Chapter 15
“Pardon?”
Alice’s swollen eyes flew open.
“You’re putting me in charge of the Moonlight Flower business?”
“That’s right!”
Sandra hugged her daughter, overcome with excitement.
“Who is your father? Isn’t he the Vice Family Head of Winzer? He can certainly do that much for you.”
“I—I don’t know how I could possibly…”
“It’s alright. Juan will be there to help you. You’ll manage the business alongside your uncle!”
At those words, Juan did not hide his displeasure.
“Think about this again, sister. Business is a world of rough men.”
“Shut your mouth, Juan.”
“No, I mean it. A precious lady like Alice must already be busy enough at home, embroidering and learning the piano. Do you really think Alice can endure a man’s world?”
Smack!
Juan eventually shut up after receiving a sharp slap to the back from Sandra.
However, his dissatisfaction did not vanish.
‘What does a clueless airhead like her know about running a business?’
Alice Winzer, his niece, was lovely, cute, and beautiful—but that was it.
Alice was merely a flower. A flower raised with the utmost care inside a greenhouse.
What could a blossom like her possibly know how to do that would justify putting her in charge of a business?
‘It’s because of paratroopers like her that talented people like me get a bad reputation.’
Just as he was about to try and dissuade them once more—
“I-I’ll do it!”
Alice clenched her small fists.
“I’ll do it! I can do it!”
Alice had already been feeling suffocated.
Setting aside the fact that her covenant ceremony had been reduced to a miserable three-minute event—
The biggest reason for her depression was, after all, her sister Dana.
‘I still can’t believe it. How could Sister do that to me?’
Dana’s face as she watched the ceremony remained vivid in her mind.
Alice had been certain she would look discouraged, miserable, or envious, but…
But there wasn’t a single ounce of such negative emotion on her face. She had been perfectly calm and composed.
‘Of course, I didn’t want her to be in pain, but still.’
Still.
Still!
It was an important day; couldn’t she have shown at least a little admiration?
Alice felt incredibly depressed at the thought that she hadn’t received even a shred of congratulations.
That wasn’t all. The words the Crown Prince had said to Dana dominated her mind.
‘He called Dana the woman who would soon become the Crown Princess.’
But if so?
Then who would become the Empress?
Though she hadn’t been able to ask, Alice had a faint premonition.
The Empress would be Dana.
Of course, Raios’s love belonged entirely to her, but the position of Empress was not something one could occupy through love alone.
‘Sister has so much, after all.’
Honor and wealth. Her sister held the very pinnacle of those things in her hands.
But…
‘What if I run the Moonlight Flower business?’
That flower, the symbol of the Moon God.
The mysterious flower that glowed on its own and was considered more precious than jewels.
If she took charge of the monopoly trade for that rare flower…
Couldn’t she slowly build her own reputation as well?
Above all, even Dana had wanted the Moonlight Flower!
Her sister, who could have anything she wanted, had gone so far as to ask the Crown Prince for that flower as a gift!
Once her thoughts reached that point, she was overflowing with motivation.
“I’ll do it. I can do it. I’ll work hard!”
“Alice?”
“Yes. I’m told she has been put in charge of the Moonlight Flower business.”
“My goodness.”
Dana couldn’t help but laugh.
To become the master of a sandcastle that was about to crumble.
Talk about bad luck.
‘Good. I wanted to punish her anyway.’
Let her experience some real heartache for once. Dana handed a document to her secretary.
“Rete. How many forged identities can you purchase?”
“What is there that can’t be done with your money, My Lady?”
“Then purchase several forged identities and participate in the Moonlight Flower auctions to win the flowers. As many as possible, and at the highest price possible.”
At that, the secretary furrowed his brows.
“Are you perhaps trying to drive up the price of Moonlight Flowers right now?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
It was a tactic often used in auction houses.
To raise the price of a product, shills were hired to call out high prices and intensify the competition.
‘But it’s an inappropriate method for me, since I need to drop the value of the flowers.’
One of the secrets to the Moonlight Flower’s popularity was that supply could not keep up with demand.
There were so many people who wanted the flowers, but so few who could actually possess them.
That was why their value soared day by day.
But if he followed Dana’s orders, the value would only rise further.
Just then, the secretary raised an eyebrow as if he had realized something.
“Could it be that the method you’re planning is…”
“Sister Dana!”
It was then. The door burst open, and Alice walked in.
Then she faltered, coming to a halt with a surprised look.
“S-Sister? What on earth are you doing right now?”
What was she talking about? Entering so rudely without even knocking.
“Rete, you may leave.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
As the secretary left, Alice watched his retreating figure until the end, her face flushing red.
“Sister, you shouldn’t do that.”
“What?”
“I know your heart is broken over the breakup with the Crown Prince, but still, meeting with an employee is a bit…”
“What?”
“I mean, your secretary is exceptionally handsome, but still…”
“…”
“I-I’m sorry if I offended you.”
It was such nonsense from start to finish that Dana didn’t even know where to begin responding.
They had only been standing close because they were discussing a secret matter, yet she had made such an absurd misunderstanding.
“Don’t make such unpleasant assumptions. Rete is my secretary. Above all, whoever I meet is none of your business.”
Dana spoke coldly.
“And I have nothing to say to you, so leave.”
“Sister…”
“I said, get out.”
But instead of leaving, Alice hesitated before stepping closer.
“Um, Sister.”
Her face was flushed as if she were anticipating something.
“You see, I’ve prepared a gift.”
She held out the hand she had been hiding behind her back. In her hand was a small flowerpot—
“It’s a gift.”
A flower glowing with moonlight.
It was a Moonlight Flower.
“You were very upset when the Crown Prince gave this gift to me last time, weren’t you?”
Alice looked at Dana with an apologetic gaze and let out a sigh as if she pitied her.
“My heart really ached back then. I’ll apologize once more. I’m sorry, Sister.”
“…”
“So I prepared this instead. I’ve been put in charge of the Moonlight Flower business.”
“…”
“But you can think of it as a gift from the Crown Prince. Sister.”
Dana’s head throbbed. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
“What do you mean by that, Alice?”
“I wanted to comfort you. You wanted this flower, didn’t you?”
So…
‘You’re going to give me a flower on behalf of Raios?’
Heat slowly began to boil up from deep within her chest.
“Are you pitying me right now?”
“No! I just wanted to comfort you!”
“Comfort? You’re giving me this flower as a consolation gift for stealing my fiancé?”
“That’s not it!”
Alice cried out in a fragile voice.
“Why do you always take things the wrong way, Sister? That wasn’t my intention at all!”
Good heavens.
Dana let out a hollow laugh in sheer disbelief. To an outsider, she would look like the villainess here.
“I just thought you were still sulking, so I wanted to cheer you up. I wanted to make up…”
Sulking?
Make up?
She dared to spit out such words?
All sorts of profanities bubbled up inside her like lava.
What was even more unbearable was the look in Alice’s eyes. Those eyes filled with nothing but pure goodwill.
It wasn’t a lie. She was sincere.
Which meant…
‘Alice truly believes that.’
Ah, I see. You’re the good, innocent girl until the very end.
Dana wanted to crush that face.
“Do you really think a single flower like this will fix my mood, Alice?”
No, she intended to crush it.
“Get it out of my sight this instant. Something like this means nothing to me.”
“Sister! Th-this is a Moonlight Flower. It’s incredibly hard to get. Even if it’s my father’s business… even if I’m the one running it now…”
“That’s exactly my point. A business run by someone like you—it must be so trivial if they entrusted it to you.”
Dana provoked Alice on purpose. To trigger the girl’s competitive streak.
“H-H-How can you say such a thing?”
“I guarantee it, the Moonlight Flower business will go bankrupt within a month.”
She meant it. It was also the truth. Dana clicked her tongue as if she felt sorry for her.
“Poor Uncle Karl. It’ll be a huge blow if the Moonlight Flower business fails…”
“Sister, please! Please stop saying such wicked things. I’m begging you!”
Alice clasped her hands together and appealed in a trembling voice.
“No matter how upset you are, you shouldn’t say things like that, Sister! No matter how miserable you feel, you shouldn’t act like this!”
“Miserable? Me?”
Dana rose from her chair. Then, she shoved the flowerpot with her hand.
Crash!
“Kyaah!”
The pot shattered, and soil splattered everywhere.
Dana looked directly into Alice’s shocked eyes and stomped firmly on the Moonlight Flower.
