Two-Faced Princess

‘What an amazing face!’

Count Aister was famously unaffected by beauty, but his momentary admiration was inevitable. The knight had clean skin, perfect features, and mysterious eyes. The beauty of the knight was just that great.

“Don’t mention it, Mrs. Eileen Idena.” He looked back at the woman after quickly getting his senses together.

“The name is correct, but I’m not married,” the woman answered frankly.

‘Seems like you don’t know much about business.’

It was better if his business opponent was much older and experienced. Wasn’t she just asking to get scammed if she showed how young and easy she was? He himself also took his title at a young age, so he knew it well.

“Then I should call you Lady Idena.” He spoke with basic courtesy, and the lady nodded. “Did you say you were from the Kingdom of Lamant? I heard you tried hard to meet me. You’ve got a pretty valuable connection.”

She found him through Lord Rafael, his mentor from his knight apprenticeship days. Rafael once served the previous emperor as the Imperial Knightly Order, but he moved to Ran Island after his retirement and became the swordsmanship teacher for nobles.

“Lord Rafael and my teacher have known each other for a long time. But I want you to keep it a secret from Lord Rafael as to how I came to you.”

“I’ve never let the secrets of my business partner slip out. You can count on me for that.”

“I highly respect you for having that principle.”

Perhaps not as young as he thought, the woman calmly earned his favor without losing her grace. It was not so common for people to earn it with their face hidden. The count felt a little sorry for not being able to accept her proposal.

“I’ve heard about your proposal. But we already have plans to sell the Dharmayu to another company. I’ve accepted this meeting as a means to honor Lord Raphael, but it will be difficult to change my mind. You’ve got the wrong timing and wrong competitor.” He concluded his words and briefly examined the woman’s response.

Even though her face was covered, she probably couldn’t hide her gestures.

But the woman before him nodded slightly, as if she had expected his answer. “Do you mean the Luwan Headquarters owned by Duchess Leifer?”

“…”

He was a little taken aback when the woman mentioned something that hadn’t yet been announced publicly. As it was common to keep secrets from each other until the contract signing, it was surprising that this outsider knew that.

“Rest assured, all your people are tight lipped.” The woman’s voice contained a smile.

“So the Duchess leaked the information?”

The lady did not answer this time, and he took that as an affirmation.

‘Is Luwan Headquarters this sloppy? Or is it because they are so powerful that it doesn’t matter even if they leak a little secret?’

He pondered inwardly, but carried through the conversation again as if nothing mattered.

“It’s too early to assume where you got that information from. But still, I can’t do business with you. If you’re going to get a large supply and distribution of the Dharmayu, the cost will be beyond your imagination.”

“If you say that after hearing my offer, I will leave my seat right away.”

“I don’t want to waste my time with you. As you might know, I don’t even spare my relatives when it comes to doing business. I think I’ve shown respect for Lord Raphael by explaining the situation directly to you.”

He thought that this courteous woman needed to learn a lot about the ways of the world. Wasn’t it just youthful foolishness to thoughtlessly arrive and negotiate about something that was highly impossible in the first place?

“You don’t seem to know much about the business ethics of this continent because you came from foreign land, but there is nothing more you can do here. When you start a business, you should aim for cheaper and smaller products…”

“Three times what Luwan offered.” The woman’s clear voice cut off his words. He, who was about to give her some more advice, blinked blankly.

‘What did I just hear?’

“Ah, that…you don’t seem to know… the price that the other party offered isn’t something that you can afford. Of course, I can’t tell you the details…”

“200,000 alegn gold coins for 10 years of monopoly.”

“What… How is that possible?”

When the exact amount of money offered by the duchess came out of the woman’s mouth, the count’s jaw dropped. Documents containing confidential information would have to have been revealed by the duchess or an imperial family member. But how the hell did this woman know?

‘Where the hell did she get that information from?’