During those three years, two of my brothers graduated from the academy, and Brother Rubert became a student in the highest grade at the academy.

Brother Rubert wanted to graduate early but couldn’t do anything because of the dam project.

The dam construction work took longer than expected, causing him considerable hardship over the past few years.

Grace, Leila, and I began preparing for early graduation.

For the past three years, I had quietly built up my businesses one by one.

I wanted to graduate from the academy quickly and show the company I was running to my father, my other siblings, and Leila.

Since my father might take my assets while I was still an academy student, I had kept all the money I had earned so far completely secret from him.

The company had grown larger than expected, and I was spending each day extremely busy with both my studies and the company.

At times like these, my father’s indifference felt truly appreciated.

He no longer cared whether I came home late at night or stayed out overnight.

As if I weren’t a Masipacius at all.

He only smiled at me when I was needed at official events.

And during these three years, Leila and Bershua merely picked small fights with me without causing any major trouble.

They pretended to be good people with all their might to repair their damaged images, and quite a few nobles fell for their act, thinking they had come to their senses.

Additionally, shockingly, Leila and Veltune officially began dating a year ago.

Leila gave up on the young duke of Posilia and completely attached herself to Veltune, seeming to plot something while dating him.

But I no longer cared about them.

Someday I would spread the full story of my kidnapping to everyone, but that would be when they had reached their highest position.

Right now, I was busy taking care of my own life.

And today is the day Teacher Camilla leaves the academy.

“Miss Rowenloa?”

I visited Teacher Camilla’s personal office.

She welcomed me warmly as always.

The teacher and I had maintained quite a close relationship through Countess Meilon.

“I heard today is your last day.”

Hearing that, Teacher Camilla smiled.

“That’s right. I feel both relieved and somehow empty at the same time.”

“I heard you’re going to the imperial palace’s education department. I’m glad you found a job that suits you well.”

Hearing my words, Teacher Camilla swept her gaze across the office with a wistful expression.

“You were a student I enjoyed teaching, Miss Rowenloa. Even after I leave this academy, make sure to keep in touch, okay?”

I nodded in response.

After talking with the teacher for a long time, I left her office.

“Rowenloa! I’ll be taking classes at the same level as you this time!”

As I was walking after leaving the office, I saw Heris running toward me with her grade report in hand.

Heris had completely recovered from both her physical and emotional wounds and had become the perfect heir to the Brel family, excelling in both studies and swordsmanship.

The Brel family had also begun to expand their influence in the political world, and Heris had become a great source of strength for me.

“I’m not smart enough like you to graduate early… but I’m so happy that I can study in the same class as you, even if it’s just for a year!”

Hearing Heris’s words, I smiled broadly and responded warmly.

“Then Heris, let’s get along well from next semester too.”

After saying goodbye to Heris, I left the academy.

Mylene was waiting for me in front of the academy with a bright face.

After getting into the carriage, Mylene opened her mouth.

“Miss. Are you going there again today?”

After I nodded, Mylene stuck her head out of the carriage and relayed my words to the coachman.

As I mentioned earlier, I no longer returned directly to the Masipacius mansion after the academy ended.

A year ago, I established something called “Arme Trading Company.”

Arme in the ancient demon race language translates to “secret.”

It means my secret weapon.

As I expanded in various directions, primarily with products made by Mafi, the Arme Trading Company began to gradually gain influence not only in the shopping district but also among businesspeople.

Even nobles who had initially refused to purchase Arme Trading Company’s goods because they disliked mass-produced items began secretly proposing deals with us as our company expanded its influence.

After traveling for quite some time, the carriage stopped, and I gazed at the Arme Trading Company building with a satisfied expression before heading to the back of the building.

Passing through the back doors, I moved a box in the corner to reveal a new door.

“Well then, Miss. I’ll wait here.”

“As I always say, don’t wait here, wait in the carriage. No, you can just come in with me in the first place……”

“Oh come on, I know exactly who comes and goes here. How could I? I’d feel more uncomfortable being in such a place.”

Finally, I instructed Mylene to wait in the carriage, then opened the door and entered.

Inside, I heard familiar voices.

“No… I think this design looks much better?”

“Good grief, how are you going to run your future business with eyes like that? This design is obviously better!”

I sighed at the noisy voices of the two men.

Walking down the stairs, I saw two men arguing passionately and one woman looking at them with exasperation.

“Ah, Rowenloa. You’re here?”

“…Are those two at it again?”

The ones engaged in this pointless debate before me were none other than my brother Rubert and the young duke of Posilia.

“Huh, I don’t want to hear that from someone who doesn’t have a single business in his name yet.”

“I have no intention of taking on small businesses as I’m preparing to become a duke, you know?”

“Oh, I wonder just how grand the future duke’s plans must be if he considers my imperial-approved project a ‘small business’!”

…Sigh, I shouldn’t have let those two become friends.

Brother Rubert and the young duke of Posilia had been hovering around me since my kidnapping incident, using the pretext of protection.

Before I knew it, they had become close enough to speak informally to each other, and after starting to work together at Arme Trading Company, they bickered childishly like this every day.

“Ugh, brothers. Stop it, stop! Rowenloa is here too, how long are you going to fight!”

Hearing Grace’s words, the two immature men looked at us in surprise and then scratched their heads in embarrassment.

“Well… it’s just that Delian has such a poor eye for products, so I was trying to convince him……”

“How did it turn into that? Rubert’s taste is just too provincial, so I was giving him some advice…… Ahem.”

I sighed once and then said to them,

“Those two designs were both rejected by Mafi because she didn’t like them, so why are you two fighting over them……”

Hearing that, Brother Rubert and the young duke of Posilia looked at me embarrassedly and then took their seats.

Once Grace and I also sat down at the round table, a serious atmosphere suddenly enveloped the underground conference room.

“Our products are incredibly popular among the imperial citizens these days. In our duchy, there’s practically no one who doesn’t use Arme Trading Company’s goods.”

“That’s right. Even nobles who initially dismissed mass-produced items as things only commoners use have begun to secretly propose deals with us as we’ve started to succeed. The money they’re offering is quite substantial.”

Hearing this, I shook my head.

“Right now, we’re creating luxury products targeting nobles. If we join hands with them, strange rumors might spread and cause us harm. I think someone will arrive soon……”

Creak—

No sooner had I finished speaking than the sound of the door opening at the top of the stairs was heard.

Another familiar person appeared before us.

The moment he appeared, we all stood up and bowed to him.

“We greet Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

The crown prince sighed at our actions.

“I told you not to greet me like this……”

He cleared his throat with an “Ahem” as if embarrassed, then urged us to stand up quickly.

As we straightened our backs, Detrian approached me and handed over a document envelope.

“This is……”

“They’re going to make their move soon.”

Hearing Detrian’s words, I was instantly gripped by tension.

He took his seat, and we resumed our meeting.

“What do you mean by that? They’re going to make their move……”

The others tilted their heads in confusion at the crown prince’s words, looking at my reaction.

“Recently, I’ve been investigating strange movements within the imperial palace… and discovered that some of the empress’s assets have been flowing outside the palace under suspicious pretexts.”

I passed the documents I received from the crown prince to the others.

Their eyes widened as they scanned through the papers.

“This is… no, how is this possible?”

Grace in particular read through the documents several times, as if she couldn’t believe them.

“The empress… she’s Your Highness’s mother, isn’t she? How could your mother join hands with Veltune Crescent?”

The crown prince’s face darkened at those words.

I nodded to the crown prince as he looked at me.

And so, his story began.