Chapter 8

Those who praised Elzer’s beauty began to admire her even more when she made a dazzling debut in the central social circles. Because of this, even the imperial family took a great interest in the marquis’ household. However, the marquis never revealed who was behind this event.

Instead, people assumed that the official heir of the marquis’ family, Elzer, had orchestrated it and praised her brilliant mind as well.

‘What will happen this time? Will the marquis’ household… really survive?’

Recalling the past, Cecenia let out a small chuckle and lay down on her bed.

Perhaps because she had done it once before, preparing for business was quite smooth for Cecenia.

The money given by the butler was about the same amount as when she had previously bought up all the Hepria cotton.

If Elzer had known in advance, she would never have allowed it. But it seemed the marquis had secretly set aside this money for her. The fortunate thing was that, unlike in the past when she needed the marquis’ approval for every little decision, now she could act on her own judgment.

Back then, the butler handled the business in her stead since she was merely a proxy for the marquis. But this time, it was not the butler who helped her—it was Lisbet.

More precisely, it was Rohan, Lisbet’s older brother and the eldest son of her nanny.

Rohan was the nanny’s greatest source of sorrow.

So, Cecenia personally hired him.

‘In the past, the nanny had to endure losing two of her children at nearly the same time.’

When she was young, Cecenia had met Rohan a few times while visiting the nanny. He had been mischievous and full of energy. But from the time he turned ten, he never came to the marquis’ household again. Cecenia only learned the reason after she became empress.

Lisbet had rarely spoken about her brother back then, as if mentioning him was forbidden.

The truth was, Rohan was not the nanny’s biological son. He was an orphan abandoned at a very young age, whom the nanny had taken in. He had always been frail. The nanny had come across him while visiting an orphanage for charity work.

She had not planned to adopt a child, but something compelled her to take Rohan in.

Then, when Rohan turned ten, he discovered that he was not the nanny’s real son.

And, even more shocking, he was an illegitimate child of the Azwick Count family, renowned for their swordsmanship. Count Azwick had no heir to carry on the family name, so he sought out Rohan, the son of an unknown woman, and brought him into his household.

Thanks to this, Rohan learned swordsmanship and became a knight at a young age, but his life turned into a nightmare.

At first, Count Azwick treated him well since he had no other son. However, when the count’s wife later gave birth to a son, Rohan became an eyesore.

And that happened when Rohan was only thirteen years old. For over seven years, until he came of age, he endured hatred and constant threats to his life. Count Azwick feared that Rohan, a prodigy in swordsmanship, would become a threat to his younger son, so he decided to eliminate him.

‘When Rohan became a royal knight, the count’s anxiety escalated.’

The count tried poisoning him and sent him on dangerous missions, but Rohan survived each time. Eventually, when Rohan turned twenty, he returned to the nanny without saying a word about what he had endured.

But Count Azwick still saw him as a threat. He sent assassins to kill him, and when even the nanny’s life was put in danger, Rohan sacrificed himself to protect her.

‘Lisbet cried as she told me the story. The things Rohan went through… not even the nanny or Lisbet knew the full extent of his suffering.’

So, as soon as Rohan turned twenty, Cecenia sought him out and brought him to her side. She wasn’t sure if she could protect him, but she wanted to give him a chance at a different life.

Count Azwick had only started acting aggressively after Rohan became a royal knight. This time, if she kept him away from the royal knights, the danger would be minimized—at least, that was what Cecenia thought.

Perhaps because of all he had endured, the Rohan she met again was nothing like the mischievous boy she had once known.

‘I feel bad for making someone with such natural talent in swordsmanship put down his blade… but it was necessary for everything to work out. Still, he managed the business perfectly.’

With Rohan and Lisbet’s help, Cecenia established her business.

She named it “Iar Trading Company” after her late mother, the former marchioness. She took the position of owner, while Rohan became the butler and manager. Lisbet, being tied to the marquis’ family, could not be included.

Cecenia immediately moved forward with the business.

She used half of the money given by the marquis to purchase Hepria cotton and secured a well-ventilated warehouse with ample sunlight. This time, she didn’t buy firewood. Instead, she headed for the slave market.

‘For my future.’

In this life, she planned to break off her engagement with the crown prince. However, it wasn’t something she could do recklessly or immediately.

The crown prince wanted to be emperor. That was why he refused to annul their engagement. So, she planned to let him believe he had a chance at the throne—only to crush him completely.

She would put someone else on the throne.

To destroy both the crown prince and her former friend, Prince Ian, she needed a new candidate for emperor. And so, she decided to raise one herself.

Not the crown prince who was destined to become emperor, nor Ian, who would eventually betray her, but the emperor’s unknown son. That was the person she intended to bring to her side.

A week had passed since the business began. After the weekly family dinner, Cecenia secretly headed to the slave market, accompanied by Rohan and Lisbet.

Though she could go out freely now, she didn’t want anyone to know she was going there, so she wore a hood and walked quietly with her companions.

“Miss, why are we suddenly going to the slave market?”

“To increase our workforce.”

“But buying slaves is a bit…”

“Right. It isn’t, is it?”

“No.”

Lisbet nodded firmly.

“But I’m not buying slaves.”

“You’re going to the slave market but not to buy slaves?”

“Lisbet, Miss Cecenia must have her reasons.”

Rohan stopped his sister and moved closer to Cecenia.

“Brother, don’t you worry about her at all?”

“I worry, which is why I’m keeping quiet.”

“…What? You’ve been acting weird lately.”

Lisbet looked at her brother in disbelief and shook her head. But Rohan remained firm, as if he was determined to support Cecenia no matter what she did.

Yet, Cecenia still couldn’t fully trust people. Ian had betrayed her once. She despised people. Even so, being with Rohan and Lisbet made her feel comfortable.

Perhaps that was why, without realizing it, she smiled more naturally than ever before. And Lisbet, noticing the change, simply smiled as well.