Upon receiving a request to visit within a short period, Ian headed to the mansion the next day.
Although he had planned to visit briefly on Sunday. But since he received a call from Oliver, there was no choice.
“It’s not someone I usually hear from.”
Oliver, a viscount, directly contacting Ian, who was practically like a lord of the house? Unless it was something extremely urgent, it couldn’t happen.
So Ian headed straight to the mansion.
Of course, he wasn’t alone.
“You’re coming again….”
“Why do you say that? You seem to like it when you see me?”
As always, Igor and Eri also got on the carriage together.
And there was another person.
“I, I’m sorry, I thought I could follow you….”
A woman with pink hair huddled like a criminal.
Lia also rode the carriage with them. Ian fell into thought as he looked at her sullen expression.
‘At first, I was surprised.’
She suddenly came and said she would learn diligently if Ian asked her to, and in that moment, Ian realized his mistake.
‘I told her to follow Cheryl and learn, but she must have understood it as following me.’
At that time, Ian didn’t care about Lia, so he told her to follow him, and Lia took it literally.
It was clearly his mistake. In the end, Ian decided to take Lia with him.
‘Yeah. If I had just spoken clearly from the beginning, that would have been it. Since it was my mistake, I should take responsibility. And Lia isn’t bad either.’
Ian recalled Eri evaluating Lia Hurst before.
“Student Lia Hurst is quite a decent person, so it wouldn’t be bad to befriend her on this occasion. Her position in the Hurst Count’s family is not bad either.”
Good personality, noble family. And she’s also loved within the family? Is there a need to distance oneself from such a person?
That wasn’t the end of it.
Ian reminded himself of the future he remembered from the original work.
‘Lia wasn’t a heroine, so all that was shown was brief. But still, she had a decent future. I know she became one of the wealthy upper class in the empire with amazing business acumen, right?’
The Hurst family, her hometown, focused on leather crafts as their main product.
Lia, the youngest daughter, was the one who added various things to the family’s business and gave it wings.
Of course, Lia now had some clumsiness due to her nature, so she was still lacking…. But with Eri there.
Ian looked at Eri, who maintained a proper posture beside him.
Lia, with excellent business acumen but clumsy, and Eri with meticulous character.
If they work together?
‘Just seeing them gives me confidence. It feels like our family, which is nothing but know-it-alls, will become rich.’
There was no reason to stop the birth of the best combination.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, so don’t apologize. I’m fine anyway.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Since I’m also an experienced person, it’s okay for you to learn from me if you’re okay with it. So stop worrying and relax.”
Was it because Ian said that? Lia regained her lively smile.
Watching her smile, which made one feel comfortable just by looking at it, Ian suddenly arrived at their destination.
“Young master! We’ve arrived.”
After greeting the coachman, Ian got off the carriage.
Then he started to notice.
“Oh! Young master is here!”
Oliver, who confirmed himself from a distance and ran towards him.
But Ian’s gaze didn’t go there.
‘What’s this?’
“Ian? I heard that the Volkanov family isn’t doing well…. Was I mistaken? The farmland looks better than our Hurst family.”
Fields full of potatoes. And Ian was shocked to see state-of-the-art warehouse-like facilities.
‘When did this development happen?’
***
Swoosh!
The sound of a sharp wind echoed faintly in the room.
Looking at the trembling window frame, Leticia furrowed her brows.
‘Hmm.’
Eventually, her gaze turned to her husband lying still in bed.
Killain, who suddenly fell unconscious due to a curse.
Contrary to the priests’ expectations that he would wake up soon, days had passed and there were no signs of him waking up.
She wanted to continue treatment at the Yellow Road, but unfortunately, Leticia was not allowed by the local lord.
‘Because Killain fell. It’s not allowed for outsiders to intervene.’
Leticia knew well what Killain meant to the local people.
One of the five Masters of the Empire. And the Lord.
Isn’t he someone who has the duty to protect the empire from its enemies?
If the fact that he had fallen spread, the barbarians might take it as a sign to launch a full-scale attack.
In the end, all Leticia could do was pray for him to wake up by his side.
“Ha. Please….”
“Leticia? Are you okay?”
“Ah. Jane is here.”
Seeing her shoulder being held and a sympathetic smile from her maid Jane, Leticia managed to gather some strength.
Jane. Someone who had been with her since childhood and was now a good friend assisting her as a maid.
Because of Jane, Leticia didn’t want to worry her.
“I’m okay. But I feel a little relieved with you here.”
“If you have any troubles, tell me. Isn’t that what friends are for?”
Friends, indeed. There was no one else Leticia could rely on as much as Jane in the current situation.
Indeed, after Killain fell, she almost collapsed countless times. But each time, thanks to her, she managed to hold herself together.
‘Yeah… Maybe I can rely on her about the Killain concerns.’
But the problem was that Leticia’s concerns didn’t end there.
Two things occupied Leticia’s mind.
First, naturally, was about her husband, Killain’s illness. And second…
‘Ian.’
Thinking of her son brought a shadow to Leticia’s face.
‘When did he grow up so much?’
In fact, she hadn’t paid much attention to Ian.
She had neglected him to the point where she told him that he was a bad person, unworthy of his parents’ love.
She used postpartum depression as an excuse and abandoned the crying child.
Although she had no right to condemn him even if she died, at that time, it was truly difficult for Leticia to even look at Ian.
She wondered how such a devil-like child could have come out even though he was born with the blood of Killain, a hero of the Empire, and her own blood.
Ultimately, Leticia cut off her interest in Ian.
She didn’t give him love. She cut off support and treated him thoroughly as if he didn’t exist.
Yet Ian continued to catch her eye, which she didn’t like. She even considered sending him away.
‘I thought he wouldn’t be able to rise again if I did that.’
But Ian was even tougher than Leticia expected.
Without his parents’ love and attention, Ian stood up on his own and blossomed.
Leticia never forgot Ian running to Lilith risking death during the war game.
‘Why…’
Every time she recalled that scene, her heart ached.
Previously, she would have brushed it off, but now she was so proud of Ian.
She wanted to tell other nobles how amazing her child was.
Why was maternal love emerging for the first time now? That was Leticia’s question.
‘Why am I interested in Ian?’
Why does she feel like she can give love to that child who she normally didn’t even pay attention to?
Although she tried to understand, she eventually gave up thinking about it.
‘After all, what am I…’
Now that she was here, she knew she didn’t even have the right to say she had suffered for that child.
It was during that moment of subtle emotions.
“You know what? Leticia, did you hear the news? It seems that boy’s potato business, the one he started, is struggling these days.”
“That boy?”
“Yes? Ian, your son. Didn’t you know? He started a potato business.”
“Ah.”
She had heard it from the Duke. In the midst of nursing, Ian was doing business selling potatoes.
But was there a problem with that? Leticia asked with a trembling voice.
“What’s happening?”
“Well, you see. At first, the profits were good. But lately, they have been decreasing. I heard what the guests were saying. It seems they’re planning to pressure Ian using that as an excuse.”
“Pressure… why?”
“Why? Isn’t it obvious? He said Count Volkanov personally grew them, and now he’s saying ridiculous things. Since the Count’s honor was used for profit and it’s failing, they can’t just stand by and watch.”
They want to pressure him. Jane’s lips curled up as if she liked the idea of putting pressure on Ian.
As if she enjoyed it.
Normally, Leticia would have responded positively, saying it served him right, but… why?
“Is there a need to go that far? Even so, Ian’s business should do well for our family to prosper.”
For some reason, she wanted to protect Ian, although she didn’t know why.
At the absurd words of her friend, Jane suddenly got up. Her eyes, gripping Leticia’s shoulder, trembled.
“Leticia! What are you saying? Do you know what will happen if Ian succeeds? Why are you defending Ian?”
“Ah. No, I mean… ”
“No, Leticia, think about what we did to Ian. Do you know what will happen if his business succeeds and he rises to the position of Count? We’re done. We’ll lose everything, our status, everything will fall apart!”
Leticia, looking into Jane’s fierce eyes, lowered her head.
Deep down, she knew she should embrace Ian, that it was her duty as a parent, but whenever she looked into Jane’s eyes, her mind went blank.
As she watched the silent figure before her, Jane’s eyes bore into her.
“Don’t be weak! We need to undermine Ian’s achievements somehow to survive! Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Ah. I understand…”
In the end, Leticia could only nod her head.
***
“Did you intentionally sell less?”
When Ian inquired, Oliver nodded lightly.
“That’s correct. It was an unavoidable choice to sell potatoes as steadily as possible. Selling all the stock at once could be risky.”
With a flushed expression, Oliver spoke. His previous impoverished appearance was nowhere to be found.
Now, there was just a plausible Baron.
Ian, looking at Oliver’s tidy appearance, asked again.
“What’s the reason? Do you think you won’t be able to sell all the stock?”
“No, that’s not it! Even if I release all the stock I have, I’m confident it will sell. There are quite a few people these days who want to buy our potatoes.”
There had even been occasions when some nobles sent people to the estate until they could get some.
With that level of demand, there’s no way they wouldn’t sell.
Smirking, Oliver sighed and continued speaking.
“The reason I haven’t released the stock is different.”
“The reason… what is it?”
“If I were to release a large quantity all at once, the nobles’ interest would quickly diminish.”
“Diminish?”
Ian asked, puzzled. Oliver smirked.
“As you probably already know, nobles are very sensitive to trends. For example, do you remember when Duchess Wignoron wore a green dress to the social gathering five months ago? And what happened at the social gathering three months ago? All the ladies and young girls wore green dresses.”
As soon as someone of high status starts something, it becomes a trend in the noble world. Oliver knew that well.
“But you see, at the social gathering just a few days ago, nobody wore green dresses. That’s the nobles for you. They’re more sensitive to trends than anyone else, and once they’ve worn something once, they swiftly move on to something else.”
That’s why trends among nobles quickly fade.
Oliver knew not to take it lightly.
He had released only a small portion of the potatoes to the market.
If he were to release them all at once, they might quickly lose their appeal.
“Of course, there are still many people who want to buy, so there shouldn’t be a problem. But it’s better to be prepared. That’s why I’ve been renovating the warehouse and keeping the potatoes we plan to sell in storage.”
“Not a bad plan. I didn’t expect to find someone like you with such talent on our Volkanov territory.”
“Oh, you flatter me. Anyway, you don’t need to worry about the low potato sales. Just before the trend ends, we can release all the stock and sell it off completely.”
Chuckling, Oliver took a bite of the steamed potato on the table.
As Oliver chewed the potato, Ian spoke up.
“So, should I start considering other businesses now?”
“Yes. That’s the reason I contacted you. It seems like it would be good for you to prepare for something new to replace the potato business.”
“Indeed, that’s true. Selling potatoes alone won’t sustain us for long.”
One must know when to cut their losses. If one were to invest all their resources into potato farming and it failed, they might end up with nothing.
Could they just stand by and watch?
‘Yes. I should consider a new business. But what should I do?’
Firstly, farming and hunting were commonly used means of earning in the Empire.
But the Volkanov estate wasn’t suitable for either. So, if they were to be dismissed, there was only one option left.
Tourism…
They needed attractions. Something to draw people in and make them spend money here.
“What could be interesting to see in Volkanov… the snowy mountains? Or maybe the frozen lake?”
They boasted breathtaking scenery, but Ian didn’t feel like it was enough to attract people.
After all, who would come to see such scenery while enduring the freezing weather of the north?
Thinking of using the natural environment as a business idea seemed difficult.
‘So, we need something new. Something that can only be found here, in the Volkanov territory.’
Lost in thought, Ian bit his lip.
For a moment, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but Ian decided not to dwell on them.
Tourism. Isn’t it just about coming to see something interesting?
The person who creates the most exciting attraction will surely take the top spot in this business.
“An interesting attraction?”
For a moment, a single image formed in Ian’s mind.
