How The Sub-Male Lead’s Stepmother Teaches Love Chapter 254

“Damn it, damn it…”

 

Count Dilas, who was biting his thumbnail with an anxious look on his face, was shaking with one leg.

 

He looked so restless that it was exhausting to watch, but the Countess, seated across from him, couldn’t bring herself to point it out.

 

“This is all your fault! Of all people, you had to provoke the Marquis of Ajas? Do you even realize how far the Hermen Merchant Guild’s connections reach?”

 

More than half of the dungeons within the empire are located in the north.

 

And that vast Northern territory? It all belonged to the Marquis Ajas.

 

In other words, the northern markets were practically in the palm of his hand.

 

In particular, the scale of monster processing factories, which process monster by-products and sell them on the market, is so large that it can be counted on the scale of a continent, let alone an empire.

 

Then there were magic stones, essential to the creation of magical tools. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say more than half of the stones circulating in the market came from the Marquis Ajas’s territory.

 

No wonder there was even a saying that no merchant could succeed without establishing a presence in the North.

 

Of course, they can live well even without setting foot in the North or trading magic stones or monster byproducts.

 

But even so, they must not fall out of favor with the Hermen Commercial Guild, which has established itself in the North.

 

To be blacklisted by them meant not only losing ties with the guild itself but also every merchant affiliated or trading with them.

 

However, the Dilas merchant, which is directly operated by Count Dilas, had been blacklisted.

 

Why? Because of his wife who was out of her mind and kept talking nonsense!

 

“Listen carefully, you, if you don’t get this thing done, you’re going to get kicked out of the house.”

 

“W-What? That’s way too harsh!”

 

“Harsh? Do you think this is a joke? If we can’t fix this, our family will go bankrupt! Completely bankrupt!”

 

Two months ago, Count Dillas had met directly with Duke Kereis and secured a lumber supply contract—for shipbuilding.

 

On the coast under Duke Kereis’s domain, there was an old superstition: the sailors only boarded ships made from mooncloud wood.

 

Mooncloud wood.

 

A tree from an ancient mermaid legend—ships built with it were said to be protected by mermaids from underwater, keeping them safe from hitting reefs.

 

Although it may be considered a mere superstition now, it was very important to the sailors who entrusted their fate to a single ship.

 

Thus, ships not made of mooncloud wood were completely rejected by local sailors.

 

The problem? Mooncloud trees had long gone extinct in Duke Kereis’s territory. Now, they only grew in the Duke of Daphne.

 

So any deal involving mooncloud wood required Duke Daphne’s approval.

 

Since Count Dilas had been dealing with him for quite some time, he thought he would be able to trade mooncloud wood easily.

 

But just as he was preparing to ship the goods to the Duke of  Kereis, the aide he sent to the Duke of Daphne returned in a panic.

 

“What? Was it a pricing issue? Offer him 10%, no—20% above the market rate. This deal must go through!”

 

“M-Money’s not the issue. He said he wouldn’t sell at any price. The thing is…”

 

The Duke Daphne reportedly said he couldn’t do business with someone who slandered the Marquis of Ajas, whom he treated like his own nephew.

 

That’s not the end of it.

 

“Oh, it is said that all the moon-cloud trees cut down this year will be sold to Marquis Ajas…”

 

“Count, if we want any, we’ll have to negotiate with him instead…!”

 

Technically, the Marquis of Ajas hadn’t bought the entire supply—there were others.

 

They could try to track down those buyers and purchase small quantities at inflated prices, but it would take too long to meet the delivery deadline agreed with Duke Kereis.

 

Worse still, once word got out that Dillas had crossed both Duke Daphne and the Marquis Ajas, other trading companies began refusing business.

 

‘I have to convince the Marquis somehow. Otherwise,…’

 

The advance payment from Duke Kereis had already been reinvested elsewhere.

 

If they failed to deliver the goods, and the deal fell apart?

 

Duke Kereis’s fury would be the least of it.

 

The Dillas merchant, built up over generations, would lose its credibility—and for a merchant, once trust was lost, recovering was as hard as a fish learning to breathe on land.

 

In short, it means that it is close to impossible.

 

‘I worked too hard to build this merchant guild.’

 

So now, Count Dillas could only clasp his hands and pray—pray that today, the doors of Paul Herbina’s estate would open.

 

Looking at him like that, Countess Dilas just bit her lips.

 

As silence weighed heavily between them, their carriage finally arrived at the Herbina mansion.

 

“Count, we’ve arrived.”

 

Normally, a visiting guest would be greeted by the servant or butler.

 

But since they were not invited, only his coachman and servant opened the door.

 

The guards guarding the main gate of Paul Herbina did not move even when they saw the carriage stop before their eyes.

 

Still, Count Dillas sighed in relief—at least they weren’t being turned away. That was better than nothing.

 

‘I must meet the Marquis today.’

 

Yesterday, they’d been kicked out after making a scene. Today, he planned to say nothing and quietly wait by the door.

 

As long as they weren’t blocking the path, surely the guards wouldn’t throw them out again.

 

Count Dilas got out of the carriage with such determination, but things turned out contrary to his expectations.

 

“Are you Count Dilas? Come this way. His Highness the Marquis is waiting for you.”

 

“He—He’ll see me today?”

 

“His Highness the Marquis was not at the mansion yesterday, and his wife was resting due to poor health.”

 

The guard looked at the Count like he was tired of explaining that.

 

‘You rude bastard! Do you know who I am and yet you look at me with such arrogant eyes?’

 

He wanted to scream loudly, but Count Dilas just nodded.

 

He couldn’t risk losing the meeting over a flare of temper.

 

“What are you doing? Hurry up!”

 

As the Count followed the guard a few steps, he looked back to find his wife still in the carriage.

 

Countess Dilas, who had been waiting for her husband’s escort, eventually had to get out of the carriage with the help of her servant.

 

‘You’re embarrassing me like this……!’

 

Countess Dilas’ face turned red, but she couldn’t bring herself to shout at her husband and hurriedly followed him.

 

“Countess, please come this way.”

 

“What? I’m not going with my husband?”

 

As they entered the mansion, one of the butlers waiting in the lobby tried to guide Countess Dilas to another place.

 

Startled, she glanced at her husband, who looked just as uneasy. Count Dillas stepped forward.

 

“Does the Duke wish to see me alone?”

 

“Not exactly. The Marquise is waiting to meet the Countess.”

 

“Oh, is that so?”

 

Count Dilas’ face brightened at the butler’s answer.

 

If she refused to meet them, there was nothing they could do. But now that she was agreeing to meet first—it was a golden opportunity!

 

“Dear, when you meet the Marquise, don’t say anything else—just sincerely apologize.”

 

“Honey!”

The Countess looked at her husband in shock.

Without blinking an eye, Count Dillas raised his voice at her as if scolding a subordinate

 

“Remember what I said on the carriage. I am a man who does what he says.”

 

Count Dilas, who had been scolding his wife sharply, looked at his wife with a displeased look and turned away.

 

As she watched him walk away without a hint of hesitation, the Countess had to bite her lips and clutch the folds of her dress with both hands to keep herself from bursting in frustration.

 

“…Lead the way,” she said.

 

“This way.”

 

Count Dilas turned around to check on his wife, who reluctantly followed the butler.

 

“Tsk…”

 

‘Surely she wouldn’t make another scene?’

 

If she had any sense left, she would be groveling before the Marquise—but she had already caused scenes like this more than once.

 

‘This is why you have to choose your people carefully.’

 

‘Our child was already grown and enrolled in the Academy anyway. Maybe getting a divorce would be better after all.’

 

Count Dilas was still having those thoughts when he cleared his throat in front of the Marquis’s drawing room.

 

“Your Highness, Count Dilas has arrived.”

 

“Come in.”

 

Although he was called a Marquis, Marquis Ajas was a young man about ten years younger than him.

 

Count Dillas had considered persuading him if he turned out to be gullible enough.

 

But the moment he met the gaze of the man looking up at him while sitting cross-legged on the high seat, Count Dilas had a gut feeling.

 

This man was not someone who could be coaxed with a few clever words.

 

* * *