WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

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

Chapter 43: Let's See What Happens

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The applause was just beginning to die down.

"Goddamn it!"

Amid the celebratory atmosphere, Ethan let out a furious shout.

"I'm Patrian! This is my merchant guild, the one I built! Young Lord Astin! How could someone like you...?!"

"Don't make a spectacle of yourself, Ethan."

Ethan's shoulders stiffened. He did not even have the nerve to meet Astin's gaze head-on.

It was not simply because Patrian carried far less weight than Cardenos.

Ethan had never been fit to stand before Astin in the first place.

"A man who lost all sense over a woman and went through with a personal vendetta."

Astin rose from his seat with an imperious air.

Blatant contempt filled the golden eyes looking down at Ethan.

"If you came at me without knowing your place, you should've been ready to be stomped on. Didn't you see this coming?"

"Y-you bastard!!"

Unable to contain his rage, Ethan grabbed Astin by the collar. Astin did not look flustered in the slightest.

"What are you all doing? Remove this man."

"Y-yes, Young Lord!"

"You've got some nerve! How dare you lay hands on the Young Lord's person!"

The elders all rushed to seize Ethan.

The commotion also brought in the sturdy mercenaries waiting outside the door.

They roughly twisted Ethan's arms behind his back and restrained him.

"Let go! I said let go! Astin! Irina! Do you really think you'll get away with this...?!"

It was a hollow, miserable end for the head of Patrian, one of the Empire's greatest merchant guilds.

Yet no one felt any sympathy for Ethan. If anything, everyone looked relieved.

Bang!

Once the door shut, Astin lightly brushed off his rumpled collar.

His unshaken gaze swept over the room.

"That concludes the meeting."

"Yes, Young Lord!"

"You've worked hard, Young Lord!"

The directors and elders rose in unison and bowed.

Their bodies were bent, but bright smiles spread across their faces.

To them, Astin was not only the Young Lord. He was practically their savior.

The elders hurried out of the meeting room one after another.

They intended to immediately capitalize on the boon of exclusive cosmetics distribution.

Only Astin and Irina remained at the empty round table.

Astin had just risen from his seat.

"Young Lord. Please wait."

It was Irina, her faint voice trembling.

Deep emotion showed on the face that had remained as rigid as an iron mask throughout the meeting.

Irina slowly approached and stopped before Astin. Her fists, clenched around her skirt, had turned white.

"I don't understand."

"What don't you understand?"

"Why have you gone this far? You could have accomplished what you wanted without making me the merchant guild head."

"..."

"Even giving up the profits puts you at a loss, Young Lord. Why would you do this?"

Irina's mind was still trapped in doubt.

It was a leap she could not understand through logic, reason, or calculation.

"I'm not as valuable a card as you expected me to be."

Deep self-doubt lay beneath her words.

Tap.

Irina's shoulders jolted. Astin's right hand rested on one of them.

"You don't see yourself clearly enough."

"...?"

"You're not a discarded card. Investing in you isn't a losing deal, either. You have far greater value than that."

"No. I don't have that kind of value..."

"A person's value isn't something they decide for themselves. It's decided by those who recognize it."

Irina, who had been staring at the floor, raised her head.

She saw herself reflected in those elegant golden eyes.

Value was decided by those who recognized it...

Irina knew that as well.

Auctions thrived because people valued things differently.

But there had to be potential value to begin with.

Irina was certain she did not possess that much value.

Why would he believe in someone even I don't believe in?

For a moment, they exchanged a wordless look.

There was much that could be conveyed without words.

In the silence between them, Astin quietly extended his hand. It was not a merchant's hand, but the rough hand of a knight.

"I look forward to working with you, Merchant Guild Head Irina."

Irina's blue eyes rippled like waves.

Her lips parted and closed. Even swallowing was difficult.

In the end, Irina pushed away the hand he offered.

"Young Lord."

She wanted to hide it. But she could not.

If she hid even this, she would be unable to face Astin.

Irina lowered her gaze to the floor. Both fists gripping her suit skirt trembled.

"I am not worthy."

Her voice trembled faintly as well. Her clenched fists had gone pale.

"I prepared for the possibility that you would betray me, Young Lord. If that day came, I would also..."

"Did you think I wouldn't know? You prepared front merchant guilds, double ledgers, and even a campaign to sway high society."

Irina froze.

Her pupils widened, and she stopped moving.

It was not arrogance that had made her believe Astin did not know.

It was simply because he had not retaliated.

If Astin knew, it was only natural for him to take action.

There was no reason for him to sit back and let it happen.

Irina repeatedly opened and closed her lips.

Only ragged breaths escaped from between them.

"Well done."

Astin spoke first.

Those two words knocked the soul right out of Irina.

"I'm only glad it confirms that I judged you correctly. Far from betraying my trust, that was exactly why you didn't."

If she had simply submitted to the grand ducal house, made herself into a puppet, and picked up whatever scraps fell her way, she would have been no different from Ethan.

Irina had sought a way to survive even before power as unassailable as a fortress. Astin had expected that from the beginning.

That was why she had been easy to track. The Irina he knew would surely have done exactly that.

"...It wasn't a good thing."

"That's for me to decide. And it was a good thing."

Astin stroked his chin as he continued.

"There was nothing you could do about failing to respond to Rosenthal. You lacked information beforehand, and you were only an individual. Well, you were probably distracted by trying to keep me in check, too."

"..."

"Given your current circumstances, you did everything you could. I mean that sincerely."

The moment Rosenthal intervened, it became a conflict between grand ducal houses.

There had been nothing Irina could do in the middle of it.

No matter how much money she had, how capable she was, or how well-informed she might be, she was still only one person.

Even so, Irina would shatter the limits of being an individual in two or three years.

And besides.

"Irina, you are no longer alone. Cardenos will stand behind you."

If Astin became her backing, her potential value would soar beyond measure.

From Irina's perspective, his choice only raised more questions.

"Why are you doing this much for me?"

Unconditional trust. Boundless recognition.

That was what she received after preparing for Astin's possible betrayal.

Before Astin, Irina shrank into herself.

Her shoulders trembled pitifully, and even breathing felt difficult.

Her vision blurred despite her eyes being open.

"If you treat me this way, Young Lord..."

Her throat tightened, making it hard to continue.

Self-loathing made her bite her lips hard. A drop of blood welled from her lower lip and trickled down.

A warm touch suddenly met Irina's lips.

Startled, Irina's eyes flew open.

Astin stood right before her.

He had reached out and pressed a handkerchief to her split lip.

Irina stared blankly at the handkerchief. It was only natural for her gaze to fall there.

Black thread formed crooked embroidery on the cloth. A cat with its fur standing on end caught her eye, strangely out of place.

The sudden absurdity emptied Irina's mind completely.

"My younger sister made that handkerchief herself."

"...Pardon?"

"You kept staring at it."

Irina moved her lips blankly. The taste of blood stung her tongue.

Astin smiled as he pulled away the bloodstained handkerchief.

"Irina. I don't need Patrian. I need you. Patrian exists because you do."

Irina's eyes slowly widened.

An emotion she could not hide seeped into her icy blue pupils.

"I don't need any partner other than you. You're the only person I want walking this road with me, and I think that highly of you."

Astin's fingertips touched Irina's head.

He lifted Irina's head as she kept trying to avoid his gaze. With nowhere left to look, their eyes met directly.

"This may sound rather sudden. We are preparing an expedition into the Ashen Forest."

"...?"

Irina unconsciously drew in a breath. It truly was sudden.

"We'll raise astronomical military funds with Mermaid’s Tears, then make those funds available in the west. We also need to gather supplies from across the Empire and control the supply routes without error. There are only a handful of people who could coordinate an operation that large."

A faint smile touched Astin's lips.

"That person is you. Irina, you were the first person I thought of."

Irina's mouth fell open.

The Ashen Forest Expedition was not something he had said as a joke.

Astin was truly preparing an expedition, and he was entrusting her with coordinating its funding, procurement, and logistics.

"So prove it. Prove that I wasn't wrong about you."

Astin laughed aloud and extended the hand she had pushed away once more.

Irina stared blankly at it.

For a moment, the immense pressure made it hard to breathe.

Then she raised her head, and Astin filled her vision.

This man had recognized her. Young Lord Astin had.

He was the man who had recognized a value in her that even she did not know.

After a brief hesitation, Irina clasped his hand.

She met Astin's gaze with clear eyes.

"I will not disappoint you again."

"I keep telling you, you've never disappointed me. I look forward to working with you, Merchant Guild Head Irina."

After their hands parted, he gently patted her arm.

Astin turned away with a smile still on his face. That expression lingered in Irina's sight like an afterimage.

"Are you going to stay here?"

"...Ah."

Irina came back to her senses a beat too late.

"Yes. I'll stay a little longer and organize my thoughts..."

Her words trailed off. A strange sense of discomfort suddenly struck Irina.

Was I always this bad at speaking?

"All right. You've worked hard. Go home and get some proper rest."

With those words, Astin walked away.

Even as he grew distant, Irina's eyes stayed fixed on his back.

Step. Step.

Astin left the meeting room with steady footsteps.

Irina's gaze remained where he had last stood.

"..."

Standing there as if she had lost her soul, Irina lowered her eyes to her own palm.

She curled her fingers slightly. The deep warmth left behind by his rough hand lingered there.

Thud.

Irina collapsed into a sitting position.

Her gaze remained fixed on the empty space, at the spot where Astin had stood.

"Haah..."

Irina covered her cheeks with trembling hands.

If she stayed like this, it felt as though her mind would short-circuit.

"No."

She slapped her cheek once and forced herself to take a deep breath.

The trembling in her blue eyes subsided, and reason began to return.

She was long past the point of indulging in sentiment.

What he required from her was not blind loyalty.

Loyalty was the bare minimum. He wanted immense profits to fund the expedition and a flawless system.

'Exclusive distribution of Mermaid’s Tears. The Ashen Forest Expedition. Astronomical military funds...'

Irina's thoughts began to race.

Simply selling cosmetics at a high price was a shallow idea.

The cosmetics that would dominate high society could become power, not just merchandise.

'At first, nobles will line up to get their hands on them. Taking cash alone won't give them their full value.'

She would include exemption passes from inspections on goods within noble territories, along with priority rights for grain futures contracts, as terms of exchange.

The futures rights and cash she secured would immediately be split among multiple front merchant guilds and put into motion.

Then, while high society's attention remained fixed on the cosmetics, she would force the flow of grain, iron ore, and mana stones across the Empire under Patrian's control.

"When the expedition is announced, mana stones and preserved food will be the first things to skyrocket in price..."

And iron equipment for mercenaries as well.

Think, Irina.

She muttered quietly, patting her cheek.

An expedition this large would not end with supplying materials.

Political issues would inevitably become entangled with it.

How could Astin focus on the Ashen Forest while overcoming resistance from the surrounding noble houses, especially the imperial family and Rosenthal?

'The moment the imperial family restricts us, the supply lines will be paralyzed. Money and force alone have limits. We need justification, a greater cause.'

Irina lightly bit her nail.

'The Ashen Forest Expedition must be framed not as an expansion of the house's territory... but as a holy war for humanity.'

A glint appeared in Irina's blue eyes.

They would use the media to transform the expedition into a noble sacrifice for humanity's future.

Then neither the imperial family nor the great noble houses could carelessly block the supply routes.

The moment they interfered, they would be branded traitors who cared more about their own interests than humanity's safety.

'...Young Lord Astin must have already taken steps for that.'

Politics was another field entirely.

Cardenos was better suited than Irina to use the press.

There was another field she could handle, no, one that she could handle well.

At that point, Irina redirected her thoughts.

Her immediate priority was to fully protect procurement costs from inflation.

Through the front merchant guilds, she needed to secretly secure long-term supply contracts or futures contracts.

If she began buying up physical goods now, the market would be thrown into chaos.

She had to tie up future output on paper to control rumors and protect purchase prices.

Funding through cosmetics. Dispersal and market cornering. Control of physical assets across the Empire. Control of the logistics network. Construction of supply routes.

At most, it would take a month to complete all of it. If she moved quickly, she could narrow it down to three weeks.

No, three weeks had to be the deadline.

Astin had not given her a deadline, so it was right to finish as quickly as possible.

"Whew..."

Her ragged breathing gradually calmed. A faint smile spread over her injured lips.

The outline of the expedition plan forming in her mind was beginning to take shape.

It began the moment she thought of Astin.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The sound of something pulsing echoed through the quiet meeting room.

Where was it coming from?

Irina suddenly felt puzzled.

It did not seem to come from any particular place.

"..."

It was clearly a sound only she could hear.

Irina placed a hand over the source of the sound, her chest.

Deep inside.

The heart that seemed as though it should contain only mercury beat as it sent forth a crimson flow of blood.

"..."

She thought it was the pressure brought by the Ashen Forest Expedition. But it was not.

The presence of one man still would not leave her thoughts.

The rough, calloused hand. The handkerchief that had casually wiped her lips. And his unconditional trust.

The pounding in her chest scattered her reason. The expedition blueprint she had drawn so rationally fell apart.

Irina released a heated breath. The pulse of an emotion she had never experienced before made her breathing quicken.

Reason evaporated, and emotion filled the empty space in its place.

No matter how hard she tried to focus on the expedition plan, her thoughts would not obey her.

Thump.

Emotion was unnecessary for profit. As a merchant, she had lived as though cutting emotion from her life.

That was why this flood of feeling was so unfamiliar to her.

Thump.

Not even before a fortune beyond her wildest dreams, something she had never touched in her life, nor when she secured a contract with a great noble house, had her heart ever pounded this wildly.

"...Young Lord Astin."

The name slipped unconsciously through her teeth.

Only one person was branded into her blue eyes. Astin.

The more she pictured him, the harder her heart beat.

Irina tightly gripped her chest with a trembling hand.

A man's voice overlaid the sound of her heart.

For a long while, she listened to that echo.

* * *

Twenty days had already passed since Irina became merchant guild head.

"Chief, are we really printing this as it is?"

The editorial office of the Imperial Capital Daily.

Senior reporter Felix spoke as he felt the faint vibrations of the printing press through the floor.

Morgan leaned back lazily against his chair.

"They said to run it. So we run it."

Felix held a notice titled, "Ashen Forest Expedition Recruitment."

It was an exclusive report provided by Cardenos, or more precisely, Young Lord Astin.

Naturally, since Astin had given them the scoop, they had to set the timing according to Astin's demands.

And that time was today.

Thud!

Editor-in-Chief Morgan smoked a cigar with his boots resting on his desk.

"You know the drill. Tomorrow morning, front-page headline."

"Haah..."

Felix let out a deep sigh, but carefully folded the manuscript in his hands and tucked it into his coat.

"Understood. If they say run it, we run it. Honestly... I'm curious how the public will react, too."

Since the Imperial Capital Gazette was founded, there had never been such an absurd exclusive report.

Survival uncertain. No pay until the expedition ends. Honor and glory.

It was a mad notice sending applicants straight into the jaws of death.

Even people who made their living with print could hardly believe their eyes, so the public's shock was obvious.

"By tomorrow morning, everyone in the imperial capital will know. In three days, it'll spread across the Empire, and everyone will know."

"Heh."

Morgan could not hold back a laugh.

"From the Founding Festival to the Ashen Forest Expedition, there hasn't been a quiet day because of that guy."

Felix agreed with that a hundred times over.

At the center of every issue shaking the Empire lately stood the wastrel of Cardenos.

Felix nodded a few times, then turned his head.

His worried gaze looked out over the nighttime streets beyond the window.

"What do you think will really happen, Chief? Will people even take this seriously?"

"Who knows?"

Fwoosh.

Cigar smoke rose like a cloud. It drifted beneath the ceiling before dispersing.

"There may be more lunatics in this world than we understand."

He had not known before, but his view of the world had broadened greatly by now.

Perhaps Astin was looking at the same picture he was.

"Let's watch and see what happens tomorrow."

Footnotes:

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