The Marquis, who had been smiling brightly at Elzere, suddenly frowned.

“A favor? As expected, Sesenia. You never do anything that doesn’t benefit you.”

“I just have a small thing I want to do.”

“Small? What, are you trying to compete with your sister?”

“No. I have no intention whatsoever of inheriting the Marquis’s house.”

“Then what do you want?”

It was an extreme reaction.

‘He’d treat even an adopted child more kindly than this.’

Sesenia, who had resolved not to live kindly, looked at him with a cold expression.

“Since childhood, I’ve wanted to run my own small business. Please allow me to do that. If you grant me just that, I won’t demand any rights to the Marquis’s house.”

“Even if you demanded, do you think you could inherit the Marquis’s house?”

Sesenia was about to say ‘Yes,’ but quietly closed her mouth. Without her, the Marquis’s house would collapse.

It was like that in the past, and it wouldn’t be much different now. But she didn’t want to argue here. She was in a position where she needed the Marquis’s help right now.

The corners of her mouth, which had been flat and expressionless, twisted slightly.

‘This is as far as I’ll grovel before you.’

Once she got what she needed, there was no need to act like a dog wagging its tail in hope of love anymore.

Waiting for that day, Sesenia nodded.

“I know. That it’s not a position I dare aspire to. I just… said that because I’m not used to asking for favors. Father.”

“Hmm.”

Perhaps being submissive worked better than being forceful, as the Marquis awkwardly nodded.

“It makes me feel as if I’ve done something wrong.”

If you felt that, then perhaps you’re not completely tactless.

“Not at all. Father is always right.”

Sesenia usually can’t speak flattering words. In that aspect, Sesenia and Elzere were starkly different. Because of this, Sesenia often unintentionally received misunderstandings or hatred from others.

‘But for my future, and to prevent that woman from having everything, I can do this much.’

“Ahem. Well. If that’s what you say… What do you want to do?”

“I want to open a small shop. It was Mother’s dream, wasn’t it? To open a small shop in the Imperial capital.”

Sesenia’s mother, who passed away when Sesenia was five due to poor health, was a modest person. Coming from a commoner background, Mother often felt great skepticism about the life of nobility, and would often sit five-year-old Sesenia down and say:

When you all grow up, I want to open a small shop and live as myself, not as a noble.

But the Marquis, who loved his wife dearly, the Marquis who feared someone else might take his wife away, would ignore such words from his wife.

“…That’s right.”

“I want to do that. If you just provide a small support… I want to live like Mother. Open a shop named after her.”

Knowing that the Marquis’s sore spot was his wife who left the world early, Sesenia put on a sad expression.

“Wh-what? Opening a shop named after Mother? That’s nonsense…”

Elzere immediately objected, as if unable to understand such a thing. But the Marquis slowly nodded and stopped Elzere.

“Go ahead. If it’s to carry on your mother’s last wishes… I’d be grateful.”

“Father!”

“Why are you shouting like that, Elzere?”

“Ah… no… it’s just… Sesenia is going to run a separate business. I was wondering if this makes sense. And you decided to leave the Marquis’s house to me, but without consulting me…”

Suddenly, the Marquis burst out.

“Elzere. Do you already think you’re the Marquis?”

“Father, are you angry at me? I’m shocked…”

“Be quiet. You’re not the Marquis yet. We’re at the stage of seeing which of you would be good to become the Marquis. I could disown you anytime if I’m not satisfied!”

Elzere didn’t know her father at all. She seemed to think that acting cute would work this time too, as it always had before. Why doesn’t she understand yet that the Marquis doesn’t easily let anyone who defies his authority off the hook?

Perhaps overwhelmed by the Marquis’s aura, Elzere pouted. It was a childishly immature look.

“…I’m sorry.”

“If you understand, that’s fine. Anyway, your sister isn’t being greedy and is just fulfilling your mother’s wishes, so help her.”

“Yes.”

How can a person change so much? The Marquis smiled and looked at Sesenia.

“So, have you decided what business you’ll do?”

“Not yet.”

“Alright, alright. Take your time to figure it out. Since you’re using your mother’s name… don’t feel too pressured. I’ll support you with some money. I’ll send the money through the butler, so do as you see fit. It might be hard starting from scratch, but it’ll be more enjoyable since it’s entirely yours.”

“Yes.”

Though he said that, he had no intention of handing over the Marquis’s house to Sesenia.

It wasn’t as if he had ever intended to hand it over to Sesenia in the first place, and knowing this, Sesenia felt nothing. She simply bowed her head and rose from her seat.

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

“Go ahead.”

With those words, Sesenia went outside. But Elzere followed her out and clung to her side.

“Sesenia. You’re acting strange.”

“How so?”

“Saying things you’ve never said before to seduce Father?”

“Seduce Father? Do you think all men are meant to be seduced in that head of yours, sister?”

Elzere’s face turned red, as if struck at her core.

“H-how dare you look at me like that?”

“Like what?”

A woman who seduces this man and that man, even touching her sister’s husband. And then, for her own sake, causing her own sister’s death. A scoundrel. The worst of humanity.

‘There’s no other way to describe you, sister. You’re just trash.’

Sesenia chuckled and patted her sister’s shoulder.

“Anyway, do well. The Marquis’s house has become yours.”

“Are you provoking me now?”

“Yes.”

“Thinking I’ll be scared if you do that. You better not come to me later asking for more money.”

“Okay.”

Sesenia gave a short answer and turned away. She could hear Elzere fuming behind her, but she no longer cared. Instead, a smile spread across her face. Only after returning to her room did Lizbeth speak to Sesenia.

“My lady. You really are strange.”

“Me?”

“Yes. It’s like… you’ve become a different person.”

“I guess becoming an adult suddenly changed my way of thinking. I feel like I’ve never had anything of my own in life. So I’m trying to be a bit greedy.”

“That’s great! Then I’ll help you wholeheartedly. I can do that. So what will you do first?”

Sesenia silently smiled at Lizbeth.

‘I should start a business in food, clothing, and shelter.’

In the past, after her coming-of-age ceremony, Sesenia got permission from the Marquis and started a new business. Food, clothing, and shelter – the essentials for human survival. She decided to touch on these. The first thing that everyone thinks of, but no one actually thinks of, was ‘clothing’.

It wasn’t anything grand. The foundation was the Empire’s weather. Originally, the Empire had uniform weather throughout the four seasons.

But this year, a sudden change occurred in the Empire where the weather changes had not been clear. The heat started to come. And it was strong enough to make people collapse.

Not long after, autumn came. The weather cooled down quickly, unbelievably so after the intense heat. People were happy, thinking the original weather had returned, but Sesenia felt that something was going wrong with the weather.

At that time, Sesenia unfolds a business that no one expected.

It was all thanks to the knowledge she gained through consistent study.

This winter would be colder than ever before. Feeling the sudden heat and the quickly approaching autumn, she was certain the winter would be cold.

So she decided to buy Hephria cotton.

Originally, Hephria cotton was one of the items with no demand. The Empire had weather with little change throughout the four seasons, so there was no demand for clothes with Hephria cotton.

Hephria cotton was a very thin and fluffy cotton used to make cushions, pillows, or quilts, or inserted between fabrics when making winter clothes.

There was nowhere else it was used. Moreover, Hephria required a lot of labor, so even farm owners were reluctant to cultivate it.

Because winters weren’t cold, it wasn’t needed, and because it wasn’t needed, there was little demand, and because there was little demand, fewer and fewer people bothered to cultivate Hephria. Rather, winters were so warm that using Hephria cotton would make one feel hot.

The fortunate point was that due to low demand, the price of Hephria was very cheap. Sesenia told this to the Marquis. But the Marquis couldn’t understand buying Hephria cotton.

He said it was a stupid thing, a waste of money. Even if winter came, there would be no need for Hephria cotton. Most items using Hephria cotton were long-lasting, so it would only be difficult to store.

But Sesenia asked him to trust her just once and received support to buy Hephria cotton and firewood. Thoroughly dried firewood before winter came.

And that year, a tremendous cold hit. Her prediction was spot on.

Sesenia, who had bought all the Hephria cotton produced in the Empire and neighboring countries at a cheap price. As people began to die from the sudden cold, the demand for Hephria cotton suddenly started to rise.

‘But Sesenia had already bought all the Hephria cotton, and I didn’t release it to the market.’

In the end, Sesenia only released the Hephria when the price became 20 times what she had paid. The terrible cold that hit in early winter. But some people, saying this was just the start of winter, didn’t buy Hephria, and the demand for firewood also skyrocketed. Not selling the cotton to the market was also to raise the price of the firewood she had.

If the cotton was released to the market late, the demand for firewood would increase, and those who didn’t buy cotton would try to endure with firewood. In the end, she gloriously succeeded in her first business. It was a perfect victory for Sesenia.

Thanks to this, the Marquis’s house shouldered enormous wealth while simultaneously elevating the family’s status, and this fact became known even in the Imperial Palace.

‘And… Elzere, sister, your life changed too.’