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Chapter 33
A Few Days Later, in the Evening
After business hours at Gold House, I sampled all the drinks we had for sale.
“The coffee is perfect…”
It always had a great aroma and smooth texture, but something still felt off.
“Is something wrong?”
The manager asked with a smile, though I could see he was nervous. I slowly swirled the cup in my hand.
The problem was with the black cocktail – a mix of coffee and wine.
“I get it now. The wine just can’t keep up with the coffee.”
That made sense. The coffee was from Buchanan, a region known for its unbeatable quality. It was delicious.
But the wine? It was average at best.
Even that was being generous. Well-known, high-quality wine shops refused anonymous deals, and the ones that allowed it only sold cheap wine.
Currently, Roxy’s firm is in charge of supplying wine to Gold House.
“I need to call Roxy.”
I decided to meet the owner herself.
Meeting Roxy
A few days later, at the arranged time, Roxy walked into the parlor.
“Hi~.”
A young woman with long brown hair tied to one side, wearing a sleeveless black top. Her exposed arms were muscular – more fitting for a mercenary than a merchant.
As she walked, her golden earrings and jewels jingled.
‘Usually merchants don’t wear that kind of flashy jewelry. Must mean she spends a lot on guards.’
You could almost smell the money on her.
“Wow, I’ve only seen you in the papers! It’s amazing to meet you in person!”
This was our first meeting – until now, Daisy had handled all our transactions.
Roxy smiled brightly and reached out her hand. I shook it without thinking, though I knew the papers never said anything nice about me.
“Edithe Diel? Nice to meet you!”
Her accent had a slight Western twist. She had a strong grip, too – my whole body shook during the handshake.
“…Nice to meet you, Roxy. You must be tired from the trip – have a seat.”
“Haha, thank you.”
As she let go and sat down, I held back a sigh.
‘I thought she was going to rip my arm off.’
Talking Wine Business
I got straight to the point.
“Roxy, could I see the wine list again?”
“Hmm, I can’t show you everything – the wine dealers around here care too much about status and appearances.”
She added with a shrug:
“But in the end, money talks.”
That’s the mindset I expected from Roxy. If she weren’t capitalist-minded, she wouldn’t be doing business with someone like me.
“So, it’s because I’m Edithe Diel, right?”
“Well, after you won the last trial, a couple more names were added.”
“Oh? How many?”
“One or two?”
I sighed deeply. Not much of an improvement.
“Show me anyway.”
“Of course.”
Roxy opened a register. At the top, it said, meaning the products shown were customized per client.
“Hmm…”
I read through the list. None were from famous or high-quality wine makers.
“Not finding anything you like? Honestly, the wine you already have is the best one on that list.”
“Are there any grape suppliers instead?”
“Oh? Planning to make your own wine? That’s a lot of work.”
“I just want to take a look for now.”
She handed me a list of farms.
“Wow… this list is way longer.”
I was shocked. There were nearly twenty times more grape farms than wine shops.
“Farmers don’t care much about status – they just want the best price for their crops.”
Each farm had a rating from one to five stars based on grape quality.
“What’s the max rating?”
“Five stars.”
“I only see four-star farms here.”
“That’s because five-star ones are already locked down by wine makers.”
Apparently, five-star farms were so valuable that they set their own prices.
I glanced at the wine shop list. None of them carried wine from those five-star farms.
‘And it’s not easy to make deals with those shops either.’
Noble clients cared about prestige. If it got out that a wine shop was dealing with someone like Edithe Diel, it would ruin their reputation.
‘But… maybe working directly with grape farms is a better option.’
I looked back at the list.
Then one name caught my eye.
“Joanne Farm?”
The name felt familiar.
‘Where have I heard that before?’
Then I remembered – not from the newspapers, but from the original story.
The Hidden Value of Joanne Farm
There was a scene where Duke Adelheit offered Killian a deal.
‘If you tell me where Edithe is, I’ll give you exclusive buying rights to a vineyard.’
‘What’s the point? It’s just a vineyard.’
‘Just? It’s a five-star vineyard.’
The duke tricked Killian by giving him Joanne Farm, which had fallen from five stars to one.
But the twist?
Joanne discovered a new fertilizer that restored the land.
It became a five-star farm again – the best among all others.
Joanne’s hard-earned experience paid off.
“Who owns Joanne Farm now?”
“Oh, Duke Adelheit.”
Of course. It was already in his hands.
Roxy looked curious at my interest.
“Too bad. If even a one-star farm like Joanne belongs to him, I doubt there are any untouched ones left.”
“I only run a merchant group, so I’m not sure – but maybe some farms aren’t under his control?”
She tried to be optimistic, but I shook my head, putting on a disappointed look.
“I’ll wait and see if any good wine shops open up.”
“Sure! Hope we meet again, Edithe Diel.”
“Same here, Roxy.”
Even without any real gain, Roxy left without complaint.
Making a Move
Once she was gone, I called Henry.
“Does the guild handle proxy contracts?”
“Depends on the contract. What kind is it?”
“I want exclusive buying rights for a grape farm.”
“That should be doable.”
I got curious.
“What kinds of contracts can’t you do?”
“Stuff like drug deals or loan sharking. Everything else is fair game.”
“Pretty lenient, huh.”
“Well, that’s how this business works.”
“Then buy the rights to Joanne Farm from Duke Adelheit.”
“From Adelheit?”
Henry’s relaxed face suddenly turned serious. I nodded.
“Yeah. It’s a one-star farm now, so he probably wants to get rid of it. I’ll pay whatever it takes – just make sure it’s done.”
Adelheit bought the farm when it was a five-star. Now that it had dropped to one, he probably saw it as useless and would happily sell it.
“Got it.”
Henry left.
Not long after, I received word:
The purchase of Joanne Farm was successful.
Just as I expected.
