Vol. 5 ITRG Volume 5 Chapter 4.1

His fathers financial advisor, whom he had trusted to manage Teiwinds a.s.sets since his fathers time, retired shortly after his fathers death. Like many aristocrats, Aeroc took these matters into his own hands. He took on the task confidently, but it wasnt as easy as he thought. One investment after another failed, and he had lost a lot of money.

My pride is getting bruised.

The good news was that the Teiwinds wealth was the equivalent of an entire small nation, so a few bad investments were nothing. The problem was that the Teiwind also needed to spend as much as a small nation. He might be able to get by for a few years, but if he continued to make bad investments, Teiwind would be in a risk of being unable to support sponsors.h.i.+ps and social activities in the future.

Worse yet, he might be reduced to poverty and forced to sell his hard-earned books to buy bread and barely peek through the windows of art museums. That was horrible even just thinking about it. After some hard thinking using his brain, which was smart enough to not think much of investing, he realized the root cause of his failures in investment.

I need to hire a financial manager.

Only after being cornered did Aeroc recognize the limits of his abilities. The failures werent a total loss, but it was the price he paid for better reflection.

Aeroc couldnt just randomly hire someone to manage his finances, an area where trust was essential. Using his failures as a mirror, this time, Aeroc asked for a recommendation from an experienced acquaintance, Viscount Derbys.h.i.+re. Aeroc received several enclosed referral letters. Not only the Viscount Derbys.h.i.+re, but the d.u.c.h.ess of Clayton, the Viscount Westport, and many others all named the same person at the same time.

Theyre really not helpful at all.

Aeroc wondered if they were colluding behind his back, how they could all point to Bend.y.k.e. As much as he wanted to say he was surprised, inwardly he knew it would lead to that man. The capitals social circles were abuzz these days with talk of Bend.y.k.e, a young investment manager and lawyer whose investment predictions were so accurate they could be compared to a prophet or wizard, and whose fortune was actually growing at an alarming rate. Anyone with even a pa.s.sing interest in money scrambled to get in line for his services, only to find that Bend.y.k.e was shunning clients for personal reasons. But that arrogant behavior made him even more famous. He accepted clients based on a completely unspecified criterion, not minding the size of their trust a.s.sets. No one knew what his secret criteria were.

Aside from a few royalties and dukes, the only known long-term rather than one-off contractors were the Derbys.h.i.+re, Westport, and Wolflake clans. What they all had in common was that they were old, respected families. While it was surprising that he managed to stretch until the royalties, its entirely possible that the d.u.c.h.ess of Clayton could have built the bridge. However, the Wolflake clan is more surprising.

Wolflake was a royal family with great influence in the political arena. The current Marquis of Wolfrake was known for his cold temper and aristocratic pride, and he was notoriously unwilling to deal with anyone unworthy of his rank. Aeroc was almost the only person of his age with whom he interacted on a regular basis. Aeroc frowned, wondering how Bend.y.k.e had managed to woo him into a friends.h.i.+p.

He knew, in his humble way, that these three clans were a big part of the capitals social scene. Adding Teiwind to the mix, and it would be a force to be reckoned with. Aeroc wasnt sure what Bend.y.k.es ambition was, but he resented it.

Aeroc personally sought out other financial managers, but every single trusty one politely declined, saying they couldnt handle the a.s.sets of Teiwind. Aeroc even tried to convince them in person, but one of them said something outrageous.

Havent you already hired the most competent financial manager you can find?

I dont understand what youre saying.

A large clan might have several managers at the same time for their a.s.sets, but Mr. Bend.y.k.e is more than capable on his own. More than that, I dont want to unnecessarily compete with him.

Aeroc frowned at those incomprehensible words.

Do you mean that he is my financial manager?

From what I know, yes.

The other man chuckled. It masked the awkwardness of Aeroc not understanding the flow of the conversation.

I didnt hire him. Where did you hear that?

As Aeroc prodded, the other man finally realized he wasnt joking and began to visibly panic.

Did that man say that to you?

No, thats absolutely not it. I thought that a clan as great as Teiwind would definitely hire Mr. Bend.y.k.e, and I dont know where this misunderstanding came from, I think it would be best to meet with him and clear up any misunderstandings.

Ill see to that.

Aeroc replied curtly, then walked away. He felt offended. Just what was wrong with that man that Aeroc had to clear up the misunderstanding? Bend.y.k.e was the fraud. Aside from feeling an intense displeasure, Aeroc sc.r.a.pped his plans to hire another financial manager. He didnt want to go around begging when no one was willing to do it anyway. Its just a matter of tightening up their finances for the time being. Aeroc decided to try the simplest and most obvious solution.

But the old Counts estate wasnt as simple as he had thought. Simply not making further expenses didnt solve all the problems. A letter arrived, demanding payment for venture capital investments under a contract. Even for Aeroc, who was a big spender, the sum was so large that he had to clean his eyes and double-check. Surprised, he quickly emailed the venture capital company to ask why, and they responded by asking him to double-check some of the contract questions he had. Aeroc quickly looked up the contract. It wasnt that Aeroc couldnt remember the terms written on it, it was that Aeroc didnt know what they meant. After a day of struggling with the replys explanation and the contract, Aeroc figured out the hard way that the co-president of the venture capital company was himself, and that he was supposed to temporarily cover the losses of the other investors.

Ive never thought it would be like this.

It got worse. The cash income from the estate was not enough to cover the demanded payment. He would have to part with some of the artwork that had been pa.s.sed down through the generations.

If my father heard of this, he would have risen up from his grave and given me a beating.

Indeed, Aeroc could already hear the shout of Aeloc Vinadellin Taywind, come to the study at once! pounding in his eardrums. His cheeks tingled. Aeroc had to come up with something right away. But hed already suffered a few failures, and whatever he came up with was more likely to lead to another horrible ending.

Oh, well.

Aeroc wandered through the mansion through the night, examining the paintings on the walls, the furniture, and antiques. None of it was left untouched by his father. After thoroughly examining them, he selected paintings that were by up-and-coming artists, so they werent expensive.

By the time the hazy dawn broke, Aeroc was completely exhausted. He didnt dare straddle the chair in the study where his fathers spirit might have sat, and instead sat on the small stool he used to be scolded in. Aeroc thought about it until his head was feverish, but he couldnt come up with a solution. Unconsciously, one of my legs trembled. Realizing that he had lost his dignity, Aeroc let out a long, long sigh. There was no other way.

So this is why you summoned me so early in the morning.

Bend.y.k.e sneered as they entered the study. He took an uninvited seat and made himself comfortable, and Aeroc, far away from him, resisted the urge to return the sarcasm right back. He was in such a bad situation that he had to borrow this demons help.

I hope you had a comfortable ride on your way here.

Aeroc knew he spoke too fast. Ha. He couldnt believe he was nervous about this man. It couldnt be. It was just because he hadnt slept well. And this man wasnt the right person to show his favor to. Noticing that Aeroc was being rude, the unruly barbarian frowned.

Its impossible to feel comfortable from the moment you wake me up from my deep slumber. Unlike an aristocrat who can sit still and have money poured into his pockets, I have to earn money to eat, buy clothes, and sleep. Ive been working late all week and had planned to rest the whole morning today.

I apologize for summoning you on such short notice, but it was very urgent and I had no choice. If you dont mind, Id like to invite you to dinner.

Aeroc forced himself to say something he didnt mean. As hard as it was to say, it didnt look good on the listener. Before Aeroc could finish, Bend.y.k.e interrupted him.

Ive told you before, theres no need for you to be polite between us. Just tell me what you want.

That was good timing from him, but Aeroc still didnt feel good about it. Everything about him felt offensive and discomforting. Who the h.e.l.l did he think Aeroc was, a pa.s.sing trainee a.s.sistant?

I wonder how anyone else tolerates your arrogance. Do you also act this arrogant in the presence of Viscount Derbys.h.i.+re?

Theyre not Aeroc Teiwind.

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