Chapter 16
“Ha, seriously. Seriously. This was the chance, it was this time…!”
“Don’t worry. We still have a long way to go, right? Well… thanks to this, most of the money that the proud Marquis family had is gone… so you’ll have less money than me. But still, cheer up!”
Cecenia patted Elzer on the shoulder.
Elzer, who was trembling violently, couldn’t even push Cecenia’s hand away. Seeing Elzer like that, Cecenia smirked with a slightly pitying expression.
“Ah. And thank you.”
“What? Are you thanking me for going bankrupt? Are you playing with me right now?”
“No, in my past life, I couldn’t advertise properly, so the price didn’t go up as much as I expected. But this time, thanks to you spreading the word, I already expect much more profit than before. So, thank you.”
“Hey!”
“Well then, I’ll be heading out now. I have some business partners to meet. I hope you take good care of the cotton.”
Cecenia walked toward the door, then turned around and waved.
“Don’t forget to close my door properly when you leave. And don’t stay in there too long. If you spend too much time in your younger sibling’s room, people will get suspicious, so search around moderately and then leave~”
“Do you think I’m a thief?! That damn woman, that… that damn…!!”
Elzer’s furious scream rang out behind her. Instead of being bothered, Cecenia felt a refreshing sense of relief.
‘That feels good.’
Once outside, Cecenia hardened her expression.
There’s no guarantee that everything will go according to plan.
‘I can’t do things exactly like in the past. Elzer will try to take everything for herself, no matter what. This time, I was lucky with the Hepria cotton, but…’
Next time, she might not be so lucky. No matter what, defeating Elzer, who had the backing of the Marquis family, was no easy task. Although this incident would deal a heavy blow to the Marquis family, the difference between having their name and not having it was still significant.
In the past, when Cecenia secretly ran businesses, Elzer had been too occupied with social circles after the Hepria cotton success to notice. She only knew that Cecenia had bought and sold various things successfully, but not the details.
‘What should I do next?’
Until spring, the empire had no major events. Both Elzer and Cecenia knew this. That meant Elzer would try to recover her losses by dragging past events into the present.
Because she would lose the Marquis’s trust due to this incident.
‘Elzer will definitely try to seize something from the future. But I won’t make it easy for her.’
No matter what happens, she could prepare for it. After all, she wasn’t the only one who knew the future.
What gave Cecenia the upper hand was experience—she had already done it before. Knowing the future and having actually executed something were two very different things. Running a business ultimately meant expanding one’s perspective. While she was behind Elzer in the social scene, when it came to other matters in the empire, she was more knowledgeable than anyone else.
‘That’s what helped me the most.’
Meanwhile, Lisbet laughed excitedly like a child.
“Miss, that was so satisfying. This time, the promotion went well, so we’ll sell at a much higher price than before, right? Let’s hurry to your brother.”
Only Cecenia, Lisbet, and Elzer had been in that room. Cecenia glanced at Lisbet, feeling a strange sense of unease. Despite hearing everything they said, Lisbet didn’t find anything unusual.
‘I kept her around just in case, but…’
Anyone else would have found the conversation between Cecenia and Elzer suspicious. They spoke as if they knew exactly how things would unfold. But that wasn’t the only strange thing.
Lisbet’s words right now were odd too.
Lisbet had been acting strangely for some time. When Cecenia first regained consciousness in this time, Lisbet had mentioned something—‘regression.’ Most people wouldn’t use such a word, but Lisbet had casually slipped it into conversation, as if testing her.
At the time, Cecenia had been too disoriented to think about it. But now, she had a strange feeling. Occasionally, Lisbet gave off a vibe similar to Elzer.
Could she have returned in time as well?
“Lisbet.”
“Yes?”
“Never mind.”
Cecenia had been about to ask but quickly shook her head.
It couldn’t be. If Lisbet had also returned in time, then wouldn’t that mean everyone who had died had come back? Cecenia forced herself to erase such thoughts and walked briskly.
Riding in the Marquis family’s carriage, they arrived at the Iar Trading Company. On the surface, it looked like a quaint shop selling trinkets, but its real merchandise was far different.
“Rohan.”
“My lady.”
Expecting to see Rohan, she instead found Teddy. With long bangs nearly covering his eyes, Teddy flinched slightly upon seeing Cecenia.
“Teddy, you’re here?”
“Yes… Sir Rohan brought me.”
“You’ve gotten prettier.”
“Me… pretty?”
Teddy stared at her. His golden eyes, peeking through his overgrown bangs, looked strangely delicate.
“Yes. You stayed without running away, right? That’s why you’re pretty.”
“How could I run away when my lady is here?”
“That’s right. Don’t run away. I’ll take good care of you.”
“Yes. Please don’t abandon me. Raise me properly.”
“Sure, sure. I heard you’ve been reading a lot lately.”
“Yes. I read all the books you sent me.”
He was like delicate paper. Completely different from the raw and unrefined Teddy she had known before. Back then, people described him as a wild beast. But now, he resembled a loyal puppy.
Whenever he saw Cecenia, his face brightened slightly. His awkward attempts at smiling, as if he wasn’t used to it, looked strangely endearing.
“Good job.”
“When this is over… you won’t abandon me, right? I’ll work hard at anything, so please don’t throw me away.”
The way he had initially acted sharply toward her, speaking in a forced informal tone while trembling like a frightened hedgehog—that was probably the Teddy others had known from rumors.
“No. I have another job for you next.”
“I’ll do anything.”
“Alright.”
At that moment, someone hurried down the stairs. It was Rohan, dressed like a merchant rather than a knight, holding a ledger in his arms.
“How’s it going? Looks like Elzer’s cotton is completely ruined.”
“Yes. We’re securing buyers. Thanks to Lady Elzer’s promotion, demand has skyrocketed.”
“Once word spreads that her cotton is ruined, even more people will flock to us.”
“I will ensure sales are spread out over time.”
“Good. But we need to move the goods.”
Rohan frowned slightly.
“All of them?”
“Yes. Something might happen. Prioritize quick sales over high prices. Also, for the next week, make buyers sign a confidentiality agreement about their purchases.”
“Understood.”
After giving more orders, Cecenia smirked at Rohan’s concerned expression.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere dangerous.”
“Miss!”
“Let’s go, Lisbet. Teddy, carry the goods. We need a porter.”
“Yes!”
As they left, Cecenia gave their next destination: an orphanage—the poorest one in the empire.
