Chapter 209 - Chapter 209: The Children Afterward
About a month had passed since the Economic Revolution Club acquired Cavendish Construction. Just as the management chaos settled and everything began to run smoothly, the club members and Natalia gathered in the club room.
It was merely time-wasting under the guise of a meeting, as no next course of action had been decided, yet there was a reason Natalia had been summoned.
"A music box arrived from the territory."
Arthur placed two music boxes adorned with mother-of-pearl inlay on the desk.
"This one is for Lilia, and this one is for Natalia. Will you accept them?"
"Thank you very much. May I try playing them now?"
Lilia asked Arthur with excitement.
"Of course."
When Lilia wound the spring and let go, the music box began to play.
It was an original composition by Arthur. No one knew the lyrics, but anyone who heard it would understand it was a song for a lover. Such was the melody.
Lilia listened so entranced that she could not speak.
In stark contrast to such Lilia was Natalia. Overwhelmed by the quality, she felt too embarrassed even to reach out and touch it.
After finishing listening, Lilia asked Arthur.
"It seems the delivery time was quite short. Is it possible to create something so wonderful in such a short time?"
"That is because Father, Nick, and the factory manager of my territory worked so hard to do it――――"
Arthur answered awkwardly.
Upon hearing that Arthur was gifting a music box to his fiancée, Steve and Nick had worked themselves into a frenzy. Steve handled the mother-of-pearl inlay, while Nick spared no sleep to build the music box itself.
"Well, the Lord and the famous factory manager!"
Lilia was greatly delighted.
The mere fact that it was a creation by Steve would skyrocket its value. Furthermore, Nick of the Archibalt Territory was a name that thundered throughout the nation.
"Is it truly alright for me to receive an item that even my own father cannot obtain?"
"Since those two did it because they wanted to, I think you need not worry about it."
Even Arthur could only smile wryly at the doting nature of Steve and Nick.
On the other hand, upon hearing this, Natalia felt too hesitant to even touch the music box. Isabella noticed this.
"Are you too nervous to touch it?"
"......Yes."
Natalia nodded.
Isabella, as if to dissolve Natalia's tension, deliberately laughed in an exaggerated manner.
"You are worrying too much. Music boxes are made to be listened to; if they are not listened to, their value is halved."
"But......"
"Besides, if you focus only on the appearance, the hard work Arthur put into composing it will be wasted. It is an original song that has not been released anywhere. If Natalia does not listen to it, no one in the world will ever hear it."
Hearing this, Natalia steeled herself and wound the spring of the music box.
What flowed out was a tempo calmer than Lilia's song, spreading a sense of security upon hearing it.
Tears naturally spilled from Natalia's eyes as she listened.
"It made you cry that much?"
Elizabeth offered a handkerchief to Natalia. Natalia took it and wiped her tears. While Natalia's eyes were covered by the handkerchief, Isabella signaled Arthur with her eyes to leave.
Arthur understood and, accompanied by Lilia and Michael, quietly left the room.
What remained were Isabella, Elizabeth, and Natalia.
Isabella asked Natalia, who had finished wiping her tears.
"Say, you like Arthur, don't you?"
Natalia's eyes widened at the sudden question, but she soon nodded.
Isabella, having sensed Natalia's feelings, had sent Arthur and Lilia out of the room to create a situation where she could draw out Natalia's true thoughts.
"But, my status is so different from his――――"
Although the tears had stopped, Natalia looked at Isabella with an expression as if the world had ended, her eyes bright red.
In response, Isabella answered with an expression full of affection.
"Status has nothing to do with it. A viscount's house and a knight's house, is it? In the territories, commoners and nobles marry. Even Professor Earhart's wife and Lady Wilkinson were born commoners. Compared to that, you come from a noble family, so there is absolutely no need to be pessimistic."
"But, we live in different worlds."
"The world is the same. His Majesty the King looks at the same sun, and the passage of time advances in the same way. You did not fall in love with someone from another world."
Hearing Isabella's words, Natalia felt she could hold onto a little hope.
Elizabeth also chimed in to support her.
"It depends on your effort. Bella loved her uncle so much that she became strong enough to reach that level, and she even gave up marriage and children just to be with him."
"Well, even if she didn't give that up, I think Papa would have stayed with Bella. It is a relief that there are no unnecessary frictions between Mama and the others."
"Is that how it is with Miss Bella?"
Since Natalia showed interest in Bella, Isabella and Elizabeth told her about Bella. Upon hearing this, Natalia could only admire her.
"She decided to become strong because she liked the Lord, and became stronger than the Royal Guard Knight Commander?"
"Yes. If there were no weapon restrictions, Bella's shooting would decide the match. Even if the Royal Guard Knight Commander had a gun, the result would not change. With swords or knives, Bella is probably superior."
Natalia could not immediately believe the information from Isabella. Daphne was the strongest knight in the nation. Everyone in the country knew the story of how she protected His Majesty the King from Yellow Empire terrorism.
"That effort resulted in her current position. Papa trusts Bella above all others outside of family. Otherwise, she would never have become my watcher."
"A watcher? Not a guard?"
Hearing that Bella was a watcher, Natalia was surprised. It was natural to assume a highly skilled woman accompanying a noble lady was a guard.
Elizabeth explained in detail with a wry smile.
"Isabella is too mischievous, and the uncle is troubled. Ordinary guards cannot keep up, and if we tried to compensate with numbers, the setting of 'foreign exchange students from the Empire' would break. As a result, we assigned Bella. In truth, she should be guarding the heir, Arthur. But Arthur is stronger than Isabella, so he doesn't need a guard. Plus, there is no need to watch over someone like that person."
"Ah, never mind me for now......"
Isabella glared at Elizabeth. At that gesture, Natalia chuckled.
Isabella cleared her throat and continued.
"Ahem. In any case, there are many examples where things turned out however one wished depending on personal effort. Among the students nearby, there are many chances. It is too early to give up."
Natalia nodded strongly at those words.
――That Night
At the Archibalt residence, Steve, Isabella, and Steve's wives were all gathered.
Isabella conveyed Natalia's feelings to her parents. Although Arthur has a fiancée named Lilia, a decision has not been made that a second wife is unnecessary. However, at this stage, if a second wife candidate appears, there is a high possibility of offending Margrave Remington.
So, while they supported Natalia during the day, the order was reversed, and now they sought permission regarding this matter.
Upon hearing Isabella's story, Christina's face crumbled.
"Arthur is popular, isn't he?"
She was in high spirits. But she soon turned serious.
"If the Lord is approached from all sides like that, the Margrave Remington's daughter will be pitiful."
She looked at Steve with sharp eyes. Steve silently protested, asking him not to bring up the topic now. Well, this was the usual routine up to this point.
Christina then turned to the other wives.
"As for me, as long as the Margrave Remington's daughter is not neglected, I think free love for a second wife is fine. Besides, it is still unknown whether the Margrave Remington's daughter can bear children. We must keep the possibility of a second wife open."
The other three agreed with Christina's opinion.
If they opposed it, they would be asked what their own status was, and there was no reason to oppose.
Confirming that will, Christina smiled at Isabella.
"That is how it is. But do not force Arthur."
"I understand. We are only providing the possibility. After that, it depends on his own effort."
Hearing this, Christina nodded satisfactorily.
――Some Days Later
Before the Western Noble Assembly, Steve and Aurora met at the Sowell family's castle.
An informal meeting before the assembly. There, Aurora spoke to Steve with satisfaction.
"Archibalt Construction's management is going smoothly, which is a relief. The Royal Capital branch of Salieri Trading Company is overwhelmed with expanding transactions."
The name Cavendish Construction had a bad impression, so it was changed to Archibalt Construction. Regarding public works, unlike Marquess Cavendish, they no longer forced themselves to take contracts, so the contract amount decreased. However, nobles and merchants who wanted to establish a relationship with the Archibalt family all requested work, so the workload increased more than before.
Procuring construction materials brought great profits to Salieri Trading Company and Fleming Trading Company.
"I thought the children would be slow with management, but they are growing faster than parents expected. I still cannot take my eyes off them."
"No matter how old they get, they are still children."
Even among the nation's top nobles, at this moment, they become parents.
"It is far better than smearing mud on a parent's face, but it is terribly lonely not to be relied upon."
"Those children, when they have a parent like you, they make that their goal, which is troublesome. The goal is too high."
"Yes, in that case, Arthur's goal is not me, but you."
At the unexpected reply, Aurora's eyes widened for a moment, but soon turned into the cunning and ferocious eyes of a snake that had found prey.
"Oh, how delightful. But why?"
"That is because that child cannot use magic. Seeing that he built power and economic strength surpassing the royal family without using magic, I believe he set that as the destination he should reach. He has not said it directly to me, but as a parent, I understand that much."
Arthur often begged Steve to tell him stories about how Steve and Aurora built the family together. And according to Steve's stories, Arthur showed more interest in Aurora's actions than in Steve's.
He cannot do the same as Steve because he cannot use magic, but there is a possibility he can achieve the same with Aurora. Therefore, if he sets a figure to aim for, it is her.
"Then shall I welcome her as my child and train her personally?"
It seemed Aurora's eyes glinted.
"No, he is a precious heir."
"Then, if we grant inheritance rights to both families, there should be no problem."
"Are you serious?"
"Of course. Unfortunately, my children lack talent. If it were only the former territory, that would have been fine, but they lack the ability to manage the current territory and organizations under our influence. Rather than letting it decline or split, we should welcome excellent people from elsewhere. Rather than destroying the family by sticking to blood, it is better for the name to remain."
Steve could understand that thinking. If the head of the Archibalt family was incompetent and the subjects were suffering, they would want to place a capable person as the head regardless of blood ties.
However, Steve had no intention of handing Arthur over to Aurora now.
"Currently, the head of the Archibalt family is my father, so it is beyond my authority."
"Yes. Then, until the succession changes, let us postpone this talk."
"That is how it is."
At that point, they were called because the assembly time had arrived, and the conversation ended.
In order to move Arthur, the author's ability reached its limit, so the word count is less than half of the planned amount. As expected, stories centered on genius characters are difficult. All the banter between Aurora and Arthur was cut. An ordinary person cannot come up with a dialogue between geniuses. But I want to write a little about Aurora in a side story, so maybe next time will be Aurora's story.
Also, regarding the temporary shareholders' meeting, I have set up quite convenient settings. For example, the settlement date for futures differs from the final trading day, which is due to the story's convenience and differs from Japanese laws and trading rules.