Chapter 54 - Fifty Four
The air in the advisory council room was thick with a tense, uncomfortable silence, broken only by the rhythmic thud... thud... thud of Duke Philip’s cane on the polished wood floor. Eric stood in the doorway, a calm, commanding presence that immediately shifted the room’s entire dynamic.
An attendant, sensing the gravity of the moment, silently appeared at Eric’s side and took his coat. Eric’s gaze swept across the long table, over the anxious, seated figures of the council.
"As one of your advisors said earlier," he began, his voice calm and clear, cutting through the tension, "my company provides a quality that is unmatched in the entire kingdom. Therefore, there cannot be any mistakes or any significant issues with our quality control. We wouldn’t want to take such a foolish risk with a partner as important as the Carson Textile Establishment."
He walked with unhurried, confident strides towards the long desk. An older advisor who served their father, Duke Julian, seeing him approach, quickly stood up from the seat closest to Philip’s, offering it to him in a gesture of respect. Eric gave the man a slight bow of thanks and took the seat, a clear and deliberate power move. Another seat was quietly brought from the side of the room for the displaced advisor.
Philip didn’t say anything. His face was a mask of cold indifference, but his knuckles were white where he gripped the silver head of his cane. He just continued to stare straight ahead, pointedly ignoring his younger brother.
Now seated, Eric looked directly at Philip, though he addressed the entire room. "I do not see why this council would want to lose the loyalty of its patrons simply because there was a mistake in the information that was provided to you." His gaze became serious, challenging. "Why don’t you take another look at the reports? Be absolutely sure about this supposed quality issue, so that this establishment does not incur any significant, and entirely unnecessary, financial loss."
Philip remained silent, his jaw tight.
One of the advisors, a newcomer who clearly didn’t understand the complex dynamics at play, asked the obvious question. "Forgive me, but... who are you, sir, My Lord? I don’t know how to address you."
Eric smiled, a cool, polite expression. "I am Duke Eric Carson," he said simply. "And I am the primary business partner of the Carson Textile Establishment."