Unlike Bernard Harold, this man seemed perceptive. While Bernard had been flustered and made a fuss, this man simply widened his eyes slightly upon realizing our noble status but quickly regained his composure.
“What brings the noble lord and lady to a place like this?”
“We’ve come to propose a business opportunity.”
Once again, it was Armin who answered. However, he then stepped back and gestured toward me.
“Not me, but this young lady.”
I liked him already. Unlike Bernard Harold, he didn’t laugh at my words. His eyes widened slightly in surprise, but his tone remained calm.
“Please, come inside.”
I had heard that the Poster Newspaper was the second-largest in the capital after the Harold Newspaper, yet the space he led us to was small and worn. It seemed to double as both a storage room and a reception area, with endless stacks of paper piled next to an old sofa. The air was filled with the familiar scent of ink and aged paper, almost like perfume.
Wiping his ink-stained hands on a cloth, the man finally spoke.
“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Poster. I’ve been running this newspaper, following in my father’s footsteps. You must have had a hard time coming all the way to this humble place.”
“No, the scenery was beautiful. I enjoyed it.”
“Young lady, I’m a commoner. You can speak casually to me.”
Perhaps due to my nerves, my inner “Korean etiquette girl” had surfaced. I quickly corrected myself with a nod.
“Ah, right. I mean… the scenery was beautiful. I liked it.”
Poster didn’t show much emotion. As soon as he sat down on the worn-out sofa, he got straight to the point.
“So, what kind of business proposal do you have? As you can see, this is a very small newspaper. Even if we were to work together, the profit would be minimal. To be honest, I can’t help but wonder if you mistook this place for the Harold Newspaper.”
There was no way I could tell him that I had just left the Harold Newspaper after being completely humiliated.
“No, I came here to propose this idea to the Poster Newspaper.”
According to Sasha’s research, the Poster Newspaper was run by this commoner named Poster, who had inherited the business from his father.
Sasha had referred to this place as the “tragic newspaper.” Ever since the Harold family became baronets, they had been using their noble status to steal Poster’s employees and monopolize paper suppliers.
As a mere commoner, Poster had no power to resist and was gradually stripped of everything by the Harold family.
However, the quality of Poster’s articles was far superior to Harold’s. Unlike the biased and shallow articles of the Harold Newspaper, Poster’s writing was objective and sincere, which was exactly why Sasha liked it so much.
I could feel that same sincerity and integrity radiating from Poster himself. For some reason, I had a feeling we would get along.
I carefully opened my mouth and began explaining the business idea I had been working so hard on. As I spoke, Poster’s expression changed little by little. It seemed difficult for him to grasp the concept, as it was something he had never heard of before.
But once I finished, he took a moment to think and then summarized my idea perfectly.
“So… what you’re saying is… you want to publish a long novel, little by little, in the newspaper every day. Is that correct? I’m not sure if I understood it right.”
Despite his humble words, he had grasped exactly what I was trying to say.
I nodded, and Poster fell deep into thought. I then took out the book I had brought with me and handed it to him.
“What is this?”
“It’s the novel I want to serialize in your newspaper.”
“May I take a look?”
Poster slowly opened the gold-embossed book with my permission. I knew exactly how captivating that book was.
As expected, Poster’s expression changed with every page he read. It reminded me of Sasha, who once secretly snuck into my room to read this very book and got caught.
Watching the large, middle-aged man completely absorbed in the novel was oddly entertaining. Noticing my amused gaze, Poster cleared his throat awkwardly.
“This is quite…”
“Interesting, right?”
“Yes, it’s definitely interesting. I’ve already read this much without realizing it.”
The business idea was solid. The only issue now was whether Poster would have the courage to take the leap as my partner.
“Could you give me some time to think?”
“What’s holding you back?”
“Can I be honest?”
Hesitantly, Poster opened up.
“To be honest, I’m dying to give it a try.”
“But?”
“But with the size of our newspaper, adding even one more page is difficult.”
“Ah…”
“On top of that, the recent forest fire has drastically reduced the number of trees we can cut down, causing paper prices to skyrocket.”
That was exactly what Sasha had pointed out earlier. Armin relayed Sasha’s findings to Poster.
“There’s information that paper made from trees in the northern region yields a higher output.”
“Anyone in the paper business has heard that rumor at least once.”
I thought it was a groundbreaking piece of information, but Poster didn’t seem the least bit surprised.
“The problem is, we’ve never transported wood from the north, so we have no idea how much additional cost that would incur.”
“Is that your only concern?”
“…Excuse me?”
“I’m asking if that’s the only thing that’s holding you back.”
“Well… that’s my biggest concern. But aside from that, I think your idea is truly innovative. And the novel you brought is genuinely captivating. To be honest, this is my first time reading a romance novel.”
I liked Poster’s straightforward and honest attitude. However, this was ultimately a business proposal. If it didn’t make money, it wouldn’t work. His concerns were realistic.
As I nodded in agreement, Armin suddenly spoke up.
“What if the Grey family fully covers all the expenses needed for this project?”
“…What?”
I thought Poster was the type who didn’t show much emotion, but I was wrong. Upon realizing Armin’s true identity and hearing the name of the Duke’s family, Poster’s eyes widened like a lantern.
“You said your only concern was the cost, right? Then there’s no problem. We want to partner with your newspaper.”
Poster jumped up from his seat. He seemed overwhelmed by Armin’s sudden offer.
“Why…?”
“Why, you ask?”
“Yes. Why are you making this offer to me instead of the Harold Newspaper?”
Armin looked at Poster with a calm expression, as if the answer was obvious.
“Because Vivian likes you. And that’s the most important thing for this business.”
With a cheerful smile, Armin added one more condition.
“Oh, and it’d be even better if you have the passion to crush Harold. We absolutely despise them.”
In this country, there’s not a soul who doesn’t know the name of the Grey Ducal Family. Just like the blacksmith from before, Poster’s eyes were filled with disbelief, as if he couldn’t trust the sudden stroke of luck that had come his way.
However, that disbelief slowly turned into joy. Especially when Armin mentioned crushing the “Harold,” a spark ignited in Poster’s eyes.
Knowing what Harold had done to the Poster Newspaper, I could understand why he was burning with determination.
“For now… let’s proceed without increasing the number of pages.”
“Is that even possible?”
I stared at Poster in surprise.
Unlike his bear-like demeanor from earlier, there was now a sharp glint in his eyes that completely changed his impression. The way he looked at me had changed as well.
Until just moments ago, he had treated me with the kindness one would show to a noble lady. But now, he was looking at me with something close to admiration. It was clear he was deeply moved by the fact that I chose his newspaper and not Harold’s, all because I genuinely liked him.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the intense gaze, I simply nodded as Poster spoke passionately.
“I’ll make it work. If we reduce the font size a little, we can free up about half a page.”
“Wow…”
I couldn’t help but let out a breath of awe as I realized that my idea was slowly starting to take shape.
“Give me some time. I’ll prepare a sample by next week.”
“Great. Then I’ll send a carriage next week. Bring the sample to the Roha estate, and we’ll finalize the contract there.”
“A carriage? Oh, no, that’s unnecessary.”
Poster hurriedly declined Armin’s offer. He was clearly uncomfortable with the idea of a commoner like himself riding in a luxurious carriage of a noble.
But as always, the winner in the end was Armin.
As Poster came out to see us off, he suddenly called out to me as I was about to step into the carriage.
“Um… Thank you, miss.”
“Huh?”
“Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”
“Ah… Well…”
Honestly, I didn’t have any grand intentions. If Bernard Harold hadn’t been so arrogant, I wouldn’t have come all the way here in the first place.
Poster’s sincere gratitude made me feel oddly uncomfortable.
It reminded me of the humble life I had long forgotten.
Only a commoner can truly understand the heart of another commoner.
Armin would never understand the emotions Poster was feeling right now.
Passion is a contagious emotion.
Seeing Poster’s burning determination ignited a sense of responsibility within me.
I had to make this business a success.
