A man, who seemed accustomed to curling up his body even as he walked, entered Aiden’s study.
He was Aiden’s guest. “Austin Youngsik, I presume,” Aiden said, scanning the man in front of him.
“Nice to meet you. I am Austin Diern,” he replied.
He was ten years older than Aiden, yet he behaved cautiously, as if dealing with an authority figure.
However, it wasn’t his natural disposition. It had become that way after years of being trodden upon.
At some point, Austin could no longer stand up straight or lift his head high due to accumulated discouragement.
He was the son of the Diern elder.
He was bright, but he had grown up full of resentment for not being recognized by his father.
He had tried everything on his own, but the elder’s eldest son had always been hindered and turned into a scapegoat.
Ultimately, he was now exhausted. He was merely enduring dark and painful days without any hope.
“I’m having second thoughts.”
“About what?”
“The person I expected to meet isn’t as dull and uninspiring as it turns out.”
Aiden murmured as he scrutinized the man’s face. He had been perplexed from the moment he received the invitation to meet with the Duke of Lienster.
“Why does he want to meet me?”
Though he might appear meek now, it wasn’t the case just a few years ago. Gifted with quick thinking and a sharp sense of adaptability, he had once shown a strong presence.
He had harbored a deep-seated determination to seek revenge on his father, who had forsaken him, and the brothers who had ignored and tormented him since childhood.
Even though it may have been buried in the mud, it had not disappeared without a trace.
As he pondered quietly, his instincts stirred. This might be the first and last opportunity that had come to him.
“…I quite like it now.”
Aiden flashed a significant smile as he looked at the man, whose eyes had suddenly become clear.
“I will follow the Duke’s wishes.”
“Whatever it may be.”
Aiden asked, as if to confirm his resolve.
“If it allows me to seek revenge on my father, I will do anything.”
He gazed at Aiden with determined eyes.
Aiden smiled with satisfaction.
That was what caught Aiden’s eye.
As a substitute for the elder.
***
Erin and Aiden chatted over wine, concluding their day with their usual conversation.
“Today, Mrs. Diarn visited the salon,” Erin mentioned, as if just remembering it.
“The salon?” Aiden narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brow.
With just Erin’s words, he quickly grasped her intention. The overall operations of the commercial activities within the capital were managed by the Diarn family.
Even if someone from the Lienster family wanted to do something independently within the city, they had to involve the elders’ family.
So, they had focused more on investment rather than direct operations from the beginning, broadening Aiden and Erin’s sphere.
However, this time, Erin had personally opened the salon. Salon Breeze was established solely for communication and development with no commercial intent.
But as the activities within the salon became more active, if someone wanted to do business or pursue art like Julia, they would support them.
In the process, it inevitably took on a somewhat commercial nature. This fact had become a concern for them.
The elders were concerned about this and were trying to obstruct Erin’s independent actions.
“Don’t worry. I have a plan too,” Erin said lightly, seeing Aiden’s grave expression.
“It’s something I expected to happen to some extent.”
Erin took Aiden’s wine glass, took a sip, and smiled. “If they come looking for trouble later, we’ll deal with it then.”
So, the signal was not to spend time worrying about it now.
Aiden followed Erin’s lead and embraced her.
“Okay.”
His expression darkened, and he turned towards the bed with Erin in his arms.
***
Erin’s expectations were accurate.
The elders took issue with Erin directly running the salon.
Led by the Diarn family, who held the commercial rights, the other elders also gathered their opinions and tried to approach Erin.
They had everything planned out, from starting with their reasons for objecting to even deciding on where to meet the wife of the Duke of Lienster.
Then, they made their move to meet Erin at the salon.
Someone blocked the path of the Diarn elder.
And guided him elsewhere.
The Diarn elder was at Lienster Square.
In front of him sat Aiden.
“What brings you here all of a sudden,” the Diarn elder asked, feigning ignorance of the clear reason behind the visit.
There was an undertone of protest in his question.
“I believe there is something I need to discuss with Elder Diarn,” Aiden said politely, with a blank expression.
Upon hearing Aiden’s intentions, the Diarn elder’s eyes narrowed with determination, and he opened his mouth with a resolute expression, showing that he would not take this lightly.
“Lately, it seems that the Duchess’s Breeze Salon has gained tremendous popularity.”
“The response has been quite positive.”
Aiden responded nonchalantly.
At Aiden’s completely natural response, the Diarn elder furrowed his brow.
“My lord, are you not aware that this is a problem?”
The Diarn elder said with a displeased look.
But Aiden’s response was just a slight raising of his eyebrows.
“As for commercial activities, our family is in charge.”
“Yes, but I fail to see how that relates to the salon.”
“It is definitely related.”
The Diarn elder’s voice grew stronger at Aiden’s nonchalant attitude.
“We haven’t contested the indirect investments made by the Duchess so far, as they were not directly involved in operations.”
The Diarn elder’s gaze became sharp as he continued speaking.
“But directly managing it is a different matter.”
He stated firmly.
“At the very least, you should have shared the situation with us and gone through a process of consultation.”
“The salon is a place for socializing, not a commercial space,” Aiden drew a clear line.
“Currently, most noblewomen and young ladies visit the salon. With the place where the highest spenders gather, how many people do you think believe it’s simply for socializing?”
But the Diarn elder was not convinced at all.
“Even if it’s not now, ultimately, there’s a high possibility of using the salon for commercial gain.”
“…”
Aiden listened quietly with narrowed eyes as the Diarn elder spoke.
“We cannot erase our suspicion that the Duchess deliberately uses the pretext of the salon to reject our elders.”
The Diarn elder spoke firmly.
“Please respect our territory.”
The Diarn elder demanded their stake in the salon.
It was a request to transfer the operational rights of the salon to the Diarn family at this moment.
But as Aiden showed no reaction, a sense of discomfort rose on his face.
“If you continue to insist on this, we can’t help but feel disregarded.”
The Diarn elder strongly voiced his protest. Aiden listened silently with an impassive expression. Then, Aiden looked at the elder and slowly parted his lips.
“However, Elder Diarn,” he said, looking at him meaningfully. “The issue I wanted to discuss today is the problem that arose on the route we took this time.”
At these words, the Diarn elder flinched.
“There were reports from the beginning that the risk was high, yet despite everyone’s opposition, the elders insisted on pushing through.”
In the end, the anticipated problem had arisen.
“It seems that there are losses because of it. Why was there no report about that?”
Aiden’s expressionless and ruthless gaze fell on the Diarn elder.
When Aiden spoke again, his voice was excessively low and calm, piercing the ears like a dagger.
“Of course, it’s true that we entrusted the operation to the Elder’s family. But we cannot turn a blind eye to the problem, can we?”
“That, that’s… Your Grace, about that issue…”
The Diarn elder’s attempt to explain seemed hollow. Moreover, he couldn’t even finish his sentence.
He unconsciously fidgeted with his hands, revealing his anxiety.
Aiden’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the man.
“Working for the advancement of the family, overseeing all the processes is the premise of taking charge,” Aiden slowly pressed the Diarn elder.
The elder Diarn was gradually getting paler, almost holding his breath.
“Concealing it is no different from deceiving,” Aiden’s words stiffened his stance as they continued.
Aiden was right. If the Diarn elder deliberately tried to hide the losses this time, it was deceit.
It also caused significant damage to the entire family.
In exchange for being entrusted with the operational rights of the family’s core businesses, a high sense of responsibility was also required, even if it was only superficially followed.
If he pointed out the problem, the Diarn elder could not escape.
“Th-that’s because… There was no need to…,” the Diarn elder’s eyelids blinked anxiously and rapidly.
“I can fix this quickly, I just didn’t want to worry you by making a big deal out of it,” the Diarn elder’s words sped up.
His face turned pale in no time. Aiden silently watched the busy movement of his restless eyes.
As Aiden’s silence prolonged, the elder’s anxiety swelled even more.
“…Can it really be fixed?” Aiden asked with a hint of doubt.
“Y-yes!” The desperate look of the elder’s hurried response seemed frantic.
He had to fix the situation somehow and buy some time.
Aiden nodded as he gazed at him, knowing his inner thoughts.
“Alright. Let’s set a deadline. What would be a reasonable timeframe?”
“…” The elder forced a smile, but his eyes couldn’t.
“About a month…”
“Will it really take that long?”
“No, it, it can be done in a week.”
As I set the deadline, Aiden’s gaze became stern, and I hurriedly changed the subject.
‘Well, then, I’ll leave it to you for the time being,” I said. Aiden showed a very kind smile.
Facing that sight, the Diarn elder was overwhelmed with a sense of relief.
It had been a long time since the salon was completely erased from his mind.
It seemed as if there was a deep pit under his feet that he couldn’t escape.
