out another "ah" at the perfect moment, her face showing a somewhat exaggerated surprise: "I didn't take his collateral, I was just borrowing money."

Viscount Miles: ...Is she rich enough to spend money like this?

The smile on Viscount Miles's face became more genuine: "Miss Viscount Field, you are such a generous person."

Elena shook her head and said, “I’m not being generous to him. I guess the whole of Rosyth County knows about the conflict between him and me.”

That’s true, Viscount Miles nodded in his heart, so when he heard about this, he felt it was unreasonable.

Elena continued, "But his territory was plagued by insects. He said the losses were terrible. His starving people lay down in front of his castle, begging for his charity. He borrowed money from me to help his people. I lent him the money for the sake of those poor people, and I lent it interest-free, so I considered it a good deed."

Viscount Miles: ...She actually believed such a ridiculous excuse? That miser Antoine would actually provide relief to the victims?

Elena sighed softly: "Viscount Antoine was crying while talking in front of me. Seeing him cry so pitifully, my heart, ah, really felt bad. Although he and I have conflicts, as a lord, he is still quite responsible."

Viscount Miles: That's what women are like. They'll believe anything you cry about. They're so gullible. Of course, if they weren't so gullible, why would Antoine have the audacity to ask her for money? He's really lucky, considering the interest-free loan offer is actually true.

Elena looked up at Viscount Miles: "Did you lend him money because of the insect plague as well?"

Viscount Miles choked: "Uh, no."

Elena blinked: "Why is that?"

"Because he's short of cash. He borrowed money from me before the insect plague, almost half a year ago." Viscount Miles took out a scroll, glanced at it, and pointed at a spot. "Look, it was indeed half a year ago."

Elena leaned over to look. Of course, she was not looking at the time, but the location and size of the land.

This piece of land is pretty good. It is close to Viscount Miles's territory and there are two villages on it.

Viscount Miles let Elena watch. After waiting for a while, he felt that Elena should have finished reading the content, so he spoke: "This is the mortgage agreement written by Antoine himself. Miss Viscount Field, what do you think of this land?"

Elena nodded and said honestly, "Well, it's good. It's close to your territory, and there are two villages on it. This means that the land here has been cultivated and is cultivated land. Its value is higher than ordinary woodland and virgin land."

Land that has been cultivated for many years is called cultivated land. It is easy to cultivate and has stable output, and taxes and tax grain can be collected from it.

Land that has not been cultivated or has only been initially cultivated is called virgin land. It is difficult to cultivate. In the first two or three years of cultivation, the output is generally very small and cannot support many people. Don't even think about taxes and tax grain, which are almost zero.

The value of cultivated land and raw land is completely different.

Viscount Mild smiled. It seemed that Miss Viscount Field was knowledgeable. That was good. He didn't have to say anything more.

Viscount Melder said, "Since you think this piece of land is worth a lot, can I borrow money from you using it as collateral?"

Elena didn't say anything, she was seriously pretending to be "thinking".

Viscount Mild continued to promote, no, to persuade: "My winery has been doing good business in the past two years. I plan to expand the area of ​​​​the vineyard and also expand the wine cellar."

"But the weather has been bad these past two years. While the quality of the grapes has improved, the grain yield has decreased. To prevent my people from starving, I've reduced taxes over the past two years. I've endured this together with my people, waiting for a year with better weather." Viscount Mild began to act miserable, learning on the spot. "Alas, because of this, my funds are a little low, so I'm shamelessly borrowing money from you."

Elena showed her sympathy at the right moment: "Ah, so that's it. You are also a good lord."

Viscount Mild pointed to the time on the land mortgage agreement. "Look, the mortgage period for this land is two years. Six months have already passed. I'm mortgaging it to you for the remaining 18 months. The land is worth 150 gold coins, and I'm only borrowing 100 gold coins from you. I promise to repay the principal before the expiration of the term."

Since Antoine can borrow money without interest, he will try it.

Elena looked at him and frowned slightly: "Uh..."

Viscount Mild, fearing she might ask for interest, said, "Don't worry. After this year's wine is sold, I'll have more money to take better care of my people and be able to repay you with greater assurance. I won't default on your payments."

If he moves the people of the territory out, Miss Viscount Field, a soft-hearted girl, will probably be kind enough to waive the interest for him.

Elena hesitated, then nodded: "You are a good lord. Okay, then I won't charge you interest this time."

Viscount Mild's eyes lit up. As expected, women are so easy to deceive.

"But," Elena hesitated again, "what if the weather is still bad next year and you can't repay the principal after the deadline? And what if Viscount Antoine repays you the money in advance and wants to take the land back? Or what if Viscount Antoine repays the money, but you are unable to repay me because of other things?"

Viscount Mild was well prepared. He looked into her large, emerald eyes and said, "Miss Viscount Field, I only need to borrow 100 gold coins. Please believe me, it's only 100 gold coins, and I will definitely pay it back. And even if I can't, there's still Antoine. If Antoine can return the 150 gold coins I lent you, I can certainly return the 100 gold coins I lent you. If Antoine can't return it, then this land will naturally be yours."

Viscount Mild pushed the land mortgage agreement towards Elena.

With Antoine's debt and land mortgage in hand, Viscount Milde naturally had the confidence to repay the debt no matter what the situation was.

Elena nodded. Indeed, Viscount Mild would not lose anything on this debt no matter what.

"Mortgage for 18 months, and a loan of 100 gold coins." Elena pondered for a moment, "Okay, that's it."

After the terms were agreed upon, Viscount Mild wrote the second mortgage agreement on the spot, signed it, and stamped it with his private seal.

Viscount Mild gently held Elena's hand and kissed the back of her hand lightly: "Thank you for your help and generosity."

Elena smiled: "You're welcome."

Viscount Mild left happily.

Leonard emerged from the shadows.

"Well done." Leonard praised her.

Elena turned around, her face not happy, but with a hint of uncertainty: "Do you think he will come to borrow money from me again?" If he doesn't lend money, she won't even charge interest, it's just a pure help.

Leonard smiled. "Even if he doesn't come to borrow money, the fact that you lent him the money this time is a favor. He has to repay this favor."

Elena sighed, "I wonder how much his favor is worth." Maybe it's not worth it.

Leonard said with a smile: "He can help you bring in more borrowers."

Elena sighed again, and could only hope so.

In the next few days, Elena received several more nobles, some were viscounts and some were barons. They had all heard of her "kindness and generosity" and came to borrow money by begging for mercy, and Elena lent them money.

Time and time again, Elena's mentality has gradually calmed down through these loans. She believes that she can always wait for a "repeat customer" to borrow money for the second time. It is impossible for everyone to pay back the money. There will always be unlucky people.

Almost two weeks later, Viscount Mild visited again.