I’m Not the One Who Seduced the Grand Duke Chapter 29

“I absolutely cannot back down like this. That woman has ruined my children’s lives! Gerold, of course, but even Sylvia’s future…!”

Count Valentine vented his rage as he downed his whisky in one gulp.

“I believe in my children. This is all Zaherette’s doing. That woman seduced my son, and in the end, she ruined my daughter as well!”

“Oh, dear.”

The duke responded half-heartedly as he took a sip.

As much as they said blood was thicker than water, the count’s judgment was atrocious.

Even someone like me, who has little interest in high-society gossip, knows how much the Young Master fawned over the marquess. And yet, as their father, he doesn’t understand his own children at all.

Not to mention that Countess Oscar had used her younger brother to target the marquess’s wealth.

But to Count Valentine, both of his children were innocent victims.

He’s no longer useful.

It was just as the duke was inwardly cutting ties with the count.

“Are you not worried, Your Grace? Zaherette is growing too powerful. You know there are only a handful of noble houses in the capital that haven’t borrowed investment funds from that woman, don’t you? Zaherette is practically functioning as a financial institution openly.”

“Hmm.”

“And now that she has acquired Bernstein as well, she already rivals the influence of most ducal houses. The Mercier ducal house has nothing to worry about since their young lady is soon to become Empress, but Blanche…”

“……”

The duke’s eyes sharpened instantly.

The count quickly shut his mouth, but the duke’s piercing gaze did not waver.

That was right.

The one weakness of the Duke of Blanche, who was otherwise perfect in every way as an aristocrat—

It was his inferiority complex.

The young lady of House Mercier was from another ducal family, yet she had been chosen by the Emperor and had become his fiancée.

As fate would have it, the Duke of Blanche also had a daughter around the same age.

He had tried everything to make his daughter Empress, but the Emperor had chosen according to his own heart without considering political positions or the balance of power.

And so House Mercier was destined to become the family that would produce the future Empress.

Tsk. If I’d known things would turn out this way, I wouldn’t have married my daughter off in such a hurry. Who could have known that what looked like a worthless prospect was actually a hidden gem? If only I had at least secured her the position of Grand Duchess.

But the duke’s daughter, overcome by humiliation at not being chosen by the Emperor, had married into the royal family of a neighboring country that very year.

Thus, Blanche no longer had a young lady available for a marriage alliance.

And now, with Zaherette gaining this much momentum—

I recognize her abilities, but it’s true that she’s been getting a little too bold lately. Hmm.

Now then, what should I do?

As the duke fell into thought, his eyes landed on the count, who looked as though he were about to die of injustice.

A smile slowly spread across his face.

“Come to think of it, you have a territory called ‘Valore’ among the lands your family owns, don’t you?”

“Pardon? Ah, yes. It’s an abandoned piece of land near the capital.”

“As I recall, whenever Zaherette transports the tea leaves harvested from its territory to the capital, it has to pass through that land.”

“That’s right. It’s a territory that barely manages to survive on the tolls Zaherette pays for passage. Why do you ask—”

The count suddenly stopped.

Count Valentine, who had been answering cautiously, froze.

He had realized what the duke was getting at.

The rage-blinded count’s lips slowly curled upward.

 

***

 

“All right, then. First of all.”

I nodded silently and looked at Leon.

When he said he was going to seduce me, I wondered what exactly he planned to do.

“Wait a minute. Seduce me? Here? Is that really okay?”

“What were you imagining? Don’t worry. I’m seducing you in your own way.”

What did he mean by telling me not to worry, and what exactly was “my own way” of seduction?

The conversation was gradually heading in a direction I couldn’t understand, but for now, I decided to listen.

He confidently raised one index finger.

“You have to get married eventually. Right? You need an heir so that everything you’ve protected all this time won’t be taken away by someone else.”

“That’s true.”

“But that doesn’t mean you can marry just anyone. Take what happened with Valentine this time. That Young Master tried to trap you because he was after your family and your wealth, didn’t he?”

“……That’s true too.”

“Exactly. Then, at the very least, marrying someone on your level or someone better than you would be the safest marriage for you, Erna.”

“Of course, I mean for the sake of protecting the family you cherish so much.”

He quickly added that last part.

I slowly nodded.

“From that perspective, I may not be your best choice, but I certainly won’t be your worst. You agree this far, don’t you?”

“That… is true.”

That was true as well.

“I have Bernstein and the Emperor behind me. That will undoubtedly be helpful to you. The exclusive port rights I promised you as an engagement gift would be merely a taste of what I could offer.”

“That makes sense.”

“I’m even handsome.”

“……I can’t argue with that.”

“And I’m good in bed, too. Ah, you already know that from personal experience. Several times, in fact.”

“I… do.”

Damn it, so I really did look up at the ceiling more than once. Laura is going to be very pleased.

My vision went white for a moment at a certain truth I had inadvertently learned.

No, let’s calm down first.

It had already happened, and there was no point making an issue out of it now.

It wasn’t as if I could really complain about it anyway.

I took a deep breath.

Let’s just admit it. Honestly, he isn’t wrong.

Even if I excluded that last part, most of what he said made sense.

Why? Hadn’t Laura said something similar before?

If I were my old self, these would be such good terms that I would have accepted without a second thought.

But…

There was just one thing.

One thing was so bothersome that it overshadowed all those advantages.

Some issue that kept making me hesitate.

And that was—

“…I understand what you’re saying, Leon. I think there’s plenty of merit to it.”

“Then?”

“But before I make my final decision, there’s one thing I’d like to confirm.”

“What is it?”

“Anything you want.”

He asked with a gentle smile, as though he would kindly answer no matter what I asked.

Encouraged by that, I took a deep breath.

Then I looked him straight in the eye and was about to ask—

“So, you, by any chance…”

“Marquess!”

The salon door opened with a jingle, and a man came running in.

It was none other than Jean, the administrator of the Roar trading company.

“I apologize for interrupting your private time. I heard you were here… I came because there’s an urgent matter I need to report.”

“It’s all right. What happened?”

Normally, he would have waited for me at the estate.

The fact that he had come all the way here meant the matter must be urgent.

At my question, Jean, who was still catching his breath, spoke with a pale face.

“There’s been a major problem. The entire trading company is in an uproar.”

“Roar?”

No, what on earth could have happened?

 

***

 

“What? They suddenly raised the toll?”

“Yes.”

At my surprised question, Jean quickly nodded.

“Hah!”

I let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity of it all and sank into my seat.

We were now at the Roar trading company headquarters.

Because Jean had suddenly appeared in the middle of my date with Leon, we had no choice but to change locations.

Any problem with the trading company was ultimately a problem for all of Zaherette.

So, after asking Leon to understand, I hurried to the trading company, only to receive this ridiculous news.

“House Valentine suddenly notified us that, starting this month, they would be raising the toll on their land to five times the current amount.”

“What? Five times?”

“Yes. So I hurried over as their representative to discuss the matter, but they refused to meet with me.”

As he said this, Jean handed me a document, saying that they had given him this instead.

[We hereby inform you that, beginning this month, the toll currently paid by trading companies passing through the territory of House Valentine will be increased by ‘five times.’

This measure shall take effect immediately, with the first application scheduled to begin at the end of this month.]

That wasn’t all.

[Furthermore, should you wish to negotiate regarding this matter, please contact the Valentine estate within this week.]

In other words…

“They want to negotiate?”

“That’s what it seems like, yes.”

“But when you actually went there, they turned you away at the door?”

Jean nodded, saying that was precisely why he had urgently sought me out.

Jean was the representative of Roar and managed its overall administration, but ultimately, I was the head of the trading company.

“They got the first strike in.”

Who would have thought they’d resort to such a dirty trick?