Chapter 23
‘Is this a dream?’
It had to be a dream, of course.
Only yesterday, a single flower was easily fetching 2 billion Francs, so 1 billion Francs was simply nonsense.
“Your Highness, this is a dream, isn’t it?”
Raios was sitting beside her, smoking a cigar while reading the newspaper.
“No, Alice.”
He flipped the newspaper to the next page with a crisp flutter and let out a smirk, as if he had just read a particularly hilarious article.
“It’s reality.”
“…….”
“Want to see?”
Thump. Raios tossed the newspaper toward her. Alice leafed through the pages like someone possessed.
[Why Did the Price of Moonlight Flowers Plummet by Half in a Single Day?]
Lies. Alice mumbled to herself.
‘Right, it’s a lie. There’s no way this is possible.’
Alice pinched her cheek hard. It hurt.
That was the strange part. If it were a dream, it shouldn’t hurt this much, right? Which meant…….
The price really had dropped by half?
In an instant, her mind cleared as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her.
‘This is insane!’
“One billion Francs per flower?!”
“Does this make any sense?!”
The next morning, Dana was jolted awake by loud shouting.
“We trusted the Winzer family and spent a fortune to buy Moonlight Flowers. And now the price has dropped by half?!”
“Is the Winzer family’s credit worth only this much?!”
Noble patrons who had recently won Moonlight Flowers at auction were flocking in to protest.
“I bought my Moonlight Flower when it was 2 billion Francs! Who buys a single flower at that price? I bought it thinking about its resale value!”
“But for it to drop by half overnight—what kind of disaster is this?!”
Coincidentally, the Family Head, Viego Winzer, was away on a business trip.
Therefore, this matter fell to Karl Winzer—the general manager of the Moonlight Flower business and the Vice Family Head of the Winzer family—to resolve.
Karl maintained a deliberate, relaxed smile and spoke in a voice meant to inspire confidence.
“I will find a solution shortly. So please, everyone, calm yourselves.”
Ah, you probably shouldn’t have said that.
Dana suppressed a laugh.
‘There is no solution, Karl Winzer.’
In fact, as time passed, the problem would only snowball. What would he do then?
After somehow soothing and managing to send the protesting nobles away.
An exhausted Karl Winzer felt a throbbing headache coming on and muttered to himself.
“What kind of bastard would do this while taking such a loss?”
The final winning bid had been 2 billion.
Since the price had been skyrocketing daily, they certainly could have sold them for an even higher price on the black market.
And yet, they chose to sell them for half price as if to make a statement!
‘What is the reason for selling at half price even at the cost of losing such a massive sum of money?’
Clearly, a very complex conspiracy was afoot.
Perhaps it was a scheme by the Old Orthodox faction. Or else…….
Or else.
It was the work of someone with a personal grudge.
“Uncle, are you alright?”
Just then, Dana approached him cautiously. Her face was filled with worry and concern.
“You don’t look well.”
“Dana.”
Karl forced a smile.
“You’re the only one who worries about me. I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
“I’m glad to hear that, but…”
Dana looked down dejectedly at his hand. It was the same hand that had struck Juan yesterday.
“Is your hand alright?”
“What? Ahaha!”
Asking if his hand was alright!
The innocent words of his niece made Karl laugh. Even in such a difficult moment, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Of course it’s fine, Dana. Don’t you know that military experience is mandatory for all Winzer men? This is nothing.”
“But still.”
“I’m sorry for making you worry. Are you alright yourself?”
At that, Dana’s expression clouded over.
“Actually, there was something I wanted to tell you.”
Dana hesitated for a moment before pulling something from her bodice. It was a dessert inside a transparent bag.
A chocolate.
“This was served during tea time today……”
Dana spoke in a trembling voice.
“Strange medicinal components were detected inside this.”
“What?”
“They say it contained something like… an aphrodisiac, the kind only traded on the black market. Fortunately, my secretary discovered it, so I didn’t eat it.”
“…….”
“Who could have done such a thing, Uncle? I’m so scared.”
Karl’s lips stiffened into a hard line.
Someone tried to drug Dana?
With an illegal substance only traded on the black market?
‘Who would do such a thing…….’
In that moment, the tangled threads began to unravel one by one.
A love potion.
Someone trying to win Dana’s heart.
‘Juan.’
Someone who could easily frequent back alleys and the black market.
‘Juan.’
Someone who had easy access to Moonlight Flowers and had a personal grudge against Karl significant enough to endure a massive loss.
‘Juan Rolland.’
It was you!
That wretch must have tried to force-feed Dana a love potion.
And was that all? Since he was in charge of the Moonlight Flower business, it would have been easy for him to embezzle the flowers.
Hadn’t Karl seen with his own eyes not long ago that Juan had sent Dana a bouquet of Moonlight Flowers?!
‘It’s certain that Juan bastard sold them on the black market at half price!’
He must have taken revenge out of resentment for being beaten!
However, Karl didn’t let his thoughts show and smiled at his innocent niece.
“Don’t worry, Dana. I will protect you.”
“Yes.”
“For now, don’t eat anything. I’ll arrange for your meals separately, alright?”
“Yes.”
Dana gave a gentle smile.
Then, she looked at the ring shining on his hand—the ring of the Vice Family Head, the Sacred Artifact—and spoke.
“I trust only you, Uncle.”
Karl Winzer.
For now, you’ll feel the need to protect me.
Because one year from now, you intend to kill me in the way you want, at the time you want.
Yes, compared to Karl, the flower-brained Alice or the moronic Juan were nothing.
‘You are the most hideous human being of all, Karl Winzer.’
From that day on, the Moonlight Flower auction market froze over.
“Only a few days ago, everyone was scrambling to win a bid……”
Alice’s mind went blank. She simply couldn’t believe this reality.
“But why is no one buying?”
It was a complete freeze.
No one was selling, and no one was buying.
It was a situation where both sellers and buyers avoided trading for fear of losing even a little bit of money.
Exactly three days. While a fierce battle of nerves continued.
“Rete.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
“This time, release 10% more of our stock. The price will be…”
Dana pondered for a moment before deciding.
“500 million per flower.”
In just three days, the price had crashed from 2 billion to 1 billion, and then from 1 billion to 500 million.
The market was seized by a massive shock.
Some Moonlight Flower holders quickly began putting their flowers out even at 500 million, and a few people bought them up quickly.
But that was only temporary.
“This time, sell another 10% at 300 million per flower.”
“Yes.”
On the fourth day.
Moonlight Flowers were sold for 300 million.
At this, those who had been holding onto their Moonlight Flowers until now rushed in like a tidal wave to put them up for auction.
But now, there were no buyers.
It was only natural, given that the price had dropped from 2 billion to 300 million in just a week.
If it dropped this much in a week.
It could drop even further.
If I wait just a little longer, I’ll be able to buy it at an even cheaper price.
Buying it now would be a loss.
……In the first place, do I really need to buy that?
Finally, people began to think that way.
What builds a market is, ultimately, human psychology.
In those few days while that psychology fluctuated, the market collapsed rapidly.
An enormous amount of inventory flooded out as people desperately put their Moonlight Flowers up for auction, but now no one wanted to buy.
And that wasn’t all.
“Alice, this is far too much.”
The friends who had bought Moonlight Flowers through Alice.
They began to protest.
“It hasn’t even been that long since I bought the flowers from Alice; how can the price drop like this?”
“What is this? I bought mine at a high price, so why has the value suddenly plummeted?”
“Alice, do something. This is the business you’re in charge of, so you should take responsibility!”
Thank you, Alice. You’re truly the best.
All the acquaintances who had accepted the Moonlight Flowers while saying such things.
“Did Alice know?”
“Didn’t you sell them at a high price knowing the value would drop?”
They criticized her with suspicious glares.
“Oh, what should I do?”
Alice was frantic. Since this was something she hadn’t anticipated even in her dreams, she had no idea what to do.
“What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?”
Her hands trembled violently.
She didn’t know where to start. No matter how much she thought about it, this current situation—
It seemed she was utterly ruined.
