Obviously, It's My Child - Chapter 155
[Reflecting on it, meeting Madam on the train and forming a brief connection felt like God’s guidance.
I hope it won’t be long before we meet again. I also hope I won’t be killed with those piercing blue eyes.
Hermann Ludendorff.]
As he was pressing the seal on his letter, there was a knock at the door.
“It’s me, brother.”
It was Horst.
Hermann folded the letter and slipped it into an envelope as he called for him to enter.
Thud, thud!
Horst entered with heavy footsteps. Hermann, concealing his disdain, asked politely.
“You seem upset.”
“Brother, is it true? About the mine, is it really true?”
“County Krozik has said so, and the prospector father called in confirmed it, so yes, it is true.”
“What do you mean ‘it is true’? Is it insignificant?”
“The mining difficulty is quite high. Places like Klausener wouldn’t bother with it unless it was worth the effort.”
“Is it profitable?”
“That’s what we need to figure out next. What about your trip? Does Baron Gagern intend to invest?”
Horst’s expression hardened.
Barony Gagern was not wealthy.
Their rent income from the estate that had been passed down from generations only provided enough revenue for modest living.
Even if there was an open-pit coal mine within their lands, the high investment costs and mining difficulties would make them hesitant.
Due to financial difficulties, they had no choice but to marry off their eldest daughter to Marquis Ludendorff, who already had an heir.
It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it shifted Hermann out of the position of heir, making Horst the successor.
Horst looked down. He was always uncomfortable when discussing his impoverished maternal family.
“Uncle is too ill to get involved in such matters.”
That was how Baron Gagern preserved his dignity.
Now, Hermann wondered if the baron was truly ill. He smiled faintly in a way Horst couldn’t see.
“I see. But Father won’t give up easily. If Baron Gagern can’t participate directly, selling the mining rights at a reasonable price might not be a bad option.”
“I just spoke about it.”
Horst’s face was deeply furrowed.
Hermann had suggested selling it at a reasonable price, but Marquis Ludendorff would never offer a fair amount.
He already regarded the marriage of Baron Gagern’s daughter and making their subsequent son the heir as a favor to the Gagern family.
Though Hermann hadn’t heard it directly, he suspected that the Marquis probably thought it appropriate to give them a special deal since the brother-in-law’s circumstances were challenging.
“Did the Baron accept it?”
“…Yes. He said he’d like to discuss it further with Krozik.”
Horst’s voice was strained, as if squeezing out each word.
‘It must be difficult to be caught in the middle. Baron Gagern might think Father’s actions are excessive, while the Marquis probably finds the Baron presumptuous.’
It seemed evident that soon his father would attempt to completely take over the Gagern family.
This would complicate Horst’s position.
As the heir of the Ludendorff family, he was expected to fulfill his role, but his sympathies lay more with his mother, rather than his tyrant-like father.
This could potentially lead to a rift.
Knowing Horst’s difficult position yet opting not to console or ask further, Hermann maintained his dignity as a noble of Rommel with a polite smile.
“Soon, the elder Count and our father are scheduled to meet in Gagern, it would be good if the Baron also spoke well there.”
The fact that a meeting was arranged excluding Baron Gagern and taking place on his lands caught Horst off guard, darkening his expression.
Hermann crumpled the seal and tossed it into the fireplace.
‘I expected to seek revenge against my father, but this scenario was unforeseen. Did Duchess Klausener know all this when she offered the Gagern mines?’
Was it just that there was a convenient mine there, or could the entire story about the mine be fabricated?
Having only heard that there would be contact from County Krozik, Hermann could not know these details.
He only knew that his father’s reliance on him over Horst would likely increase significantly.
.
.
.
-
- Ludendorff
The railroad stretches directly from Salzgitter to Ludendorff.
Marquis Ludendorff’s territory, despite not being a major transportation hub or even a midway point like the territory of Baron Delford, had a train station built. It was largely due to Augusta. To be precise, it was due to the fishing port project.
Before starting the port reconstruction, they first improved the roads and laid down the railway.
Claire suspected that one of the reasons for the significant expansion of the Ludendorff port was to justify this train station.
Erich, however, denied her suspicions.
“The port of Ludendorff is quite decent. I wouldn’t say the Marquis’s management is good, though.”
“The fact that those around the Empress only seem to meet low standards is true.”
“That can’t be denied. It’s not right, but it also means that it wasn’t decided solely to repay Lady Augusta for her services.”
“And you can’t just stop the project now.”
The railway was already built, after all.
Originally, their travel plan was to head next to the Klausener estate.
But Claire decided to change the itinerary to go to Ludendorff first.
There was no urgency in Ludendorff.
Under normal circumstances, they would have completed all their planned visits and then take a quick look with Erich to see the sea.
However, since Archduke Victoria said she wanted to handle the reinsurance business, they opted to visit Ludendorff first.
Want to read more? Up to [24] advanced chapters are available on Patreon:
For update pings, novel discussions and/or to send mistake reports, join our discord server~!
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
