Chapter 8: The Fund Manager's Firm Refusal

"I don't want this either, Sean, but there's no other way, is there? As the heir to the family, I need to take on my responsibility, which is to do my best to preserve our family's assets..."

Arthur looked Butler Sean directly in the eyes and said sincerely, "If there was another way, then I wouldn't want to take risks, but it's just too difficult. Under the current circumstances, to get the best outcome, a certain amount of risk must be taken. But I can assure you, Sean, I won't risk too much capital. These one hundred thousand pounds, plus some from the family fund, should be enough."

Ultimately, Butler Sean had deep feelings for the Cavendish Family and didn't want it to fall apart. But at the same time, he had little confidence in Arthur's adventurous actions. Yet, as Arthur said, there were few other options. Selling off a portion of the assets was one method, but given the previous massive losses, if they were to truly do that, it was feared that even Chatsworth House would be difficult to keep! Therefore, at this moment, he could only choose to trust Arthur and secretly pray for God's blessing upon the Cavendish Family.

"Young Master Arthur, I will also do my best to reduce Chatsworth House's expenses. Throughout its long history, Chatsworth House has faced many critical moments, and we have always overcome them. I hope this time will be the same."

"It definitely will, Butler Sean..." Arthur made no attempt to hide the determination in his eyes, then turned to the Butler and said, "Oh, right, I didn't know much about the family's trust fund before. Regarding Ms. Moore, the fund manager, Butler Sean, could you tell me more about her?"

If Butler Sean only felt worried about Arthur's plan to take out a portion of funds for aggressive investments, then with Ms. Yulia Moore, the manager of the family trust fund, his proposal was decisively rejected."Lord Arthur, I must be direct. If you are preparing to raise funds to pay inheritance tax, or to sell off a portion of family assets to cover losses and deal with bank loans, then I will cooperate with you. But if it's to use this money for risky investments, I'm sorry, I cannot do that!" When Yulia Moore came to the master's study at Chatsworth House again to face Arthur, after learning of his idea, she stated her position without hesitation.

"Oh? Are you sure, Ms. Moore? Then I'd like to know, as the family fund manager, what was your reaction to my father's investment in 'London Star' previously?" Hearing Arthur mention this, Yulia's expression instantly turned cold.

"Do you think I'm responsible for that investment, Lord Arthur?"

"Talking about responsibility now doesn't make much sense. It's just that I believe as the family fund manager, all you need to do is use your professional knowledge to help us manage the family's assets, not make decisions about them. I know that investing in 'London Star' was my father's idea, so you can't say that you cooperated with his investment intention at the time, yet so arbitrarily reject my investment idea now!"

To Arthur's words, Yulia shook her head. "Your Lordship, I still regret that even though I objected to your father's investment idea at the time, I didn't ultimately stick to my position; therefore, now, I cannot make the same mistake again... Furthermore, in fact, although you are the sole heir of the Duke of Devonshire Family, procedurally, you have not yet inherited the family's title and assets..."

"So you mean you won't follow my instructions now? Even though I am the family's sole heir?" Arthur stood up from his seat, walked over to Yulia, a slight smile still on his face, and said faintly, "It seems, Ms. Moore, you really don't have much confidence in me, or rather, no confidence at all."

"I just said, Your Lordship, if you need to pay inheritance tax to inherit the title and family assets, or to stop the family's losses, then I will fully cooperate with you. But if it's such a risky investment..." Yulia was not at all weaker in her demeanor. She did not avoid Arthur's gaze: "Then I will not agree. Perhaps you are right, I respect your status as heir, but as the manager of the family trust fund, I cannot take risks, even if you will remove me from this position later!"

Clearly, this meeting between the two did not yield a result that satisfied Arthur, and one could say it ended on a sour note. But it was also true, as Yulia said, that even though Arthur was the sole heir of the Cavendish Family, ultimately, he had not yet completed the procedures for inheriting the family title and assets. Therefore, as the manager of the family trust fund, she could choose to take a risk and cooperate with Arthur's investment, or she could reject his request. Arthur currently had no way to force her.

From her appearance, one could still tell that Yulia's features differed from traditional British people, the reason being that she possessed a large portion of Slavic blood. In the previous conversation with Butler Sean, Arthur had learned more about Yulia Moore.

Yulia Moore's full name was Yulia Shakhovskoy Moore. Her mother's family came from Russia. After the October Revolution, they fled from Tsarist Russia to Europe, eventually arriving in Britain. It can be said that most of the Tsarist Russian nobles who were exiled at that time did not fare well—on one hand, their departure from Tsarist Russia was too hasty, and on the other hand, they encountered many setbacks along the way, including deception and plunder. Therefore, very few exiled nobles were truly able to retain a certain amount of property. By Yulia's mother's generation, although they were considered to have integrated into British society, their family life could only barely be described as middle-class.

Her mother married a lawyer, and this lawyer had close ties with the Cavendish Family. Therefore, after Yulia's father died unexpectedly, Yulia's family received help from the Cavendish Family. It can be said that a large part of Yulia's ability to complete her education came from the Cavendish Family's financial support. It was also because of this relationship that the family originally chose Yulia Moore, a graduate of a prestigious school, to be the family trust fund manager—this trust originated from that connection.

It just seemed now that Yulia's trust in Arthur was quite lacking. Thus, the idea of obtaining funds from the family fund for investment was essentially rejected. The only funds Arthur had at his disposal were the £100,000 directly from the family's directly held assets. Unless he could quickly pay the inheritance tax and complete the procedures for inheriting the family title and assets, it seemed very difficult to obtain more support from Yulia.