Edward, who was quite annoyed by the sudden intrusion of the father and daughter, glared at Guilford who was just watching the situation from the side.

Feeling inwardly apologetic at that fierce gaze, Guilford nonetheless had done his best. But what could he do against their forceful behavior? As an investor, he couldn’t just act on his temper.

He shook his head once and gestured to go to the back.

Confirming this, Edward did not hide his displeasure as he spoke.

“It won’t be difficult for you to check. Since it seems Guilford has also brought some news separately, let’s finish our conversation first and then attend to you.”

“That… Hey, Allen!”

Pushed to the back of the line. Offended by that fact, Gerard shouted.

“Who do you think is funding your research! Don’t you know it’s running because of investors like me?”

“I know. That’s why I’m attending to you even when you come like this, and if you don’t like it, you can find another engineer. Well then.”

Edward nodded perfunctorily and turned his back to head to the office next to the lab.

Guilford also bowed his head politely and immediately left. The only one who remained in place was Jeffrey, whose courage had hit rock bottom among them.

“Haha. Welcome. I’ll briefly explain the recent trends of our lab.”

“And who might you be?”

“I am Jeffrey Curtis, the manager of Allen’s lab.”

Leaving behind the sound of him sweating profusely, the two quickly moved their feet.

As soon as Edward opened the door to the lab, he growled.

“I don’t believe I hired you to bring guests like this, Guilford.”

He was quite openly sarcastic, his mood clearly twisted. As Guilford had nothing to say about this part for now, he bowed his head and said.

“I apologize. The patent review ended and the acquisition was completed, and it seems that news spread to some nobles. I was about to send a telegram on my way out when we happened to run into each other.”

“I can guess what happened after that.”

“I’m sorry. But he’s also my father-in-law, so it’s difficult for me to be too firm.”

Clicking his tongue at those words, Edward irritably looked back. The company car they must have ridden came into view.

The flashy red paint particularly stung his eyes. Annoyed by that as well, Edward said gruffly.

“And who’s that woman next to him? I told you not to let them act up, did I tell you to let them show their faces to me?”

More precisely, it was to be careful about speaking of Mrs. Allen, you character-ruined fool.

The company president was shooting off his mouth, letting his temper loose. But Guilford, who had committed a sin, maintained the best poker face he could for now.

“I conveyed well that any remarks that could be disrespectful to Mrs. Allen should be careful, and that it won’t end with just a warning next time.”

“Then why is that happening?”

“I don’t know. It’s not like I can see through people’s minds.”

“You should have used that clever tongue of yours on them, not me.”

There was nothing to say to this either. Guilford just bowed his head for now.

“Still, they at least came through me, so this much is considered polite.”

“What politeness. Is it polite to barge in without notice?”

He retorted sharply.

“They’re probably just trying to keep up appearances, but a commoner getting the same treatment as me hurts their pride, yet coming face to face right away would be disrespectful to you, so they’re worried about that.”

Gutless fools. Edward muttered. He let out a big sigh and said.

“So. What do you want me to do?”

“Just briefly brief us on what that high-output controller is, what effects you expect, and in what direction you plan to proceed with research in the future. That’s all.”

“You could do that much yourself, couldn’t you?”

“They don’t quite trust me since I’m not an expert.”

“What a pain.”

Edward clicked his tongue once.

“Fine, just ramble on about anything with a serious expression for about 30 minutes from now. I have absolutely no intention of attending to those guys right away.”

“So we’ll showcase this at the exhibition and see the reaction.”

Edward placed his hand on top of the large device with a thud. It was a high-output mana stone engine capable of powering even military vessels.

“By then we’ll be raking in money, and it’s sure to become a goose that lays golden eggs, so just wait a little.”

Gerard Ernst was already deep in thought about something, his gaze slightly lowered. Stroking his chin, he said.

“Indeed. The royal family will be interested too. Have you thought about collaborating with Winston? To enable domestic production of submarines as well.”

“I’m keeping it in mind for now, but that will depend on the conditions they offer. It’s not a bad choice to push forward with the shipbuilding business under Allen’s name as it is.”

Edward replied in a slightly arrogant manner. Then Emily, sitting next to Gerard, clapped her hands in her kid leather gloves.

“Amazing. Fame certainly doesn’t come for free.”

She leaned her upper body towards him, lightly touching her fingertips to her lips.

“A capable man is truly impressive. There’s charm regardless of status.”

“That’s not a value system I’d particularly recommend.”

Edward said coldly. But Emily cupped her cheeks with both hands and said.

“The world is changing, isn’t it? As you know, Mr. Allen, it’s no longer a world where you can live off status alone. Capable people should receive appropriate treatment. Don’t you think so?”

She smiled with narrowed eyes.

It was clearly words coming out to flatter him. Knowing Emily’s purpose, Guilford held back the laughter that was about to escape at such an obvious and naive act.

And as Guilford expected, Edward rather tightened his lips even more and looked at her coldly.

He said in a strained voice, suppressing his irritation.

“If you’re going to be hypocritical, you’d better learn how to do it properly, Lady Ernst.”

“What?”

“Let me advise you. It’s better to openly see me as a goose that lays golden eggs like Lord Ernst does. It’s a transaction we share out of necessity, so there’s no reason to demand more than that.”

He looked down at her with an almost contemptuous gaze and said.

“If you’re going to pretend to care about me in such a pathetic way, fix that condescending look and tone first, Lady Ernst.”

“I, I was—”

Emily stuttered in embarrassment. Then Gerard, looking at her with displeasure, clicked his tongue and stepped in himself.

“That’s enough. My daughter is still young. I’ve been educating her since childhood with the intention of marrying her to a bourgeois. Even if her words were clumsy, they must have been sincere, so you should stop here too.”

“…There’s nothing more to say, Lord Ernst.”

Edward sat down heavily, roughly pulling at the tie choking his neck.

Emily said with tears welling up in her eyes.

“I’m sorry. Like last time, I’m always full of mistakes.”

Edward’s expression hardened even more as he recalled the memory of a day he didn’t want to remember.

“I’m sorry. I mean it.”

Regardless of her ulterior motives, it was a place where her father-in-law was present. Guilford swallowed the sigh that was about to escape and handed Emily a handkerchief.

Taking his handkerchief, Emily dabbed at her tears and said.

“I just, I came here because I wanted to apologize to you, and what I just said was purely because I thought I might become your fan. I’m sorry my expression was clumsy.”

“There’s no need to apologize.”

“Hey, Allen! I and my daughter have said this much!”

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose, furrowing his brows. Right now, he desperately wanted a cigar.

He still couldn’t understand why he had to look at this woman’s face.

This was all because of Guilford who wasn’t worth his pay, no, because of those petty nobles’ pride.

‘No. It’s because I’m not a noble.’

Finally reaching that thought, he really felt disgusted.

What was the point of openly showing an arrogant attitude to the nobles? After all, he was just a commoner, the son of a con artist.

How lightly must they view him to throw such words to his face? And with that condescending gaze, as if doing him a favor.

That’s why he couldn’t afford to lose even the title of a successful engineer.

He decided to definitely proceed with the next project that had only been discussed until now.

“Jeffrey.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Remember the amplifier we talked about earlier.”

Jeffrey answered reflexively to the sudden question.

“What? Yes.”

“The next project will proceed with that. It’s a decision, so no objections are needed.”

“What?”

Jeffrey asked again, hoping he had heard wrong. Suddenly talking about the next project was like a bolt from the blue.

No, boss! How can we start the next one when we’ve barely finished one!

Jeffrey wanted to shout at the mad decision of his boss.

Deciding on that when they’d only had one idea meeting.

But with his rock-bottom courage, he couldn’t voice such words in front of the investors.

“And Lord Ernst and Lady Ernst.”

Edward turned his head slightly and said.

“If you really want to apologize to me, why don’t you recommend a decent opera before you go.”

He needed to grasp both fame and his wife’s happiness.

To do that, he had to live even busier than before. Work had to extract maximum efficiency in minimum time, and he had to strive to spend higher quality time with his wife.

However, opera or plays were in the realm of leisure that he couldn’t even pay attention to. Such things were a culture that only nobles with time to spare could enjoy.

So if there were nobles in front of him, nobles who were watching his mood no less, he had to utilize them.

He chose a successful date with his wife over his pride.