Chapter 7
The charity banquet hosted by Graham Bank ended successfully.
Many important people from politics and finance attended.
Honestly, they probably didn’t come for charity.
They were more curious about me, the bank, and Egbert—since we were the center of attention in the empire right now.
Still, because many people came and most of them cared about their reputation, the event raised the most money ever.
We decided to split the money between five orphanages:
Two belonged to the temple, one was run by the royal family, and the other two were private.
It was a fair and balanced choice, so no one could complain.
All of this happened thanks to Jenus.
“Thank you so much, Mr. Jenus. I know it was a big decision. You worked for the Graham family for a long time.”
“I was loyal to the late Marquis Graham and the bank—not the family itself,”
Jenus said, shrugging his shoulders.
“If I had stayed with the Graham family, I’d probably be stuck cleaning up after the Marquis.”
“They could have used their power to pressure you unfairly.”
“Even so, this is still better.”
Hearing Jenus speak that confidently made me feel relieved.
To me, Jenus was like a ray of light.
Even though I had taken over Graham Bank, I still didn’t have a proper secretary to help me.
There were a few candidates,
but every time I offered them the job during interviews, they all turned me down.
“I can’t ignore the Marquis Graham’s influence.”
“My father’s family serves the Graham family.”
“If I work for you, it might ruin my family’s chances in politics.”
Even when I offered a high salary, no one wanted the job.
Honestly, I should’ve been thankful they even showed up for the interview.
No matter how much the times had changed, the class system was still strong.
And the Barnaby family was seen as too low-ranking compared to the powerful Graham family.
Jenus looked worried and asked me,
“…You still haven’t hired a secretary?”
I nodded and let out a small sigh.
I felt bad toward Jenus.
He chose me over the Grahams, but I couldn’t even give him the proper treatment he deserved.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Jenus. I’ve made you do things that aren’t really your job.”
“It’s fine for now… but I really think you need to hire a secretary. Your schedule is only going to get busier, and more people will try to meet with you. There are lots of people out there desperate for money.”
I nodded.
Jenus was completely right.
But the problem was—
The well-qualified people didn’t want to work for me.
And I didn’t want to hire someone who hadn’t been properly checked or proven.
It really was a dilemma.
I sighed deeply again, and Jenus carefully gave a suggestion.
“How about looking at the graduates from the Academy?”
“The Academy?”
“Yes. It’s almost graduation season.”
Spring was approaching.
Like Jenus said, graduation at the Royal Connors Academy usually happens at the end of April—so it was just around the corner.
The top students were probably already being scouted by noble families.
Some of them might be hoping to work in the capital.
And since many students at the Royal Connors Academy came from commoner backgrounds,
there was a good chance at least one of them wouldn’t be afraid of the Graham family.
Or maybe one of them would really need money urgently.
Student grades and evaluations were probably already available in the market.
It wouldn’t be hard to find that info.
If I went to the graduation ceremony, I could naturally meet the candidates I was interested in.
That was the whole point of those ceremonies—why families are sent invitations.
As long as I had an invitation, attending the graduation wouldn’t be hard.
Looking into the Academy might be a good idea…
“Can you get the data for me?”
“Of course. I’ll have it ready by tomorrow.”
Thanks to Jenus, I felt a little less worried.
The Academy, huh.
I don’t think I’ve ever gone back since I graduated.
A faint feeling of nostalgia passed through me.
As graduation season approached, the Royal Connors Academy sent an invitation to Baldwin.
They sent one every year, hoping he would hire some of the talented graduates.
“Will you be attending this year too?”
When his aide asked, Baldwin nodded.
“I hope there’s a good candidate this time.
If possible, I’d like someone from the economics department who’s fluent in Tulesse.”
As the aide shared his preferences, Baldwin paused for a moment, then picked up a pen.
[Is the Germani family still delaying their decision?]
The Germani family ran the largest trading company in the Kingdom of Tulesse.
They had reached out to Constantine first.
At first, they talked about buying four cargo ships.
Now, they were saying three.
They were trying to change the terms at the final stage of the contract.
Since then, there had been constant arguments over pricing.
They were acting like thugs—trying to force a price cut like they didn’t care.
“Yes, that’s right. Tsk. It’s like they think they’re buying some toy boat.
They keep arguing over every material used in the ship, so progress is really slow.”
The aide sounded frustrated.
“And when things don’t go their way, they pretend they don’t understand the language…”
Even Baldwin knew that the person from Germani, who had come all the way to the Estus Empire to handle the deal, was behaving terribly.
“A student from the marine studies department would also be fine. Or someone who really knows a lot about ships.”
Baldwin gave a faint smile.
[I’ll seriously consider your opinion.]
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
[If things get too unreasonable, we can cancel the deal.]
“But if we cancel now, it’ll seriously affect our sales for the first half of the year.
We didn’t take any other orders because we were expecting the Germani contract.”
The aide sighed with a troubled expression.
If it weren’t for Germani, they could’ve accepted other work.
[If they keep dragging things like this, it’ll affect our second-half schedule too.
Canceling is still better than that.]
“That’s true, but…”
[I’ll think more on this.
How is the railway project going—the one connecting the capital and the Creyan region?]
“We got approval from the royal family, so now we just have to begin construction.”
The railway project was a national-level government project.
The current emperor had a goal of connecting all parts of Estus with railroads during his reign.
And the Constantine family, being the first to bring railroads to Estus, was in charge of all the major railway projects.
“The problem, as always, is the money.”
The emperor had given them the project, but hadn’t provided funding.
It seemed like he wanted all the credit without spending anything.
“Is he an emperor or a merchant?”
[Maybe both.
I’ll go meet His Majesty myself, so make sure the workers are being recruited in the countryside.]
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Baldwin let out a soft sigh.
It seemed like he’d attend the graduation ceremony before he met the emperor, time-wise.
He went every year, but this time it felt a little different.
Baldwin licked the inside of his mouth.
It was probably because of that woman he recently met.
Anais Barnaby.
He had first met Anais back at the Academy.
Around this same season, years ago.
At that time, Baldwin was about to graduate, and Anais had just started as a first-year student.
If he remembered correctly.
The reason he helped Anais at the charity ball—
It might have been partly because of those memories from the past.
There was also a chance the Graham family might show up at the graduation too.
And Anais Barnaby might be there.
The reason she kept popping into his mind…
It was probably because that recent meeting left such a strong impression.
“I’m overthinking this.”
Baldwin shook off the thoughts.
