Rose mumbled repeatedly as if in a trance.

‘With this money, I could just leave it in the bank without doing anything and accumulate around 20 million won a month.’

In Korea, even if one worked tirelessly and saved in a deposit account, the interest for a year wouldn’t reach 150,000 won.

‘… Calculated monthly, it’s 2,500 won.’

However, now, just by breathing, the interest alone amounted to 20 million won.

The saying that wealth begets more significant wealth must be referring to moments like this.

‘Indeed, having a lot of capital makes a difference.’
With a curious gaze, Duke Artem Douma found Rose, who couldn’t take her eyes off the paper, amusing.

“Now, all that’s left is to run the business well.”

Rose, whose spirit was taken aback by the Duke’s quietly spoken words, finally snapped out of it.

“……Ah, yes. That’s right.”

“I’m thorough when it comes to money. If you have any plans to embezzle my money, you’d better stop right away.”

Rose felt a chill from the Duke’s sharp eyes, which stared at her like a predatory animal. She had no intention of embezzling the money, but if the business went wrong and she couldn’t repay the debt…

Gulp.

‘I’ll be dead to the Duke.’

She involuntarily swallowed dry saliva.

“Well, then. Trust me!”

Rose, with a pale expression, awkwardly forced a smile, feeling a strange urge to tease her with the Duke watching her behave clumsily.

“Sure, anyway, even if you run away, catching you won’t be much of a challenge.”

The Duke’s cold voice deepened Rose’s complexion.

Observing Rose’s rapidly changing expressions was intriguing.

However, if he continued, tears might fall from those large pupils.

The Duke stopped teasing Rose and leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands.

“I’ll stay by your side thoroughly during the business.”

Although the Duke meant to offer assistance, it didn’t sound that way to Rose.

‘Is he determined to keep an eye on me?’

Well, it’s understandable. He lent a significant amount of money, 10 billion res, without any collateral.

Rose nodded hesitantly at the Duke’s words.

“Shall we go see the department store site? Or should we decide on the brand first?”

“Ah… I’ve thought about it.”

Rose carefully opened her mouth and continued, “Actually, I scouted someone who could lead the department store business. So, I thought it might be good to do this part together with that person.”

The calm expression on the Duke’s face darkened.

Working with someone else and not him?

Actually, the Duke was better off not getting involved in Rose’s affairs. He was pouring all his strength into estate matters day and night, so he had no time.

He had no choice but to help Rose. After all, he couldn’t just throw away 10 billion res.

However, when he heard Rose say she wanted to work with someone else, it felt strange.

“Thank you so much, Duke. But, I feel sorry for taking up your time.”

Rose politely expressed her concern in case the Duke might be upset.

“Who is this person?”

Artem Douma, trying to conceal his discomfort, asked. It didn’t hurt his pride, but strange emotions kept wriggling.

“He’s quite an expert in accounting and management. Truly a wonderful person.”
Rose smiled, thinking of Butler Gwyn. Then she showered praise on Gwyn.

However, not a single word of Rose’s compliments reached the Duke’s ears.

“A wonderful person?”

Is the person she’s working with a man?

Suddenly, he felt uneasy.

“I’m quite an expert when it comes to management too.”

The Duke was the lord leading the northern territory. Under his rule, the lives of the people in the north had improved significantly.

The Duke confidently highlighted his abilities. However, Rose awkwardly smiled at the Duke’s words.

“Well… but isn’t the operating cost in the north in the negative every year?”

At Rose’s straightforward question, the Duke momentarily lost words. He looked at Rose with confusion and then explained as if making an excuse.

“Well, it’s true, but the budget isn’t lacking.”

“You’re using your personal funds to fill the budget gaps, aren’t you, Your Grace?”

Embarrassed by Rose’s words, the Duke awkwardly cleared his throat.

The territory was in deficit every year.

The barren land in the north was like abandoned land until Duke Artem Douma took power.

The north was where the poorest people in the empire lived, pushed away by the expensive cost of living.

Duke Artem Douma transformed the neglected land into a place where people could live.

It was still far from self-sufficiency, but at least there was no starvation. The Duke used his personal funds to buy grain and distributed it.

‘He seems determined to take care of everything… If he wants profit, working with Gwyn is the best option.’

Rose, unaware of the Duke’s thoughts, simply thought he was someone with a strong desire for work.

Rather than entrusting the CFO position to the Duke, it was more stable to entrust it to Gwyn.

What Rose intended was not charity. Although the Duke had helped her, she couldn’t give him a position just for that reason.

She knew how to separate public and private matters.

Rose subtly drew a line with the Duke, saying, “With him, the probability of the department store operating at a deficit will surely decrease.”

Expressing clear refusal, the Duke felt a bit awkward. He calmly asked,

“He seems to have outstanding abilities, doesn’t he?”

“They say he’s a remarkable person who can revive a falling family at once.”

“Then, are you planning to choose the brand together with him? It might not be easy for an internal candidate.”

The Duke subtly threw words to find out the gender of the person Rose would work with.

“He is a man.”

Rose’s answer made the Duke’s expression stiff.

As he expected, the other person was a man.