Chapter 27……………………………………………
‘My answer about using my allowance for maintaining dignity to invite Grandfather to lunch… Even Laoletta must have thought it was a pretty good response.’
Berkshire had 59 affiliated companies, but if you included all of its subsidiaries, the number easily exceeded a thousand.
Since it wasn’t only the direct Berkshire line that inherited subsidiaries, Ariana also had to pay attention to this kind of public opinion battle.
“Ramiel. Which family owns this newspaper company?”
“The Persis Newspaper Company holds the number one market share in the Empire and has considerable influence. I believe the Alphion Marquess family owns 79% of the shares, making them the effective owners.”
“……”
“Why are you smiling, Young Lady?”
“I just read what was going through Christina’s head.”
Ariana had heard that the young lord Christina was negotiating marriage with was the eldest son of Marquess Alphion.
So she planned to swallow up the media through marriage?
‘She understood the importance of the press from a young age.’
For a moment, Ariana had the instinctive feeling that after crushing Aunt Laoletta, her most troublesome enemy would be Christina.
‘But the enemy of my enemy is my friend. There’s no need to antagonize Christina right now. She’s probably leaving me alone for the same reason.’
Folding the newspaper, Ariana asked:
“Ramiel. Is a tea-time debut really that important?”
“Of course. It’s extremely important.”
“Which invitation do you think I should accept?”
“Well… I filtered them down to five while reviewing them briefly. I think you should choose one yourself from here, Young Lady.”
Ramiel truly was a capable maid.
Out of the 139 invitations, she respectfully selected the top five and handed them over with both hands.
Ariana carefully read them one by one.
As expected, among the five was an invitation from Chloe, known as the “Flower of Tea Time.”
I sincerely apologize for not believing right away that you were truly the Duchess of Berkshire when we first met. I would be delighted if you would grant me the chance to properly apologize.
‘Hmm. I don’t really want to get tangled up with Chloe.’
Ariana made a strange face at Chloe’s overly polite tone, even in print.
Wasn’t Chloe the one who had looked down on Ariana with contempt for poverty when they met in the food distribution line?
Still, Ariana was curious what expression Chloe would make if Ariana appeared before her as the Grand Duchess of Berkshire…
Lowering her gaze, she saw even more pleading words.
If you would simply accept my invitation, I will certainly ensure a grand tea time worthy of your debut…
Ariana wasn’t interested in flowery language.
Without reading further, she set the invitation down and tapped the table lightly with her fingers.
“Ramiel, if I debut at the tea time hosted by the ‘Flower of Tea Time’… that would be meaningful, wouldn’t it?”
Ariana also knew that the second daughter of House Alphion was close with Chloe.
“It certainly would be. Many noble young ladies wish to build a connection with Lady Chloe.”
“It’s absolutely not because I want to be close with her.”
“Does she make you uncomfortable?”
Ramiel knew about the incident in the slums.
“To be honest, she does. But it’s not because of what happened there.”
After Ariana testified in front of Adrian that the soup tasted awful, she thought Count Hubert might fall from grace…
Yet Chloe remained the “Flower of Tea Time.”
It seemed the matter had been brushed aside—perhaps a privilege of being the world-blessed heroine.
‘I just don’t want to associate with someone who despises the poor.’
Even if Chloe apologized, Ariana doubted it would feel sincere.
Still, the reason Ariana hesitated over Chloe’s invitation was purely because of Perez.
‘If only I could run into Perez, even by chance…’
Perez was the first character Ariana encountered after possessing this world.
She had guessed he appeared because Chloe was holding a charity event nearby.
In the original story, Perez rarely went outside before obtaining his false identity.
‘No matter how much I skimmed the novel, it never even said where the Battenberg estate was.’
In other words, this year—when Perez was still only 665 years old—it was nearly impossible to meet him.
After having his private time interrupted once, Perez would no longer even step foot near the Anteflower Garden.
And Ariana couldn’t yet use the Information Guild, since she was still drowning in debt.
She decided to give up on meeting Perez this year.
Next year would be different.
Of course, even after obtaining a false identity, Perez wasn’t exactly outgoing, so approaching him would still be difficult…
But for Ariana, relying on coincidence was the only method she had.
“…Tell them I will debut at Lady Chloe’s tea time in winter. Early January, after the new year, would be best.”
“Yes, Young Lady.”
It was still only September.
Four months remained until January.
Ramiel looked like she had many questions, but she bowed silently.
Ariana knew logically that even debuting at Chloe’s tea time made it unlikely she would meet Perez.
Perez first met Chloe when both of them were adults.
Still, wasn’t it better to try something rather than do nothing?
‘Just yesterday I was happy autumn came so I could plant tulips… and now I’m already wishing for winter.’
Ariana quietly stared out the window.
She hoped it would snow.
She wanted to reunite with Perez sooner.
They say a child’s time moves more slowly than an adult’s…
But perhaps because Ariana carried the soul of an adult, nine months of possession passed in the blink of an eye.
‘The tulip garden is doing fine, and signs of a tulip trend are starting to appear in the Terran Empire…’
Ariana was moving exactly according to her plans beneath the surface.
There were no visible results yet, but she didn’t mind being underestimated for now.
She also knew Schwaben was happiest with her diligence—how she never neglected her studies.
‘Grandfather’s favor is still secure. The only real problem is how to increase Perez’s possessiveness…’
At Chloe’s tea time debut, Ariana didn’t make a single mistake.
Chloe seemed to be working behind the scenes to humiliate her, but Ariana calmly endured every provocation.
Then, one topic suddenly captured Ariana’s attention.
“Ariana, have you heard the news? That Baron Ponz, the one rising as part of the new wealthy class… People have been lining up to invest in him lately.”
Ponz?
The name sounded familiar, and Ariana froze.
Before she could answer, Chloe jumped in as if she already knew.
“Oh, yes, I heard. Something about buying foreign stamps with domestic money and profiting from the exchange difference? They say you can make a fortune that way. Baron Ponz’s portfolio has been circulating among nobles recently.”
Hearing the explanation made it certain.
It was an economic incident recorded in Earth’s history, and it was also mentioned in the original novel.
A classic pyramid scam.
Namely—
‘The Ponzi scheme.’
