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Chapter 126
The Marquis decided to try persuading him as gently as possible.
“You can teach him gradually and help him grow into the position. Just as you helped me build the Pieren Merchant Guild.”
“I’m old now, Your Excellency. It’s time for me to retire.”
“Don’t say that. Just help me a little longer. He’s my son, so he’ll learn quickly.”
William did not readily answer.
“Nathaniel, go outside for a moment.”
In the end, the Marquis, growing impatient, sent Nathaniel out.
Once only the two of them remained in the room, the Marquis suddenly grabbed William’s hand.
“My friend, we’ve been together for so many years. How can you really do this to me? When my son took his first steps, didn’t you say that you would have to work hard so that one day you could hand the Pieren Merchant Guild you had helped build over to Nathaniel?”
“Your Excellency.”
William sighed.
“Please give up on your son.”
“You!”
“Everyone is born with different talents. And in my eyes, your son simply does not have what it takes to lead a merchant guild.”
“You can’t make such a conclusion just because he hasn’t produced any results in a few years!”
“The Vice Guild Master has accomplished more than that in just six months.”
The Marquis flinched.
It was the reality he had been desperately trying to avoid.
“Besides, Corners and Lupen already genuinely follow the Vice Guild Master.”
“Those two?”
“They seem to have been deeply impressed that His Highness the Crown Prince bestowed a golden shovel upon the guild. Until now, the Pieren Merchant Guild had never even received a small award from the Imperial Family.”
“That may be true, but…”
“They are supporting the Vice Guild Master while looking forward to the possibility that His Highness the Crown Prince himself will visit once the redevelopment of the Dostik area is complete.”
“That’s absurd.”
The Marquis felt dizzy.
No wonder Rosenia had been so confident when she stood before him.
Corners and Lupen were two of the people who possessed special authority granted by the Marquis, along with William.
With those two on her side, she must have had something to rely on.
“William, you won’t betray me, will you?”
The anxious Marquis asked in a trembling voice.
If even William sided with Rosenia, he would truly have no choice but to hand the position of Guild Master over to her.
If Corners, Lupen, and William unanimously demand that the owner of the merchant guild be replaced, the current owner of the merchant guild shall be unconditionally obligated to comply. However, the new candidate for Guild Master must be an employee of the merchant guild who has achieved results worthy of recognition by everyone.
That was the contract they had upheld since the guild was founded.
“I know Nathaniel doesn’t meet your expectations. But please give him one more chance. Take him around with you for a month—or no, just a week—and put him to the test. Please. I’m asking you.”
The Marquis swallowed his pride and pleaded earnestly.
William let out a deep sigh.
“All right. I understand. So please, stop.”
“William! I knew I could count on you to take my side!”
“I simply want to prevent the Pieren Merchant Guild from falling into division.”
“Yes, exactly. I feel the same way. That’s why I think the guild should remain in the hands of the person who was originally supposed to inherit it.”
William’s expression was far from cheerful, but the Marquis did not care.
Whether he had to shower William with gold and treasures or use some other means, all he needed was to prevent William from supporting Rosenia.
Then he would still remain the owner of the guild, and he could use his authority as Guild Master to keep Rosenia under control.
For the sake of his beloved son, he was willing to do anything.
“My father came to the guild headquarters first thing this morning?”
“Yes. I heard he brought Nathaniel with him as well.”
“Honestly, Father never deviates even an inch from what I expect.”
I muttered indifferently as I rolled the key to the safe around in my hand.
It was the key to the safe where all of the guild’s bonds and important documents were kept.
And that safe had been newly installed in my office at the Dostik branch, where I was currently staying.
‘At first, I moved my main workplace here because of Icarus, and I brought the documents with me at the same time.’
Now that I thought about it, I was glad I had moved them here.
Thanks to that, I could prepare for my father’s surprise attack.
“Father will definitely try to get access to them. Make sure everything is strictly controlled so that not even minor documents can be taken outside without my approval.”
“Yes, Vice Guild Master.”
“Pay particular attention to preventing any funds from being moved. Everything necessary is here anyway, so there shouldn’t be much he can do on his own… Still, the Guild Master’s seal is in Father’s hands, which is troublesome. Keep a close eye on him so he doesn’t do anything unnecessary.”
“I’ll pass along your instructions.”
I let out a sigh.
Why did I have to go this far?
‘If only he would simply acknowledge me as his heir. Wouldn’t that make everything so much easier?’
But that was unlikely.
So I had to strike first.
The Pieren Merchant Guild was structured so that the Guild Master possessed all authority, but there was a special contract that had existed since the guild’s founding.
If the three people to whom Father had specially delegated authority unanimously demanded that the Guild Master be replaced, the Guild Master was obligated to comply.
Of course, there was a condition that the candidate had to have achieved results worthy of everyone’s recognition.
But I had fulfilled that condition by receiving the golden shovel from the Crown Prince.
‘Two of them are already on my side.’
Corners and Lupen had been working by my side for quite some time.
They seemed to have grown thoroughly sick of serving Nathaniel during the years he had been Vice Guild Master, so I doubted Father could persuade them to change their minds again.
‘The only one who hasn’t changed his mind yet is William.’
He was Father’s longtime friend and the confidant he valued most.
Even now, he was staying at the headquarters rather than the Dostik branch.
‘Father probably went straight to William as soon as he arrived today.’
If I could persuade him, things would become much easier.
“And did you find the person who supposedly stole Nathaniel’s clothes?”
“No.”
Annie shook her head.
“He wasn’t someone we hired. I asked Mr. Dents, and he said that none of the employees had even seen Nathaniel.”
“Then I suppose they really were street thugs. Or perhaps the whole story about the incident occurring near Dents was a lie in the first place.”
What happened to Nathaniel on the street had nothing to do with me.
But I couldn’t tolerate thugs hanging around my stores and going around spouting nonsense about collecting protection money.
“Hire more people and strengthen security around the stores. Also, check whether there have been any groups demanding protection money from the surrounding shops. If you see anyone suspicious, report them all to the patrol.”
“Yes, understood.”
“And before you leave, could you call Corners and Lupen? Tell them to come in immediately. I need to discuss Father and Nathaniel with them.”
“Understood, Vice Guild Master.”
Annie closed the door and left.
I leaned back against the chair.
I had thought that, with Penelope now having departed for the Kingdom of Vorsha and most of the major matters more or less settled, things would finally calm down.
Apparently, I was going to be busy again for a while.
The news that Rosenia and the Marquis of Pieren were at odds over the position of Guild Master spread rapidly from one person to another.
Naturally, the news reached Calix as well.
“The Marquis has finally lost his mind.”
Calix sneered bitterly when he heard the news.
“He intends to make Nathaniel Pieren the Guild Master. There are certainly many ways to choose ruin.”
“The Marquis of Pieren has always been famous for his love of his son.”
“I didn’t think he would still act this way even after seeing Miss Rosenia’s abilities.”
Calix lowered his eyes and spoke darkly.
“Perhaps I should have made that bastard Nathaniel completely incapable of functioning as a human being.”
“Oh, please don’t say things like that. You’re going to give me a heart attack.”
On the day of Penelope’s wedding, Calix’s aide, Dominic, had received an urgent order from him.
He was to determine Nathaniel’s whereabouts immediately and make sure that Nathaniel could not set foot anywhere near the Imperial Palace that day.
As it happened, Dominic had been in the vicinity of Dents to inspect Rosenia’s new business establishment.
Then Nathaniel appeared there, and before Nathaniel could cause a disturbance, Dominic had his knights seize him first.
On top of that, he had continuously interfered from behind to make sure that Nathaniel, who had been stripped of all his clothes, could not easily make his way back to the Pieren Marquisate.
