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Chapter : 18
‘The reason bad rumors about our family spread so fast was probably because of them.’
At the Countess Haimel’s tea party, the person who worked the hardest to embarrass Anna was the wife of Baron Banfield. So, it wasn’t surprising to think the Banfield family was behind others shunning the Evercline family.
‘Henry probably didn’t know about all this, so he included the invitation.’
Anna tapped the invitation with her finger without realizing it. Should she go…?
While Anna hesitated, Henry quietly gave her a tip.
“People are starting to hear rumors that the Marcus family is helping Evercline.”
“!”
Anna’s head shot up.
“No way—how?”
Anna had made sure no one from Evercline said anything, to protect Raiden. She frowned and started thinking hard.
‘Where did the rumor leak from?’
Suddenly, Henry coughed, trying not to smile.
“It didn’t come from our side.”
“What?”
“I heard it came from the Marcus side.”
“Oh…”
Then it was okay. Anna nodded, feeling relieved, then frowned again.
“What if the Nomen family gets angry at Raiden because of this?”
“They won’t have time for that right now.”
“?”
Anna looked confused, so Henry explained kindly.
“Do you know what the most popular things in the empire are right now?”
“Well, probably handmade things from the desert tribes in the south.”
Clothes as thin as insect wings, big gems, and flashy jewelry from the south had been super popular since they first came to the empire about thirty years ago.
“The Marquis Nomen made a fortune from that trade.”
Unfortunately, the desert tribes hated the empire. Hundreds of years ago, even without official trade, some people could visit each other’s countries through connections. But then, a chief’s daughter secretly visited the empire and was kidnapped and treated horribly by a noble.
After that, all the desert tribes united and became enemies with the empire, and the relationship was ruined forever.
Still, their goods were popular in the empire because—
“Other countries act as middlemen and bring them in.”
“That’s right.”
And the person who had a close connection with those middlemen was Marquis Nomen. The only way desert goods came into the empire was through the port in the Nomen family’s land. Marquis Nomen basically had a monopoly.
‘He got so rich from that.’
If it had been someone else, Anna might have just called it luck. But since she disliked Marquis Nomen, she couldn’t help but think badly of him.
‘He’s such a greedy old man.’
Feeling annoyed, Anna scratched her neck. Then Henry lowered his voice and said,
“Have you heard the rumor that it won’t last much longer?”
“…What?”
Anna stopped and looked at him with wide eyes. Henry nodded with a satisfied look.
“The Marcus lands touch the desert in the south and the protectorate in the north. They say the Marcus family has traded with the desert tribes unofficially for a long time—private trade, you could say.”
“Not government trade, but private business?”
“Yes. And it looks like the current Marquis Marcus plans to make it official.”
“!”
Anna’s mouth dropped open.
‘If that happens…’
Her heart started to race, but then she quickly said,
“But he’d need the emperor’s permission, right?”
“That’s true. But surprisingly, the emperor doesn’t seem to mind.”
Anna looked at Henry with new respect. She remembered he once worked for a merchant guild and knew a lot of secret information.
‘If the emperor says yes…’
That was unexpected. The emperor was proud and didn’t like dealing with other countries. He wanted everyone to praise the empire and nothing else.
If he had absolute power like before, he might have closed the borders.
“Maybe…”
Anna thought for a moment. She hadn’t been to many social events, but she’d heard a lot about Princess Angelina.
The princess loved things from the desert. Her mother had been a dancer, but because she was the emperor’s only daughter, she was loved dearly.
‘He loves her so much that it even caused fights with the old noble families.’
There was even a saying in the empire: “The crown prince is heir by day, the princess is heir by night.”
Anna spoke carefully,
“Maybe the emperor is okay with it because Princess Angelina wants it?”
“Yes, some people think so. Either way, it’s good news for both the Marcus family and the empire.”
“Right.”
Anna relaxed. If the rumor was true and the empire and the desert tribes started official trade, there would be no need for middlemen or going all the way to the eastern port.
That would make goods cheaper. And if all the trade moved to the Marcus lands, it would be huge.
‘The flow of wealth would completely change.’
All the riches and fame that Marquis Nomen had would move toward Raiden.
Henry smiled and added,
“The Marcus family’s first official partner in the capital was Evercline. That’s why you’re getting so many invitations.”
“Oh…”
Anna looked at the invitations on the tray again. Suddenly, she remembered what Raiden said:
[I was so busy settling in the capital that I just heard the rumors now.]
Now she understood why he was so busy. It also explained why he seemed close to the head of the imperial bank.
‘And here I was, upset that he didn’t come to see me right away… I was so foolish, Alianna.’
He wasn’t just paying Evercline’s debt—he was raising their status too.
Anna looked sorry, and Henry chuckled kindly.
“It’s all because he loves you so much, miss. Men always treasure the one they care about.”
“Oh…”
Anna blinked a few times, then gave a small, awkward smile. Henry thought she was just shy and decided to leave her alone.
“Let me know which events you’ll attend, so I can write replies.”
“…Alright.”
Anna nodded. Henry set the tray on the table, bowed politely, and left the gallery.
Anna stood still, staring at the tray. Henry’s words kept echoing in her mind:
[It’s all because he loves you so much, miss. Men always treasure the one they care about.]
Anna bit her lip nervously.
Since they met again, Raiden had never told her he loved her.
Raiden was sitting in a dark study, drinking hot tea and listening to his assistant Louis give a report.
“Rumors are spreading nicely. The first to show interest was the narcissistic madam, and next was the duke.”
“The duke? That’s surprising. I thought he would be against it.”
“That’s what I thought too. At first, he even flipped his desk and told us not to speak nonsense.”
“Poor duke’s assistant,” Raiden said with a sad look, sipping his tea.
Louis looked at Raiden as if thinking, ‘Aren’t you sorry for your own assistant?’ but just kept reporting.
“The Marquis Nomen is actually keeping quiet.”
Raiden’s hand twitched on his teacup, surprised.
“Really? I thought he’d cause more trouble than the duke.”
“I guess that shows he didn’t get rich for nothing.”
“A lion is still a lion, even without its teeth.”
Raiden tapped his cup and asked,
“What about the port purchase?”
“It’s going smoothly. Since it’s under someone else’s name, they won’t know it’s connected to us.”
Raiden set down his cup and spoke seriously.
“I’ve told you many times—no one can know we’re involved. You know that, right?”
“I’m being extra careful. All the workers are one-time hires, and if needed, we can silence them, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
Raiden went quiet. He’d expected this part to feel unpleasant, but he didn’t know it would bother him this much. Maybe it was because he’d started taking revenge on someone he hadn’t planned to.
“Changing plans is always troublesome,” he muttered. Louis coughed, trying awkwardly to comfort him.
