Chapter 141:  A Trap for Beasts (3)

Freya sat alone in her office.

She was deep in thought, seated at her shadowed desk.

“Roger Julius...”

An unerring eye that always found the right answer.

He had managed to get Echina—who had only ever held a sword—noticed by her father...

And even nurtured her into someone capable of contending with those who had studied business their entire lives.

“Right, I knew from the start it didn’t make sense. So that massive amount of money really was secured through stocks.”

She had worked for years just to gather up enough capital.

Meanwhile, Echina, who hadn’t even reached her first full year, had already secured billions through him.

Roger’s progress stung, but she couldn’t deny his competence.

“If someone with such sharp judgment went so far as to squeeze out funds he didn’t even have to invest, then that must mean Lloyd really is a strong prospect...”

Freya was currently struggling with a financial crunch.

Of course, there was the monthly revenue from Luton Maiden, but most of it was quickly depleted.

She had far too little spare capital to grow her assets.

To secure some, she needed to make an investment of her own—just like Echina, who had Roger by her side.

“Still... I’m not fully convinced yet.”

――――――

As she brooded alone,

the chief secretary she had sent out earlier returned to the office.

“Madam, I’m back.”

“Good. Did you bring Lloyd’s list of investors?”

When Freya asked coldly, her closest aide immediately handed over the list.

“Were there any major players on it—ones you think we can trust?”

“Yes. I thought there wouldn’t be any since it’s a company from the United Kingdoms of the North Sea, but surprisingly, many investors were from the Empire.”

Istina from the Istina Cathedral.

Helena from the Western Grand Duke’s House.

And even Mikhail, the Imperial physician, was on the list.

“Even someone under the Imperial name invested?”

“Yes. From what I’ve heard, he’s planning to establish an educational foundation for junior doctors after his retirement. During that process, he formed close ties with the Erian Foundation.”

Freya let out a scoff, stunned.

So now he had formed deep ties not just across the Empire, but even with the Imperial household.

“Investment restrictions aren’t something that can be easily bypassed—even within families. If someone under the Imperial name was willing to get involved, then...”

The eldest daughter of the Grand Duke’s house rested her chin on the back of her hand, her gaze serious.

Then, as if realizing the ambitions of that foxlike man, she smirked.

“So the rumor that he’s aiming for a baron’s title must be true.”

Freya exhaled briefly, as if all the puzzle pieces had fallen into place.

The reason he continued to cling to Echina even after leaving the Grand Duke’s house.

His intent to gain allies within the Imperial family and even share investment products.

“If this is a decision made by someone with such a clear goal... then I can understand it.”

The chief secretary looked at the eldest daughter’s sharply focused eyes with concern.

“However, Madam... we don’t know much about shipping. Especially when it comes to the United Kingdoms of the North Sea—we’re even more lacking in information there.”

The middle-aged man who had served her all his life knew very well.

He knew how immense his lord’s ambition was.

And how, once she put her foot on the pedal, she would ride it all the way to the end.

“Investing in Lloyd with only this much information is still dangerous.”

Of course, it was thanks to that very personality that she had managed to grow the company this far.

Even her father, the Grand Duke of the North, had seen that persistence in a positive light.

However—

Investment was a completely different game.

Persistence could turn into obstinacy.

Obstinacy could become foolishness.

And foolishness could result in catastrophic losses in this field.

“I know.”

Freya was certainly aware of that as well.

Which was why she hadn’t jumped into investing right away either.

“You need to know the perfect time to sell with things like this.”

She had quite a bit of experience under her belt—she was something of a seasoned investor herself.

“Come to think of it, Echina said she’d be dining at the mansion this evening...”

Freya never opened her purse unless she was sure of the value.

To gain that certainty, she decided to speak with the very person at the center of it all—her own younger sister.

“Cancel tonight’s dinner gathering, Chief Secretary.”

――――――

That night.

The dining room at the Luton estate was brightly lit.

A long table, large enough to seat dozens.

Yet only one place setting was laid.

“……”

A modest cut of meat and a single glass of red wine.

The second daughter of the Grand Duke of the North, Echina, was enjoying a meal as restrained as her personality.

At least, until her sister took the seat across from her.

“Echina, it’s been a while.”

Even at her sister’s arrival, the younger woman didn’t bother to meet her gaze.

She merely brushed aside her bangs indifferently and savored her wine.

“What is it?”

“Does there have to be a reason for me to say hello?”

The elder daughter responded with a relaxed smile.

Then, she asked the attendant for a glass of wine for herself.

“Two glasses of Château Libre.”

“Yes, Lady Freya.”

One of the three finest wines of Nord.

A single glass cost over 100,000 gold.

Freya, who had just ordered it, calmly looked at her younger sister.

“You might as well enjoy some good wine while you’re home.”

“I’m not really one for appreciating wine.”

Red wine with steak.

Echina only followed that much of the conventional pairing.

Freya found this side of her utterly endearing.

With a faint smile playing on her lips, she asked her sister,

“You seem pretty interested in stocks lately.”

“……”

Echina immediately understood the implication behind her sister’s question.

And so, without saying a word, she silently continued cutting her steak.

But for the elder sister, the sight of her wary sibling only filled her with more certainty.

“There’s no need to get prickly. After all, all of your profits came from the stock products Roger recommended, didn’t they?”

Freya raised her wine glass, as if to say she could see right through everything.

Then she quickly caught the glint in her sister’s eyes reflected on the smooth glass surface.

“What is it you’re trying to say?”

“I’m just worried my little sister might’ve been devoured by a foxlike man.”

“If it’s Roger you’re worried about, you don’t need to be. I’ll make my own judgments just fine.”

Echina met her sister’s gaze with eyes as cold and stark as the Nord mountain range.

Freya, in turn, responded with her gentle, golden gaze.

“You don’t need to be so wary of me, Echina—not like you are with Eric or Edward. We’re sisters, aren’t we?”

“……”

True, there had never been any real conflict between the two.

From the start, the eldest daughter had been wholly focused on business to win their father’s favor.

While the second daughter had spent her time solely with the knights.

“Since those two brothers formed such a cowardly alliance, shouldn’t we at least share information between us?”

“……”

Echina didn’t bother refuting her.

Now that she thought about it, her sister had a point.

Edward stuck close to Eric—shouldn’t she, too, have someone to rely on?

“I’m investing in shipping.”

“Shipping? But domestic shipping stocks have already skyrocketed. Don’t tell me... you invested before that happened?”

The black-haired second daughter shook her head calmly.

“No. The one I invested in is overseas.”

“If it’s overseas, then it must be somewhere in the United Kingdoms of the North Sea…”

As Freya murmured in a quiet voice, Echina spoke up without hesitation.

“Lloyd Shipping.”

“Lloyd? That company was only recently listed. Is it really safe to jump into something like that so quickly?”

In response to her sister’s question, Echina silently took a sip of her wine.

Then she let out a short breath and continued.

“It’s a trustworthy company. Even before it went public, it was already a well-known shipping firm in the United Kingdoms of the North Sea.”

“Hm… I see. Then how much did you invest?”

A faint flush spread over Echina’s pale skin.

She looked like a white peach.

“Maybe around 10 billion.”

“Where’d you get the money? You already sent about 30 billion to Father.”

In truth, Freya had a rough idea where the funds had come from.

But she wanted to hear it directly.

From her adorable little sister’s own mouth.

“I just borrowed it from someone I know.”

A curt reply.

Freya quietly nodded in understanding.

But inwardly, she was thinking,

‘If she’s being this secretive, then it must be a solid deal.’

“If you’re thinking of investing in Lloyd, I won’t stop you. If another major investor jumps in, it only benefits me.”

Echina took another sip of wine, her face now flushed.

At that, Freya smiled lightly and offered a toast.

“Right. If I get involved, its growth will speed up even more.”

“But, sister. As the only sibling you have in the Grand Duke’s house, let me say this…”

For the first time, Echina called her “sister.”

At that, the eldest daughter looked at her sister with a surprised expression.

“You’d better get the timing right when you sell. Foreign stocks are hard to predict.”

Freya chuckled at the sight of her tipsy sister.

Then, waving a hand, she responded with the composed air befitting the eldest daughter.

“You think I wouldn’t know that?”

“No, I’m not joking about this.”

Echina firmly shot down her sister’s casual remark.

Then she held up her fingers, forming the number ten.

“I’m only going to hold out until it goes up tenfold.”

Tenfold.

At Echina’s nonchalant statement, a slight furrow formed between Freya’s delicate brows.

Lloyd Shipping is going to go up tenfold...?

She had known the company’s value would rise.

But she had never imagined it would rise that much.

Very few shipping companies had ever gone up more than tenfold in value.

Is that kind of growth possible because it’s a new shipping company...? No—more importantly, how does Echina even know that?

“A friend told me. They said tenfold is certain, but even they couldn’t guarantee anything beyond that.”

“I see... Would it be okay if I asked who that friend is?”

Echina immediately shot her sister a cold, serious look.

Even under the haze of alcohol, she drew the line with conviction.

“There is someone like that.”

“Got it. I only asked because I was curious if they were trustworthy.”

The Grand Duke’s daughter was the first to rise from her seat.

She casually adjusted the collar of her uniform as she spoke.

“They’re trustworthy.”

For Echina—who had always been so cold—to say someone was trustworthy.

Freya didn’t press the question.

Because she already knew who it was.

And that fact alone was astonishing.

That sly-looking man had earned such deep trust from her little sister.

“……”

After Echina rose from the table,

only empty dishes remained on the long table.

But Freya Luton couldn’t bring herself to stand just yet.

Because the number tenfold was circling through her mind.

“It's really going to go up that much...?”

Even with just 1 billion, it would become 10 billion.

With 10 billion, it would become 100 billion.

And with 100 billion, she could recover not only the damages from the marble incident but also join in on her father’s trade route development project.

That could also be enough to win back the attention he currently gave only to Echina.

It might even become a powerful asset in the battle for the position of family head.

“……”

Freya pulled out the cream-colored bundle of papers she always carried with her.

Then, with practiced ease, she began writing a letter with her fountain pen.

It was addressed to the head of the stock exchange she had in her pocket.

“Denver, investigate a trader at the exchange named ‘Roger Julius.’”

The eldest daughter of the Grand Duke of the North stood up and personally attached the letter to a carrier pigeon.

Afterward, she sat alone, drinking wine as she waited for the reply.

By the time she had finished her third glass, the pigeon had returned at full speed.

And the moment she read the reply—

“I knew it.”

She muttered in a chilling voice that closely resembled the Grand Duke himself.

“Roger Julius has deposited 10 billion gold into the exchange and invested it into Lloyd Shipping.”

“The sell reservation is set at 200,000 gold per share. In other words, 20 billion gold.”

“He tells Echina to cash out after a tenfold increase, but he’s actually betting on twenty-fivefold himself?”

Freya burst out laughing in the empty dining hall.

The red wine in her glass shook violently.

“Ha! That fox of a bastard…”

She wiped away tears as she shook her head.

“I swear, there isn’t a single soul in this world worth trusting.”

Just moments ago, she had been saying how sisters needed to stick together.

But now, alone again, Freya returned to her cold demeanor and took another sip of wine.

“So he’s planning to sell everything right at the peak, huh?”

Soon enough—

She grabbed her pen and wrote another letter to the head of the exchange.

“One bite of the pie won’t hurt, right, Roger Julius?”

It was a directive to invest 50 billion gold into Lloyd Shipping the following day.

“……”

From the corridor, Echina quietly watched her elder sister.

Then, just as she confirmed the moment Freya sent off the carrier pigeon,

she walked away in silence.

Her face, now drained of all color and completely sober.