Chapter 50: Securing a Big Shot (10)

The outcome of this competition had more or less been decided.

Unlike Echina, who made an effort to keep a neutral expression, the other heirs didn’t look pleased.

“Before we end the meeting, I have one question.”

Eric, who was standing in as the Grand Duke’s representative in the meeting room, spoke.

He looked at me seriously, now that I was set to do a project with the royal family, and asked,

“Julius Roger, how did you persuade Bennet?”

The other heirs must have been curious too—they all turned to look at me at once.

Same with the fellow students.

They were beginning to feel increasingly alienated by how I kept pulling off the impossible.

“How did you, alone, bring back a master singer even the royal family failed to reinstate?”

As if answering the question, I placed my hand over my left chest.

Then, I lowered my head in a polite bow.

“Yes. It wasn’t an easy task.”

I drew out the prepared line like a weapon.

“While attending a charity party in Old Luton, I happened to ‘run into’ him. I recognized him thanks to his elegant appearance, quite unusual for a vagrant.”

It wasn’t a lie.

I was just stating as much as was necessary.

“After exchanging names, I took the chance to suggest he return to the stage. But he declined, saying there would no longer be any audience waiting for him.”

“Considering he was suspected of being a spy and scorned in this country, of course he would…”

Freya, well-versed in the art world, chimed in.

Encouraged by her, I added with a sly smile,

“So I thought long and hard. Who out there might still miss him?”

The heirs paused to think about who that might be.

Then, the eldest, Eric, furrowed his brow and spoke up.

“Don’t tell me…”

“Yes, that’s right. The refugee children he saved.”

I pulled a hotel key from the inner pocket of my suit, engraved with their names.

The VIP key issued for smooth monthly meetings with Bennet.

“While the other students prepared for the performance, I contacted them and invited them to the hotel.”

I searched for the children, who could’ve been anywhere in the kingdom.

And I did it within just four weeks.

“Because they were the ones who truly missed Bennet.”

Debier tilted his head, intrigued by my reckless bet.

Then, with a grave expression, he asked,

“What made you take such a risky gamble? If you hadn’t found them, it would’ve just been a waste of time.”

Echina also looked at me with a serious, unreadable face.

To their questions, I closed my eyes for a moment.

And as I exhaled briefly—

“Well, because the Grand Duke said he wanted a singer on Bennet Tolkien’s level.”

I gave them the perfect answer that everyone wanted to hear.

“If he wants something, isn’t it the secretary’s job to make it happen, no matter what?”

At my words, said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, silence settled over the meeting room for a moment.

Then, for the first time in his life, Debier let out a small chuckle in front of everyone.

“I see. ‘Because the Grand Duke wanted it, it had to be done,’ huh…”

To Debier, who had lived for thirty years as the steward of the family…

It was the most perfect answer.

“I’ll deliver that message to His Grace, Julius Roger.”

With a satisfied expression, Debier lifted his monocle.

My serious face was reflected in the lens.

“With that, I’ve conveyed all of His Grace’s instructions.”

The Chief Secretary addressed everyone with a visibly more relaxed face.

Afterward, he burned the Grand Duke’s letter in the fireplace of the office.

“His Grace will return in three days, so please carry out your duties as usual until then.”

With Debier’s final words, the meeting came to a close.

The first to rise was Freya.

She lightly patted Echina’s shoulder and passed by indifferently.

As if she had luckily secured a capable subordinate.

On the other hand, the two sons didn’t bother to hide their dissatisfaction.

That Echina, who had only just returned to the Academy, would be in charge of the joint project with the royal family?

“Debier, isn’t it too much to give such a large event to someone who just became an adult?”

Eric, with his arms folded alone, spoke calmly.

Edward stroked his mustache and added,

“He’s right. This is reckless. Father must have made an emotional decision out of joy.”

However, even at the sight of the two sons, Debier only maintained his leisurely expression.

“Well, I’m simply conveying His Grace’s orders. You can discuss the details when His Grace returns.”

Echina quietly watched her brothers talking to the Chief Secretary as if she wasn’t there.

Then, she rose from her seat and interjected,

“It’s fine. I may lack experience, but I have something you two don’t.”

That she had something the superior sons lacked—

At those words, the two men looked at their sister with indifferent eyes.

In response, Echina elegantly placed her hand over her chest and spoke.

With the sharp gaze inherited from her father.

“You know, the ‘competent talent’ Father always talks about.”

The Grand Duke’s daughter said so, then glanced back at me.

And showed a sly smile that she didn’t often reveal.

I bowed my head politely to hide my expression.

“I’ll take my leave too, Debier.”

Echina passed the line of fellow students indifferently.

Then, she paused briefly in front of me…

“See you this afternoon, Roger.”

With a proud gesture, she lifted a single strand of my fringe that had fallen out of place.

“……!!”

At that sight, Lucun and Tobang, standing on either side of me, visibly twitched under their eyes.

Especially Tobang—his lips even parted slightly in surprise.

“I’m sorry, Grand Duke’s daughter. The Chief Secretary has physical training scheduled for this afternoon.”

I responded with dull eyes to the offer from a peer woman of striking beauty.

The two fellow students stared blankly at my response.

However, the surprising part had only just begun.

When I refused her, Echina crossed her arms and, right in front of everyone…

She came in very close.

“That’s why I told you to come out.”

She looked up at me and whispered softly.

Then, she turned and left the meeting room, her radiant black hair fluttering behind her.

Leaving behind a faint scent of fig.

“……”

Eric quietly watched the Grand Duke’s daughter walk away.

Then, he sipped water and waited until even the cadets had exited the room.

Like a lion lying in wait, eyeing the throne of the leader.

「――――――」

After the announcement, on the way down to the first floor.

The fellow students began to leave for their respective cities to wrap up the Founding Festival.

Under normal circumstances, I would’ve headed straight for Old Luton like them.

But I chose to remain at the mansion, following Echina’s words to see her in the afternoon, and began planning the next step.

A grand plan to seriously expand my reach.

‘I already have a good sense of which assets will skyrocket in the future.’

The problem was capital.

Even though the value of my hotel and land had soared sky-high, I had no intention of selling them anytime soon.

Old Luton would soon stabilize as an upper-class city that lays golden eggs.

While thinking alone about alternative options and heading down the stairs—

I heard someone descending the circular staircase behind me.

“Julius Roger.”

Turning my head, I saw a man in a white uniform.

Short-cropped blue hair and piercing eyes.

It was Dean, the man who would rise to the position of Escort Captain of the Grand Duke’s House in my previous life.

“Yes, I’m here.”

“Would you come with me for a moment.”

Tobang, who had been about to board a carriage, paused at the sight.

He looked coldly at me as I followed Dean toward the hunting grounds behind the mansion.

“……”

But I didn’t respond in any particular way.

Because the man I was about to face was stronger and more vile than him.

Hiding my expression, I followed the knight into the wooded path behind the mansion.

I knew where I was headed now.

The hunting grounds that only the sons of the Grand Duke’s House were permitted to enter.

“I brought him as ordered, Young Lord.”

As we entered the hunting grounds, I saw the second son, Edward.

He was seated in a chair beside a round table, staring out at the deep blue horizon.

“Good work, Dean.”

“I’ll start patrolling the perimeter.”

The senior sword expert knight moved away swiftly.

He was likely standing guard, ensuring no one was eavesdropping.

“Have a seat, Roger.”

“Greetings, Young Lord.”

I sat across from him with a cold, unreadable face.

On the round table sat a golden goblet and a bottle of whiskey.

“Were you planning to go to the hotel?”

“No. I was planning to stay at the mansion.”

Edward silently poured the caramel-colored liquor into the glass.

“I’ve heard about your accomplishments. You invested early in Old Luton and gained considerable wealth, even established its image as a cultural city.”

As one of the Grand Duke’s prominent heirs, his information network was impressive.

“You flatter me.”

“And then, to find a singer my father likes, you even tracked down refugee children from a foreign country…”

Edward let out a scoff, as if he still couldn’t believe it.

“I quite like people like you.”

The second son pushed the golden goblet toward me.

“The type that’s desperate, willing to give everything for success.”

My face reflected off the surface of the goblet.

The lifeless expression from my days as Chief Secretary.

“Your progress so far is impressive. Even that harsh father of mine is said to be proud of you.”

Edward rose from his seat.

Then, he picked up a flintlock rifle that had been resting atop the round table.

“But you’ve made one critical mistake.”

‘I made a mistake?’

I furrowed my brow while he turned his head toward the horizon.

Then, securing the rifle’s stock to his shoulder, he spoke.

“And that mistake is still ongoing.”

“Forgive me, but may I dare ask what that is?”

I asked with a serious gaze.

At that moment—

――――――.

A chilling gunshot rang out, and gunpowder scattered into the air.

“You chose a hopeless master.”

Edward glanced back at me as he spoke.

In his silver hair and eyes lurked a carnivore’s madness.

“No matter how talented a subordinate is, what use is that if their master is worthless?”

The Grand Duke’s son raised a finger toward the direction he had fired.

And from the nearby brush, Dean stepped out—the man I had seen earlier.

“Just another piece of prey caught along with the rest.”

Dragging a deer with its neck pierced through.

“That’s what your future looks like.”

Edward had always been incredibly athletic.

He had never once lost first place at any hunting event in the social club.

“Talented people, like nails that stick out, are always the first to be pulled.”

He set the used rifle down carelessly on the round table.

The acrid smell of gunpowder pricked at my nose.

“If such people want to survive, they need to choose a master who is strong enough to match them.”

Edward lightly flicked the golden goblet he had offered me.

A clear ringing sound tickled my ears.

“Do you understand what I mean?”

I silently looked at the future head of the family.

Indeed, like the Grand Duke, he had both eloquence and striking looks.

And his ambition to reach the top was identical.

However—

“Yes, I understand very well.”

There was, without a doubt, a stark difference between the two men.

The Grand Duke led his subordinates to fulfill his ambition.

But Edward and Eric only used them like tools.

“For now, stay by Echina’s side.”

The second son grabbed the nape of the doe’s neck that Dean had just brought over.

Then, he looked down at the beast’s tightly shut eyes with satisfaction and said,

“And report to me about any orders that girl gives you.”

Edward asked with a chilling glare, as if demanding confirmation.

“If you carry out the task well, I’ll make sure you’re brought up to the top later.”

The second son of the Grand Duke’s House was now offering me the role of a double agent.

To that, I didn’t respond immediately.

Because when he said “top,”

He meant Eric’s faction.

The two sons had formed an alliance and, after the Grand Duke’s death,

they split the power between them.

“What’s wrong? Doesn’t sit well with you?”

The second son asked again in a relaxed voice.

And then—

“……!”

I suddenly stood up from my seat.

So quickly that even Dean, watching from the side, instinctively reached for his sword hilt.

But he soon relaxed.

“Leave it to me.”

Because I bent at a 90-degree angle and received Edward’s order with deference.

Hiding a very low and contemptuous smile.

“Good. That’s what I like about the capable ones—they catch on fast.”

Edward, momentarily thrown off, let out a short laugh and nodded.

He patted my shoulder and whispered in a sinister tone.

“Well then, let’s see how well you do.”

Just like the old days, when he entrusted all the dirty work to me and promised wealth and honor.

“……”

As those filthy memories briefly surfaced, I lifted my head.

Then, grabbing the whiskey bottle, I said to the second son,

“Well then, may I pour you a drink this time?”

I poured the liquor into the golden goblet.

Then handed it to Edward with a meaningful expression.

As if saying, now it’s your turn.

“Very good. Pour it, then.”

Edward downed the goblet like a true man.

After that, he sent me back to the mansion.

“……”

On the way back alone to the Grand Duke’s mansion—

Before I knew it, it was nearly noon.

At the entrance, a familiar black stallion stood waiting.

“You’re late, Roger.”

The black knight, Echina, leaned casually against one of the mansion’s pillars.

When she saw me, she approached with her hands behind her back, relaxed.

“My apologies, Grand Duke’s daughter. May I ask why you called for me?”

When I bowed and asked politely, Echina quietly looked down the path I had come from.

As if she was already well aware of the hunting grounds at its end.

“I told you, didn’t I? That if you pulled it off again, I’d give you a better reward.”

From behind the black stallion, a horse appeared—

A magnificent steed with a flowing white mane and a glossy coat that shone.

‘Did she really wait here just to give me this…?’

No, that couldn’t be it.

Even if Echina was only twenty-one at the time, she was more than intelligent enough.

The reason she asked to see me in the afternoon was probably simple.

She must have predicted that the other heirs, after witnessing my performance today, would try to win me over first.

So, this was her way of testing my reaction.

“……”

I silently stared at the white horse in front of me.

Then, with a serious gaze, I finally spoke.

“Lady Echina. Before anything else, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Sensing something, she also folded her arms.

And looked at me with a solemn expression.

As if nervous about whether I might actually be swayed by the other heirs.

“Lord Edward summoned me separately just moments ago.”

Echina did her best to maintain a cold, expressionless face.

But I knew.

“So what?”

I knew that she was secretly anxious inside, just now beginning to secure her footing.

Her fingers fidgeted nervously, as if afraid she might lose a competent asset she had finally secured.

But soon, her fingers stopped completely.

“He told me to report back to him about any orders you give me.”

Because I had openly revealed the secret shared between Edward and me.

“What…? Are you even allowed to tell me that?”

The golden irises of the Grand Duke’s daughter wavered slightly.

I looked at her calmly and replied.

“Yes. I figured it wouldn’t matter if I did.”

I stepped toward the white horse she had given me.

And, as I gently stroked its docile head, I spoke.

“You don’t need to give me any orders, Lady Echina.”

At my skillful touch, the horse rubbed its cheek against me as if recognizing its new master.

“I’ll take care of everything before you even ask.”

I mounted the saddle with a firm push.

Then, holding the reins gently, I turned to the stunned Echina and said,

“In that case, there won’t be anything to report to the second son either.”

Perhaps understanding what I meant, her red lips parted slightly.

With an incredulous expression, she pointed a finger at my sly face.

“You really are something else…”

Echina mounted her black stallion.

Then, skillfully turning her horse’s head, she spoke.

“Never mind. Let’s go.”

“Where to, if I may ask?”

Tilting my head slightly atop the white horse, I asked.

Echina pointed her smooth jawline toward the direction of the city.

“Your hotel. Let’s grab a light lunch.”

‘It’s not even ten o’clock yet…’

As I glanced between my wristwatch and Echina—

She abruptly turned her face away and set off first.

“Let’s go. You’re too slow…!!”

I chased after her, puzzled by her sudden haste.

And soon realized.

Echina wasn’t rushing—

She was simply relieved.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep