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Chapter 52
“They told me they’d pay the same amount as last time.”
Wow. How shameless can you be? Do they even know how valuable the Del Merchant Guild is right now?
Whenever rumors spread that the Del Guild was about to release a new herbal product, noblewomen sent their maids in droves to beg for a chance to buy it.
Among all the guilds backed by powerful nobles, none was more in the spotlight than Del.
Del Guild was the trend. Everyone knew it.
“On top of that, they raised a huge fuss demanding Cho-Pa pellets and Hibis drinks… It didn’t matter how many times I told them we were low on stock and had a long waitlist.”
Viscount Aros’s face darkened. That vixen was fully capable of something like this. She lived in a delusion that the world revolved around her.
“I don’t know what to do, young master. She threatened to charge us with noble defamation and disobedience if we didn’t comply. She even said she’d mobilize people to shut down our business.”
Viscount Aros looked like he was about to cry. He must have been through a lot. Hider let out a dry laugh.
“Even success is a problem now.”
“Yes, even if I complain to other high-ranking nobles who made prior reservations, it won’t help. They don’t want to cause any public conflict. Especially now that the princess and Lord Karte are officially engaged.”
As in the original story, Karte and Princess Siela were engaged. Later, the princess would abandon Karte and desperately cling to Hider instead.
Of course, Hider never even gave her a glance. She was meant to be one of the villains tormenting the heroine.
The emperor, unable to risk conflict with Hider, had eventually forced Siela and Karte to marry.
And during the wedding, the most iconic line was:
“I don’t want to live with that ugly, stupid bastard!”
Honestly, I felt the same way. But that was a future problem. The current issue was Kiera’s tyranny.
Hider didn’t seem to have a solid solution yet. Maybe it was time to use a slightly underhanded trick? Should I drop a hint?
“How about using public opinion?”
“What do you mean, Lani?”
“Ah, well, I heard this from a few places… Even if high-ranking nobles avoid public conflict, they talk behind each other’s backs like crazy.”
Just look at the maid network. They know everything. Even how many forks someone has in their kitchen becomes gossip.
“How do we use that?”
Oh, these innocent men…
“For example… Hmm. Let’s say someone goes to deliver Cho-Pa pellets and tells them, ‘This is the last batch available. The Duchess Kiera snatched the rest.’ Of course, you have to say it more tactfully.”
Basically, I was suggesting we plant some gossip. Hider picked up on it right away.
“We should also hold back any remaining stock. Until every accusation starts pointing at Duchess Kiera. If possible, we could even leak rumors that the guild might have to shut down because of her.”
“Shut down…?”
“We just say things like there’s pressure from Aites and the guild might have to temporarily close. You know, vague but alarming.”
Right now, the Del Guild’s biggest source of income was from nobles—especially noblewomen. Could Kiera survive if she made enemies of them all?
I highly doubted it.
And our Hider… He really is the kind who understands one and figures out ten. I looked at him with pride.
Viscount Aros’s expression brightened a little.
“I’ll do everything I can, young master.”
“By the way, do we supply anything to the imperial palace?”
“Of course. Cho-Pa pellets, beauty water, Hibis drinks—lots of things. The head maid usually makes the purchases on behalf of Her Majesty. I even heard the Hibis drink was served at the empress’s brunch.”
“Then that’s where we’ll start. I heard Karte and Princess Siela have been acting all high and mighty lately. Let’s see how the duchess handles this.”
Viscount Aros clapped his hands. The imperial palace stood above Aites in authority. It was the perfect opponent to crush Kiera.
“Thank you so much! I’m really glad I confided in you. Ah, and by the way, I acted on the advice you gave me earlier. Both Count Zek and Viscount Nathan have started their parts.”
Viscount Aros’s tone was now excited.
“In the recent auction, Viscount Nathan secretly bought a mine, and Count Zek funded the loan. They plan to report it to the duchess later, claiming it was an abandoned mine.”
“So she’ll think they wasted money. What kind of mine was it?”
“A diamond mine.”
Viscount Aros’s eyes sparkled. He looked thrilled, thinking it could produce even greater returns than the emerald mine he’d lost before.
“The profits will all be stored in the bank’s vault account. If you ever need it, just say the word.”
He said to speak up if needed. If needed. Then maybe I could speak up a little?
I remembered something. There was a time coming when pollution would spread nationwide. That would cause a spike in the price of iron, as all the lords would rush to buy metals to forge weapons and armor.
There would be a brief moment when iron would be more expensive than gold.
“…How about buying an iron mine in advance? In Cartieron, iron is always in demand.”
Viscount Aros looked toward Hider, who gave a short nod.
“Let’s go with that.”
“Yes, sir! I’ll take care of it!”
Aros didn’t question it further. He smiled contentedly and nodded.
Of course, there were other original plotlines with investment-worthy opportunities. And since all the profits went to Hider, it wasn’t a waste.
I could bring those up later.
What mattered now was that we were safely and smoothly overcoming every obstacle. Very good.
* * *
At that moment.
While Hider and Lani were out with dozens of herbal bundles, an emergency meeting was held at Cartieron.
At the request of the maids and servants, Lady Luella had gathered everyone.
“Why am I here?” asked Sir Hilden, tilting his head.
“You’re the eldest among us. Of course, you had to be here,” Lady Luella replied firmly.
Sir Hilden nodded. Well, if she said so.
He bit into an apple.
He had long since stopped questioning how crops grew all year round, regardless of the season.
It was thanks to that he could enjoy fresh apples even in early spring.
“There was a suggestion raised. Some people think it’s time to get Lani married off.”
“Married?”
Sir Hilden’s eyes widened. Lady Luella sighed.
“The idea is to take precautions before problems arise.”
Lani was now sixteen. A bit young, but not too early for marriage by their standards.
“This is about the young master, isn’t it?”
Luella nodded.
“Of course, we know Lord Tybern sees Lani as someone special. But this is a different issue altogether.”
She rubbed her forehead. When Tybern had asked her to look after Lani, she never imagined it would come to this.
“It’ll be a thorny path. Even if Lord Tybern returns, it won’t be an easy road. Marrying her off to someone like Benjamin might be the wiser choice.”
The boy named Benjamin blushed. He was the only servant around Lani and Dania’s age.
He scratched the back of his neck.
“Wait a minute.”
Dania cautiously raised her hand.
“What about Lani’s opinion? Isn’t her say the most important?”
“…Then should we ask her—”
“No. This could backfire badly.”
The maids and servants all sighed in unison. It was a delicate and worrying issue, no doubt about it.
