Chapter 179
Chapter 179
Master of the Trade Route (16)
Edward had left Angde.
The entire journey back, his expression remained utterly vacant.
Was it because he’d lost the territory he had built with his own hands in an instant?
That wasn’t the reason. Not such a worldly one, anyway.
If anything, he felt relieved to be free from the imperial attacks.
What truly left him hollow was the difference in character.
Until now, he had clung to the princes—both the crown prince and Eric—trying everything to become their right-hand man.
He had offered up vast sums of money, arranged parties, and given it his all.
Yet when crisis finally struck, there wasn’t a single person who came to his aid.
“…I think I understand now.”
After meeting his younger sister today, he had finally realized what the problem was.
Connections, at their core, came naturally—only after one became a dependable and proven person through their own efforts.
Certainly, there was an element of luck involved.
Roger’s connection with the Emperor, too, had only come about by chance when he helped a bishop’s daughter.
But even that stroke of luck was born from Roger’s own skill.
He had proven himself in Haman,
And thanks to that reputation, he’d forged ties with the bishop,
Even going so far as to train the bishop’s daughter so she could win at the Grand Festival match.
“Tir, what have I even been doing until now?”
Edward staggered slightly.
With a trembling voice, he asked the chief secretary who had stayed loyally by his side.
“I tried so hard to survive in this desolate family… but in the end, I accomplished nothing.”
The secretary didn’t answer right away.
He took a breath, then cautiously opened his mouth.
“…My lord.”
That single reply finally made Edward stop in his tracks on the dimly lit street.
Just before boarding the carriage, he stared intently at the one subordinate he trusted above all others.
“I don’t believe you’ve accomplished nothing, my lord.”
The chief secretary answered with conviction.
The middle-aged gentleman draped a black fur-lined coat over his master’s broad shoulders.
“You’ve merely failed in a single business venture. You’re still the head of Luton Arms.”
“You think the old executives will take kindly to me after I’ve shaken the company’s foundation…? They’ll go running to my father and demand he remove me.”
Edward shut his eyes tightly and let out a ragged breath.
His breath rose gently into the cold northern air.
“…Father’s passed, hasn’t he?”
“Yes. He didn’t leave any particular message regarding Fern…”
The reason the second son had hesitated between Eric and Echina,
And the reason he had ultimately made a swift decision to hand over the territory to Echina,
Was all because the Grand Duke of the North, whom he had expected to secure the land for him through the auction, had returned to Nord without saying a word.
“…Right. He was disappointed in me.”
If the Grand Duke of the North had truly wanted to give Edward another chance, he would’ve purchased the territory himself and returned it to him.
But, as expected, the Grand Duke had not the slightest intention of showing such favor.
“I clung to my brother like a parasite all my life… so he probably just thought, ‘Of course, that’s how it ends.’”
“……”
Tir quietly watched Edward climb into the back seat of the carriage.
Then, resting his hand on the windowpane for a moment...
“My lord.”
His voice, normally so deferential, now carried weight and gravity.
“…?”
Edward looked at his subordinate with an unusually sullen gaze.
He looked just like a lion driven out of the grasslands after losing a battle for dominance.
“May I speak frankly, sir?”
“Go ahead. Speak freely.”
The moment permission was granted—
Bang!!!
Tir slammed his hand hard against the window.
Edward’s eyes widened in shock. Who would’ve thought a middle-aged man had such strength?
“Get a hold of yourself. You are still the head of Luton Arms, a top-tier enterprise.”
The second son swallowed hard under the fierce glare of the chief secretary.
And quietly, he listened to his closest aide’s counsel.
“Frankly, Lord Roger and Prince Eric could have pressed you even further today in an attempt to seize Luton Arms.”
That was true.
Had the Fern construction project continued to deteriorate here, the massive losses could have eventually threatened the headquarters as well.
“And yet Lord Roger was the first to extend his hand—because the only rightful owner of Luton Arms is you.”
“That’s…”
The Grand Duke’s official heir.
A man who treated the executives warmly and offered unwavering generosity to his connections.
That was Edward’s strength—his defining trait.
“We haven’t lost. It’s just that one attempt has ended, and we’re returning to where we started.”
“……”
The second son lowered his head and stared at the floor of the carriage.
It was true, every word of it.
Even if Fern had been taken from him, he was still seated in his own carriage, and Luton Arms remained intact under his ownership.
“That’s right… that’s how it was.”
“Your first priority is to stabilize the executives. If you can secure the headquarters again, the Grand Duke will see you in a new light.”
To restore a company that had faltered from a single failure—
That, too, could be considered an achievement in itself.
At last, realizing this, Edward let out a deep breath.
“…Yes. That would be just like me.”
The second son ran a hand over his forehead.
Then, finally settling the chaos in his mind—
“Thank you, Tir. Thanks to you, I’ve gathered my resolve. Let’s return.”
“Understood.”
With his mind finally clear, he was at last able to leave Angde.
――――――
From the front seat, the secretary gave the coachman the signal to depart.
Then, pulling out a small note someone had slipped to him earlier, he quietly read it to himself without Edward noticing, and murmured:
“What should we do about the final orders in Fern territory?”
“……”
The note was written in a familiar hand.
‘From Roger Julius.’
“That guy Roger… said he held back even though he could’ve reached out and taken Luton Arms, didn’t he?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Edward had returned to the demeanor he’d inherited from his father.
Then, a name echoed again in his mind.
“Roger… Julius…”
He was a strange man.
He seemed like he wanted Edward’s downfall, yet kept leaving him exits—ways out.
Why did he keep giving him chances?
“…Maybe when it comes to building connections, Echina might actually be better than me.”
Edward had finally realized something.
If one wanted to survive in this narrow arena of the North…
They absolutely could not afford to make enemies.
This had been a very long process of conditioning.
He, who had clung to Eric all his life, was now being led—set up with a long-term plan—to be able to work with others.
And the mastermind of that plan was that man.
“Tell the people in the territory to hand things over to Echina with as much kindness as possible.”
Having organized his thoughts, Edward let out a short, incredulous laugh.
Then, perhaps regaining some of his usual composure, he pulled out his favorite cigar and held it between his lips.
“Let’s go. We’ll have to be quick if we want to get to Nord.”
“Yes, understood.”
His chief secretary instructed the coachman to pick up the pace.
With that, their proud black carriage began tearing down the road at full speed.
“And still… I don’t think my eye for people is all that bad.”
Edward murmured to himself, leaving the Nord Mountains behind.
That someone had managed to pull him out of such pitch-black thoughts—it was impressive.
“If I’m going to surrender, may as well do it somewhere that treats prisoners well.”
At last, it felt like he’d found the right rope to cling to.
“When we return, prepare a proposal to Roger for a joint business venture.”
“Understood. What field should we aim for?”
Since he had handed over Fern, that cunning fox’s business was bound to grow even larger.
And with that expansion, he would need new partners.
“We’ll propose something in the area where our arms company has the strongest overlap.”
What was the most profitable business in the post-war era for a munitions company?
Highly developed carriages, advanced weapons, and fortification construction techniques.
“In that case, a new road construction project connecting Nord, Fern, and Angde would be ideal.”
Eric’s signature project was the carriage terminal business.
Now, they were assembling a new item that could rival that initiative.
「――――――」
The next day.
Echina arrived in Fern territory to receive the handover.
Even as she dismounted from her black horse, she was riddled with anxiety.
“Edward definitely must’ve told his men to be as difficult as possible. Probably ordered them not to tell me anything properly.”
Since she knew her brother’s personality all too well, Echina took a deep breath and braced herself for a battle of nerves.
“Well, he already abandoned Eric and chose our side. Would there be any reason for him to pick a fight now?”
“……”
Even in such a rather serious situation, Echina gave me a sulky look at how relaxed I appeared.
She poked me lightly in the side with her finger as I dismounted leisurely from the horse.
“What’s with that look like you already know everything?”
“Why don’t you go and see for yourself? Conveniently, the head of the construction is here to meet us.”
With the same polite manner I had as a secretary, I guided her forward.
Middle-aged gentlemen approached the Grand Duke’s daughter.
They had the reliable look of professionals—likely architects or engineers—complete with scholarly glasses.
“We’ve been expecting you, Lady Echina. I’m Julian, the chief supervisor of the construction.”
“I’m Coleman. The young master gave strict orders to welcome you with the utmost care, so I’ve come to escort you personally.”
Echina blinked in surprise at how different the territory staff looked from what she had expected.
I stepped in for the momentarily stunned Echina and approached them with the sweetest voice in the world.
“Thank you for extending your hand first. I’m Roger, Lady Echina’s business partner.”
“Ah, we’ve heard a lot about you. You’re the infamous sly fox—”
The middle-aged gentleman pointed at my narrow eyes and joked.
Coleman, the more serious of the two, pressed down his fedora and gave his friend a light smack on the shoulder.
Just from that small gesture, one could tell how close the two managers were.
“That’s right. But anyone who’s worked with me ends up dropping the first three syllables when they say that.”
“I’ve heard as much. Looking forward to working together.”
I shook hands with the two gentlemen in turn, then looked back at Echina.
The Grand Duke’s daughter gave me a resigned look, then quietly stepped up to stand beside me at my beckoning gesture.
“Since we’ve all met here like this, shouldn’t the heads of the project commemorate the occasion with a photo?”
At my sly remark, reporters from Gold Morning—whom I had arranged in advance—appeared on cue.
They sketched the moment as we stood together, lined up and shaking hands.
And where that picture would end up…
Would be revealed the next day.
The next day.
A massive headline swept through the Nord Mountains in the North.
Both Nord residents and native locals, drawn by news of the Luton family’s investment, stared wide-eyed at the paper.
“Head of Fern Territory: Echina Luton Receives the Handover!!”
The front page was filled with the photo of us taken together.
It also announced that a new modern road connecting Angde and Fern would soon be constructed, promising active exchange between the two cities.
Angde—lined with shops owned by the Cathedral, the Western region, and the Grand Duke of the North.
To fully support this place, information had already begun circulating that a 4- or 5-star hotel containing mithril would be built in Fern.
The synergy of two cities—each guaranteeing both commercial districts and accommodations—was now being heralded to the world.
“Luton Arms proposes new road connecting Nord–Fern–Angde!!”
The newspaper fluttered in the frigid northern wind.
Eventually, it made its way beyond Angde and Fern, reaching even the city of Royal Luton.
To a nearly completed, elegant stone mansion—
All the way to its most extravagant office.
“So this is how it turned out.”
A tall, handsome young man silently looked down at the newspaper.
His expression wasn’t particularly surprised.
“I thought that bastard would greedily suck Edward dry—but was he watching me this whole time?”
Eric Luton.
He, too, had once suggested that his younger brother hand over the ownership and management rights of Fern territory to him.
However, unlike Roger, he had offered only half of the invested cost thus far.
“Of course I thought he’d aim for Luton Arms, just like me…”
The eldest son furrowed his refined brows, puzzled by this unreadable man’s ambition.
“He acts like he’s going to take everything from our family, then ends up luring us to his side—what’s the reason?”
As Eric muttered to himself,
He turned to the portrait of the Grand Duke of the North hanging on the wall.
There stood Echina, positioned even closer to their father than himself.
His youngest sister, only just come of age.
Until now, aside from her ties to the knight order, she’d had no support whatsoever—a broken kite.
He had left perfectly intact kites alone, yet chose to fix her instead.
Then, like chess pieces, he pushed her to the front, toppling the rooks and bishops one by one.
And now, at last…
Only the Grand Duke—their father—and Eric himself remained.
Of the two, their father was nearing retirement.
“That’s right… from the beginning, his goal wasn’t to cling to Echina and leech off her.”
Eric crumpled the newspaper and tossed it in the trash.
As if it were no more than a cheap enemy trick.
“Becoming a baron was just a pretense. His true target… was me.”
The eldest son had finally reached his conclusion.
He pressed the mana switch on the desk in his office.
“Have Roger Julius summoned here tonight.”
Immediately, the elite guards waiting outside entered.
Eric issued a cold command, his eyes devoid of warmth.
“I need to uncover what that man truly wants.”
To decide whether he was someone worth keeping alive—
Or someone who needed to be eliminated to prevent future trouble.