“Um, prepare a long ribbon to wrap around the building. It’s a wedding gift, so make it white to suit the bride.”

“What? You’re giving this building as a gift……”

Raon Lind couldn’t continue speaking, with a face that said, ‘What kind of madman is this?’

Well….. Logan turned around, muttering with an embarrassed face.

“It’s pointless since what’s mine will soon be hers anyway.”

“Y-yes, that’s true.”

Still, something feels lacking.

He wanted Sidney to clearly feel the weight of this marriage, that it wasn’t just a formality, that it couldn’t be carelessly annulled… He wanted to impose something symbolic yet appropriately burdensome.

Better yet, to put a small shackle on the ankle of Sidney Warden, not the fictional character Marien.

He turned his head, following the wind that blew carelessly.

The sprawling Tiery Avenue, busy carriages and pedestrians, and buildings with fancy shops all came into view at once.

As time passed, the people coming and going changed, but the land and buildings steadfastly kept their place, and would continue to do so. In the sense of hoping his marriage would be the same…

“Change the building’s ownership to Sidney Warden.”

“Lord Logan, if you do that… everyone will notice.”

That would be nice, but it would also be troublesome in its own way. For now, we must keep the secret that Sidney Warden is a woman.

But what if Sidney, having found freedom, were to fly away? Though it’s unlikely given how much she values loyalty, it doesn’t hurt to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.

To transfer ownership of the building without arousing suspicion…

Logan glanced at the building from the corner of his eye and raised one corner of his mouth.

“Put her as co-CEO of Hilton Investment Company.”

“Yes, that would make people understand to some extent. But if it’s co-CEO, you should be cautious about dividing shares…”

That’s right. She’ll be leading the Redford family and business alongside Sidney Warden.

“Of course, we’ll give her shares too.”

Just imagining the future he would create with her made the corners of his mouth twitch involuntarily.

While moving in the carriage, Raon Lind spoke again with a serious face.

“My Lord. I’m sorry to say this, but as your advisor, I must point out the unseemly issues this might cause.”

“Get to the point.”

“On paper, Lord Logan’s wife is Lady Marien. In other words, Warden is essentially unrelated to the Redford family.”

As the heir to the Redford family, he had been taught to distinguish between public and private matters, and to always make rational and cool-headed judgments.

But being human, everyone is bound to make foolish decisions when swept up by emotions. That’s why an advisor is necessary in such cases.

Logan spoke, putting force into each word while suppressing his anger.

“Are you daring to say that Sidney is an outsider?”

Whether he had been pretending to be perplexed until now, Raon Lind wiped his expression clean and said while adjusting his glasses,

“Legally… yes, that’s correct. So if you want to transfer the building, wouldn’t it be better to do it under Lady Marien’s name?”

“No, do it as I said. Thanks to my excellent advisor, I’ve realized that I need definitive documentary evidence that Sidney Warden is my person.”

He spoke firmly, conveying his determination to do it, if only because of you. Raon Lind lowered his eyes reluctantly, but full of dissatisfaction.

“Yes, I’ll transfer the shares, building, and land ownership to Warden.”

Logan clicked his tongue briefly and threw his gaze out the window.

The sun was already setting, dyeing the gray city red. The carriage stopped in front of a building where children carrying newspapers were coming out.

“You’re here at this hour? What’s the occasion?”

Ernest Holden rose from his desk, spreading his arms and laughing heartily.

Ignoring his friend’s banter, Logan sat comfortably on the sofa and crossed his legs.

Whether used to Logan’s rudeness of acting like he owned the place, or more concerned about Raon Lind that Logan had brought, Ernest glanced at the document envelope Raon was holding.

“What kind of favor is it this time that you’ve brought your advisor along?”

Ernest gestured to his secretary Tom to just go out. Before his bottom could touch the chair, Logan brought up his business.

“Invest.”

“You mean financial investment? My money?”

“Yeah.”

How can he be so consistent and outrageous? Ernest Holden shook his head as if disgusted by Logan’s shamelessness.

“You, did you leave something with me? A few days ago you suddenly demanded information on the Agnes resistance, and today you’re telling me to invest out of the blue…”

“That’s the price for that information.”

“Right, well said. The price for information, that’s something you should give me after taking the information.”

Ernest Holden raised his voice, pointing at his friend. Even so, Logan just raised one eyebrow, showing no particular reaction.

Seemingly quite frustrated, Ernest struck the sofa armrest and sought Raon Lind’s agreement.

“Lord Lind. This situation where I, who provided the information, am being told to pay money too, how should I understand this?”

No matter how close they are, when money is involved, an explanation about the investment should come first.

It’s not like he’s a robber, anyone would show antipathy like Ernest Holden if suddenly told to invest without explanation.

Raon Lind placed the document envelope in front of Ernest and said politely,

“First, let’s read this business plan.”

“Hilton Investment Company? You, a business that you’re trying to do with a usury company…”

An investment company built with the enormous capital that the Redford family earned through usury, it would truly be a goose that lays golden eggs. And the opportunity to be an early investor in it…

Ernest Holden reached for the document envelope, his facial muscles twitching with excitement. But Logan’s hand was faster.

“I thought you said you absolutely wouldn’t invest.”

“That’s because you were demanding investment out of the blue…”

Logan pressed down on the document envelope and looked down at Ernest, raising the corner of his mouth.

The moment he faced that arrogant and confident expression, Ernest realized he had been played.

It was natural for Ernest to be quite upset after Logan had taken valuable information a few days ago without even a word of thanks.

Having known each other for a long time, Logan couldn’t have been unaware of this.

Ernest asked, grinding his teeth with a sense of betrayal.

“You… did you deliberately… test me?”

“It’s up to you how much of a share you’ll get.”

“…!”

The share in a business is proportional to the investment amount.

Yet Logan didn’t set an upper limit on investment to restrict shares. In other words, it meant he would guarantee shares according to the amount Ernest Holden put in.

Ernest asked back with a puzzled expression.

“No matter how useful the Agnes resistance information was… it wasn’t to that extent, right?”

Instead of the desired answer, Logan pushed the document envelope towards Ernest and sneered.

“If you’re fine with an investment that receives hefty dividends but no shares… grab the second chance.”

It was always like this. Since childhood, Logan had manipulatively controlled Ernest at his whim.

Whenever antipathy might arise, he would offer such sweet rewards, so there wasn’t particularly any loss, but it wasn’t very pleasant feeling like he was being trained.

Ernest snatched the envelope roughly and pouted.

“I don’t like it anyway.”

Logan and Ernest’s connection existed even before they were born. It was because their mothers were unparalleled friends.

The two children born in the same year coincidentally lost their mothers at similar times.

Unlike Logan who lost his mother in an accident, Ernest’s mother might as well have been dead as she never left the convent.

At just seven years old, the two children sought each other out whenever they were confused by longing and loss for their mothers.

Logan who didn’t know how to cry and Ernest who didn’t know how to stop crying, the two children endured their fears watching each other.

Perhaps that’s why. Even now as adults, Logan and Ernest habitually sought each other out when things weren’t going well.

Even so, most of the time it was just sharing a cup of tea or a cigarette, and cases of offering such a big gift were extremely rare.

In other words, it meant that Logan Redford was anxious about something or needed Ernest’s help.

Ernest took the documents out of the envelope, steeped in a strange sense of superiority.

‘Tch, he’s just not being honest.’

But as he read through the business plan, Ernest’s brow furrowed deeply. And for good reason, as the contents were…

‘Reconstruction of the Kingdom of Agnes? Investing in such a thing? The Redford family? That Logan? No, more than that, what on earth is he trying to ask of me…’

The investment targets of Hilton Investment Company were real estate in the Kingdom of Agnes.

Moreover, it was everything from mines, farmland, and roads that the Arsnel Imperial Army had intentionally destroyed to cut off war resource supplies, to overall industrial facilities.

Anyway, it was about injecting Arsnel’s capital into areas that the Kingdom of Agnes couldn’t even think about restoring due to paying massive war reparations.

Of course, profits would be guaranteed, but this was something for the state to undertake, not individuals.

Also, political interests between the two countries had to be considered.

The current Arsnel Empire has established a governor-general’s office and stationed imperial troops under the pretext of normalizing and stabilizing the Kingdom of Agnes.

Given the situation, no matter how much of an opportunity for sudden wealth it might be, for the Holden family maintaining a neutral stance to step in…

‘Damn, I shouldn’t have read it. I’ve really been drawn in.’

A groan escaped through Ernest Holden’s teeth. Logan Redford, who had been watching quietly, finally opened his mouth.

“If you’re done with rough calculations, let’s make a deal now.”