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Chapter 41
It was trouble after trouble. If they bought the merchant guild under Hider’s name, Kiera would surely find out.
Sigh, so complicated.
“Then, Young Master, should you sneak out without anyone knowing?”
“…If it’s possible. As long as I can get out and return undetected, I can take care of everything. Count Zeck, who’s in charge of the bank, is on my grandfather’s side.”
“Then let’s go together, Young Master. I’ll make sure no one notices, and we’ll be in and out safely.”
“How?”
Lady Luella quickly covered Hilden’s mouth. There was one legend passed down in this mansion:
Never ask Rani how.
Honestly, I didn’t know either. I had no idea why the status window was going so far to support me. I just shrugged.
“Then I’ll visit Viscount Aros tomorrow and explain everything. We can call Count Zeck to Aros’s estate and take care of everything at once, right?”
“You want to move the money into Aros’s account?”
“We’ll draft a contract and appoint a proxy. Viscount Aros will act as your representative, Young Master.”
Sir Hilden’s eyes lit up with interest as he patted my head.
“How can you be this smart? What could possibly be inside that tiny head of yours?”
“Thank you!”
Well, I am the pillar of this household, after all.
“So the Cartieron Guild will become Young Master Hider’s now.”
“Let’s go with Rani’s plan.”
And with that, the discussion came to a close.
Money really does make the world go round. No matter how complicated or difficult things are, they can be solved with cash in this capitalist society.
Still, despite everything—
I really missed Taibern.
Meanwhile…
Hider swung his sword through the early morning hours. There was nothing like training to clear the thoughts from his mind.
No matter how hard he trained or how much he read, the gap between him and Rani remained wide. Even with all his effort, catching up to her wasn’t easy.
“Hoo…”
Once again, Rani’s clever thinking would save the ducal house from another crisis. Every time they staggered, Rani was the one to give them a push forward. Despite her small body.
And she had so much less than Hider did.
“Why am I always…”
Hider looked down at his hands. Instead of protecting Rani, he always ended up being the one protected.
Self-loathing weighed heavily on him.
He let out a sigh and clenched his fist. He wished he could at least excel at one thing.
Rani always said it was okay because he’d started late, but he still wanted to break past that limit.
At the end of all his thoughts, there was always Rani. With steady breath, he raised his sword again and pointed it toward the rising sun. Then slowly began practicing his sword forms from the basics.
One breath, two breaths, three.
Hilden had always said every movement should follow the breath. If you lost your rhythm, you’d be swept away.
Hilden’s swordsmanship resembled Taibern’s. The two had trained together since childhood.
Hilden had also been raised as the next Knight Commander, trained in the essence of Cartieron.
Following the teachings of both men, Hider carefully moved through each step.
“Haah…”
But still, no aura emerged.
With a disappointed face, Hider stared at his sword. He was nowhere near good enough to earn Exilon’s approval.
He gripped the hilt tightly and swung sharply. Disappointed, he sheathed his sword.
As he turned away, he failed to notice the ground behind him had been gouged out.
Delayed, the path of aura he had unconsciously drawn began to fade away.
His talent was slowly getting ready to bloom.
Later…
Busy, busy.
There hadn’t been a day I moved around this frantically. My skills were improving by the day. Even my Thousand-Mile Horse skill was nearly maxed out.
I didn’t know yet what I’d do with all these skills, but they were useful for now, and that was good enough.
I slipped into Viscount Aros’s estate with ease—it had become familiar by now. Viscount Aros was even waiting for me today.
He looked especially anxious now that I paid closer attention. Understandable, since he was about to transfer a perfectly good merchant guild to some shady party. That’d make anyone nervous.
That fox was the enemy of Cartieron. Now I could finally understand why the ducal house was in shambles by the time Hider returned from the war in the original story.
Now that I saw it with my own eyes, it made sense. The novel had said he’d lost everything, and it wasn’t an exaggeration.
“Rani!”
Viscount Aros sprang to his feet.
“You’re here. I’ve been waiting.”
It was probably right after breakfast. That just showed how desperate he was to hear what I had to say.
“Viscount Aros!”
“So, did you speak with the Young Master? What did he say? He mentioned there was a way, didn’t he?”
“Ahem. To get straight to the point—yes. There is a way.”
“…!”
Viscount Aros clasped his hands in prayer. I gave him a moment to bask in the emotion.
“As expected of Taibern’s chosen successor! What did Young Master Hider say?”
“…He said there’s money Taibern gave him to use in emergencies. It’s in a bank account. He’s thinking of using it to directly purchase the merchant guild.”
“That would be simple!”
Well, saying it like that made it sound easy. But of course, it wasn’t.
“But the Young Master has to stay inside Cartieron. As you know, it was Taibern who issued the lockdown. And the only one who can access that bank account is…”
“Himself.”
Viscount Aros slumped back down, clenching his eyes shut, dark clouds gathering on his face again.
“That’s why I’m asking… Would you be willing to serve as the Young Master’s proxy?”
“…His proxy?”
“Yes. As Young Master Hider’s proxy, you would buy the merchant guild in his stead. That way, there’s no risk of him being discovered. It was his idea.”
“But for the contract, he would still need to make a brief appearance.”
“It would just be once, and we can manage that without anyone noticing. The important thing is not getting caught.”
Viscount Aros bit his lip hard. Even he couldn’t deny that this was the best option.
“Let’s do that.”
“But we’ll also need Count Zeck’s help. Do you think he can be trusted?”
“Of course! Count Zeck and even Viscount Nathan would do anything to get out from under the Duchess’s control! Right now, I’m tempted to head north and find Taibern myself!”
That was a relief.
Anyway, Count Zeck was already registered as a supporter, so I could just monitor his betrayal points later.
“Young Master Hider will be pleased. So all the problems are solved now?”
“There’s still the deal to carry out. The Duchess must be in urgent need of funds—she’s trying to sell off the guild as fast as she can. But the negotiation needs to go smoothly.”
“And we must make sure the Duchess never finds out about Young Master Hider’s involvement. She won’t tolerate any success on his part.”
“You’re right, Rani. Whew… Please tell the Young Master he can leave the rest to me. After all he’s done, I have to do something too.”
“Yes, Viscount!”
It looked like the conversation had gone well, didn’t it? Another crisis averted.
Seriously, it’s like walking barefoot on thorns. According to the original novel, Hider went through all of this alone. That’s just awful. No wonder he turned out so twisted.
He never trusted anyone, and despite being the male lead, he was cold and harsh.
The female lead also suffered a lot when she met him. They met after he returned from the war, and she proposed a contract marriage—that’s where the original story began.
All because of a miserable childhood.
I was glad I was by his side now. Hopefully, from here on out, things will go more smoothly… Seriously.
