Chapter 3

Simon strode through the door.

When he saw Grace gripping my wrist, his expression darkened instantly.

“Let her go.”

Grace froze for a moment. Then, she let me go.

I quickly held up my wrist. It was red from her grip.

“She took my house token and said I owe you two hundred seventy thousand taels. She even wanted to sell me off to pay the so-called debt!

“Then, she said that when the two of you have a daughter someday, you’ll let her take over the Sherman family business!”

When Simon heard the last part, he frowned. “Grace, did you really say those things?”

Her eyes instantly welled up. “Simon, let me explain.”

She pointed at the ledger on the table and went on.

“For the past twelve years, you’ve managed the family banks and led the trade caravans. Whenever any shop runs into trouble, you’re the first one they call.

“Meanwhile, Clarisse doesn’t even know how much the Sherman family makes in a year.

“Every year, she just casually stamps the seal on the renewed contract. Everyone still has to humor her and call her the head of the family.”

I could not help but speak up. “That seal was mine to begin with.”

She snapped her head toward Simon. “See that? She actually believes it!”

He looked conflicted when he heard her words.

She grabbed his sleeve.

“You said it yourself. Hugo doted on her back then. He didn’t want her to feel embarrassed about not knowing how to run a business, so he came up with that rule about the seal on the first day of the new year.”

He slowly relaxed his expression.

Clearly, he thought the same way.

I looked at him and asked, “So, all this time, you thought the first day of the new year was just you humoring me?”

Simon went silent for a moment. Then, he let out a helpless sigh.

“Clarisse, this isn’t easy to hear, but that’s just how it is.

“You didn’t like studying when you were little. Grandpa felt sorry for you, so he let you have your way.

“Having me bring you the ledgers and renewing the contract every year was just to make you feel involved.”

He raised his hand to pat my head the way he used to when I was a child.

When I dodged it, his hand froze midair.

“All these years, I’ve never stopped you from doing whatever you wanted. But when it comes to business, you really don’t understand it.”

I stared at him for a long while.

So, that was what the past twelve years had really been.

I thought I was giving him authority year after year. He thought he was playing house with me.

When Grace saw Simon take her side, she became confident again.

“See? I told you. Simon is the one who actually runs the Sherman family.”

I asked him, “So, she wasn’t wrong to take away my house token either?”

He frowned. “Grace went a bit too far. But you really do lose track of your spending. She’ll be running the household from now on. Helping you rein it in isn’t the worst thing.”

“What about Ruby?”

“A servant disrespected the lady of the house. She gets punished. That’s all there is to it.”

“What about my marriage?”

He paused for a moment before saying, “It’s just a meeting.

“The Zouch family is a good match. You’re going to get married eventually anyway.”

I nearly laughed out of sheer anger.

The head of the Sherman family would never marry out. Every generation, the husband would marry into the family.

He had been in the family for twelve years. There was no way he did not know that rule.

He clearly treated even that rule as an old convention that could be pushed aside for his convenience.

I did not want to argue any longer.

I simply asked, “What about the renewal seal for the first day of the new year?”

He froze. “What?”

“What if I don’t stamp it?”

Grace was the first to react.

She laughed out loud. “Clarisse, are you still using that to scare Simon?”

Simon’s expression darkened, too.

“Clarisse, don’t be ridiculous. It’s just a formality.

“Without your seal, are the Sherman family’s seventy-two shops supposed to stay shut the next day?”

I stayed quiet.

He thought he had stumped me.

His tone softened as he said, “If you’re really that upset, I’ll go through the whole thing with you again this year, same as always.

“Once it’s stamped, I don’t want to hear another word about it.

“Grace is my wife. She handles the household now. You’re grown. You can’t expect everyone to revolve around you forever.”

Grace finally smiled.

She walked over to him and affectionately took his arm.

“Do you hear that? You really thought you could boss Simon around with some childhood plaything?”

I looked at the two of them and smiled, too.

“Fine. We’ll talk about it on the first of the new year.”

Simon thought I had backed down.

Before leaving, he turned back and added, “Send Ruby out of the city for a few days. Let her cool off.

“Leave the house token with Grace for now.

“Be good. I’ll put in a good word for you after the New Year.”

I did not stop them.

Only after they walked out did I summon the main office’s manager, Howard Smith.

“On the first day of the new year, tell every manager from all thirteen banks and seventy-two shops to come to the main office.”

Howard was stunned.

“But in past years, wasn’t it just the regional head managers?”

I opened the roster of candidates for head of the family business.

“We’re holding a new selection this year.”