I, the Villain, Want to Save Myself, But the Yandere Heroines Disagree-Chapter 84 - The Art of Taking Sides (1/3)

When Litte woke up again, it was already nighttime.

The room was dimly lit, with only the desk lamp on Orson’s desk casting a faint glow.

At the moment, however, there was no one at the desk.

Litte rubbed her eyes, got out of bed, and walked over to the desk. On it lay an opened letter. Out of curiosity, she was just about to take a closer look when the door to the room opened.

Orson stood in the doorway, holding a cup of tea. Seeing Litte awake, he closed the door behind him and walked over to the desk.

“You’re awake, Litte,” Orson said, placing the tea cup on the desk.

“Mm.” Litte nodded. “Sorry, Orson, I was a bit tired this afternoon and ended up sleeping in the wrong bed.”

“It’s fine.” Orson shook his head. “Do you want to take a look at this letter?”

“Uh, no.” Litte first nodded, then shook her head. “It’s for you, isn’t it? It wouldn’t be right for me to read it...”

“It’s fine,” Orson said, smiling at Litte’s reaction. “It has a little to do with you, actually.”

With that, he handed the letter to Litte.

Curious, Litte read the letter carefully, and her expression gradually hardened as her brows furrowed.

“Isn’t Miss Celineina also part of the Silver Moon Trading Company? And isn’t she the president’s daughter? Why would they do something like this?”

The contents of the letter detailed events that had occurred after Celineina and Orson left the banquet hosted by Louis.

Although Louis hadn’t removed Celineina from her position, he had ordered other trading houses under his control to sever ties with the Antica branch. As a result, the Silver Moon Trading Company’s revenue for the month was expected to take a significant hit.

While the “Commercial Courier” initiative still allowed the Silver Moon Trading Company to see revenue growth, it was clear that as news of the system spread, more trading houses would adopt it, eroding the Antica branch’s competitive edge.

On the bright side, the textile industry was developing smoothly. Although it was still in its early stages and required substantial investment, it was evident that the textile market would eventually be dominated by the Lison Group, which was under Celineina’s control.

At the end of the letter, Celineina mentioned the orc problem along the Empire’s eastern border, offering to provide some funds if the Antica Duchy was short on resources.

“Well, if Louis had given Celineina a fair chance in the family competition, none of this would have happened,” Orson said with a resigned shake of his head. “You could think of this as family infighting.”

“Orson, have you been helping Celineina all this time?” Litte asked, unable to hold back after reading the latter part of the letter where Celineina offered support.

“Ah, I’ve just given her a few small suggestions. The actual operations have all been handled by Celineina herself,” Orson replied. “Besides, didn’t you see it yourself, Litte, when I handed her that notebook?”

“Right...” Litte nodded.

Judging by the contents of the letter, Celineina’s relationship with Orson seemed more like a partnership. This significantly eased Litte’s concerns about her.

And with the sudden emergence of a strong rival, Olivia, Litte didn’t feel overly wary of Celineina’s relationship with Orson anymore.

“So, Orson, how are you planning to reply to Celineina?”

“Hmm... I’ll simply suggest she discuss it with my father and aim to take over the entire market in the Antica region,” Orson said with a chuckle. “If it were anyone else trying to monopolize the Antica market, I’d definitely refuse. But Celineina is competent, and I trust her to handle it well.”

“Given her current predicament with her father, standing with us is her only way to gain enough leverage to counter Louis.”

Excessive favoritism could lead to economic stagnation, collusion between business and politics, and political corruption, but in the early stages, such favoritism was undoubtedly beneficial for officials, merchants, and citizens alike.

Moreover, Orson was confident that Celineina wouldn’t go down the path of becoming a corrupt financial magnate like those seen in later eras.

“Alright.” Litte didn’t completely understand the intricacies of economics. After all, Orson’s economic theories were complex, and without one-on-one instruction, they were beyond the comprehension of most people in this world.

“Alright, Litte, you probably have things to do, right?” Orson said as he picked up a pen to draft his reply to Celineina.

Litte, ever obedient, nodded and left Orson’s room.

—

Meanwhile, at the Silver Moon Trading Company’s headquarters in Saint Roland City.

“President.” An elderly man with white hair and a beard followed Louis, reporting something.

This was Paul, a veteran of the Silver Moon Trading Company who had worked alongside Louis’ father, the company’s founding president, to build its current scale. Paul was considered a senior figure in the company and still served as Louis’ assistant, helping with various matters.

“As per your instructions, we’ve severed ties between several subsidiary trading houses and the Antica branch.”

“Good work,” Louis nodded.

“However, President, my suggestion is to teach Miss Celineina a lesson but not overdo it. Products need to circulate, and cutting off connections will also impact our other trading houses.”

“You don’t need to worry about that, Paul. I have my own plans,” Louis said, signaling Paul to drop the topic.

“Understood.” Paul nodded and moved on to another matter.

“In addition, regarding your earlier instructions to investigate the reasons behind the Antica branch’s revenue increase, we’ve obtained relevant information from the Ali Trading Company.”

Hearing this, Louis stopped and looked at Paul.

“The Ali Trading Company?”

“Yes,” Paul nodded. “Their president, Muhammad, is waiting for you in the reception room. He said he wants to discuss this matter with you in person.”

“Alright,” Louis nodded before heading to the reception room.

Inside, a middle-aged man with a turban and a thick beard stood waiting. Seeing Louis enter, he immediately stood up with a smile.

“President Louis, long time no see.”

The Ali Trading Company was currently the second-largest trading company in the Empire, second only to the Silver Moon Trading Company. Although its revenue was only half that of the Silver Moon Trading Company, it was still a formidable competitor.

“Indeed, long time no see, President Muhammad,” Louis said, shaking hands with him.

The two then sat down across from each other.

“President Louis, you’ve raised quite an outstanding daughter,” Muhammad said with a hearty laugh after taking a sip of tea.

“Oh? What do you mean?” Louis smiled as he looked at Muhammad.

“You wanted to cut off her income, right? Guess what she did to revive her business?” Muhammad said with a mischievous grin.

“Alright, I won’t keep you guessing. I have the method the Antica branch used to double its revenue right here. If you want to know, it’ll cost you.”

He held up three fingers.

“Three million. No less.”

The unit was, of course, gold coins. For merchants of their stature, silver and copper coins were practically irrelevant.

“...” Louis’ smile froze. “President Muhammad, you know Celineina is my daughter. At that price, I’m better off asking her directly.”

“Go ahead, ask her,” Muhammad replied.

Louis fell silent.

He had just fallen out with Celineina and cut off ties between their trading houses. Muhammad was clearly exploiting this situation to extort him.

“One million, no more,” Louis countered.

While his total business revenue far exceeded this amount, most of the funds needed to be reinvested into operations. He couldn’t afford to drain his liquid assets, as it would weaken his company’s ability to manage risks.

“That’s too low, President Louis,” Muhammad said, maintaining his smile. “Do you realize how much damage this trade secret could do to your other trading houses if I have it and you don’t?”

“If things continue as they are, the shift in balance will leave you struggling to protect the legacy your father built.”

“Four million,” Muhammad said firmly. “That’s my final offer. It’s not just the cost of the secret; it’s also the price of maintaining our relationship and securing your future.”

Whoever heard of bargaining where the price goes up instead of down?

“Wait, wasn’t it three million just now?” Louis asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, but that was a special offer. Now that I see how important this is to you, I’ve adjusted the price accordingly. Isn’t that fair?” Muhammad chuckled. “Blame yourself for not agreeing earlier.”

“...” Louis clenched his fists in frustration. After some thought, he nodded. “Fine. Four million. I’ll gather the funds within a month.”

“That’s the spirit,” Muhammad said with a hearty laugh. “President Louis, I look forward to many more years of cooperation between us.”

“And I must thank your precious daughter. If not for her, I wouldn’t have found such a lucrative opportunity.”

“President Muhammad,” Louis interjected, “can I ask why my daughter sold this information to you?”

“Oh, isn’t it obvious? You cut off her connections with other trading houses. She bought future partnerships from me, and in return, I got a free four million gold coins. Hahaha.”

As he spoke, Muhammad deliberately feigned a thoughtful expression.

“Oh, right. Now that I think about it, I should thank you, President Louis. Without your actions, how else could I have made such an easy fortune?”

—

Muhammad left with a swagger, leaving Louis fuming on the couch.

“Damn it!” he shouted, smashing a teacup on the floor.

He hadn’t anticipated that his actions would backfire so disastrously.

With the Ali Trading Company’s help, Celineina’s Antica branch would undoubtedly weather the storm, while he had needlessly lost four million gold coins.

Four million gold coins!

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That was enough to buy several cities’ worth of land.

“President.” Hearing the commotion, Paul entered the room.

“Uncle Paul,” Louis said, looking at him. “Do you think I made a mistake?”

“...” Paul was silent for a moment before sighing. “President, I understand how you feel, but now is the time to pull yourself together. Since we’ve obtained the information, we need to act immediately.”

“And honestly, we haven’t lost that much,” Paul continued. “Didn’t the Duke of Napolis agree just yesterday to increase our cooperation? We stand to gain even more from the Napolis Duchy.”

“Alright,” Louis said, standing up. “I hope I made the right choice in siding with them.”

Louis was well aware of Orson’s potential, but compared to one Orson, the Napolis Duchy as a whole represented far greater value.

It was like the advice Celineina had once sought from Lorenzo about investment: the wealthier the person, the more likely they were to choose low-risk investments with steadier returns, even if the potential gains were smaller.

Of course, if Louis knew how closely Celineina’s current position was tied to Orson, one could only imagine how he might feel.

“Anyway, since Celineina has betrayed the Silver Moon Trading Company, there’s no need for her to remain branch president,” Louis declared. “Paul, draft a dismissal letter and summon Celineina back from Antica.”

“President...” Paul hesitated, then said, “Maybe we should reconsider.”

“If she’s determined to break away from me, let’s see whether those people over there side with me, the president of the Silver Moon Trading Company, or with her,” Louis said, leaving the room.

Paul remained behind, sighing.

“I’m just worried that the people in Antica won’t listen to you...” Paul muttered. Shaking his head, he reluctantly went to his office to draft the dismissal letter.

Louis’ decision had all but destroyed the relationship between the headquarters and the Antica branch.

But as an employee of the Silver Moon Trading Company, Paul had no authority to interfere with Louis’ actions.