Obviously, It’s My Child - Chapter 212

Barony Gagern had no money, and the nearby minor nobility was no better off.

Those who were incompetent had no wealth, while those with both money and skill demanded shares as much as County Krozik.

In practical terms, the only option available to Marquis Ludendorff at this point was to borrow money from the guilds or wealthy landowners in the territory. However, he was unwilling to bow his head and beg commoners, so he never considered that option.

In fact, the Marquis had already been humiliated by those stingy, arrogant miserly nobles.

So, his remaining choice was Duke Klausener. The Duke was still staying in Ludendorff.

Since the disastrous tea party, the Marquis had not visited the Klausener couple.

However, he had heard that his eldest son, Hermann, had visited the Duchess several times. Even Archduke Victoria was still staying at the Marquis’s residence.

At this point, it seemed their relationship had not completely broken down. Furthermore, Duke Klausener had even purchased a building in front of the Ludendorff station. This signified that his stay would likely be extended, and that there were matters to attend to in Marquis Ludendorff’s territory.

The Marquis accepted it as such. He did not assume that the Duke had brought work with him to be closer to his wife.

For someone as self-centered as the Marquis, it was unimaginable that he would go to someone else’s location, even if he wanted to spend time with them. He would rather invite the person to his own place.

‘Staying here means he has some business interest in this place.’

Whatever it was, it was clear that the Duke would need his help if it was something to do within the Marquis’s territory.

‘Because of the Bloom family, our relationship soured for a while, but now it’s time to talk.’

If the Duke participated as an investor, everything would be resolved smoothly.

The biggest cause of the financial strain had been promising excessive compensation to Baron Gagern. The Marquis had overextended because he believed that in order to bring the Duke in as an investor, he needed to have results to show first.

It wasn’t the ideal scenario, but with Duke Klausener, yielding wouldn’t be such a humiliation.

With this mindset, the Marquis visited the office of Duke Klausener, who greeted him with the following words,

“You truly surprised me, Marquis. Few possess the quality of boldness as you do.”

“Haha.”

“To allow my wife to be insulted like that and still have the audacity to show your face before me. Truly remarkable.”

The Duke said this coldly, without so much as raising an eyebrow.

Marquis Ludendorff, who had initially expected to laugh in response to what he thought was a compliment, froze. It took him some time to finally speak.

“The insult to the Duchess wasn’t committed by anyone in my family. Barony Bloom has already received sufficient punishment.”

The tone in which the Marquis spoke made it sound as if he himself had been the one to deliver the punishment. In truth, there was little difference in Marquis Ludendorff’s mind. He had indeed sent a reprimand to Barony Bloom.

The Duke gave a faint smile. Only then did the Marquis realize, after feeling the weight of his gaze and apologized belatedly.

“My eldest son would have gone to apologize. I heard that the Duchess graciously forgave him.”

“I know that Sir Hermann visited. But is he someone who can speak for the Ludendorff family?”

Marquis Ludendorff felt his back dampen at the Duke’s question.

An heir who had been pushed aside could never take the place of the family head. Only then did he understand what he needed to do.

“I deeply apologize. I never intended to insult Duchess Klausener.”

He felt a sense of injustice, but if the Duke demanded an apology, he had to give it. It was understandable that the Duke would be angry, seeing the insult to his wife as an insult to his family.

And after all, hadn’t the Bloom family displayed disgraceful behavior even before the Duke? It was perfectly reasonable to refuse to allow such a person into society.

It wasn’t just the territory that had to be ruled correctly. Managing society was also a duty of the high nobility. At a time when trust was needed, the Marquis knew he couldn’t argue further.

Although frustrated by the complications his wife had caused and the shame he felt, the Marquis lowered his head.

“As the lord of Ludendorff, and as the host of the tea party, I apologize for not properly dealing with the scandalous behavior.”

“The one who should be apologized to is not me, but my wife.”

Despite feeling insulted, the Marquis had no choice but to lower his head deeply.

“If permitted, my wife and I would like to personally visit the Duchess and ask for forgiveness.”

The cold atmosphere that had frozen the room began to dissipate.

The Marquis found it difficult to understand. He had always viewed his wife as an accessory to the family, not as a person equal to it.

The Duke sighed and spoke.

“Let’s get to the point.”

“Pardon?”

“You didn’t come all the way here just to apologize, did you?”

“Ah, yes. That’s correct. I have a proposal I would like to make.”

Marquis Ludendorff swallowed his nervousness and began the speech he had prepared.

While he spoke passionately about the Gagern Mine, the Duke sat there with a disinterested expression, waiting for the right moment to cut him off.

“Unfortunately, we are already well aware of the Gagern iron mine. We had no interest in investing, so we left it alone. I’m afraid I have no intention of investing now.”

“This mine is legitimate. The iron ore discovered is of the highest quality, and the vein has already been thoroughly surveyed. The rights with Baron Gagern have been settled, and now we only need to extract it!”