"Are you telling me to understand Layla, the one who framed me and hurt herself just to get me kicked out?"
Just a moment ago, I didn't feel much about the situation, but now my emotions were twisting.
Whether he supported Layla or kicked her out didn't matter to me.
But telling me to understand her? That was something I just couldn't accept.
What does he want from me?
'Ah, maybe…' Does he want me to forgive her, since she's probably at her family's estate, being "disciplined"?
A hollow laugh escaped my lips.
"I don't care whether you believe in Layla or not. But—"
I looked straight at Kallion and continued,
"Don't force me to understand or forgive her. That's an absurd demand."
The cold hostility in my eyes made Kallion's expression stiffen.
"I'm not saying Layla didn't do anything wrong. I'm just saying—if you want to be a part of the Valdormer family, you should try to understand their perspective too."
I let out a bitter laugh.
"Then what about my perspective?"
When I asked, unable to hide my frustration, Kallion let out a light sigh.
"Didn't you say you wanted to be recognized as the lady of Valdormer?"
I did. But only because I needed to uncover who was behind Denian's murder.
Looking at my hardened face, Kallion ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
"I only meant that, to be the lady of Valdormer, you need to embrace the people of the household too."
He said it like it was some kind of wise advice, wearing a serious face.
But to me, Valdormer was nothing more than a stepping stone to get to Denian.
Nothing more, nothing less.
"I'll keep that advice in mind."
I replied calmly on purpose and gave him a polite smile.
Then, showing that I had nothing more to say or hear, I stood up.
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."
***
After Yuliana left, Kallion ran a hand over his face in frustration.
'This wasn't what I meant to do…'
He had only wanted to apologize for doubting her.
He just hoped she could get along with his household members.
Even if not for Layla, many people looked down on her simply because she was the daughter of Heister.
But his words only made Yuliana look even colder and more distant.
Like she never wanted to speak to him again.
Recalling her cold, scornful gaze, Kallion roughly brushed his hair back with a heavy sigh.
***
The day I was scheduled to meet the head of the Bas merchant group.
Normally, we exchanged letters for business, but today I had something to discuss in person.
When I entered the merchant building, a staff member was already waiting and led me to the room.
"I've been waiting for you, Madam."
Bas Donaldo greeted me warmly with open arms. I gave only a slight nod in return.
Awkwardly, he lowered his hands.
"It's been a while since we met in person. I was so shocked when you went missing recently."
It seemed he was trying to distract me with small talk, so I cut in sharply.
"Let's get to the point."
Bas let out a sheepish laugh and wiped some sweat from his brow.
Then, he finally brought up the real topic.
"It's about the bark of the vendel pine. The price has gone up a lot. I think it might be time to sell it."
He meant the pine bark we had bought from the Heloica region, where the orphanage was located.
The price had indeed risen a bit, but once the royal family started controlling the vendel pine region, the price would skyrocket.
"Not yet."
I firmly rejected his suggestion, and Bas held his head in frustration.
"I just don't get what you're thinking. Honestly, when you told us to buy what was basically trash, I didn't understand it."
He took a long sip of tea, looking stressed.
"I mean, sure, it's doubled in price, but it's just pine bark. How expensive can that get? I think we've hit the peak now."
He tried to convince me, but I just stared at him silently.
He wasn't entirely wrong.
Right now, vendel pine bark was nearly worthless—used mainly by poor people to make tea.
But soon, its medicinal value would be recognized, especially for a rare disease common among nobles.
The royal family would promote it heavily, and once they controlled the vendel region, no one would be able to get it.
Right now, the price had doubled. But if we waited, it would go up 20, maybe even 50 times.
I pulled out a pouch with all the money I had received as my noble allowance and handed it to him.
"Use this to buy up all the pine bark you can."
"Huh? You want me to buy more at this already-high price?"
"Yes."
"But wouldn't that be a loss? Maybe we should wait for the price to drop a bit…"
"We need to buy now."
Because the price will only keep rising from here.
At my firm tone, Bas sighed in defeat and accepted the money pouch.
"Alright. If that's what you want, I'll follow."
As I watched him tuck the pouch into his coat, I smiled.
Soon, both I and the Bas merchant group would be swimming in profits.
Of course, I planned to donate some of the profit to the Heloica orphanage that supplied the bark.
We'd still have more than enough money left.
"You're paying Heloica fairly, right?"
"Yes, of course."
Even though the buying price was still low, it was already a great source of income for the poor people there.
To them, vendel pine wasn't even good for building—it was useless.
By the time the royal family finished monopolizing the region, they wouldn't be able to get any real value out of it.
So, buying as much as possible now was the best for both sides.
And the profits from this would become the foundation for the future I planned to build with Denian.
"Well, I'll be counting on you."
I stood up with a smile after wrapping up the discussion.
"Yes, ma'am."
As I was walking toward the door, something popped into my mind. I turned back.
Bas blinked, wondering if I had more instructions.
I smiled and said,
"You should try boiling and drinking some of it too."
He would need to stay healthy if he wanted to keep running the business when things exploded.
"Huh? Uh… okay, I will."
Bas looked confused but nodded.
I gave him one last smile before walking out.
***
When I arrived back at the mansion, I ran into Kallion as if he had been waiting for me.
"Where have you been?"
He looked as anxious as a dog needing to go out, which made me sigh with annoyance.
Not bothering to hide my irritation, I replied,
"I went to see the Bas merchant group about next month's budget."
"I see…"
Even after I handed my coat to Kate, he hovered nervously.
I frowned.
"Do you have something to say?"
Kallion cleared his throat awkwardly and said,
"I was wondering if we could have dinner together… It's been a while."
I frowned, but then remembered—I didn't have many nights left to spend with him.
I couldn't forget my purpose here.
"Alright."
***
And so we sat down to dinner.
An awkward silence filled the table.
After a long pause, Kallion suddenly brought up an unexpected topic.
"…You know that my mother passed away, right?"
His sudden words made my shoulders tense.
He had never spoken about his mother before—not even once.
I stared at him, surprised. After a long silence, he slowly opened his mouth again.
"She died when I was eight… trying to protect me."
I knew he lost his mother when he was young, but I didn't realize it was that young.
I looked at him in a daze, but then he continued bitterly.
"She was killed by an assassin… sent by Heister."