Chapter 012: Batty’s Secret

After a moment of thought, Du Fan deliberately did not answer Batty’s question. Instead, he continued to ask Elsik, “Are there any other questions?”
Elsik thought for a while before shaking his head. After all, most of the matters and steps had already been settled through their recent discussions.
“Reporting to the lord, we no longer have enough gold coins for purchases. The amount of wrought iron George needs is enormous. Should we consider reducing it or delaying the construction?” It was still Batty, still somewhat distrustful of Du Fan.
Du Fan didn’t take it too seriously. He smiled slightly and ordered, “Simbat, leave a hundred-man team to train the commoners in combat formations. Everyone else, head to Fort Fortis. Remember, all goods passing through must pay more than triple the usual tax; otherwise, they won’t be allowed through.”
Simbat was momentarily stunned, but as a soldier, obeying orders was his duty. He didn’t say much, instead giving a military salute to show his agreement.
“That’s not right, not right! The lord is making a mistake,” Batty spoke up again. “My lord, in the past, no such high taxes have ever been imposed on goods passing through Fort Fortis between the Gavin Empire and the Lanni Empire. Suddenly increasing the tax so much will surely cause great dissatisfaction among the merchants.”
“Hmph!” Du Fan said impatiently. “So what if they’re dissatisfied? To trade between the two countries, they must go through our province. Moreover, those merchants probably make ten times more profit from whatever goods they sell—this is already quite generous of me.”
Hearing Du Fan’s words, Batty fell silent. He understood all of this anyway. He himself had a small caravan. The reason he remained in Doha was simply because it allowed him to hide his identity better. After all, in other provinces, as a small merchant, he wouldn’t be treated with as much respect as he was in Doha.
“If there’s nothing else, you may all leave. Construction starts tomorrow. As for the items that need to be purchased, Batty and I will handle them as soon as possible.” Waving his hand, Du Fan sat motionless in his chair.
“Batty, stay behind.” Seeing the others bow and leave, Du Fan kept Batty.
“Does the lord have any further orders?” Batty said respectfully, bowing his head as he approached Du Fan.

“Do you doubt my abilities? And it seems you have many secrets hidden,” Du Fan said darkly. Not a single reaction from Bati had escaped his notice. If Bati was only doubting him as his lord for the sake of Doha City, Du Fan wouldn’t be upset at all; on the contrary, he would be proud to have found a suitable person. But Bati’s distrust had occurred too many times, and on several occasions, it was even done to impress Elsik.

“Lord, Bati is utterly loyal to you, and he has no secrets to hide,” Bati said, drenched in sweat, though he tried to stay calm.

“Is that so? You should reveal all your secrets,” Du Fan said, staring intently at Bati while gently using his psychic power.

With Du Fan’s current strength, against Bati who knew nothing about magic, it was as if Bati had no chance of resisting even if Du Fan demanded to know how many hairs his wife had.

“I am a fugitive from the Province of Els. After being pursued, I came to Doha City for refuge. I organized my own trading group, but since I couldn’t negotiate with merchant associations from other provinces, my caravan is on the verge of disbanding. I hope the lord can open up these trade routes so that my caravan can survive,” Bati said, his eyes blank, revealing every secret one by one.

With a slight smile, Du Fan withdrew his psychic power and said, “Go back and get ready. Your caravan still belongs to you, but it’s best not to get involved with our territory, otherwise you’ll face proper punishment.”

“Lord, I’ll disband my caravan right away. I’ll never have selfish thoughts again,” Bati said, suddenly sweating profusely as he knelt before Du Fan.

“No need. Your caravan doesn’t have to be disbanded. Go back. Tomorrow we’ll head to the Province of Els where you were pursued.” With a wave of his hand, Du Fan didn’t even look at Bati. But then he suddenly remembered something and asked, “Who is the lord of the Province of Els? What crimes did you commit there? Oh, Almighty God of Light! I hope I can save you, this lost lamb.”

“The lord of the Els Province is Marquis Fernando. Their capital is the city of Mendesa, where I once offended a minor noble by pursuing his daughter, and was later accused of attacking the city guards,” said Bati respectfully. This time he was truly respectful, having witnessed Du Fan’s strength and no longer daring to have any selfish thoughts.

“I will take care of your matter as well.” Standing up, Du Fan didn’t even glance at Bati before heading back to the lord’s mansion.

“You’re back, young master.” As soon as he entered, Old Mark welcomed him happily.

“Grandpa Mark, where have you been? Don’t get busy as soon as you arrive. You should rest more.” Seeing Old Mark, Du Fan felt relieved. Although he was now stronger than Old Mark, he had always relied on him since childhood, so his initial reluctance to offend him had turned into deep respect.

“Thank you for your concern, young master.” Old Mark’s face was full of smiles. Though he had been tired earlier, Du Fan’s words made all his fatigue vanish, filling his heart with warmth.

“Young master, the houses around the lord’s mansion are low, and the mansion itself looks no different from ordinary houses. What if we build a proper mansion first? It would improve your safety and reflect your status as a lord.”

“Thank you for your concern, Grandpa Mark. But the most urgent task now is building the city walls. We can discuss the mansion later,” said Du Fan with a smile.

In fact, if it weren’t for the need to return to the capital soon, even in such ordinary houses, Du Fan could set up traps to deal with anyone who tried to harm him.

Old Mark nodded. He could no longer gauge Du Fan’s strength, but since Du Fan was so confident, he didn’t want to say anything. He would just be more vigilant to prevent any problems.

Returning to his room, everything was exactly as Du Fan had expected. Not only had the wrinkled luggage been replaced, but the wooden bed was also made of high-quality pear wood, showing Old Mark’s care for Du Fan.

……

“Heyo, heyo!”

Just as dawn was breaking, the sounds of those men starting work came from afar. Their loud shouts echoed throughout the city of Doha, even waking Du Fan up.

After a quick wash, Du Fan turned and left his room.
“Lord, you’re up so early? We can have breakfast in a bit.” Lilith seemed to have joined the others in working as well; her face was covered in sweat, and her noble attire was nowhere to be seen. Now she was dressed in ordinary civilian clothes, yet even that couldn’t hide her stunning beauty.
Unusually, Du Fan’s face turned red. Even a noble like Lilith was out working, which meant that everyone in Doha City, except for the children who couldn’t work, had already been working for a long time. It was indeed embarrassing for Du Fan, as the lord, to have just woken up, awakened by shouts. For ordinary nobles, such things would be normal, but Du Fan was determined to treat his people equally.
He hurried out of the lord’s mansion and saw a long row of carriages parked in the square. Bati stood in front of them, waiting respectfully.
“Young master, our carriage is ready too.” At that moment, the old servant Old Mark came to Du Fan’s side, along with Du Fan’s old carriage.
With a grateful smile, Du Fan waved for Bati to come over and ride in the same carriage as him, so it would be easier to ask questions.
Perhaps due to the shock of yesterday’s events or out of fear of Du Fan, Bati said nothing after boarding the carriage. He just sat there with his head down, like a student punished for making a mistake.
“Bati, don’t be nervous. Some things are in the past. As long as we can progress well from now on, it can be made up for.” After observing Bati for a while, Du Fan sighed and tried to comfort him.
In fact, Du Fan was also frustrated. He had to comfort his subordinate, as such authority wasn’t easy to establish. But if he became too strict and made Bati hesitant to act, that wasn’t what Du Fan wanted either.
“Lord, I already informed them yesterday. Although my caravan won’t be disbanded, it will all be under Doha City’s control. This time, I brought all the carriages except those needed to transport stones. My caravan is now waiting in Mendesa City—twenty-three carriages in total.” Bati still didn’t lift his head, showing how afraid he was of Du Fan’s reaction.
Shaking his head, Du Fan said nothing. He knew that no matter what he said, Bati would never dare take back that caravan.