TMHR - Chapter 18

Episode 18: Castillo's New Mistress Swallows Up the Commercial District

At the heart of First Avenue in the Imperial Capital, a strange tension hung in the air early in the morning in front of the 'Castillo Merchant Guild Headquarters,' said to be even larger and more magnificent than the Imperial Bank. 

The merchant guild's chief executive and high-ranking nobles were lined up in the lobby, whispering amongst themselves. This was because a message had arrived from the Duke's residence last night stating that a 'new acting head of the guild would be inaugurated.'

"Just who is coming that you ordered the entire headquarters to be vacated? Did you perhaps recruit a great merchant from the North?" 

"Tsk, haven't you heard the rumors? With Duke Valdemar imprisoned and Madame Eleanor seizing full authority, they say she has installed the young lady who is to become his daughter-in-law as the head of the guild." 

Baron Gilbert, the guild's second-in-command and the chief executive who secretly helped manage Duke Valdemar's slush funds, let out a wry snort. 

"You mean that rat-like daughter of the fallen Count Werner family? Ha! Do you think a girl sold to creditors can even read numbers properly? It is obvious that Madam Eleanor has set up a puppet to tighten her grip on us. She seems to think running a merchant guild is child's play, but let's give her a good scolding today and send her back." 

It was just as the executives smiled in despicable smirks in agreement with Baron Gilbert. 

Clop, clop. 

Castillo's carriage, pulled by four top-quality black horses, came to a smooth stop in front of the guild headquarters. The carriage door opened, and the first to spring out was Kian, a man of massive stature approaching 190 centimeters. He quickly stepped onto the ground and extended his hand toward the carriage with the careful and courteous demeanor of someone handling fragile glasswork. 

"Ah, young lady. Please be careful as you disembark." 

Liliana appeared, escorted by Kian.

"Gasp." 

A gasp of astonishment involuntarily burst from the lips of the lined-up executives. The timid and shabby Lady of a Count from their memories was nowhere to be seen. 

Dressed in a sophisticated, deep navy silk dress with her hair neatly styled up, Liliana exuded the cold yet overwhelming dignity of a ruler. However, Baron Gilbert stepped forward, feigning nonchalance. 

"Welcome to the Castillo Merchant Guild Headquarters, Lady Liliana. I heard you have come on an errand for Lady Eleanor. If you hand over the documents to me, I will handle them..." 

Just as Baron Gilbert was about to reach out to block Liliana's path.

Swoosh!

With a chilling friction sound, a gleaming blade lunged within an inch of Baron Gilbert's chin. 

"H-Hiiik!" 

Gilbert recoiled in terror and fell onto his backside. It was Kian, who had been standing like Liliana's shadow, who drew his sword. 

"How presumptuous. How dare you extend your filthy hands toward the young lady?" 

There was not a shred of playfulness in Kian's rough and crude voice. It was the murderous killing intent of a ferocious hound, the kind one might see on a northern battlefield, threatening to sever one's head immediately if the line was crossed one more time.

The merchants, who had spent their lives pushing pens, turned pale and trembled in fear. Liliana did not even blink in the face of that grim scene. Instead, she lifted her chin slightly and looked down at Gilbert with an elegant and cold smile. 

"Put it back, Sir Kian. Didn't the members of the merchant guild get startled?" 

"I apologize!" 

Kian immediately sheathed his sword and stepped back, but his blue eyes continued to glare menacingly at the executives. Liliana spat out coldly at Gilbert, who had slumped to the floor.

"And Acting Merchant Gilbert. You have addressed me incorrectly. I am not the young lady sent on an errand, but the 'Chief Executive' who will lead this merchant guild as of today." 

Clatter. 

She took something from her bosom and placed it on the marble table in the lobby. It was Castillo's 'Golden Seal of the Chief Executive,' contained in a red velvet case. Faced with the dazzling radiance of the golden seal, the executives had no choice but to swallow hard and bow their heads. 

*** 

A short while later, in the main conference room on the top floor of the guild headquarters. 

Sitting at the seat of honor, Liliana crossed her arms and scanned the dozens of branch managers and executives gathered around the table. Acting Merchant Gilbert wiped the cold sweat from his brow and racked his brains to somehow regain the upper hand.

"Ahem! Congratulations on your inauguration as Merchant, but... the affairs of the guild are not as easy as you think, Young Lady. There are tariff issues at the southern trading port next month, and the fluctuations in spice prices." 

"So, did you siphon off the 15 percent margin omission from the spice trade in the Southern Branch 3 into Duke Valdemar's nominee account, Acting Manager Gilbert?"

"... Yes?!" 

Gilbert's mouth dropped open. Without even glancing at her, Liliana began to recite the ledger figures, which were perfectly imprinted in her mind, without hesitation. 

"Imperial Year 418, 3rd Quarter Settlement Report. Of the 30,000 gold billed for Western Iron Ore transportation costs, only 15,000 gold was actually deposited into the merchant guild. The remaining half was reinvested in the 'Ghost Merchant Guild' under your authority as Acting Manager. Did you find it quite fun to launder Duke Valdemar's slush funds and pick up the crumbs?" 

"Th-what do you mean...! How could you frame me like that without any evidence!" 

"Evidence?" 

Liliana smiled coldly as she elegantly set down her teacup. 

"The very first thing I did upon receiving orders from Madam Eleanor was to compare the Black Rose Guild's back ledger with our merchant guild's double-entry ledger. This means that the whereabouts of even the one penny you embezzled are perfectly etched in my mind." 

The conference room fell silent, as if cold water had been poured over it. The other executives were astonished by Liliana's devilish memory and insight, unable to even breathe. The girl they had thought was the foolish daughter of a fallen noble was, in fact, the Empire's greatest accounting genius. 

"L-Let me see His Excellency the Duke immediately! I will not take a single step without His Excellency the Duke's permission!" 

Just as Gilbert sprang to his feet in a fit of desperation... 

CRACK!

Kian, who had been standing behind Liliana, pinned Gilbert down on the shoulder with one hand and forcibly forced him into his seat. Gilbert screamed and snapped his head back under the bone-crushing grip. 

"Kian. Kick that piece of trash out of the trading company immediately and hand him over to the security forces tomorrow morning for embezzlement." 

"I will obey your command, Miss." 

Kian snatched Gilbert by the back of the neck like a piece of luggage and dragged him out of the conference room. The merciless physical force of a vicious dog and Liliana's perfect paperwork punch. Faced with the fantastic teamwork between the two, the remaining executives turned pale and nervously watched Liliana. 

"Now that the rotten part has been cut out, shall we talk about real business?" 

Liliana clasped her hands together and leaned over the table. The gleam of a fierce predator flashed in her pale green eyes. 

"The dogs of the Imperial Household are trying to strangle Madqm Eleanor. From this moment on, I intend to destroy all 'grain merchant guilds' and 'magic stone distribution networks' in the capital, operated by the Minister of the Interior, Marquis Morte, through an all-out war." 

"What?! M-Marquis Morte is a core faction of the Imperial Household, an all-out war?!" 

The old merchant, newly appointed as acting head of the merchant guild, retorted in a trembling voice.

"The method is very simple. It is the basics of capitalism." 

Liliana tossed a golden seal onto the table. 

"Go find every subcontracting merchant guild and farm owner trading with Morte. Pay them exactly 'double' the price they pay Morte in cash, and Castillo will exclusively purchase all the supplies." 

"Double?! Th-that would cause the merchant guild massive losses! Even with Castillo's capital, hundreds of thousands of gold would just be thrown into thin air..." 

"For the safety and victory of my mother, I do not care if I throw millions of gold into thin air." 

Liliana's resolute and overwhelming declaration of capitalist flexing. It was not the calculation of a shallow merchant weighing cost-effectiveness or margins. It was a declaration of war befitting an iron-blooded ruler determined to completely starve the Imperial Family economically. 

"As long as I hold this trading company, Castillo's coffers will never run dry. Watch closely how I cut off the lifeline of the Imperial faction with money." 

At that overwhelming charisma, all the executives in the conference room rose from their seats and bowed deeply toward Liliana in unison. 

Liliana was no longer anyone's puppet or daughter-in-law. The most ruthless 'Queen' who would stain the Empire's commercial sphere with blood had been born. 

Coming out of the meeting, Liliana smiled gently at Kian, who was waiting for her in the hallway.

"Good job, Kian. Thanks to you, I finished the meeting very comfortably." 

"Ah, ah, no! When you were scolding me... I... you were really cool!" 

A huge, stammering beast, his face turning as red as a tomato. In the midst of a commercial war where a chilling wind of blood was blowing, a soft and fresh spring breeze was gently blowing.

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