I Only Want Your Child - Chapter 16

Among the great houses of Baldomer, Heister, Silverstel, and Marcellino, becoming the primary guild of even one of them would automatically bring wealth and prestige.

For someone already disappointed over losing Silverstel, it would be quite an enticing offer.

Then I threw out one final piece of bait he would not be able to refuse.

“And as you already know, I am from House Heister. If our dealings in Baldomer prove satisfactory, I’m willing to introduce this guild to House Heister as well.”

In truth, the last proposal was closer to exaggerated bait. There was no way Heister would listen to the words of a mere sacrifice who had been sold away.

But regardless of whether they accepted it, I could still make the proposal, so it wasn’t entirely a lie.

An opportunity to establish business with two of the four great houses, excluding the Imperial Family.

Vas was quick with numbers. There was no way he would let this opportunity pass.

“…Very well.”

At his answer, the corners of my lips curled upward into a grin.

“To be honest, this quantity for that amount is absurd no matter where you go, but I’ll prepare everything somehow.”

After that, the contract proceeded without a hitch.

The banquet, which would originally have been held modestly within a budget of two hundred million gold, had been transformed into a lavish event that looked as though four hundred million gold had been spent on it.

Layla, who had watched the entire contracting process from beside me, couldn’t hide her bewildered expression.

She had probably scoffed when I said I would do business with another guild. Since the quantity was impossible within the allotted budget, she must have assumed I would naturally be rejected.

I smiled at Layla, who had probably imagined me floundering helplessly.

“It seems the contract with the new guild is settled, so let us return to the manor.”

Layla’s expression remained stiff even as we climbed into the carriage. It was only much later that she spoke.

“How did you know that guild had failed to establish a deal with House Silverstel?”

At the suspicion in her question, I answered calmly.

“The man who came out of that guild. He was from Silverstel.”

Only then did Layla remember the man we had seen before entering the building, and she frowned.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t know him?”

“I recognized the crest on the carriage.”

She saw the crest on the carriage in that brief moment?

Still suspicious, Layla asked another question.

“How could you be certain that negotiations with the guild had fallen through merely because someone from Silverstel came out of that building?”

I stared steadily at her.

“Are you interrogating me right now?”

Under my unwavering gaze, Layla deliberately averted her eyes.

“I’m sorry if I offended you. I only asked because I was curious.”

I stared at her for a moment before the corners of my lips curled upward.

“You certainly have a lot of questions for someone who did nothing but watch while I handled everything from organizing the new list of items to negotiating the contract.”

It was a pointed accusation that she had done nothing to help and was now doing nothing but question me.

Layla’s face reddened, and she lowered her head.

“If the negotiations with Silverstel had succeeded, the Guildmaster would’ve been much more confident. After all, he would’ve already had Silverstel backing him. I merely saw through that.”

I could feel Layla staring at me in surprise.

Ignoring her gaze, I looked out the window.

* * *

Layla sat in the private office Kallion had provided for her in the estate, going over the ledger. It was the banquet preparation ledger Juliana had organized in only a few days.

Unaware that her expression had stiffened, Layla turned through the documents one page at a time.

There was nothing to criticize.

Originally, she had intended to teach that snake-like woman that the position of the house’s lady wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

She had planned to handle all the work herself in Juliana’s place once the woman began floundering, then report everything to Kallion.

If she proved Juliana’s incompetence and her own competence, Kallion’s distrust of Juliana would only deepen.

And yet…

Layla’s fingertips trembled faintly as she looked down at the ledger. The face of Layla, who usually resembled a calm doll, twisted unpleasantly.

“A mere Heister…”

Her grip tightened around the paper, crumpling its edge.

Still glaring at the documents, Layla belatedly came to her senses and took a deep breath.

Her eyes had grown dark as she looked down at the papers.

After glaring at them for a long while, Layla pulled out a page from the ledger containing one of the most important items. Then, as though bewitched, she slowly approached the fireplace.

Standing before the fireplace, she tossed the paper she was holding into the flames without hesitation. It caught fire instantly and quickly burned away.

Not a trace of guilt appeared in Layla’s eyes as she watched the paper turn to ash and disappear.