26. I would like to resign from my position as your secretary, Lord Rashid.

Clack.

A beautiful bone china teacup settled elegantly onto its saucer.

Adelio O’Brian, who had been watching the scene, was confused.

The place where the two had met was Le Blanc, a restaurant so popular that getting a seat without a reservation was nearly impossible.

Why on earth was he sitting here alone with Duke Rashid Egenhart at the most popular dating spot in town?

“Lord Rashid, why are we dining together in a place like this?”

To that question, the strikingly handsome Duke let out a soft smile that could make one sigh.

“Adelio, you’re the third son of a count’s family. Blond hair, dark skin.”

At that reply, Adelio—indeed, the third son of the O’Brian family, with blond hair and dark skin—tilted his head.

“Is there something wrong with my appearance?”

To Adelio’s puzzled question, Rashid gave a faint chuckle and avoided answering.

That only deepened Adelio’s confusion.

Where were they again?

Le Blanc—the ultra-popular restaurant rumored to be fully booked for the next several months, with openings only available early next year even if one made a reservation now.

‘Then why on earth am I here with this guy instead of a girlfriend?’

Adelio shouted in his mind.

A place like this was for lovers—or at least someone you had feelings for.

Clack.

As Adelio sat bewildered, a waiter placed a dish before him.

Looking at the perfectly grilled steak, Adelio sighed.

“You suddenly summoned me, and I had no idea where we were going, but….”

“So, do you have a complaint?”

“Not exactly a complaint. But I’d rather have come to a fancy place like this with someone else. Like Lady Isabelle, for instance….”

Adelio casually mentioned the name of the noblewoman he had recently been crushing on.

“Come to think of it, Lady Isabelle did say she wanted to try this place…. Should I try making a reservation?”

If he got lucky and succeeded, maybe she would start to see him differently.

“You won’t be able to.”

At Rashid’s cold statement, Adelio bristled.

“Why not?”

“You can try, if you’re willing to wait three months.”

“Oh, come on. Then when did you make a reservation?”

The answer came immediately.

“Three hours ago.”

“Gasp….”

Adelio wanted to protest this injustice on the spot.

Three months for some, three hours for others!

Sure, Rashid was the heir of the Empire’s most prestigious duchy and the most sought-after man in high society, but this was still unfair.

Just then—

“Oh my, isn’t that Duke Egenhart over there?”

“Really? Oh my gosh! It is Lord Rashid!”

“Kyaa! Please look over here, Lord Rashid!”

Whispers echoed from nearby tables.

When Adelio glanced around, he noticed the surrounding guests were all casting admiring glances in their direction.

“But who’s that guy with him?”

“I dunno, maybe his body servant or a gatekeeper?”

“Don’t be silly. Why would he come here with someone like that?”

No—let’s be clear.

Everyone was looking only at Duke Rashid Egenhart.

‘I’m not that bad-looking either!’

Adelio thought to himself.

His head might be a bit big, and his nose a little blunt, but he wasn’t that far off in terms of looks.

But if the comparison was Rashid… that was a problem.

A face blessed by the gods.

The jewel of the Empire.

A masterpiece carved by a sculptor pouring in every ounce of devotion.

Compared to such praise, Adelio’s ordinary face naturally seemed underwhelming.

‘And there’s no one I can even complain to about this.’

Adelio let out a long, heavy sigh.

Then Rashid pressed him.

“Eat quickly, Adelio. We have another place to go after this.”

“Where are we going?”

“The theater. I booked a play.”

“May I ask… is there another plan after that?”

“Maybe we can have some tea at a cozy café.”

“The two of us…?”

A restaurant, a play, then tea….

Isn’t that usually called a date?

“Lord Rashid, am I… someone’s stand-in?”

Come to think of it, he had made some comment earlier about blond hair and skin tone, hadn’t he?

“Hmm.”

Even at Adelio’s question, Rashid pretended not to hear as he cut his steak.

Good grief… even Duke Rashid Egenhart had been stood up?

“Are you dealing with relationship troubles? If so, talk to me. That’s what friends are for, right?”

Before his overly kind offer was even finished, Rashid responded with a question of his own.

“Are we friends?”

“!”

“I was joking, Adelio.”

Looking at his friend’s face twisted in shock, Rashid replied with a cheerful smile.

***

‘Your Grace… that’s exactly your problem!’

Adelio let out a sigh as he looked at his younger playmate.

Despite the Egenhart ducal house going so far as to assign him a playmate to help expand his social network, the number of people who could actually be called “friends” of Rashid could be counted on one hand.

There were two traits that defined those few who had personal friendships with Rashid: they either had a broad heart or were even slightly older than him.

In short, only those who had the generosity to accept Rashid Egenhart’s arrogance and sensitivity—or who were mature enough in age—could remain by his side.

‘Still, having a friend has its perks.’

Adelio looked seriously at Rashid, who was elegantly sipping wine.

“After the restaurant, now a play? And after the play, tea? That’s fine. I’ll go along with whatever you like, Lord Rashid. Let’s shake off your gloomy mood.”

Though Adelio enthusiastically expressed his willingness to help, Rashid’s thoughts were elsewhere.

Restaurant, play, shopping, café…

All of those were things he could easily provide.

And yet Evelyn had left him and gone to her younger sister.

Did she even realize how serious he’d been when he said he wanted to go on a date?

Rashid furrowed his neatly shaped brows.

‘Thank goodness she’s her younger sister.’

Rashid had to admit that, had it been another man, he would have truly felt jealous.

“Oh, by the way, Rashid. Have you heard the news?”

“?”

“There are rumors that Baron Watron has recently gone bankrupt.”

“Is that so?”

Rashid replied with an expression devoid of any emotion.

Adelio shrugged.

“If I remember correctly, you had a minor argument with Baron Watron at the club not long ago.”

To be precise, Baron Watron had dared to bring up a scandal involving Rashid and his secretary in front of him.

Unfortunately, the baron, a newly risen noble who had just arrived in the capital, seemed to have no clue about the infamous Rashid Egenhart.

“Adelio, do I seem like the type who would go that far over a mere scandal?”

At Rashid’s calm question, Adelio shrugged again.

“Well, Lady Evelyn was involved. If it’s about her, you do tend to be a little sensitive.”

Rashid didn’t deny Adelio’s assumption.

Taking it a step further, Adelio boldly asked him a question.

“Is Lady Evelyn the one who stood you up today?”

“……”

Though Rashid avoided answering, Adelio could tell.

He hadn’t spent fifteen years at Rashid’s side as a duke’s aide for nothing.

“The only one who doesn’t know… is the person in question.”

Rashid murmured under his breath and sipped the wine left in his glass.

“My thoughts exactly.”

In that moment, Adelio, despite their history of a love-hate relationship, couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for his old playmate and chimed in softly.

***

“Jackpot!”

A cry of joy escaped Evelyn as she read the stock trader’s report.

“A 290% return! This is amazing!”

The stocks she had purchased this quarter had skyrocketed in value.

She had only hoped to earn a bit more than her original investment, but the unexpected high return made Evelyn unable to hide her delight.

“Lady Berge, that was truly a wise investment. How did you know that the timber company’s profits would rise so sharply?”

The stock trader approached Evelyn, smiling with curiosity.

Well, that was because…

‘Because I already know the whole storyline of the original novel.’

That was the advantage of being reincarnated into a novel.

Knowing the future made investing so much easier.

If one picked the companies that would grow in the latter half of the novel, success was practically guaranteed.

‘If this world had lotteries, that would’ve been even better.’

Unfortunately, this era had no such thing as a lottery.

Evelyn found that fact quite disappointing.

“Construction of the central railway is set to begin in the capital next month. When that happens, the demand for construction timber will spike. Wood is essential for building the tracks.”

“Oh, so that’s why you chose timber over steel.”

“Also, steel company stocks had already skyrocketed and were far too expensive.”

Evelyn explained lightly with a smile.

In this era, steel companies were like modern-day smartphone manufacturers.

They were good for long-term holding, but not efficient for immediate profit.

‘First, I need to grow my seed money.’

Thinking so, Evelyn marked a couple of documents the trader had handed her and returned them.

“I’ll purchase shares in these companies this time.”

“Oh, this time you’ve selected a paper factory and a paper-importing timber company. If it’s not too bold of me, may I ask why?”

“Well, once the tracks are laid, goods will need to be transported. And where will those goods be packed?”

At her playful tone, the trader’s eyes widened.

“In boxes, of course! Paper boxes!”

“Exactly.”

Coming from a nation renowned for delivery services and logistics, Evelyn knew more than anyone in this world about distribution systems.

“You’re a master investor! Truly remarkable!”

At the trader’s praise, Evelyn only smiled slightly in return.

***

“I’m late!”

Evelyn hurried her steps, having spent more time at the stock brokerage than expected.

She was already twenty minutes late for her appointment with her younger sister, Jemina.

“She’s probably mad, huh?”

Jemina was the most organized and composed of the three siblings.

She had excellent grades and was the most diligent among them.

The thing Jemina hated most was being late or someone else being tardy.

“I’m sorry!”

Evelyn, having finally arrived at the café, apologized as soon as she saw her sister.

She had to apologize first before expressing how glad she was to see her sister after months apart.

“I left early, but something came up. I’m really sorry!”

She offered her sincerest apology to her sister, who had her darker brown hair neatly tied back.

But no response came.

Nervously, Evelyn raised her head and looked at her sister.

As expected, Jemina wore a very serious expression.

“Evelyn.”

Jemina spoke in a subdued voice.

“Is what I heard true?”

***

After meeting Jemina, Evelyn had planned to head straight home from work, but instead, she deliberately returned to the Egenhart ducal estate.

It was quite late at night, but the light in the duke’s office was still on.

Knock, knock.

Evelyn knocked and entered the office.

As expected, Rashid was still inside.

However, instead of sitting at his usual mahogany desk, he was loosely reclining in an armchair by the window, looking over some documents.

The moonlight that streamed in made Rashid’s platinum blonde hair gleam.

When he had left the ducal house in his carriage, his hair had been neatly styled, but now it was disheveled, falling loosely.

Yet the tousled strands only accentuated Rashid’s delicate beauty.

His refined face bore a rare expression of seriousness.

In contrast to the elegance etched into his features, the hands holding the thick stack of documents were large and solid.

“Did the date go well, Lady Evelyn?”

Not at all surprised to see her, Rashid asked casually upon noticing Evelyn.

Rather than responding to the question, Evelyn stepped forward and stood in front of the armchair.

“I have something to tell you, Your Grace.”

Unlike her usual manner, she spoke with complete seriousness, prompting Rashid to turn his head and give her a detached glance.

“Something to say?”

A low question escaped from Rashid, who leaned back leisurely into the armchair.

It was only a few words, but Evelyn found herself at a loss for how to continue.

A brief silence passed.

Facing her employer’s still indifferent gaze, Evelyn hesitated before steadying herself and making her declaration.

“I would like to resign from my position as your secretary, Lord Rashid.”