Over the course of the next few days, Emilia continued having fun training her little ducklings while closely observing the situation between her two opponents like a hawk.
Although it looked like the Gray Wolfe had managed to catch the Black Tiger off guard and snatch a big piece of meat without incident, the crimson-haired girl didn’t believe that it would be so easy.
The Black Tiger’s reputation suffered a big blow, as not only did the government of the Blue Dawn Republic publicly issue a condemnation against them, but the other governments who feared getting the same treatment also unilaterally canceled many of their future projects.
At least, that had been the official stance of these parties, but people in the know could tell that someone must have negotiated with these governments to abandon Black Tiger for more lucrative opportunities.
Despite the absence of cooperation announcements between these countries and the Gray Wolfe, most believed that it had to be their doing. After all, who else could be so domineering and strong? Even if everyone wanted to fish in troubled waters, few had the ability to pull this kind of thing off.
Although he had been the one to pass the order, even Alexander’s father himself was left a little stunned by the effectiveness of his moves. ‘Wait a minute… the numbers don’t add up, do they?’
He couldn’t help but give his secretary a suspicious look. “How come we only negotiated the deal with thirteen, but the Black Tiger was blacklisted by twenty? Don’t tell me Allie decided to jump in as well?”
The secretary who handed him the report could only shrug helplessly. “T-The lady hasn’t given us any instructions, and hasn’t contacted the Nightingale clan either. M-Maybe the Black Tiger offended too many people in the past?”
Sanders Gray usually wasn’t one to rely on luck, but being able to achieve twice the results with half the effort, it was impossible for him to not be in a good mood. Since it wasn’t his wife’s doing, there was no need for him to worry too much. “Heh… regardless of whether it’s others fishing in troubled waters or a retribution of their own deeds… let me take this chance to show the world that the one to come out on top will always be my Gray Wolfe!”
Of course, with his father guiding him, Amos wasn’t just taking a beating lying down.
The Black Tiger’s reputation had never been what one would consider outstanding, so the wave of negative public opinion all over the world didn’t really bother the father and son much.
Most of the deals they struck were based purely on either benefits or strength, anyway. But what mattered now was to make sure that anyone who trampled on them suffered.
Otherwise, if they lost the deterrence effect of their name, not to mention the effect overseas, perhaps even the situation in their home country might not be the same.
Given that they were already somewhat passive against the White Deer at the moment… they simply couldn’t afford to take the chance.
Whether it was impromptu fire ‘accidents’ or leaks in critical components of a factory, one disaster after another seemed to follow anyone who had cut off cooperation with the Black Tiger.
Of course, even if they were furious at the loss of both money and men, neither the governments nor the organizations who had abandoned the Black Tiger would suddenly go back and regret their decisions, as that had already been a part of their negotiations with the Gray Wolfe.
Alexander’s father didn’t care for these ‘minor expenses’ at all, but Emilia’s father couldn’t help but be furious when he finally noticed what his precious daughters were doing.
He flew right back to the Green Leaf city and slammed Sam’s office door open, pointing his finger at the empty office chair in a rage. “Meddling into this matter… what in the world were the two of you thinking?!”
Of course, the office wasn’t actually empty, and Noelle calmly walked to the door and left, closing the door on her way out.
Fortunately, they had the foresight of sending off the assistants to the lower floors after receiving the news of their father’s arrival. After all, the matter was a bit too sensitive to risk leaking.
Mr. White, who had previously been overwhelmed with helpless fury, could only turn to stare dumbfounded at the two girls he had raised cuddling on the sofa. ‘Why is Emilia here? No… don’t tell me…’
Before his mind could take another ‘detour’, Emilia sighed and gave him a helpless smile. “Hi, dad, please don’t be mad. Let’s sit down and talk?”
Although he had been in a bad mood after being repeatedly scolded by his wife, Mr. White could still only helplessly do as he was told when faced with his daughters. “Okay, okay… I’m calm. Now tell me clearly what the heck is going on before your father has a stroke, alright?”
As for the fact that his younger daughter was on Sam’s lap… he decided he had been half-blinded by the sun’s glare, and couldn’t see what was in front of him at the moment. Anyway, even if the rice couldn’t be uncooked, no one could force him to eat it!
Emilia and Sam stared at each other before the older girl gave her father a hesitant smile. “Being able to take advantage of such opportunities is crucial to our growth, but if dad wants me to explain something, please ask clearly.”
Mr. White frowned, feeling a little displeased by their seemingly stubborn behavior. “I’m not against you taking up any opportunities to grow, Sam, but it looks like what you’re doing is a bit too underhanded, is it not?”
With Sam’s business ability being stronger than his own, and with Noelle’s assistance, the husband and wife had already slowly shifted to just dealing with the Black Tiger and negotiating with politicians on their behalf.
Anyone could tell that they were preparing to fully hand everything over and retire soon, which was why they wouldn’t overrule any of Sam’s decisions, but ‘teach’ her instead. After all, in the future, she would be the one leading the White Deer, and they couldn’t hold her by the hand forever.
Sam couldn’t help but frown after hearing her father’s words. “What do you mean ‘underhanded’? It’s not like we’re killing anyone, not to mention endangering innocent people. All we’re doing is adding some fuel to the fire.”
The crimson-haired girl also nodded, not wanting her older sister to take all the blame alone. “Dad, when you want to get to the top, you can’t be too cowardly! Both the Black Tiger and the Gray Wolfe are fighting, and this is the best chance for us to fish with minimal risk!”
Mr. White felt his temples throb in pain as he looked at the two girls ‘supporting each other’ like that. “What is the point of taking the risk of attracting the Gray Wolfe’s attention? We can barely protect you from the Black Tiger, but there’s no way to really defend against the Nightingale clan!”
The middle-aged man frowned when he noticed that their expressions didn’t change at all, and both the girls seemed to treat his words like air. “Emilia is a naïve child, but you can’t be like this, Sam! We already have more money than we can ever use, so what’s the point of endangering everything for more?!”
He couldn’t help but smack his thigh angrily. “Back off while there’s still time, Sam! I’m only saying this for your own good!”
Mr. White became even more furious when he saw Emilia give Sam a strange look. “Don’t flirt in front of me! Be serious, I’m not blind!”
Although she knew that he was ‘their father’, Emilia didn’t want him to continue scolding Sam like that. But since her cold-faced crybaby was a bit too softhearted…
”Big sister, can you go out and let me talk to dad alone?”
Sam had never been able to deny her little sister’s request, what more when she fluttered her eyelashes like that and asked for something so coquettishly. Even if she was reluctant to leave the younger girl alone with their furious father, she could only helplessly push the little beauty off her lap and leave.
After the door had been closed, Emilia smiled at ‘her father’. “Dad, are you happy with the White Deer’s state today?”
”Of course not—”
Emilia couldn’t help but interrupt him with an exasperated sigh. “Excluding the matter we were discussing before, dad!”
Mr. White coughed. “Oh… y-yeah, I mean, what is there to be dissatisfied? We’re already ahead of the Black Tiger, and there is no need to fear anyone in the Oriana country anymore. You know you’re our little darling, but you can’t be too greedy!”
Emilia couldn’t help but sigh after hearing his response. “… You really are a good man.”
”…?!”
Did this cute little baby he had raised for so many years finally just praise him? Daughters are the best, after all!
But before he could puff his chest out with pride or be too happy, Emilia smiled. “You’re a good man, but… you can’t expect others to be so gentle. The Black Tiger may be suppressed temporarily, but for how long? As long as we’re complacent… what do you think will happen?”
While he was still stunned, the young girl turned her head away with a forlorn sigh.
Even if her expression didn’t make her mood clear enough, there was no way to ignore the tremor in her voice. “Dad… you say we’re provoking the Gray Wolfe, but did you know that their heir came to me? Did you know what he said, and what he intends to do?”
Mr. White couldn’t help but be stunned. Clearly, he hadn’t heard about this at all, but although Emilia was mischievous, he knew that she wouldn’t joke around like this. His heart burned with pain when he thought about his little daughter suffering alone while thinking about her bleak future.
No… if this was the end result, what was the point of everything he had worked for all his life?! Even if it was that bastard Sander’s son, who dared to be so arrogant in front of his little princess? He definitely couldn’t let them go!
Thinking about how he had been so scared of the Gray Wolfe and even scolded his daughters… Mr. White couldn’t help but clench his fists in shame. There was no need to think about what the Gray Wolfe’s heir might have said to make her so sad. The last thing he wanted to do now was to poke at her wounds.
But the more he was embarrassed, the more his fury grew against those who always seemed intent on harming his precious little girl. “Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner? Bah! Gray Wolfe or whatever, let’s fight!”
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