Interesting realisations about the financial stuff. One solution worth trying would be to invest in the same things as other, even more powerful noble families, at the minimum, the likes of Samona. Then, whoever is creating artificial accidents and disasters for the businesses, would be majorly pissing off powerful people, not just the Rustichel family. Another possibility, if wanting to act more independently for bigger profits (assuming Lippe knows such opportunities), is to directly partner up with another, powerful noble family. It might halve the profits, but it would bring a whole lot of security as the other family would be even more likely to get involved in investigations. Of course both ways of lessening the risks, or at least figuring out something, would require some personal connections, the latter choice a whole lot more.