At first, Zerio considered hiding the money he was supposed to pay to Lorona.

The money Lorona earned before she died belonged to her. If Lorona’s family were to learn of the gold, and demanded it to be handed over, Zerio wouldn’t be able to refuse.

However, Zerio knew. Lorona kept the fact that she was involved with the Miez Corporation a secret from her family.

Perhaps, she thought that her reputation as a noble lady would be tarnished. As a result, Lorona always disguised herself whenever she went to the company. To keep the money from being traced back, it was also paid in cash. Zerio would give the money to Lorona in a cloth bag or store it in a safe.

“Well, she’s a countess. She probably has a lot more than this.”

Holding a heavy cloth bag, Zerio smirked.

A few days ago, the Miez Corporation signed an important contract and made a huge profit. That bag was Lorona’s share. She should had come to receive the money that day.

The other party was a large company in the neighboring kingdom. Said company heard that the Miez Corporation was currently the best in that kingdom and offered a contract.

They brought in a special plant called ‘Senz.’

Senz could be used to create a durable material that was very hard to burn and tear. It was a wonderful product that could be used not only for clothes, but other various products as well.

The other party claimed to want to entrust the entirety of the sales of Senz cloth to the Miez Corporation.

Zerio was naturally pleased by that. If they were to sign such a huge contract, the position of the Miez Corporation would be unwavering. It’d also roll in huge profit.

Lorona was initially against that deal.

As the conditions were too good to be true, she wanted to research more about Senz.

Zerio laughed at Lorona’s judgement. Despite her talents, she was still a noble lady. Large deals must had frightened her.

Zerio was confident his eyes could discern good products. Senz cloth was definitely a great product. If they didn’t make mistake in selling it, it’d become an element that would support the Miez Corporation for the next 100 years.

“Lady, believe in my taste. This is definitely a great deal.”

Towards Zerio’s desperate persuasion, Lorona finally acquiesced.

However, the condition was that the amount of Senz imported for the first transaction would be halved.

As a result, the contract was a great success.

The purchased Senz cloth soon found a major buyer. From the start, it was very lucrative to the Miez Corporation.

“…If not for that, it would’ve been twice as profitable… at least I get to keep this.”

While muttering to convince himself, Zerio hugged the sack of money.

The heavy and cold feeling filled Zerio’s heart.

At that time, there was knocking on his door.

Zerio immediately hid the sack and cleared his throat while replying.

“Commercial chairman, we seem to have a customer.”

“There shouldn’t be any appointments today. Who is it?”

“It’s Aslan.”

“You should’ve told me sooner!! Escort him in immediately!!”

Zerio hurriedly trimmed his clothes and tidied his surroundings. He tried to appear as generous as possible as he prepared to welcome the guest.

The door opened as expected.

“Hello, Zerio, it’s been a long time.”

“Why, if it isn’t Lord Aslan. You used to visit regularly.”

A tall gentleman with shining golden hair entered. Due to the fact that half of his face was concealed behind a mask, his face was a mystery. His lips, which were the only visible feature of his face, were finely-shaped. Zerio was fully aware that despite his humble appearance, he was high-class.

He had been a good customer of the Miez Corporation for about two years. He always placed big orders and would sometimes introduce very good business partners.

Lorona, who usually left the external responses to Zerio, would often appear to work with Aslan.

Aslan’s identity was shrouded in mystery.

However, Zerio inferred from his attitude that he was an aristocrat just like Lorona. But according to Zerio’s investigation, there were no aristocrats within that kingdom that befitted the identity of Aslan.

In order to have a thicker relationship, Zerio wanted to uncover the identity of Aslan, but Lorona forbade it. Violating a customer’s privacy wasn’t good.

However, the fussy Lorona was now gone. Zerio considered it as a good opportunity, so he wanted to get closer to Aslan somehow. He licked his lips.

Zerio sat in a chair facing Aslan while he sat on a couch for visitors. As the same time, he tried to peer into the mask he always wore.

It was a white mask that completely concealed his nose and forehead. A high-quality colored glass was set around the eyes. As a result, not even the color of his irises could be determined.

…If only he could somehow remove that mask.

With that in mind, he stared at Aslan. Aslan, who seemed to have noticed his unscrupulous gaze, tilted his head.

Zerio hurriedly cleared his throat and smiled to begin his appeal to him.

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***T/N: Lmao, with how each chapter progress, we get more glimpse of the character’s inner turmoil and I… ended up hating them more.

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