Chapter 261.1. Elizabeth’s Decision

-Elizabeth’s POV-
Upon Elizabeth’s statement, her dear brother widens his eyes in astonishment.
“W-What are you talking about, my sister? Starting another trading company?”
“That’s correct. That’s precisely why you’ve inherited all of Dog Puppy Company’s shares, right? In exchange, you should have given me the shares of the Wolf Cub Company, the subsidiary that deals with daily magical goods.”
“W-Well, that’s true, but isn’t that to avoid turmoil within the family? That’s why you handed over all Dog Puppy Company’s shares to me, didn’t you?”
With a puzzled expression, he leans in with an intense glare, prompting Elizabeth to sigh in exasperation.
“Of course, that’s one reason, but please take a look at the current state of our family. Before Father passed away from heart failure, he had used a substantial portion of our assets. He had high hopes for his new model magic weapon. But, that model no longer exists. An accident happened, didn’t it?”
With a sardonic twist of my lips, I brush my hair aside.
Menou Marquisate had a treasure vault that stored things like Orichalcum and Adamantite, various magic gems and stones, and magic artifacts that were said to be lost arts—tools so rare that they were virtually unobtainable for many years. 
Now, it’s all empty. There’s absolutely nothing left.  Father used everything for his new model magic weapon.
This new model magic weapon was shrouded in secrecy during its creation, so the details are unknown, and both the blueprints and the creators are mysteries. But one thing is certain, Father had staked the revival of our family on creating it.
However, that magic weapon has been destroyed. From what I’ve investigated, even if half of what people said was true. It was an unbelievably powerful weapon. I thought it could bring a revolution to magic weapons.
Father poured enormous amounts of funds into its development. But now, that’s all lost, and not only is the family’s revival at stake, but we’re also teetering on the edge.
” Dear brother, were you able to secure the blueprints or the engineers who were working on Father’s magic weapon? If we had those, we could emphasize the technical prowess of Dog Puppy Company and show that we’re still strong.”
Although the new model magic weapon is lost, the technological know-how used in its creation isn’t wasted. The magic weapon Father crafted would likely fetch an astronomical price.
There must have been a purpose to showcasing our technological prowess from the outset.
But, of course, instead of directly answering, he avoids eye contact and twitches his face awkwardly. I expected it. No surprise there.
“We haven’t been able to find the blueprints or the engineers. But we identified some of their names. But they’ve all passed away due to heart failure.”
“It seems like a contagious form of heart failure swept through the family. Father messed up. So, I’ll separate the Wolf Cub Company from the family and establish my new company. We need to preserve our assets, don’t we?”
“W-Well, that’s true, but…”
With his hand on his chin, my dear brother groans. Following suit, members of the branch families raise their hands to join the conversation.
“I-Indeed, as the young lady has said. Dog Puppy Company is in the black, but our shares have been taken over by Cat Kitty Company and the Urhara Corporation to the extent that being in the red wouldn’t be surprising.”
“A-Also… I’ve heard some unsettling rumors. In light of that, I believe Elizabeth-sama’s proposal is a good idea.”
“Very well then, it’s best to detach from Dog Puppy Company, just to be safe. Fortunately, the main family holds 40% of Wolf Cubs Company’s shares, which isn’t listed yet.”
The branch families all express their agreement, making up about 70% of them. The remaining branch families wear expressions akin to having bitten into a bitter pill.
“I will buy out all the shares held by Dog Puppy Company. The arrangements for that are already in place.”
“To think that you could easily secure the current decision-making power of Dog Puppy Company… With the help of Takano County!”
The current Dog Puppy Company cannot be controlled as Menou Marquisate wishes. That’s because Takano County alliance having acquired shares. 
If they exercised their decision-making rights, they could sell off shares of subsidiaries to individuals, leading to rejection. If arrangements are already in place, anyone would realize we are relying on the alliance’s power.
When my dear brother inquires in a blaming tone, I retrieve a fan from my chest, opening it wide to cover her mouth.
“It’s the condition for the duel. If I win, Takano County’ll distance themselves from the Royal faction. If Takano Miu wins, I’ll distance myself from the Kanna faction. I believe this is an extremely fair proposal.”
“S-So that’s how it was… But, it’s the detested Takano County, isn’t it? Isn’t Shin-kun your fiancé?”
“It’s based on the duel’s result, and I didn’t intend to break off the engagement with Shin-sama just to distance myself from Kanna Dukedom. If the independent company stops dealing with Kanna Dukedom, that would suffice.”
“That would make Shin-kun’s marriage a thorn in his side… I see, Elizabeth had prepared herself to that extent.”
“I didn’t intend to lose… but even if I lost, I thought this proposal wouldn’t be a loss for the family. Dog Puppy Company, a declining Menou Marquisate’s subsidiary. By distancing ourselves from the Kanna faction and establishing an independent company dealing with everyday magic tools, we could also ally with Aburage Viscounty.”
“If we look at it objectively, it does seem to be true… We could also engage with the Urhara Corporation. If we discreetly redirect their technological prowess to Dog Puppy Company, we might be able to revive again.”
“I’m not shameless enough to go that far. In the future, we could fix our relationship, and Dog Puppy Company might regain its strength.”
Furthermore… I let out a deep sigh and conveyed this to my elder brother.