“Erin?”
Aiden couldn’t hide his slight surprise and delight at the unexpected visit.
“Come in.”
Aiden got up and approached Erin right away, then moved to sit on the sofa.
“Let’s call it a day for today.”
Simultaneously, he addressed the aides who had been seated until then. Although the sky had darkened, they didn’t show any signs of leaving work, but got up from their seats.
After all the aides had withdrawn, leaving only the two of them, Erin opened her mouth to Aiden.
“Aiden, it’s about Lady Quiness’ divorce issue.”
“Yeah?”
“Can you tell me the current situation?”
“Of course.”
Aiden’s lips formed a smile as he started explaining in detail.
Negotiations regarding Lady Quiness’ divorce were already underway in secret.
Her assets were divided in two different places.
One part is in the empire, and the other is where she currently lives. Handling this property was the issue, and this part also required Aiden’s assistance.
“We are currently negotiating the division of assets with Duke Quiness. Once we reach an agreement there, we’ll have to negotiate with the Emperor regarding the assets within the empire.”
Aiden’s expression narrowed as he explained the current situation. It seemed like he was slightly uncomfortable, as if he had thought of someone.
“However, the problem is Duke Quiness’ greed.”
That was the biggest obstacle in the original work, too.
Duke Quiness didn’t want to bear any of the losses resulting from his divorce with her. In the end, Lady Quiness didn’t achieve a complete victory in the negotiation.
It was half a victory. Conversely, one could say it was half a defeat.
“Lady Quiness is willing to agree to this extent. The most important thing is the divorce.”
Aiden continued to explain her intentions. “It has been conveyed that she is willing to bear a certain amount of loss if it interferes with the divorce.”
Up to this point, the content was not much different from the original work.
“I don’t think it’s a big loss so I don’t feel too bad.”
“But it won’t compensate for Mrs. Quiness’ married life, will it?”
Erin said firmly.
If one were to consider her unhappy married life, Mrs. Quiness was in for a tremendous loss.
“But what Mrs. Quiness wants most is the divorce itself.”
That was why Erin had come to see him.
Erin looked directly into Aiden’s eyes and spoke.
“There is a way to avoid loss and even gain something in return.”
“……?”
Erin had found a way to secure a perfect victory. It involved Mrs. Quiness acquiring something that currently seemed to have no value by pretending to concede and step back. Erin pointed to two places on the negotiation list shown by Aiden.
The barren land.
“Among the properties under negotiation, the barren land, Penelron in this area.”
The mansion that seems to have no value.
“And the mansion near the border that the Duke of Quiness is trying to push off. Mrs. Quiness has to feign inevitable agreement regarding these two places.”
Erin spoke with confidence.
Especially, within a year, new vitality would return to Penelron.
In the past, Penelron had been an area with vineyards for making wine. However, it had fallen into disrepair as people left one by one, being outcompeted by the wines from the southern region, turning it into a barren land.
The problem was that severe drought had plagued the southern region afterward, leading to a decline in the quality of wine produced there. Hence, Penelron drew attention again for its excErint wine production.
In the original world of the story, the land remained abandoned until that time. Erin intended to leverage this.
“It will appear to anyone that Mrs. Quiness is the one suffering more if she takes over this land and the mansion. Therefore, the other party will agree promptly.”
“That makes sense. They look like places that currently seem to hold no value.”
Aiden did not question Erin’s seemingly empty words, but rather continued to think based on the premise that things would naturally turn out as she had outlined.
“Then, what value does this mansion have?”
Aiden asked about the mansion that seemed to have no value, not related to Penelron.
“I’ll tell you about that later.”
Erin responded with a meaningful smile.
In fact, this mansion held no value until the end in the original work. There was only a brief description of the mansion.
[The mansion was large enough to rival a royal palace, and upon closer inspection, there were traces that seemed to indicate considerable effort when it was first built. Particularly, exotic patterns and jewelry caught the eye. However, just as much time was abandoned, dust had accumulated, cobwebs had formed, and the overgrown courtyard was reminiscent of a deserted palace.]
This is what Erin had thought upon seeing it.
“It would be fun to turn this into a theme park.”
Erin had plans to revitalize the mansion that seemed to hold no value in a new way. But this was still a secret.
Aiden did not inquire further upon seeing Erin’s enthusiastic expression. He didn’t know what it was, but it seemed like Erin was having an exciting idea.
That sight was pleasing to see. It was cute to see Eiden’s eyes sparkle in response. Erin wanted to support Eiden wholeheartedly if that’s what she wanted. Eiden’s mouth curved up in a pleased smile.
“How did you know this place would change?” Eiden asked.
He wasn’t doubting Erin. He was just curious about Erin’s insight for recognizing things that no one else did from time to time. Then Erin smiled meaningfully and slowly spoke.
“I’m going to make it change like that. In as short as 3 years, or as long as 5 years, this place that seems to have nothing will become a completely different world.”
Erin said confidently.
***
After talking to Aiden about the division of the Quiness estate, Erin spent several days organizing a business plan for Penelon and the mansion. It was then when Mona brought a pile of letters to Erin.
“Another letter from the Zahard family,” Mona said.
“They seem to come quite often,” Erin remarked.
“Seems like the situation is not very good,” Mona added.
“That would be the case,” Erin said casually. There hadn’t been a single instance where the situation had been good.
Since the reception at the Zahard’s, their influence had been growing more and more over time. The only thing that had kept them afloat so far was the robust collaboration with Lienster that had continued since Erin’s marriage.
“Will you check it?” Mona asked.
Erin hesitated for a moment. She knew what the contents would be without having to check.
“Yeah, I’ll take a look,” Erin said, accepting the Zahard’s letter. It was time to start sorting out their relationship with the Zahard family.
In the days to come, Erin wanted to do anything she desired with Aiden without any hesitation. She didn’t want any hindrances. However, the Zahard family would undoubtedly be a continuous hindrance. As their influence grew, it was clear that they would try even harder to hold onto Lienster.
Erin, who was desperate to hold onto Aiden at that time, was easily swayed by the words of Helena Zahard, even though she was committed to grabbing hold of Aiden when she was at her wit’s end. ‘Right now, she can’t swing us around like that.’
But Helena Zahard was dangerous when the crisis came, and it was unclear what she would do. The actions of someone cornered to the very end were not easy to predict. The best thing would be for the Zahard family to return to their estate and live quietly, but it was doubtful whether they would do that.
The contents of the letter were as expected. “It’s already been ten years since our families have been together.
Ten years ago, the business that marked the beginning of the relationship between the Zahard and Lienster families, which is still thriving, seems to overlap with our family’s close relationship, which makes me proud.
If the two families continue to collaborate in the future, I believe that unprecedented good things will happen. Therefore, I believe that if we join in on the new business venture that Zahard is starting this time, it will bring us closer than ever before.
So, after a long time, with Zahard…”
The words were long, but the conclusion was ultimately one.
It meant investing in Zahard’s new business.
Erin was lost in thought for a moment.
“Should I take a look? They seem to be working so diligently on this business.”
“Really?”
Monah was surprised by Erin’s unexpected response and asked.
“Yeah.”
Erin nodded firmly and slyly lifted the corner of her mouth.
The current business that Zahard collaborated on was one of the Lienster elders’ businesses.
So if she were to align with the elders again this time…
‘Maybe it could be an opportunity to strike both sides at once.’
If she could undermine Zahard and cause significant losses to the elders’ business, it would also reduce their influence on Lienster.
For that purpose, meeting Zahard was reason enough.
Even though meeting him always made her uncomfortable and upset.
Erin had completed the letter she would send to Zahard without realizing it.
Aiden came by. He was already prepared to go out.
“Erin, shall we go now?”
Has it already become that time?
Today was the day they had agreed to go to the Palace of the Crown Prince together.
“Just a moment, I need to change into my dress. Wait…”
Erin hurriedly got up and began speaking, asking him to wait.
As Aiden approached, he embraced Erin’s waist and smiled.
In the sudden intimacy with Aiden, Erin’s head tilted slightly.
“But it’s probably just my imagination that it seems like I’ve seized an opportunity right now.”
As Erin had an impromptu thought, Aiden slowly spoke.
TL/N: Impromptu means something that is done without being planned, organized, or rehearsed.
“I’ll help you.”
“What…?”
Erin looked at him puzzled, and then as their eyes met, she understood.
Shifting her gaze to Mona standing behind Aiden, she quickly realized his intention and quietly stepped back.
“I can do it gently.”
Aiden tried to convince Erin as he locked eyes with her.
His blatant seduction naturally worked on Erin.
“Be careful not to mess up my hair.”
“Of course.”
Erin led Aiden to the dressing room.
While changing into the dress she had already chosen in the morning, Aiden carefully assisted her by her side.
The way he personally tied the ribbon around her waist was unbelievably gentle, as if he could understand Erin’s heart.
‘No, maybe it’s not the first time….’
Erin murmured to herself in her mind.
It was true that it was the first time he helped her put on a dress, but there had been instances of the opposite.
‘For example, on the bed….’
Erin chuckled softly to herself.
At that moment, Erin and Aiden’s eyes met.
As if time had stopped, Erin and Aiden’s faces drew closer as they gazed at each other for a long time.
In the end, Erin wore a different dress instead of the one she had prepared and left the mansion.
Mona noticed that Erin’s dress had changed, but she didn’t ask for the reason. She simply hurriedly helped Erin change because the new dress didn’t go well with the shoes and hat.
❤️