xymnovel Chapter 63 Setting a Trap
Chapter 63 Setting a Trap
When Daniel's fleet arrived at the port of Venice, his steward was already waiting respectfully on the dock with the merchant guild's apprentices and laborers. The steward quickly instructed everyone to unload the cargo, and then hurried toward Daniel. Seeing that his master was bidding a warm farewell to two distinguished guests, he tactfully stopped a few steps away and stood respectfully with his hands at his sides.
Daniel was enthusiastically trying to persuade the two "Trabzon nobles" to stay: "You two must be tired from your journey. Why don't you stay the night at my trading post? There are several courtyards behind the post for guests to rest. I would be happy to reserve the highest-class room for you. I will discuss it with the governor and then give you my answer..."
Balian's face remained worried. He shook his head, his voice urgent: "I'm sorry, Your Excellency. We still need to find that Lombard merchant. If we can't find him in Venice, we'll go to Milan." As he spoke, his voice lowered, "Although our family has declined, we are not someone that can't even protect a single good-for-nothing can afford to mess with."
Daniel nodded repeatedly in understanding, his words filled with concern: "In that case, I cannot insist that you stay. If you need anything in Venice, the doors of my St. Mark's Trading Company will always be open to you. As for that Robert... I will keep an eye on him for you, but right now, relations with... the Turks are more important."
As he watched the two figures disappear into the crowd at the dock, Daniel's obsequious smile gradually faded. He turned around, and the butler immediately came forward, lowering his voice to report, "Master, that Lombard Robert has suddenly come to the Chamber of Commerce for some reason and is waiting in the drawing room right now. He seems... quite anxious."
Robert? What's he doing here at this hour? Did he catch wind of something? A flicker of doubt crossed Daniel's mind, but it was quickly replaced by a cat-and-mouse-like confidence. Even if he knew something, what trouble could he possibly cause in Venice now?
"Oh?" Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Then let's go see what insurmountable obstacle this old friend has encountered."
……
When Robert was led into Daniel's reception room, Daniel was facing away from the door, leisurely admiring the sight of thousands of sails passing by on the canal outside the window. He deliberately made Robert wait in silence for a moment before slowly turning around, his face instantly filled with just the right amount of surprise and concern.
"Oh! My dear Lord Robert!" Daniel's voice was full of enthusiasm. He stepped forward as if to embrace him, but stopped at just the right distance. "Let me think... wasn't the last time we met at the banquet hosted by Governor Sebastiano to celebrate the Alliance's valiant army's victory over Redbeard? You were in the limelight then!"
His gaze swept quickly over Robert's slightly worn but still respectable robes and his somewhat disheveled, no longer splendid beard, revealing a hint of exaggerated regret. "Merciful Lord, what... what has happened to you? Please sit down and talk."
Robert ignored the other person's pleasantries and went straight to the chair, sitting down almost exhausted.
"Mr. Daniel," Robert began with difficulty, forcing out a hoarse sentence, "I urgently need a loan. Five hundred thousand gold nomies, monthly interest rate... ten percent!" He paused, then, fearing Daniel might refuse, added, "German silver pence, German dinars... those will do!"
The outrageously high interest rate made Daniel's pupils shrink, but he remained expressionless, slowly wiping a porcelain cup from the East.
"Mr. Robert, I sympathize with your situation. But I remember your business has always been stable, so why do you suddenly need such a huge sum of money? And a 10% monthly interest rate... that's a figure only the devil would propose. Are you sure you want to go down this path?"
"Times have changed!" Robert raised his voice somewhat uncontrollably, then forcefully suppressed it, slamming his hands on the table. "My goods in Jerusalem... ran into some trouble. But my properties in Milan are worth far more than that! Just one month, just one month! My new ship will be back from Jerusalem, and I can pay off the principal and interest! But now, my creditors in Milan and Venice, and even the nobles of Jerusalem, are practically at my doorstep!"
Daniel sneered inwardly. He knew perfectly well what Robert's "accident" was, but he remained impassive: "Mr. Robert, I advise you to be cautious. Lending money is no joke... And why did you have to come to me?"
Robert almost shouted, "I'm not joking, Mr. Daniel! I've gone to the banks, but they won't lend to non-citizens! Your reputation in Venice is well-known, that's why I've come to you!"
"I see... 10% monthly interest..." Daniel pondered. "Robert, we're friends, but such a risk... what if your fleet 'accidentally' suffers another setback? I've heard that piracy has been rampant lately."
Robert's face turned deathly pale instantly, revealing his greatest fear.
"No! No way! This time it'll be foolproof! Daniel, for the sake of our years of friendship, give me a hand! I can use my trading post in Milan and all my inventory as collateral!"
"Friendship, how easy he is to put it..." Daniel sneered inwardly, starting to do some mental calculations. If Robert succeeded, he would reap astonishing interest; if Robert encountered the "accident" orchestrated by Zahir, he could conveniently seize Robert's assets in Milan. By any measure, it was a sure-fire way to make money. Moreover, he had just invested heavily in that batch of Trabzon silk and needed such a windfall to quickly recoup his losses.
"Alright, Robert," Daniel finally offered a seemingly sincere smile. "Friends are supposed to help each other in times of trouble, but this interest rate is outrageously high. Even for the sake of our friendship, I can't take advantage of him. How about this, five percent, that's the fairest market price."
Robert's lips were pressed tightly together, his facial muscles twitching as if he were engaged in a fierce internal struggle. Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he cast a grateful look at Daniel: "...Deal."
Daniel immediately summoned the clerk and dictated a loan agreement with extremely harsh terms. Robert barely glanced at it before signing his name with trembling hands.
Watching Robert's unsteady departure, Daniel buried himself deep in the cushions of his chair, reaching for the Star of David he wore inside the lining, a smile on his face a mixture of shrewdness, hypocrisy, and extreme self-satisfaction.
"Great, one and only God, Jehovah..." he murmured to himself, his eyes gleaming with a gambler's fervor, "You have indeed favored your loyal servant. See, even fate is on my side."