Really fine jewels cut in specific ways could fetch monumental prices. Size was also a factor. I know that the full haul of the jewels was worth $12 million. I had left half of them behind during the escape. I had no clue how much the remainder that I had was worth in this currency. The appraisal took several days to complete. It appeared to be equal to half the kingdom's yearly tax income. Obviously, the baron could not pay that much. I honestly was not expecting him to do so. When he came to tell me about it he looked solemn. He said "I have no way to pay you what it is worth. Take them back." He had them in a velvet sack. I raised my hands to refuse. "I gave you the right to determine a fair price. If not in coin, I would not refuse residence here and a title. Being knighted is a privilege that is reserved for very few in my world." I told him. His eyes went wide. "You have half a kingdom's value in your hands and you would throw it away for a knighthood and living the life of a jilted guest?" "Not just me. I proved our worth against the bandits with my companions. We all deserve it." I said.
It was then that his eyes narrowed. "Knighting those lewd creatures? That would be worth half the money of the kingdom indeed." he said. "Then that price would be fair enough. I still have my gold. Ill-gotten gains are the norm for a phantom thief. My lair is a hidden place with all the things I could ever want. My friends are all rich and can do whatever they want. I like the thrill of the heist. Spending months making plans. Days just walking the grounds of the score. Breaking in during the dead of night. The thrill of the chase that only turns into a distraction to divert attention from the real ploy. It just so happens that the fifth heist failed and here I am. I just need to lay low long enough for people to forget that it's suspicious that I'm returning." The baron's face was blank. His mouth was just a thin horizontal line. "So that is how an accomplished criminal thinks. You don't need the money. It is just to satisfy the itch for your boredom." he said. "I was born poor. The second heist is when I got rich beyond anything I could deal with. By the time I return to my world, I expect it to all be gone." I told him.
Smirking he said "What? No honor among thieves?" I smiled back. "That, and I will be gone for long enough people will think me dead. I have never been unreachable to my friends for more than a week before." He then looked at me. I said "I had no clue how much the jewels would be worth. Your family is in the position to take the kingdom." His eyes went wide. "That sounds a lot like treason." he said plainly. "You have the power to do what you want now. It's up to you to do research on how to use it." There was a big pause. "I keep forgetting that you are a thief from another world. How would you do it?" I smirked. "In the history in my world, different cultures took marriage very seriously. Some people paid money to marry off their daughters to influential men. Other cultures accepted payment to allow a man to marry their noble daughters. You have enough money in your hands to marry into a minor house of the royal family if they have enough daughters, nieces or cousins." He rubbed his chin for a moment. "We have the bride price. What you say is true. What else?" he asked.
The baron was picking in my brain. "If titles are something that can be purchased or granted via a petition, we can do some more research on it. Depending on the king's temperament, disposition and competence, we might get you advanced." He chuckled. "That is impossible. You don't just get given a title here." I looked at him with a coy smile. "Well, since you are picking at my head for fantastical ideas, you can listen and decided for yourself with all your advisors." He gestured at me. "If he is the type to be bribed or flattered, a few of these jewels for being granted some of his less profitable lands and creating a new title would not be out of the cards. If he is not a competent steward of the royal lands, you might be able to pick off the worst off of the areas and petition to develop it for him if granted a title. Whether you outright petition him in court or bribe him behind the scenes will determine on how likely he would accept either scenario." "From what I've heard from my uncle, he is a man that is vain and foppish." he said. "There you go. Flash some jewels and he'll cave." I nodded.
