Chapter 304: Side Story, The Marquis (10)
“Y-you...! Are you trying to treat like so kind of lunatic right now?!”
“?”
Gerard pointed to himself with feigned surprise, then continued in a disgustingly gentle tone.
“Uncle, you clearly proposed this idea last week. You told to make sure to invite the First Lady to the gala so we could understand the new administration’s stance on social comrce. That’s why I reached out to President-elect Trenton’s team on your behalf, isn’t it?”
“I—I never said anything like that!”
“Then why did you invite the President-elect’s family? What specific instructions did you give that led us to welco these distinguished guests to tonight’s gala…?”
“T-that’s…!”
He had no idea. He hadn’t even known the First Lady was coming, so how could he possibly know what excuse Gerard had used to bring them here?
“Please, just tell us what you rember, Uncle.”
Gerard’s deceitful gaze briefly flicked toward the First Lady before returning to him. To anyone watching, it would look as though a devoted nephew were genuinely worried about his uncle’s failing health.
But for Desmond, who knew exactly what lay behind that mask, rage boiled up inside.
‘Ha Si-heon… ever since he started hanging around that bastard…!’
A certain East Asian man’s innocent face flashed through his mind—his finger pointing mockingly at his own cheek, saying, “?”
‘There’s… only one choice.’
Desmond ground his teeth inwardly. Of course, he could reveal the truth right here and now. He could confess that he had no idea the President-elect’s family would attend, that Gerard had gone behind everyone’s back to invite them, and that—when the President-elect family appeared—he panicked and lied, pretending it had all been his own plan.
But doing that…
It would be no different from crushing his own honor into the dirt and digging his own grave. Social suicide—or senile old man. Would he rather be despised as a liar, or pitied as soone suffering from dentia?
Desmond made his choice.
“…I… don’t seem to rember…”
***
The gala was a trendous success.
‘At least the reaction to the idea pitch wasn’t bad.’
In place of his “forgetful uncle,” Gerard personally pitched the idea of “molecular-gastronomy-based social comrce” to the First Lady. Her response had been quite favorable.
“It’s not a bad idea. If we can revitalize the dostic market through social comrce instead of relying on global expansion by big tech, that would be ideal. I’ll bring it up.”
If the President himself took kindly to the proposal, several favorable policies would surely follow. That alone was a major victory.
‘The succession announcent went smoothly, too.’
Gerard even went up on stage to deliver the New Year’s address on behalf of the Marquis. Of course, his uncles had tried desperately to stop him.
“Uncle, you told last week to speak in your stead. Don’t you rember?”
One line—just one line—and everything fell neatly into place. With the two brothers who held actual power in the Marquis Council suddenly regarded as senile old n, there was little they could do.
Thus, before an audience that included the First Lady herself, Gerard publicly declared the Marquis’s future vision and direction.
‘This carries enormous significance.’
When soone of the First Lady’s stature attends an event, everything gains weight and symbolism. It ant that, in front of political and business elites, Gerard had been officially recognized as the rightful successor. As a result, his position as heir beca unshakable.
Gerard had now beco the Marquis’s official successor, soone no one could easily ignore.
Of course, Desmond didn’t take it lying down. After the gala, he imdiately confronted Gerard about his scheming.
“You! You deliberately invited the President-elect’s family behind our backs and plotted this whole thing, didn’t you?!”
He accused Gerard of using the President’s family to set them up. But Gerard already had the perfect excuse prepared.
“I wanted to inform you ahead of ti, Uncle… but the security protocol made it impossible.”
“Security protocol?”
“It was a directive from the Secret Service.”
The Secret Service—the agency responsible for the protection and safety of the President and his family. Indeed, it was standard procedure that the First Lady’s and the First Family’s schedules were kept strictly confidential. Any leak, however small, could make them targets for terrorism or other threats. The Secret Service reacted with extre sensitivity to even the tiniest breach.
Whenever an incident occurred, internal regulations tightened, and all information related to upcoming events was completely sealed off. This ti was no exception.
“Not long ago, soone at the Marquis Foundation accidentally leaked a large batch of invitations, rember? Because of that, the security asures beca stricter. A special directive was issued to share nothing beforehand except with the individuals directly involved. There was nothing I could do.”
Desmond’s mouth fell open. After all, the one responsible for that invitation mishap—was Desmond himself. Yet he kept pressing, stubborn as ever.
“That’s not all! You turned your superiors into senile fools to ruin their credibility! You think I’ll let that slide?!”
But Gerard had an answer ready for that, too.
“? I never once said my uncle was suffering from dentia.”
“You said my mory was failing—!”
“No, Uncle. You said that yourself.”
In fact, Desmond had been the first to ntion his “poor mory.” Gerard had never uttered the word dentia even once.
“On the contrary, I helped you, Uncle. Do you not even rember that part?”
“……”
“That’s disappointing, truly.”
Desmond was dumbfounded, speechless. He faltered for a mont before grasping at another point.
“But the part where you claid I supported social comrce—that’s clearly a lie, isn’t it?!”
That part, at least, was true. However—
“Is that so? I distinctly recall you saying exactly that… unless my own mory’s failing, too.”
Gerard shrugged lightly. Then, with a devilish smirk, he added, “Maybe it runs in the family?”
“But either way, Uncle, it can’t be helped now. We can’t exactly retract a promise we made in front of the First Lady herself, can we?”
“Y-you…!”
Desmond eventually shouted in fury, but it changed nothing. Of course, even afterward, he continued to confront Gerard whenever he found the chance, venting his anger without restraint. He even threatened to bring the matter before the Family Council, insisting that an unscrupulous and immoral CEO like Gerard ought to be removed from his position.
But Gerard wasn’t worried in the least. Because this headline ca out soon after:
The First Lady herself had beco a client of Rachel’s , announcing publicly that part of the White House décor would be furnished with pieces from artists discovered through Rachel’s platform.
Of course, the First Lady had her own political motives for doing so. It was a strategic move to justify cutting art-related budgets under the banner of “market-driven solutions.” Still, the fact remained—the First Lady and the White House were now officially Marquis Foundation clients. It was an enormous triumph that elevated the Foundation’s prestige to a new height.
In the face of such a visible success, the Family Council had no reason to punish Gerard or expel him just because he had handled things a little aggressively.
anwhile—
“The sign-up rate... it’s insane!”
Rachel’s exploded in popularity overnight. Thanks to the title “The Platform Chosen by the White House,” major corporations rushed to propose partnerships. Regular mbership sign-ups skyrocketed beyond comparison, crashing the servers several tis.
Naturally so. What kind of publicity could possibly beat “The White House commissions its décor here”?
Gerard watched the numbers climb with a satisfied smile.
“See? I told you I’d handle it. We didn’t need him to make this happen.”
“This is incredible! I didn’t expect the effect to be this huge…” Rachel’s voice trembled with awe.
Then Gerard casually asked, “By the way… does he know about this?”
“Who? Sean?”
Gerard suddenly felt curious. How would Ha Si-heon react when he heard this news? He didn’t even fully understand why himself—but Gerard wanted Ha Si-heon to know. Not just that the project had succeeded, but how he had pulled it off, the strategy and precision behind it.
He wanted him to see.
So he asked the question with subtle anticipation, but Rachel only smiled softly and shrugged.
“I’m not sure… maybe he’s heard?”
“Maybe?”
“Well, I haven’t t him yet either. He’s been traveling abroad for work…”
Gerard rembered all the tis he had scolded Rachel for insisting she had to et Sean to give him “so gift or sothing.” And after all that fuss, she still hadn’t seen him.
“I see… that’s… convenient.”
That’s what he said aloud, though a strange feeling of disappointnt lingered in his chest. Then, suddenly, Gerard lifted his head.
“Wait—hold on. Did you just say… abroad?”
“Yeah, why?”
“He went… overseas?”
Sothing about it sent an uneasy twinge through his gut. Ha Si-heon and “overseas” in the sa sentence usually didn’t an good news. It usually ant disaster.
Sure, Ha Si-heon had caused more than his fair share of chaos in Arica—but abroad?
The Greek debt crisis. The Chinese yuan war. The Brexit prediction…
In the U.S., his antics caused frenzy. Overseas, they changed history. And the terrifying part—those were incidents he’d orchestrated remotely while based in Arica. Now he’d actually traveled abroad in person?
‘What on earth is he planning this ti…?’
Gerard could feel it in his gut. Sothing massive—sothing catastrophic—was about to happen.
“Whatever you do, stay away from him! He’s going to cause trouble again!”
And his instincts were right. A few weeks later, Ha Si-heon’s na once again dominated global headlines.
***
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