Last night, Retrochika secretly sent a letter.

Ah, and it seems Engis Brisa of the Brisa Viscounty will become the Crown Princess, so it would be good to prepare yourself mentally.]

There was also nagging written: don’t move rashly, don’t start businesses too excessively, proceed step by step, don’t borrow large sums of money, be sure to consult with him if anything important comes up, but I didn’t pay much attention to it.

The problem was the Crown Princess.

I already knew that Joseph V was hurrying to find a Crown Princess, but when it became a reality, I felt my heart sink. Even though I knew it was proper to aim for the position next to Lucas when his status became firm, I felt my insides boil at the thought of him getting into bed with another woman.

“Do you know anything about the Brisa Viscounty?”

Puccino quickly answered Elise’s question.

“Viscount Kelgio Brisa. He’s known to be arrogant but not bad-natured. He’s amassed enormous wealth from owning two fairly good trading companies and several mines, and also runs a steel business with the iron from there. On top of that, he deals with weapons through the steel business, so he has power too. He’s a family that can’t be ignored.”

Joseph V had chosen a formidable family for the Crown Princess.

‘Why? It wouldn’t be good for the in-laws to be too powerful… Is it because of what the envoy from the Hovern Islands said back then? Is he trying to create a powerful backer in case Roxy is still alive?’

Elise quickly pondered what Joseph V might be thinking, and asked Puccino.

“What’s his daughter like?”

“Her appearance is ordinary, but she has a quiet and affectionate personality that everyone likes. She enjoys poetry and plays several instruments well, so she’s always invited when salons are held.”

“Truly a lady.”

“Yes, she’s the bride everyone wants.”

I was confident I wouldn’t lose in poetry and instruments.

When Roxiana was learning swordsmanship following her elder brothers, Elise learned instruments, painting, and poetry from Roxiana’s tutors.

‘The problem is the family. If it’s such an impressive family, they won’t easily give up the position next to Lucas. My position needs to become more solid.’

Puccino stared at Elise, who was chewing on her lower lip, then opened his mouth.

“By the way, Young Lady, I have an interesting piece of information.”

“What is it now?”

“This is information from Torkan.”

“Torkan? Torkan again?”

Recently, rumors about a woman in the Lily Palace within the Torkan Grand Ducal Palace had been stirring up the world. Elise, busy building connections and managing the city, had no interest in who the Grand Duke’s woman was, but she couldn’t stop the conversations going around among the noble ladies.

−”I heard she’s an elf rescued from a pond.”

−”They say the Grand Duke saved her from inside a monster’s belly while fighting it.”

−”I heard she’s a magician with incredible skills… Could she really be an elf? They say elves use amazing magic, don’t they?”

−”No way… Do elves really exist? The Grand Duke must be secretly raising a magician.”

Every time she saw noble ladies truly believing and gossiping about rumors that could be called children’s fairy tales, Elise felt dumbfounded, wondering if this was really their level.

Because the rumors surrounding the Lily Palace woman were so exaggerated, Elise never even thought to connect that woman with Roxiana.

For Elise, Roxiana was just an ordinary woman branded as a slave who couldn’t do anything. Just a childish woman without the charm to captivate the heart of the Grand Duke who was said to dislike women.

Gania and Torkan were far apart, so whatever happened in Torkan wasn’t Elise’s business. There was the issue with the Hovern Islands, but that was already a thing of the past.

‘I used to not even know the name Torkan properly… Now it’s causing such a fuss everywhere.’

Elise, troubled by the Crown Princess issue, didn’t have the leisure to worry about Torkan, but with even Puccino mentioning Torkan, she wondered if she should keep an eye on Torkan from now on.

‘Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to know the information.’

Having made up her mind, Elise opened her mouth.

“What’s this information?”

“This is something I can’t give away for free. It’s such a big deal.”

“A big deal?”

Elise leaned forward.

None of the information Puccino had given so far had been wrong. Moreover, Puccino was someone who accurately assessed the value of the information he brought. He gave away what should be free and accurately priced what needed to be valued.

It was impossible not to be intrigued when such a Puccino called it a big deal.

“What on earth is it?”

“Hmm. What to do. This information, I can’t just sell it to anyone…”

“You brought it up first, why are you acting like this now?”

“That’s true. I thought it might be the most necessary information for you, Young Lady, so I brought it up… But I’m not sure if I should just tell you…”

“What do you want?”

When the question he wanted came out, Puccino grinned.

“Please reduce the toll for using the new road our Karan Trading Company is building and the tax we pay when doing business.”

“…By how much?”

“5 percent.”

“You want me to reduce it by 5 percent?”

“No, I want you to only take 5 percent.”

“Ha! What nonsense is that? Do you think I’m a fool? I know that foreign merchants pay 30 percent of their income in taxes when they come here, and you want me to only take 5 percent? No way. That’s too much. I need to take at least 20 percent.”

At Elise’s firm attitude, Puccino’s eyes narrowed.

“My, I thought you were a clever person, Young Lady…”

“What?”

“Young Lady. I know how unreasonable it is to ask you to only take 5 percent. The fact that I’m making this proposal despite knowing that means the information I have is that useful, doesn’t it?”

Ah, right. We were talking about information.

Because of the absurd proposal, she had forgotten that the conversation started because of information. Elise stared at the grinning face of the Vice Chief of the trading company, then coughed once unnecessarily and signaled to Hunter behind her.

Hunter quickly left the reception room, leaving the two alone. Elise got up from the sofa and moved to sit next to Puccino. Just as Elise’s delicate hand was about to be placed gently on Puccino’s thigh.

“Ah, Young Lady. You shouldn’t do this.”

Puccino stood up abruptly.

“I don’t buy and sell information with this kind of thing.”

Elise’s face turned bright red as her intentions were seen through. It was the first time she had been flatly rejected using this method.

Usually, even if they noticed, they pretended not to know and went along, but Puccino coldly looked down at Elise and said,

“I thought you were an amazing person for boldly starting big businesses as soon as you became the lord of Kingteren, but it seems my judgment was wrong. I’ve already proven the value of my information to you several times, yet you’re hesitating over a few percent of profit. The profits you’ll make in the future will be enormous even if you give up a few percent of Karan Trading Company’s profits.”

Puccino continued speaking as he left the sofa.

“The Crown Princess will be decided soon. It will probably be the young lady of the Brisa Viscounty. No matter how much you develop Kingteren and build a foundation, you won’t match up to the Brisa Viscounty.”

Elise had never told Puccino such things. Yet Puccino had grasped what Elise’s ultimate goal was.

Seeing Elise’s eyes widen in shock, Puccino said,

“Are you surprised? I know everything. Seeing that you’re not showing much interest even though I said it’s information from Torkan, it seems you don’t know that the Crown Prince of Gania greatly dislikes the Grand Duke of Torkan.”

“The Crown Prince… dislikes the Grand Duke of Torkan?”

Elise had never heard such a thing from Lucas.

‘Or have I?’

A few times when Elise whispered that she was having a hard time because of Roxiana, he might have said something like, “I have someone I hate too. I understand how you feel completely. No one understands better than me.” She thought it was just something he said to pretend to sympathize with her feelings, but was there really someone he hated?

“Yes, he dislikes him. Very much so. That’s why I thought this information would be a great help in gaining the Crown Prince’s trust and heart… Isn’t the most important thing for you right now to be deeply imprinted in the Crown Prince’s mind, rather than a few coins you may or may not earn in the future?”

It was true. The reason for doing all this was solely because of Lucas. To become a woman who cannot be separated from the man who will one day take the most precious position in this country. To make him rely on and cling to her.

Elise made up her mind.

As Puccino said, she couldn’t lose important information because of money she might or might not earn in the future.

“Alright, what is it? Tell me.”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

“What?”

“Seeing your attitude now, I think you might go back on your word later and completely block our company’s entry. So you’ll need to give us a few places to do business too.”

“Puccino, no matter what…!”

“Instead!”

Puccino elegantly picked up the paper and pen on the table, wrote something on it, and held it out to Elise. Elise furrowed her brow as she confirmed the number written on the paper.

“What’s this?”

“The rent for 5 years. For the new buildings to be built in Kingteren.”

Puccino took out a map he had already prepared from his chest and spread it out. The map showed a detailed layout of the new market street to be built in Kingteren, with several places marked in different colors.

“We’ll pay this much to rent these locations marked in red for 5 years. This money is the price for securing these spots in advance.”

Elise rolled her eyes. The number Puccino had written on the paper was a surprisingly large amount.

‘Not only will he give me information, but he’ll give me money too? Isn’t this completely profitable for me?’

Of course, the taxes she would receive from Karan Trading Company in the future would decrease, but looking at the amount written on the paper, it didn’t seem like that would be a big problem. Elise had already made up her mind, but she pretended to ponder for a while as if it was a difficult decision, then said,

“Alright, if it’s such important information, I should concede on my side. So what’s this important information?”