Chapter 261.1

Chapter 261.1

Chapter 261.1. Elizabeth’s Decision

-Elizabeth’s POV-

Upon Elizabeth’s statement, her dear brother widens his eyes in astonishment.

“W-What are you talking about, my sister? Starting another trading company?”

“That’s correct. That’s precisely why you’ve inherited all of Dog Puppy Company’s shares, right? In exchange, you should have given me the shares of the Wolf Cub Company, the subsidiary that deals with daily magical goods.”

“W-Well, that’s true, but isn’t that to avoid turmoil within the family? That’s why you handed over all Dog Puppy Company’s shares to me, didn’t you?”

With a puzzled expression, he leans in with an intense glare, prompting Elizabeth to sigh in exasperation.

“Of course, that’s one reason, but please take a look at the current state of our family. Before Father passed away from heart failure, he had used a substantial portion of our assets. He had high hopes for his new model magic weapon. But, that model no longer exists. An accident happened, didn’t it?”

With a sardonic twist of my lips, I brush my hair aside.

Menou Marquisate had a treasure vault that stored things like Orichalcum and Adamantite, various magic gems and stones, and magic artifacts that were said to be lost arts—tools so rare that they were virtually unobtainable for many years.

Now, it’s all empty. There’s absolutely nothing left. Father used everything for his new model magic weapon.

The branch families all express their agreement, making up about 70% of them. The remaining branch families wear expressions akin to having bitten into a bitter pill.

“I will buy out all the shares held by Dog Puppy Company. The arrangements for that are already in place.”

“To think that you could easily secure the current decision-making power of Dog Puppy Company... With the help of Takano County!”

The current Dog Puppy Company cannot be controlled as Menou Marquisate wishes. That’s because Takano County alliance having acquired shares.

If they exercised their decision-making rights, they could sell off shares of subsidiaries to individuals, leading to rejection. If arrangements are already in place, anyone would realize we are relying on the alliance’s power.

When my dear brother inquires in a blaming tone, I retrieve a fan from my chest, opening it wide to cover her mouth.

“It’s the condition for the duel. If I win, Takano County’ll distance themselves from the Royal faction. If Takano Miu wins, I’ll distance myself from the Kanna faction. I believe this is an extremely fair proposal.”

“S-So that’s how it was... But, it’s the detested Takano County, isn’t it? Isn’t Shin-kun your fiancé?”

“It’s based on the duel’s result, and I didn’t intend to break off the engagement with Shin-sama just to distance myself from Kanna Dukedom. If the independent company stops dealing with Kanna Dukedom, that would suffice.”

“That would make Shin-kun’s marriage a thorn in his side... I see, Elizabeth had prepared herself to that extent.”

“I didn’t intend to lose... but even if I lost, I thought this proposal wouldn’t be a loss for the family. Dog Puppy Company, a declining Menou Marquisate’s subsidiary. By distancing ourselves from the Kanna faction and establishing an independent company dealing with everyday magic tools, we could also ally with Aburage Viscounty.”

“If we look at it objectively, it does seem to be true... We could also engage with the Urhara Corporation. If we discreetly redirect their technological prowess to Dog Puppy Company, we might be able to revive again.”

“I’m not shameless enough to go that far. In the future, we could fix our relationship, and Dog Puppy Company might regain its strength.”

Furthermore... I let out a deep sigh and conveyed this to my elder brother.