Chapter 82: She Stole Yeoju's First Love
Alison dropped the newspaper.
The strange events she had suspected began to piece together like a puzzle.
"Alison, are you in there?"
It was her, who had never visited before except for morning check-ups over the years.
As the door opened, Tatyana entered with a resolute face.
The moment Alison saw her face, she felt a chill run through her head.
The loyalty she had held onto for so long vanished in an instant.
Instead, resentment and anger boiled up inside her.
"Um, um... everything in the article is a lie..."
The eyes of the woman who had always been confident were now trembling severely.
"I won't work for you anymore, whether it's a lie or the truth."
"Why, why are you doing this? You can't possibly believe that, can you?"
"I agreed to work under you for Robert. But Robert's case has resurfaced, and it wasn't even his fault."
"A-Alison. We've gotten along well, haven't we? That article was because Karina was jealous of us..."
"It's a different story. I couldn't protect anything I wanted to protect."
Friends, lovers, and their pride.
She had given up her future to protect these things, but now nothing remained.
"So there's no reason for me to stay by your side anymore."
"We're friends, right? You can stay by my side even if it's not for that."
Tatyana unconsciously touched her bracelet as she spoke.
I wish something would appear before my eyes!
"There are people who need my help more desperately than you. I'm sorry."
She thought of Robert and Eric, who had come to her for help a few days ago.
Both of their faces had aged significantly over the years, especially Robert's.
Alison took out the resignation letter she had written a few days ago and placed it on the desk.
"Thank you for everything, Lady Tatyana."
She said her goodbyes and gathered a few documents.
There was almost nothing to take, having wasted the past few years.
She passed by the bowed Grand Duchess and opened the door.
"If you leave now, you'll have to pay compensation."
Tatyana's voice came from behind, trembling with disbelief.
Alison walked forward without looking back.
She no longer felt any emotion towards her.
"Miss, Alison has arrived."
With the news I had been waiting for, I smiled and stood up.
"Please show her in. And send someone to contact Mr. Robert and Professor Foreman."
After Sasha left, Alison entered shortly after.
She greeted me with a solemn face.
"Thank you for your hospitality."
I offered her a cup of tea as she sat opposite me.
"I'm sorry for being too harsh that day."
"Don't worry about it. I don't mind. But I want to know why you changed your mind..."
I wanted to know more precisely if Tatyana could even affect the affection of an extra.
"It just felt off. Thinking about the Grand Duchess made me feel bad and upset. Then, recently, I didn't feel anything at all."
"It sounds like you were under a spell."
"Yes, it feels like I was under a spell."
Alison smiled bitterly at my words.
I explained my future plans to her while we drank tea.
The building site, necessary research materials, and equipment.
"But did Alison have the research materials that disappeared at the end?"
"No, I don't know why that rumor started, but I didn't take them."
Then who took the materials?
But if it was her, she would have used the materials as leverage to threaten them.
"Lady, Mr. Robert and Professor Foreman have arrived."
Lily's voice made Alison fidget nervously.
She was probably embarrassed and apologetic.
I smiled and took her hand.
"It'll be fine. The three of you are long-time friends."
Alison nodded resolutely at my words.
"It's my fault. I have to face it."
Soon, the door opened, and Robert and Eric entered.
Their expressions brightened when they saw Alison.
Eric, who sat to her right, patted her shoulder and laughed.
Alison's gaze turned to Robert, who had yet to sit down.
It was a natural reaction, given their past feelings and events.
Robert sighed deeply and spoke.
"Don't feel too guilty. We both thought what we were doing was best at the time."
"Y-Yes, thank you for saying that."
Robert sat down slightly across from her.
An awkward silence followed.
I stood up and looked at them.
"Talk among yourselves. I'll be back in a moment."
I nudged Pio, who was lying next to me.
I carried him out of the living room, pretending he was still asleep.
I quickly returned to my room and put Pio down.
"Did you see Alison's condition?"
[The distorted magic has mostly disappeared. How did you do that?]
Pio's eyes widened in surprise, and he wagged his tail and barked.
"I'm not sure, but it seems the distorted magic disappears when she's free from the bracelet's influence."
The problem was how to free her from the bracelet's influence.
Pio and I discussed various possibilities, but nothing concrete came up.
After some time, Lily came up and told me they were waiting in the living room.
When I went downstairs, the three of them stood up.
They looked quite serious, having had a deep conversation.
"You have something to tell me?"
They looked at each other and then spoke.
"We think we've found where the research materials are."
Surprisingly, the research materials were being kept by a friend of Professor Gregory.
"Professor Gregory said to only give them to you all when you were together."
"I'm sorry for the delay, Professor Wilson."
The three of them bowed apologetically.
The friendly Professor Wilson took out a box from inside his house and handed it to Robert.
It was quite heavy, causing Robert to stagger.
For the first time in a long while, smiles appeared on their usually stern faces.
Their faces were filled with hope for the future.
A few days later, Professor Foreman was dismissed.
The academy had intended to give him a pay cut, but due to the strong objections from the Gloucester Dukedom, one of the academy's major sponsors, he was dismissed.
"Things are progressing smoothly, aren't they?"
The boutique's profits were used to build a hospital.
The hospital was named 'Royal,' making it almost a charity project.
With the funding from the royal family and the profits from the business, the amount was sufficient.
'I might as well build it big.'
If we were going to build it, I wanted to make it the best.
To do that, we needed to expand the business.
I thought about the set products I had considered a few days ago. A simple set seemed insufficient.
I decided to create a set of products used by the elite of society.
"And we'll put their names on them."
Lily looked worried at my plan.
"Will they like that? They might not like using the same products as others."
Having their names on the set products would mean they were prominent in society.
Moreover, they would receive royalties for each sale, making it an attractive offer.
"Also, too many choices can be overwhelming for first-time customers."
Too many options can create pressure, leading some customers to leave without making a decision.
"It would be great to suggest this to such customers."
"Indeed, I've seen quite a few customers who were afraid to choose."
It would be a perfect solution for customers who feared making choices.
I spent the afternoon selecting people to name the sets.
In the late afternoon, Nivea suddenly visited.
"What's the matter? Why did you come so urgently?"
Her expression was not good, causing me to tense up.
"The items from the supplier are being delayed."
"Why? There's no reason for them to be delayed..."
Nivea drank the water Lily brought in one gulp.
"The carriage drivers refused to take our items."