It was early morning, and the sky had not yet fully brightened.
Florin stood on a balcony of the Duke’s Mansion, gazing into the distance through the thin morning mist.
Over a decade ago, on a morning just like this, she had been rescued from the ruins by Duke Blackstone, who was still leading his troops in battle.
That sudden war had taken everything from her.
Duke Blackstone recognized her magical talent, sent her to the Magic Academy for training, and after she graduated, brought her back to the Duke’s Mansion.
Aside from playing the role of a loyal housekeeper, Florin was also given a special task: to become a pair of eyes that Duke Blackstone had placed by Young Master His’s side.
Initially, Florin was very dissatisfied with this task. After all, most of the time, this young master didn’t need dedicated surveillance. As a useless playboy, His spent his days either causing trouble in the mansion or making mischief outside. There was simply nothing special worth reporting to the Old Duke.
But lately, this little master seemed a bit off. First, there was how he knew about the situation at the Two Realms border. Then, using that knowledge, he had quickly completed a series of actions—signing contracts to stockpile goods, then swiftly selling them off while buying up shops at the bottom. This string of moves was enough to pique Florin’s curiosity.
In her opinion, although such commercial behavior seemed simple, the timing required was something even old foxes who had been in the business for decades might not execute as precisely as His had. Moreover, in her eyes, her young master handled these matters with ease. It was as if he had become a completely different person!
If that was the case, shouldn’t she also try to get a little closer to him?
***
His sat in the chair in the study, scanning the report Florin had handed over.
“Young Master, the price of iron is rising faster and faster. Should we stock up some more?”
“We can stock up a little more, but we need to keep the purchase price low.”
“But now everyone knows the price of iron is going up. I’m afraid we can’t keep the price down.”
“It doesn’t matter. First, lower the purchase price. Take in as much as you can. If you can’t get any, then forget it.”
His said casually.
“You don’t plan to continue stockpiling?”
Florin blinked in shock. In her view, even if the purchase price of iron went up a bit, His’s profit wouldn’t decrease by much. This was still a great opportunity to make money!
“Mm, just do as I say.”
His looked at the information provided by the system in front of him, his tone firm.
[Today’s Flash Report! The latest news on the Two Realms border conflict! For details, please pay 1,000 gold coins to unlock. The following is paid content: This is only a brief skirmish. Both sides are just testing each other’s current strength. The Kingdom Army is expected to sound the retreat within two days, ending this incident.]
According to the system, the conflict would soon be over. At that point, the prices of these military supplies he had stockpiled would quickly fall back to normal levels. If he continued to stockpile on a large scale now, he would definitely end up stuck with all of it. That was why His intended to stop buying these military supplies.
Of course, if under these circumstances someone was still willing to sell to him at a lower price, taking it wouldn’t be too much of a loss. He might even make a little more money in the few days before the conflict ended.
Plan successful! A smug smile appeared on His’s face.
He had no idea that this decision of his would cause a new mercenary to be kicked out of the Mercenary Company.
“Understood, Young Master. I’ll give the orders about the purchases shortly. Also, regarding the shops you mentioned you wanted to buy, I have some thoughts I’d like to discuss with you.”
Florin picked up a chart, walked around the desk, and stood beside His. She pointed to a shop on the chart.
“Look, this is a clothing store. Because leather prices have been rising recently, and the owner is getting older, he intends to sell. If we…”
Just then, the study door was gently pushed open.
“Young Master His, I’ve brewed you some fresh tea…”
Rafina entered carrying a tray. She only got halfway through her sentence before her body stiffened slightly. She saw Florin’s lips close to His’s ear, the two of them almost pressed together. And His was tilting his head slightly toward the housekeeper, a smile on his face. They looked like a pair of lovers whispering sweet nothings.
For some reason, seeing this scene made Rafina’s heart inexplicably tighten.
“S-sorry… It seems I came at a bad time.”
Rafina placed the teacup on the desk. Her voice was still gentle, but her movements were much faster than usual.
“Florin-sama, you’ve worked hard too.”
“Mm.”
Florin didn’t even lift her head, continuing to point at the chart and discuss with His.
Rafina hesitated for a few seconds at the door, as if wanting to say something more, but eventually turned and silently left the study.
After returning to her own room, Rafina closed the door, leaned her back against it, and let out a long breath.
‘Why did she feel so uncomfortable?’
After calming down for a moment, Rafina walked to the window and placed both hands on the sill.
‘Why? Why did she have such thoughts? Lady Florin was the housekeeper of Blackstone Manor. It was her duty to discuss work with the young master. And she herself was just an ordinary maid. Bringing tea and water was her job.’
‘But…’
During the time she had been working as a maid at the Duke’s Mansion, Rafina could mostly only watch His from afar. Only occasionally when delivering tea did she have a chance to get close. But Lady Florin could easily stand by Young Master His’s side and discuss those business terms she didn’t understand. They were so close…
Rafina shook her head forcefully, trying to drive the image she had just seen out of her mind.
‘She was just concerned about the young master. Concerned about someone who had been kind to her. Yes! That was it! There was absolutely no other meaning!’
Rafina took a deep breath and patted her slightly burning cheeks.
‘But… they had been discussing in the study for so long. Couldn’t she go to the study afterward to help organize the young master’s documents or something? Although Ni Wei was in charge of the study work, she was her little sister. An older sister helping her younger sister share the workload—that was perfectly reasonable.’
Rafina nodded to herself.
***
After lunch, Rafina was preparing the afternoon tea snacks when Florin happened to come to the kitchen.
“Lady Florin, is Young Master His still in the study?”
“What, you need something from him?”
“I was thinking, maybe I should send some fruit to Young Master His first.”
Rafina picked up a plate of cut fruit.
“The young master has seemed very busy lately…”
“Rafina.”
Florin’s voice was unhurried, still carrying a hint of charm, but now with an unmistakable tone of authority.
“I’m glad you care so much about Young Master His. But I must remind you: Don’t overstep~”