Episode 12

[We have received word that Eileen Helios will be opening a large ‘cafe’ as her first step as the Grand Duchess of the South.

It was a very secretive project, but as you know, no one can fool Lady Antoine’s eyes and ears.

Ah, there’s one. The Southern Grand Duke, who has lived hiding his great beauty.

Not only was he the first to recognize the Southern Grand Duke, but he also had the great intuition to confidently send him a marriage proposal.

It’s a business started by the Grand Duchess of the South, so it’s more interesting than anything else.

Lady Antoine is confident that the ‘café’ that will be born from her hands will completely change the social landscape in the future.

Perhaps even more so than the Duchess of Mera’s ‘Tile Salon’.]

“What is a cafe?”

“Yeah, I’m hearing that word for the first time.”

“I don’t know what it is, but since it’s related to the Grand Duchess, I really want to go and see. Honestly, I’m dying to know how you two met and fell in love.”

“So, when exactly are you going to be together?”

“It’s still undecided.”

“Oh, I wonder!”

The excited young ladies quickly looked at Madame Mera’s expression, thinking, “Oh no!”

As expected, from the moment the contents of the newsletter were revealed, Duchess Mera’s face was already turning red.

Only then do the young ladies try to hide their true feelings while observing the situation.

“……Ahaha. Well…… Well, it’s just a wasteland, I guess.”

“Oh, that’s right. There’s something to see there….”

“Is there any place as aesthetically beautiful as Madame Mera’s salon…?”

“The road ahead will be difficult, I guess…….”

At this point, let’s briefly touch on Duchess Mera. She was a woman who unconsciously felt inferior to Eileen Edgar.

Although she was the second wife of an old duke who was as old as her father, she gained immense wealth, fame, and the title of ‘Duchess’.

So, I thought there was something I was better at than Eileen… … .

Even when she said she was marrying the Grand Duke of the South, I thought she was going crazy and marrying that country bumpkin, even though she pretended to be happy and worried on the outside.

“No, how could I have guessed that country bumpkin was such a handsome man? And what kind of scheming scheme did you pull this time? What the heck is a cafe? How is it any different from a salon?”

Anyway, no matter how much attention Eileen Edgar attracted by marrying a handsome man, it was useless.

Anyway, she is a woman who has no choice but to move to the countryside and become distant from social circles.

‘You should have thought about being in a crowded social circle, Miss Eileen.’

Madame Mera, who had thought so, soon remembered her original purpose.

I was a little taken aback by Eileen’s unexpected actions, but this was her original purpose.

“That’s really interesting.”

The young ladies blinked at Madame Mera’s words.

It was a look that said, “What?”

“Don’t you think everything is too smooth, planned, and intentional? Youngae Eileen, oh, no. Now, I’m talking about the Southern Grand Duchess.”

What on earth does it mean to be smooth, planned, and intentional?

The young ladies tilted their heads, not understanding his intentions.

“You all know about the scandal between Lady Eileen and His Highness the Northern Duke, right? Why on earth did such a woman marry the Southern Duke?”

The Southern Grand Duke’s hidden beauty had created a quiet atmosphere at one point, but the Northern Grand Duke’s proposal was also one of the strongest scandals surrounding Eileen.

Everyone seemed to think that she was simply ‘crazy’ or ‘obsessed’ for kicking away the Northern Duke and choosing the Southern Duke before the wedding…

It wasn’t until the wedding day that everyone realized she wasn’t blind or crazy.

Isn’t that strange?

It’s as if she’s the only one who doesn’t know, quoting the newsletter literally.

Not only did he kick the Northern Duke out, he left him with an indelible shame and wound in his heart and left for the South.

“On that wedding day, the Northern Grand Duke’s gaze was so suspicious. It was as if his lover had been stolen from him! There must be something between the three of them that we don’t know about.”

“There are three of them? Are you talking about a love triangle?”

“Would it just be a simple love triangle? There was quite a bit of back and forth over Mediatas, a territory caught between the northern and southern powers. It was a long time ago, but I remember it clearly. It was a story that plagued me until my husband lay ill in bed.”

To summarize the story of the Duchess of Mera briefly, it was as follows.

The two forces, the North and the South, who had been fighting over the same territory, are once again fighting over the same woman.

And behind this, there must have been political maneuvering by the Edgar family, who had a reputation but no further development.

Perhaps there was something fishy about Eileen Edgar’s decision to kick the Northern Duke out and choose the Southern Duke.

She may have seduced the Northern Duke, exploited his weakness, and then sold it in exchange for the Southern Duke.

Objectively speaking, there has never been such a thing as this kind of epilepsy.

In essence, there is only a thin line between admiration and jealousy.

That was also Mrs. Mera’s ability.

Not only is it enough to gently sow discord between people, but it also creates suspicion between them.

Rather than persuading people like Eileen, who usually have high self-esteem, it was a way of speaking and expression optimized for people without much subjectivity.

“……Is that so?”

“Is that…… true?”

“……Come to think of it, back then, whenever the topic of the Northern Grand Duke came up, I would change the subject, right……?”

At the sight of the young ladies secretly agreeing, the corners of Mrs. Mera’s mouth slightly went up.

Everything was smooth, planned, and intentional.

* * *

The South was much larger than Eileen had expected.

It seemed like it would take at least several long months to survey this vast southern region, so she decided to make her own choices and focus.

The South can be divided into three districts.

Of course, compared to the capital, all three districts are so small that you can’t tell if they’re villages or just wastelands…

Anyway, those three villages had their own unique characteristics.

Planus, the first village closest to the Southern Grand Castle.

Because it was flat, it was perfect for building tall buildings.

Next, the second village, Wiridia.

Unlike Planus, this place had dense forests and high mountain ranges.

Lastly, the third village, Thermae, is a hot spring area.

Her goal was to divide the year into three periods: the first half, the second half, and the middle half, and to gradually and evenly revitalize the South.

In that sense, Eileen looked at the wasteland before her with great satisfaction.

This was the plains of the first village, Planus.

The reed field in the distance is beautiful, and the endless horizon behind it is also beautiful… … .

There really isn’t anything.

Just a bare field, a vast expanse of bare ground.

“This is a nearly undeveloped piece of land in Planus Village. There are millions of acres of land like this in the south. It’s also a problem because crops don’t grow well here.”

Floran, standing next to Eileen, began to explain in a kind and gentle voice, ‘This land is nothing but a playground.’

The look in his eyes as he looked at Eileen was one of, “Is this really okay?”

Of course, it’s okay.

“This is my land anyway, right? This thing is millions of pyeong, right?”

It’s not just okay, it’s exciting.

In this life, I will become the richest of the rich, a land tycoon!

From Eileen’s perspective, the South was like a freshly unwrapped toy block.

I can stack any blocks on the vast plain, and I can do everything from start to finish!

“Okay, then first of all… I’ll open a really big cafe in this land.”

“cafe?”

“Yes. There are cafes in the capital, but they’re all cramped and small, mostly salon-style places. I’m going to build a 21st-century cafe here. A huge one at that.”

‘Even so, right now is the time when the nobles are most interested in me… … .’

I should use that interest to set up a cafe and build a social circle.

Eileen, who had been thinking quickly for a short time, clapped her hands as if she had already come up with the answer.

The plan was perfect, so it was time to put it into action.