After dinner, Elliot took Wayne and Chris to the study to accompany them for discussion.
"You two have grown up so much. It's time to take on family responsibilities. Let's start by participating in internal meetings." He said in a strict tone.
However, Chrissy didn't agree with him at all, and immediately started to hum: "Wouldn't it be nice to let Wayne attend..."
"I'm still busy with the publishing house. I have to draw, read, and complete homework every day. How can I have so much time?" she complained.
Wayne knew that she probably didn't want to attend the meeting together.
When it comes to handling the family's internal affairs, Elliot will not let Chris mess around. Most of the things he has already made up his mind about, there is no room for others to object.
As a result, the two people who were responsible for observing in this kind of meeting could only serve tea and water and take notes in a daze.
——Maybe you will be criticized for not listening carefully.
Not to mention that Chris didn't want to participate, and even Wayne wasn't interested.
"No! You must participate!" Elliot, who was always very talkative, was particularly unreasonable today.
"Only when you manage the family well can you have enough energy to take care of those side businesses. The most basic priorities must be clearly distinguished."
After forcibly suppressing Chris's protest, Elliot turned to Wayne and said, "Wayne, you are responsible for keeping an eye on Chris and don't let her be lazy!"
"...Okay." Wayne agreed.
It would be a bit overwhelming for me to make a small report.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Chrissy's expression, and as expected, I noticed that her little mouth was so pouty that it could hang a soy sauce bottle.
Wayne gave her a secret wink, expressing his loyalty.
Chris received his wink and suddenly wanted to laugh but held it back.
The two sat in rows next to each other at the end of the conference table, watching quietly as Elliot met with subordinates responsible for different positions one by one.
Facing reception objects with varying degrees of intimacy, Elliott also showed different attitudes. Those who came to report on their work, even if they noticed the existence of Chris and Wayne, basically all chose to ignore them.
After the individual private talks, a new round of group meetings followed.
It took about two hours to deal with these things before it finally came to an end. Chris next to her was already restless waiting.
Watching the last subordinate leave the study, Duke Elliot stretched tiredly: "Today's matters were handled relatively quickly..."
"Oh my god!" Chris couldn't hold it any longer, "Is this faster?"
"certainly."
Eliot said habitually: "If there is a very urgent emergency, it is possible to go out and discuss it all night."
Hearing these words, Chris was completely stunned.
"This kind of thing... let's leave it to Wayne next time." She lay on the table and said feebly, "Only one of the two of us can come forward. From now on, you can just let Wayne handle it with full authority. "
Elliot frowned as if he wanted to say something, but finally swallowed it.
"You can't count on Wayne for everything. What if he can't spare the time?" he whispered.
"Then let's put it off for now and wait until he's free to do it!"
Perhaps even she herself felt that it was a bit outrageous to say this. Chris paused and smiled sheepishly.
"...Sigh." Elliot couldn't help but sigh in disappointment.
"You have been like this since you were a child."
Glancing at Chris's somewhat guilty and uneasy expression, and then at the expression on Duke Elliot's face, Wayne said softly: "It would be great if Chris could be allowed to concentrate on doing things that interest her. Not bad?"
"When Chrissy's plan is fully formed, it will not be inferior to other businesses in the family."
Elliot's hand knocked on the table unconsciously and he said nothing for a moment.
After gaining support from Wayne, Kris suddenly had the courage to argue for herself.
"Yes, indeed Wayne understands my ambition!"
She boasted plausibly: "As long as I finish building my media business empire, I, Chrissy Wincher! I will be the uncrowned king of Lornes!~"
Elliot suddenly raised his eyes and stared at Chris's face.
"What did you say?!"
That too sharp sight was as menacing as a blade.
Chrissy was frightened by such a sudden reaction from her usually gentle father, and was startled: "I mean... I will definitely be able to make a lot of money by then."
The atmosphere suddenly became a little stiff.
After looking at Chris steadily for a while, Elliot let out a sigh of relief.
"You go out first, and Wayne stays and chats with me for a while."
Chris was a little at a loss. She first looked at her father in confusion, and then looked back at Wayne.
Wayne nodded at her and told her not to worry.
"Chris, please go back to your room first. I'll come find you later." He comforted.
Seeing that her father still didn't respond, Chris had no choice but to "hum", got up and went out angrily.
As a result, only Duke Elliot and Wayne were left in the study.
After a moment of silence, Elliot raised a hand to hold his forehead and sighed in distress: "Sometimes I don't know whether I should call her naive or ignorant."
Wayne didn't join him in blaming Chris.
He understood that Elliot just wanted to be a quiet observer.
"Wealth, power... these things all look good." He murmured, "But what can really support us to enjoy these things is [power]!"
Elliot never expressed his frustration with Chrissy's lack of strength.
But just because he doesn't say it doesn't mean he really doesn't care.
As the astonishingly powerful Grand Duke of the Kingdom of Lornes, he can certainly keep his daughter safe while he is alive, but what if he dies?
——If she dies, how should Chris, who is of noble birth but weak in power, protect her property, power, and even her life?
Whenever he thinks about this problem, Elliot Winche will toss and turn and lie awake at night.
In order to better protect his family, he made a lot of preparations.
Those who were prepared in advance were of great use, and some were almost useless now. He didn't care too much about the gains and losses of one moment and one place.
But none of the mistakes he had encountered in the past could be compared in severity and degree of damage to the one sitting in front of him now!
He originally just wanted to observe how far this good seedling could develop, and use the child as bait to catch fish.
But now, the big fish did take the bait, but he suddenly realized that the bait he threw was too precious to lose...
