04. Who Will Be Ordo’s Son-in-Law?

“Darling! They say His Majesty is going to appoint a new deputy director for Grafa Bank!”

What shattered the fragile calm that had settled over House Ordo was a headline in the newspaper.

“Oh, he’s finally announcing the deputy director?”

The Imperial Grafa Bank. It had been established long ago under the personal directive of Escalus II, for the sake of the people. The local banks that had proliferated at the time had gone beyond the role of pawnbrokers and were extorting the poor with predatory lending, worsening the hardship of ordinary lives, and the Emperor had seen enough.

House Ordo had been, without question, the single greatest contributor to the founding of Grafa Bank. At a time when the Resias assembly had fallen apart and even the ten great vassal families had begun pursuing their own interests, Ordo and a handful of other families had offered their wealth and labor to prove their loyalty to the Emperor.

That loyalty was now expected to finally bear fruit, as Grafa Bank had grown into a government institution controlling the financial lifelines of the Empire.

It remained, however, nothing more than hope within the family. No one outside truly expected a family that had lost its honor and was crumbling apart to reclaim its former glory……

“Read it quickly, dear! Who is it that’s becoming the new deputy director of Grafa Bank?”

Robert abandoned his work and came running. Anton and Piar, who had been sprawled on the ground in front of the straw dummies in the training yard, came rushing breathlessly into the great hall.

“Oh, I’m trembling!”

“I’m going out of my mind, brother!”

The Vitali Grand Ducal family, the first family to hold the deputy directorship, had retired from the position over twenty years ago, saying they wished to focus solely on serving the Emperor as members of the imperial family. The seat had been left vacant ever since, treated almost as a sacred space, on the grounds that no one could possibly replace the Grand Duke Vitali. In practice, it looked more like everyone had been keeping each other in check to make sure no one else could claim it.

In any case, producing a deputy director of Grafa Bank from within the family was a long-cherished dream of House Ordo, and a desire shared by many families. It was a position of glory that would come with Hailion’s very first ducal title.

“What does it say, Aunt?”

“It must be our lord, of course!”

No family had more at stake in this than Ordo.

The truth was that they had been trying hard to ignore reality and refused to acknowledge it, but the family’s declining honor was already showing clearly in the performance of the businesses run under the Ordo name.

The Ordo wine label, which sold on the strength of the family name, had seen a decline so visible it was impossible to miss. Not long ago, Piar had suggested dropping the Ordo name from the wine label, and Anne had beaten him thirty times across the back for it.

“All right, I’ll read it. Phew…… skipping ahead…… and the person His Majesty has put forward is……”

The rise or fall of the family rested on this!

“None other than a member of the ten great vassal houses, whose reputation grows with each passing day……”

“Of course it’s one of the ten great vassal families!”

“And that person is none other than!”

Anton and Piar called out eagerly, urging Anne on.

“It is……”

The hands holding the newspaper trembled with tension. The color drained from Anne’s face, slowly turning a deep, ashen blue.

“The heir of House Basil, Sir Benyamin……?”

A sharp intake of breath from Vivi cut through the silence.

Shouts erupted from every direction immediately after.

“That’s absolutely outrageous!”

“A wet-behind-the-ears boy who doesn’t know his place, barging in like this!”

“The traitor! He was making eyes at our Rose all along and acting like he had no idea!”

Anton, Piar, and even Robert slammed the table and made no effort to hide their fury.

“House Basil……”

A family that hadn’t even appeared on any of the candidate lists circulating in various news sources. And why Benyamin Basil, who wasn’t even twenty yet……?

Rose couldn’t make sense of the situation and couldn’t bring herself to speak.

“C, could it be a rumor?”

Vivi was rubbing Anne’s shoulders as Anne clutched the back of her neck, pale as a ghost, and raised the question.

“Honestly, House Basil is quite a stretch, isn’t it? The Zaretti family or the Montalio family, maybe, but what did Basil even do when Grafa Bank was founded? They’re ranked last among the ten great vassal families……”

But everyone gathered in the great hall knew. The Sanchis newspaper did not print rumors.

The most credible publication in Hailion, absolutely loyal to the imperial family, the Sanchis newspaper always obtained the imperial family’s input before reporting on anything related to them.

“How can this be so cruel……!”

Anton’s eyes filled with tears of outrage.

Why Basil, of all families. Why the family of the wife who had demanded a divorce because she couldn’t stand the way he drank his soup! From his perspective, it could only feel like the heavens were punishing him personally.

“His Majesty is abandoning our family! The deputy directorship of Grafa Bank should rightfully belong to our lord! Even Escalus II himself promised that when the time came, he would entrust House Ordo with a position of great responsibility at Grafa Bank……”

Piar’s voice trailed off and his eyes reddened. The broad, well-trained shoulders he had built up with the intent of finding a wife now sagged, and the sight drew a deeper pang of sympathy.

“How can this be……”

In the heavy silence that settled over the room, Rose felt something almost like relief, sensing that the Ordos were finally being forced to confront the reality of the family’s situation.

“Everyone, calm down. Nothing has been decided yet. His Majesty has simply added a new candidate.”

Rose was Ordo enough to feel a sting of hurt at the Emperor’s announcement.

But she believed the Emperor had a reason for adding a new candidate. She had always respected Escalus VII not only as the ruler of a nation but as a person in his own right.

And honestly, House Ordo coveting the deputy directorship was a bit much.

The imperial family had consistently stated its intention to appoint someone of integrity, fairness, and deep compassion for the people to lead Grafa Bank. Ordo may once have qualified, but it had since forfeited that qualification, and any family with a shred of self-awareness would recognize that.

“Frankly, I’m also disappointed in Prince Julius. He’s the Emperor’s beloved son. He could have stepped in at a moment like this, at least out of consideration for our Rose.”

Anton redirected his resentment toward the second prince.

“And Rose, if you had handled yourself properly from the start! When Prince Julius sent all those letters, you went on a couple of dates and then just left him hanging without a proper answer……”

Piar went a step further and turned on Rose as well.

The situation was on the verge of dissolving into a family quarrel when:

“I must see His Majesty!”

Bang, Robert slammed the table and rose to his feet.

“I will go to the imperial palace. Please look after the children, dear.”

The head of the family’s abrupt departure was decided, and things moved quickly.

Robert dressed himself beautifully in his finest clothes, shoes, and hat, then mounted his horse bound for the capital. The whole household came out to the driveway to see him off.

Rose kept her misgivings hidden and sent her father off with an encouraging smile.

What would seeing His Majesty change?

This felt like a signal. The tide of the times had shifted, and House Ordo was somewhere in the middle of a downward curve. Perhaps the moment had come when the fall would accelerate beyond all control.

“Hm?”

Was this how the family would decline?

“Aunt Rose?”

Would dear Shu eventually become ‘Shurelli Basil,’ leaving Anton and House Ordo behind……?

“There’s a fancy carriage coming!”

Rose shifted her vacant gaze to where Shurelli’s small hand was pointing.

A carriage?

A magnificent carriage draped in golden curtains was approaching Philiverden Castle. It was unfamiliar. The family crest on it, however, was not, and Rose searched her memory.

Where had she seen it? In one of the suitors’ letters, perhaps……

“Cassius de Valois Franzel pays his respects to the goddess of Hailion.”

Anne’s second-ranked son-in-law candidate.

Prince Cassius pressed his lips to the back of Rose’s hand in greeting. Anne and the two brothers, who had gone inside and then come scrambling back out, stared at the scene with their mouths hanging open.

“I hope my unannounced visit has not been an imposition. I happened to have reason to visit the Hailion Empire, and while savoring the breathtaking scenery at my leisure, I found myself longing to see the fog forest that Miss Rosemaria had painted. I could not suppress the sudden surge of longing and simply found myself riding here without a second thought.”

He gestured, and the Franzel royal attendants pulled back the covers of the baggage carriages.

A dazzling radiance poured out from the cargo holds of three carriages. They were packed with golden statues, bolts of silk, an enormous jeweled necklace that looked fit for a giant, and books bound in fine leather.

“Will you accept these? I was told that in the Hailion Empire it is customary to bring a modest gift when visiting a friend, and I prepared accordingly…… though I do worry I may have misunderstood the custom and brought something embarrassingly trifling, which would be quite rude of me.”