Chapter 31: The Birth of a Nouveau Riche (6)

“Once inside, everyone stay pressed against the wall and wait.”

The Chief Secretary opened the massive conference room doors.

In that moment—

The rich scent of fine wood wafted into the hallway.

Soon, what came into view was a long table, and gentlemen seated in a row along it.

I knew who they were.

No—how could I possibly forget?

They were Duke Luton’s closest aides, the elite who governed the North of this empire.

“Ah, Chief Secretary Debier. You’ve brought in some unfamiliar faces, I see?”

Most of them appeared younger than the Grand Duke of the North.

Still, even these men, once they stepped outside this hall and into the city, were men before whom the masses would bow their heads.

“They are secretary candidates, Count Dilman.”

“Ah, is that so? Then Tobang must be here too!”

A middle-aged gentleman removed his hat as he asked.

“Tobang Arman, present.”

The blond candidate confidently raised one hand and replied.

At that, Count Dilman chuckled and gave an approving nod.

“Secretary candidate life treating you well?”

“Yes, the Chief Secretary takes great care of us.”

Debier clasped his hands behind his back in silence.

He remained quiet, standing beside us in a neat line.

“Good, glad to see you’re doing well. You’ve clearly become a proper man.”

In truth, it was this very man who had recommended Tobang’s family to the Grand Duke’s house.

Count Dilman, a figure who ran an industrial company under the Grand Duke of the North, was responsible for one-third of the Luton family’s total revenue.

“Is Windsor here too?”

“Yes, Windsor Confield.”

This time, it was the baron.

Baron Obi, who managed hundreds of carriages and a variety of commercial distribution lines for the Grand Duke’s house.

He looked at the other candidate as if gazing proudly at his own son.

“You’ve sharpened up quite a bit since I last saw you. Seems like it’s about time you started learning the family business.”

“I still have much to learn.”

The nobles who worked under both Grand Dukes all turned to look at the Chief Secretary at once.

With refined smiles, they asked him to take care of the two candidates.

“Debier, please look after these young men. We’re the ones who recommended them, after all.”

It was true.

Every candidate standing here had someone backing them.

Even if not mentioned outright, Lucun and Brook also had personal connections among the nobles seated at this conference.

The only one here with no connections at all—was me.

“His Grace the Grand Duke is entering.”

A voice rang out from the direction of the tightly shut conference room doors, prompting us all to return to our positions.

“Everyone, rise.”

Count Dilman, being the highest-ranking among them, signaled to everyone.

Then, clearing his throat, he stood from his seat.

「…….」

The conference room doors fully opened.

The Grand Duke of the North, dressed in a sharp formal suit, appeared.

――――――

Each time he took a step, the hard sound of his shoes echoed so loudly it felt as if my heart trembled.

Behind him, Debier and Freya followed closely.

They passed by the candidates with the signature cold expressions of the Grand Duke’s house.

The Duke clearly didn’t spare a single glance at the twenty-year-old young men.

However—

「You…」

Right in front of me, the Grand Duke suddenly stopped walking.

Then, he stared sharply into my pitch-black eyes and—

「Julius Roger.」

He called me by name in front of everyone.

“……!!”

It wasn’t the Count, the Grand Duke’s close aide, nor the Baron in charge of distribution.

It was Luton himself—the second most powerful man in the Empire and the master of the Grand Duke’s house—who called me out directly.

Naturally, not just his aides but even the other candidates looked startled.

“Yes, Your Grace. I am Julius Roger.”

Leaving their confusion behind, I answered with a calm expression.

Just as I had in my days as secretary, I placed my fist over my left chest and offered him a formal greeting.

「I look forward to seeing how you take today’s experience.」

With those cryptic words, the Grand Duke made his way to the main seat.

All that remained were the bewildered gazes of the other candidates still staring at me.

“A very good morning, Your Grace.”

Count Dilman, who had been trying to promote Tobang, greeted him in as composed a voice as he could muster.

Following his lead, countless nobles offered their own greetings in turn.

「Be seated. Let’s begin the meeting.」

But true to his cold personality, the Grand Duke merely waved a hand dismissively.

As soon as Luton sat down, all the nobles who had been standing took their seats at once.

The sound of chairs moving made the entire conference room floor tremble.

「What are the main reports for today?」

At the Duke’s question, Debier stepped forward.

And just like that, the long-awaited daily meeting of the Grand Duke of the North’s house began.

“Old Luton.”

Debier unfolded a large map across the long table.

The mana-infused paper began to emit a soft glow, highlighting Nord.

「Give me the details.」

The Grand Duke, arms crossed, gave a command.

When the topic had been the Imperial family, his eyes had been filled with anger, but now, as Old Luton was mentioned, he looked relatively relaxed.

Almost as if he found the situation satisfactory.

“Twenty commercial properties—previously unsellable—have ‘all’ been acquired.”

At that report, the nobles under the Grand Duke’s house all showed astonished expressions.

“All those heavily discounted properties sold…?”

“And all in a single day? Isn’t this the work of a rival family’s operative group?”

But their surprise had only just begun.

The next property the Chief Secretary mentioned held great significance for the Grand Duke’s house.

“The long-neglected ‘Erian Hotel’ has also been purchased.”

It was the Erian Hotel, a building intentionally put up for sale due to the Imperial family’s urban expansion restrictions.

As the final estate left behind by Madam Luton, it had been treated with great care and burdened with a series of complex purchase conditions—

He bought that building?

“Who was it……?!”

“You mean that place that’s been empty for years, suddenly now?”

It could only mean one of two things.

A challenge to the Grand Duke of the North, or confidence bold enough to manage it well enough to earn his satisfaction.

‘And I fall under both.’

I would develop that hotel to the point that even the Grand Duke would be satisfied—and then sell it off for a very high price.

“Who exactly is the buyer?”

“If it’s some nobody, we’ll pressure them until they give up, Your Grace.”

Members of the Empire’s highest elite narrowed their sharp eyes.

Amid that grim atmosphere, the Grand Duke remained silent, alone.

「…….」

A cold silence like a snowy field descended over the conference room.

In that silence, my fellow candidates could only hold their breath.

The bloodlust of the Duke’s aides.

The chilling aura of the Grand Duke’s silence.

It was no easy feat for mere twenty-year-olds to withstand it.

But in that stillness, I lifted my pitch-black eyes firmly.

Because I was the one who bought that hotel.

‘Let’s see. How will he react?’

How would he respond to the fact that a secretary candidate from a commoner background had secured his wife’s final estate?

「You still haven’t figured it out?」

Arms still crossed, the Grand Duke lifted his golden eyes.

Then, as he opened his mouth beneath the radiant glow of the sun pouring in—

All the nobles wore stunned expressions at once.

「The buyer is my daughter, Echina.」

The buyer they had all been so curious about turned out to be someone they knew all too well.

“Lady Echina…?”

“You mean the one in the knight order bought the building…?”

The count and the baron glanced at one another, puzzled.

「Yes. She used one of my aides’ names to make the purchase.」

The second most powerful man on the continent was now asking his aides about his daughter’s intentions.

And his closest aides—Count Dilman and Baron Obi—answered smoothly right away.

“It seems she was concerned it might appear as an emotional purchase motivated by longing for her mother’s memory.”

“Yes. She wanted to show proper respect to Your Grace as well.”

「Indeed. Lately, I’ve been in a foul mood. But thanks to this, I feel a little better.」

Seeing the Grand Duke in a visibly better mood, his aides let out sighs of relief.

However—

The Duke’s joy lasted only for that fleeting moment.

Even his daughter, who had only just turned twenty-one, had managed to bring him some satisfaction.

「So then, what exactly have you all been doing until now?」

He was clearly dissatisfied with the achievements of not only her older brothers but even his older, long-standing aides.

「The development of Old Luton will leave a good impression on the Imperial family when they visit for the Founding Festival. But what results have you brought me?」

“Th-the Luton Industrial Company has just reached double last year’s sales……!!”

Count Dilman quickly answered, and the baron followed suit.

“Our distribution is also currently leading the industry, Your Grace.”

On the surface, these all sounded like commendable achievements.

However, if the Grand Duke of the North had been satisfied with just this much, he would never have become the second most powerful man on the continent.

「And this is what makes you the best in the Empire?」

The Grand Duke raised a massive finger.

Then, as if stabbing with a sharp blade, he pointed straight at Dilman.

「The money you swallow from me has tripled since last year. But your sales have only doubled. And this is what you’re bragging about?」

The Count’s lips trembled.

Even though he was one of only a hundred nobles in the Empire, his legs visibly shook.

「And you, distribution—you’re no different. Number one in the industry? That must be just within the Empire as a whole, right?」

“I-It’s within the Nord region… Nationwide, we’re third……”

That was only natural.

Luton Transport, based in the Empire’s northernmost region, could hardly be expected to outperform the central distribution companies rooted in the capital.

But even knowing that, the Grand Duke demanded nothing less than first place in the industry.

The moment one grows complacent, the future of the business is over.

「While some are working hard to produce results but too humble to show them, what exactly are you so-called aides doing!!」

Luton raised a clenched fist into the air.

Then slammed it down onto the table.

―――――!!

The Grand Duke of the North was neither a knight nor a mage.

And yet, the sheer ferocity radiating from him came from the strength of the man called Luton himself.

He was someone who commanded both knights and mages alike.

“We deeply apologize, Your Grace…….”

“We will strive to reach the top.”

「Haa…….」

The Grand Duke pressed his tense brow with a clenched fist.

Then, after suppressing his anger, he returned to the main topic—Old Luton.

「With real estate transactions increasing in Old Luton and foot traffic surging, once word gets out, public attention will flood in immediately.」

His gaze turned sharp once more.

「And it turns out that Echina isn’t the only one who’s started investing there.」

“Someone else…?”

Count Dilman asked, flustered.

At that, Chief Secretary Debier pointed to the vast western part of the capital marked on the map.

Toward the Grand Duke’s house of Yekaterina.

「The Western Grand Duke’s house has begun to move as well. Boldly laying their hands on northern land.」

“From the West…?!”

What could their motive be?

The aides stared grimly at a city within Nord.

But I—knowing full well the reason—kept a neutral expression on my face.

There was no way they could know about the competition between the two Grand Dukes’ daughters that had begun because of me.

With my pitch-black eyes tightly shut, I remained silent.

「Leonil Yekaterina, that little whelp, must’ve figured it out. That Old Luton is practically an extraterritorial zone kept under check by the Imperial family.」

As long as the Emperor kept it under scrutiny, Old Luton was the one place where one didn’t have to watch the Grand Duke of the North’s reactions.

Knowing this well, Helena had also jumped into the investment game without hesitation.

「Because of that man, a flood of capital will pour into Old Luton.」

“Indeed. It seems the media has already started spreading information. Even the surrounding marquisate and count families are beginning to take interest.”

Debier brought out the noon edition of the Gold Morning newspaper.

There was still an hour left before noon, but it had been secured in advance.

And within it, the data showed that property prices in Old Luton had already tripled.

“They’ve already gone up 1.5 times in just one day…?!”

The upper class always seized information first.

And this time was no different.

Until now, they’d hesitated to invest in Old Luton out of caution for the Grand Duke’s stance, but now that the Western Grand Duke’s house had gotten involved, it was a different story.

Everyone would jump into the investment frenzy.

「How long do you think this phenomenon will last?」

The Grand Duke Luton rose from his seat at the table.

Then, placing his large palm firmly on the tabletop, he asked,

「Can Old Luton catch up to New Luton?」

The count and the baron broke into a cold sweat at his question.

They rolled their eyes about anxiously, trying to calculate the potential rise in prices, and eventually, Dilman spoke up first.

“It’s hard to give a definite answer, but I see it as a temporary phenomenon.”

“Exactly. Even if investments are made now, the current investors are already too late—latecomers face clear limits.”

「So what you’re saying is, there’s no value in investing.」

The Grand Duke’s expression turned cold at their pessimistic outlook.

The count, unable even to wipe the sweat from his brow, stammered his reply.

“N-no, that’s not it…… Based on my calculations, an investment now could yield about 2.5 times the return.”

「…….」

Roughly 2.5 times the profit.

At that, the Grand Duke gave a bitter smile, then turned his gaze to Baron Obi, the man in charge of Luton distribution.

「And what do you think?」

Sensing the Duke’s dissatisfaction with Dilman’s answer, the baron boldly threw out a higher figure.

“I believe it could be closer to five times…!!”

The Grand Duke looked down at the baron’s face without any real interest.

Then, he abruptly turned his head to look at his daughter, Freya.

「Ray, what about you? Do you really think Old Luton’s rise will be limited to fivefold?」

The silver-haired Grand Duke’s daughter gracefully rested her hand on her chin.

Then, blinking her intelligent golden eyes…

She delicately spread both hands and answered her father.

“I think it’ll be about ten times.”

Ten times.

That absurd number left the Duke’s aides visibly shaken.

「…….」

In contrast, upon hearing that, the Grand Duke of the North’s expression softened slightly.

He slowly nodded, acknowledging that at least his daughter had come up with the closest estimate.

However—

The second most powerful man on the continent was not one to be satisfied with just that.

He sought someone who could truly understand his ambition better than anyone else.

「Very well. Does anyone else have a different opinion?」

That was why the Grand Duke cast his sharp gaze across the vast hall.

Scanning the room full of aides, looking for even one person whose thoughts aligned with his own.

「Anyone will do. Speak freely.」

I knew that what he wanted from his aides wasn’t blind obedience stifled by pressure—but an honest answer, unshaken by atmosphere.

However—

「Even if you’re just a candidate.」

His eyes were looking directly at me.

Among all the candidates, he was staring into my lifeless pupils.

“……!”

At the word “candidate,” the Empire’s power players all turned their heads at once.

Every one of them looked at us with cold, probing stares.

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