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“It’s so nice to personally see you, Lady Cecil! How long has it been since the two of us had an intimate conversation?”

With both elbows on the table, Louise leaned forward and laughed. Then, she peeked at the teapot and teacup in front of her.

‘Is this it?’

Damia was so anxious that she kept an eye on Louise’s every move.

Her eyes strained to see if she was putting anything in the tea.

“·····Oh, before we talk about business….”

Sure enough, Louise’s white and thin hands headed to the teapot.

Seeing this, Damia reflexively rose her body halfway.

But the next moment, Louise’s actions were completely unexpected.

Plop—

Louise’s arms outstretched, pushed the teapot and teacup away without hesitation. And on the empty table, she spread out a plethora of documents she had brought with her.

“·····Miss Louise?”

“Of course, it would be nice to talk leisurely over tea.”

Louise paused and smirked, one corner of her mouth lifted.

As if Cecil’s anxiety was amusing.

“I’m a little busy today. I hope you can focus more on work than on tea. It’s okay, right?”

Louise repeatedly urged her to finish it quickly. Dazed by this, Cecil was pushed back by her urgent impetus and accepted the task Louise gave her.

“Well, let’s decide on this year’s mineral delivery price first. According to this data, the recent mineral market price in the capital….”

Louise went straight into work. Cecil, who knew she planned to drug her, was dumbfounded. However, as Louise continued to discuss business, she began to concentrate on commerce at some point.

“Wait! No matter how high inflation and prices in the capital have risen—raising the delivery price by 15 percent is rubbish!!”

Cecil was also serious about the family’s business. She quickly went into negotiation mode, furious at the unit price Louise offered.

It was clever of Louise to completely remove the teapot from the table. When the object of her fear disappeared, Cecil was no longer apprehensive.

‘You can’t do this.’

Meanwhile, Damia, who was watching the situation from the other room through the peephole, became uneasy. She stared at Louise’s face.

It was impossible to relax. If Louise didn’t drug the tea she might try another tactic. Damia was scared to blink too much, so she kept her eyes wide on Louise until her dry eyes forced her eyelids to blink. But Louise really just kept talking about business. As if she was someone without ulterior motives.

“······ Good. Let’s do that then, this year.”

After two hours of bloody negotiations with Cecil, she finally agreed to a set price. Then she stamped a seal on the contract.

“It’s a good deal. I enjoyed it.”

Louise, who took a copy of the stamped contract, raised her body abruptly. Thanks to this, the table shook, and the teapot pushed into the corner rattled.

Seeing this, Cecil’s face belatedly showed signs of ‘Oops! I was so absorbed in talking about the business that I forgot to be wary of Louise for a moment.’

Indeed, Louise didn’t show any suspicious behavior.

Just like now.

“Then I’ll get going because I’m busy. I look forward to our contract this year, Lady Cecil.”

Without saying anything, Louise left. There was no hesitation in her departure.

Cecil, left behind, stiffened with embarrassment.

The Louise she knew wouldn’t leave her alone and was always gossiping, making her sick and tired of people.

However, today, when she had anticipated much to happen, other than work Louise had coolly left.

“······What is going on?”

Cecil muttered as she looked at the cold teapot.

Then Damia, who was rubbing her tired eyes over the wall, also agreed discreetly.

“Right?”

Did Cesare give Louise a suggestion in advance? If that were the case, only then could she understand this situation.

Cesare had been hiding as if he had not returned from the High Temple. However, if Louise was on his side, she was more likely to have secretly contacted him.

‘Yeah. Maybe that’s it.’

Cesare was not a fool.

If he realized Damia had discovered the cards he had prepared, he wouldn’t have played his hand.

“Haaaaaa.”

Only then did Damia release a deep breath, releasing the tension in her body, feeling deeply relieved. Her stiff shoulders dropped.

She had made a mistake, this was all in vain but she didn’t regret it. Thanks to this, she confirmed with her own eyes that Cecil was safe.

‘I’m glad nothing happened.’

However, Damia was ignorant of the fact that there was a ‘real’ gift awaiting her from Cesare.

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