“Don’t let those greedy merchants intimidate you, sister! I’m here with you!” Lena said.

“Lena?” Eva said, smiling, trying her best not to crumple the papers in her hands.

“Yes, sister?”

“Be quiet and follow me obediently.”

The two sisters were inside the merchant guild headquarters with an employee guiding them further inside. Eva could tell that he was not happy with them from the occasional disdainful look he gave. There was always some friction between the noble and the merchant, but in this case, his attitude was all because of this obnoxious little twat she called her sister.

“You should be grateful that my sister deigned to come to this shabby little place!” Lena yelled at the employee. “Be sure to engrave this moment into your skull—“

“Lena.” Eva turned around and stared at her sister with ice-cold eyes. With her experience as the wife of the marquis as well as being recognized as the demoness of the empire, she knew best how to intimidate people. “What did I tell you?” Her cadence was emotionless, her volume low and chilling.

Her sister visibly shook, her face pale. “I-I-I’m sorry, sister.”

“Say that to this gentleman here.” Eva gestured toward the employee, and even he was surprised.

“T-there’s no need, my lady,” he said.

“No,” Eva replied, glancing at him. “In House Vallou, we give respect to those who deserve it, and apparently my sister fails to see your business’s prestige. For that, she must make up for her mistake.”

Lena flashed a look of anger, but she bowed before the employee could notice it. “I apologize,” she said. “I will be sure to be on my best behavior during my time here.”

“Y-yes,” he said, scratching his head. “Um, now please follow me.”

If Eva hadn’t known what her sister would do, then she might have written her behavior off as simply childish, but now, she realized that her sister had been trying to sabotage her by using this persona as an excuse. Perhaps her father realized this and wanted to make the negotiation more difficult.

Finally, they reached the meeting room where the door was open, revealing a long table with yellow-cushioned seats, though there was no one sitting in them.

“Where are the guildmasters?” asked Eva.

“They will be here shortly,” answered the employee before he guided her to the head seat, pulling it out and inviting her.

So that is how it is.

Eva sat in the chair, and Lena sat in the nearest seat to the right, the employee bowing and leaving the room. No one else came. There wasn’t even a person who brought them refreshments. Their message was cleared. ‘You are not welcome.’

After waiting for a few minutes in silence, the door opened, and the guildmasters entered. They ranged from a bulky man in an oriental uniform to a tanned woman in gold clothes with gold accessories.

Only one of them came up to her before having a seat.

“I apologize for the late arrival, my lady,” panted the sweating Guildmaster Marcus, a man of moderate build in normal clothes. Looking at how unkempt he was, he probably was in a hurry to come here. He was the most ordinary-looking guildmaster in Vallou, with at best a mediocre performance in generating revenue, but in Eva’s eyes, he was the perfect piece. Guildmaster Marcus bowed and retreated to sit in the farthest chair.

Eva waited for everyone to settle down in their seats, even those who arrived a few more minutes later. When the seats were full, she glanced at everyone’s faces, and slowly, their voices died down.

“My lady, may I ask why you gathered us here?” asked Guildmaster Melina, the woman in gold. “We are all busy people, so it is more than difficult for the guildmasters to assemble in one place.”

“Is that your excuse for arriving late?” snarled Lena from nowhere. “I will have you know that the name Vallou is not something—“

“Lena, be quiet,” said Eva without even glancing at her. “I apologize to all the guildmasters here. My sister is quite young and she doesn’t know what she is talking about.”

Eva thought her sister would stop at this point, but she was gravely wrong.

“No, sister! Didn’t you teach me to always uphold our honor? I can’t let these greedy worms tarnish our name!”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Is this how Vallous treat their vassals?” said one guildmaster. “It seems I have wasted my time in coming here.”

Following that guildmaster were the murmurs and the quiet protests, the glares and the condescending looks. Lena must have thought Eva wouldn’t do something to embarrass her in front of all these people.

Well, Eva thought as the corners of her mouth lifted, how wrong you are. She stood from her seat, making the voices die down once more. She slowly walked over to her sister. “Stand up,” she said.

Lena complied, her face smug, thinking that they were going to leave. She looked at her sister, and when their eyes met, Eva slapped her in the face.

“S-sister?” Lena whimpered.

“It is you who tarnishes our family’s name, Lena. Not only have you been acting uneducated, but you are also lacking in morals. This will not be the last time you hear of this. I will make sure father gives you an appropriate punishment.” Eva nodded toward the door. “Now get out.”

At first, Lena seemed confused, but when she grasped the situation, her face went red, and she didn’t bother to hide the hatred on her face. Finally, she stormed out of the room and closed the door with a bang.

So this is her true color, thought Eva, sighing internally. I can’t believe I used to have affection toward her.

Eva looked back at the guildmasters and said, “I apologize for my sister’s behavior. I will make sure to have her educated later.” She returned to her seat and sat, the room eerily silent, waiting for her to continue. Eva smiled. “Now then, I am here because I’m proposing a new service that I would like to provide to all of you.”

The first one to say anything was Guildmaster Melinda. “A service, my lady? Can you please elaborate?”

Eva looked to the nearest servant and handed him the stack of papers. “Please distribute these to the esteemed guildmasters here. Names are labeled on them.”

One by one, the guildmasters received their paper. They looked bored at first, not taking anything leaving her mouth seriously, but after they finished reading, their reactions were the same: disbelief.

Being a merchant in Vallou was special, and every big business owner had some kind of trick up their sleeves. Most would have a secret subsidiary they didn’t tell others was their own, either to give the illusion of competition or to perform a decoy effect. Others would monopolize a distribution channel, paying an exorbitant amount of money for a particular good. These papers contained all of their business secrets.

“H-how…” said Guildmaster Melinda who received the paper first. “How did you get your hands on this, my lady?”

“I have my connections,” Eva replied.

Voices of the other guildmasters erupted, with questions upon questions being thrown at Eva, but she chose to focus on Guildmaster Melinda first.

The female guildmaster got up, slamming the table. “That’s not possible! No matter how deep your connections run, there is no way you can get this information, I have made sure of that!”

Eva leaned on one side of the armrest and crossed her legs. In the future, there would be a law that prevented these big shots from doing shady practices, and the truth would be revealed to the public eyes. Needless to say, people were not content. “What if I tell you that I also am in possession of the same kind of knowledge on other businesses as well?”

The room grew silent for a brief moment before questions were thrown her way again.

“Can you elaborate on how you acquired the information?”

“Does the earl know of this?”

“What do you plan on doing with the information?”

“By other businesses, do you mean businesses from other territories?”

Eva sat still, leaning her head on her hand, waiting for the voices to die down. It took a moment, but the senior guildmasters slowly pacified their younger peers.

When the room grew silent, Eva said, “I will tell you how I get the information.” She smiled. “I have been developing a secret organization years ago, and I can guarantee you that they are the best in the empire.”

“That’s simply outrageous!” said one guildmaster.

Eva straightened up, looking at the guildmaster. “The evidence is already in your hands, so believe whatever you wish. And for what I am going to do with the information in your hands… Well…” She opened her palms. “Nothing. I will do absolutely nothing with it. Not even the earl will know of this if no one in this room tells him.”

“T-then…” said Guildmaster Melinda, swallowing. “Why have you gathered us here?”

“As I said before, I am here to provide you with a service. And since you already know how capable my information channel is, I would like to demonstrate how efficient my men really are.” Eva looked at everyone’s faces until she stopped on the most polite one. “Guildmaster Marcus, I would like to provide my service to you first.”

“M-me?” said the guildmaster who had been silent this entire time.

“Indeed. And through my service, I believe you will be able to increase your revenue to at least five times.”

Some guildmasters widened their eyes in disbelief. Others were still skeptical, but when they looked down to see the papers in their hands, they didn’t voice out their doubts.

“My lady,” said Guildmaster Melinda, smiling her business smile. “If I may suggest, I do believe my firm will be able to utilize your service better than Guildmaster Marcus’s. In all of Vallou, my businesses can be said to be one of the most profitable—“

“My lady, please choose me instead! I will comply with whatever request you have!”

“My lady, my firm is said to be—“

“My lady—“

And so chaos erupted. Not even the senior guildmasters kept their calm, joining in with others on their proposals.

Eva was still smiling when she said coldly, “Silence.” The air seemed to drop in temperature. The guildmasters visibly shivered, with those that were standing falling into their seats. “Have I permitted you to speak?” Eva stood, paused for a moment, and scoffed. “I chose Guildmaster Marcus not because of his position in the business world, but because of his character. When you arrived late, I didn’t comment on your tardiness, but that doesn’t mean you can act however you like. Guildmaster Marcus here had enough respect for me to apologize before we start, but you?” She looked at other guildmasters. Almost all of them averted their eyes and turned their heads elsewhere. “You thought I was a naive little girl who came here to waste your time, didn’t you? In Vallou, we give respect to those who deserve it, and in my eyes, none of you are entitled to even a shred of it.”

Eva looked around once more with her cold eyes. “I will give the details on my service to Guildmaster Marcus later. Today’s meeting is done,” she said before turning around and exiting, leaving the guildmasters to themselves.

When the door closed behind her, and there was still no sound from the room, she knew she had won.