Chapter 9: 9

“It’s been a while, Viscount. You recognize me.”

Erin tried to remember if she had ever been close to this man, even as a guest.

But she had never been close to this man, not even for a moment. He was a notorious bastard and a lecher in the capital.

The viscount sat back down as soon as he recognized Erin’s face. Soberness gradually returned to his blurry eyes.

He sent her a smirk and said.

“Why did you come all the way here? Duchess… No, No, not anymore? Aren’t you a Young Marchioness now? So my Lady Erin, have you come here to gamble or something? Then you came to the wrong floor. You should go downstairs.”

The viscount sat back down on the couch again and filled his unlit pipe with some sort of powder.

Erin decided to tell him what she had come here for before the bitter smoke spread through the room again.

“I’m not here to gamble. I’m here to see you because I have something to talk about regarding the products you sent me.”

“Why? You don’t like it?”

The viscount chuckled at the word ‘products‘.

He clearly knew what Erin had come here for. He’d sent her something particularly trashy on purpose.

But Erin’s protests didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest.

‘So what if you don’t like it? You’ve been kicked out by the Duke.’

This is what he thinks, and it shows in his behavior.

“What about them? I’m pretty sure I sent you the best ones I got.”

Erin smiled innocently, as if she didn’t know any better. Then she spoke slowly.

“Indeed I thought so too. So I wrapped it up and sent it to the palace as a gift to the emperor.”

“What, what?”

The Viscount, who had been sprawled out on the couch and lighting his pipe, threw it away and scrambled to his feet.

Erin looked at her opponent’s stunned expression and said innocently.

“His Majesty had always preferred black tea, but I thought he might also like to try coffee now. It’s all the rage these days, and I heard from the doctor that a cup of coffee a day is good for your health. What’s wrong, is there something wrong with it?”

“Huh? Didn’t you order it for your shop? Lady Erin, I heard you’re opening a cafe? Send someone to the palace immediately and tell them to send it back. That’s all the beans that came in this time, so I can’t get that many beans for the time being…”

“I thought about selling coffee in my cafe, but then I thought about it, my shop specializes in desserts. Black tea is better with desserts than coffee, so I decided to focus on black tea as a beverage.”

Erin’s innocent explanation caused the Viscount to stare at her blankly, and he stammered in confusion.

“Well, yes, but those… Beans are…”

“What about the beans? Obviously I ordered expensive ones, and I even have an order confirmation for it.”

Erin fished out the paper from her bosom and waved it around.

On the stiff paper were the details of the transaction.

Erin turned to Viscount Arndt with a look of natural virtue on her face.

“I paid three hundred gold for the beans, and you didn’t send them to me in bad condition, did you?”

“…….”

The viscount’s mouth dropped open with a stony expression, as if he had finally grasped the situation.

“Ha. That’s amazing. I didn’t think you’d retaliate like this. I thought you were just a stupid girl who got kicked out for fooling around with a Knight Captain.”

The viscount sat back down with a sigh of admiration.

All formal respect evaporated as he picked up the pipe he had dropped and lit it again.

A blur of bitter opium smoke rose and fell.

The viscount took a deep breath of the smoke and sneered.

“Did you think I’d be on my knees begging you for that, my dear lady? If I’m reprimanded by the emperor, I’ll just beg his forgiveness, saying it was a servant’s mistake, and there’s no shortage of servants who will stand up for me and say they sent it to the wrong person, and the emperor is merciful, so he’ll definitely forgive my servant.”

“…….”

“Then I’ll reward you with the beans and we’ll be done. I’ll pay you in money, and you can take it. But don’t even think about taking some beans in the future. I will never sell it to you.”

The Viscount spat out with a grumpy face.

I’m sure there are a lot of shops that this man had threatened with the same ‘No more coffee Beans for you’ before.

If it was a different shop, they’d have no choice but to use these bad beans.

This man had a monopoly on the sale of coffee beans, so the shop owners can’t say anything if they receive bad beans.

If he doesn’t like you, then you won’t be able to get beans next month.

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Erin meekly agreed.

“Of course, if you say it was a mistake, and you beg for forgiveness and offer to compensate, His Majesty will definitely let it slide.”

“Indeed.”

“But do you think the others would let it go?”

This time it was Erin’s turn to laugh.

“You can’t tell the difference between quality and rotten garbage, and you would even sell it for money. I wonder what the other businesses will say when they find out that the one who had the exclusive rights for coffee beans is selling them this cheaply.”

Erin spoke slowly, with an easy smile.

“Even if his Majesty were to give you mercy, I wouldn’t believe that such a messed-up company who had a monopoly over something that everyone wants, will just be absolved easily. Won’t the other businesses protest that it’s unfair?”

Viscount Arndt sold the moldy garbage beans to the exiled duchess for three hundred gold.

If word of this got out, people would grab the pods, even if you explained that it was a mistake.

There were a lot of businesses who wanted to import and sell coffee beans.

It was obvious that they must all have considered the Arndt family, who were lucky to have a monopoly, as a thorn on their side.

As long as you have exclusive rights, there are certain rules to follow. One must trade as fairly as possible and make sure there’s no complaints with regards to your product.

However, if one has a monopoly, send garbage instead of good products, and it goes all the way up to the emperor…

The other businesses who wanted to sell coffee beans will definitely attack the Arndt Family with that justification.

They’ll seize the opportunity to incite their well-connected ministers to scramble and break their monopoly in any way they can.

The Emperor might be willing to let it slide if he told him that it was just a mistake, but if he’s the one who received the garbage beans as a gift, then he’s going to have to take it personally.

If one of his ministers suggested, “It’s not a good idea to entrust a monopoly to someone who is so bad at managing supplies,” their exclusive rights would likely be revoked.

That’s exactly what Erin had in mind.

As Erin watched the viscount’s broad face turn an earthy color, she knew she was right.

“Well, that’s..”

The viscount stammered in confusion, having not thought of that far. He was now greatly embarrassed.

‘He dared to turn against me? Well he didn’t see this coming.’

He didn’t expect Erin to make a big deal out of it. At best, he thought that she would beg for a refund and then give up and go home.

Since he was a wealthy nobleman, he would often attend imperial events. He then met Erin, who lived in the palace, and knew that she was a timid woman who would put up with any humiliation.

Anyone who knew her in those days knew that she was a pushover.

Because she was indeed one.

“Give me the right beans.”

Erin walked up to the viscount and held out a hand.

“I clearly ordered and paid for the finest quality ones, so give me the proper ‘top-of-the-line’ product. Then I’ll contact the imperial palace and ask them to return the crate of beans, claiming that I accidentally sent the wrong gift to His Majesty.”

“…….”

At Erin’s threat, the viscount remained silent. He seemed to be calculating what to do. Beyond the complexity of his eyes, one could almost hear his head rolling.

After a moment, the viscount raised his hand.

“Very well, I will send you three hundred gold pieces of the finest quality, as you ordered. So, you have to let it go.”

“Six hundred.”

“What?”

“I want six hundred gold. It’s your fault, so you’ll have to pay for the damages, plus the labor cost to get here.”

“Hey, hey, don’t you think it’s too much to ask for a double?”

“You took my money and gave me crap that’s not even half as good as the one I ordered.”

“…….”

The viscount did not retort. Erin calmly threatened him.

“If you don’t listen to me,” she said, “I’ll do nothing, and I’ll write a petition to the Emperor and all the ministers, telling them that you have defrauded me.”

After a moment, the viscount held up his hands. He gritted his teeth and answered.

“……Okay, I’ll do whatever you want.”

 

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