C71
"For now... I can't see it.
I entered the banquet hall, paying attention to whether Leandro, who continued to bother me, was nearby. However, the inside of the banquet hall was quite noisy.
"What? Is it a new product from Iver?"
The Iver Merchant Guild has grown rapidly in recent years and, in terms of size, is already competing for the first or second place in the empire. The main product is magical artifacts.
"That thing that looks like a cube?"
"It's not just a cube. Well, if you put hot water in it, it'll stay warm for hours!"
"Oh! Is there some kind of heating spell?"
An artifact is a magical object, and even non-mages could use magic within a limited range as long as they had the artifact. Just like I recorded my conversation with the head maid using a recorder.
"Is it time for thermoses to appear? Well, isn't it a bit early?"
At that moment, the words of one of those talking about the thermos stuck in my ear.
"But why does Princess Cassius have the new Iver product?"
What? Liena?
"I know. I'm a VIP member there, and I didn't even know they had such a new product."
"I saw before that the princess and the guild owner were together. Did the guild owner give her a gift?"
I quickly found Liena inside the banquet hall. She was in the center of a crowd.
"Miss Liena, the rumor that you are close to Lady Iver is true!"
"As expected, the princess has great connections. The guild owner is not someone who actively participates in social activities."
There was a woman next to Liena, smiling as if she were embarrassed.
She has red hair, freckles around her eyes, and is quite tall. A woman who looks good in the novel. It was Cecil Iver, the owner of the Iver Merchant Guild.
"Everyone, I have a surprise announcement."
Cecil declared with a bright smile.
"Actually, the real owner of the Iver Merchant Guild is not me but Liena Cassius!"
People were dumbfounded. The attention of those who were elsewhere also focused in that direction.
"Until a few years ago, our Iver was just a small guild. Due to my wrong judgment, I even faced a desperate crisis. It was Liena who approached me at that time."
Cecil, with a blissful expression, recalled the past.
"Liena, you were truly a genius. Thanks to Liena's excellent vision, Iver was able to grow to this point. Moreover, she's humble! I kept pretending to be the owner of Iver because I wanted to hide her identity."
It was really shocking content. I was also very surprised. Not by the fact that Liena was the secret owner of Iver, but by the fact that she revealed it now.
Indeed, Liena's rise to the guild was something that appeared from the beginning of the novel. Her theory was that the more money you have, the better.
However, Liena insisted on presenting Cecil to the outside world and staying behind the scenes. This was because it would attract too much attention if it were revealed that a girl, especially Princess Cassius, was the owner.
"So she revealed her identity much later... Why did you reveal it now?"
While pondering, Leandro appeared, standing behind Liena. At that moment, I felt like I knew the answer.
"The purpose is to cover up the divorce scandal!"
Due to a series of events, Leandro's reputation was greatly affected. Currently, he faces fatal suspicions, and Duke Cassius also criticized him, saying that he mistreated me and even had his employees give false testimony in court.
Because there were so many enthusiastic followers, it went unnoticed, but it was enough for Liena to care. So she prepared a big event. Something that would erase people's negative perception of Cassius from their minds.
Those who knew the truth were initially confused.
"Princess Cassius is the owner of the Iver Merchant Guild...?"
"Wait a moment, it's been more than ten years since Iver started standing out. Back then, Lady Liena's age was..."
Cecil responded with a loud voice as if she had been waiting.
"Yes, that's right! Liena became the owner of Iver at an early age of less than ten years and achieved success!"
Immediately, exclamations came from all around.
"Wow, with such a young body!"
"I knew Miss Liena was smart, but I never thought it would be like this!"
"Is this really an achievement by a girl under ten years old?"
"It's truly the second coming of the God of Money!"
"Please do business with my business...! If you make a deal, it will be an honor for the family!"
Liena's ardent admirers entered an endless state of praise.
Moreover, looking at people looking at Liena with admiration from afar, it seemed that new admirers would continue to appear.
"Tsk, that kind of girl is the owner of Iver."
"Do you believe that? It's obvious. Duke Cassius used a trick to make his daughter take off."
"Well. How could someone born as a commoner get there?"
On the other hand, there were people beside me frowning like old men and whispering disapprovingly, and they were all villains.
The main dark character in "Return and Walk on a Path of Flowers" was Terence, but as it was a complete novel, there were many villains. Most of them were nobles who would be easily defeated by Liena.
"His Majesty the Emperor there was also treated as a villain half the time in the novel..."
The emperor on the throne had a serious expression. It wasn't enough to keep Cassius under control, but it turned out that a large merchant guild like Iver belonged to Liena.
Moreover, this place was actually a stage prepared by the emperor for Terence. Although Liena knew the truth clearly, she announced it here.
"You have a lot of confidence, Liena."
Liena said, scratching her cheek as if embarrassed by the onslaught of compliments.
"These words are too much for me. This was possible thanks to Cecil and the best employees who believed in me and followed me. I haven't done much."
It's humility. Without Liena's knowledge of her past life and the genius she took as her subordinate, Elliot Rude, the guild wouldn't have grown like this.
"And in the future, Iver plans to actively contribute to society. I will donate one million gold as the first step toward a better society!"
Hyuk, many people held their breath.
"What, what? One million gold?"
"It's much beyond the annual budget of most fiefs, isn't it?"
"Isn't that the largest donation ever made?"
An enthusiastic supporter of Cassius shouted with open arms, overwhelmed with emotion.
"Long live Liena! Long live Cassius!"
"Long live!"
The people around looked towards the throne and stopped. However, they couldn't hide the excitement in their eyes either.
It was hard to dare to deny it. The protagonist today was Liena Cassius.
I looked at Terence.
Next to the emperor, he looked down with an expressionless face.
---
The next day, the entire country was turned upside down. This was because there were two shocking pieces of news last night. After the appearance of the illegitimate prince, the identity of the owner of Iver was revealed.
Any place where people gathered in the empire was always filled with these two stories. The commotion over the divorce between Duke Cassius and his wife was already a hot topic.
I didn't see Terence for almost a week after that day. There were no more messages through Vinetta. It was natural for him, who had just entered the imperial palace, to be busier than before.
I have been staying at the ambassador's residence, but today I went out for the first time in a long time. The destination is the Wandering Forest. Where I first met Terence.
Crri, crri. Unlike back then, the forest in full summer was filled with insect sounds. It was quite noisy.
"When will he come?"
As I sat abruptly on the stump and murmured, Vinetta, standing beside me, answered.
"It's almost the promised time."
The opponent appeared right on time. With a stealthy movement, as if rising suddenly from the ground.
"... Have you been well, my lady?"
Tara, Liena's right-hand and dedicated maid, greeted me courteously.
"I have been well. But now that I am divorced, I am no longer Cassius's lady."
"I'm sorry. Allow me to correct it, Ethel-nim."
"But there's no need to be too formal. It's not like I'm about to eat you."
"Yes."
The last time I visited the Wandering Forest, I said this to placate Tara, who was following me.
"Two months later. Exactly two months from now, you'll be able to see Chiléan again."
It's been almost two months since I promised Tara that I would find Viscount Chiléan, her enemy. Time flies.
I was planning to leave the empire soon, so now was the only time I had to fulfill my promise.
I also had something to check, so I handed the folded note to Tara.
"Here is the place where you can meet the person you're looking for."
Tara's eyes gleamed with an indescribable emotion. I raised the note in the air before she could take it.
"But before you accept it, I need you to make an oath."
"What oath?"
"The place written in the note is a place that Viscount Chiléan visits almost every day. If you go there, you'll probably be able to see him later today."
"So?"
"You must swear that if you find your target, you will return to me without even touching a single hair."
"How could that be?!"
"Calm down and keep listening. I'm not saying you should never seek revenge. If you follow my words and postpone revenge just once, you can do whatever you want after that."
"Why should we do that?"
"I can't tell you why. Even if you don't like it, I can't help it. But then I can't give you this note. It was something that wasn't even promised."
"Where is the person who can enforce that?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm here."
Tara glanced sideways at Vinetta for a brief moment. She's probably evaluating her. After defeating Vinetta, she wonders if she could steal the note from me. The answer came soon.