Chapter 83: I took away Yeju's first love.
10. It's too late to regret now.
The day after hearing the story, I headed to the boutique.
I saw Nivea yelling at someone in front of the store.
"How can you only bring half the goods? What is this nonsense!"
"I'm sorry, the carriage drivers on our side all quit... That's why I, the owner, had to come up here."
It seemed like more than just a simple issue.
Nivea and the carriage driver bowed their heads. Both of their faces were filled with worry.
Nivea looked around and then lowered her voice.
When I turned back, I saw the people from the Hunt family smiling meaningfully.
I quickly took the people inside.
Sitting in Nivea's office on the second floor, I asked for the details.
The transport company owner, Mario, explained the situation.
"There are two transport companies near the Sabon Islands, in Larance. The company I run and the one Giovanni runs. Just these two."
The company we contracted with was Mario's transport company.
We chose to contract with him purely because of the reasonable price.
Giovanni's company was suspicious due to its excessively low prices.
The products we handle are all high-value items, and the lower the wages, the less the drivers would care about the goods.
That's why we contracted with Mario's company, which offered a reasonable price.
"Giovanni's company doubled the wages. We don't have the means to match that..."
"So, the carriage drivers all quit and moved to his company."
He bowed his head, looking ashamed. I sighed briefly.
What could he do in such a situation?
"I'll go down and check it out. You don't need to worry, Lady."
I shook my head at Nivea's words.
"Actually, I have to go down there anyway, so I'll take care of it."
"Considering the amount, there must be someone backing Giovanni. I can handle it better than Nivea."
Besides, I planned to visit the Sabon Islands to select a location for the resort.
I set the date for my trip, leaving Nivea's concerns behind.
"Thank you, Lady, for coming to help us."
I comforted Mario, telling him not to worry too much, and sent him off.
"What do you plan to do?"
After he left, Nivea asked me.
"I have to go and try to persuade them."
"It won't be easy. This is about money, after all."
"They can't keep paying such high wages forever. Once Mario's company collapses, they'll likely return to the original wages..."
The real question was whether persuasion would work.
Starting such a price war showed that one side was determined to drive the other to ruin.
"If persuasion doesn't work, we'll have to think of another way."
It was a complicated issue, and I was worried it wouldn't be easily resolved.
Would there even be another way?
That day, I told my father that I would be going down to the south soon.
"To the Sabon Islands? Why suddenly to that rural area?"
"There's a problem with transportation, so I need to go check it out."
I explained to my father what had happened in Larance.
He shook his head, speechless at the price war.
"Hmm... Well, go and see. By the way, I heard the Duke is currently in the south."
There was only one man in the empire called the Duke.
"Yes. I heard he went down there on the Emperor's orders... He hasn't been seen since the recent turmoil."
I realized that Andrew, who always appeared to solve problems when they got big, hadn't been seen.
Tatiana was in a dire situation.
She was being criticized for her involvement in human trafficking and was receiving disapproving glares from within her family for allegedly forcing someone to commit a crime.
Trapped in a no-win situation, she was lying low, waiting for time to pass.
'As always, things will quiet down with time.'
Although the original's suppression power was weakening, the world was still friendly to Tatiana.
Of course, the problem was that she had crossed the line of acceptable behavior.
"Be careful in case you run into him."
My father's concern was singular.
He seemed worried that I might encounter that man and get caught up in another scandal.
I had been involved in quite a few malicious rumors over trivial matters.
For that reason, I had fought with Wilhelm many times before our engagement was broken.
"Will I meet him in such a vast place?"
In fact, there was no need to worry.
Malicious rumors always had Tatiana behind them.
There was a lot of talk about the Duke and his wife.
With Wilhelm also involved, the rumors weren't dying down easily.
Tatiana wasn't stupid enough to spread malicious rumors about me and Andrew in such a situation.
"I'll always go with Lily. Don't worry."
"I'll assign a few guards to you. Don't wander around alone."
The guards would be too noticeable.
I wanted to handle this trip quietly...
I'd have to keep them at a distance when I needed to work.
Father's face was full of distrust.
I smiled awkwardly and got up from my seat.
There was a lot to prepare.
The headmaster's loud welcome was a bit overwhelming.
'I heard Karina also received such a welcome.'
Just imagining how much she must have detested it made me chuckle.
Daniel wandered around the academy's campus, lost in memories.
Although it was a short time, living in the dormitory had freed him from the pressure of his noble family.
Here, he could be Daniel, not the heir of the Malphriion Dukedom.
Perhaps that's why he kept making choices he would never have made in his original self.
Lately, Daniel had been reflecting on how cruel he had been to Karina in the past.
He had lashed out at her with words that bordered on violence, revealing his ugly true self.
'I didn't know until Karina told me.'
Every time he saw her, he felt so ashamed that his face would burn.
And he gradually found Tatiana more and more burdensome, realizing how shallow and self-centered her words were.
'What kind of magic did she use?'
He had believed everything she said and given her everything.
But he couldn't do that anymore. He put all the contracts with Tatiana and the Gloucester Dukedom on hold.
'So, you've finally come to your senses.'
Thinking about what his father, who had been staying in the territory, had said recently, Daniel sighed.
Why had he made such a choice?
It seemed like everything was Tatiana's fault.
Sitting in a suitable spot, he looked at the documents he had received from the headmaster.
He had obtained a list of all the merchants who participated in the festival around the time he gave the bracelets to Tatiana and Karina.
He went through the names and items of the merchants who sold miscellaneous goods, trying to jog his memory.
'Maybe it's because it was so long ago.'
Strangely, the memory of that day was hazy.
He wasn't that young, only about ten years old, but he only remembered buying the bracelet.
He clearly remembered playing and buying other things, but...
He seemed to have gotten lost and wandered around somewhere nearby.
And he met someone he didn't know...
Suddenly, his headache worsened.
Daniel clutched his head with both hands and bent over.
A strange scene surfaced in his mind.
In a dark forest, young Daniel stood crying, having lost his way.
A kind woman helped Daniel.
She took his hand and led him to the edge of the forest, near the festival grounds.
She looked down at him and smiled.
Her face was blurry, as if shrouded in mist.
The woman took out a bracelet made of round beads from her pocket.
She seemed to have said that.
Daniel thought that if he gave it only to Karina, Tatiana would feel left out.
If he was going to give it, he wanted to give it fairly to both of them.
Otherwise, he didn't want to give it to anyone.
"I have one more friend!"
At young Daniel's words, the woman looked up at something.
She sighed and said something.
"I see, then there's nothing we can do. It must all be fate."
She looked at the bracelet for a moment, then held it in her hand.
A brief light burst from her clenched fist. When she opened her hand again, two identical bracelets lay on her palm.
Daniel bowed his head, excited at the thought of giving gifts to his friends.
The woman with blue eyes looked down at him.
She wore an enigmatic smile.
It was unclear whether she was happy or sad.
That was the extent of his memory.