CHAPTER 74: LUCIEN WANTS IT ALL

"Then... what are you going to do?"

It was the first time in his life that Lucien faced such a situation. Though he had sworn to destroy the Lionheart family before, the opponent was now far stronger.

He had to strategize, and honestly, he had a plan already in his mind, although it might sound a little absurd.

"Hmm... although I want to retaliate, this isn’t the best time."

Malcolm calmed down after Lucien asked and slowly explained.

"Now that I have the Invitation to the Circle of Nobility, my focus is on the Domain Dungeon—Shadow Kingdom, which can be opened at any time."

Since Lucien had already explained this to his parents, both Cedric and Seraphine knew how important this was.

"A title is extremely necessary. I can already feel some movements from the mana of Soren. It has become increasingly restless. We need an identity of the World of Origin."

Malcolm said with a solemn voice.

"So, I have decided to reduce our business’s sphere of influence for now. Although currently only Castor is eyeing me, it can’t be said others won’t join."

"At that time, we will surely lose more than now. So, while we still can, it is better to conserve our wealth. Although I have some secret force with me that I trained, they cannot fight with an entire army."

In Malcolm’s opinion, the threat of the Lionheart family was nothing. That so-called declaration of war was even laughable.

They didn’t even have a fiefdom in this kingdom. Where were they going to war?

Wasn’t this a joke?

It was just a fancy way of looting their business across the kingdom justifiably.

So, before they do exactly that, he decided to gather all the wealth directly.

In fact, he had already thought of entering the World of Origin with his whole family once he got the title in the Shadow Kingdom.

He had no love for this place anyway.

After knowing that Velatrix might still be alive along with his Goldveil family, Malcolm really had no intention of playing games in this barren continent.

So, even if there was no trouble like now, he was ready to gather wealth and leave Soren. Now, it just gave him the reason to fasten the process.

"Father... isn’t this a bit hasty? Won’t this give the sign that the Goldveil family has lost already? It might really cause chaos."

Cedric, who was listening quietly from the beginning, finally couldn’t help but ask.

After all, their Goldveil’s business was really big. If they suddenly decided to withdraw from the Edoria Kingdom completely, chaos would issue without a doubt.

People, who depended on their family, would begin to have doubts.

If you lost the heart of your people, then you are doomed. This much, even Cedric knew.

Poor him. He didn’t know that Malcolm was already thinking of leaving this world.

"What loss?"

Malcolm rolled his eyes at his foolish son and began to scold him without mercy. Maybe he was also venting earlier grievances he had with Lucien onto him.

"Cedric, don’t forget what we are. We’re merchants. Businessmen."

"We don’t run after power or empty praise. We follow profits. That’s the only thing that speaks in our world."

"If one deal fails, you don’t sit there crying over it. You move on. You find the next market, the next buyer, the next chance."

"A smart merchant doesn’t mourn losses; he learns from them. More importantly, he knows when to cut ties and when to walk away."

Malcolm was relentless, pouring out all the wisdom he had on his son.

"That’s how you survive in this world. Don’t be too stubborn, and be sharp."

He looked at Cedric coldly and was about to scold him a bit again when Lucien’s curious voice broke the tension in the meeting hall.

"Wait a minute... Grandpa, if what you said is true and our family is a merchant family, then...."

He suddenly looked at him and questioned incredulously,

"...why has no one in our family awakened a Merchant Class?"

He couldn’t help but be surprised. From the potential class list, he knew that there was a Merchant class.

Then, why did his Goldveil family, a scion of the Merchant Empire, not have a single Merchant among them?

Lucien looked at his mother, who was a Mage, his father, who was a warrior, and his grandpa, who was a beast tamer.

Even if he excluded his father and mother, his grandpa, who single-handedly made such a huge Goldveil family business empire, should at least have awakened a Merchant class, right?

Not only Lucien, Cedric, and Seraphine also thought the same, as they all looked at Malcolm with a weird look.

Why did they feel like there was something wrong here?

"What are you looking at?"

Malcolm was annoyed by their judging looks and couldn’t help but snort angrily.

"How do I know why no one is a Merchant? We don’t even know if such a class exists."

He said, and then looked at Lucien in anger,

"Kid, I am discussing serious issues here, and your mind is wandering here and there. Don’t you have a sense of urgency?"

"That Lionheart has declared that they will kill you as soon as you leave the capital. At least learn to make a proper plan to tide you over this trouble instead of wasting your brain on such things."

Maybe because he really thought Lucien was being reckless, or maybe due to something else entirely, the arrow of his scolding shifted from Cedric to his son.

Unfortunately for Malcolm, Lucien wasn’t someone who would just listen quietly. Before he even finished his speech, Lucien waved his hand and said lightly,

"Don’t worry, Grandpa, I already have an idea of what to do. I just felt weird that despite being such a successful merchant, no one managed to awaken as a Merchant in our family."

Unlike others, Lucien knew there was indeed such a class. So, his suspicion was fair.

Of course, he didn’t think it was a loss, though. It was just that he was curious.

What kind of ability did the Merchant class have?

"Oh? You already have an idea?"

Malcolm, Cedric, and Seraphine looked at him in surprise.

When did this guy become clever? Why didn’t they know?

"Then why don’t you share it with us? Why are you hiding it like it’s some royal secret?"

Cedric twitched the corner of his mouth speechlessly and couldn’t help but scold.

If you had a plan, share it so they could see if it would work. But this guy was clearly safekeeping it like a treasure.

"Cough... well, although I had an idea, you guys might not like it. After all, it is a little extreme. I don’t know if you have the guts to go through even the first step."

Lucien coughed a little embarrassingly and rubbed his hand while looking at them with his signature smile.

’He is doing it again.’

As soon as Lucien showed such a smile, Malcolm suddenly jerked as if having déjà vu.

He felt that he knew what this look meant.

"Guts? Why do you need guts? What kind of plan do you have? Are you planning to fight with them head-on or what?"

Cedric didn’t understand and asked, not seeing a nervous look on Malcolm.

He thought Lucien might really have a plan. After all, he had changed a lot during this time, and even had an unusual class rank.

Maybe his son could come up with something they couldn’t. After all, if possible, he really didn’t want to abandon his business like this.

Unlike Malcolm, he had some sentiments about his business and this place.

As both Cedric and Seraphine looked at Lucien with curiosity, Lucien instead looked at Malcolm, who seemed nervous, and suddenly smiled like a typical Merchant.

"It’s not a fight or anything risky."

"All I need is for Grandfather to transfer the Goldveil family to me."

Lucien said in one breath, not giving them a chance to react,

"After that, handling this matter will be easy. All you have to do is believe in your grandson."

Lucien patted his chest, as if he already had everything covered. His confidence was so strong that both Cedric and Seraphine didn’t know what to say.

Only, Malcolm looked at Lucien with a dark look and cursed under his breath,

"This brat is looking at my wealth again."

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A/N:

The power system has been properly explained in the Auxiliary Chapter. Check it out if you are confused. Thank You!