Chapter 147

147. The Eldest Daughter’s Hunt (4)

The day after the Grand Duke of the North had whiskey for the first time in a long while.

He opened the daily meeting with his usual stern expression, showing not the slightest sign of a hangover.

The meeting proceeded very smoothly.

As the Empire was now in its golden age, the family’s companies were all achieving high sales.

Even the Luton Maiden, the one that had been a matter of concern, was sailing smoothly.

Thus, the meeting ended without issue.

Afterward, he returned to his office and called for a woman.

His daughter, and the representative of Luton Maiden.

「…….」

The Grand Duke kept his eyes tightly shut until she entered the room.

With his arms crossed and his head slightly bowed, his posture resembled that of a pondering emperor—an image worthy of a painting.

――――――

Soon, the heavy wooden door opened.

Entering the room was Freya, dressed far more plainly than usual.

Her beautiful silver hair bore no ornament, and she wore almost no makeup.

“Father, it’s Freya…”

The eldest daughter stopped across from his desk.

She bowed her head deeply and waited silently for her father to speak.

「So, how are your studies coming along.」

The Grand Duke gazed quietly at his daughter’s subdued appearance.

He did not seem to have any intention of scolding her outright.

“Yes. Through recent events, I realized how much I still lack.”

Freya began cautiously, inwardly relieved that her father didn’t appear to be furious.

However—

That relief vanished completely the next instant.

The expression she faced once more was not one of forgiveness or gentleness.

「…….」

His eyes carried the bitterness of a man who wondered if this was all his child had become.

The fact that his own daughter—not someone else—had fallen into ruin over stocks like an addict to gambling weighed heavily on him.

“Father, I swear it won’t happen again… never again…”

Freya knew that look all too well.

It was the same look he had given her back at the academy,

when she missed a single question on an exam,

or when she failed to earn the top score in a physical assessment because of a minor mistake.

Every time his eyes pierced through her heart like that, she could hardly breathe.

To never feel that pain again, she had worked relentlessly.

She had thought that at last, she had grown into the kind of daughter worthy of the Grand Duke.

Yet here he was again, casting her back into that same torment.

「Yes. You’re no longer a child now.」

The Grand Duke turned his chair with a detached expression.

And before long, his gaze drifted toward the gloomy sky of Nord.

「Looks like it’s going to rain soon.」

Freya followed her father’s gaze toward the darkened sky.

A strange wind swept across the rye fields that had always gleamed in golden brilliance.

「Go on back now. You have things to do, don’t you.」

“Yes, I understand.”

Freya bowed deeply to bid farewell.

She knew it in her heart—her father would not help her this time.

“Then, I’ll take my leave.”

The silver-haired woman quietly exited the office.

Just outside, Debier, who had been waiting, opened the door for her and met her eyes.

“Thank you, Debier.”

“…It’s nothing, my lady.”

The Chief Secretary gazed calmly at the departing eldest daughter for a moment.

When she finally reached the end of the corridor, he closed the door and approached the Grand Duke.

“The eldest daughter has returned.”

「…….」

Debier stood beside Luton, who was staring out the dim window.

“You didn’t stop her from stepping down as the major shareholder.”

「Yes. I had no intention of stopping her.」

The secretary clasped his hands quietly behind his back.

He was curious.

The position of major shareholder at Luton Maiden was certainly one worth keeping—

so why had the father not stopped his daughter from losing such a vital post in a company still rising in growth?

「It’s time she learned something. That if she keeps running while only staring at the goal in front of her, she’ll get hurt.」

The Grand Duke knew well—

his eldest daughter was obsessed with being acknowledged.

Yet, it was a mindset he had deliberately cultivated.

Countless noble families before them had fallen because they failed in raising their children properly.

The reason their offspring turned out so rotten was simple.

They had been raised too comfortably, until they lost any sense of purpose in life.

Or more precisely, they were raised in such a way that they never even felt the need for a goal.

A life where one can have everything without purpose eventually turns people cruel.

Because one day, when they fail to get what they want, their frustration will boil over uncontrollably.

Knowing that all too well, the Grand Duke had made sure his daughter would always have goals—

goals as great as his own.

Only, his method had been far too harsh.

「Now, that girl will learn to think carefully before trusting any sweet rumor or enemy who approaches her.」

The Grand Duke exhaled deeply.

As though he, too, regretted his daughter’s failure.

「If she cured her ‘weakness’—something that could have cost her the entire company—for 50 billion, that’s a cheap price to pay.」

Debier seemed to understand his master’s meaning at once and quietly closed his eyes.

He could feel, even then, that his lord truly did love his daughter.

“She was indeed admirable, sir.”

At that, the Grand Duke slightly lifted his head at the secretary’s words, listening quietly to what he had to say.

“She was on the verge of losing her position, yet she didn’t throw a tantrum at you, Your Grace. Even in the corridor, she took deep breaths to compose her expression.”

「That’s why I like daughters.」

Duke Luton chuckled like an old lion.

Then, a fit of coughing struck him, and he furrowed his brow sharply.

“Your Grace, are you all right…?”

「I’m fine. Rather, contact ‘Royal Times’ and ask about tomorrow’s weather.」

The Royal Times—the Imperial newspaper.

The Empire’s largest media conglomerate, ranking first in the business world.

The Grand Duke of the North had so many connections that he could casually ask them to check the weather for him.

「It does look like rain is coming.」

While the Grand Duke worried about the darkening sky—

Freya, having descended the corridor, encountered her two brothers in the first-floor lobby.

The two people she least wanted to meet today: the eldest son and the second son.

“What’s this, Sister? I thought you went home after the meeting?”

“……”

Despite Freya’s carriage still parked outside the mansion, Edward couldn’t resist prying.

He twirled his mustache and gave her a slow once-over from head to toe.

“From that look on your face, you must’ve taken a big hit. Something bad happen?”

The only people who knew she had embezzled 50 billion in company funds were her close aide and Roger.

Yet judging from Edward’s sly expression, it seemed he already knew everything.

“……”

Freya brushed past her younger brother with a cold expression.

But she didn’t get far before she was forced to stop.

“Luton Maiden’s been on the rise lately. Why the face?”

This time, the eldest son, Eric, spoke up.

He had long, narrow eyes like Roger’s, with a gentle gaze—but his demeanor was frighteningly sharp.

Even though he was her own blood, he was the kind of person she couldn’t stand.

“If there’s trouble internally, tell me. I’ll help whenever you need.”

Freya quietly brushed aside her silver hair.

Then she stared at him with those golden eyes that so closely resembled their father’s.

“You…? Help me?”

Beside Eric, Edward raised both hands, pretending to calm the mood.

“Why the tension between siblings? Anyone watching might think we’re from the Western Grand Duke’s house!”

But today, Freya didn’t even spare the second son a glance.

Her focus remained solely on the eldest.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll never accept your help, Eric.”

Leaving those words behind, Freya turned coldly away.

“……”

Eric clasped his hands behind his back in a relaxed manner, much like the Grand Duke himself.

Then, in the composed tone of the president of Luton Industries—the second wealthiest enterprise under the Grand Duke’s household—he spoke.

“Still, isn’t family better than strangers?”

Freya let out a faint laugh at that.

Without turning back toward him, she walked toward the great doors the servants were opening for her.

“Family? Hearing that from your mouth feels strange.”

Outside the mansion, the wind and rain were raging.

The eldest daughter’s chief secretary, who had come out in advance to wait for her, opened a black umbrella.

“It’d be better to hand your money to a stranger on the street than trust that lot.”

Freya boarded the carriage alongside her secretary, whose umbrella had already been battered out of shape.

Then, sitting upright and staring straight ahead, she gave an order.

“To the Erian Hotel.”

The silver carriage rolled across the damp road.

Meanwhile, the eldest and second sons stood watching their sister’s carriage disappear into the distance.

“That’s unusual—meeting Father alone like that.”

“……”

Edward looked up toward the second floor, where the Grand Duke’s office was.

With both hands stuffed deep into his pockets, he flared his mustache as if he had caught a whiff of something suspicious.

“I doubt it was anything good.”

Eric couldn’t yet grasp the full situation.

The employees of Luton Maiden were known for their loyalty; company information rarely leaked.

But one thing was certain—

A major crisis had struck Freya.

“I heard she’s been meeting frequently with the stock exchange director lately. Looks like trouble arose from there.”

“How did you know that, brother?”

Edward’s thick brows arched sharply.

Yet Eric’s face remained perfectly calm.

It was as though he had already gathered detailed information about his siblings.

“There’s nothing family shouldn’t know about each other, Edward.”

The eldest son gave his younger brother a pure, almost gentle smile.

But Edward was no fool.

There was a reason he hadn’t openly entered the battle for succession and instead chose to remain close to Eric.

It was because Edward knew better than anyone just how deceitful his elder brother’s nature truly was.

“I don’t know why, but the word ‘family’ gives me chills today.”

「――――――」

The carriage that left the mansion ran along the gloomy horizon.

Past the ash-colored rye fields, it arrived at Old Luton.

Once, it had been a desolate ghost town—its atmosphere during the rain utterly bleak.

Dark buildings with shattered windows, streets bare of umbrellas,

and vagrants cloaked in tattered black coats, faces hidden, scurrying away like fugitives.

That had been the image of Old Luton.

However—

“Shall we eat there today?”

“Why not? Never thought I’d live to see a restaurant run by the Western Grand Duke’s house.”

Old Luton now had an entirely different atmosphere.

The chief of the eldest daughter’s secretariat, who had come out early to wait, opened a black umbrella.

“It would’ve been better to trust a passerby with the money.”

I boarded the carriage with the secretary, whose umbrella had been dented to pieces.

Then I sat upright, staring straight ahead, and gave an order.

“Take me to the Erian Hotel.”

The silver carriage crossed the damp road.

Under a riot of colored umbrellas, the street that had once been pitch black now glowed with warm lamplight. People wearing their best clothes strolled about, savoring happiness with lovers and family even in the rain.

Among them, I noticed a girl walking excitedly, hand in hand with her mother and father.

“Representative, we’ve arrived at the Erian Hotel.” “Ah, already?”

I pressed my fingers to my brow, saying I had much on my mind as I tried to ease the pressure.

Then I thanked the staff who came out to greet me and open an umbrella.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing, please come in.”

“……?”

A familiar voice made me narrow my eyes.

When I looked up, my lips parted slightly.

“Roger Julius?”

He had come out to meet me in person.

“I’ve been waiting.”

“Ha, you came out so happily because you thought I was here to shake you down for money.”

At her curt remark, I smiled faintly.

“Yes, that’s right. Let’s go in and talk.”

Freya shrugged the damp jacket off her shoulders without much thought.

She led the way straight to the office on the eighth floor—an expansive space of floor-to-ceiling glass where raindrops flowed gently down the panes.

“Please sit. Since it’s afternoon, tea might be better than coffee, right?”

“Anything will do. I don’t plan to stay long.”

I offered the secretary a cup as well. The middle-aged man shook his head with a gentle smile, like their father. From his demeanor I could sense what Freya’s corporate atmosphere must be like. No wonder, even back when he had been chief secretary, her company had almost never had leaks of corporate secrets. Groups like that only opened their doors when they wanted to.

“All right. I’ll be blunt.”

I stood by the rain-streaked window, hands clasped behind my back, watching her reflected face.

“The 50 billion you embezzled from company funds—I will repay it all for you.”

With eyes as pitch-black as the rainless sky.

“In return, you must sell to us 30 billion worth of your company’s shares.”

Luton Maiden, the empire’s third-largest enterprise under the Grand Duke’s house—the leader of Nord’s fashion and apparel—would fall into my hands.

It would be mine to do with as I pleased.

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