Chapter 201 - Chapter 201: Surprise Performance
The butler moved immediately to execute the Marquess's order.
However, he could not carry out that command, and a few days later, he reported to the Marquess with an apologetic expression.
"My lord, regarding the assault on Lord Granville..."
"What is it? Why that face? Did you kill them by accident?"
The Marquess's face was grinning.
The butler who was told shook his head.
"No, there are guards holding the Archibalt family flag at both the residence and the office, so we cannot lay a hand on them."
"What!!"
In fact, Arthur, considering the possibility of retaliation by Marquess Cavendish, had placed guards recognizable as belonging to the Archibalt family at the Granville house and the construction company.
If anyone harmed this, it was certain they would be destroyed immediately, and seeing this, they had given up on the assault.
"Is there no other way? Ransacking their construction site?"
"The current construction site belongs to the Archibalt family, so ransacking that site would be even more difficult."
Replacing the gazebo of the Archibalt family. If one were to ransack this construction site, it would be better to simply storm into the mafia's office unarmed and cause a disturbance.
"True, the daughter attended a noble school. Attack that and teach them a painful lesson. I wanted to make her mine, but now it doesn't matter. Leave a scar on her face that will never fade."
"Yes."
The Marquess had once intended to make both mother and daughter his own, but now that feeling had vanished. Hatred is the reverse of love. Even if flipped over, the weight remains the same.
Thus, Natalia became the target.
As for Natalia, she had Isabella and Arthur as guards for her commute to and from school. Furthermore, Michael and Lilia were with her, and a little further back, Bella was following.
Elizabeth had not been granted permission to act as a guard, so she was not here, returning home by carriage from the school.
As the five walked through the noble district, Arthur stopped in front of a certain shop.
It was a music box shop.
"I'm going to stop by here for a moment."
"It's not our shop."
Isabella said so.
This shop was operated by the Archibalt family, and the target customer base was high-ranking nobles. It was a shop that took commissions for compositions and created original music boxes.
One could bring sheet music, or one could buy ready-made products.
Ready-made products were inexpensive, but due to the location, commoners who would come here did not exist. The Emmanuel Trading Company handled items for commoners, and they had become quite popular goods.
Arthur turned around and said,
"We are meeting inside."
Upon entering the shop, Aurora was there. She still possessed that untouchable aura. Seeing the six people enter, Aurora smiled brightly.
"My lord, I apologize for keeping you waiting."
"I was waiting."
Reactions other than Arthur's were various.
Isabella showed obvious distaste, Michael and Lilia were tense. Natalia was frozen, unable to comprehend the situation, and Bella remained expressionless.
And then, Lilia hurriedly knelt, grabbed the hem of her skirt, and bowed her head.
"You don't need to be so formal. Today is unofficial; nothing about meeting here will be recorded."
Aurora laughed, covering her mouth with the fan she held.
Natalia, who did not know who the other party was, asked Isabella in a small voice.
"Excuse me, who is that person?"
"Proxy Margrave Sowell."
Isabella answered bluntly, but Natalia shrank back upon seeing that attitude. To herself, she was an existence in the clouds she could never speak to in her life. Against such Aurora, Isabella's attitude was rude. She did not know what would happen if she lost her temper.
Lilia was the same.
Both were Margraves of equal standing, leaders of the southern and western factions respectively, but the difference in power was clear. Therefore, extreme caution was required.
Natalia imitated Lilia and bowed, but she did not feel alive.
Ignoring such atmosphere, Isabella placed her hand on Arthur's shoulder.
"So, why are we meeting here?"
Aurora answered that.
"I just came to order a music box as a present for Leo."
"That is the surface reason. The true purpose is regarding the shares of Cavendish Construction. How was the capital increase matter?"
Arthur did not take Aurora's joke seriously, stated the true purpose, and confirmed the result with Aurora.
"As expected, they jumped right on it. Well, they had no choice but to. A splendid tactic one would not expect from a child. Threatening the Minister of Construction to hinder the Marquess's cash flow."
"Threatening? That is outrageous. I merely advised that he should fulfill his duty as a subject to Your Majesty."
The proposal to review public works for the Minister of Construction was an offer from the Margrave Remington family, but the mastermind behind it was Arthur. And thus, he had colluded with Aurora to send the Salieri Trading Company to Marquess Cavendish.
However, this matter had not been told to the other members. It was the result of disliking information leaks. Perhaps he could have told Isabella, but to prevent making Lilia and Natalia uncomfortable, he kept it secret even from Isabella.