Chapter 8

“After you visited our President and explained the situation in Center Shire, Miss Diane Lina, the President instructed us to investigate Tertz Newspaper.”

“What?”

Diane’s face scrunched up even more.

She vividly remembered how, that day, he’d scoffed, saying he’d never heard of ‘Tertz’ and doubting it was even a real newspaper.

Why would someone like that order an investigation into Tertz?

“Oh, please don’t take it the wrong way. The President enjoys discovering hidden talents. He’s a healthy entrepreneur who wants to minimize unnecessary material and human waste. It was only in that context that he ordered an investigation into Tertz Newspaper, so please don’t misunderstand.”

James, thinking of his fivefold salary, summoned all his acting skills and spouted utter nonsense.

A healthy entrepreneur, indeed.

If there were a theory that character and money-making ability were inversely proportional, Edward Wale would be the first cited as a notorious businessman.

Diane, clearly thinking it was nonsense, kept her suspicious gaze fixed on him.

After all, what she’d seen that day was anything but a healthy human.

‘He must mean physically healthy.’

As if reading her mind, James hurried to add,

“He’s also very active in charity work.”

He was genuinely grateful to have a chance to use one of his boss’s inexplicable habits.

Regardless of age, gender, or status, his boss showed not a shred of interest or compassion for anyone. Yet there was one place where he performed charitable acts.

The orphanage.

Every spring, he would tour orphanages throughout the kingdom.

If the President had shown even a little interest in children, it might have made some sense. But every time he left an orphanage, he would complain about how noisy and dirty the children were.

Whenever James heard such complaints, whatever little affection he had would vanish completely.

If he disliked it so much, why bother with charity at all? Why not just send money, instead of making time in his busy schedule to visit personally?

When nobles visited orphanages, it was almost an unwritten rule that they would donate.

Visiting orphanages and donating was a kind of hobby or social activity among the nobles of Traum Kingdom.

It was a way to flaunt their wealth and show off their supposedly noble character.

But President Edward Wale’s orphanage visits were not for that purpose, either.

He disliked children, and if he donated for social standing or bourgeois responsibility, he was not a man who cared about reputation or social responsibility.

Unlike other nobles who would always visit orphanages in groups and advertise their charitable deeds, he always visited alone.

As a secretary, James felt a duty to improve his boss’s reputation, and wanted to publicize this one act of kindness. But, strangely, the boss never boasted about his orphanage donations.

In any case, it was certainly one of the President’s eccentricities.

“Is that so?”

Diane showed a hint of interest.

Her attitude softened, as if she wondered whether he’d been donating to orphanages for years with the big picture of eventually winning her over.

Of course, James knew that couldn’t be the case, and he smiled wryly to himself.

“Yes. He loves children and donates for them every year.”

James cleverly avoided saying ‘orphanage.’

According to his research, the woman in front of him was an orphan.

He couldn’t know how someone who grew up as an orphan would feel if told they were being helped by someone who supports orphans.

“Oh… That’s surprising. I’ve never read about that in the papers.”

“Yes. He tends to operate in the shadows, where others don’t know.”

‘He devours companies in the shadows. Diane Lina, you might be next… Still, it’s strange.’

James felt a bit odd at Diane’s words.

Edward appeared in the newspaper almost daily, but her words sounded like she read articles about him often.

Since she worked in the newspaper business, she probably read all the other papers as well.

“I see you investigated our newspaper, but that’s not the only reason you came, right? I don’t think you’ve gotten to the main point yet.”

“Oh! Yes. Tertz Newspaper is struggling financially. I heard you’re planning to shut down your business in Center Shire.”

“…….”

“The President feels sorry about the damage the Center Shire development project has caused Tertz Newspaper. He doesn’t think it’s right for talented people to lose their jobs.”

“…….”

Diane remained silent.

“So, the President wants to acquire Tertz Newspaper.”

“What?”

At last, Diane spoke.

“Oh! Of course, I say ‘acquire,’ but in simpler terms, he wants to offer you a scout proposal.”

“A scout proposal? From Wale Corporation…! Do you mean Wale Daily?”

Wale Corporation owned a media company called Wale Daily.

In fact, it had acquired Rettrang Daily, one of the three major newspapers in Traum Kingdom.

While the other two major newspapers focused only on print and books, Wale Corporation’s main business wasn’t newspapers. Yet, with its enormous capital and aggressive distribution expansion, it was soon to become the unrivaled number one media company.

“Yes, that’s right.”

At James’s answer, Diane’s face stiffened.

It wasn’t because she was upset.

She was stunned by the unbelievable offer.

“Really? You’ll really hire us at Wale Daily?”

Diane asked excitedly.

“Yes, that’s right. Since you’re coming with experience running an independent company, we’re offering double the average salary at Wale Daily.”

“Double?”

“Yes. And you’ll be able to live in the shared housing provided for all employees of Wale Corporation’s affiliates. For as long as you work.”

“Housing?”

Diane’s voice grew louder.

The conditions were becoming more and more unbelievable.

“When you retire, you’ll receive a three-bedroom house in the outskirts of Rettrang as severance pay. Oh! But only if you’ve worked for more than ten years.”

“That… Is that even possible…?”

She started to ask if it was possible, then stopped.

It didn’t matter whether it was possible or not.

The only question was whether those conditions were real.

A three-bedroom house.

She wasn’t sure she could even rent a three-bedroom house in the countryside, let alone in the outskirts of Rettrang.

But now, they were offering her a house.

“If you accept, we can sign the contract immediately.”

James, as if reading Diane’s disbelief, drove the point home.

Diane swallowed.

“It must be true…”

“Yes.”

With James’s firm reply, Diane felt her heart might burst.

For something like this to happen…!

Just like when she’d met the Tertz family at her lowest point as a child, another stroke of luck appeared when she thought she’d hit rock bottom.

Maybe Edward Wale was actually a deeply generous person beneath his rough exterior.

Otherwise, why would he show such kindness to the staff of a small, unknown newspaper?

“This is an incredibly generous offer. I can hardly believe it.”

Diane said, deeply moved, and James simply smiled.

“I don’t even know how to thank you. Ah…”

Suddenly, Diane’s expression darkened.

James, noticing her change, waited nervously.

“But I still don’t understand why you’re being so generous. No matter how kind the president is, he didn’t even know about Tertz Newspaper.”

“As I said, he’s always looking for talented people.”

“Yes…”

Diane nodded slowly, but questions kept popping up.

Were they really the kind of talent he wanted? How did he know about Waltz, Gale, and herself?

But this was an opportunity so tempting, she wanted to forget her doubts. She couldn’t let it slip away.

If he thought she was valuable talent, she just had to live up to his expectations.

“So, what kind of work would we do at Wale Daily? We’ve handled everything from ad sales, article writing, printing, to distribution, so we can do any job you give us.”

“Yes, I know. That’s why we want to hire one reporter and one technician.”

“One reporter and one technician?”

“Yes. Mr. Walt Tertz as technician, and Mr. Gale Tertz as reporter.”

“……!”

Diane’s eyes widened.

Then what about herself?

As Diane’s pale blue eyes trembled, James finally felt the real negotiation was beginning.

“I’m sorry. That’s why I wanted to speak with you first, Miss Diane Lina. At the moment, Wale Daily only needs male staff. All the female positions are filled.”

“What…”

Diane was at a loss for words.

Watching her, James calmly opened his briefcase and took something out.

“The employment contracts are already prepared.”

“Ah…”

Diane let out a sigh without meaning to.

She hadn’t expected he’d bring the contracts.

Her eyes shook uncontrollably.

Her heart, which had been burning with joy, instantly turned cold.