Chapter 539

Checking with Amira and Modalfas
"Yeah. I don’t see any particular problem."

Without delay, I had Amira come into another room to go over the details.
From her point of view, this guest list didn’t have any issues.

"It looks like you’ve covered all the major noble houses in the country, and you’ve also invited other noble families connected to you, Big Sis. Personally, the only thing that worries me is Lord Sharon coming."

"Ah, so that’s the part that bothers you too."

"If you were just a gold-ranked merchant, he could turn down the invitation without raising eyebrows. But if a platinum-ranked merchant names him directly—and for a rank elevation-commoration party at that—there’s no way he can skip it. And if he makes the slightest blunder, he’ll be stripped of the crown prince’s seat for sure. Yep, he’s cornered."

So Amira saw it the same way I did.
She already knew about the bad blood between me and Lord Sharon.
Now then, what to do about it…

"Excuse me, Lady Lily, but is your relationship with this Lord Sharon really that bad?"

"Modalfas, you wouldn’t know. Long ago, there was an incident with a certain noble house, and after that, he started treating me like his sworn enemy. Well… mostly because Marquis Vardmoi and I talked him into a corner."

"Such a thing happened?"

"When I asked for permission to buy fruit trees from another domain in the Dukedom, Lord Sharon—speaking in the name of the royal house—said, ‘Do as you like.’ So Marquis Vardmoi and I did just that, and when he later raised objections, we shot him down."

"I see. If a crown prince is beaten by a mere merchant and a marquis, it’s only natural for him to bear a grudge. Though in this case, it’s pure spite on his part."

Exactly—it’s spite.
And yet, it seems he has no intention of letting it go.
So what should I do in a situation like this?

"Well now, why not just ignore him?"

"Is that really fine, Modalfas?"

"Lady Lily, you are not a subject of the McFarlane Dukedom. From now on, you will be a major merchant who can stand on equal footing with nations. Your choice to keep your main base in the McFarlane Dukedom is solely due to your ties with Marquis Vardmoi and the convenience of it being your original hub. Frankly speaking, we’d be happy to welcome you as a citizen of Darshe."

"Hmm… so it could be an option to play that card too."

"I think so, Big Sis. And on the guest list, there’s also the Grand Duke of Darshe."

"Grand Duke Sazaby?"

"Yeah. Also, it seems invitations were sent to the Isles of the Eight Gods too. We don’t know who might come from there, but I bet someone will."

That was a truly worldwide network.
I see… showing signs of closeness to them might also work.
… Still, in times like this, Amira really is more dependable.
As her big sister, it’s kind of pathetic.

What do you think about this chapter?