71

Khalif shook his head as if he were fed up.

"I thought I was tired of surprises… Ha. There are so many geniuses around. A guy like me can't keep up."

"I'm not a genius."

"It's the same thing! Why don't geniuses know they're geniuses? Is it an infectious disease?"

Perhaps his feelings of inferiority had caused him to explode, but Khalif raised his voice in a rage. That was true, too, for the artists he had entered into full-scale management of, while calling himself an art broker, were uniformly masters of their time. Their natural talent was too good to be desirable to ordinary people. It was inevitable that one would feel very inadequate in the face of such genius masters.

'You know what? The feeling of lack makes you grow up faster.'

Elena was delighted to see Khalif's growth. Khalif communicated with the great masters of the time earlier than the original history. The influence made him realize his inadequacy early and show his persistent efforts. In addition to interacting with Emilio and combining business sense, Khalif was quickly becoming a bigger man than he had ever seen in original history.

"You have something you're good at."

"That's all right. It's not comforting at all."

Even that kind of appearance looked lovely to her eyes.

"This has solved the natural marble problem, right? I'll ask my father for the rest."

"Don't worry."

It was a very reliable answer. Emilio's work was flawless. Emilio was such a treasure that she wanted to say thank you to Ren for making the relationship possible.

"I didn't ask you to see my father because of this. There's something really important."

"What's that?"

Khalif's eyes soon came into being. He wanted to learn by showing deep interest as if it was a lie that he complained earlier.

"When the salon is built and the basilica is completed, the surrounding area will look completely different from what it is now. It will become a new cultural center."

"That's what I'm thinking about it. So what?"

"The same goes for Noblesse Street. The purpose is to distance the highest class for the aristocratic sense of privilege. The streets of the salon and Noblesse seem different, but they are similar."

"Your point is to compete with Noblesse Street, right?

"Yes, that's true."

"I'm afraid the odds are against us. Because of the influence of the Grand Duke in the Empire, and also because the money pouring into Noblesse Street is astronomical. No matter how many salons we raise, this is…"

No matter how much he thought about it, he could not come up with an estimate that would allow him to compete. Even if they bought up land in the slums at a low price and sold it off at a hundred times the price, or contracted for a monopoly on natural marble and reinvested in it with many gains, the scale of their initial capital was different compared to the Grand Duke in the first place.

And this is the capital of the Empire. Their influence is absolute as it is the home turf of the Great House. It was impossible to put pressure on the upper line by asking for help from various regulations and crackdowns. Elena's expression, however, did not show any uneasiness.

"You seem to have something in mind."

"Do you think so?"

"It's very serious, but I can see it."

"You're quick-witted."

Emilio, who rarely took part in Elena's affirmation, spoke out.

"It's a person."

"…"

"You must be right."

"It's my father."

Elena was quite surprised by Emilio's brilliance. Words are partnership, but Emilio silently helped Elena as she told him to do so without even asking why. It was more like a helper's feeling than a partner.

'I know you're giving me everything.'

If Emilio didn't understand Elena's plan deeply, he wouldn't have shown such perfect skills against the Great House.

"After all, life is the same. The power struggle, the war, the victory and the defeat are divided among the people."

Elena laughed silently. It was a silence of positivity.

"No, what's a person? Don't keep it between the two of you, and please tell me something that I can understand. What?"

Khalif was frustrated that he could hardly feel it.

"I'm trying to make a difference. Something not on Noblesse Street, but something in the Basilica."

"So it's something that's human. That's all I know. Who's that? I'm so frustrated.

"Senior."

"Me?"

The pointed out Khalif blinked loudly. There was a clear sign of embarrassment. Emilio nodded his consent without a word. But Khalif was still perplexed as if he didn't understand.

"Are you saying that the difference is me now?"

"Yes."

"I think you're mistaken. I don't have that ability."

Elena laughed open. It's because she was proud of Khalif, who looked back on himself calmly.

"You're a lot bigger than you think."

"What's wrong with you all of a sudden? I'm really not."

"It's not on Noblesse Street, it's what we have. And what senior has been doing so far."

Elena took a breather for a moment and went on.

"The masters of the time are with us."

"You're not…"

Khalif's eyes, which were belatedly caught, changed. It was quite different from what he said earlier, that they couldn't compete with the Grand Duke.

"Painters who ushered in a new era, genius architects, revolutionary designers, genius maestros, scientists who were ahead of their time, devil's crafters… and countless other masters have grown up in the hands of my senior, the art broker of art."

"…!"

Khalif was thrilled. He decided to become an art broker and wanted to help her with her work activities. But for some reason, Elena was already looking ahead and planning for the art broker, which gave him goosebumps.

"The salon will be a place to show their work, and the basilica will be a place to sell their work. No matter how well they make the Streets of Noblesse, what would be scary if the masters of the time were with us?"

"You're truly…"

"You know now, right? How important your role is."

Khalif, assimilated to Elena's grand plan, nodded. She could read the responsibility he felt from his heavier-than-usual nods.

"Uh. I feel a lot of pressure."

"You shouldn't."

Despite his bluffing, Khalif's eyes shone with more enthusiasm than ever before.

"It's a lot of pressure, but you know… My heart is beating? I feel like a madman."

***

Ren was leaning against the window of the building on the other side of the restaurant where Elena, Khalif and Emilio had their secret meeting. As he continued to descend, Ren's gaze caught sight of Elena leaving the restaurant and returning to the academy. She hadn't realized that Ren was watching her.

After Elena left, Khalif left the restaurant after a time. Emilio was the last to leave the restaurant in the carriage that eventually arrived.

"They do it that way with impunity, but it doesn't interest you?"

Ren was very interested at this moment. Nothing else, but it was clear that Veronica was dreaming of something. Otherwise, there was no reason for her to avoid his eyes, disguise herself as Lucia, and meet with the Lord of the Castol Trading Company, one of the top ten on the continent. She also seemed to have a deep connection with the art broker who had surfaced in the art world.

"Mel, That Khalif is Veronica's favorite art dealer?"

The elegant Mel, who was standing behind him, looked up at the question that Ren posed while looking out the window. Mel, who is in his early thirties this year, is the leader of the Majesti, a special organization of the Bastache family. Majesti was a group that mainly gathers and analyzes information, and sometimes even resorts to assassination, and until a few decades ago, it was one of the highest forces of the Grand Duchy. The Bastache family declared their independence and separated from them. This was because Majesti had its roots in the Bastache family.

In principle, "Majesti" had an iron rule that they should follow direct orders from Ren's father and current owner of the Bastache family, Viscount Spencer.

However, Ren broke that rule. Without his father, Viscount Spencer, knowing, he tried to contact Majesti's leader Mel and have him obey him. As shown, the evidence is that Ren uses Majesti's intelligence personally.

"According to research, it is true. It is said that he has become an art dealer that attracts attention at once by making exclusive deals with newbies or Princess Veronica who has just entered the art world."

"That's amazing, isn't it? How did he bite a tycoon-like Veronica when he didn't have much family and ability?"

"That's a mystery for me, too."

"Two-timing?"

"What?"

Ren gave an unintelligible smile. Majesti's information skills were highly regarded, but they were not as good as Ren's just inside the academy, where outsiders were restricted from entering and leaving. In particular, the fact that Lucia and Veronica were the same person was a secret that only Ren knew.

"Have you ever heard of two-timing? One man is two people… different. The subject has to change, so should I see it as two women dating one man?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Ren laughed a lot. It was really exciting to know someone's disgrace alone.

"There's something like that. Did you find out about the Castol Corporation?"

"Yes, he's been doing something surprisingly cheeky."

"What, that expression. I'm looking forward to it. What did he do?"

When Ren shone in his eyes, Mel replied.

"They've made quite a profit by intervening in the Grand House's redevelopment project."

"Wow. Isn't that amazing? Leabrick is not the type of woman who will sit down and idly watch that happen."

"They had already bought up some of the land in the slums before the Grand Duke started buying it up. Also, according to research, they signed an exclusive contract with a natural marble mine, which is also presumed to be aimed at the Grand Duke."

Clap, clap. Ren clapped vigorously with a satisfied face.