The first day of the Spring Festival. A few hours before the Meadow Inn incident. Rosie was having a lovely day since her darling Shin accompanied her all morning to enjoy roaming around the streets of Central Town City.
Shin was such a gentleman in Rosie's eyes, carrying a parasol shielding her from the sunlight that not even a ray touched her delicate skin.
While walking, Rosie saw these people with eyes gleaming with enviousness. They looked at her, who had a pretty face while wearing a complementing dress and exorbitant pieces of jewelry hanging around her seductive body. Their mouths watered by imagining their life in her shoes: accompanied by a handsome Crown Prince surrounded by dozens of Royal Guards.
'All they can do was fantasized because whatever they think or dream, they can never be me!'
'Born to nobility with a perfect body, a pretty face, and especially a wealthy family. An eye candy!'
'Unlike that ominous black-haired bitch who her plebian maid escorted. She couldn't even correctly utilize her noble status. And yet, she dared to be selected as a fiancee for my beloved Crown Prince?'
'Disgusting! A person like her was a shame for a proper noble like us. A person is born with power but acts like a penniless beggar.'
'At least at this festival, she'll thank me enough for replacing her measly maid with a competent lady-in-waiting.'
'Talking about her, I wonder if she had already received my first festival gift. Last week, I asked one of my servants to spy on where they planned to have lunch during the event. This is how you use your power!'
'Yume's family owned the north mines, so they became prosperous enough to support their territories. But in terms of connections to business establishments, my family has more. We are widely known for owning the Psari Port, meaning almost all businesses would want a favor from us!'
'This made it easier to control everyone around. All for the sake of money. It's the answer to everything. Without it, all you can do is beg for someone who has.'
'That was the rule of this world!'
Rosie had planned everything out, and everything was getting better until one company came out of nowhere. YFC Business, a company, started dominating every city in this Kingdom.
It would be alright if they were cooperative with the Lavier family. But they instead became independent and managed to survive even with Rosie's family, plus the help of other business owners suppressing them.
Not only that, but they became the best in everything, giving everyone no choice but to shake hands and deal business with them.
Truthfully, even Rosie loved their products. Once she tasted the food in their restaurant, her taste buds changed, and she didn't want to eat anything they had not made.
A thought came to Rosie that owning such a great company would allow her to be finally recognized by her family. If successful, she could even outdo her brothers.
Because of ambition, she manipulated and tried to buy the YFC Business by offering more than enough money in their life that they would not even have second thoughts. However, to Rosie's surprise, they immediately rejected the offer. After that, they even gave her the cold shoulder and banned her from entering their establishments.
'Too stubborn!'
A few months before, Rosie went with the Crown Prince to reserve a table at YFC restaurant but was boldly declined. They gave an excuse that they were already fully booked throughout the festival. With no other choice, The couple could only settle on the second-best, which was the Meadow Inn.
Not wanting the result, Rosie ensured that even her rival Yume wouldn't get the second choice.
Now at the festival, Rosie ended her shopping and was on their way to the Meadow Inn. When destiny suddenly blessed her with this fateful encounter.
Rosie saw Yume and rejoiced to see her troubled face. Beside her was a poor maid who was shouting and ranting.
'A music to my ears.'
An angry maid, a large crowd, the Crown Prince, Yume, and I. What an excellent time to make a scene. Rosie thought.
"Greetings, Lady Yume. Is the Lady also here to eat?"
Rosie started with courtesy. Shin wouldn't find any faults with her. With this, she hoped that Yume would at least reply improperly so that she could proceed with her plan.
"If not to eat, does Lady Rosie think I'm here to dance instea—"
'Great! Now Shin will surely be mad and protect me.'
Rosie rejoiced when Yume went beyond her expectation. She even pitied Yume for always going against her, making herself in awkward situations.
'She never learns anything. How stupid.'
Nevertheless, the fact that Rosie planned to put Yume down today remained strong. She continued to outsmart everyone with her perfect acting. Making the public dislike Yume more. Even the Crown Prince couldn't tell the truth.
'A perfect victory!'
However, the company that brutally rejected Rosie intervened. Not only did they favor Yume, but they also showed it to everyone. Making all Rosie's efforts go to waste.
'Ugh! My blood is boiling.'
Rosie could feel her face getting hotter. She wished she had the power to kill anyone—Wait... She did have that power...
'Hahaha! Why didn't I think about that? I don't even need a spy anymore. We can just make an accidental death... Yes, that's right! The bitch just needs to die with her maid... Wouldn't that solve all my problems?'
Rosie had the urge to discuss the new plan with those whom she contracted!
***
"We've arrived, Lady Yume. Welcome to YFC Restaurant."
Gordon, YFC General Manager, escorted Yume and her companion to the restaurant.
"Thank you."
As they arrived, Yume raised her head to see the whole place. Surprised, a vast building that was even taller than her mansions was in front. This was the first time she saw this building close by. She only glimpsed a few times as this was the highest building in town.
Looking at it from a closer distance gave a different feeling of astonishment.
"Did the owner of such a great restaurant really want to meet with us?"
"Yes, Lady Yume. The owner and his friends are already on the top floor, waiting."
The curiosity that dwelled in Yume made her go inside without hesitation. Still, her action was suddenly stopped by the Knight Commander, Sir Billy.
"Milady, it's dangerous to go somewhere without a guard. Please take us with you."
'True. I almost forgot that many people wanted to harm me. But I've got a good feeling that the owner of YFC is a good person. Still, I need to be careful.' Yume thought inwardly. She looked at Gordon, who nodded, permitting the knights to come with her.
"If the Lady wants to, she can bring anyone or anything. Oh, I almost forgot. Please take this with you, Lady Yume."
A black-colored badge, an item with "YFC" characters engraved on it. The object felt sturdy enough not to break even by being hammered by a master blacksmith.
"What's this for, Sir Gordon?" Yume said.
"That's our owne—membership badge. T-There are only a few of these in the world. You can show it at any branch of our YFC establishments, and they will give you preferential treatment."
"Mm? Isn't this item too precious for me to have?"
"W-Well, the owner instructed this. If the Lady doesn't want it, you can talk about it upstairs."
Yume could feel that Gordon didn't have a say in this. So she decided to keep it for now. "Thank you."
With that, Yume didn't really know how valuable the item was given to her. An object that anyone would die to obtain. Summarizing the benefits, it's like a black card with unlimited use. Fortunately, only the 'selected individual' can use it. So stealing the badge is useless.
Gordon escorted them to a weird-looking door that opened when he pressed an arrow-shaped button. Then he went inside this small room like a box and waited for Yume and her servants to follow.
"I know this device, Milady." One of Yume's Knight caught his Lady hesitating to move, so he kindly explained to her by whispering, "This room will bring us to another floor automatically."
Yume paused and got fascinated by learning about the device's purpose. Her eyes widened in amazement.
'Isn't this amazing? A technology like this could be so precious that it could cause a war between countries.'
Now that Yume thought about it more deeply, she wondered how they could keep this device safe from the eyes of the Royal Family. Even the other political factions would die for these.
'Do they have a strong family backing them?'
Hop!
Everyone got in the magic elevator. Gordon carefully taught them how to use the said device.
"Lady Yume, here's the list of floors you can go to. You only need to press once, and the magic circle will activate. But since we'll go to a restricted floor, we would need to use your black badge."
Gordon directed Yume to lift the badge into something he called a scanner. Afterward, a comforting sound was heard, making the door close. The room slightly trembled, and Yume felt someone abruptly grab her arms.
"Yiyi?"
"M-M-Milady, I'm sca—Kyaaa! It-It's moving!"
Ting!
"We have arrived on the fifth floor," Gordon said.
"T-That fast?!"
Still trembling, Yiyi took a deep breath. Another thing Yume never knew about Yiyi was her being scared of heights. Now she might accidentally tease her when an opportunity arises. But seeing Yiyi's panicked and disturbed face, Yume reserved her plans for another future.
'The important thing right now was behind this door, the owner of YFC.'
Clack!
The elevator door finally opened.