My heart was still pounding heavily. Cedric was saying something beside me, but my ears were buzzing, making it difficult to hear properly. I don’t quite remember how I managed to walk to the carriage. Just in case, I carefully looked outside through the window again, but Laura’s face was nowhere to be seen.

‘I must have been under considerable stress lately. Now I’m seeing things that aren’t there.’

Thump, thump-thump.

The world shook momentarily before my eyes, matching my rapidly beating heart.

No, it’s just because several things have happened lately. I can’t go back to how I was when I witnessed my mother’s death. Now even Laura, who used to comfort me, is no longer by my side.

This is a very bad sign.

I forcibly closed my eyes in the carriage, deliberately clasping my trembling fingertips together to calm myself. I could feel Cedric’s gaze, but thankfully, my secretary kept his mouth shut during the journey.

* * *

After the carriage stopped, I took several deep breaths before entering Gloria Hotel.

Fortunately, my stomach, which felt twisted with pain earlier, quickly recovered, and my vision, which had been shaking after seeing the apparition, returned to normal.

“Mr. Cedric! Over here!”

The foreigner who stood up excitedly upon seeing us was quite a handsome man with a clean appearance.

I briefly glared at Cedric and muttered.

“He is handsome, as you said.”

“Right? I tend not to make things up.”

Ortiz was a man who would have been extremely popular about twenty or thirty years ago. In other words, he was currently a gentleman of age with proudly white hair.

“It’s an honor to meet you. I am Charlotte Liv, president of Liv Department Store.”

I extended my hand first to Ortiz for a handshake. His face stiffened slightly with surprise.

“Oh my, I didn’t know the department store was run by a woman. Ah, please don’t misunderstand. It’s just that such a thing would be unimaginable in my country, so I was surprised.”

Come to think of it, his country was more conservative than here. I smiled bitterly and replied.

“I understand.”

My hand awkwardly returned to its place.

“I’m sorry, but are you married?”

“I’m still single.”

I could clearly see Ortiz’s brow furrowing. Yes, in his country, there was a derogatory term for unmarried women who run businesses and engage in outside activities instead of thinking about marriage. What was it again? Ah, I remember.

‘An unbridled crazy filly.’

In a country where men casually say that a wife needs to be beaten once every three days to be obedient, I can understand Ortiz’s current attitude. But considering the money involved in this contract—without my money, his business would collapse immediately, from what I heard.

“I heard you’ve added a fall prevention device to existing elevators to ensure safety. Is that correct?”

“That’s right. My invention is safe even if the rope breaks.”

“I’d like to install about five of your products in Liv Department Store. Of course, with the condition that you’ll send someone for additional maintenance if they break down. Free for 5 years, and after that, we’ll pay additional maintenance costs.”

Ortiz crossed his arms and fell into thought for a moment. It was quite some time before he spoke again.

“When do you plan to get married? If you have a prospective husband, I’d like to continue the rest of the business talk with him.”

‘This old man still has a full stomach.’

So he has nothing to say to me, an unmarried woman?

I heard he doesn’t even have money to pay his employees’ salaries, but it seems he has something to rely on. Or perhaps he has so much confidence in his invented product that he wants to establish an upper hand in this deal.

I deliberately suppressed my rising anger. Cedric gave me a look.

‘Shall I step in?’

‘No. Stay put.’

I have my pride. This old man with his rigid thinking needs to have his stubbornness broken at least once.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have a fiancé yet. Is there any particular reason you can’t discuss business with me?”

“……”

He pressed his lips together and didn’t respond. Did he think I wasn’t worth answering? With my patience wearing thin, I brought up one of his vulnerabilities.

“You put on a strange show at an exhibition four years ago, didn’t you? I heard from someone who attended that you seemed a bit mentally unstable.”

That’s why he would spout such nonsense about only wanting to discuss business with my fiancé.

My words must have offended him, as one of Ortiz’s eyebrows rose.

“What are you talking about?”

“I heard that during the exhibition, you shouted something like this to the audience.”

Ahem, after clearing my throat, I lowered my voice as much as possible to imitate Ortiz.

“Ladies and gentlemen, elevators are not dangerous. I’ll show you myself!”

The inventor’s face reddened at my imitation.

“They say you rode an open elevator yourself, going up and instructing the employee waiting at the top to cut the rope. Thanks to that, everyone watching the exhibition screamed and ran away.”

“……That’s right.”

“I heard you haven’t sold a single unit despite putting on such a show.”

I also heard that he had sold off all his inherited assets just to maintain his business. That’s how dedicated Ortiz was to his elevator business.

“Are you mocking me now?”

“Yes, I am.”

With a flushed face, Ortiz stood up from his chair as if he might storm out at any moment. But his heavy steps couldn’t proceed any further.

He must be conflicted. A businessperson finally showing interest in his product has appeared, and he wouldn’t want to be the fool who kicks away the opportunity.

“Isn’t it funny that someone who was confident enough in his invention to risk his life is now throwing a tantrum because he doesn’t want to deal with a woman?”

I took a sip of water from the table, feigning a relaxed expression.

“I am the businesswoman who created the first department store in the Ostonia Empire. Living in such a conventional country, you might not like that I’m an unmarried woman, but I can proudly say that my wealth is at least a hundred times greater than yours. What I’m saying is that I’m not someone you can dismiss.”

Ortiz, seemingly losing strength in his legs, plopped back down in his seat.

“I wasn’t…… dismissing you. It’s just that women tend to burst into tears when faced with unfavorable situations. I can’t continue business with someone so irresponsible.”

“Let me promise you one thing. If you proceed with business with me, the one crying and begging will be you, Mr. Ortiz.”

Just wait until we finalize the contract. I’ll make the safety requirements so strict that I’ll squeeze tears out of your eyes. I don’t consider age when making deals. I was confident I could make him realize, albeit belatedly, that I’m more ill-mannered than he thought.

‘I’ll definitely make this old man’s eyes fill with tears.’

My eyes blazed with anger. Eventually, the desperate Ortiz surrendered first. He took out a bundle of documents from his bag.

“These are the contract papers prepared by our company. Please read them and contact me as soon as possible. I need time to return to my country and bring the products and people to assemble them.”

The amount he proposed was lower than what I had expected.

‘I suppose getting it installed somewhere is more important at this point.’

Installing the product and taking care of the people from abroad, including food and lodging, at this price—considering all circumstances, Ortiz’s profit seems quite small. Businesspeople hate losing money, but sometimes they’re prepared to take a loss. When they need to show others that their product works properly in a specific place. In other words, when promotion is needed.

“Very well. After consulting with my lawyers, I’ll give you a positive answer within this week.”

Of course, with additional strict clauses, you old man.

Ortiz’s face brightened. If you had shown me respect from the beginning, you could have received better treatment. Perhaps I might have even shown the kindness of covering the costs for workers’ food and lodging. But unaware of this fact, the foreign inventor grabbed Cedric’s sleeve as he was about to leave with me.

“Could you stay and talk with me a bit more?”

Judging by his expression, it seemed he needed a men-only conversation, excluding me. Ah, people from conservative countries are indeed hopeless.

“That’s not possible. All final decisions for Liv Department Store rest with our boss, and I’m just an employee.”

“No, Cedric. Go ahead and talk more. I’ll head back to the department store first. You can leave when you’re done, depending on the time.”

Give some comfort to the inventor whose pride might have been hurt, even if just a little. Understood?

When I wrinkled my nose at Cedric, he seemed to understand my intention and sighed softly.

“I’ll follow shortly, Boss.”

* * *

It was almost closing time for the department store. After briefly looking around the store, I went up to the president’s office.

I was quite thirsty, and there was a cool milk tea on the tea table.

‘Cedric must have instructed this in advance.’

What a thoughtful guy.

He probably instantly recognized how rigid Ortiz was and considered that I would be burning inside after this meeting. I really hired one good employee. My eye for talent is truly excellent.

Feeling thirsty, I gulped down the milk tea. After the bitter taste, there should be a nutty flavor left on the tip of the tongue, but strangely, a fishy taste rose up.

“What’s this? Has the milk gone bad already?”

I had to leave quite a lot, which was a shame for the employee who prepared it.

Since I didn’t drink much, it should end with just an upset stomach.

I went to the desk and carefully examined the documents received from Ortiz. This old man, his experience can’t be ignored—he’s prepared quite a decent contract.

Determined to bring tears to Ortiz’s eyes, I wrote down additional requirements on a blank piece of paper. Perhaps because I was so focused, I didn’t realize how much time had passed afterward. My eyes gradually began to close. The letters blurred like worms, and the desk shook from side to side as if there was an earthquake.

‘Why are there two copies of the document?’

No, it’s not that the document has doubled. Suddenly, I remembered the milk tea with the fishy taste. It wasn’t that the milk had gone bad.

Someone had drugged the drink I was going to consume. And I, mistakenly thinking Cedric had instructed an employee to prepare it, drank it without any suspicion.

“Damn it.”

I needed to scream to call someone outside. But my head drooped forward lifelessly. Damn it. My vision gradually narrowed and then turned completely black.

* * *