The Matter of How Only a Political Rival Duke, Not My Own Family, Recognized My Worth After I Was Disowned ~When I Turned a Remote Frontier Territory Into the World’s Greatest City, the Noble Lady Assigned to Supervise Me Became the Best Fiancée~ - Episode 15: The Steel Presentation

Episode 15: The Steel Presentation

The words “the Valenstein Ducal House” I spoke exploded like a bomb in the banquet hall.

The once talkative nobles all fell silent. And in the frozen air, every one of them anxiously watched Alphonse’s expression.

That perfect smile of his — so meticulously crafted — had twisted hideously.

However, unlike our second brother Bertrand, he quickly regained his composure. Then, with the expression of a tragic hero, he spoke to me in a pained tone.

“…I see. The Valenstein Ducal House, is it? Noah, you are a member of House Silford! To sell our family’s matters to a political rival with whom we’ve long been at odds… what an act of betrayal!”

Now he intended to paint me as a “traitor to the family” and condemn me from a moral standpoint.

The surrounding nobles jumped at the chance. They shouted one after another—

“That’s right!”

“A betrayal of the Ducal House!”

“Revenge for being disowned, no doubt!”

But in the center of that storm of condemnation, I calmly raised my wine glass and took a sip.

“Betrayal? You make it sound so dreadful, Brother.”

I put on an exaggeratedly troubled expression.

“I merely chose, as a businessman, the most reliable partner I could trust. Besides—”

I spoke clearly. It was loud enough for everyone in the hall to hear.

“It was you who cast me out of House Silford as a disgrace. If you throw someone out of the family, then whoever that person decides to work with outside the family should be entirely his own freedom, shouldn’t it?”

A flawless argument.

The nobles fell silent. Their words caught in their throats. Alphonse’s brow twitched slightly.

But my presentation was far from over.

Now it was time to go on the offensive.

“Well, I can understand that you and the others may wish to believe I’ve merely grovelled before the Valenstein Duke. That I’m clinging to his protection like some pitiful little brother.”

I reached into my coat and took out a small object.

“But unfortunately, that’s not the case. Our partnership is built on equal business terms. And the proof—”

I placed the object on the table. It was a small knife, no bigger than a hand.

It was a prototype I had asked the dwarf craftsman Gran to forge after coming to the royal capital. It was made from Grindel steel.

Under the candlelight, the black-lustered blade gleamed with an almost wet, mysterious sheen.

A viscount nearby was known for his expertise in weaponry. He instinctively leaned forward.

“…I–Impossible! That shine… has mithril silver been mixed into it!?”

“No, just ordinary iron.”

I picked up the knife and drew it lightly across a nearby silver plate. It sliced through effortlessly — no shrill metallic sound. Just a smooth, absorbing cut. The hall erupted once again.

“This was refined from iron ore mined in Grindel. It used a new method I devised myself. It’s stronger, lighter, and far more resistant to rust than any existing iron.”

I looked around at the gathered nobles.

Their eyes were no longer filled with hostility toward me — but with hunger. Hunger for the immense wealth and power that lay behind that knife.

“I’m sure someone as intelligent as all of you can already imagine how this steel will transform the kingdom’s agriculture, industry, and military power.”

The tide had completely turned.

Facing Alphonse again, I gave an elegant bow.

“Well then, Brother. This has been a truly splendid banquet to celebrate my return. I’ll be taking my leave now.”

I then slid the knife I’d placed on the table toward him.

“Oh, that’s right. Consider this knife a small souvenir — from me to you.”

Finally, I delivered the coup de grâce to my humiliated brother.

“Use it well. Perhaps you can scrape away some of the rust that’s built up on the glory of House Silford.”

With the dumbfounded nobles behind me, I strode proudly out of enemy territory alone.

Alphonse gripped that small knife so tightly that his knuckles turned white. The sight of him struck me as almost laughably pitiful.