Chapter 40 - Aslan, Have You Lost Your Mind?

[Translator - Peptobismol][Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 40 - Aslan, Have You Lost Your Mind?

"What are you going to do? Answer me, Aslan! The Empress is scheduled to visit tomorrow! You have a plan, right? Tell me you have a plan! Hurry!"

"...What?"

"Hah!"

Irene let out a sigh of disbelief.

"What? What? It sounds like you didn't know!"

"Explain it to me. What are you talking about?" Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ N0vᴇlFire(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"How could you not know!? It's your road! The Empress is attending the opening ceremony of the first road through the mountains! And she’s planning to visit Vermont after riding along the road. How could you not know this!?"

Irene shook me by the collar, her voice breaking. The woman who seemed unshakeable now looked ready to cry in front of me.

"Is this information confirmed?"

"It's information straight from the palace! If this isn’t accurate, what could be!?"

Alright, let's get this straight.

The road is completed, and the Empress is attending the opening ceremony.

And she plans to visit Vermont after that.

How could I not have known about this?

This road was originally managed by Arient, and I took over when they relinquished the project.

So, there's only one possibility.

Arient received the news about the Empress's visit but didn't inform me.

Those bastards...

"Coachman, to Arient."

"Oh, oh no! I forgot! I'm sorry, my dear brother! I swear I didn't intentionally keep it from you, it just slipped my mind..."

"Are you kidding me? You forgot something as crucial as the Empress's visit?"

"I've committed a grave sin! There's no excuse for my forgetfulness!"

"..."

Ugh, my neck aches.

I thought they had intentionally kept it from me to screw us over.

But it turns out it was just a simple oversight?

I was about to doubt them again, but seeing the Count of Arient prostrating himself, pale-faced, my suspicion quickly faded.

He's thrown away all his pride.

"Damn old man! Get up!"

"I'm so sorry!"

"Enough, pay with your life. If you're senile, it's time to die. You don't want to embarrass your kids by smearing crap on the walls, do you? Just die!"

"Sister, calm down."

"How can I be calm right now!?"

I restrained Irene, who was about to smash the Count's head with her heel.

We can't kill this man.

He's the one who pays us a monthly tribute, I mean, interest.

After a while of holding back the fuming Irene, she finally calmed down a bit and looked at me.

Her eyes seemed to ask, "So what now?"

"Count, your mistake has put us in a difficult position. How would you feel if you found out about the Empress's visit the day before?"

"Very troubled, of course..."

"What if we make a mistake while entertaining the Empress? The Vermont family could be erased just like that. It would be easy to explain it as, 'We hid it to ruin the debtor.' Makes sense, right?"

"No, no! I swear that's not it, dear brother! Please believe me!"

"To prove your innocence and our friendship, you'll do anything, right? Isn't that so?"

"Of course! Anything!"

A sly grin spread across my face, and the Count's face went pale again as he realized his mistake.

"Then let's amend the contract. From now on, Arient will cover all road maintenance costs."

"How long?"

"Forever."

Is this man trying to negotiate with me?

I glared at him, and he looked like he was about to cry.

"You said you'd do anything. Aren't you bringing the contract? If you delay, I'll cancel all your subcontracts and demand the interest due next month by tomorrow..."

"I'll get it right away!"

The Count of Arient quickly ran off, wiping his tears, and returned with the contract.

We rewrote it on the spot.

Originally, Arient handled the maintenance, and we paid for it. Now, Arient covers everything.

[The Evil God 'Kali' praises your shrewdness.]

This will save us about 2 billion larks annually in fixed costs.

'No point in getting mad at Arient. Might as well take what I can get out of this mess.'

What's done is done.

Beating up the Count won't cancel the Empress's visit to Vermont.

So, I decided to take what I could and end it there.

If I pushed any further, Arient would really go bankrupt. I took just enough to keep them afloat.

On the way back to Vermont, Irene crossed her arms and glared at me with dissatisfaction.

"You. Is this how you've been running the family while I was away?"

"What do you mean?"

"When someone messes with Vermont, you need to set an example. That man committed a grave sin against us, and you just let him go?"

"Why cut open the goose that lays golden eggs? Profit comes first, not family pride."

"You're spouting obvious nonsense. This is why Vermont is seen as a toothless tiger lately. You're weak. Why are you the heir instead of me...! Ahem."

Irene clenched her fists, raised her voice, and then cleared her throat.

"Sigh. I agree anger won't solve this. So, what's your plan? As you said, one mistake could erase Vermont. Do you have a plan?"

"A plan to entertain the Empress? I don't have one."

"You idiot, you...! Ugh!?"

I pushed Irene down into her seat as she started to get angry again.

Despite her dislike of me leading the family, she didn't want to see the family fall.

So she's pretending to cooperate for now.

As long as she's not here to hinder me, that's already a big help.

"I have a plan."

There's still time to prepare a plan for entertaining the Empress.

After all, I've played this game before.

...Well, only Chapter 1.

***

"Lord Vermont, I am a royal messenger, here on behalf of the Empress, who will be visiting tomorrow. I have important matters to discuss about her visit..."

"We'll save all surprises for later. Now, our discussion is over. You may leave."

"But Lord Vermont...!"

I quickly chased away the messenger who had been waiting at the mansion.

What? You want to discuss the visit schedule?

I have nothing prepared. What can I say?

If I speak, I'll only reveal my lack of preparation, so I made up an excuse and sent him away.

"A grand banquet and a splendid party... might be too much, but we can prepare something respectable. The goal is to avoid displeasing the Empress and get through this without any trouble. First, get rid of that unsightly brown creature."

[It's not brown! It's earth-colored! Gyaaah!!!]

"No, Earthy. You can't hiss at everyone."

"The Empress will probably be horrified at the sight of that thing."

"No. The goal is not just to get through this event smoothly. We need to leave a deep impression on the Empress. That's the goal."

"Are you insane!?"

Ignoring the children's reactions, Irene glared at me, raising her voice.

Even if we both want the family to survive, it doesn't mean we have the same approach.

"Don't be ridiculous. Leaving a deep impression on the Empress? It might be easy to leave a bad impression, but a good one? No way. The Empress is an emotionless monster, a tyrant. To her, the world must seem black and white. How are you going to please a woman who has never smiled in her life?"

"That's..."

"Every method you can think of has already been tried by countless sycophants and failed. Gold, delicacies, art, even the most renowned beauties couldn't move her."

"There's one thing. One thing no one has tried."

"...What is it?"

Irene looked at me with a suspicious expression.

As she said, the Empress is a machine-like person, a monster who rules with strict and harsh measures.

But even such a person has a weakness.

She keeps it hidden from everyone, but in reality...

"Children."

"...What?"

"We'll use children. The Empress has a soft spot for children."

She loves cute things.

Immensely.

To the point where she doesn't know what to do with herself!

"Aslan, have you lost your mind?"

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]