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Chapter 35
It was an obvious question.
Buying a farm that was practically a ruin for ten thousand Gold would look insane to anyone. Joanne’s eyes, as she looked at me, were full of suspicion. The doubt suggested she might think I had some other, hidden agenda.
Hmm.
I couldn’t exactly tell her, I want the fertilizer and grapevines you’ll develop in the future. I had already prepared an answer for this on the carriage ride over.
“Joanne’s persistence was very impressive to me.”
“Persistence… you say.”
Joanne replied with a look that clearly said, Who is this weird person? It was a good thing she didn’t say it to my face—
“You truly are a strange lady.”
Ouch. She heard it.
“The lady next to you seems to be one of your staff. Why didn’t she try to stop you?”
Joanne addressed Daisy. Daisy, surprised by the abrupt honesty of the conversation, stammered her reply.
“I-I did try to stop her…”
She was a bit too honest with that answer.
“The lady working for you seems to have normal judgment…”
Joanne fell silent. An awkward stillness settled over the room. I, too, had fallen silent, but then I addressed Daisy.
“Would you mind stepping out for a moment?”
“Yes.”
Watching Daisy leave, I swallowed hard. Just as I expected, a conventional reason wouldn’t earn her trust. I took a breath and continued speaking.
“Right now, Joanne probably thinks that the land being ruined is her fault.”
It wasn’t hard to gauge her inner thoughts. The fact that she had given up looking for the person who ruined the land was the same as her blaming herself. Joanne neither confirmed nor denied it, but her silence was answer enough. I spoke again.
“Looking at you, Joanne, reminds me of my past self.”
Joanne’s gaze shifted toward me.
“It’s a completely different story, but… there was a time when I, too, spent my days blaming myself.”
“…”
“I felt like I had caused all the results, and the fault was entirely mine. So I went over the thought ‘Is it my fault?’ dozens, hundreds of times, but the conclusion was always, ‘No, it’s not.’”
If I hadn’t recalled my previous life, I would have continued to believe that everything was my fault.
“That’s when I started making plans to leave the Ducal Castle.”
Joanne placed the mug she was holding down.
“There was no one to help me, and I had to bear it silently, all alone. Just like you are now, Joanne.”
Now, only Joanne remained at the farm. The workers likely saw no hope in the ruined farm and left one by one.
“Then are you saying you are the Duke’s true daughter?”
“Is that the important fact here?”
“No, it’s not.”
For the first time, Joanne let out a genuine laugh. During the conversation, I never once mentioned my unfairness. I only talked about the humiliations I endured. In fact, Joanne seemed to have already figured out a few things from my story.
That I was Adelheid’s real daughter, or even if I was a fake, I hadn’t known the truth.
I shrugged and said,
“And I don’t look at the world only through reason. The situation is bleak enough without me making it worse.”
The color of Joanne’s amber eyes, looking at me, deepened slightly. It was a look of slight… fascination, as if seeing a rare species.
“Fine. In any case, the right to purchase our farm belongs to the silver-haired lady.”
She finally offered a small smile. I quickly extended my hand to her, requesting a handshake.
“Then let’s work well together in the future, Joanne.”
“The pleasure is mine… hmm.”
“Call me Edith.”
“Yes, Edith.”
Joanne grasped my hand. Her hand, holding mine, was rough but warm.
The Duke’s Discovery
The Duke Orfeo’s office was abuzz with activity. Russ Marty entered the office to report.
“Your Grace. The owner of the purchase right for the Joanne Farm produce has changed.”
The gracefully flowing handwriting abruptly stopped. Killian turned his gaze to his aide, quill in hand.
“Who is it?”
Russ Marty was uncharacteristically flustered, perhaps having not anticipated the situation. The Joanne Grape Farm was a place the Duke had always kept an eye on.
He had been observing the wine business outlook and was preparing to make a purchase right when he deemed it promising enough.
Even the purchase right that Duke Adelheid had won for eighty thousand Gold was now worth less than five thousand Gold.
Although the value had completely bottomed out compared to its original price, Killian had not rushed the purchase.
He had intended to wait for the value to drop even lower. But now, an unexpected person had snatched the farm.
“That would be Miss Edith Diel, Your Grace.”
Killian’s amethyst eyes darkened.
“For how much?”
“Ten thousand Gold, Your Grace.”
Hearing the amount, Killian let out a short, hollow laugh.
“Edith intends to capture even Joanne’s heart.”
Killian’s gaze drifted toward the window. This was more than just one step too late; it was a hundred steps too late. It was the first time he had experienced this, and he felt a strange, unfamiliar sensation.
Meanwhile, Russ Marty cautiously observed the Duke.
For a person who had a coveted item snatched right from under his nose, his expression was… well, amused.
The aide, sensing intuitive ill-fortune, silently offered small condolences to Miss Edith Diel.
A Visit and a Proposal
Daisy entered the office with a beaming face. In recent days, her looking like this had become commonplace.
“Miss—do you know where the invitation we just received is from now?”
Daisy stretched out her words, unable to hide her delight.
“Where is it?”
As the profits of the Gold House recovered, invitations to tea parties and gatherings from nobles were becoming frequent.
“Guess what, don’t be shocked! This time, Countess Giorgio has invited you to her birthday banquet!”
“…That is surprising.”
It sounded like I was uninterested, but I was genuinely surprised, and my reply came a beat late. The Count Giorgio family had a strong hold on the liquor market aimed at commoners.
The Countess was famous for loving coffee and wine—in fact, she was known as a big drinker. Forming a connection would be a good networking opportunity, but…
I shook my head.
“Tell them I’m sorry I can’t accept the invitation because I’m busy, and send my reply.”
“Yes…”
Daisy’s shoulders drooped, disappointed that I was burying myself in work and never attending any events.
Daisy had always felt sorry for me, as I had never properly attended a party as a noble lady.
She must have thought this was a chance to make up for that regret, but my thoughts were different.
It’s too soon.
Right now, few nobles would be genuinely interested in my business. Most would be curious about my dealings with the Duke Orfeo family.
Attending such a party would only make me a target for gossip and scandal. Therefore, it was best to avoid social events until the antidote was complete.
As I was having a relatively ordinary day, a letter arrived from the Orfeo Grand Duchy.
Has the holy-power antidote already been developed?
Unlikely. The difficulty of procuring the ingredients from the Monster Forest was considerable. Even if it wasn’t Killian himself, the Sacred Knights were the primary source for the materials, so it would take at least a week. Then why is Killian sending a letter? I felt a bad premonition.
“…What? He’s coming this evening?”
I couldn’t hide my astonishment as I unfolded the letter.
“Pardon?” Daisy, standing next to me, tilted her head.”W-Wait a minute. Why is he coming?”
No matter how many times I read the letter, the reason for his visit wasn’t written down. Daisy finally grasped the situation and her eyes went wide. Then her face flushed.
“Oh my, oh my!”
“…Please.”
I desperately hoped she wouldn’t say those words.
“Isn’t His Grace falling for you, Miss?”
Sigh. It finally came out. I sighed and shook my head. On the other hand, I understood why she would jump to that conclusion. A letter suddenly appeared announcing a visit without any stated purpose—it was certainly very suggestive and suspicious.
Killian had promised to visit at 6 PM. Until then, I continued with my work as usual. But something was subtly different. I felt slightly unsettled.
Why is he coming?
I couldn’t even guess the reason.
Did he figure out that the recipe I sent the Pope is different from the one I sent him?
That would be a problem…
The appointed time arrived, and I went out to the front of the mansion to meet him. A lilac carriage stood against the white backdrop.
Killian is probably the only one whose family crest has a flower…
He certainly had strong preferences. Killian, descending from the carriage in a black suit, was as magnificent as a moving statue. He strode toward me and adjusted his black gloves as he spoke.
“You could have waited inside, it’s cold out.”
Russ Marty was with him and slightly nodded his head in greeting. I returned the nod and replied.
“It’s fine… What brings you here?”
“It seems my visit is unwelcome.”
Killian replied with a faint smile. I didn’t deny it.
“It was sudden.”
“Let’s talk inside.”
Killian cast a glance toward the interior. I wanted to get straight to the point, but I couldn’t leave a respected guest waiting outside, so I led the way.
Daisy poured tea for him in the drawing-room. Russ Marty declined the tea and stood by the wall, waiting. Seeing that the Duke’s aide didn’t leave the room, I inferred that their visit to the Evens Mansion was related to official business.
“You seem very interested in my business, so I will cut to the chase. Is the current owner of the Joanne Farm purchase right Edith?”
My body involuntarily flinched at the sudden mention of the Joanne Farm.
How did he know?
Only Joanne, the farm owner, knew the details of the dual contract. Even Duke Adelheid wouldn’t know.
Knowing his personality, if he found out I was the buyer, he would have immediately sought me out.
And then he would have subjected me to a torrent of abusive language disguised as suspicion, asking, What is your scheme? The mere thought was tedious and annoying.
This means Killian obtained the information privately.
His intelligence network was truly impressive.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
I admitted his statement and nodded. Denying it would be pointless here.
“I will offer one hundred thousand Gold. Sell it to me.”
