Volume 8 Chapter 4: Don’t You Think He’s A Good Match?
"Hah, Rodrick really did a number on everything here." A deep sigh came out of Edmund's mouth. He was in his office, looking through all the papers on the desk. This was especially so with the work over the weeks Rodrick was in charge.
What was on it was just horrible.
"There, there, Dear." Violet could only pat her husband's head. Glancing over his shoulders, she couldn't help but sigh deeply.
"Did he really focus everything on taking the duchy instead of running it?" Edmund was about to lose it. His brother seemed more focused on taking out his wife and daughter than caring for the duchy. There were even some back-handed deals made using the Rustchil name!
"You can only rebuild what you can." Cedric was sitting on the sofa as he sighed. Recoup what you can instead of focusing on trying to recover what was lost. That should be the main focus.
Everything else could be solved after that.
"Taking care of all of his workers was tiresome." Edmund took a sigh. About 90% of the butlers and maids were fired by Rodrick and replaced with his own people. He was trying to force his way into the position. And it took him an entire night to fire all of them!
"We can hire them back. Winston already sent letters to all of them." Violet did have some plans for this.
"And our knights are vulnerable right now." Dolus and the knights who had betrayed them were instantly locked up. However, this didn't change that a section of them disappeared.
"Sterling has that covered. He's planning to boost our knights' strength right now." Quality over quantity.
"But that child had taken out the biggest thorn in our side." Merchants. They had become the biggest annoyance in Edmund's year of reign.
"Mmhmm." The two nodded.
"Those guys got too big of their britches." In Cedric's rule, he had supported small peddlers. Rather than find groups that already had a significant influence, he would help a small one grow. That way, the deals would be cheaper.
That was how their dukedom grew so large. But the changing of the guard changed everything. As the merchants grew, some became greedier. They did whatever they could to earn coins. That also meant betraying them in any way.
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The relationship they once had before had disappeared.
"But I still can't believe a child could be this capable." That was something Edmund had never expected. Keith's group basically supplied the duchy for a few days by itself. Any regular group would have been broken.
How many coins does he have? That was something else Edmund was curious about. White Owl Merchant group was full of mysteries. The name was well-known, but information about them was kept like a tight leash. No one really understood the capabilities of that group.
"The kid is pretty much a business genius." Cedric sighed, "And he also has strong leadership abilities." The people who followed him were loyal beyond belief.
"Indeed." Edmund had met with John. John, who was only a manager, had eyes that showed complete faith in Keith.
"He's a good kid as well."
"For father to say that." Edmund became more intrigued. Cedric was known to be strict with everyone. Getting a compliment like that from him was considered excellent.
"He doesn't let his own achievements cloud his judgment." Cedric saw how Keith ran his cart. Even when he added new items to the menu, that didn't stop him from adding more. That sudden gain of coins didn't stop his creativity.
"He's quite the oddball as well." Cedric didn't forget about that, especially with food. He looked like a monster. Plus, he had an airheaded nature to him.
"Indeed. Keith even cooked in my room." Violet chuckled. She could tell that Keith was the spacy type of person. A normal person wouldn't cook in a Grand Duchess's room.
"Eh?" Cooked in your room?
"Mmhmm. It was amusing." Despite that odd occurrence, she found the child hilarious and fun.
"I should get to know him better." Edmund grinned. There was more to meet the eye with Keith.
But then, Violet clapped her hands, "If father-in-law is saying so many good things about him, don't you think it's good?"
"Good for what?" The two men tilted their heads.
"Don't you think he's a fine match with Krystal?"
"Eh?"
"Think about it for a second; he's a great child. His personality is fine, and I can tell he's a caring person." In her eyes, Keith was a perfect specimen.
"Ugh, what about Krystal?" Shouldn't they get their daughter's opinion?
"I think Krystal doesn't realize it, but she's interested in him." Violet had a feeling. It was subtle, but she had never seen her daughter close to someone like that. It wasn't a friend-friend thing either.
"You're forgetting about his position. He's also Marquis Freed's son." Would they let him go? Keith's capabilities as a businessman were impeccable.
"Hmm? He's the 4th son." If she remembered correctly, Keith should be the family's fourth son.
"But he's considered the precious one."
"But the others are the same as well." Marquis Freed's children were all talented. The social circles kept talking about their brilliance.
"Keith might like our Krystal as well." They couldn't forget about the child's opinion.
"Yeah, the kid might not realize it." Cedric retorted.
"What?"
"In terms of situations like this, this kid is oblivious to these types of things." Cedric had seen the boy's interactions with females. This guy was inadept to these situations.
"…" Oh dear.
"Also, isn't he engaged with the princess?" There were rumors about Carolyn being married to Keith. It was a rumor but a really strong one since the two had been seen together many times.
"No, the two of them aren't engaged. Well, there are no plans any longer." The two men had a dark expression as they said this.
"What do you mean?" Violet tilted her head.
"You see-"