บท 10: Chapter 10: The Tale of a Lady
After finishing the deal with the woman, Arthur ordered 15 middle-sized merchant ships. The order wasn't anything special, but as Arthur walked away, he had a smile on his face.
...
[ Mora (Female Ship Dealer) POV ]
As I was walking on to a certain place that I hated. My mind couldn't help but contemplate the decisions in my life and how things had gone. Everything had changed once Arthur Redhawk had come last year and made an offer I couldn't refuse.
I was born a lucky woman to a rich merchant household. My father loved and doted on me, I also had three brothers. But… I was still born as a woman.
When my father passed away, no matter how hard I studied or how good I was at managing the money the family business brought in. My father never recognized me as someone to who he would leave his fortune.
When he died, he left it all to my brothers. Who even to this day are so busy fighting against each other for that fortune. By now they had probably forgotten that I even existed or that they even had a sister.
Still, I refused to be some weak little lady that will have to spread her legs for some fat and ugly merchant. So I started my own business. After all, living in Braavos, there was one thing that is always in demand but never enough supply.
That was ships! Even my father had to wait in line when he wanted a new ship, and even then it would usually arrive a couple of days later than experienced.
My business started like any other, I opened a workshop and tried to talk with some merchants to sell them ships. But like always, my gender got in my way. Even offering them half the market price, they wouldn't accept.
That was when the Iron Bank noticed my talents and decided to use me. Unlike others who only saw my gender, the Iron Bank saw me more than that and invested heavily in my business. The ships that came out of the workshop were not only less than half the price in the market when sold to them, but they were also a level higher than them.
No one knew my name, nor did they sing me praises. But it was an undeniable fact that I am the best ship maker in Braavos. After all, I was making ships for the Iron Bank, of course, this was all secret.
The Iron Bank was the strongest bank in all of Essos. The other banks were just credit men (loan sharks) compared to them.
But recently I had learned that I might not be as smart as I liked to think I am. True, there were faults in every person and no one was perfect, I too accept my faults. But 'that' guy, no… that monster! He stripped me of everything I had!..
It all started one year ago, after that 1st initial deal. He came and got me to make some cheap ships for him. But he wasn't satisfied with only that. After some time, a number of my workers started dying in random ways. Some of them even went to work for other workshops that would pay them better.
I tried to keep them here with some enticing offers… but soon, I started losing money and even had to take some loans from the Iron Bank.
But even then I was still losing money, my workers all left and even those who were loyal to me died mysteriously. Then someone bought all my debts from the Iron Bank, and then he called in the collateral and took my company... he took my workers, my legacy, and then he hired a thousand shipbuilders to build him an armada, and then I only became another supervisor in my own company.
That certain someone who took everything from me is Arthur Fray or as he is known now as Arthur Redhawk.
In only ONE year he had become one of the most powerful men in Braavos! Currently, the only organizations that could challenge him in political power were the Iron Bank and the Guild Union of the Sea Lord. He had a fleet of 350 ships, 300 of them for trade, and 50 to protect these trades.
He also got himself, 50 Personal Guards
300 Guards for his business, 100 Accountants, 350 Ship Captains,3000 Sailors. He had become a powerful man in his own right.
Also the person I suspected killed my workers was him. After all, he didn't get rich just because he had three hundred fifty ships. No, he got rich because when he came in there were other merchant businesses. There was competition amongst them and only the best could survive.
Then they started dying in random and mysterious ways like one of them died while walking and a vase was dropped in his head. Another slipped and fell into the canals, drowning to death.
There was also this who got killed by his victim when he tried to rape someone, and they left a gap in the trade. Then conveniently Arthur, FUCKING, Redhawk came in to just nicely fill in the gaps.
That reeked of foul play! Even if there was no proof, there was obviously an incentive that pointed straight at him as the biggest benefactor from these people's deaths.
As those thoughts raged in my mind, I noticed that I had arrived at my destination. In front of me stood a large three-floored mansion with a large iron fence around it. The mansion grounds also had a large front garden with flowers and trees. The place was littered with guards patrolling the surroundings.
It was irritating to think about it, but each of them was loyal to Arthur. Or more correctly, loyal to his gold. They said that he paid the best in all of Braavos, even the normal servants got paid three gold a year. So he had definitely bought their loyalty.
As I walked to the front gates, one of the guards looked at me. Bet they were surprised, after all, there had been no notification of my arrival here. I wanted to take the owner of this place by surprise.
But unlike I expected, the guard only nodded in my direction. "Lord Redhawk has been expecting you, my lady."
DAMN IT! This was what I hated about Arthur Redhawk, he always knew what was happening! Like a little fuckìng creep! He knew way too much about everyone and everything.
Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself down. This wasn't too surprising, Arthur Redhawk might be a scumbag, but he wasn't incompetent.
But I was prepared this time. I remembered the aggressive approach he made during our first deal. Or as he called it, blackmail. Let's see how he will like some of his own medicine.
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