episode_0145

‘Our plan is simple.’

Amelia and Xenia form a temporary alliance after realizing that the royal family intends to pair Rupert with Iolin.

Although they both knew that they were each other’s rivals, they had no choice but to join forces in the face of a greater crisis.

“Will this really work?”

After hearing Amelia’s plan, Xenia wasn’t sure if it would really work.

‘Imperial marriages are extremely tricky.’

What Amelia was after was the strict procedures of the imperial court.

Even if they were collateral branches, the imperial family was strictly managed under strict laws as long as they continued to have imperial blood.

Especially in the case of Iolin, he was a very noble person who was directly connected to the succession to the throne.

A marriage between such royal families could not proceed haphazardly.

‘His Highness the Crown Prince also got engaged, but broke off the engagement when the other party’s family’s corruption was revealed.’

It was for this reason that the Emperor had not yet decided on a marriage partner for his successor, the Crown Prince.

First of all, not all nobles could be considered as opponents because they had to be of royal status.

Secondly, even if the opponent is of equal rank, the family’s power should not be too strong or too weak.

Lastly, there absolutely must not be any disqualifications in the family or the person you are marrying.

Since the person marrying into the royal family also becomes a member of the royal family, it was common for a thorough investigation to be conducted to avoid any scandal later on.

-There is a rumor that Youngae of the Yura family had a promiscuous relationship with men while attending the academy.

If there was even the slightest flaw, whether it was in the present or in the past, it was immediately judged as a disqualification, and most marriages with the royal family were out of the question.

That was exactly what Amelia was aiming for.

‘Even if His Majesty the Emperor decides to marry Rupert, it will take a long time for the marriage to actually take place.’

Of course, Rupert is in perfect condition, from his family background to his reputation and abilities.

It was only natural that the Emperor would consider Rupert as a match for the Princess.

Moreover, since she was on close terms with the Crown Prince, marrying Iolin could actually give power to the Crown Prince, which would have been the icing on the cake.

And unlike the crown prince, the princess’s marriage partner verification would be done relatively soon, so she didn’t have much time to spare.

‘If we take it first before the imperial verification is complete, then there will be no problem.’

That’s why Amelia decided to join forces with Xenia.

‘Because I can’t harm Rupert.’

In fact, with the power of the Duke of Bluewell, it was possible to prevent Rupert from marrying into the royal family by spreading bad rumors about him and putting a bad reputation on him.

But that was a choice Amelia could never make, so the method she chose was to strike first.

Since he has not yet been chosen as the princess’s match, now is the perfect time to take action since Iolin is held back by the royal marriage procedures.

‘But I alone am not enough.’

Moreover, Amelia was not afraid to join hands with Xenia to ensure the success of this operation.

It was an alliance proposal made with the idea that if Iolin and Rupert were to become linked, there would be no other way, so we had to increase the chances of stopping them even a little.

“Yeah, in the end, this is the only way… .”

At first, Xenia was a little hesitant about Amelia’s proposal, but she eventually decided to accept it.

Because I would hate to see Rupert taken away by someone else.

***

“Now it looks like we’ll have to choose a second workshop site, aside from the Somerset Estate.”

Esteban spoke to Rupert in a suggestive tone, drinking the coffee that Alain had personally brought out.

“It is certainly no longer possible to handle the scale of our mansion’s land.”

The grounds of Somerset Manor were already occupied by various goods factories, including Somerset Workshop, so even the spacious garden of the manor was full.

The Marquis of Bradley felt sorry every time he saw it, saying that it was not a marquis’ residence but an industrial complex, but Rupert was very sorry that he could not use it any longer, as it saved costs and made it easier to maintain security.

“Do you have a place in mind?”

“I think it would be a good idea to build factories in the future in Sleepy Territory.”

“That’s okay. The distance is close because it’s right next door, and the land price in the devastated Sleepy Territory is very cheap.”

“That’s not why.”

Rupert was very concerned about the Sleepy Estate, which had suffered great damage from Satanael and the Night’s Host, although it was not his fault.

That’s why he generously provided support by spending his wealth, and his older brother Richard and the elves stayed to help with the restoration, but that alone was not enough.

“Now it is harvest time, but most people have no work because the crops for the year were ruined, so I want to provide a way for the sleeper estate residents to make a living.”

Esteban felt slightly embarrassed at Rupert’s words.

As he was a merchant to the core, he sometimes had a habit of calculating profit first rather than being considerate or thinking of others.

Sometimes when I felt like I was overthinking things like this, Rupert would try to stop me.

Esteban naturally thought that perhaps it was because Rupert had been holding the reins that he was able to continue the business without making any major mistakes.

“I didn’t know that Marquis Damien would make such a bold decision.”

“Yes. On the surface, they will remain as they are now, but internally, it is no different from a merger.”

The reason we are discussing such a sudden expansion of business now is because Marquis Damien came to Rupert and Esteban with a groundbreaking proposal.

The Marquis’s proposal to merge the Vera Group he owned with the same role as the Uren Group was something that even Rupert and Esteban could not have imagined.

“The top is currently paralyzed just from selling books and goods, so this will be a huge help.”

“Yes, we were worried that our Somerset workshop employees would have to work overtime more frequently to meet production volumes, but this is a good thing.”

At first, the conditions were so favorable to them that they suspected that Marquis Damien was up to something.

‘Instead of doing this, all of the later subcontracts for the top of Yuren will be monopolized by our Vera top, and we will also hand over 10% of the shares of the top of Yuren.’

On the other hand, the Marquis’s proposal to hand over 20% of the shares of the upper part of the ship meant that they would become one.

This was a decision made based on the conclusion that since the potential for future development of the Yuren top was much greater, the Vera top would be profitable simply by monopolizing the subcontracting of the Yuren top.

Rupert and Esteban, who saw the meaning of not being able to become the number one, but using the power of the number one to solidify their position as the number two, accepted the Marquis’ offer.

Now, it has been decided to subcontract a certain portion of production and sales to Vera Top.

“The Rupert Fables that are being published this time alone have a huge number of pre-orders.”

“Rupert Fables was never intended to make a profit in the first place, and with the support of the royal family, the price must have been very cheap.”

If it weren’t for the support from Vera, it would have been difficult to handle the huge influx of reservations, so it was truly a godsend.

Rupert’s new work and first educational book, , was sold without a margin, as it was a book that would help the children of the empire, and his intention to give back to society with a public purpose was accepted.

The number of reservations alone is the largest of any book to date.

-This is something we need to look at 10 or 20 years into the future.

Esteban also followed Rupert’s advice that they should make at least some profit at first because he realized that this was the seed.

‘It’s scary to think about what it will be like 10 to 20 years from now when the children who read fairy tales and comics today will be adults and have families of their own.’

The dissemination of books, something Rupert has consistently advocated from the beginning to the present.

Esteban was impressed when he realized that the strategy of selling the lowest grade books at almost cost price was an investment in the future.

Even though children who currently do not have the financial means and can only see Rupert’s works if their parents buy them for them, when they grow up and become adults, they will recall those memories.

In that case, they were creating a new customer base that would buy not only various goods they couldn’t afford back then, but also books and toys for their children.

And when that time came, a foundation that was incomparably more solid than it is now would be established, and Esteban could clearly see the growth that could be called the Summerset Empire.

“When that time comes, the young master’s grand goal of Somerset Land will come to an end.”

“Yes, one of my ultimate goals is to have children who grew up seeing my work come to Somerset Land with their families.”

The concept of an amusement park based on fairy tales and comics was still unfamiliar to Esteban.

But now he too was beginning to see the outlines of the Somerset Lands that Rupert was drawing.