Chapter 95: I took away Yeju's first love.
After taking the crystal orb from Wilhelm, I immediately went to find Andrew.
I shouted as I knocked on the door of the guest room where he was staying.
He was staying on the floor right below where I was.
When Andrew opened the door, he looked somewhat dazed.
Seeing the way he looked at me, as if he couldn't believe it, I felt a surge of annoyance.
"Don't look at me like that. I didn't come here because I wanted to. I came to ask if you know what your knight commander has done."
At my words, Andrew finally seemed to come to his senses.
I held the crystal orb in front of his eyes and said,
"He was secretly filming my private life."
His eyes widened in shock. I played the footage in front of him.
It showed Ethan and me talking.
"Is this what a knight commander representing the duchy should do? I will soon send a formal letter of protest."
After saying what I had to say, I turned around.
Whether Tatiana had ordered it or Andrew had, it was a story that had nothing to do with me.
I didn't want to be in the same place as him for a moment longer.
As I walked down the corridor, Juliet, who was staying on the same floor as Andrew, hurriedly closed her door. She must have seen us arguing.
I was furious, thinking about what more she would say about this.
The next day, Andrew came to see me with Wilhelm.
I greeted them with my mother.
Pio, who was at my feet, bared his teeth and growled when they appeared.
"Shh, you need to behave."
Pio quieted down at my mother's words but continued to glare at them, not lowering his guard.
"I apologize on behalf of the duchy for this incident."
Saying this, Andrew bowed.
It was a rare gesture for a royal.
However, it didn't seem particularly impressive to my mother or me.
"Does Sir Wilhelm look very sorry to you?"
My gaze turned to Wilhelm, who looked extremely dejected.
After hesitating, he knelt and bowed his head.
"I'm sorry. I failed to distinguish between what I should and shouldn't do as a knight."
It wasn't a satisfactory apology.
But I didn't press him further. After all, Tatiana must have been the one who ordered it.
Since he was bewitched by the bracelet, I could only sigh.
At this point, I wondered if there was anything more I could gain from them. In the midst of this, Andrew spoke up.
"This area is all part of the Hunt Marquessate's territory, and Sir Wilhelm is highly trusted. If you take him with you, you'll probably be able to handle your business more smoothly."
"Are you trying to pass Sir Wilhelm off to me now?"
I didn't want to get involved with them any further.
Andrew was already exhausting enough; having to deal with Wilhelm too felt like being burdened with a pile of luggage.
At that moment, Pio, who was at my feet, jumped onto my lap and said,
[The amount of distorted magic in him has clearly decreased. It's worth studying.]
I paused, about to reject Andrew's offer outright.
'Maybe he can help with the purification device.'
Mother also seemed intrigued by Pio's words.
"Alright. But in return, you have to do whatever I ask."
Mother and I looked at Wilhelm as if he were a juicy prey.
Feeling the danger, Wilhelm flinched and took a step back.
I sent a rejection letter to the Cassel family.
I had already obtained what I wanted, and I didn't want to be involved with Raymond anymore.
After receiving their confirmation that they would withdraw from the southern region, I called Mario back.
He looked haggard, having suffered quite a bit over the past few weeks.
"Thank you for your help, Lady."
"It wasn't anything special. So, how do you plan to run things from now on?"
"I used to rely on short-term contracts, but after this incident, I've decided to hire permanent staff to prevent such things from happening again."
The southern region had little potential for significant logistics development, so he had always relied on short-term contracts.
Mario's idea didn't seem bad.
"You'll be quite busy from now on, so don't worry too much."
Once the distorted magic is resolved and the seasonal stone mining begins, it will get incredibly busy.
Giovanni's commute was as refreshing as ever these days.
Seeing the beggars gathered in front of his shop, he felt a sense of self-worth.
Whistling, he headed to his office.
Strangely, it was quiet in front of the building.
Giovanni tilted his head and walked toward the entrance.
"Looks like someone new has moved in across the street."
It had been two weeks since he heard the rumor that Mario had fled after his business went bankrupt.
How disgusting it was to pretend to be kind while being a businessman.
'He really went bankrupt well.'
Trying to do business with a half-hearted good heart led to this.
Feeling satisfied, Giovanni opened the office door.
The employee sitting by the entrance jumped up and ran to him.
"Sir, something terrible has happened."
"What? I thought he ran away after going bankrupt, and now he's crawling back here?"
"They're putting up a new sign for 'Mario Logistics' right now."
Hearing this, Giovanni rushed outside to inspect the opposite building.
A new sign for 'Mario Logistics' was being hung.
"Damn it! Where did you crawl back from!"
He thought he had finally gotten rid of a thorn in his side!
Back in the office, he clenched his teeth and urgently called someone. He needed to contact the Cassel family immediately.
"Sir, someone from the Cassel family is here."
"Perfect timing. I was just about to contact them."
Giovanni hurriedly went down to the first floor of the building.
There, a charming man with red hair was waiting for him.
Unlike the others who had come before, his clothing was of high quality, making him stand out.
Giovanni, with his long experience as a businessman, sensed that this man held a high position in the family.
"Ah, please come in. You're from the Cassel family, right? I'm Giovanni, the owner of this place."
The man only smiled without saying much.
Giovanni felt annoyed by the man who didn't reveal his identity.
But he tried not to show it, forcing a smile and rubbing his palms together.
"Um, what brings you here...?"
The Cassel family rarely took the initiative to contact him.
Except for when they first proposed the deal.
"I'm here to inform you that our contract with Giovanni Logistics has been terminated."
Giovanni took a moment to understand.
"Exactly. We will no longer support Giovanni Logistics."
Ethan, with a polite smile, turned Giovanni's world upside down.
He was venting his frustration over Karina's decision to cut ties with the Cassel family.
'If that guy had just taken his time and not rushed into things...'
Such matters should be handled gradually.
While others took six months to a year to handle similar situations, Giovanni had done it in just two weeks.
In the end, the emperor found out, and he was worried about what sanctions he might face.
"Wh-What do you mean! You're pulling out now?"
"Your reckless expansion caught the emperor's attention. Now, the Cassel family is considering seeking compensation from you."
Giovanni's mouth dropped open at his words.
The emperor was interested in what was happening in this small town?
"Deal with it on your own from now on. Our goodwill ends here."
From the window on the first floor, the sound of people chattering could be heard.
"That bastard. He's going to go bankrupt soon, good for him."
"Ha, I'll see if my business improves if I change the direction I sleep in."
The curses were all from the coachmen he had ignored.
Giovanni slumped to the floor.
If the Cassel family didn't provide the funds, no one would work for his company.
The thought of imminent bankruptcy echoed in his mind like a prophecy.
Mario's business was easily resolved.
Those who had stood by Mario until the end were all hired as permanent employees.
When he posted an announcement to hire more coachmen in preparation for the seasonal stone transportation, many people applied.
Even those who had left him came back with sheepish faces.
"Sorry about that time. I didn't know Giovanni was such a guy..."
Mario welcomed them back without prejudice.
However, he didn't hire all of them as permanent employees.
He decided to test their diligence through a few short-term contracts first.
"Thank you for giving us another chance."
They weren't all satisfied, but they had no other choice.
Their experience at Giovanni's company had changed them.
"Now, if we can just safely mine the seasonal stones, we'll be done."
Mother, who had been dragging Wilhelm to the magic tower for research, finally came to visit.
"Many powerful mages have confirmed the strong waves."
Freya looked at Pio and told us what they had discovered.
"The distorted magic is a tangled, twisted form of overlapping magic. We don't know why yet."
Wilhelm, who had volunteered to be a test subject, was completely exhausted and slumped in a corner.
"Don't overwork yourself, Mother."
I couldn't look her in the eye, feeling guilty.
"Why are you apologizing? If you hadn't told us about what happened here, we might have faced a bigger problem. We should be the ones thanking you."
"I feel relieved to hear that."
"Right now, the elders are considering hanging your portrait in the center of the magic tower."
[Ahem. Don't forget my contribution! Put me in that portrait or something.]
We all burst into laughter at Pio's words.