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29.
Tanisha's confident stride, deliberately summoning a distant employee to assert her authority over this place.
And the arrogant glint in her eyes as she offered the chair while pointedly mentioning the Duke—a silent whisper that this position was not earned through Rebecca's own merit.
From the moment Rebecca first laid eyes on Tanisha, she had meticulously dissected every action the woman had taken.
And she had swiftly read through her desires.
A ‌silence fell between them, heavy as the calm before a storm.
Faced with Tanisha's relentless gaze, Rebecca abandoned her original plan and began executing a new one instead.
"I intend to remain merely a business partner. I lack the capacity to assume the role of company ‌head. That position belongs entirely to you. After all, I trust Julian's judgment."
Before Tanisha could even respond, Rebecca dropped into the guest chair across from her.
And ‌‌‌‌‌she simply smiled at her, ‌‌‌beaming ‌‌brightly.
'Entirely to you....'
Tanisha felt oddly deflated as she awkwardly pulled out her chair and sat down.
Ever since the Duke had entrusted this place to her, Tanisha had anticipated a fierce struggle for the position of company head.
So after identifying Rebecca's true identity, she had devised plans while ‌‌‌considering every possible scenario.
Tanisha had been exceptionally clever since childhood, which meant she had shouldered all the troublesome affairs of the ‌‌‌‌House of Johannes.
The hot-tempered Duke caused incidents daily, and she lived in constant, exhausting busyness.
Yet no matter how hard she worked, her salary remained the same, and even that typically ended up in her parents' hands.
'It's only natural that the Chenisters serve the House of Johannes. How ‌‌shameless to even desire money! And we'll keep this money until you marry.'
'A lie.'
After the previous Duke's death, her parents lost their positions and had come to depend ‌‌on Croa and Tanisha's income.
They were quite extravagant, so Tanisha knew she would never recover the money she had entrusted to them.
Croa, like Tanisha, also provided money to their parents, but he seemed to harbor no resentment whatsoever.
But ‌‌‌Tanisha was different.
Tanisha had pleaded with ‌‌‌her parents, who constantly demanded ‌‌‌party expenses, to find work, but ‌‌all she received in return was cold rejection.
'We are people who served the House of Johannes. How could we possibly associate with such insignificant nobles of inferior standing?'
'But our house is only a barony!'
Tanisha screamed silently within herself, but she could not bring herself to voice what ‌‌lay in her heart. She hated to see ‌her proud parents wounded.
So the wish Tanisha ‌‌‌had harbored for so long was independence.
Tanisha Company was the beginning of her dream.
She had already established a vault to accumulate her independence fund.
Once the money accumulated, she planned to repay the initial capital to the Duke and leave ‌‌the Duchy.
For this reason, Tanisha could never surrender this company to Rebecca.
From her investigation, Rebecca was merely a fragile noblewoman.
What could it mean that such ‌‌‌a Rebecca desired the company?
'She ‌‌must be trying to accumulate money to divorce her unfaithful husband.'
And she was using the notoriously ruthless Duke of Johannes as her means to that end.
However she had managed to manipulate the Duke, Rebecca was, contrary to rumor, no ordinary person—such was Tanisha's conclusion.
For ‌‌this very reason, she had redoubled her preparations, working through the night to prepare as thoroughly as one could for negotiations.
With all her preparations complete, Tanisha sent a letter to Rebecca. In her own way, it was a ‌‌declaration ‌‌of challenge.
Tanisha believed Rebecca was no different from herself—perhaps even more so, but certainly not less.
She had expected ‌‌Rebecca to arrive dripping with expensive jewels, intending to intimidate her, but surprisingly, Rebecca appeared dressed no differently from the common folk of the Market.
Not only that, but she flatly refused the position of Trading Company manager.
So it ‌‌‌was only natural that Tanisha, unable to organize her bewildered thoughts, could barely manage a self-introduction in response to Rebecca's question.
"So, I would ‌‌like to know the name of our Trading Company manager?"
Tanisha answered Rebecca's words ‌‌‌with a ‌‌stammer.
Even I could tell ‌‌‌‌it was a foolish way of speaking.
"I, I'm Tanisha Chenister...."
At the name Chenister, ‌‌Rebecca flinched. Now that she thought about it, her overall features did bear a slight resemblance to Croa.
Since Croa had often spoken of her clever younger sister in her previous ‌‌‌life, Rebecca deduced that Tanisha was Croa's younger sister.
Rebecca was grateful that she had ‌‌abandoned her original plan to become the Trading Company manager herself.
She could not trample on the dreams of Croa's younger sister.
Rebecca checked her watch over Tanisha's slightly dazed shoulder.
Time was tight if she wanted to visit her next destination.
"Since time is limited, I'll keep this brief. All I want is money. Let's say a 60-40 split."
At the mention ‌‌‌of money, Tanisha finally snapped to attention.
"Who gets the 60?"
"You do. I'll simply provide helpful information, and you'll bear the burden of management. If you're not satisfied, I'm willing to raise it to 70."
It was exhilarating. Tanisha had negotiated many times before, but never had money flowed directly into her own pocket like this.
Moreover, Julian had drilled into her ears that all of this Trading Company's revenue belonged entirely to Rebecca.
Because of this, Tanisha had devised a plan to negotiate a commission with Rebecca behind Julian's back.
In a sense, it was deceiving the Duke, but Tanisha knew that Julian would overlook this degree of embezzlement in recognition of her ‌‌‌past contributions.
For a moment, greed raised its ‌‌‌head, tempting her to push for 70, but Tanisha held back.
No matter how much Rebecca approved of it, if she became too ‌‌‌greedy, she feared the consequences when Julian later discovered the truth.
"Agreed. By ‌‌the way, ‌‌‌I'm curious ‌what kind of premium information this is."
At Tanisha's acceptance, Rebecca smiled faintly. Then she picked up papers stacked on one side of the desk and began writing something with a quill pen.
As the scratching sound filled the room, Rebecca ‌‌stopped writing.
"It's a list of goods whose prices will skyrocket in the future. Since you've already discovered my identity, ‌‌I believe you'll be able to make substantial profits without difficulty."
Tanisha accepted the list Rebecca offered with eyes full of suspicion.
Blue tableware from the Yulia Kingdom, pepper from the Caribana Kingdom, coffee beans from Bongani Mountain, Tamara ladybugs....
All of them were currently worthless goods.
"Do you have foresight...? How else could you know ‌these goods will increase in value?"
Could it be called foresight? In truth, ‌‌I had simply written down the luxury items that had been in great fashion around this time in my previous life.
Most of the products that became fashionable in society arrived at House of Devon faster than anyone else. Therefore, I remembered the flow of trends with precision.
But explaining such details would take time ‌‌‌‌I didn't have.
Rebecca checked her watch anxiously and spoke.
"I don't have time for a detailed explanation, but take it on faith and trust me. Oh, and you must monopolize the Tamara ladybugs. Make sure they can only be purchased through this establishment. Soon there will be people willing to pay premium prices for them. Raise many of them by then."
It was a petty scheme, but unavoidable. The salon that Danae was managing did guarantee substantial income, but it would take a long time to establish.
I had no intention of remaining bound to Zeppelin during all that time.
Therefore, to repay House of Obelia's debt to Zeppelin ‌as quickly as possible, I had no choice but to rely on my memories from my previous life.
Rebecca poured ‌‌her memories out to Tanisha like a tempest.
"And this mine contains high-quality iron deposits. In a few months, the Caribana Kingdom will experience a civil war. ‌‌‌Since the Caribana Kingdom lacks iron, they'll seek to import large quantities. So if you secure the mine, you'll generate substantial profits. And for coffee beans, purchase them from a merchant named Adolf...."
Tanisha began writing frantically, determined not to miss a single word Rebecca spoke.
How long had she been talking?
Finally, having exhausted her memories, Rebecca drained a glass of cold water in one gulp.
"Phew. That's everything. Do you think you can manage it?"
"I must. No—I will absolutely succeed."
Tanisha's eyes sparkled with determination.
Rebecca was undoubtedly a saint blessed by the will of the goddess Defria.
How else could she recite future events as ‌‌though she had witnessed them ‌‌herself?
To an ordinary person, it might ‌have sounded like utter nonsense, but Rebecca was ‌‌‌‌‌someone Julian had vouched for.
Even Tanisha, who wasn't particularly fond of Julian, acknowledged his eye for people.
Anyone Julian had called suspicious always ‌‌‌‌carried a blade.
Anyone he'd said would be profitable always brought substantial gains.
So Tanisha cast aside every shred of doubt, clutched the notebook filled with Rebecca's words to her chest, and treasured it dearly.
"Won't you have some more tea before you go...?"
Tanisha had shed all ‌‌‌her hostile demeanor toward Rebecca, and now she reluctantly tried to stop her as she headed toward the door.
Rebecca found her endearing and smiled without thinking.
"Next time, once I'm free, perhaps we can spend time getting to know each other better."
"Free...?"
Rebecca caught herself, ‌but Tanisha seemed to grasp the meaning of those words and no longer tried to detain her.
Rebecca added one final thing.
"A lady named Danae of House Obelia will visit you. When she does, simply share the profits with her. She's a wise woman, so if you encounter any difficulties, I think it would be good to consult with her."
"Understood. And what about reports?"
"Give them to Julian. That way, I'll be able to know everything as well."
She was thinking of Leo, who had recently been playing the role of messenger between them.
But Tanisha seemed to interpret it differently, her face flushing slightly as she nodded.
'So there really is ‌‌‌‌‌something between those two after all?'
Rebecca offered her a warm smile full of goodwill and turned her steps toward her next destination.
The alluring scent of freshly baked bread beckoned her forward.
* * *
"How surprising that you've sought me out like this."
Emperor Zahidra, who had finally found a moment of leisure to enjoy tea time, was startled to hear that Julian had ‌‌come to see him.
It was always he ‌‌‌who summoned Julian; this was the ‌‌‌‌first ‌time Julian had ever requested an audience.
"I trust you have been ‌‌‌well, Your Majesty."
At his subtly courteous demeanor, Zahidra ‌‌‌‌found himself momentarily at a loss for words, staring blankly at Julian.
The runaway countess has returned.
E-book publication.

January 12, 2022
Author.

Long night sky
Publisher.

Desert fox
Published by.

Woongjin ThinkBig Co., Ltd.
Submission.

naver.me/54VzzLSn
Blog.

blog.naver.com/wj_fennecfox
Twitter.

@wjt_fennecfox

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