Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 25 Part 2

“Saruka?”

“He’s quite famous in East Harlem. Known for his cruelty.”

Eleanor never thought Caroline would be doing business under her name in East Harlem.

The reason she was even looking for the sales history of the counterfeit items in the first place was to find any evidence, however small, that she was involved in illegal activities.

Yet, in Eleanor’s memories, there was no connection between Caroline and Saruka.

“Do you know much about Saruka?”

“I don’t know much. I just know that he always wears a mask. It’s a well-known story in East Harlem, but if you happen to see Saruka’s face…”

Jack Ruby made a motion of slashing his throat.

“It’s curtains for you.”

“……”

“That means you’d die,” Jack Ruby added, in case Eleanor hadn’t caught the meaning of ‘curtains for you.’

He continued, “There’s a rumor that no one has ever seen Saruka’s face and survived.”

“So is it difficult to investigate him?”

“More than difficult. You could pour in gold coins and it still wouldn’t be enough. No one would dare, even for a fortune.”

Jack Ruby, who once claimed he would do anything if the price was right, had taken a step back.

“There’s a big player in East Harlem. Do you know the Balkan Trading Company?”

“Balkan Trading Company?”

“It’s just a rumor, but it’s whispered around that the real owner of Balkan Trading Company is one of the three great ducal houses of the Empire.”

“It’s just a rumor, but it’s whispered around that the real owner of Balkan Trading Company is one of the three great ducal houses of the Empire.”

Jack Ruby shivered, seeming genuinely afraid of them.

Eleanor committed both Saruka and the Balkan Trading Company to memory.

“I’ve been trying to get information on Balkan Trading Company for a long time. I sent many of my men, but somehow they were all found out. The methods they use to kill are so brutal that my subordinates won’t even talk about them.”

“……”

“This isn’t just me, it’s the same for other information brokers. Their heads roll before they complete the job. Anyone going in knows they’re signing up for a death wish.”

“Then is Saruka connected to the Balkan Trading Company?”

Jack Ruby nodded. “Whenever there’s a big transaction involving Balkan Trading Company, Saruka is always present. The exact relationship between them isn’t clear, but I suspect it’s quite deep.”

“I see.”

That meant there was a high likelihood of a connection to Caroline.

Even more so if the rumor about one of the Empire’s three ducal houses was true.

‘How am I going to find out?’

If what Jack Ruby said was true, it was clearly beyond the capacity of information brokers alone.

Forcing them into a situation that would lead to their deaths in order to obtain information wasn’t a particularly appealing approach either.

After some thought, Eleanor remembered someone.

A single person.

Someone much higher than the ducal houses, someone who wouldn’t be constrained by these kinds of investigative limitations.

“Let’s end the investigation into Zigor’s counterfeits here. Instead, focus all efforts on Madam Müller’s death.”

“Yes, leave it to me!”

Jack Ruby pounded his chest, clearly more confident about this task than anything involving Saruka.

With her business concluded, Eleanor moved to find Berenice, ready to return to the palace.

***

“The master has ordered that your house confinement be lifted.”

The butler approached Caroline, bowing his head.

Caroline, who was combing her hair, twisted one side of her lips in a smirk. It was as if she had anticipated that her house confinement would be lifted.

“Of course.”

Even though he was the head of the family, Ernst had his limits.

He was a son who wanted recognition from his family just as much as he wanted to support Mecklen.

Caroline knew that better than anyone, and she used it to agitate the members of the family.

The only solution Ernst, who could not reveal the truth behind her confinement to them, could come up with was to lift it in response to their protests.

“It’s time for an outing after all this while.”

“Yes, madam.”

The maids attended to Caroline, helping her get dressed.

They carefully applied powder to hide her wrinkles and painted her lips bright red.

Though she ended up looking a bit like a ghost floating in the air, Caroline was quite satisfied.

The place she headed to after leaving the mansion was none other than the Count of Verdik’s residence.

“Madam Caroline, your confinement has finally been lifted!”

Count Verdik came out to greet her warmly.

“It’s been difficult managing things alone. It’s a great joy to see you again.”

Count Verdik, delighted, tried to flatter her, but Caroline looked uninterested.

As soon as they were settled in the parlor, Caroline got straight to the point.

“Did you send someone to Ceylon?”

Count Verdik nodded energetically. “A letter should be arriving soon. It’ll be…”

Knock, knock.

“My lord, an urgent letter has arrived for you.”

“Oh, it’s just in time.”

The news had arrived at a perfect moment.

Count Verdik took the letter from the servant.

Expecting to secure the monopoly on logistics, he opened it confidently in front of Caroline.

But the smile on his face quickly disappeared as he read.

“What’s this?”

“What is it?”

“It’s just…”

The flustered Count Verdik glanced back and forth between the letter and Caroline’s face.

“They say the exclusive contract is impossible.”

“What?”

Caroline’s hand paused, the fan in her hand clicking shut.

Count Verdik rubbed his eyes, hoping he had read it wrong. But the contents of the letter hadn’t changed.

With a trembling voice, Count Verdik continued, “They said the monopoly has already ended. It seems someone else made a bulk purchase. Because of that, they had trouble finding a distributor, and they could only secure a merchant with tea from last year, who said the maximum shipment would be fifty kilograms.”

“Fifty? What’s that supposed to do?” Caroline shouted furiously. “An initial quantity of fifty is far too little. Tell them we’re confident in our sales and ask them to send more.”

“That… this was all we could get. The merchant insists that if we don’t like it, they’ll just continue dealing with their current partners.”

“Damn it.”

Caroline cursed harshly.

Just a few months ago, most of the plantations had been positive about doing business with her.

But now, they were changing their stance overnight?

Before she could even enjoy the feeling of being freed from confinement, Caroline found herself crashing down, her eyes filled with rage.

“Who are they? Were there other merchants besides us in Ceylon?”

“I don’t know either. Madam Caroline, if this goes wrong before we even begin…”

“Shut up with the unlucky talk.”

When the timid Count Verdik expressed concern for the future, Caroline shot him down.

“Instead of dampening the mood, think about finding the bastards who stole our deal.”

“I’m sorry. I was just worried…”

Count Verdik’s words only seemed to pour oil onto Caroline’s fury.

Fuming, Caroline couldn’t hold back her anger and ended up throwing her teacup against the wall.

Startled by the sound of breaking glass, a maid rushed in, only to scream at the sight of plates flying through the air.

“Aaaah!”

The plates narrowly missed the maid’s face, shattering against the wall.

Shards scattered everywhere, making a mess of the surroundings.

Count Verdik, overwhelmed, was left floundering.

She was always difficult, but today was exceptionally challenging.

“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to find out which merchants have the exclusive trading rights.”

“You better.”

Still breathing heavily, Caroline said, her anger not yet subsided.

“And tell them we’ll buy up all the remaining tea.”

“All of it?”

“Yes. We can’t delay starting this business just because of this minor setback.”

Her rage began to cool, and Caroline’s mind started working rationally again.

The quantity was small, but it wasn’t as if they couldn’t sell it at all.

Calculating quickly, Caroline suddenly said, “We need to sell out the tea.”

“Sell out… everything?”

“Promote aggressively. Twice as much as before. Tell our current customers that we’ve brought in a new tea from abroad, and give out the sample leaves we have left as gifts.”

“But what if the stock runs out too quickly?”

Even if they gained popularity, it would be pointless without enough supply.

With limited stock, wouldn’t it be better to save it, Count Verdik cautiously suggested.

Caroline looked at him with disdain. “Fool. Don’t you see? We need to show it to the plantation owners in Ceylon so that they’ll secretly supply to us.”

“Pardon?”

“Do you think monopolies mean there’s no stock at all? There’s always emergency reserves somewhere.”

“Then…”

“Even if something is expensive, if it doesn’t sell, it’s just a useless rock. We may have a small quantity, but we’ll be the first to sell out, and that will be a visible sales record. We’ll use that to request more orders.”

Using a complete sellout as a basis to request more supplies, she was confident some distributors would start siphoning off stock.

Caroline had already devised a plan to steal the monopoly product from the unknown company.

“And we’ll also raise the purchasing price.”

“Raise it?”

“Who would resist if we offered more money? Betrayal would come easily.”

Caroline sneered as she lounged on the sofa.

The anger that had once boiled over seemed to have finally subsided.

Count Verdik had no choice but to nod obediently. “Then I’ll send the letter as you wish.”

“You better.”

Seeing Count Verdik comply, Caroline finally nodded, satisfied.

She had no intention of losing this business venture.

Holding a grudge, Caroline made up her mind.

***

Back at the palace, Eleanor parted ways with Berenice.

After visiting Ferret Street 13, she was on her way to meet the Emperor.

Walking as usual, Eleanor hesitated for a moment.

If she went this way, she’d pass Ernst’s office.

‘Better go around.’

She doubted Ernst would be leaving early.

He practically lived in the palace.

There might come a time when they would meet again to discuss Caroline, but for now, she wanted to forget those uncomfortable feelings and focus only on Lennoch and herself.

So, Eleanor deliberately took a longer route.

“Director, where are you headed?”

“Lord Evan.”

Trying to avoid Ernst, she ended up meeting Evan.

Eleanor saw Evan approaching with a smile, acting as if he knew nothing.

Lately, he had been wandering around quite a bit.

Claiming to be investigating the poisoning of the nanny—was that why?

“I’m on my way to report to His Majesty. You seem quite busy too.”

“It’s thanks to His Majesty caring for me so much.”

It seemed he thought the Emperor’s errands were a sign of trust.

Eleanor chose not to explain in detail how Lennoch really felt about Evan.

With a sly smile, Evan cautiously probed her. “By the way, my brother seems to have been quite rude before.”

“Not at all. Lord Pedro made the meal most enjoyable.”

Eleanor recalled how Pedro had been upset, talking about his younger brother.

“Lord Pedro is an impressive man.”

“…Impressive?”

“A talented individual. Intelligent, good-natured, and above all, his judgment is outstanding—I was quite impressed.”

Evan felt conflicted at hearing something so different from what he had expected.

Speaking ill of Pedro would be an insult to their family, yet hearing his brother praised irritated him.

And Eleanor didn’t stop there.

“If the opportunity arises, I’d like to make a request of Duke Nestor. If permitted, I’d like to do some business with Lord Pedro.”

“Business?”

“Yes. Do you happen to have any ventures of your own, Lord Evan?”

Evan was slightly taken aback.