Chapter 4

At a distance, James Wharton, who had been watching Edward’s mood, felt his heart drop when he saw Edward’s face twisted in anger.

Edward’s temper was always unpredictable, but this was a level 5 danger signal.

‘He hadn’t reached level 5 in a while lately…’

James glared resentfully at the couple Edward was looking at, then shook his head.

His resentment toward the couple for making his boss angry and making it harder to please him quickly turned into sympathy for them.

‘What crime could those young people have committed? It’s all the boss’s unpredictable personality…’

“James!”

As he was silently offering his condolences to them, a sharp voice suddenly struck his ears like lightning.

In the brief moment James was lost in sympathy for the now-vanished couple, Edward had come right up to the carriage.

“Ah, yes! Sir.”

“Get in!”

“Yes!”

James, careful not to upset Edward, settled himself as far as possible toward the window, diagonally from Edward.

James Wharton was a highly capable secretary, constantly bombarded with scouting offers.

The only reason he endured the hardship of tiptoeing around Edward Wale, even when choosing his seat in the carriage, was the high salary.

He was paid five times the average compensation of top secretaries in the industry.

So, no matter how miserable his situation, he couldn’t leave Edward Wale.

Unlike Edward, who would never be able to start a family with that temper, James had a bear-like wife and rabbit-like children.

“Why are you sitting there? Sit directly in front of me! So I can see your face at the shortest distance!”

At Edward’s command, James sprang up and moved to the center seat.

“Tertz! Look into the Tertz Newspaper. You said earlier you didn’t know it? How can a man who gets paid five times the salary not know the name of a newspaper? Try to find a secretary who knows things like this!”

Edward was as diligent about boasting how well he treated his staff as he was about threatening to fire his innocent secretary.

Just earlier, he’d been delighted when James said he didn’t know Tertz in front of Diane, but now his mood had flipped and he was grilling him.

“I’ll investigate by tomorrow.”

James answered quietly.

In situations like this, handling things quickly was the best strategy.

“History of the newspaper, its leanings, location, size, revenue, financial structure, staff status… Ah! And especially look into the owner. That young man—did you see him earlier? That guy.”

“Ah, yes!”

James jotted down his much younger boss’s instructions, adding one last note.

[Investigate relationship between owner and blonde beauty.]

Having sharp intuition was one of the reasons James earned five times the salary.

His instincts told him that Edward’s burning hostility was directed at ‘that young man,’ and his interest was in ‘the unnamed young, beautiful blonde woman.’

Edward never spoke to people unrelated to business, especially women, let alone strangers on the street.

The fact that he had done so meant that woman was, in some way, of significant value to President Wale.

Still, it was hard to believe.

Edward Wale treated everyone not related to business as if they were inanimate objects, so the idea of him being interested in a woman was foreign and hard to accept.

While James wrestled with confusion between his intuition and known facts, Edward added in a slightly husky voice,

“There should be a Diane Lina among the staff. Find out what her relationship with the owner is.”

At last, James felt he had found the answer.

His intuition was right.

Just what kind of woman was she?

She was certainly beautiful, but Edward Wale treated women very impartially.

Regardless of beauty, wealth, or status, all were irrelevant beings to him.

She was a complete stranger, and judging by her appearance and manner, she didn’t seem to be a noble family’s young lady. So what was different about her, what was special, that she drew the interest of a man so devoid of emotion?

He’d find something if he investigated.

James erased ‘blonde beauty’ from his notebook and wrote ‘Diane Lina’ in its place.

But as the generic phrase ‘blonde beauty’ changed to the proper noun ‘Diane Lina,’ his chest felt strangely heavy.

‘My condolences.’

He found himself clasping his hands as if praying for the poor woman now caught in Edward Wale’s sights.

* * *

“I’m back, Uncle!”

“Diane!”

While printing newspapers, Walt Tertz came running out.

“You really went to see him, my goodness! He’s a notorious figure across the kingdom, and you went without fear…”

To Gale Tertz’s words, Diane replied gloomily,

“I know, I know. How long are you going to scold me? Uncle, I’m sorry for going on my own.”

“No, it’s fine. You must have been so frustrated to go see that man. Sigh… this uncle is ashamed to face you.”

“Please don’t say that. You and Gale were right. If I’d known he was that strange, I wouldn’t have gone.”

At Diane’s words, Walt Tertz’s eyes widened.

“Why! Did President Wale do something to you?”

“No! He was just… strange and rude, and really odd, just so strange, very strange.”

Diane couldn’t find the right words to describe Edward Wale, so she kept repeating herself.

Walt Tertz looked at his son, Gale Tertz, as if asking what happened, but Gale only shrugged.

As Diane, still fuming, realized the office had gone quiet, she awkwardly changed the subject.

“Oh, did you visit all the shops today? How many ad orders did we get?”

“…”

No reply came.

Apparently, no ad requests had come in.

Who would pay for ads when forced eviction and demolition were imminent?

The newspaper they were printing today might be the last.

For days they’d been operating at a loss, unable to even cover printing costs.

“Maybe we should sell the machine. Would anyone buy it second-hand? It’s an old model.”

“Do we really have to sell it? We might need it again someday… I really hope we don’t have to sell the duplicator.”

Diane muttered weakly to Walt Tertz’s words.

All they owned was a single old duplicator.

With that one duplicator, Walt Tertz had raised his only son, Gale Tertz, and Diane Lina, whom he’d taken in at age nine.

“There’s nowhere like Center Shire. You know how hard it would be to start over with a duplicator anywhere else. It’ll just be baggage going forward. You know that, Anne.”

Gale answered for his father.

Though shabby and old now, Center Shire’s old town had long been the heart of Rettrang, the kingdom’s capital, holding the legacy of ages.

As the commercial center shifted to the new town, upscale boutiques and restaurants disappeared from the old town, but in their place, shops for commoners sprang up. Over time, a unique commercial area, distinct from the new town, formed in the old town.

But the only reason the old town survived changing times was because it remained part of Rettrang’s Center Shire.

In a small city or rural area, ad revenue would never support the three of them.

As Gale said, as Walt Tertz thought, the duplicator would no longer be their lifeline.

Diane knew this, too.

She just felt too helpless and resentful to give up.

“It’s unfair. He’s so rich…”

Her thoughts turned again to Edward Wale, whom she’d met earlier.

“Forget it! It can’t be helped. Don’t waste your energy on what won’t work—let’s think about where to settle down.”

At Walt Tertz’s words, Diane fell silent, crestfallen.

After accepting they’d have to leave Center Shire, they planned to leave Rettrang, the capital of Traum Kingdom.

With little money saved, it would be easier to settle in a small city or the countryside.

Currently, they lived on the top floor of a rundown building in the old town.

With only two rooms, Diane had one to herself, and the father and son shared the other.

If they moved to the countryside, at least they could get a house with three rooms.

“We should head south, right?”

Gale kept insisting they go south.

Walt didn’t care where.

Whenever the topic came up, Diane never voiced an opinion about where to go.

Truthfully, she didn’t want to go anywhere.

Diane didn’t want to leave Rettrang.

Lina Orphanage, which gave all abandoned children without surnames the director’s surname ‘Lina,’ was in Rettrang.

She’d been left in front of the now-vanished orphanage, with only a gown embroidered with her name and a doll, but she was a child abandoned in Rettrang.

So she had a vague attachment to Rettrang.

And that attachment, unlike the Tertz family who accepted leaving Center Shire, was why she couldn’t give up and had gone to see Edward Wale.

But she couldn’t oppose the Tertz family’s plans to move.

Going to the countryside and getting a three-room house, as they wished, was the least she could do for the family who had become her own.

That unpleasant man would surely keep living well in Rettrang.

Diane, thinking again of Edward Wale’s arrogant face, sighed deeply.