Chapter 204
Chapter 204
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Crushing the Roses
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"...The businesses and fields you bought from me are exactly the same."
"That's right."
"Were you thinking of this from the very beginning when you sold them?"
"Of course."
I handed Ivana a few documents while having that conversation.
Until now, I'd kept it hidden, but now it was time to reveal it.
For Ivana, the Rose Family wasn't really worth paying attention to anyway, and as long as she profited from the businesses, that was enough.
On top of that, I could build a good relationship with Ivana and give the Rose Family brats a proper thrashing as a bonus.
In the end, it was mutual benefit, wasn't it?
Anyway.
"What I'm asking of you, Miss Ivana, isn't anything major. Just make sure the businesses the Rose Family started recently can never succeed. That's all."
That was my ultimate goal.
Helping Ivana with her succession as Family Head was part of it, but attacking the Roses was the main objective.
All the recent meetings with her amid piles of work had been for this single purpose.
"It shouldn't be too difficult."
"Right."
"Most of the businesses I got from you overlap with the Rose Family's, and the scale is so much larger. We can just bulldoze them with sheer force."
"Even then, it's just dealing with a family weaker than most viscount houses, let alone a proper count family."
"And it's all the Rose Family's own doing."
"Pfft...."
Maybe because we'd talked about business so often before.
Ivana and I really clicked when it came to conversation.
As the daughter of a duke, she knew the ins and outs of other families well, and even setting that aside, we just meshed well.
"The Rose Family is practically too low-class to even be called a count family anymore."
"With only one person from a count family managing to break into the capital."
"Aside from that, the family itself is just too outdated. Even though Christina Rose, the eldest daughter, is doing her best to lead it, there's no real substance."
"You're scaring me a little, saying that, Miss Ivana."
What I did and what a duke's daughter like Ivana did were different.
Of course, I didn't argue against her words.
Because they were true.
She wasn't really running businesses with her own abilities; it was basically no different from whoring herself out.
From my perspective, having run businesses since I was eight, it just seemed like a stupid method.
Especially the dumbest way to lead a once-mighty count family.
"Is that so?"
"You have a subtly intimidating look, Miss Ivana."
"Uh...."
It was more accurate to say she looked coldly beautiful, but that amounted to the same thing.
I just said it honestly.
"Is that true...?"
Hearing that, Ivana reacted as if she felt a bit regretful.
Separate from my honesty, it seemed she didn't like hearing about her appearance described this way.
But it was a fact that she looked intimidating.
Pretty or not, if a baby saw Ivana's face for the first time, it might get a little scared.
Seriously.
"Well, I can't say it's not."
But I didn't retract my words on purpose and kept going.
Because backing off now and saying otherwise wouldn't help anyway.
Having pointed out her flaw so directly, suddenly denying it would just hurt her feelings more.
Here, I needed to proceed slowly.
"Your look is on the really cold side, isn't it, Miss Ivana? Your eyes are red, your hair is pure white—it gives off a pretty icy vibe."
"...Is that so."
"Yes, it is."
Ivana gave the same reaction.
One thing I'd learned about her since our academy days was that she was cuter than she seemed.
She was from the North but liked warm things, subtly enjoyed cute stuff, and her usually expressionless face showed emotions more than you'd think.
Despite her cold appearance, she had surprisingly many similarities to other girls.
Of course, her looks were cold—that much was true.
"But you're incredibly beautiful, Miss Ivana. Doesn't that make it fine?"
"More than just having a cold look...."
"Why?"
"I just personally don't like my impression."
"Hmm...."
That much?
Back then and even now... Ivana seemed unaware of her own appearance in unexpected ways.
Like with the chest talk before, or now with her impression.
People born with it from the start were frustratingly oblivious about this stuff.
Of course, I was born pretty too, but remembering my past life made me even more grateful for it.
Listening to Ivana point out her own appearance flaws made it hard for me to understand.
"But I really like your looks, Miss Ivana."
"...?"
So I gave her that compliment.
Not an objective one, but a subjective one.
From talking to lots of girls, I knew compliments infused with personal feelings always went over well.
I'd chatted with so many girls, and all my close friends were girls, so I naturally knew this well.
"I like the cold impression too, and beyond that, I really like pretty people like you, Miss Ivana."
"Uh... is that so...?"
"Liking pretty things is just natural, right?"
I'd always really liked pretty things.
Jewels and nice clothes were great, but they couldn't compare to a pretty person's looks.
"Th.... Um...."
"Why?"
"...Nothing."
"Don't you prefer pretty things over ugly ones too, Miss Ivana?"
I just asked.
Because it was obvious.
Everyone in the world preferred pretty over ugly, and I just liked it a bit more than average.
Worship of beauty had existed long before I was born.
"No?"
"If I had to choose... I'd prefer pretty things...?"
"Pfft.... See?"
"...Yes."
Ivana finally admitted it.
Yeah, everyone was like that.
"Anyway, the conclusion is you're incredibly pretty, Miss Ivana."
"...Got it."
"I'm serious."
"...Yes."
She looked like she didn't quite believe me.
But in this situation, there wasn't much to make her truly believe it.
We were in a room cafe, just the two of us.
"What's wrong?"
"Hm... just...."
I moved closer to Ivana.
It was funny and fun how this happened almost every time we came to a room cafe, but...
In the end, I only did this because Ivana was pretty.
If she weren't, there'd be no reason to discuss business with her so often, meet up, or build rapport.
I had plenty of other people to talk business with even without her.
"I'm the type who really likes pretty things."
I said that while getting very close to Ivana.
Up close, her beauty was even more striking.
Her skin was as white as her hair, if not more so, smooth and delicate—it stood out more, and her distinctive red eyes were clearer.
"That's why I meet you like this. Just the two of us."
"...Pardon?"
"If your looks weren't my type, I wouldn't have even invited you to join the club back at the academy."
"Why would that...."
"That's why everyone around me is pretty too. My maid Lize is honestly stunning, and everyone in the club was pretty."
.......
She couldn't refute my words.
Because it was true— all the girls around me were pretty.
The reason Lize kept serving as my maid, and why I stayed in touch with my academy friends, was precisely because they were pretty.
"I invited you to the club because I liked you, Miss Ivana, and that's why we keep meeting even after graduation."
"I see...."
"I didn't want to miss out on someone as pretty as you, Ivana."
"Why do you keep getting closer...."
"Because you're pretty."
"No...."
I kept talking while inching closer to Ivana.
By now, the distance between us was about a fist's width.
Ivana was leaning back little by little, but she hit the wall and couldn't retreat further.
Despite her looks, she had so many cute quirks.
"Don't like it?"
"I never said that.... It's just sudden."
"Then it's okay if I get a little closer?"
I asked for permission.
I couldn't just charge in recklessly like with Lize.
I'd been doing this since early childhood, but I hadn't done it often with Ivana.
At most, hugs—that was it. Nothing like what I'd done with Lize or Karen.
.......
Ivana nodded.
No one else would know the Nordal duke's daughter could look this cute.
.......
Probably no one would imagine her eyes trembling slightly when our gazes met like now.
Or her shoulders flinching when I placed my hand over hers.
Or her face flushing from embarrassment.
"Pfft...."
Others definitely wouldn't see or expect this.
And honestly, it made me happy that someone this pretty didn't reject me.
I liked girls, but the other girls, including Ivana, didn't like them for the same reasons I did.
Yet she didn't refuse me... which meant my looks were pretty enough to overcome that.