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Chapter 14
Current Colin Martin’s Favorability:
The characters Aidan and Dylan that Fleur had met before had started off with favorability toward her by default.
But Colin was a character who had to start at 0%. Did that mean his favorability increased easily? Not at all.
Even when he smiled gently, he was the hardest character to win over.
The Martin Ducal family was one of the most prestigious noble houses in the empire.
However, Colin was the third son, far from being the heir.
If he were anyone else, he might have lived off the family name without responsibility, but he wasn’t satisfied with that.
His ambition was so great that if he wasn’t recognized as the heir, he would create a situation where he could not be ignored. That was why he began amassing wealth capable of shaking both his family and the empire.
At first, he invested in painters who provided works for noble houses. Once he had accumulated some money, he extended his investments into furniture and interior design.
Eventually, no noble estate could do without furniture that Colin had invested in. He continued investing in other businesses and amassed enormous wealth.
For someone who had accumulated such immense wealth, the most important thing was money—nothing else.
That was why Colin was the most difficult character to conquer. Love was less important than money to him.
Moreover, he was also the one who would strike the hardest betrayal in the story progression.
“The only reason I was interested in you, with your baronial family debts, was… well, your face.”
“Ugh…”
“So I dressed you beautifully, bought you a new dress, invested in you, and now you want to escape and ruin your face…”
“Please, let me go… or it’ll get worse… ugh!”
“If I don’t get the full value, I have to destroy it. So no one else can ever have it.”
He treated Fleur as a commodity, openly handling her like an object.
Knowing all this story, Fleur didn’t fall for Colin’s gentle smile.
“Please, have a seat. Was the journey here tiring?”
“It was fine.”
“I’m glad. Did my sudden invitation surprise you?”
“Hmm, I’d like you to get straight to the point without beating around the bush.”
When she opened the conversation, he slightly lifted his chin and narrowed his eyes—a habit that appeared when his true nature showed.
He soon smiled gently again, leaning back on the sofa this time.
“Alright. I heard recently that Miss Valen’s business is doing well. All the nearby establishments were ones I invested in, yet I didn’t know there was such a shop here. I thought there was no business in this city I didn’t know about.”
From Colin’s perspective, it was like a shop that had just appeared overnight was suddenly earning as if it had existed for a year.
“Perhaps you didn’t notice a small place.”
“For a small shop, a lot of people come in. But it seems they target citizens rather than nobles.”
“The ingredients are more familiar to citizens than nobles. So I aimed for people who can access them frequently.”
“That’s good, but if it were me, I’d expand to nobles too. Especially that meal kit.”
As his yellow eyes sparkled with interest, Fleur smiled.
“I was thinking the same. Using premium ingredients for picnics or villas.”
“Had I known we’d communicate this well, I would have sent the invitation sooner.”
Colin laughed freely and placed the envelope he had brought on the table.
“Miss Valen.”
“Yes?”
“I heard the previous head of the Valen family left quite a debt.”
As always, he had done his homework perfectly. Fleur nodded casually.
“Yes, but some of it has been repaid.”
“Already?”
“Thanks to the servants working hard for the business.”
“Hmm, how much remains?”
“400,000 gold.”
“I think I can help you repay that debt.”
He gestured toward the envelope as if to tell her to open it.
She slowly reached for the documents and checked the contents.
It was a contract stating she would fully transfer management rights of the business to him, in exchange for 200,000 gold—a large sum enough to pay off half the debt.
*”Hmm, not as generous as I thought…” she remarked, placing the documents back on the table with a dissatisfied expression.
Colin’s smile faltered slightly at her gesture.
“…So you already knew what I would propose.”
“Wouldn’t everyone expect the same when invited by you, Colin?”
“Normally, people expect investment, not acquisition.”
“I see… So that’s why you offered this amount?”
She asked teasingly.
“…Then how much were you thinking?”
His voice lowered slightly.
It was an attempt to strip away Colin’s always-smiling, friendly mask.
“I think at least 350,000 gold is reasonable.”
“Why?”
“As I said, meal kits also have demand among nobles.”
“Still, asking for 150,000 more gold seems greedy.”
“Nobles spend far more on luxury than you can imagine. If it’s special and sparkling, they throw money to get it. You can’t price it the same as for citizens.”
“You mean you want a higher acquisition fee because you can make more profit.”
Fleur nodded strongly.
The man who had been sitting upright on the sofa now crossed his arms, tilting his head slightly in a challenging manner.
The sitting room went quiet, and they stared at each other in silence.
After a tense standoff, Colin was the first to yield.
“280,000 gold.”
“340,000.”
“…290,000.”
“300,000.”
Fleur signaled three with her fingers, indicating she wouldn’t go lower.
Colin stared at her hand, then nodded as if admitting defeat.
“Fine. 300,000 gold it is.”
“Hmm, no regrets?”
“This is more than affordable.”
“You’re confident my business is worth that much.”
“It’s still early, so it needs structure, but the potential is huge. I also plan to present it to the Imperial Palace.”
“The Imperial Palace?”
Fleur tilted her head in curiosity.
“Surprisingly, His Majesty likes the most ordinary things.”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
“Are you close with His Majesty?”
“No, not at all. And I never intend to be.”
She answered firmly.
The last target in the conquest storyline was the Emperor, and he was the one she wanted nothing to do with.
He oppressed with the greatest power and tortured mercilessly.
He would leash someone, pretending to loosen it, only to grip the back of their neck harshly at the right moment. Fleur decided she would never face him in this game.
“You look like we’ve had a bad history already.”
“What are you talking about… absolutely not.”
“I see. Shall we finalize the contract?”
As Colin reached for the documents again, Fleur pressed her hand on the envelope, stopping him. She smiled innocently at his questioning glance.
“I’m sorry, but I won’t sell the business.”
Colin’s expression hardened.
“Didn’t you propose a high amount because you thought I’d sign the contract?”
“No, I won’t sell no matter how much you offer.”
Only then did Colin realize he had been outplayed, and his eyes narrowed.
“I never intended to sell the business. I just wanted to see how much you value it. Such a high amount—it makes me proud that I’m growing it well.”
Fleur withdrew her hand from the envelope and sipped the tea beside her.
Colin tried to suppress his rising anger, brushing back his hair and narrowing his eyes at her.
Fleur met his gaze calmly, leaning comfortably against the sofa, and asked:
“Since we’re meeting, I’ll make a proposal too.”
“…What proposal?”
“I won’t sell the meal kit business, but as I mentioned earlier, would you join me in a new business for nobles?”
“Join?”
He asked to confirm, raising an eyebrow.
“Colin, would you like to be my business partner?”
