Method
Ross emotionally questioned, “Sister, you will soon give birth to a baby, right?! Does that mean I will become an uncle?”
Lilia, caressing her brother’s hand from her hair, replied, “Yes, Ross, if nothing goes wrong, I will give birth to Albert’s child in less than twenty days. Right now, I’m feeling quite nervous and eager. It’s a blissful feeling. You will also have your own child in the future, won’t you, Ross? Do you have a girl you like now, Ross?”
In truth, Ross did have a girl he liked – emphasis on ‘did’. Suppose a boy meets a gorgeous and gentle rich girl who helps him when he reaches the end of his line. It would be normal development for the boy and rich girl to fall in love, right? That girl called herself his elder sister. And, indeed, she did take care of him as an elder sister would. Hence, it was inevitable that he would develop an interest in her; he just never voiced it. Having said that, he was glad he didn’t express it.
Earlier on, Ross didn’t know the girl’s true character. Later on, he witnessed the girl he liked tie her father up with tentacles and ravage him for three days… Had he confessed to her, I might’ve been prospected as an obstacle and killed, wouldn’t he…? When Ross saw that side of Leah, he believed that nobody would dare to think about being together with Leah. His fondness for her, consequently, evolved into fear.
“… No, Sister. Ross is busy learning from Lord Lin nowadays; Ross doesn’t have the time to get to know girls,” replied Ross, cheeks feeling hot.
Lilia affectionately moved her hand to caress her brother’s ears: “Ross, you have no weaknesses other than being a tad too shy. If you don’t dare to confess to the girl you like, all you’ll be able to do is watch her leave.”
“I know, Sister. Ross, Ross will gradually become confident. As long as Ross can learn enough from Lord Lin, Ross will definitely be able to become a man who can be calm in front of any woman as Lord Lin is!” asserted Ross, with a firm nod and smile.
Lilia smiled: “Ross, you sound eager to become a man like Lord Lin. I don’t know what he has done, but since Albert and you both like him so much, he must be a competent man. Make sure to study diligently under Lord Lin, then. When we visited him last time, I felt he was a gentle man, as well. You wouldn’t be abused when working with him, would you?”
Lilia knew what happened after her brother was kidnapped. It was humiliating for a cat to have lost even his tail, and there weren’t many catmen left in the world. As his elder sister, Lilia wouldn’t look down on her brother. If anything, she loathed herself. Had she had not failed to protect her brother, he wouldn’t have been kidnapped. That was why she was incredibly worried he’d be bullied again.
Ross nodded affirmatively: “Lord Lin’s family are nice people. Mm… all of them are, I suppose… They are nice to me. Lord Veirya is actually very nice. She is just not very good at expressing herself. That’s why I live well with Lord Lin. Sister, once I have finished my learning under Lord Lin, I will come back to you. I will be an excellent businessman by then.”
“Yeah. You reminded me. I remember Lord Veirya seemed to want a child with Lord Lin when I visited. The two had yet to get married at the time, unfortunately. Lord Lin hadn’t even proposed yet. How about now? Lord Lin went to the imperial capital to become a noble and became the minister of business, right? Have Lord Veirya and Lord Lin gotten married yet?”
“I… don’t think so… Lord Lin has proposed, though. He was planning for the wedding before I left. I didn’t know he went to the imperial capital for it.”
Ross began to think, “Lord Lin didn’t tell me what he was going to the imperial capital for. Could it be that Her Majesty asked him to go there in that letter? But it feels weird to have Sir Achilles’ death collide with Lord Lin’s wedding.”
Nevertheless, Ross was happy to hear that his teacher had become a noble and was acknowledged for his greatness.
Lilia stood up: “You know, I also hope they get married soon so that I will be able to attend their wedding. Else, I won’t be able to attend in my condition. Lord Lin is my brother’s teacher. Therefore, I have an obligation to attend his wedding.”
“Uhm!” Ross stood up to support his sister.
Albert wasn’t home, but Lilia wasn’t afraid, worried and asking for her husband to stay with her because her brother was with her.
***
After enjoying the delicious dinner, we went to the break room. A maid handed me a sheet of paper detailing the current shares of the shipyard’s situation. To construct it, several relatively influential businessmen invested in it with their own money in addition to money from those working for them. That then became the shares that were distributed on the market. The income from the shares was only enough to offset expenses, which was why nobody cared about what happened to the investment. Some even made them a resource trade. Howbeit, it had become a source of money again. Based on the current share price, they would have enough to spare after constructing four shipyards that were exactly identical to the current one. Despite the price being ridiculously high, it would still rake in profits.
At present, besides Albert, only a businessman by the name of Vincent was able to compete with Albert. Vincent, quite the businessman in his own right, operated a business producing weapons that he sold to the empire’s military. Soon enough, though, he was going to be out of business as, once my military supplies factory was officially operating, his swords would probably only be used for decoration. Though it wouldn’t change in the blink of an eye, he would gradually run out of business.
Both of them had over twenty-percent of the shares while the shipyard as an entity still had thirty percent. The remainder was practically scattered, so they were unlikely to be planning to buy out the shipyard. They were only looking to sell their shares at this point. The issue was that nobody would buy them when the price was daftly high. Albert had done his best; he had even resorted to shady means. There was no way he’d buy the shares at that exorbitant price, thereby creating an impasse. In summary, the main reason for the impasse was the lack of money.
“I have an idea now.”
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