The Greatest Estate Developer - Chapter 57: The Devil’s Contract (2)

The air in the audience chamber turned icy in an instant.

The Viscount’s eyes flared with deep anger, while Lloyd’s expression remained composed.

“What do you mean by ‘so it was you’?”

Lloyd shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head, feigning innocence with shameless ease.

“It seems, Viscount, that your pride still hasn’t let go. You’ve suspected me all along, confirmed it internally moments ago, and yet now you ask, ‘So it was you?’ Isn’t that too contrived a question?”

“What nonsense…”

“Your expression is perfect. Let’s keep it this way.”

Snap!

Lloyd lounged back on the sofa, snapping his fingers with a lighthearted gesture.

“See? You already guessed it was me. Wouldn’t it have been easier if you had just confessed as much the moment we met?”

“So, it’s true then. You really did meddle with my dye workshop?”

“Yes, it was me.”

“What exactly did you do?”

“Are you curious about the method?”

“Of course I am.”

The Viscount let out a heavy sigh, still glaring daggers at Lloyd.

And why wouldn’t he?

The dye workshop.

The lifeblood of his estate, his golden goose.

Using concentrated extracts of the Radona berries to produce a fabric known as ‘Laconata’, the workshop had always been his pride.

The ‘Laconata’ fabric was stunning—vivid, multifaceted colors combined with an indescribable luster that made it peerless.

No other territory could replicate it.

Even if other places used Radona berries, they couldn’t achieve the same results.

It had to be berries harvested specifically from the western slopes of the Eastern Mountain Range.

If those berries were grown elsewhere, their unique luster and color wouldn’t appear.

Transporting the berries wasn’t an option either, as they spoiled during transit, altering the resulting dye.

Moreover, the Viscounty had over a century’s worth of accumulated expertise in processing and dyeing.

These factors made ‘Laconata’ a prized specialty, produced exclusively in Lacona Viscounty.

Naturally, it was the greatest source of income for the estate.

But then, that golden goose had started acting strangely.

No, it had outright died.

‘It was an unbelievable disaster.’

About 50 days ago, one morning, the overseer of the dye workshop had rushed to the Viscount in a panic.

He had fallen to his knees, pleading forgiveness.

He confessed that something was wrong with the ‘Laconata’ fabric—the colors had turned grotesque, and the distinctive luster was entirely gone.

‘At first, I thought it was a one-time problem.’

He assumed it was an issue with the berries or the fabric itself.

But no.

The problem persisted the next day. And the day after.

Even after ten days. Even after a month.

The signature vibrant colors and luster of ‘Laconata’ never returned.

Instead, the fabric was dull, lifeless, and unmarketable.

It had become worthless trash.

‘That’s when it all began.’

The workshop went into full crisis mode.

They replaced every batch of Radona berries.

They discarded the stored extracts and made new ones.

None of it worked.

They even tried using completely different fabrics, but the results were the same.

The missing luster never returned.

Naturally, merchants who had always purchased ‘Laconata’ began turning away.

Even long-standing clients started to sever ties one by one.

The Viscounty’s once-reliable income had vanished.

Yet, no matter how much effort was put in, they couldn’t identify the cause.

Why had the colors and luster of ‘Laconata’ died?

Despite countless attempts and efforts, the mystery remained unsolved.

It was driving the Viscount mad.

The stress was so severe that he was losing clumps of hair daily, and his stomach pains were so bad that acid reflux plagued him every night.

All he could do was harbor unproven suspicions.

‘Yes, that wretch, Lloyd Frontera. Suspecting him was all I could do!’

There was no evidence, only gut feeling.

But he couldn’t help it.

After all, he had dumped toxic waste from the dye workshop into the river, causing great harm to the Frontera estate and even resorting to threats afterward.

At this point, who else would hold such a deep grudge against him but someone from the Frontera family?

And among them, the most likely suspect(?) was Lloyd.

‘A young but meticulous and cunning man.’

Lloyd’s past actions and personality made him a prime suspect.

It seemed certain—if anyone could pull off something like this, it was Lloyd.

The only thing the Viscount didn’t know was ‘how’ Lloyd had managed it.

That was why, when Lloyd requested this unannounced meeting, the Viscount had agreed so readily.

He needed confirmation.

What had Lloyd done to his dye workshop?

At least, he wanted to uncover the method.

“You scoundrel with nothing to your name, what exactly have you done to my dye workshop?”

The Viscount gritted his teeth and glared.

Some sort of curse?

A sinister spell?

If not, there was no explanation.

Lloyd chuckled softly.

“Haha. First of all, I’ll commend you for identifying me as the culprit. Your deductive skills are better than I expected. But here’s the thing…”

He shrugged.

“The incident at your dye workshop wasn’t something I did intentionally.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Not intentional?

The Viscount’s face stiffened as Lloyd’s smirk deepened. Finally, Lloyd revealed the cause behind the calamity at the dye workshop.

“Well, you could say it was an unavoidable consequence of building the aqueduct.”

“Aqueduct?”

“Yes, the one I constructed in the valley. It’s quite beautiful, don’t you think?”

“What does that have to do with my dye workshop? Stop toying with me and speak plainly!”

The Viscount finally erupted, leaning forward across the table, barely perched on the edge of his seat.

Lloyd, however, reclined leisurely against the sofa, his composure unshaken.

“Tsk. So impatient. Tell me, are you familiar with the properties of limestone?”

“…What?”

“Limestone is a type of sedimentary rock composed primarily of calcium carbonate.”

“What are you babbling about now?”

The Viscount was clearly bewildered, but Lloyd continued his calm explanation.

“Shells, corals, sponges, plankton—many organisms use calcium carbonate to form their skeletons or shells. When they die, that calcium carbonate accumulates on the seabed, where over time it compresses and solidifies into limestone.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Shh. Just listen to the end. Limestone, formed this way, is an excellent building material. I used it for the aqueduct I constructed in the mountain valley. But limestone bedrock also has a unique characteristic—it turns surrounding water into limewater.”

“Limewater…?”

“Yes. It sounds grand, but it’s quite simple. Calcium and magnesium ions from the limestone dissolve into the water, subtly altering its mineral composition.”

“And how does that relate to the dye workshop?”

“It’s directly related.”

“How?”

“The water that flows through the valley where I built the aqueduct is part of the Frona River, which feeds into both your estate and mine.”

“W-what…?”

The Viscount’s stiffened face went blank, as though he had been struck in the back of the head.

Lloyd carried on with his nonchalant explanation.

“Starting to get the picture? To build the aqueduct, I had to blast the valley’s limestone bedrock, break it apart, and excavate it. During that process, we quarried limestone, cutting and shaping it extensively. The result was an immense amount of limestone debris scattered throughout the valley—countless fragments mixed into the riverbed, like gravel and sand. And thanks to that…”

Lloyd’s ever-present smile turned sinister.

“The river water became ever so slightly more limewater-like.”

“Then… could it be… the reason the ‘Laconata’ fabric’s colors changed…”

“Yes. The subtle change in the Frona River’s composition is the culprit.”

“That’s… impossible…”

“Of course, you wouldn’t have noticed. The change is so faint and delicate that you wouldn’t detect it by taste. It’s also harmless to people and the environment.”

Lloyd’s wicked grin widened.

And he was right.

The blasting and processing of limestone in the valley had caused minerals to leach into the river. However, the amount was minuscule, barely enough to affect anything.

For humans, the effect of these minerals was about as significant as the potassium radioactivity in bananas.

‘Bananas do contain a radioactive isotope of potassium, but you’d have to eat over a hundred million bananas in a day to suffer radiation poisoning. It’s similar here—any impact of the river’s mineral content on human health would be negligible. To suffer from mineral poisoning, you’d have to drink a hundred million liters of river water in one go.’

Indeed, the impact of limewater on humans or the environment was minimal.

But for the dye workshop? That was a different story.

“However, it’s a critical issue for your dye workshop, isn’t it? You must use river water in your dyeing and rinsing processes. That’s how the waste you released into our estate’s waters was created in the first place, wasn’t it?”

“…”

“That’s just how chemical reactions work. Oh, you might not know what chemistry is. Anyway, even minor changes like this can have a significant impact on delicate processes such as dyeing.”

“That’s… ridiculous…”

“Oh no, this is heartbreaking. I was fond of the ‘Laconata’ fabric myself. It’s beautiful.”

“…”

“But now, you’ll never be able to bring it back. The river’s composition will remain like this for at least the next ten years. And it’s not like you can source water from elsewhere. Even if you tried to eliminate the lime content with distilled water, you’d only end up altering the water’s overall composition further, and the ‘Laconata’ colors would remain ruined.”

“I’ll sue you! I’ll take this to the noble court and expose this injustice!”

“Please, go ahead.”

The enraged Viscount shouted, but Lloyd responded with a sly grin.

“Feel free to file a suit. Do you really think you’d win?”

“What?”

“Limewater isn’t a pollutant, let alone a toxic substance.”

“…”

The Viscount was speechless as Lloyd dealt another brutal blow of facts.

“Also, this is tricky for you, isn’t it? The limestone fragments and debris scattered in the valley weren’t deliberately placed there. They were an unavoidable byproduct of development. Do you know what that means under the kingdom’s law? It means it doesn’t meet the criteria of ‘intentionality’.”

“I-intentionality?”

“Yes, intentionality. An action must be proven to have been done with the explicit intent to cause harm. But in this case, if we examine it more closely, the root cause actually lies with you.”

“With me? Why?!”

“Because you were the one who illegally discharged toxic waste into the Frona River, polluting the waters that flow into our estate. I had no choice but to build the aqueduct in the valley to overcome that challenge.”

“In the process of constructing the aqueduct, I was ‘unavoidably’ forced to blast limestone for quarrying. This caused the valley water to turn into limewater, which, in turn, transformed the beloved color of your ‘Laconata’ fabric into… let’s call it a cheerful ‘Good Morning Hellgate Brown’, a shade reminiscent of a foul, mischievous little goblin.”

“Ugh… Wh-what… nonsense…”

“Ah, now you’re starting to understand, aren’t you? But don’t cry now.”

“This… can’t be… it can’t be…”

The Viscount, who had been leaning forward, collapsed back into the sofa. His body slumped weakly, and he stared blankly at the ceiling.

For the first time, he fully grasped the cause of the disaster. His eyes lost their focus, filled with a defeated realization.

‘I’ve been thoroughly outplayed by that wretch.’

It felt like a hammer had struck the back of his head.

Yet, no escape came to mind. No matter how hard he tried to think, no viable solution presented itself.

File a suit in the noble court?

It felt pointless.

‘There’s no winning this. He’s right. Limewater isn’t a toxin—it’s just water. What grounds do I even have for a lawsuit?’

Even if he somehow managed to win by a miracle of the heavens, the solution would come too late.

‘It would take at least a year for a verdict to be issued.’

In the meantime, the ‘Laconata’ fabric would remain in its degraded state. All the merchants would have moved on.

Losing the specialty product would render his estate destitute.

‘That devilish man!’

Lloyd sat there, smiling smugly, clearly enjoying himself.

A shiver ran down the Viscount’s spine.

He couldn’t even begin to guess how much of this situation Lloyd had planned in advance.

No, even if he tried to resist, Lloyd had likely already calculated every move and prepared countermeasures that would inflict even greater damage.

‘That man would absolutely do that.’

The Viscount’s hands trembled involuntarily.

The crushing weight of defeat was unbearable.

The despair of being trapped in a pit with no escape—it was suffocating.

It felt like the darkness he saw when he closed his eyes mirrored his bleak future.

‘I can’t win. There’s no way out of this.’

In the end, the Viscount gave up.

No matter how he calculated, there was no path to victory.

His only option now was surrender.

“I… I was wrong.”

He lowered his head, his voice heavy with resignation.

“I’ll immediately stop discharging waste into your estate’s waters. So please, I beg you… can’t you forgive me just this once?”

“Forgiveness, you say?”

“Yes.”

The Viscount bowed even deeper, swallowing his pride despite the bitterness boiling within him.

But Lloyd’s response was entirely unexpected.

“Hmm. What a shame. But what can we do? Limewater—that’s not something that can be fixed.”

“…What?”

“No matter how much effort you put into clearing the limestone debris from the valley, it won’t change anything. The blasting exposed too much limestone bedrock.”

“What do you mean…?”

“I mean, the bedrock was originally covered by a thin layer of siliceous sediment, a sort of protective shield. But that layer was completely destroyed during the explosions. Now the limestone is fully exposed, and there’s no way to reverse that.”

“W-what are you saying? Then…”

“It means the river water will remain in its current state indefinitely.”

“…”

The Viscount was speechless.

He had thought that apologizing might lead to a solution. It had been his last hope.

And now, even that hope was slipping away.

But then it happened.

The devil sitting before him—no, Lloyd Frontera—smiled ominously.

“Well, since you’re so earnestly seeking forgiveness, it’s not entirely impossible to revive your ‘Laconata’ fabric, is it?”

“W-what? There’s a way?”

“Ah, please, let go of my sleeve.”

“S-sorry. I got carried away…”

“It’s fine. I understand how you feel. Let me propose something, then.”

“A proposal?”

“Yes, a proposal.”

The Viscount bit his lip, glaring at Lloyd as he waited for his suggestion.

Finally, Lloyd spoke.

“My proposal is this: Viscount, the dye workshop and your precious ‘Laconata’ fabric are important to you, correct?”

“Y-yes.”

“You want to preserve and restore them, don’t you?”

“Of course, that’s what I want.”

“Good. Then—”

Lloyd’s sly grin grew wider.

From the moment the wastewater incident had begun two months ago, he had nurtured a grand plan in his heart.

Now, he was ready to present it.

“If you truly wish to revive your specialty fabric and continue its proud tradition, then draw clean water from our estate’s water supply system. Of course, you’ll need to pay a hefty monthly water fee.”