WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

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◈ The Pushover Young Lord in a Romance Fantasy Won't Take It Anymore ◈

Chapter 41: You Messed with the Wrong Person

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The Rosenthal representative took an empty seat at the round table with unhurried steps.

Until he sat down and leaned back in his chair, no one even dared to breathe.

"It's nice to see such order."

The representative removed his gloves and set them on the table.

His voice was low, yet it was enough to take control of the meeting room.

The authority of the grand ducal house that ruled the Empire's south rested on his shoulders.

Irina swept her cold gaze across the room.

Rosenthal had stepped in, but Ethan had no grounds to keep acting shamelessly.

Contrary to Ethan's threats, it wasn't over yet.

"Ethan. So you decided to let yourself be used in the end."

Rosenthal paying off the promissory notes did not solve everything.

It was no different from willingly putting on Rosenthal's leash.

"Better than having you people take everything from me."

Being Rosenthal's dog while keeping the title of merchant guild head was a hundred times better.

He had likely already made some sort of agreement with Rosenthal to preserve the guild's shell.

Whether it benefited the guild or not, Ethan had no better option.

One by one, the executives cleared their throats or let out low groans.

The penalty fees and promissory note repayments were still pressing matters.

They wanted to hear a definite solution.

"Representative, sir."

Everyone's eyes turned to the representative.

With his arms crossed, the representative arrogantly raised his chin.

"House Rosenthal will provide special bailout financing that will erase every debt of the merchant guild. In other words, we will pay in cash the full amount of the promissory notes Cardenos has bought up."

Rosenthal was the grand ducal house that monopolized southern commerce.

Financially speaking, it stood a step above Cardenos.

Redeeming the promissory notes was no difficult task for Rosenthal.

At the representative's words, color returned to the elders' faces. A few quick-witted people, however, furrowed their brows.

Why would Rosenthal support a merchant guild on the brink of collapse?

"Nothing in this world comes free. In exchange for redeeming the promissory notes, we have finalized a contract with the merchant guild head to purchase forty percent of the guild's shares. In addition, Rosenthal will receive exclusive rights to distribute mana stones in the imperial capital for the next year."

The elders' expressions shifted again.

Giving up forty percent of the shares meant handing nearly half of the management rights to Rosenthal. On top of that, a one-year monopoly on mana stone distribution.

They calculated the terms in their heads, weighing how a deal with Rosenthal would affect them.

"Rosenthal still loses out from this. What use is forty percent of a merchant guild whose image has been dragged through the mud? Mana stone distribution isn't even Patrian's core business."

That wasn't wrong.

Those who had already done the math could not help but wonder about Rosenthal's motives.

"The reason we are still willing to rescue you is simple. Patrian's image may be ruined, but its logistics network and bases remain throughout the Empire."

Rosenthal had not stepped in for the guild's future. It only wanted to take its infrastructure for itself.

Rosenthal had already dominated southern commerce for a long time.

With a foothold in other regions, it could expand its business even further.

"There is one condition to this bailout financing. It is not a contract with the merchant guild, but with Merchant Guild Head Ethan. I trust you understand what that means."

Rosenthal would only provide funds if Ethan remained merchant guild head.

The room's expressions darkened. The penalty fee crisis was entirely Ethan's fault.

Yet they had to keep him as merchant guild head.

Still, they had no other choice.

"You've become a complete lapdog."

Irina gave a hollow laugh.

Rosenthal's intention in insisting that Ethan remain merchant guild head could not have been more obvious.

They wanted an incompetent lapdog.

They had no need for a capable person who could reform the merchant guild. What they needed was an idiot who would obediently hand over its interests.

"Ethan. Is this really what you wanted?"

"You're shameless beyond belief. Who deliberately drove the guild toward bankruptcy? You're the one who ruined the merchant guild, Irina."

Without answering, Irina looked around the room.

A merchant guild ran on profit and trust. Most of the eyes turned toward her held resentment and blame.

Irina had already lost the trust of everyone in this room as the one who caused the bankruptcy crisis.

Even knowing that, she raised her chin.

"Then what will you do about the penalty fees?"

The penalty fees right before them had not vanished.

Even if they redeemed the promissory notes and avoided having the merchant guild seized, it would all be pointless if they could not compensate the noblewomen for the breach of contract.

The representative tilted his head.

"Why are you asking me that? You will have to handle the penalty fees for failing to deliver the goods yourselves."

Everyone's expressions hardened.

"Rosenthal is only covering your urgent promissory notes. We have no obligation to buy back the hearts of customers you lost through your own incompetence."

Irina swallowed a sneer.

If that happened, Rosenthal would not be able to defeat Cardenos. Astin held the cosmetics business.

But.

It was no longer Irina's concern.

"Irina. You've outlived your usefulness."

As if he had seen through her thoughts, Ethan pressed the matter.

"You're useless to both our merchant guild and Cardenos. Even that great Young Lord Astin will abandon you. What do you plan to do now? Did you prepare anything?"

Ethan was right. Once she had been exposed as a spy, Irina had lost her value.

Astin would never meekly hand the Patrian Merchant Guild over to Rosenthal.

These people did not know it yet. Astin was the one behind the cosmetics.

But they were Astin's cosmetics.

Maybe things would have been different before, but Irina no longer had the right to ride his coattails and live in luxury.

Astin was a thorough pragmatist who acted for profit.

Now that her identity as a spy had been exposed, she had lost her value. She could not even be used as a puppet.

The Empire was full of merchants who would wag their tails and play lapdog in Irina's place.

By any calculation of profit and loss, Irina was bound to be discarded.

Even revealing the existence of the cosmetics as one last act of defiance would accomplish nothing.

It would only spoon-feed them the information they needed to devise a way to keep Astin in check. It would not even count as a final struggle.

"Ha."

The absurdity of it made her laugh.

Cardenos and Rosenthal. She had only been used in the fight between two whales.

'We were both pieces on the board.'

She had known from the beginning, but feeling it firsthand was a different kind of shock.

"Does anyone object to permanently expelling Managing Director Irina?"

Ethan looked around as he spoke.

No elder objected. They nodded and glared at Irina as if they wanted to kill her.

Dark killing intent flickered in Ethan's eyes as he looked at her.

For him, quietly killing an abandoned commoner would be easy.

Irina forced out a mocking laugh.

"Cardenos would have no trouble handling a few penalty fees. If Cardenos is protecting me, what can you possibly do to me?"

Even backed against a cliff, she had to find a path to survive. Being thick-skinned was a merchant's basic trait.

In truth, even Irina lacked confidence in her own words.

Thinking a grand ducal house would protect one insignificant individual was more than arrogance. It was a fantasy.

No one in this room failed to understand that.

"It seems even you know how ridiculous that sounds. You're a commoner, a traitor, and an incompetent fool who didn't even realize you had been caught. Why would Cardenos bother looking after you?"

"......"

"You've already been abandoned. Refusing to admit it is certainly commoner-like of you."

"You say the penalty fees are nothing? You must think Cardenos is some benevolent charity. Are you still living in a child's dream?"

Ethan laughed loudly, drumming his fingers against the table. Even the representative openly sneered.

The elders and executives followed their lead.

They kept their mouths shut, but they glared at Irina with mocking smiles.

Not a single person in the meeting room remained on her side.

She had no right to feel wronged. This was the gamble Irina had chosen herself.

The dice she had wagered her life on had simply landed on the worst possible number.

In the cold reality before her, Irina considered what came next.

To survive, she had to throw herself at Cardenos.

Before that, she first had to prove her worth.

'...Should I give up?'

But Irina had already fallen out of Astin's favor.

She had been caught without realizing she was being recorded. She had lost the trust of the merchant guild as well.

She had failed to take any measures against Rosenthal's unexpected move.

If one of her own subordinates had done this, Irina would have thrown them away without a second thought.

Astin, the legitimate son of a grand ducal house, would be even harsher.

'If he finds out I even planned a betrayal...'

Irina had not confronted Ethan. She had aimed for Astin's back instead.

Too arrogant to face the enemy before her, she had pointed her sword somewhere else.

This was the result.

If Astin learned the full story, he might do more than abandon her. He might take revenge.

He could claim that an insolent commoner had insulted the legitimate son of a grand ducal house.

Irina closed her eyes in despair.

Rather than hoping for Cardenos's help, she had to fear it.

'It's over.'

She could no longer see a way out.

All she had left was figuring out how to keep herself alive.

Trying to make a comeback came later.

Bang!

That was when the meeting room doors flew open. Every gaze in the room turned toward the entrance.

The steady sound of boots rang out. That clear rhythm reached Irina's ears.

She knew those footsteps.

When Irina turned her head, she saw the man's face.

The air in the meeting room froze. Everyone's attention fixed on one person.

Astin von Cardenos.

Irina could only look at him in resignation.

His arrival would not change her situation.

"Young Lord Astin. What brings you here?"

Amid the restless atmosphere, Ethan spoke first.

The Rosenthal representative followed with a pointed cough.

"This is the elders' meeting room of the Patrian Merchant Guild, where our highest secrets are discussed. Even if you are a young lord, barging in without permission like this is-"

"Shut your mouths."

A low, cold voice weighed heavily over the meeting room.

"When you see the legitimate son of a grand ducal house, you bow your heads first."

In the Empire's class-based society, the status of Cardenos's legitimate son was absolute.

No matter how much money they amassed, they could not erase their instinctive fear of nobility.

One by one, the elders rose from their seats. They bowed to Astin.

Even the displeased representative bit his lip and lowered his body.

He might have the mighty name of Rosenthal behind him, but he was still only a representative.

The man before him, on the other hand, was the true bloodline who would inherit Cardenos in full. The weight of what he carried was on another level.

Step. Step.

Astin's boots stopped in front of Ethan, who still had his chin raised stiffly.

"What brings someone as distinguished as you here?"

Ethan straightened his back. The corners of his mouth curled upward.

"Anyone would think I came here to show you courtesy."

Astin let out a laugh at the sheer absurdity.

A broad hand pressed down on Ethan's head. Ethan's head lowered.

"I didn't come here to show you courtesy. I came to drag you down."

Ethan shut his mouth without realizing it.

The Astin he had seen at the Founding Festival felt like a completely different person from the Astin before him now.

Astin's intervention alone made the room's atmosphere sink heavily.

Could one person's presence really exert this much pressure?

The ease and attitude he carried did not come only from his grand ducal house.

His very spirit was different. It was a presence merchants who played with money could never dare face.

Astin passed Ethan without another glance and walked straight ahead. At the end of his path sat Irina.

When those cold golden eyes fell on her, Irina reflexively lowered her head.

Astin's involvement was no longer related to Irina.

It was obvious he would pass her by in disappointment, as if she were no more than a stone. Irina had not the slightest doubt of it.

Rustle.

Astin's hand settled over Irina's shoulder.

Her long lashes trembled. Irina barely managed to open her eyes.

"Straighten your shoulders, Irina."

Astin was looking at her with a warm smile.

His hand slowly moved down and rested over Irina's trembling hands.

"Didn't I promise? That I would make you merchant guild head."

"......"

A wolf in sheep's clothing.

Irina cast aside her foolish expectations.

His smile was a calculation, meant for the eyes around them.

Astin pulled out an empty chair and took his seat leisurely.

He did not even ask what had happened. He looked as though he already knew every detail.

"Merchant Guild Head Ethan. Rosenthal representative."

His indifferent golden eyes swept over the two.

"You messed with the wrong person."

It was a rather arrogant statement.

The representative snorted loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"You have been flaunting your status far too much since you arrived, Young Lord Astin."

He had the nerve to provoke Cardenos's young lord.

Everyone in the room, including the representative, interpreted Astin's words that way.

Astin tilted his head.

"What are you talking about? Who said anyone messed with me?"

How could they have messed with someone who had only just arrived?

Muttering to himself, Astin pointed at one person.

"Not me. Irina."

"...?"

Irina's eyes widened in shock as she was singled out.

Footnotes:

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