“What are you going to do? Answer me, Aslan! Her Majesty the Empress is visiting tomorrow! You have a plan, right? Tell me you have a plan! Hurry!”
“…What?”
“Hah!”
Irene let out a sigh as if she was dumbfounded.
“What? What? Are you telling me you didn’t know?”
“Explain it to me. What are you talking about?”
“How could you not know!? It’s the road you completed! The Empress is attending the opening ceremony of the monumental first road through the mountain range! And she’s scheduled to visit Vermont on her way. What are you going to do if you didn’t know about this?”
Irene grabbed my collar and shook me, tears welling up in her eyes.
A woman who looked like she wouldn’t shed a tear even if stabbed with a knife, was now crying in front of me.
“Is this confirmed information?”
“It’s information from the palace! If this isn’t reliable, what is?”
Alright, let’s sort this out.
The Empress will attend the road’s opening ceremony once it’s completed.
Then she will travel along the road to visit Vermont.
Why didn’t I know about this?
Initially, this road construction was managed by Ariente.
I took over because they gave up the construction rights.
So there’s only one possibility.
Ariente knew about the Empress’s visit but didn’t inform me.
These b*stards…
“Coachman, to Ariente territory.”
“Ah, ahhh! I forgot! I’m sorry, little brother! It wasn’t intentional; it was my forgetfulness…”
“Are you joking right now? You forgot about such a critical matter as Her Majesty the Empress’s visit?”
“I’ve committed a grave sin! I have no excuse, even if I had ten mouths!!!”
“…”
Ah, my neck hurts.
I thought they deliberately didn’t tell us to screw us over, but it was just forgetfulness?
As suspicion started to arise, it quickly dissipated when I saw Count Ariente’s pale face, groveling on the ground.
He had completely abandoned his pride.
“Get up, you damn old man!”
“Ahhhh! I’m really sorry!”
“Enough. Atone with your death. If you’re senile, you should die quietly. You don’t want to show your kids you smeared feces on the wall, right? Die, die!”
“Sister, calm down.”
“How can I be calm right now!!!”
I stopped Irene from smashing Count Ariente’s head with her heel.
We can’t kill him.
He still has to pay the tribute, no, the interest, every month.
After holding Irene’s arms behind her back and letting her cool down a bit, she turned to me.
Her eyes seemed to ask, ‘So, what do we do now?’
“Count. Your mistake has put us in a very difficult position. How would you feel if you learned about the Empress’s visit only a day in advance?”
“I-I’d be very troubled…”
“Imagine you make a mistake while hosting Her Majesty the Empress. The Vermont family could be erased from history that very day. You could say you hid it deliberately to eliminate the creditor… That explanation fits perfectly, doesn’t it?”
“No, it wasn’t like that! I swear it wasn’t, brother! Please believe me!”
“You’ll do anything to prove your innocence and our friendship, right? Right?”
“Of course! I’ll do anything!”
Sssiiik.
I couldn’t help but smirk at Count Ariente’s answer.
He realized his slip of the tongue and turned pale.
“Then let’s revise the contract. From now on, the maintenance cost of the road will be borne by Ariente.”
“Uh, until when?”
“Forever.”
Is he trying to negotiate with me now?
As I frowned, Count Ariente looked like he was about to cry.
“You said you’d do anything. Aren’t you bringing the contract quickly? If you delay, I’ll cancel all the subcontracting and demand the interest due tomorrow…”
“Waaah! I’ll bring it right away!”
Wiping his tears, Count Ariente quickly ran off and soon returned with the contract.
We revised it on the spot.
Originally, Ariente did the maintenance, and Vermont covered the cost.
Now, Ariente had to handle everything.
[The Evil God, ‘Kali’, applauds your shrewdness.]
With this, I managed to save approximately 2 billion Lark in annual fixed costs.
‘Nothing will change by pushing Ariente further. I should just secure whatever benefits I can now.’
The situation was already out of my control.
Beating up Count Ariente wouldn’t cancel the Empress’s visit to Vermont.
So, I decided to take what I could and end it there.
If I took more, Ariente would really go bankrupt, so I just scraped off everything to the point where they could barely survive.
In the carriage on the way back to Vermont.
Irene crossed her arms and glared at me, full of complaints.
“You. Have you been running the family like this while I was away?”
“What do you mean by ‘like this’?”
“Obviously, we should make an example out of anyone who tries to mess with Vermont. They committed a grave sin, serious enough that no one would complain if we killed them, and you’re just letting it slide?”
“Why would I kill the goose that lays golden eggs? Practical benefits come first, the family’s pride second.”
“You’re stating the obvious. No wonder people are saying Vermont is a toothless tiger these days. You weak fool. Why on earth are you the young master instead of me…! Ahem, Ahem.”
Irene raised her voice while clenching her fists, then cleared her throat.
“Haa. I agree that getting angry won’t solve this situation. So, what’s your plan now? As you said, one mistake could wipe out the Vermont family. Do you have a plan?”
“If you’re asking about a plan for entertaining the Empress, no, I don’t.”
“You little punk, really…! Ugh!?”
I pushed Irene’s lips with my index finger to stop her from getting angry again and sat her back down.
No matter how you look at it, Irene isn’t happy that I’m leading this family, but she doesn’t want the family to collapse. That’s why she’s pretending to cooperate with me in this critical situation.
As long as she’s not here to sabotage us, that’s already a big help.
“I have a way.”
Even if I start planning the Empress’s reception now, there’s still time.
After all, I’m someone who has played this game before.
… Albeit only Chapter 1.
***
“Lord Vermont. I am a royal messenger, here in advance of Her Majesty the Empress’s visit tomorrow. I have urgent matters to discuss regarding Her Majesty’s schedule…”
“Let’s save all surprises for tomorrow. Alright. Our urgent discussion is over. You may leave now.”
“But, Lord Vermont…!”
I quickly chased away the messenger who had been waiting at the mansion.
What? Discuss the schedule? I have nothing prepared, so what can I say?
Talking would only reveal how unprepared I am, so I made up an excuse and sent him away.
“A grand feast, a splendid banquet… Even if that’s too much, we can at least avoid looking shabby. The goal is to not displease Her Majesty and get through this smoothly. First, get rid of that insignificant sh*t-colored creature.”
[It’s not sh*t-colored! It’s dirt-colored! Kyaaaak!!!]
“No, Dirt-Dirt. You can’t hiss at everyone.”
“Her Majesty will be appalled at the sight of that thing.”
“No. The goal isn’t just to get through this event smoothly. The goal is to leave a deep impression on Her Majesty, no matter what.”
“Are you insane!?”
The children around me were startled, but Irene continued to glare at me and raise her voice.
Although we both wanted to avoid the family’s downfall, we clearly differed on the approach.
“Don’t talk nonsense. Leave a deep impression on Her Majesty? It might be easy to leave a bad impression, but leaving a good one is impossible. The Empress is like a monster, devoid of emotion, an iron woman. To her, the world is black and white. She has never laughed in her life. How do you plan to satisfy such a person?”
“That is…”
“Every method you can think of has already been tried by countless sycophants and failed. Luxuries, delicacies, art, even renowned beauties—she showed no interest in any of them.”
“There is one thing they haven’t tried.”
“…What is it?”
Irene looked at me with a foreboding expression.
As she said, the Empress is an iron woman.
She rules the world with a strict and harsh standard, unwavering against any temptation, almost like a machine.
But even the Empress has a weakness.
It’s a secret she keeps from everyone.
In truth, she…
“Children.”
“…What?”
“We’ll use them. The Empress adores children.”
She loves children.
She loves them so much.
She loves them so much that she can’t resist them!
“Aslan. Are you f*cking crazy?”
