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As soon as Rian arrived, he treated the words he heard as false rumors but was nervous because he thought something was going wrong.
The limp hurt his leg, and as soon as he climbed up the stairs and got to the second floor, he screamed.
“Harbert! Where’s Harbert?”
“When did you come?”
Fortunately, Harbert, surprised to hear his voice, quickly came out and greeted him. However, Rian still asked him without lowering his voice.
“What do you mean that woman is going to be the Grand Duchess? It’s a rumor, right?”
Harbert widened his eyes and quickly led Rian toward the office.
“Well, what do you mean by that woman? She’s the head, let’s go inside and talk.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Rian, who was furious, closed his mouth only after being aware of the gazes focused on them. Harbert sighed, looked at Rian, called a doctor, and took him into the office.
“Did you come without sending a message?”
Rian sat down in Harbert’s seat and rubbed his hurting legs continuously.
“Tell me about it, what are you talking about?”
Harbert felt the bitterness in his mouth when Rian cut him off. He was a little confused about where to start.
Even though he had seen it in person, it still didn’t feel real. However, it was true, and the situation in the merchant group was changing accordingly.
Rian touched a pile of documents with his feet and they collapsed. Then he looked at them.
“What’s this? You have so much work to do?”
“Yes, they’re all documents related to the Grand Duke. We are in charge of all the furniture, food ingredients, and external services used there. Of course, it’s still centered on the outer palace.”
“That much?”
“That’s right, it’s a big castle. Also, it is likely to be busier as it is easily connected to other aristocratic lands related to the Tertius family. The profits earned are substantial enough that I do not have to trade hallucinogens…”
“Harbert! That doesn’t mean you’re neglecting it now.”
When the story of “hallucinogens” came out, Rian growled in anger.
“No way. We’re all paying attention, but we’re that busy. That’s because the Grand Duke is giving us full strength.”
Harbert barely answered, clicking his tongue. Certainly, before that, he was also interested in hallucinogenic transactions. This was because the profits were significant enough to risk illegal transactions.
All countries on the continent had strictly banned individuals or merchant groups from trading hallucinogenic plants.
Although such illegal distribution was not only made by the Deniz merchants, Rian entered the distribution of hallucinogenic plants in earnest after becoming the representative of the Deniz merchants.
But now the situation had changed, not only was he uninterested, but he was also reluctant to do something.
“So why don’t you take care of your work for the time being? I needed a distribution channel anyway, one that isn’t through the Deniz merchants. It also has some places…”
“If I take charge of it myself, you can’t share any profits. Will that be okay?”
If the Grand Duke found out about this, they would not only lose their most valuable “legal customer” but it would also be impossible to avoid major punishment.
Harbert completely put it off to Rian, saying it was right.
“Wouldn’t it be okay? Of course, it would be.”
“What’s going on? You were so interested in money.”
“It’s because I’m really busy. I’ll help you if you need anything, so just let me know.”
“It’s okay, we can just do what we usually do. Just finish talking about it.”
Rubbing his mustache, Harbert simply replied,
“The rumor is true. Our head will be the hostess of that Grand Duchy now. She’s going to be a Grand Duchess.”
“What nonsense is that? I know. Where is our head? Dana is dead… She’s a fake.”
“No, she’s alive from now on. Even if it’s not real, it has to remain like that.”
Harbert, who was trying to match Rian’s words, said firmly with bright eyes. Then Rian kept quiet and stared at Harbert.
Harbert took a moment to breathe and spoke to him a little clearer.
“The Grand Duke wants it that way. He already knows she’s fake.”
“He knows… He does? Grand Duke Tertius? Hang on. He doesn’t know that I’m at the merchant group, does he?”
Harbert burst into laughter at that moment, and as soon as he recognized the danger, he shifted uncomfortably, looking at him. They were working together even if they hated the thought of it.
“He doesn’t know… But even if he did, he wouldn’t care. The Grand Duke knew though that she was fake, and ordered me to remain silent.”
Upon hearing that, Rian looked at Harbert with a puzzled expression for a moment. Rian, who had been organizing his thoughts for a while, raised his voice again as if he were surprised.
“The Grand Duke would really take her as the Grand Duchess? Not minding the government? How can he do that? Even if it’s Dana Deniz, she’s the daughter of a merchant… How does he know she’s fake?”
“She… So the stand-in we found is really amazing. How the ice-like Grand Duke was baked and boiled is a mystery. It’s a top secret in the castle.”
“Ha! No way, he’s famous for not being interested in women.”
Even if Rian didn’t know the Grand Duke in person, he was familiar with the lush rumors of society. The reason why many women envied him but couldn’t approach him was that the attitude of the Grand Duke was so cold.
Basic manners were kept politely, but other conversations or advances were avoided.
“Isn’t it terrifying to know what you know now? What… If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
Harbert recalled what happened a while ago.
The glare of Grand Duke Tertius looking at the woman. The way the Grand Duke’s servants treated her.
And finally, even the cool composure of the Grand Duke as he asked about the whereabouts of “Dana Deniz”. The direction all of this pointed to was clear.