Chapter 40
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
"You swindling bastards! Bring the guildmaster out at once!"
Looking down at the first floor, Irina let out a deep sigh.
Lately, there hadn't been a quiet day at the Imperial Capital branch's VIP salon.
The cause was nothing other than a single cosmetic.
It could hardly be called just a cosmetic.
The value of the cosmetic known only to Lucia, the star of high society, was bound to soar sky-high.
For a week, Lucia used the same cosmetic at every social engagement, and her beauty shone brighter with each passing day.
The visual impact was more than enough to make the young ladies and noblewomen desperate.
Rumor had it that even the Empress had requested a private audience with Lucia……
And yet Lucia kept silent, and the secret of the cosmetic remained unsolved.
Crash!
"Aaaah!"
"W-What are you doing?!"
"You clearly said you'd deliver it by the banquet! Find that bastard!"
The noblewomen who had cheered a week ago were nowhere to be seen.
The nobles there had lost all reason.
The penalties alone had dealt a severe blow to the guild's cash reserves.
If anything else happened on top of this, the guild's very foundation would be in danger of collapse.
It was bad news for Patrian, but good news for Irina.
Leaning against the railing, Irina swept her indifferent gaze across the salon.
It should be about time for it to go off.
"Make way! Emergency report!"
The salon's rear door opened, and a frantic voice rang out.
The chief financial officer rushed in, his face ashen.
Heaving for breath, he soon spotted Irina on the second floor and shouted.
"D-Director! We have a serious problem!"
"Don't make a fuss. Give me your report."
"We've received demands for immediate repayment on the maturing promissory notes currently in circulation!"
Even the noblewomen causing the uproar froze at his next words.
"The creditors are demanding immediate repayment!"
As rumors of the failed delivery spread, the guild's credit rating had fallen.
Consequently, the creditors were invoking acceleration clauses and demanding repayment before maturity.
Irina paused for half a breath before asking.
"The creditor's name?"
"H-House Cardenos……!"
Thud!
Someone collapsed onto the floor.
The guild was on the verge of bankruptcy. At that realization, the noblewomen's eyes went wild.
"My money! Give me back my money!"
"Take responsibility right now! Do you know how much I've poured into you people?!"
They caused an even greater commotion as they tried to get their money back.
Amid the despair spreading in all directions, Irina hid a smile.
They had used an unknown cosmetic as bait to throw the guild into turmoil, then dried up its cash with a mountain of penalties.
The finishing blow was a trap using promissory-note repayments to cut off the guildmaster's last breath.
Irina raised her monocle and scanned the salon sharply.
'He's not here.'
One person was still nowhere to be seen.
The mastermind behind this entire disaster: Patrian's guildmaster.
Under normal circumstances, he would have swaggered about, but he hadn't shown even the tip of his nose.
"He tucked his tail and ran already."
A mocking laugh slipped between Irina's lips.
It was obvious that when the situation turned against him, he had passed the bomb off and fled alone.
A despicable, irresponsible man to the bone.
"What a pathetic piece of trash."
For a man who was supposedly the master of the Empire's number-one merchant guild to be this disgraceful was almost humiliating to witness.
Rather than anger, a deep sense of relief and exhilaration washed over her.
If he fled of his own accord, this would all end as easily as possible.
In truth, from the very beginning, she had been targeting Astin, not Ethan.
Irina turned away from the balcony without hesitation.
She now had the perfect justification to incite the key members and launch a coup.
"Summon the directors and elders to an emergency meeting."
***
Patrian's top floor, emergency meeting room.
The elders and directors sat around a massive round table.
Every face was grim. Only groans and heavy sighs filled the room.
"I never thought things would spiral this far."
Everyone secretly agreed with the elder's words.
A great merchant guild that had endured for over a century was about to go bankrupt overnight.
All because of a single cosmetic.
"What a state we're in."
"The penalty bomb, and now Cardenos's promissory-note claims. They really mean to bleed us dry."
"Even if we stripped the entire guild bare, we wouldn't have enough cash to repay it all. What are we to do……?"
Their meeting, held after clutching their heads, amounted to little more than 'What do we do? What should we do?'
They couldn't be blamed. It was an impossibly difficult problem with no solution in sight.
Kneel before the furious noblewomen and beg for more time?
Now that things had gone as far as bankruptcy, they certainly wouldn't grant it.
Cling to Cardenos's trouser legs and beg for mercy?
They didn't have the nerve to utter even a single word before Cardenos.
Tap- tap-
Seated at the head of the table, Irina tapped the tabletop with her fingertip.
They were no different from mice cornered in a trap. In that case, she might as well become the mouse hole they could crawl into.
Irina scattered the stack of documents she had prepared across the round table.
"If you fail to pay the penalties, you'll be referred to the Imperial Court for fraud. If you can't honor Cardenos's notes, all of the guild's distribution networks and assets will be seized."
"……."
"All of this happened because of the guildmaster's complacency, arrogance, and petty selfishness."
Despairing groans rose from the room.
Feeding on their despair, Irina's blue eyes gleamed coldly.
"There is only one way to resolve this situation."
Irina straightened her back.
Dozens of pairs of eyes focused on Irina alone.
Could she perhaps have something to fall back on? Hopeful faces clung to a single woman.
"We dismiss the current guildmaster immediately, holding him responsible for all of this. And if you appoint me as the new guildmaster, I'll negotiate directly with House Cardenos and put out this urgent fire."
It was a performance she had prepared in advance.
If the directors agreed, Irina would easily negotiate with Cardenos.
After resolving the crisis, she would solidify her position and establish herself as guildmaster.
"Ugh……."
They each looked around nervously and groaned.
Irina might be a commoner, but everyone here was a merchant.
Rank was meaningless before money.
They had only been hesitating out of courtesy.
"To be honest, our only hope is the executive director."
Whether Irina was a golden lifeline or a rotten one didn't matter.
A drowning person would even grab the tip of a sword.
Above all, they had no choice besides Irina.
If the head of a guild was unqualified, it was only natural for the second-in-command to take their place.
Besides, unlike Ethan, Irina had risen to this position through her own efforts.
"I vote in favor. I'm not merely endorsing Director Irina. That Ethan fellow ran away without taking responsibility, didn't he? A man like that has no right to be guildmaster."
"Agreed. We must drag that incompetent bastard down immediately!"
"I can entrust it to Director Irina. Since we're being frank, she may be lowborn and a woman, but isn't she far more capable at business than Ethan?"
"We should pass the motion to dismiss him immediately."
Irina let out a heavy sigh.
All this time, she had been wracked with anxiety over whether her plan would work and whether she would be found out.
At this very moment, everything had ended perfectly.
On the game board Astin had laid out, Irina had seized the guildmaster's position she had craved all her life.
'All that's left is Young Master Astin.'
By now, Astin was probably delighted that he had acquired a fine puppet.
But she had already made arrangements to prevent Astin from pulling any tricks.
Patrian could not be handed over to anyone.
Even if her opponent were the legitimate eldest son of a Grand Ducal House, Patrian had to be hers alone.
Now all that remained was to show him the cards she held.
If she did that, even Astin wouldn't dare touch her.
It was just as a dark smile spread across her lips.
Bang-!
The tightly shut meeting-room door opened. Everyone's gaze shot toward the doorway.
Standing there was Patrian's guildmaster, chin held high.
He wore an impassive expression, but his actual appearance was a mess.
His hair was disheveled, his clothes wrinkled all over, and cold sweat beaded his forehead.
"You're late, Guildmaster. Or should I call you the former guildmaster?"
"……What?"
"The motion to dismiss you was about to pass through this emergency meeting. Mr. Ethan. It's all over now."
Irina looked at him with a mocking laugh.
"Patrian has no need for a guildmaster consumed by an obsession with a woman."
His being driven into such danger was because he had mistaken his relationship with Lucia for something it wasn't.
He should have chosen between giving up Lucia and giving up the guild.
He chose Lucia, and ended up losing both.
He could never have had Lucia in the first place. Choosing the guild would have been the right answer.
"In consideration of your years of service, I won't hold you responsible for anything beyond this. Leave the guild and look after yourself."
Ethan's head drooped. His shoulders trembled intermittently.
It was the typical end of a loser. Not even a shred of sympathy filled the room.
Only icy gazes glared at him, and some muttered insults under their breath.
"Pfft!"
A bizarre laugh burst out.
"Kahahaha! Hahahahahaha!!"
Ethan clutched his stomach and roared with laughter.
The air in the meeting room turned icy at the unexpected peal of laughter.
Ethan wiped the tear at the corner of his eye with his fingertip.
"Irina. Do I look like someone who ran away to you?"
"……?"
"Ha, seriously. How can a woman supposedly this smart be so bad at reading the situation?"
Ethan walked toward the round table with his hands clasped behind his back.
"There's a rat trying to swallow our entire guild. That bastard is the one who created this whole mess. I wonder who that could be?"
He raised his brows and swept his gaze over the room.
"A filthy commoner—and a cowardly traitor at that."
At that, the elders began to murmur.
Uneasy sideways glances slid toward Irina.
Even amid the disorder, Irina calmly maintained her poker face.
Snap!
The guildmaster pointed at her with bloodshot eyes. Every gaze followed his fingertip and locked onto Irina.
"The mole who conspired with those Grand Ducal House bastards, drained our guild's cash, and even handed over the promissory notes. Isn't that you, Irina?"
Irina let out a hollow laugh.
It was an entirely natural suspicion.
The second-in-command swiftly sought to become guildmaster under the pretext of negotiating with Cardenos.
If someone turned a crisis into an opportunity, it was reasonable to suspect that person was the cause of the crisis.
"Anyone can make accusations based on words alone, Mr. Ethan."
"Words alone? Then what about this?"
Plop.
Ethan took something out and tossed it lightly onto the round table.
It was a magic stone holding a dull light—a recording magic tool.
"It's a recording of the conversation you had with Young Master Astin in the second-floor salon."
If it was that place…….
Irina maintained her expressionless face.
She had already prepared against this possibility. She had cast a perfect soundproofing barrier, and not a single bit of noise could have escaped.
Crackle-
Noise filled the meeting room.
The moment Ethan placed a small magic orb against the magic stone, a voice flowed out.
[Young Master, I understand that the principal can be recovered through the note purchases, but—]
It was Irina's voice.
Irina's pupils began to tremble.
"A soundproofing barrier isn't enough. Do you think blocking sound can also block the vibrations of objects?"
Ethan grinned at her.
"It's a specially made magic tool. It reads the minute vibrational waves of objects rather than voices and reconstructs them as sound."
Irina had never even considered that such a thing was possible.
In the first place, she knew every inch of the guild's technological capabilities.
This magic tool was either Ethan's independent measure or the intervention of an unknown accomplice.
[Understood. I'll begin my part of the operation as well.]
The atmosphere in the room reversed in an instant.
The faces of those who had been relying on Irina twisted at once.
"G-Guildmaster! Is this true?!"
"Director Irina tried to sell us out!?"
Snap-!
Ethan snapped his fingers.
The sound of dress shoes began to approach from beyond the open door.
With everyone's eyes fixed on him, a middle-aged man dressed in a suit entered.
The instant Irina saw his attire, her breath caught in her throat.
An engraved laurel wreath and peacock crest adorned his chest.
"This gentleman is the Rosenthal family's plenipotentiary representative. He has come in person to resolve the penalties and the promissory-note repayments."
Rosenthal.
A prestigious magical family that led the Sirius Tower and the Empire's magical arts.
There was another Grand Ducal House behind Ethan.
The magic tool Ethan had shown was impossible with the guild's technological capabilities.
It required the Sirius Tower's level of technology, or something comparable.
Rosenthal could do it.
Moreover, Rosenthal was why Ethan had remained so composed despite Cardenos's repayment demand.
Irina's pupils wavered uneasily. Both hands resting on her lap trembled.
Faced with the massive variable named Rosenthal, all her carefully completed plans were in danger of shattering.
Ptui-!
Ethan swirled his tongue around inside his mouth, then spat out phlegm.
The sticky spittle clung to the toe of Irina's shoe.
"You're finished now, Irina."