Chapter 180
Chapter 180
The Master of the Trade Route (17)
“Eric sent you an invitation…?!”
At the Yekaterina Restaurant located in Angde.
Echina, who sat at the head seat of the long table, sprang up and asked.
“Don’t go. He’s definitely setting a trap to blackmail you.”
Her expression was far more serious than it had been during the negotiations with Edward.
Seeing her worry for me so much, I had no choice but to set my wine glass back down.
“It is definitely strange. He never showed any interest in you until now.”
The owner of the restaurant, Helena Yekaterina, chimed in.
At some point, she had sliced up her steak and placed a few pieces onto my plate.
“She’s right. I don’t see anything good coming from meeting him.”
Even the owner of the nearby cathedral agreed.
Lately, I felt like I’d been having meals with these three quite often.
‘But why does it feel like there’s always more meat on my plate?’
I was pretty sure I’d been eating diligently.
“I don’t think it’d be such a bad idea to go.”
After swallowing a piece of meat that just wouldn’t shrink in number, I spoke calmly.
“As far as I know, Eric doesn’t use blunt threats like Edward does. He’s much more cunning.”
Echina slightly parted her lips, surprised that I knew Eric’s nature better than she did.
But that was only the beginning.
After the eldest son became the head of the family, I had been his closest aide—there was nothing I didn’t know.
“He probably just wants to feel me out this time.”
Until now, I had never made any overt moves in front of him.
At best, he would have thought of me as a novice sticking to Echina, hoping to catch some scraps from the Baron family.
But now, I had defeated even Edward and merged Fern and the Angde Plains.
And now that I had rapidly risen to become his real rival, he was bound to be curious.
‘What kind of guy am I, really?’
It was about time.
Now that only the two of us remained in the competition to become head of the family, we had no choice but to reveal ourselves in order to confront each other.
I had no intention of backing down either.
“So, there’s no need for everyone to worry too much.”
I looked calmly at the three women.
They had always shown their trust in me by actively supporting my plans.
Now that I had become a businessman, I reassured them.
“I’ll make sure your investments remain perfectly intact.”
“……”
It was, without a doubt, the most reassuring thing one could say to a group of businesswomen.
But...
The expressions of the three women listening weren’t very pleasant.
“Sometimes I really envy that part of him.”
“Seriously. I guess it’s thanks to that part of him that he can be so sharp in one field.”
The two grand duchesses grumbled to themselves.
Then, even the saintess smiled in satisfaction.
“The Lord never gives us everything.”
She gently tapped her fork into a piece of cake, seemingly preferring dessert over steak, and spoke softly.
“That’s why I must fill in the rest.”
“……”
Istina’s words made the other two women pull sulky expressions.
They looked at her as if to say, What kind of saintess is this blunt?
“Ahem… Yes, I still lack in many ways. So, if you would fill the rest, I would be most grateful.”
I lifted my wine glass to shift the mood.
Then, I offered a toast to the distinguished guests present.
“I look forward to your continued support. To our prosperity.”
Prosperity.
They seemed to like the sound of those two syllables, as each of them let out a faint chuckle.
They raised their glasses with subtly meaningful smiles.
“To prosperity, then.”
“To prosperity.”
Everyone took a light sip of their red wine.
Afterward, I left them with one more reassurance.
“I will go and meet with Eric. But there will be no danger involved, so I ask you all to rest easy.”
I rose from the luxurious chair.
Then, I gazed out the window at the distant Royal Luton, Eric’s estate, and said,
“This first meeting will soon become a declaration of war.”
A declaration of war—and the final gateway.
If this matter ended well, Echina would finally gain equal footing with Eric.
And once the final test was passed—
My family would be reborn as a central pillar of Nord, and the days of bowing to others would come to an end.
「――――――」
The promised time was two days later.
The location written on the invitation was the eldest son’s mansion, located in the center of Royal Luton.
While other buildings in the area were still under construction, this one alone had been completed flawlessly.
‘It must be to host the heavy-hitting investors expected to visit the city.’
Just like Edward, that guy was no amateur when it came to business.
If only he had used that brilliant mind for something noble like Echina did, he could’ve been a wise ruler…
Then again, clever people often end up obsessed with the easiest way to earn big and reach the top.
Rather than trying to please the demanding Grand Duke of the North, he chose to wait for his death.
To ensure that the Grand Duke would have no choice but to name him as heir.
That was his real objective.
‘A sly bastard.’
I knew full well how many vile acts he’d committed just to set that stage.
And that’s why, in this life, I intended to put an end to it all.
With that resolve, I walked down the corridor of the mansion.
Accompanying me were his assistant secretary and a few neatly dressed attendants.
――――――
The crisp sound of polished shoes echoed across the grand avenue.
Soon, the assistant secretary leading the way stopped in front of an elegant wooden door and spoke.
“This is the place.”
The door resembled the design of the Grand Duke of the North’s office.
It was a clear sign of how desperately Eric coveted his father’s seat.
“Please, go in. The Archduke is waiting for you.”
The door opened.
And before me spread a wide room with a structure nearly identical to the Grand Duke’s office.
“……”
A man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, facing away from the desk.
Even from a distance, I could tell.
Silver hair. Broad shoulders that resembled his father’s.
That was the eldest son—Eric.
Noticing our reflections in the window, the Grand Duke’s son lightly raised one hand.
His subordinate quietly withdrew.
The door gently shut behind him.
Now, only Eric and I remained in the room.
It’s been a while.
Back then, I had come at his summons and carried out his dark commands.
But now, things were different.
I was no longer someone who had to bow his head before him.
“Roger Julius.”
“……”
I didn’t respond to the eldest son’s call.
As if we were equals, I simply clasped my hands behind my back in the same manner.
“I’ve been wanting to meet you. You've become quite the name lately.”
Eric finally turned toward me.
With the perfect blend of his father’s and mother’s features, he was undeniably handsome at a glance.
“A commoner-turned-businessman who brought both Freya and Edward to their knees.”
He had correctly deduced that I was the one behind the downfall of his two younger siblings.
Reflecting this, the office was lined with countless bookshelves along the walls.
“One through stock manipulation. The other by orchestrating a construction collapse. Quite the fascinating tactics.”
Eric slowly approached me.
Like a child delighted with a new toy, his eyes sparkled with life.
“I quite like those kinds of methods too. You and I share a lot in common.”
Of course we do.
After all, those very tactics were once among the dirty deeds you commanded me to carry out.
“Are you always this quiet? The newspapers made you sound quite eloquent.”
“It’s just… being granted a private audience with Your Grace is such an overwhelming honor that I’m at a loss for words.”
Let’s see how much he’s investigated me.
Eric smirked at my obviously insincere answer.
But soon, his smirk vanished, and a cold expression took its place.
“Let’s cut the polite act, shall we? You didn’t come here just for flattery.”
For a moment, the lavish office fell into a silence so heavy it was stifling.
Only the faint sounds of dinner preparation drifted in from outside.
The eldest son's chilling golden eyes bore through me.
“Your stated goal is to raise your family to nobility. But your moves have been far too aggressive. You persuaded Echina to take down Edward and Freya, and now you’ve even pushed her into major business ventures.”
That tone—like he had already done a thorough background check.
He brushed past me with casual indifference, then released a chilling aura of hostility.
“So in the end, your ultimate goal is to crush me and swallow the family whole, isn’t it?”
It was a reasonable guess.
Looking at my actions so far, it would certainly appear as though I was using the naive Echina to eliminate rivals and become the real power behind the Grand Duke’s house.
“How arrogant of you, for a mere commoner.”
Eric slipped both hands into his trouser pockets.
Then, leaning against the window frame, he looked at me steadily.
“How does someone who started from nothing dare to dream that big?”
Though he called me a commoner, his gaze wasn’t filled with contempt.
In fact, he looked genuinely curious.
“Did the Imperial Court send you? To weaken our family's power?”
“That’s unlikely. I’ve only met His Majesty the Emperor once or twice.”
He must have guessed based on my previous involvement with the Imperial Inspection Team.
He was off the mark, but—just like ten years ago—still sharp.
“Then what is your objective? If you’re not the Emperor’s lackey, you have no reason to oppose the North. Making an enemy out of me will only cost you.”
I didn’t bother hiding my true goal anymore.
I knew this wasn’t a man who could be deceived with half-hearted lies, so I spoke calmly.
“My goal is to build a family that no other noble house in the North can interfere with.”
“……?”
Eric fell silent for a moment after hearing my answer.
But his sharp gaze never wavered, still locked onto me.
“I will become the head of a family that doesn’t need to watch the Luton family’s mood.”
“That’s a dangerous thing to say in front of me. That sounds like you're planning to make my father your enemy. There is no one in the North who can go against his will.”
I let out a brief laugh and shook my head.
“If Echina becomes the next family head, that’ll be enough. After everything I’ve helped her with, I’m sure she’ll acknowledge me.”
“Anyone can say that.”
Eric pushed himself off the window.
Then, he opened a drawer in his desk and took something out…
It was a notebook bound in a luxurious white cover.
“The whitelist. Families who will have my backing once I become the head.”
You really roped in a lot, didn’t you.
“If your goals were truly as pure as you say, I would’ve just written your name in here.”
The first move he made was persuasion.
Now that he’d heard my real goal, he laid down his own hand, acting as though he could easily fulfill it.
“If we did that, this whole family head competition would end right now, wouldn’t it? How simple is that?”
The eldest son picked up the champagne bottle resting in the ice bucket before the meal.
Unlike Edward, he had a habit of pouring his own drink without a servant’s help.
“If I become the head of the family, I can immediately elevate you to baron—no, with your capabilities, even to count. It’s mutually beneficial, so what could be better?”
He wasn’t wrong.
But anyone who had seen the future—no, anyone with a clear vision of it—would never accept the eldest son’s offer so easily.
In fact, they wouldn’t even consider it.
Nord would become a land ruled by unchecked power.
Countless people would live their entire lives watching the eyes of one man.
In the North, morals and ethics would completely vanish, all in the name of currying favor with him.
And in a world like that, what value was there in being a baron or a count?
“I’ll give it some thought. I didn’t expect the eldest son to show me such generosity so readily.”
Seeing that he was trying to win me over first, I decided to play along—for now.
After all, a declaration of war is always more effective when it follows a sneak attack and bold bravado.
“Good. I’ll make arrangements, so let’s meet often. Roger.”
He chuckled lightly and sipped his champagne.
Clearly, he was confident.
Confident he could bring me to his side.
“Since you’re here, stay for a meal.”
“Very well. Shall we head to the dining room?”
I asked, but he shook his head, saying there was no need to go that far.
“It’s fine. Unlike Father, I don’t like eating in wide open halls like some king.”
Eric pressed a switch on his desk.
Soon, a wooden door began to open slowly.
“I much prefer quiet meals shared between important people.”
Once the door was fully open, waiting attendants began setting the table arranged in the guest area.
After they left…
“Ah, you’re here too, Linie. Come in.”
A beautiful woman in an elegant dress entered the office.
“This is Roger Julius. He might just become my reliable partner.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Roger.”
Her black hair shone like silk.
She was as beautiful as Echina, but her aura was completely different.
If the Grand Duke’s daughter was a cold beauty, this woman had a warm, gentle face that seemed ready to comfort a man.
A face I’ve never seen before.
In the past, Eric always sent beautiful women to suspicious business partners.
And through them, he would try to sense any hint of betrayal.
So he still didn’t trust me.
“Sit next to Roger. The space is a bit tight.”
He had clearly called her to sit in the narrow seat beside me, forcing us into close proximity.
He took his seat first and gestured for me to follow.
“Then, I’ll join you.”
Linie looked at me and gave a soft, smiling glance.
To keep playing along with him, I sat beside her in the cramped seat.
Soon, she began pouring my drink herself, releasing a gentle, fragrant scent.
It was the kind of sweet aroma that made a man feel at ease.
And yet… why does it feel like ice is crawling up my spine?
Following my instincts, I turned toward the window.
Thankfully, it was just an owl flying through the night sky.
A false alarm?
I exhaled deeply and raised my glass.
And for the first—and last—time, I toasted with my mortal enemy.