Chapter 9
The next day.
I followed Daisy to the shop for an inspection, and the moment I saw the empty store, I could roughly guess what had happened.
‘As expected… it finally came.’
The acting manager, who had been running the shop in our stead, was pacing nervously inside, drenched in cold sweat. The moment he spotted us, he hurriedly led us into the manager’s office.
“Boss! Something terrible has happened!”
“What is it? Why are there no customers?”
At Daisy’s question, the manager spoke urgently.
“Well… suddenly a few customers complained of stomach pain… There was quite a commotion this morning.”
Hmm. So this is how they’re trying to stir trouble.
“Were there any issues with the supplied ingredients?”
I asked a few questions just in case.
“No, there were no problems with the ingredients. I checked again just to be sure—the beans are fresh!”
Right. There was no way there could be a problem.
Buchanan’s coffee beans had just been imported and had already passed freshness checks.
“So after that incident, all the customers left?”
At Daisy’s question, the manager nodded miserably.
At that moment, a blue-haired man burst into the office.
“Master!”
It was Henry the gardener. From his serious expression, I could tell something else had happened.
After hearing what he learned from the guild, I let out a hollow laugh.
“There are strange rumors spreading about the shop right now.”
Rumors like we reuse coffee, store beans outside, and so on. All clearly malicious and intentional.
“I expected this, but it’s faster than I thought.”
“You expected this?”
“This kind of thing happens often in business. Only scumbags do it, though.”
“Who on earth would do something like this…?”
Daisy trailed off in disbelief.
There were many possible culprits—business competitors, or someone who bore me ill will.
And I knew someone who fit both.
Duke Adelheit.
After all, the one taking the biggest hit right now was Lohart Coffee House.
And personally, I trusted the duke’s underhanded nature a bit more.
He probably didn’t know I was behind this shop.
‘If he did, he would’ve already exposed me as the owner of Gold House and crushed us.’
The reason that hadn’t reached the duke’s ears was because Killian had been covering for me.
‘It wouldn’t be fair to give you a handicap from the start, so I’ll handle that part myself.’
He had quietly shown kindness while expecting inhuman performance from a newly opened shop.
It was something I was grateful for… yet it also left me feeling complicated.
I quickly turned to Henry.
In a situation like this, there was only one solution: exploit the weakness in the attack.
“What exactly are the rumors about the beans?”
“On the surface, they say we pretend to import high-quality beans, but secretly bring in cheap, low-grade ones underneath. Or that we reuse beans… or store them outside because we don’t have a proper warehouse.”
So they carefully avoided provoking Archduke Orfeo’s anger, and instead crafted rumors to turn it toward me. Clever and insidious.
“What about sales?”
“They’ve dropped by more than half compared to usual.”
If it had plummeted this much in just a few days, profits would soon go negative.
At this rate, the shop would have to close.
“W-what should we do?”
Everyone in the office was looking at me.
“If they’re targeting freshness and reuse, there’s only one solution.”
“Are we going to show the entire production process?”
“No. That’s not enough.”
That could backfire—people might accuse us of only pretending to be clean in front of customers. We needed something more.
Something that would completely eliminate suspicion and ultimately restore sales… even if it took time.
“We’ll do limited sales.”
“Limited sales? Wouldn’t that reduce revenue even more right now?”
The manager looked confused. I nodded.
“For now, yes. But when freshness is questioned, limited sales are the best solution. If we make only a fixed amount daily, it naturally creates the impression that everything is made from fresh ingredients.”
“I see…!”
Daisy’s eyes sparkled, clearly impressed.
The manager and Henry immediately left to prepare signs announcing limited editions.
Meanwhile—
“So you’re saying their customers completely disappeared!”
Duke Adelheit, who had heard the news the day before, couldn’t hide his delight.
‘How dare some nobody!’
Did they really think they could survive after stealing the Buchanan coffee contract and surpassing Lohart’s sales?
What a joke.
And that wasn’t the only good news.
He had also heard that Edith, whose funding had been cut off, had disappeared entirely.
“Hahaha! Even if they start a business, it’s all in the palm of our hands!”
At dinner, surrounded by family and Reinhardt, the duke laughed heartily.
The duchess, who had once smashed perfume bottles in rage upon hearing Edith started a business, also couldn’t hide her satisfaction.
“How could we ever let her live peacefully after what she did!”
She sneered sharply.
Caleb smiled with satisfaction.
“Ha, isn’t this just karma?”
Elisa, now fully at ease, smiled as well.
‘I thought she might actually succeed.’
But of course not.
Did Edith ever have that kind of ability?
Elisa had been assigned as a maid to Edith and Stella since childhood. And yet, she could never understand—
Why Edith, who was inferior to her in both looks and intelligence, enjoyed a better life.
‘Why? What do I lack compared to her?’
The unbridgeable gap caused by birth alone filled her with resentment.
But now, it didn’t matter.
She had driven Edith out, taken her place as the duke’s daughter, and would soon gain a fine fiancé.
Elisa glanced at Reinhardt with a pleased smile.
But he had stopped cutting his food.
“What’s wrong, Reinhardt?”
Elisa looked puzzled.
He remained silent, as if something was troubling him.
“Don’t tell me you don’t like our methods?”
Caleb smirked.
“You’re too rigid. Considering what that woman did to our family and to Stella, this is nothing.”
“…I suppose.”
Thinking of Stella, Reinhardt slowly resumed cutting his food.
Caleb shot him an annoyed glance.
‘If he saw that woman at the Evan estate…’
Even Reinhardt would lose any remaining sympathy.
Meanwhile, Reinhardt fell deep into thought.
If they had known from the beginning that Elisa was the real daughter, Stella might not have died.
‘Because Elisa had divine power.’
It was a recently revealed truth.
When he heard it, Reinhardt lost control and threw the annulment papers in Edith’s face.
His knife stopped again.
“That’s right… If I had known sooner, poor Stella wouldn’t have died… sob.”
Elisa teared up.
Seeing her, Reinhardt quickly spoke.
“It is not your fault, my lady.”
“That’s right, Elisa. Why would it be your fault?”
The frail duchess put down her food, barely having eaten.
With bloodshot eyes, she began cursing viciously.
“It’s all those deceitful women’s fault!”
Amid the foul language, Reinhardt’s already slow movements stopped completely.
Still, he couldn’t entirely blame her.
After Stella’s death, she had become like someone who had given up on life.
She couldn’t sleep without heavy sleeping pills and barely ate.
“Is it really… not my fault?”
“You have no reason to feel guilty.”
Sniffling, Elisa wiped her tears with the handkerchief Reinhardt gave her.
Everyone celebrated Edith’s impending downfall as dinner ended.
Later, in his office, Duke Adelheit was soon enraged by new information from his aide.
“What? What do you mean their sales have recovered?!”
“Well… it seems they restored sales through a different strategy…”
It was news that the Gold Coffee House—recently a thorn in his side—had recovered its business
