Chapter 40
“The opinion of the Elder Council has already been presented.”
The bustling meeting room fell silent at Igard’s voice. Even in his sixties, he still held the commanding presence to dominate a room.
“Though the tea leaves grow in our domain, they come from an island across the southern sea, making direct distribution difficult. It is only reasonable to grant business rights to a party and receive appropriate compensation. The answer is obvious, isn’t it?”
He stroked his well-groomed beard and flashed a smile at Calista seated at the center—only to flinch and avert his gaze when met with her sharp stare.
“Ahem! Among those proposing a deal are the Imperial Family, the Marquess of Luseik, and the Viscount of Aseton. Given the prestige of our house, it is only proper to grant business rights to the Imperial Family and the Luseik Marquess. It’s simply common sense.”
At his words, many of the elders in the room nodded as if on cue.
“Indeed, we’ve never engaged in house-to-house trade with the Viscount of Aseton before.”
“If we prioritize a viscount over an old noble house, what would people think?”
“We’ve already expressed our opinions—why must we hold a meeting at all…”
A female elder seated to Igard’s left clicked her tongue openly and shook her head. She was the current head of a barony that had long managed some of Ruperné’s agriculture. Having taken her late brother’s place, she was newly inducted into the council.
“…Sighhh.”
The pointed sigh, clearly meant to be heard, chilled the room into silence once again.
“I, too, believed I had made my stance clear, Baroness Adeline.”
Calista finally spoke. Resting her chin on one hand, she fixed a cold gaze on the baroness, her eyes like shards of ice.
“I approved the Imperial Family but opposed the Luseik Marquess. Since when do we measure a house’s rank in business deals?”
Baroness Adeline’s face froze. Biting her wrinkled lower lip, she glared at Calista.
Unfazed, Calista continued speaking clearly and steadily, as if explaining something to a child.
“The Luseik Marquess is involved in too many ventures. Their ambitions outstrip their manpower, and they’re already struggling to manage what’s in their grasp. In a time-sensitive industry like distribution, that’s a fatal flaw.”
“We must also consider political ties. The Marquess’s sister is the Empress, after all, so ideally—”
“Ideally? This doesn’t seem like an ideal situation.”
“But still—”
“The terms they offered were objectively far worse than the Aseton Viscount’s. They likely assumed we’d accept them just because of their prestige.”
“As would be expected!”
“And it’s ‘natural’ to sign a deal that harms our house? Is that the official stance of the council?”
Calista scoffed and asked flatly.
“If that’s your belief as well, Chairman, then we’ll have to reconsider where the Elder Council’s loyalty lies.”
She abruptly turned to Igard, who instinctively swallowed dryly.
“You handle things quite differently from the Duke, my lady.”
Baroness Adeline spoke with open displeasure.
“And you are quite unlike your brother.”
Calista replied with a bitter smile. The baroness’s face hardened.
Her older brother, more capable than she from a young age, was both a source of deep emotion and an unrelenting trigger of her inferiority complex.
“If it were your brother, the former Baron Adeline, he would’ve burned the tea leaves rather than sign such a terrible deal. I didn’t expect to miss him this much.”
“W-What did you just say—!”
“Ahem! Compose yourself, Baroness.”
Igard tried to intervene with a cough, but the baroness wouldn’t back down.
“Even His Grace respects the Elder Council. Yet the young lady, acting as his proxy, ignores our judgment? If His Grace finds out—”
“He might not like it.”
Calista responded coolly, without flinching.
“But my father isn’t here. Thanks to someone, he left behind the family seal and ran off to a leisurely duchy, never to return.”
Finishing her sentence, she turned her gaze back to Igard.
He looked away guiltily.
It had been Igard who persuaded the Duke to leave for business. He had believed that if the Duke left, he could manage the affairs of the house in his place.
He had even sent a pretty maid to accompany the Duke, thinking it might stir his lingering desire for a worthy heir.
He never expected Calista, fresh out of the academy, to demand the family seal and assert her right to act as proxy.
It wasn’t that he underestimated her intelligence—he simply didn’t think she would so boldly challenge the elders.
Traditionally, heirs and even heads of households under twenty were expected to follow the council’s lead.
‘Should I have left that Müller girl alone…?’
It was around then that Calista had begun to turn sharply against Igard and his faction.
Perhaps she had seized the opportunity when Vice-Chairman Ossen mysteriously disappeared and the council wavered.
“In the absence of the head, the direct heir acts as proxy. That is the rule of our house.”
Calista stated firmly, almost mocking the baroness’s earlier remark.
“You take your temporary status too seriously. And by custom, one must first be recognized as the official heir to be granted such proxy authority…”
Igard said sternly.
“You have not yet been made the heir. Even if you’re reluctantly acting on His Grace’s behalf, we cannot allow you to make such a major decision on your own. That is a privilege reserved for formal representatives.”
“Ah, right.”
Calista lowered her voice and dropped her smile.
“The heir’s position…”
Staring coldly, she watched Igard’s face twist into a sly smirk.
“Indeed. You’re sixteen now, and under normal circumstances, you could be made heir. But His Grace left that decision to the Elder Council.”
“And the council continues to delay.”
“Because we believe you are not yet qualified. Aside from your academic achievements, you’ve proven nothing.”
Igard said boldly—words no one else in the empire would dare utter to Calista.
“I lack qualifications?”
She opened and closed her eyes slowly. Her gaze sharpened like a blade pushed to its limit.
“Chairman, that was uncalled for.”
Kenneth, the new vice-chairman, tried to intervene by tugging at Igard’s arm.
Thrust into the role after Ossen’s disappearance and due to his role in the munitions business, Kenneth was a moderate who preferred harmony.
“Since the young lady’s return, public safety and administrative efficiency in the estate have improved drastically. Moreover…”
He glanced at Calista, continuing.
“Thanks to her advice on the military supply business I managed last year, we made significant profits. We had tied ourselves to the Roselli Marquess, and just months later, they engaged in a major regional war.”
He spoke with genuine admiration, unaware of Igard’s growing displeasure.
“What’s your point? Ruperné’s supplies are the finest in the empire. Even without that tie, they wouldn’t have bought from anyone else.”
“Still, because of her foresight, we had reserves ready… and she’s had several successful ventures with the Müller Count over the past few years.”
“And all of that was thanks to our house’s reputation and resources. Count Müller is one of our council members. Nothing was achieved on her own.”
Calista frowned.
Igard was being deliberately obstinate.
To ask someone born with the name Calista Ruperné to act without leveraging her house was unrealistic.
It wasn’t as though she hadn’t tried. She herself had wanted to invest freely, without the family’s shadow.
But whenever she attempted something, the council blocked her with excuses: it would harm the family’s honor, was too risky, or was not in the family’s interest.
So, she borrowed the name of Count Müller. With his help, she invested over the years and built her wealth.
And now, they used that very fact to discredit her efforts.
As if the current Duke was any better. He had squandered everything he inherited and yet still held his title.
That incompetence had led to the corruption of the Elder Council.
“Do you understand now, my lady? The title of heir isn’t granted lightly. You must prove yourself.”
Igard said condescendingly. Calista’s frown deepened.
“You’re all under a serious delusion.”
She looked around the table, her voice slicing through the air like a blade.
“Do you really think you could protect Ruperné if I disappeared tomorrow?”
“What are you implying—”
“Do you not know how many eyes are watching us since my father lost himself to travel, women, and possibly drink or drugs?”
Tension spread across the elders’ faces. Many understood what she meant.
“The Duke of Ritra would declare war at once. Without me, there’d be nothing stopping them. Your precious Marquess of Luseik would intervene too. Every minor house, every distant branch, even bandits and pirates would come for my father’s head.”
There was a quiet fury in her voice.
Calista didn’t stop.
“Who would ignore a headless, wealthy family? Would it be my father? You? Igard, will you take up a sword and lead the troops yourself?”
“Th-The young lady is not the only one in Ruperné.”
Baroness Adeline tried to cut in, trembling under Calista’s sharp gaze.
“You’ll turn to my uncle? The man who once plotted rebellion against my father? Do you think the knights will follow him?”
She scoffed more openly than before.
“Well, technically, the second daughter is also a candidate—”
Bang!
Calista slammed the table with both hands. Baroness Adeline fell silent, startled by the heavy thud.
“Let me warn you.”
Calista’s voice was a low, terrifying growl.
“If any of you use Harper for your ambition, I won’t stand for it. And House Adeline will lose another head.”
It was a frigid, unambiguous threat. An icy silence fell over the council chamber.
