Chapter 13: The Crown Behind the Curtain
Money. Nobles loved to talk about it.
But few understood where it truly flowed — or who held the keys.
Grain fed armies. Steel built borders. Magic bent nature.
But banking, leisure, and transport?
That was how you moved entire kingdoms.
[Mission: Financial Shadowplay – Build "Silent Influence" Empire]
Goals:
✅ Buy a Bank
✅ Acquire a Casino-Hotel Complex
✅ Control a Maritime Shipping Company
✅ Rescue & Rebrand a Fallen Legacy: "Valcoren Timeworks"
I. The Bank
I started with Ebonvault Capital — a conservative, discreet private bank used by merchants and minor nobles alike. What they didn't advertise?
– Debts to four failing lords
– A vulnerable vault system running on outdated gold-standard rules
– No control over trade-based loan systems (which I had pioneered)
I sent one of my forged nobles — Sir Ellor Raithe — to "negotiate investment."
Instead, he triggered a liquidity panic, offering public trade loans at lower interest than Ebonvault could afford to match.
Two days later, they asked for a merger.
I bought them out — for half their vault value.
[Ebonvault Capital Acquired – Hollow Rise Financial Branch Operational]
Services Gained: Merchant Credit Network, Noble Lending Seat, Political Debt Tracing
Trait Gained: "Debt Whisperer" – Unlock blackmail paths via loan surveillance
II. The Casino-Hotel: House of Ashglass
This was trickier.
The Ashglass Estate was the oldest casino-hotel in Norfall. Gold-plated halls. Secret duels behind curtains. Royal debts lost at dice.
But the place had slipped — old glamour with rotten roots. Debt, corruption, and a noble scandal involving a duel that ended in… vanishing.
Perfect.
I sent Lena to gamble. Not for coin — for control.
She befriended the pit boss. Got him drunk. Got the ledgers.
Turns out the casino was owned on paper by a noble house that had already gone bankrupt… but they hadn't told anyone yet.
I offered to "assume their name's liabilities" — and claimed the deed.
[Ashglass Hotel & Casino Acquired]
Perks: High-tier noble access, criminal rumor flow, social event venue
Hidden Bonus: Secret noble dueling court (rumored to decide 3 marriages per year)
Trait Gained: "House of Masks" – +Charisma in all high-noble social events
III. Maritime Expansion: The Leviath Guild
No empires moved without ships.
The Leviath Guild ran 38% of port access across eastern harbors, but they'd fallen behind — storm damage, poor repairs, new taxes. Their flagship had just burned in dock.
But I had:
Control of inland shipping
Exclusive grain contracts
And two small but fast river fleets
I issued a public statement: "New Eastwind Consortium opens for port service and drydock investment."
In less than a week, half of Leviath's clients defected — forcing their leadership into "restructuring talks."
I bought their debt. Took their docks.
And renamed the flagship Blackhollow Grace.
[Leviath Shipping Conglomerate Absorbed]
✅ Includes Port Rights, Ocean Trade Routes, 3 Major Drydocks
✅ Bonus: Hidden smuggling license from old royal decree (now yours)
Trait Gained: "Harbormaster's Privilege" – Influence rolls improved across coastal regions
IV. The Watch That Stopped Time
Then, the jewel of nostalgia.
Valcoren Timeworks.
A legendary watchmaker. The first to craft magically-calibrated royal watches.
Their chronometers had once timed coronations. Signed seconds for emperors.
Now? Bankrupt. Their founder vanished. Last piece sold: a broken gold watch known as "The Last Second", rumored to stop the moment a kingdom fell.
I found it — and the auction.
No one bid.
I raised my hand.
[Valcoren Timeworks Acquired – 100% Ownership]
✅ Prestige Brand (Bankrupt)
✅ Master Enchanter's Blueprints (Tier III)
✅ Trademark Rights: "Time of Kings" & "Emperor's Pulse"
✅ Mythic Asset: "The Last Second" – Status: Dormant, Enchanted
Ray looked at the watch and muttered, "You're not just buying companies anymore."
"No," I said.
"I'm buying the story everyone wants to belong to."
Legacy Tier Achieved
[Conglomerate Class: Great Circle Empire]
Sectors Owned:
✅ Agriculture
✅ Manufacturing
✅ Alchemy
✅ Magic/Innovation
✅ Finance
✅ Luxury (Jewelry, Timeworks)
✅ Leisure & Entertainment
✅ Transportation
New Mission Unlocked: "Crown the Merchant King"
Objective: Create a New Council – Invite or Overthrow Old Nobility
Bonus Path: Rewrite Economic Laws via Trade Charter Rewrite
Danger Level: ⚠️⚠️⚠️