Chapter 67
“….”
It seemed that even Mikhail had a hard time accepting this request, as he appeared to be contemplating it deeply.
With a complicated expression, he fiddled with his tea cup.
“First… I don’t understand. This method won’t benefit Jane Goldrail. She won’t be able to prepare the treasure in two months…”
“You’ll understand when the evaluation takes place. Just wait until then,” I said.
That’s when we would see what Jane had prepared, and I would face it with little expectation.
The lower the expectation, the greater the surprise when something good happens.
“But this is also bad for the Duke’s family. You may not know, but we already have a trading company we’re working with. There’s no need to do something that could harm the Duke’s reputation.”
This was, of course, a direct rejection of receiving bribes, which I had expected.
So, now I played my next card—something even Mikhail couldn’t refuse.
“I will give all my profits to the main house.”
“…What?”
“I want you to change the name on this business proposal to yours, Mikhail. From now on, this proposal and the reports will all be yours.”
I stood up and walked over to the desk that seemed to have been used by Licht.
Picking up a fountain pen, I took the papers from Mikhail’s hands.
“Wait, Mother…”
I wiped the name “Wilhelmina Layton” from the document and wrote “Mikhail Fil Layton” in the blank space I had intentionally left.
As I handed the document back to Mikhail, he looked at me in bewilderment.
“Here, go ahead.”
“What is this…? This business will bring in great profit.”
“I don’t need it. I’m satisfied with my current life.”
Jane had said the expected profit from this business would be enormous.
I had been tempted by the idea of buying another mansion, perhaps even something like an annex, but that was a fleeting thought.
I knew that reaching for something beyond my status would only lead to trouble.
Reluctantly, I pressed the papers into his hands, knowing this huge opportunity would make it impossible for Mikhail to refuse my request.
Mikhail stared down at the name on the document before letting out a bitter laugh.
“You’re really unexpected, Mother.”
“Enough with the compliments. Will you accept it, or not?”
“Of course, I accept. As the head of the family, I can’t let such an opportunity slip by.”
With that, the matter was settled.
I returned the fountain pen to the desk and began to walk towards the door of the office. The workday was nearly over.
“Are you leaving already?”
“I’m tired. I’ve already spoken too much today.”
“Haha, not joking?”
It wasn’t a joke.
I felt my tone returning to normal as I was genuinely tired.
I glanced at Mikhail.
It suddenly struck me that he was a workaholic, someone who was always caught up in his work. He was the complete opposite of me, both in personality and lifestyle.
“You should rest when you can, Mikhail.”
“I’ll take that to heart… But, Mother, may I ask one more thing?”
“What is it?”
Just as I was about to leave the room, I stopped at his question.
“You could’ve helped her in a simpler way, why choose a more complicated method? Your hands too, it wasn’t an easy plan.”
Finally, he asked that question.
I frowned and turned to face him. His innocent expression conveyed curiosity.
This was something I had already said to Anat before, but to repeat it here…
“Revenge is best done with one’s own hands.”
“…”
“If you try to get revenge through someone else, you’ll only regret it. Don’t you think?”
At that moment, something shifted in Mikhail’s face.
The innocence vanished.
Gone were the smiles, kindness, and consideration. His face became cold.
I froze for a moment.
It was like I was facing a wild beast, a predator.
‘Who is this…?’
It wasn’t Mikhail. It wasn’t my adopted son, nor Helene’s husband, nor the Duke of Layton.
Someone else was looking at me.
I felt an overwhelming urge to open the door and run away, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his gaze.
His blue eyes were empty. The thought that I was reflected in them sent chills down my spine.
“Y-you…”
Before I could even ask why, warmth slowly returned to his face.
But unlike before, it returned slowly, as if trying to cover up the earlier coldness, like a wolf wearing a poor disguise.
“You’re right, Mother.”
“….”
“Everyone hates having their work taken from them.”
He stood up and walked toward me.
I was still in shock, unable to move, but he casually extended his hand and opened the door behind me.
“We’ll meet again, Mother. We’ll have dinner together next time. Helene will be waiting too.”
“Ah—”
“Well then, goodbye.”
Click.
Before I knew it, I was already out in the hallway.
I couldn’t bring myself to look back at the office door, so I slowly walked towards the annex.
Time passed quickly.
Under Mikhail’s orders, the business preparations began in earnest.
First, we conducted several real-use tests based on the prototypes I had created, then held a production demonstration in front of the family’s scholars and officials.
Since the products weren’t particularly difficult to make, the process didn’t take long.
Afterwards, I exchanged letters with Jane and selected 20 trading companies to participate in the evaluation. I answered more questions from Licht and fine-tuned the business proposal… and so, two months passed.
The third month, the promised day, had finally arrived.
The evening of the promised day.
I stood beside Mikhail in front of the banquet hall where the evaluation would be held.
“Mother, shall we go in?”
“…Alright.”
Although I had originally planned to watch from behind the scenes, Mikhail insisted that since this was my business, I should witness it firsthand.
He even insisted on escorting me, so I couldn’t refuse.
Helene, who was supposed to accompany him, had declined to attend.
I hadn’t heard the reason directly, but Anna mentioned that she always had some matter to take care of on Sunday evenings.
Although she was at the castle, she was nowhere to be found.
I placed my hand on Mikhail’s arm.
‘Today, Mikhail seems like his usual self.’
The shocking Mikhail I had seen before seemed to have disappeared.
There was no trace of malice, just the kind and gentle Mikhail.
‘This looks like his true face… doesn’t it?’
I couldn’t be sure, but at least I could tell the difference between his usual demeanor and when he was pretending.
Mikhail was the person he appeared to be.
If he were someone who hid a knife behind honeyed words, I would have sensed something off.
‘But back then, he really seemed like a different person.’
It wasn’t just his expression that shocked me.
It felt like the atmosphere had completely changed, as if magic had been cast.
‘Now that I think about it, it really did feel like magic.’
It felt eerily similar to the shock I felt when I first witnessed magic.
Had Mikhail used magic? Or was he like Anat…?
“Mother?”
“…Let’s go in.”
I had gotten lost in thought.
Before Mikhail could ask what was wrong, I slowly led him into the banquet hall.
The grand hall, which had been months since the New Year’s ball, was still dazzling with its magnificence.
As soon as the attendants announced our arrival, the attention of the merchants chatting in the hall turned to us.
“Duke, it’s an honor to meet you!”
Accepting their polite greetings with a smile, Mikhail guided me to the best seat.
The hall was set up like a seminar, with chairs arranged behind a stage.
At the far back, a lavish chair stood out, which was where we were to sit.
Before we could sit, the merchants who had brought their treasures approached to promote their goods.
“Duke, I’m so glad to meet you…”
“This piece I brought is porcelain imported from the south…”
“I brought gems that will suit the Duke’s family…”
‘Their greetings are polite, but these merchants are quite different from nobles.’
While nobles would at least exchange pleasantries before approaching, these merchants didn’t even bother with that. They just rushed over.
It was quite rude, but I couldn’t get angry after seeing their desperation and expectations.
After all, this evaluation was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them.
Just by being involved in the Duke’s business, they could gain tremendous wealth and honor.
Mikhail gently pushed away the merchants who were pressing in.
“Haha, thank you for participating. But this is a gathering for evaluation, so we’ll continue the conversations after the event.”
