79.
Of course, the wife of one of only three ducal families in the empire hadn’t moved for just one VIP whose value was still unknown. Tulin had revealed the location of an ancient emperor’s necklace that was said to have been given to a concubine, which she had coveted, and handed over a small mine. It was more than enough in exchange for simply entering the building first and exclaiming in admiration.
Therefore, the Duchess of Le Sang showed little interest in the VIP status as another reward. Although she was promised special treatment, being treated like a VIP was already her daily life. After all, she was born into a noble family and married a duke to reach her current position.
“But it’s not bad.”
The taste of looking down from the highest place was quite nice. That wasn’t the only satisfying thing. The staff members who acted like the tongue in her mouth were quite pleasing. They moved as if they already knew the Duchess of Le Sang in detail, and brought out and showcased particularly expensive items from the department store.
“This is the first time we’re showing this to you, Duchess. And from now on, our department store will prioritize you above all else.”
At the word “first,” the corners of the Duchess of Le Sang’s mouth curled up.
Yu Jin watched the Duchess of Le Sang from behind the curtain and breathed a sigh of relief.
‘Everything is going according to plan.’
He had heard that being a VIP at the department store wasn’t just about being able to buy expensive items first. There were dedicated staff for them, and the staff approached strategically yet familiarly to give the customers what they wanted. They would become close enough to run everyday errands and share hobbies.
‘Of course, I only saw this in dramas.’
It was fortunate that it worked. Although they had to offer a lot to bring in the Duchess of Le Sang, he didn’t regret it. Because of her, people who had been hesitating entered the department store. Since nobles made the first move, commoners might still hesitate to set foot inside, but he planned to improve that aspect soon.
Yu Jin quietly moved to a different location. Entering a separate office, he found Tulin waiting for him.
“Thank you.”
As he bowed deeply first, Tulin waved his hand.
“That’s enough. Should you bow so deeply to your business partner?”
“Still, without you, we couldn’t have opened properly.”
At Yu Jin’s words, Tulin chuckled.
Stocking all products in a department store. It sounds easy, but it was impossible without considerable connections, persuasive power, and money. That’s why Yu Jin had to set his goals low at first, so getting this far was thanks to Tulin.
“If you’re really grateful, help Marilyn later. She just fiddles with strange clothes, but somehow it doesn’t feel bad.”
“Yes, I’ll help.”
“Anyway, you’ve opened splendidly, and now as word spreads, customers will increase. Then there will be shops wanting to supply goods to the department store, but on the flip side, there will be people trying to imitate. Have you thought about that?”
At Tulin’s words, Yu Jin shrugged and said,
“Of course. Someone will imitate us eventually. But that’s when we mustn’t waver. We’ll continue to develop the department store and become pioneers. To do that, we need to make the rest mere followers who simply imitate us.”
“Is that possible?”
“We have to make it possible.”
“What a shame.”
“…Pardon?”
“If it weren’t for that guy always sticking by your side, I would have married you to Marilyn.”
Yu Jin asked Tulin with an incredulous expression.
“Are you serious?”
“Why? Does it sound like flattery?”
“To be honest, yes. You know about my past, don’t you?”
“You mean when you were a scoundrel? It wasn’t really true anyway, was it? If you had really been a scoundrel, you wouldn’t have even thought of doing something like this.”
No. He really was a scoundrel. But Yu Jin decided to leave Tulin’s misunderstanding as it was.
“By the way, do you think Jinhyeon and I look like lovers too?”
“I don’t know if you’re lovers, but I can tell that guy is obsessed with you.”
“…Is that so?”
“I heard he was originally a Colosseum battle slave. You really picked up something good. They say an ordinary person learns one and knows ten, while a genius learns one and knows a hundred. But looking at that guy, there doesn’t seem to be such a genius. If he continues to wield a sword in the future, and if trouble arises on the continent, another hero might be born then.”
“A hero?”
“Or he could be a demon lord. Oh, I’m tired. I’ll be heading back now. Can you handle the rest well?”
“Of course.”
“Then, good luck.”
Tulin groaned as he got up from his seat.
“Oh, and be careful. Recently, Lady Lyunne has been showing a lot of interest in that guy. She has a personality where she needs to have everything she wants. Whether he becomes a hero or a demon lord, he needs to survive and wield a sword to be complete, doesn’t he?”
With those final words, Tulin left without looking back.
Ruhan, the head of the Lucid family, frowned as he flipped through documents in his office. Lately, his vision would often blur.
He wasn’t unaware of the reason. It was happening because his first wife, Pamina, occasionally spiked the tea Ruhan drank with drugs. Still, Ruhan didn’t regret what he had done in the past at all. If one crosses the line, shouldn’t they be punished? That was no exception even for a wife or son.
As he leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling, his head spun. He had already caught the person who spiked the drug, and the tracking of how the drug was obtained was almost complete. So now, all that was left was to choose an appropriate time to reveal what Pamina had done and completely strip Grein of his position as heir.
Lost in thought for a moment, Ruhan tapped the bell on his desk with his fingertip. As a light metallic sound rang out, a person dropped from the ceiling.
“How is Ahmed these days?”
“At first, he was discontented with his confinement and sent letters here and there, but lately he’s been quiet. It seems he’s realized that Lord Grein’s injury isn’t ordinary.”
“I see.”
Ruhan tapped the armrest of his chair with his finger.
“What about the other children?”
“The young ladies still show no interest in politics. Since Lady Roena bought Colosseum slaves, the others have been buying slaves as if competing.”
“Nothing useful.”
After losing the person he loved, Ruhan lost interest in other people as well. Therefore, he couldn’t give affection to his children, but at least he gave them equal opportunities for education. Except for the youngest, Yu Jin, the others grew up without lacking anything. But as time passed, it turned out that none of them were truly capable.
‘Still, the family must be maintained.’
Ruhan had been taught this since childhood, and it was this belief that kept him alive when he wanted to die. So he didn’t want to give the position of heir to these inadequate ones and let Lucid fall to ruin.
“What about Yu Jin?”
“He recently opened something called a department store, and it seems to be doing well.”
“Since he’s partnered with Tulin, it probably won’t fail.”
“That’s true, but it’s doing much better than expected. The social circles are buzzing with talk about the department store. And as I reported before, Yu Jin is also the one who has taken control of the back alleys. After organizing the back alleys, he created an information organization, which seems to have started activities recently.”
“Do others know about this too?”
“They might know that Yu Jin has taken control of the back alleys, but probably not that he’s created an information organization. He took great care to keep that part secret.”
“Does he still attend social gatherings these days?”
“He goes to parties hosted by famous people, but doesn’t engage in nightlife activities.”
The shadow answered diligently to each of Ruhan’s questions. Only after hearing all the answers did Ruhan stop tapping the armrest of his chair.
“I should see the youngest.”
In this situation, it might be better to give the position of heir to Yu Jin, Ruhan thought.
Yu Jin was dealing with a flood of work when he suddenly shuddered.
“W-what’s this?”
He suddenly had an ominous feeling. Was it because Jinhyeon went to Lyunne’s mansion again today? No, that’s not it. Jinhyeon’s lower half was already caught by Yu Jin, so he couldn’t fool around carelessly. No matter how crazy about women he might be, he wouldn’t do such a thing with his genitals at stake.
‘Then why do I feel this way?’
As he was pondering deeply, someone knocked on the door.
Knock knock.
“It’s me.”
“Come in.”
As Yu Jin gave permission, Keith entered and held out an envelope on a silver tray. It seemed this was the cause of the ominous feeling.
“The family head sent a letter.”
With trembling hands, Yu Jin opened the luxurious envelope to find a single sheet of paper inside. The content written there was no different from what Keith had said.
[Come to the mansion.]
Yu Jin let out a quiet sigh.
“He’s not just calling me because he wants to see me, right?”
“He’s not that kind of person. It’s just a guess, but I think he’s calling you about the heir issue.”
“Heir? Why! There are several perfectly fine sons and daughters!”
“Is it really right to call them ‘perfectly fine’?”
Keith tilted his head and asked back.
