Chapter 227 Crushing Victory
"Why does it seem that way?"
"Not to be rude, but it's hard to believe that a young commoner like you could suddenly create a merchant guild of that size. You need funds to do that, and I heard that aging Elma brandy takes 20 years. There's no way you could do it from scratch, right?"
It's not just Victoria who thinks the Sophia Merchant Guild belongs to the Grandchester family. Most of the nobles who attended yesterday's opening ceremony probably think the same way. They might even mistake Sophia for the mistress of Marquis Grandchester or his son.
Sophia chuckled softly.
"Duke's wife is quite straightforward, isn't she?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"I was just wondering what age you think I am..."
Victoria was taken aback. She realized that the young-looking woman sitting across from her might not be as young as she appeared.
'Oh no! I should have remembered the example of Lady Orson nearby, but I let my guard down!'
"I'll be honest since there's no point in lying. Some of the funds for establishing the Sophia Merchant Guild did indeed come from the Grandchester family. However, that was a legitimate reward for my work for them, and in a capital sense, I am not under Grandchester. This is a completely independent merchant guild."
'Oh, that's a bit of a lie. There's also the money collected as a fine, and I've lent some to the Grandchester family from my merchant guild. Thinking about it, maybe I'm a bit too deep in?'
"It's true that the Grandchester family is the biggest customer and business partner of the Sophia Merchant Guild. They have provided various considerations for us to operate here. But that doesn't mean the merchant guild is controlled by the Grandchester family."
"I can't believe a woman could run a large merchant guild, let alone a small shop."
"I don't feel the need for Lady Duke Arbal to believe me. Please feel free to interpret as you wish. However, I want you to remember one thing: no matter what noble title a man has, there is no one I want to marry right now. Personally, I don't like Avalon's law that 'women cannot inherit titles,' and I also dislike the unreasonable rule that only men can attend the academy. Even if the day comes when I have a husband, I won't even think about letting him manage the merchant guild."
Sophia smiled brightly.
"That's why I won't marry a noble man. The moment I bring in a husband to have an heir, I won't let him take over the management of the merchant guild while I stay in the background."
This was a sharp irony directed at Victoria. Despite being a direct descendant of the Duke Arbal family, Victoria married her husband to have an heir, and her husband inherited the title of Duke. Naturally, managing the territory was also her husband's job.
Of course, if Victoria were to separate from her husband, he would have to return the Duke title to her. However, a direct female descendant can 'hold' the title but cannot inherit it herself. It would have to be passed on to her next husband or to her son or grandson.
"Hehe. Sophia, you're interesting. No one has ever boldly said such things to me before."
"I apologize for my rudeness. I'm very sorry."
"I apologize to you again. It's not just about Lysander, but please forgive the rude actions of my messengers and servants."
"Milady! Why are you bowing to commoners?"
The Lady-in-Waiting shouted as she saw Victoria lightly bowing her head to Sophia.
"To ask for her forgiveness for your rudeness, of course."
"If that's the case, I will apologize."
"No, a mere verbal apology is not enough."
Sophia shot back at the Lady-in-Waiting.
"What! A commoner dares to insult me!"
"You're right, I am a commoner, but what about you? Even if you are a distant relative of the Duke Arbal family, your name as a knight's daughter should not be listed among the nobility. Or do you think that being a servant of the Duke Arbal family allows you to act arrogantly like a noble? That would be a disrespectful act towards your lord!"
'Sedrick, thanks for the info even though it was sudden!'
"Sophia is right. Serena, you should stay quiet."
Victoria said, using all her mental strength to keep a calm expression while scolding the Lady-in-Waiting. However, the woman sitting in front of Victoria was very frightening. If she let her guard down, she felt like she would lose her color and start shaking.
Serena was not the usual Lady-in-Waiting that Victoria used. Just before their departure, the regular Lady-in-Waiting had injured herself by tripping down the stairs, so they had to bring in Serena, a relative, as a last-minute replacement. Being from the leading Duke family, Victoria knew that many spies were lurking around. However, she never imagined that the background of a temporary Lady-in-Waiting would be figured out in such a short time.
"Lady Arbal, I won't let anything about Lord Celcius slip from my mouth. However, since it was an event at the salon of the famous high-class courtesan known as Madame Violet, I think many others are aware of it too. It would be better for you to have those people keep quiet."
Sophia said, smoothly handing over 3 sheets of paper. Inside were the names of nearly 100 participants, and Victoria realized that it would be impossible to silence them all.
"Lord Celcius seems to have been gambling while completely drunk. It looks like there are people who intentionally get young noble heirs drunk and make a lot of money from shady gambling. The heirs who end up in debt are forced to bring in another heir as a new target... I mean, customer. That person might want to choose their friends more carefully."
"Isn't that a crime?"
Sophia smiled brightly.
"The first name on that list is someone close to the organizer of this salon. I've crossed out the names of those who were at the gambling table. The third list has the names of the heirs who seem to be victims of illegal gambling. The second list is of regular participants, but if their interests align, we might get some testimonies."
"!?!"
Victoria squinted at the list again.
."I'll pay any price for this information!"
"Please keep it as it is. This kind of list didn't exist, and there were no customers who came to our merchant guild early this morning. There are no issues with the Marquis Celcius family or the Duke Arbal family."
"...Is there nothing you want from us?"
"Not particularly. If I had to say, it would be that I want to leave soon."
At this point, Victoria completely raised the white flag to Sophia. She realized that there was someone sitting in front of her whom she absolutely should not make an enemy of.
'I feel like I've accidentally stepped on the tail of a very dangerous beast. Moreover, the other party seems completely unfazed by having their tail stepped on, just brushing it off as an annoyance...'
"Sophia, I mean Ms. Sophia, I'm really sorry for being rude."
"I am an honored merchant who had the chance to meet the famous Lady Duke Arbal, known as the flower of high society. I hope to have your support from now on."
Sophia acted as if the series of events that started with Lysander's visit never happened. Since Sophia herself declared, "There's no problem at all," this matter was buried in darkness.
"Thank you, Ms. Sophia. From now on, the Duke Arbal family will not be enemies with the Sophia Merchant Guild. At least while I am Lady Duke, I swear to be fully on the side of the Sophia Merchant Guild."
"Thank you very much, Lady Arbal."
"I want you to call me Victoria. I would like to slowly discuss the ways of women with you in the future. But I won't keep you any longer today. I'll pray for your business talks at the salon to be successful."
Victoria smiled at Sophia from the bottom of her heart. Sophia also felt pleased with Victoria's attitude of honestly admitting her faults and quickly changing her actions.
"Mrs. Victoria, may I whisper something to you?"
"Huh? Yes, that's fine."
Sophia leaned closer to Victoria's ear, hiding her mouth with a fan, and whispered softly.
"The messenger from earlier and the knight guarding you are passing your knights' weapons to merchants in your territory. The name of that merchant is..."
It's not a lie. By chance, she found out that 2 annoying people were working together to do bad things, so she just took advantage of the situation. Even though she looked like Sophia, on the inside, she was the unsettling Sara. She won't just sit back and let harm come to me.
Of course, they will be imprisoned and face severe punishment.
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