Chapter 39 ,…………………………………………….
While Madame Odilon and the Emperor were wrapping up the remaining matters, I returned to the estate and took care of what was left on my end.
To fix all the trouble Xavier had caused and restore the collapsed finances, I had to move as quickly as possible.
Still, the debts are all transferred now.
All of the family’s debts had been shifted to Xavier. In other words, that bastard—not me—now had to repay the 20 billion. I wouldn’t be getting any more collection notices, nor would I have to go begging at banks anymore. The investors who used to come sniffing around the family had mostly disappeared as well.
Now I can just focus on my own work.
For now, I’d prevented the family itself from collapsing.
The debts were resolved, so next up was…
“Personnel restructuring?”
Sophia’s eyes widened when she heard me. I nodded, lifting the quill pen I’d prepared in advance.
“I think it’s time we did some weeding out.”
At present, the estate housed not only people loyal to me and the family, but also those who followed Xavier or other nobles, all mixed together. Following other nobles was one thing, but those who had sided with Xavier absolutely needed to be singled out. There was a high chance they’d been involved in illegal activities. Who knew—working together with other accomplices, they might try to siphon off our family’s assets.
This is the kind of thing you deal with at the very beginning.
I’d already removed the biggest weeds; now it was time to extinguish the remaining embers.
“Go to the labor office and post new notices. I’m going to replace all the aides as well.”
With my uncle Xavier dragged away, I was now the only direct heir left to carry on the family.
I’ll fill it with people on my side.
Since we were starting over anyway, it seemed better to tear everything down and rebuild from scratch. Catching on to my intent, Sophia beamed and nodded. She backed away with light steps and hurried out of the room.
Left alone again, I picked up the list I’d already narrowed down.
I need to see them myself and choose.
Rebuilding a family wasn’t something as easy as it sounded. Especially now, when there weren’t any truly capable talents to speak of. To revive the trading company as well, ordinary people simply wouldn’t cut it. I immediately took up my quill and checked off a few names on the list.
Let’s try recruiting them like this first.
There were three people I had my eye on.
Two of them should be easy enough to recruit, but the problem was the last remaining one. The other two weren’t affiliated with anyone yet, so that was fine.
But the last one was…
No.
There was no need to think deeply about it.
I have to bring them in.
Before another family snatched them up. I needed to pull this outstanding talent firmly over to our side.
“AAAH! Argh!”
Damn it…! Damn it all!
Aria—because of that wretched girl!
What kind of humiliation was this supposed to be?!
Bound tightly all over, Xavier twisted his upper body with all his strength.
Aria Renesti. Just thinking that he’d been reduced to this pitiful state because of that woman made his insides boil over.
How was he supposed to deal with this resentment and injustice? Without reflecting even a little on his own wrongdoing, Xavier poured all the blame onto others, grumbling nonstop.
Wasn’t it obvious when you thought about it? If only Aria hadn’t interfered. If she hadn’t been there at the time.
Then everything would have wrapped up smoothly, and he would have become the head of the Renesti family.
His future would have blossomed in full!
Damn it… damn it!
The more he thought about it, the more furious and wronged he felt. The sensation of having everything he thought he’d achieved shatter into pieces was beyond words.
Just wait until I get out.
With him backing him up, this captivity was probably only temporary.
Once he got out, he’d immediately grab that brat and make her pay dearly for what she’d done to him.
It’s soon. Very soon.
Before long, he would come and resolve everything.
And the moment he was free, he’d draw up a plan and return everything he’d suffered—double.
I’d been ground down hard at a certain X company, so I thought this level of high-intensity work would be manageable.
Turns out I was wrong.
Th-there’s just too much to do!
The difference between what an ordinary office worker handled and what an owner had to deal with was on an entirely different level. Maybe it would’ve been different if I’d started a business from scratch, but trying to pull something up after it had completely collapsed was far harder.
Still, the debts are finally settled.
With the biggest issue resolved, it was time to attract investors again.
First, I need to restore trust.
Everyone already knew that Renesti had been on the verge of collapse. Even though the debts had all been transferred to Xavier and the risk of the family’s downfall was gone, that alone wasn’t enough to restore our image.
Since I couldn’t immediately secure business capital, attracting investors as soon as possible was the priority. But I’d never actually run a business before, nor had I ever come up with a business idea strong enough to attract investors.
Should I try something completely new?
In other possession stories, people often borrowed things from the modern world and made it work. That was probably the most feasible option.
I knew those things well, so the risk of failure would be lower.
I’ll think about this a bit more.
If I spread myself too thin and couldn’t clean up afterward, that would be a problem in its own right.
For now, the priority was to narrow things down to a few ideas I could properly flesh out. I set that aside for later, handled the most urgent matters, and only then stood up once evening had fully arrived.
Knock, knock—
The door opened with a knock. With my back to the door, I naturally assumed it was Sophia and spoke without thinking.
“Welcome back. Did you find anyone who looks useful—ugh?!”
Before I could finish, my body tilted to one side. In the blink of an eye, my waist was grabbed, and my chin was forced upward. A man who had pulled me tightly into his arms from behind came into view. Seeing his crimson eyes, sunken with a somber gloom, I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.
“M-Mathias? Why are you—?”
“…It looked like you were done.”
That’s why I came. Muttering softly, Mathias pulled me even closer. The moment his chest—hard as stone—pressed against the back of my head, my senses snapped awake.
“W-wait a second. Mathias.”
Th-this is way too close.
There had been a few times when he’d held me before, but never like this—pressed so tightly from behind. It wasn’t that it felt bad. More than that, the strange sensation made me hurriedly tap his arm.
“I missed you.”
“…Didn’t we see each other just this morning?”
I clearly remembered us sharing breakfast and talking about what we’d be doing today. But at my words, he shook his head.
“We didn’t see each other after that.”
“We were going to see each other soon anyway.”
I’d skipped lunch because I was too busy, but we’d planned to eat dinner together. I didn’t like eating alone to begin with. With Xavier gone—and even his remaining lackeys all driven out—there was no one left to tiptoe around. Now that I could move about more freely, I’d resolved to get used to it, help him study, and make sure we ate together whenever possible.
“Even so.”
Clinging even closer, Mathias murmured quietly,
“I don’t like being apart for this long.”
