CHAPTER 459: CHAPTER 437 MEETING CATHERINE AFTER THE BRIEF MEETING (PART 1)

After the meeting, the city councilors and civic elites left with mixed feelings, unable to resist no matter the situation.

After all, Horn came to announce a decision to them, not to solicit their opinions.

What is there left to say for the defeated?

With the meeting over, Horn’s schedule wasn’t finished yet.

Before the meeting, Catherine had arranged with him to have a little private chat, a so-called "one-on-one meeting."

Following Catherine upstairs to the third floor, he pushed open the door filled with floral fragrance, revealing a two-room suite.

Noon sunlight streamed through the crystal glass windows onto the desk, and a breeze slipped through the cracks, making the papers weighted with ink bottles flutter continuously.

Catherine pulled over a chair, knocked for the maid to bring some tea and gracefully smiled at Horn, "Can you wait a little? I need to freshen up and change clothes."

"Didn’t brush your teeth this morning? You’ve already put on makeup, what are you washing your face for?" Horn wondered, "Your clothes aren’t dirty, why change them?"

Catherine was briefly at a loss for words, pouting as she replied, "A lady freshening up means she is going to the bathroom!"

Horn casually sat on the cushioned chair and indifferently said, "Oh, whether you’re going for a number one or number two, I’ll wait."

Flushing deeply, Catherine stomped heavily and slammed the bedroom door behind her.

Once Catherine left, the bedroom became quiet, and sitting in the chair, Horn grew bored and stood up to survey the room.

One had to admit that the Megedi Clan deserved their reputation as a business family; just the outer study of this bedroom alone was nearly a hundred square meters, without even accounting for common areas!

Not to mention the inner bedroom.

The room was sparsely furnished, with just a long desk, three chairs, a low table, a cabinet, and two bookshelves, all on a clean carpet.

He went to the corner by the fireplace and opened a box beside it, filled with top-quality silver charcoal that burned smokelessly.

Each piece of silver charcoal was worth 1 Dinar, and the whole box held value amounting up to 1 gold pound.

At the farthest point from the fireplace stood two bookshelves, and as Horn’s gaze swept over them, his interest piqued, leading him to walk over.

The books on these shelves were neatly arranged, twenty volumes per shelf, five shelves in total, amounting to two hundred books.

Seeing that Catherine hadn’t emerged for quite some time, Horn’s reading itch flared up.

He casually picked a book titled "The Life of Emperor Charles" and tucked it under his arm, softly reading in the sunlight.

"...I know he loves you with great pain, and I know you love him... Hiss, is this really ’The Life of Emperor Charles’?"

"Thud!" Came the sound of a fall from behind Catherine’s bedroom door, and in a hurry of footsteps, Catherine burst through the door with a bruised forehead.

She was barefoot and wearing a white nightgown, not even having time to put on her underwear, and rushed over in a flurry.

Seeing Catherine, eyes red and rushing towards him like a bulldozer, Horn backed up three steps, dropping the book in fright.

She scrambled to pick up the book, her hands a blur as she snatched "The Life of Emperor Charles" and hid it behind her back, shouting furiously, "Didn’t anyone tell you not to rummage through a lady’s bookshelves?"

"I just wanted a book to pass the time. If it were sensitive personal books, I definitely wouldn’t peek. But the cover says ’The Life of Emperor Charles,’" Horn scratched his head, pretending not to understand, "I’ve never seen this version before, let me take a look."

"No way, you’re not allowed to look."

"Don’t be so stingy, it wasn’t intentional. If not, how about you switch this for another, available, let’s see it."

"Absolutely not." As Horn seemed to head towards the bookshelves, Catherine rushed to the side frantically.

Facing Horn, she spread her arms wide, sticking her buttocks out defensively, resembling a mother hen protecting her chicks, and her cheeks turned crimson, gasping like a protective wild cow.

"These two hundred, aren’t all love novels?" Horn joked, looking at her flushed face, "You’ve quite a girlish heart."

"Nonsense! They’re proper books."

"Then show me another one."

"Impossible, they’re my personal collection, not for loan!"

Her amber eyes gleamed with tears as she stared at Horn, her moist eyes resembling an angry young doe, the blush on her cheeks spreading from her earlobes to her snow-white wrists.

Even though she was thirty-one, beneath her exterior and voluptuous form, Catherine wore an expression akin to a shy young girl.

Seeing Catherine’s blush approaching its warning limit, with sprouts emerging from the flower pot soil on the window sill, Horn raised his hands and backed off:

"Alright, alright, love novels aren’t unusual, everyone has hobbies. Didn’t Jeanne buy a crate full of ranger comics, talking in her sleep about them?"

"Whoever said they’re love novels, you must’ve misread."

Grumbling as she returned the book to its place, Catherine stood before the bookshelf, breathing heavily with effort, until her surging blood pressure subsided.

Afraid Horn might sneak another peek at the bookshelf, she didn’t continue changing but tightly cinched the ribbon at the neckline of her nightgown, barefoot, and plopped down behind the desk.

Looking at her fouled demeanor, Horn pretended not to notice and continued to survey the room as if he had some aesthetic critique on its decorations.

"What did you want to discuss with me earlier?" Horn began to ask Catherine.

Though mentally prepared for Catherine’s topic, Horn let her speak first.

Catherine opened a drawer, finally calming down, and tossed a notebook to Horn:

"Thirty years ago, Rapids City was renowned for textile and dye industries; it’s only been since my arrival that banking and finance began to flourish.

Currently, Rapids City has a total of 20 firms operating banks and currency exchanges, and I hold controlling interest in 12 of them.

Among the remaining 8, 5 have formed an alliance still holding on, while 3 are my allies, branches of old business associations, which I haven’t touched.

According to my estimation of the alliance of 5, Rapids City’s 20 banking corporate networks circulate gold pounds totaling 250,000."

One person, a single business association, wielding control over three-fourths of Rapids City’s banking industry, even holding half the market herself, essentially forms a monopoly.

No wonder Catherine is said to be the actual controller of the Rapids City’s banking sector. She’s a veritable financial tycoon.

Horn crossed his legs, resting the ledger on his knee, flipping through pages, and after a serious look, slightly furrowed his brows, inadvertently murmuring, "...The prince’s hand grazes the singer’s chest..."

"Ah!"

Catherine flushed crimson again, letting out a shriek, leaping up and lunging from the desk, knocking ink bottles, feather pens, and scrolls to the ground.

She snatched back the ledger from Horn’s hand, clutching it tightly to her chest.

Her face burning red, Catherine caught her breath, trying to see what book it was.

But opening it, she realized it was filled with columns of numbers and text on the cover of the ledger.

With Catherine’s gaze growing increasingly dangerous and her breathing faster, Horn chuckled dryly, "Just a little joke, don’t be mad, ahem, so 250,000 gold pounds are hidden in Rapids City’s vaults?"