“Ah really. Really. This was the opportunity, it was this time…!”

“Don’t worry. We still have a lot ahead of us in our future, right? Well… Thanks to this, you’ve probably blown most of the money from that marquis family you were so proud of… You might have less money than me now, but still, cheer up!”

Sesenia patted Elzere’s shoulder.

Trembling uncontrollably, Elzere couldn’t even shake off Sesenia’s hand. Sesenia looked at Elzere with a rather pitiful expression and then smirked.

“Ah. And thank you.”

“What? Are you thanking me for going bankrupt or something? Are you messing with me now?”

“No, in my past life, I couldn’t do much promotion, so the price didn’t increase as much as I thought. But this time, thanks to elder sister spreading rumors everywhere, we’re already expecting much more profit than before. So I’m thanking you for that.”

“Hey!”

“Well then, I’ll be going now. I have to meet some business partners. So, good luck with the cotton processing.”

Sesenia approached the door, then turned around and waved.

“Don’t forget to close my room door when you leave. And don’t stay there too long. If you stay in your younger sister’s room for too long, people might get suspicious, so just snoop around a bit and then leave~”

“Do you think I’m a thief! That damn girl, that… that damn!!”

The sound of Elzere screaming could be heard from behind. Rather, that sound made her heart feel clear.

‘That’s satisfying.’

Sesenia stepped outside and hardened her expression.

There’s no guarantee that everything will go like this.

‘I can’t do exactly the same as in the past. Elzere will surely try to take everything for herself at every turn. We were lucky with the Hepria cotton this time, but…’

Next time, we might not be so lucky. Anyway, beating Elzere, who has the backing of the marquis family, is not an easy task. Although the marquis family will take a big hit from this incident, the difference between having the name of the marquis family behind you and not having it is quite significant.

The things Sesenia had done secretly in the past. Thanks to Elzere’s debut in high society after the Hepria cotton incident in the past, she doesn’t know about all the businesses Sesenia had done. She only knows vaguely that Sesenia bought various things and succeeded.

‘Now, what should I do next.’

There are no major events in the empire until spring comes. Both Elzere and Sesenia know this fact. So Elzere will try to somehow bring in past events to make up for her losses.

Because she will lose the marquis’s trust due to this incident.

‘Elzere will surely try to bring in more future events. But I won’t let her have her way so easily.’

Whatever it is, she can be prepared for everything. It’s not just her who knows the future.

And the reason why Sesenia has an advantage is that she has already done it. The difference between knowing the future and having actually done it with your own hands is quite big. Doing business ultimately means having a broader perspective. Although she was behind Elzere in terms of high society, she knew better than anyone about various matters of the empire.

‘That has been a great help to me.’

Meanwhile, Lizbeth was laughing excitedly like a child.

“Young lady. It was really so satisfying. This time, since the promotion went well, we’ll get a much higher price than before, right? Let’s go to elder brother quickly.”

The only ones in that room were Sesenia herself, Lizbeth, and Elzere. And Sesenia felt something a bit strange about Lizbeth. Lizbeth didn’t think anything was odd despite hearing everything Sesenia had said.

‘I left Lizbeth alone just in case, but…’

If it had been someone other than Lizbeth, they would have found the words exchanged between Sesenia and Elzere strange. The two of them had spoken as if they knew everything would turn out this way. That wasn’t the only strange thing.

Even what Lizbeth was saying now was odd.

Lizbeth had been acting strange since before. When Sesenia first came to this time and regained her senses, Lizbeth had said something like that. ‘Regression’, she said. Unlike normal people who rarely use the word regression, Lizbeth had casually dropped that word as if trying to gauge Sesenia’s reaction.

At that time, Sesenia was too confused to notice, but now she suddenly got a strange feeling. Occasionally, Lizbeth gave off a vibe similar to Elzere.

The thought that she might have also come back in time.

“Lizbeth.”

“Yes?”

“Never mind.”

Sesenia, who was about to ask, quickly shook her head.

It couldn’t be. If even Lizbeth had come back in time. That would mean all the dead people had come back in time. Sesenia forcibly erased the thoughts that were rising and hurriedly moved her feet.

The two of them arrived at the Iar Trading Company riding the marquis family’s carriage. On the outside, Iar Trading Company looked like a shop selling cute accessories. However, the items they actually sold were very different from the outward appearance.

“Rohan.”

“My lady.”

In the place where Sesenia thought Rohan would be when she opened the door, Tedel was there instead. Tedel, whose bangs were long enough to poke his eyes because he hadn’t cut his hair, flinched slightly when he saw Sesenia.

“Teddy. You’re here?”

“Yes… Sir Rohan brought me.”

“You’ve become pretty in the time we haven’t seen each other.”

“Am I… pretty?”

Tedel stared at me quietly. The golden eyes visible through his long hair looked particularly difficult to wet.

“Yes. I heard you didn’t run away and stayed well. So you’re pretty.”

“How could I run away when you’re here, my lady.”

“That’s right. Don’t run away. I’ll raise you well.”

“Yes. Please don’t abandon me and raise me.”

“Alright, alright. I heard you’ve been reading a lot of books lately.”

“Yes, I’ve read all the books you sent me, my lady.”

He was like blotting paper. He was completely different from the Tedel that Sesenia knew before she died in the past. Back then, Tedel was said to be in a raw state. But now, Tedel was like a puppy.

His face that brightened slightly every time he saw Sesenia, the awkward way he lifted the corners of his mouth because he wasn’t used to smiling, looked really pretty.

“Well done.”

“Um… When this is over… You won’t abandon me, right? I’ll work hard at other things too, so please don’t abandon me.”

The way he had acted sharply towards Sesenia at first, the way he had trembled while forcing himself to speak informally like a frightened hedgehog, was probably the Tedel that other people in the past had seen, the Tedel they had heard rumors about.

“Yes. There’s more work to do next.”

“Please give me any task.”

“Okay.”

“Ah, you’ve arrived.”

At that moment. The sound of someone hurriedly coming down from upstairs was heard, and then Rohan appeared. Having completely shed his knight appearance, he was wearing more comfortable clothes like a merchant and was holding ledgers in his arms.

“How’s it going? It seems that all of elder sister Elzere’s cotton has been ruined as expected.”

“Yes. We’re currently penetrating the market. Thanks to Lady Elzere’s promotion, there’s been a sharp increase in inquiries.”

“I think there will be even more demand once word spreads that elder sister’s cotton is in shambles.”

“I’ll make sure to sell it over a period of time.”

“Okay. But I think we need to move the goods.”

Rohan tilted his head at my sudden words.

“Move everything now?”

“Yes. I just have a feeling something might happen. Rather than trying to sell at a high price, sell quickly for now. The firewood too. Add a special clause when selling that the buyers should keep quiet about purchasing the cotton for about a week.”

“I understand.”

Rohan made a slightly uncomfortable expression before nodding.

“And after all the cotton has been moved, increase the security at the cotton warehouse.”

“The empty warehouse?”

“Yes.”

Only then did Rohan nod as if he understood, but Tedel and Lizbeth just tilted their heads in confusion.

“Then please take care of the cotton here. I have somewhere to go.”

“Somewhere to go? Alright. It’s not a dangerous place, is it?”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to dangerous places anymore. Ah, I might go much later.”

“Young lady!”

Sesenia clapped her hands and teased Rohan playfully.

“Don’t worry. Not this time.”

“Hah… Really… It seems like the young lady worried me less when you were younger… Recently, young lady…”

“Stop nagging. Lizbeth, let’s go.”

Lizbeth hesitated for a moment before awkwardly nodding.

“Teddy, follow us carrying the goods. We need one porter.”

“Yes!”

“Rohan, watch the store well. Finish up what I’ve done properly.”

“Why only me…”

“Because you nag too much.”

Rohan’s mouth twitched as he watched Sesenia open the store door and leave, but ignoring that, the three of them quickly went outside. Meanwhile, Tedel went to the store warehouse and came out with two sacks of cotton slung over his shoulders.

“Teddy is a very reliable worker.”

“Please don’t abandon me.”

“I told you I won’t abandon you. Why do you keep saying that?”

“Just… because I’m worried. Young lady… sometimes you look empty. You smile and are always energetic, but sometimes there’s nothing in your eyes. So I’m scared. That you might leave without saying anything.”

Why did those words about having nothing in her eyes, about being empty, weigh so heavily on her heart?

Does he know something? In fact, she was a person who shouldn’t exist in this world. Because she had already died. Did he instinctively sense such things? Or was it just something he said because his own place wasn’t clear? Thousands of questions arose, but Sesenia tried hard to erase such thoughts.

“Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”

“…Yes. But why aren’t you wearing the ring?”

“Hm?”

“The ring… that can control me.”

“Ah… that. I just didn’t feel like it.”

It really seemed like it was meant to control, and it felt like human-to-human hatred, so I had shoved it deep into a drawer. But to think he would look for it.

“That’s the thing that connects us…”

“You think so?”

“Yes. Even if you don’t like it, young lady… that’s what I think. So please wear it next time you come.”

“Alright.”

Yes. Next time I’ll wear that ring, but first I should remove that necklace from Teddy’s neck. Thinking such thoughts, Sesenia got into the marquis family’s carriage.

“Young lady. Where shall I take you?”

“To the orphanage.”

“The orphanage? Which orphanage?”

“Where was it… It was a really shabby orphanage. Lizbeth, do you happen to know the shabbiest orphanage in the empire?”

It was a question asked on the off chance, since Lizbeth’s mother, who was also her wet nurse, Cellin, often visited orphanages. In the past, Sesenia had also vaguely heard about an orphanage.

That there was a very small and shabby orphanage with only five orphans. And that orphanage is now more spectacularly on people’s lips than ever before.