Celineina had been living quite well recently. The Silver Moon Trading Company’s business was thriving, and the two commercial organizations she had established were flourishing. Everything seemed to be steadily progressing in the right direction.
If this momentum continued, her regional branch could rank among the top three in annual revenue by the end of the year. By the time the agreed-upon deadline next year arrived, she would have successfully turned the tide, transforming the Antica branch of the Silver Moon Trading Company into the most valuable branch of the entire organization.
At that point, she would strongly enter the competition among the heirs.
That was until a few days ago, when she received a letter from her father, Louis.
Her father was hosting a banquet in Saint Roland City and had invited her to attend.
The wording in the letter was firm—her two brothers had already arrived in Saint Roland City days earlier, leaving Celineina with no room to refuse.
As Louis’s daughter, Celineina had no choice but to agree to attend the banquet.
Deep down, she had a feeling that this banquet would not bode well for her.
—
That evening, Celineina donned a beautiful evening gown that accentuated her mature elegance.
She then boarded a carriage and headed to the banquet venue.
The event was being held at a renowned luxury hotel in Saint Roland City’s wealthy district. Louis had rented the entire hotel for the occasion.
As the carriage stopped at the hotel entrance, Celineina took a deep breath, stepped out, and walked inside.
The banquet hadn’t officially started yet, but as the hosts of the event, members of the Bonaventura family had to arrive early.
“Long time no see, little sister.” As soon as she entered, a handsome young man in an evening suit with the same red hair and golden eyes as hers greeted her with a smile.
He was Celineina’s second brother, Lawrence Bonaventura.
“Mm, long time no see, second brother.” Celineina forced a smile.
Not far away, a chubby man with a kind smile approached the two of them.
“Second brother, little sister.” The man was none other than the eldest son of the Bonaventura family, Mark Bonaventura. “It’s been a while. How have you both been?”
Without waiting for a response, Mark continued, “Ah, I’ve been so busy lately. You wouldn’t believe how many things are going on in Prussia.”
“The Silver Moon Trading Company is expanding its operations in Prussia so much that I have to travel constantly for business. It’s exhausting, really... It’s a rare chance for Father to call us back together like this, so I can finally take a break.”
Watching Mark’s humblebrag, Celineina smiled and said, “You must be very busy, big brother. With all that work, the Prussia branch must be generating a lot of revenue.”
“Ah, of course.” Mark nodded. “Prussia’s economy is second only to the royal territories. The branch I manage benefits from Prussia’s wealth. Even if I did nothing, its revenue would still surpass that of branches in poorer regions.”
At this point, Mark seemed to realize something and quickly waved his hands.
“Ah, sorry, Celineina. I wasn’t referring to the Antica Duchy. I meant the Lucian Duchy in the northeast. Don’t misunderstand me—you’ve been working very hard, and we all see that.”
Watching Mark’s poor attempt at an act, Celineina merely let out a cold laugh and said nothing.
Lucian Duchy? Even if Lucian was underdeveloped, its economy was still better than Antica’s. This was clearly a veiled jab at the poor performance of her region.
Sensing the tension, Lawrence quickly stepped in to mediate.
“Alright, big brother, you know little sister’s region isn’t exactly prosperous. The fact that she’s taken on the responsibility is already commendable.”
“Commendable, huh?” Mark snorted. “If she really wants to be responsible, she should find a good husband for herself. That way, our family would gain a strong ally.”
As expected, Mark’s dissatisfaction with Celineina stemmed from this issue.
By inheritance law, Mark was the most likely candidate to succeed Louis as the head of the Silver Moon Trading Company. He already considered the company his, so he was eager for his sister to marry off, allowing the company to benefit from an alliance as soon as possible.
After making his point, Mark headed into the banquet hall.
Lawrence, meanwhile, looked at Celineina with concern. “Little sister, don’t take what big brother said to heart.”
“But did you really make that bet with Father? That you’d bring Antica’s branch revenue to the top within two years?”
“Mm.” Celineina nodded. “It’s true.”
“If you ask me, maybe you should reconsider.” Lawrence’s tone was filled with worry. “You know the starting point there is too low. Even if it’s possible, it’ll take more than two years to achieve.”
“Why not take this time to find a son from another ducal family? If you meet someone you like, you could marry him.”
“Second brother.” Celineina looked at Lawrence, her eyes no longer holding the respect they had earlier. “You want me to give up my claim to the inheritance too, don’t you?”
“No, little sister, I’m just worried about you...” Lawrence tried to explain, but Celineina turned and walked away.
“Sigh.” Lawrence stared at her back and let out a deep sigh.
—
An hour later, the banquet began as scheduled. After Louis delivered his opening remarks, the attendees, all members of high society, began mingling with their chosen targets, each with their own agendas.
As with any banquet, the real purpose was to provide a platform for networking and deal-making.
During this time, Celineina approached Louis with a glass of wine.
Louis, though still displeased with her defiance, raised his glass to her.
The two clinked glasses, and Celineina downed her drink in one go.
“Father, it’s been a while.”
“Mm.” Louis nodded. “It’s been about half a year. How have you been?”
“Thanks to you, Father, I’ve been doing quite well,” Celineina said with a smile.
Louis knew she was being sarcastic, but he didn’t get angry. Instead, he asked, “You still haven’t given up, have you?”
“Given up on what?” Celineina replied with a question.
“Bringing Antica’s branch revenue to the top. That task is nearly impossible. You should know that the Prussia branch, which is ranked second, generates six times the revenue of yours.”
“Oh, that’s now down to twice as much,” Celineina said, pulling out a monthly financial report and handing it to Louis.
Louis took the report, glanced at it, and frowned.