“Isn’t there a record of the last magic stone trade with Balkandia Kingdom? It seems that the actual traded quantity and the recorded quantity are different.”

His voice, filled with gravity, was quite unsettling. The others waited for the Count’s words, struggling to hide their anxiety.

“If the quantities are different, the taxes to be paid will also change. That’s what concerns me.”

Here we go again. The surrounding merchants swallowed dryly. In other words, what Count Rife was asking was this:

‘Did you evade taxes again this time?’

He was a person who had been nagging about the tax issue during the last trade as well.

“It seems there has been some misunderstanding; I’ll have the relevant documents sent to you for verification.”

Kylius gestured familiarly to Philen, who recorded today’s additional tasks and responded.

“I will deliver it to you today.”

“……If you do, I will be grateful.”

Count Rife seemed to think that the Duke’s house was keeping a separate set of books. Of course, with Philen’s thorough personality, there was no fear of being caught.

Regardless, having someone nagging about taxes like this every time was nothing but a nuisance.

‘He’s as annoying as ever.’

That he had called this meeting because of this was ludicrous.

Well, if not for today’s meeting, he wouldn’t have seen the child trying to leave the gate early in the morning.

Kylius suddenly remembered the cookie the child had given him and took it out of his pocket.

Naturally, the eyes of the others were drawn to it.

Most of the merchants knew about the Duke’s tastes and simple preferences.

So, at this moment, the thought that came to the merchants’ minds was the same.

‘The Duke, who rarely snacked outside of mealtime, has a cookie!’

Today’s agenda was not the issue right now.

From the perspective of the astute merchants, information about the Duke took precedence.

Has the Duke’s taste changed? Has his appetite changed?

This would be very useful information in choosing a gift to send to the Duke’s house this year.

“Your Grace, what is that?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know?”

“No, no, didn’t you hate sweet things?”

“Yes, I did.”

“So, has your taste changed now?”

“No, sweets still cling to me.”

“Oh, I see?”

So is he going to throw away that cookie? The merchant sitting next to him reached out for the cookie and said.

“Then I’ll take this away for you……”

“Leave it, I’m going to eat it.”

“Excuse me?”

The merchants who had been quietly listening to his answer became confused.

He still hated sweets, but he’s eating cookies?

They thought it might be a cookie that wasn’t sweet, but it was a cookie with small pieces of dark chocolate embedded in it, and it seemed that just one bite would spread sweetness throughout the body.

‘What on earth is that then!’

He wanted to ask more, but it was a formal occasion. It wouldn’t be good to ask the Duke, who hated pointless questions, any more than this.

But then, another merchant finally couldn’t contain his curiosity and blurted out a question.

“Where did that cookie come from?”

Silence flowed through the conference hall. The other merchants sent sympathetic glances toward the newly titled Viscount Heda.

Viscount Heda was a young merchant who had only recently joined the association. Therefore, he could ask such a question without hesitation.

Of course, they were curious about it too. But to ask such a trivial question despite the Duke’s disapproval, who strictly distinguished between public and private matters!

“Are you talking about this?”

But the Duke calmly answered him, breaking everyone’s expectations.

“My daughter gave it to me this morning.”

“The one you recently found…!”

“You’ve all heard the news. About my daughter.”

Lifetime merchants, they quickly realized what they should focus on.

“Of course! It’s really a joyful event!”

“Yes, congratulations, though late!”

“Indeed, it’s something to be delighted about!”

As Kylius had said, the rumor had already spread. That Kylius had recently found his biological daughter.

But the reason the merchants hadn’t cared about that rumor until now was simple.

Unlike the adoptive sons, whom the Duke had raised with great affection, the Duke had never been seen with his daughter.

In such a situation, those who heard the rumor generally had the same thought.

‘The Duke doesn’t cherish his biological daughter, unlike his adopted sons.’

Because it was known that the daughter he found this time was of a very ordinary level, unlike his sons, who had shown outstanding talents since childhood.

But now, the Duke’s behavior was completely contrary to what they expected.

Despite the somewhat noisy atmosphere in the conference hall, Kylius calmly sipped his tea. Viscount Opfel, who had been trading with the Duke’s family for a long time, slyly remarked.

“It seems Her Young Highness follows the Duke well.”

“Well, she adapted quickly.”

“Why wouldn’t she, being of his bloodline?”

“That’s true.”

At that, Kylius chuckled.

Then, other merchants also began to talk about the young princess they had never seen.

“The cookie from the daughter, I’d feel full without even eating it.”

“I heard she’s still young, how happy must the Duke be to share such a precious snack?”

“Her Young Highness must be truly special.”

The Duke, who had never blinked an eye at any flattery before, used to draw a strict line with his ghostlike insight.

But today’s Duke was different.

It was clearly noticeable that the Duke became unusually soft whenever he talked about his daughter.

The merchants’ minds began to work busily.

‘This year’s special product goes to Her Young Highness!’

‘What do little girls usually like?’

‘What were the toys that 4yearold children liked?!’

It was a moment when the Duke unwittingly became the target of their strategies.

Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.

The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…

Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.

Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.

The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”

When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…

The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced