“When are you leaving, Duke Arthur?”

“First job tomorrow morning will be my departure, Duke Landon.”

Right now, Duke Landon is having a drink in my residence. We both have gotten quite close over the years. And he usually stops to take in a fresh breath.

“I see...Hope you have fun.”

“Having fun?? It’s going to be a full-on headache from here on, thanks to the rule you set up.”

“Rule?”

“Yeah...the one where I have to be above 17 years to start a company.”

“Well~~...I apologize, if I hadn’t done that...my daughter would be on the streets by 11 setting up her conglomerate.”

“You!!!...Due to you and your daughter, not only do I have to work on the Duchy but also on the conglomerate, at the same time!!”

“Who told you to start a company now?!?”

“I have been itching to start my own for years!!! You want to postpone it more??”

“You dug your own grave, Duke Arthur”

“And you pushed me into it, Duke Landon”

Sebastian made his way into our conversation, “Your Grace, please have some juice to cool your head down.”

“Thank you, Sebastian. Duke Landon here is a multiplier to my headaches”

Duke Landon then answered after chuckling a bit,

“Hahaha...Well, I apologize. But are you sure, you don’t want a party to make your current position known?”

“Party? Nope...haven’t attended one of those in years and I don’t plan to do so. It’s tiring to put up with the Nobles.”

“I see...and the real reason?”

“...tch...If a party is being held, I have to bow down to the Emperor to get the title. No way in hell am I going to do that.”

Even seeing him is making me want to throw up... 

“...It has been over 7 years, you still haven’t forgiven him??”

“Forgive him? That bast-...that guy cheated on mom for way more than 7 years. I don’t have the slightest of the intention to forgive him.”

“You two are always a handful…”, then suddenly with a dark face he spoke,”...no make it three.”

Ahh…

“William...how is the crown princess doing these days? I heard that the academy is quite hard on her.”

I heard rumors of William giving the cold shoulder to Lady Fiona.

“I don’t have a clue on where to start...The crown prince is completely ignoring Fiona. He is also apparently courting a Baron’s daughter.”

William...that bastard

I honestly have no idea what is going on in the head of his. At least, he doesn’t seem to have any evil intentions.

“He is almost like a child, isn’t he, Duke Landon?”

“Right...I hope nothing bad happens.”

“What was Lady Fiona’s reaction to William?”

“She did try to warn the girl, but the girl is stubborn. She is also always surrounded by the four idiots.”

What’s up with that?

“Who are they?”

“Crown Prince William, Son of Imperial army’s captain Richard Longe, Son of the Magic tower’s headmaster, Leo Gray and finally my son, Silas Hastings”

Hah?!?!

“...you are joking...no way...that is just not possible”

“I thought the same until I heard it from Fiona herself.”

“Haha...this is crazy.”, I couldn’t help but give out dry laughter.

Is that girl talented or are the boys complete fools?

Either way, this is nothing but a headache.

“Right now, Fiona is distracting herself with the conglomerate. But I don’t how long she can continue…”

“Luxica, huh. Luxica is selling chocolates and similar items right?”

Luxica Conglomerate is the one Lady Fiona founded recently.

“Hmm...yes it is.”

“Well, tell her to watch out for my Elz.”

Ah...I accidentally let out my smile. Somehow, people become vigilant after seeing it.

“No...No way. You are going to be on the same line as Luxica.”

“Uh-Uh. Well, I am gonna meet the Emperor and get his sign, right now. And after that, Elz Conglomerate will be officially created.”

“I...I see. I will warn Fiona about you.”

“hahaha...Well, see you later, Duke Landon.”

I got up and made my way to the palace.

“Until next time, Duke Arthur…….I should have gotten him and Fiona together, dammit!”

Though I heard the first half, the other half was too low for me to hear.

Well...I don’t think it was that important. 

“Sebastian, I will be back. Make sure Alice, Jane, and Ray are ready to leave tomorrow.”

“Will do, my lord.”

Now, I have to go and see that idiot…

Grumbling to myself, I imagine the sigil of wind and start flying towards the palace.

********

“May I ask a question, Arthur?”

“Of course, you may, Empress Camilla.”

Right now, I am inside the office room of the Emperor along with Empress and Diana. Emperor is reading the documents I handed over to him regarding the Conglomerate.

“Why do you want to start the Conglomerate?’

Why, huh...I never really thought about it, but if I have to give a reason…

“By having a Conglomerate, I can interact easily with both the citizens and the Nobles. The main reason is though, by having my conglomerate, I don’t need to have my territory depend on others. Depending on other companies may hinder the growth of the Duchy.”

“Eh?? Why is that, Brother Arthur?”, Diana asked me with a curious face.

“Hmm...let’s say, if I rely on another conglomerate, I won’t have control over the prices that conglomerate is imposing. But if I have my own, I can easily control them according to the current situation of the people. I have made them suffer for over 7 years, so I intend to let them live happily under my rule.”

“Ohhh….”, Diana suddenly went into her own thoughts.

You could say, I have grown fond of this girl over the past 7 years.

“Oh...and of course, if I create my own conglomerate, won’t I reap the profits myself.”

“And there’s the real reason!!!”, Diana exclaimed.

“Arthur, promise me…”, Empress cuts into our conversation with a gentle smile.

“It depends upon what you are saying…”

“Promise me, you will share a meal with us once a week.”

“Once a week?!? That might be a tad bit too difficult, Empress”

Once a week is a problem...I don’t want my energy to be drained after seeing that idiot’s face.

“Ehh?? You won’t, Brother??”

“Ugh…”, those puppy eyes pack a stronger punch than Sebastian’s sword.

“Please! Please!”

*sigh*

“Fine…”, in the end, I couldn’t resist.

“Yayyy!!!...oh you’re cooking, by the way.”

“Now, that’s a litt-”

“Arthur, the documents are all clear, The Elz Conglomerate is ready to start the business.”

Hmm...I wonder how good my luck would be after him saying it like that…

“Thank you, your majesty”, I said in my usual tone.

After all, I did say I would keep my business life and work-life separate. It would be childish if I didn’t follow my own words...more so when he is following my words.

But finally, after 7 long years, everything is set and ready to go.

“Good luck, Arthur”

“Do your best, Brother Arthur.”

Leaving the Empress aside...with Diana’s blessings, things just might go well.

Well...I have to wait and see it by myself.

**********

No, scratch that. I don’t have any reason to wait.

“Sebastian, where is the graveyard of the Switon family located?”

“Are you going to pay your respects, my lord?”

“RESPECT, my foot!! How can you utter such words after seeing the condition ahead?!?! All I want to do is slap those bastards back into life and ask whether they were right in the mind when the war started.”

Laying before me is the completely run-down Ducal house that I was supposed to live in.