Hearing that Liana hadn’t mentioned this matter to anyone else, Tari breathed a sigh of relief. Without competitors, the negotiation would be much easier.

“Tell me, what can you offer me? What benefits can you bring? What advantages do you have over others? Why should I choose you?” Liana picked up her teacup and took a sip.

“...” It was too sweet. Was it because she was putting too much pressure on them?

Maids shouldn’t make such basic mistakes. Truly, compared to Loraviel, they were so inferior. The taste of the desserts was also lacking.

Liana casually tossed a cookie back onto the plate. Seeing Liana’s slightly displeased expression, Tari became nervous. She took a deep breath.

She was already an experienced merchant. At this moment, she should appear more composed. She couldn’t reveal too many weaknesses to the other party, or they might demand an exorbitant price.

Facial expressions, tone of voice, and negotiation chips—these were all critically important.

“It’s simple. The Angus Commerce Guild is the largest guild in the Lisat Kingdom.” Tari spoke with absolute confidence; this was the Angus Commerce Guild’s capital.

“We can help Princess Liana promote your cosmetics for free, making the entire Lisat Kingdom aware of such products. Combined with Princess Liana’s scarcity marketing, they’ll definitely sell for a good price.”

“We’re also well aware that Princess Liana doesn’t lack money. What you really want is our promotion, right?”

“Your ultimate goal is to let more people know that these products come from you, isn’t it?”

“Only the Angus Commerce Guild can do this. Or rather, only the Angus Commerce Guild can accomplish this perfectly.”

“It seems you’ve done your homework for this visit,” Liana didn’t intend to hide this matter anyway.

“I believe you’ve only sold nine sets, right?” Liana asked.

“Hmm? Princess Liana, what do you mean?” Tari was confused.

“It’s been about half a month. How’s your research going?” Liana wasn’t stupid, and neither was the Angus Commerce Guild.

With such products, they would definitely secretly research them, but they certainly wouldn’t admit it openly.

“How could that be, Princess Liana?” Tari took out a transaction record. “This records the price and time of each cosmetic product sold, accurate to the second.”

“Our Angus Commerce Guild would never do anything to harm our cooperation,” Tari smiled.

She knew that this was just a fake account. For something with such potential and market value, the Angus Commerce Guild would definitely keep one set for research.

But she wasn’t wrong—the Angus Commerce Guild indeed wouldn’t do anything to harm their clients. The set they kept would be accounted for at the highest price.

Although these weren’t things Tari needed to consider. “Our Angus Commerce Guild will try our best to fulfill our clients’ requests. Moreover, due to the special nature of Princess Liana’s products, the Angus Commerce Guild treats you as a VIP.”

“Originally, we would take a one-third commission, but now it’s reduced to one-tenth. The Angus Commerce Guild will only charge a handling fee,” Tari said.

Liana shook her head. “You clearly know that I don’t lack money. I don’t care about these small sums. You should understand that it’s the Angus Commerce Guild that needs my products.”

“You also wouldn’t want people to think of the Venus Commercial Guild first when cosmetics are mentioned, rather than the Angus Commerce Guild, would you?” Liana smiled as she looked at Tari.

“...” Tari’s expression turned unpleasant. This was exactly what the Angus Commerce Guild feared. The guild didn’t care about these small profits.

What the Angus Commerce Guild feared was that when people wanted to buy something, they wouldn’t think of the Angus Commerce Guild first, but some other guild. This was what the Angus Commerce Guild didn’t want to see.

“Miss Tari, you mentioned before that you were short on money, right?”

“Princess Liana, what do you mean?” Tari had a bad feeling, her cat ears nervously flapping up and down.

“Miss Tari, I know this is indeed an important deal for the Angus Commerce Guild, but I think it’s the most important deal for you, isn’t it?” Liana’s fingers rhythmically tapped on the table.

“Miss Tari, you wouldn’t want to lose your job, would you?”

“Princess Liana, I’m increasingly unable to understand what you’re saying.” Tari’s expression had become rather stiff.

“If you continue to play dumb, then there’s no need for us to continue this conversation. After all, I’m not in a hurry,” Liana smiled at Tari. “Now, fame isn’t important to me anymore, and these products don’t necessarily need to go through the Angus Commerce Guild. After all, Mephilia can now protect me well, and I no longer need this so-called fame to elevate myself.”

“But it’s different for you. What happens to merchants who can’t complete their tasks? I’m not too sure. So, from now on, I hope your next words won’t waste my time anymore, okay, Miss Tari?”

“Princess Liana’s seasoned demeanor really doesn’t match her age,” Tari sighed. Her thoughts were firmly grasped by Liana, who had completely seen through Tari’s thoughts and situation.

“I just don’t want to waste time on unnecessary things,” Liana looked at Tari. “I’ve already given you face, Miss Tari. On such a cold day, I specially came out of my warm bed to discuss this matter with you, but I’m not very satisfied with your attitude.”

Tari instinctively wanted to apologize, but at this moment, rather than apologizing, it was better to directly explain what benefits the Angus Commerce Guild could bring to Liana. Moreover, Liana had repeatedly emphasized that she didn’t want to waste time.

Tari cleared her throat and then took out a card. “Princess Liana, this is our Angus Commerce Guild membership card. With this card, you can enjoy a 20% discount at the Angus Commerce Guild.”

This also meant that the Angus Commerce Guild would only profit 10% from an item. But for someone like Liana, from whom the Angus Commerce Guild only took a 10% cut, they would lose money on each item sold.

But Liana didn’t believe that the Angus Commerce Guild would make a losing deal. Those guys were very shrewd.

“Then if I use this card to purchase my own products, wouldn’t I be profiting from your price difference?” Liana smiled.

“That naturally wouldn’t be allowed. If Princess Liana were to do something like that, we would have to let you choose only one of the discounts,” Tari said. “Moreover, if such things happen frequently, the Angus Commerce Guild would blacklist you. So, Princess Liana, it’s better not to try such things.”

“I wouldn’t do such boring things,” Liana waved her hand. “But you should be clear...”

Before Liana could finish, Tari hastened to explain, “I know Princess Liana doesn’t lack money. I’m just explaining to Princess Liana what members can get. Membership is far more than just a 20% discount.”

“This is originally a privilege that customers would get after spending a certain amount of money at the Angus Commerce Guild, and it’s divided into several levels.”

“They are silver, gold, and diamond level member.”

“Silver level members can only enjoy a 20% discount, and if there are goods you want on the shelf, you’ll be notified immediately. Moreover, after you confirm the purchase, the Angus Commerce Guild will store it for you for free, and you can come to pick it up anytime.”

“Gold level members enjoy silver member benefits as well as access to the interior of our Angus Commerce Guild, where there are more treasures at very favorable prices.”

“For diamond level, you enjoy all the above benefits, and our Angus Commerce Guild can find the goods you need and try our best to get them for you.”

Except for the first membership level, which was somewhat perfunctory, the other two were quite useful.

“What level of member am I?” Liana asked.

Tari’s expression turned a bit awkward. “Princess Liana is a silver level member...”

Liana frowned. What use was that? Wasn’t this completely brushing her off?

“Then what are the conditions for promotion?” Liana asked.

“I’m sorry, Princess Liana. I only know that a Silver level member needs to spend 3,000 gold coins at the Angus Commerce Guild. As for the next two levels, I’m not very familiar with them.”

Then, fearing that Liana might be angry due to her lack of professionalism, Tari quickly added, “The Angus Commerce Guild hasn’t written out the promotion conditions for gold and diamond levels. The conditions are probably very strict. After all, there are only over 200 gold members in the entire Angus Commerce Guild, and only 20 diamond members.”

For an entire country, this was already a very small number.

“What about silver level?” Liana asked.

Tari’s expression was incredibly awkward. She had already told Liana that one only needed to spend 3,000 gold coins. There were many nobles in the Lisat Kingdom; the Venus Territory alone had over a hundred nobles. Spending such an amount was a very normal thing for them.

“I’m not too clear on that either.”

Tari had already tried her best to get this membership for Liana. After all, Liana had never spent money at the Angus Commerce Guild before; she had only brought a good product. Combined with Tari’s efforts, she had managed to secure this.

“Tsk.” Liana was clearly dissatisfied.

Tari began to regret taking Liana’s goods for sale, even though she had received a certain commission and praise.

But the subsequent matters were truly torturous for her.

The Angus Commerce Guild wanted to monopolize these cosmetics but didn’t want to spend too much. So, this problem was handed to Tari, who had brought the goods.

If the Angus Commerce Guild didn’t want to spend heavily, then someone else would have to.

“Because Princess Liana previously asked me to keep your identity confidential, I didn’t reveal it. If I had told the Angus Commerce Guild it was Princess Liana, perhaps there would have been a chance to secure a gold level membership for you.”

“Princess Liana! Is there anything you desire? I’ll try my best to satisfy you, as long as you agree to cooperate with our Angus Commerce Guild. I’ll do anything.” Tari’s pleading tone sounded very pitiful.

This was a completely different person from the previous Tari. It seemed she didn’t have many options left.

As a somewhat successful merchant, the most she possessed were some small money and connections, but these two things seemed somewhat laughable in front of Liana.

These two things were not something Tari could compare with Liana on.

Seeing Tari’s expression, as if she was about to cry, Liana felt a bit sympathetic. Moreover, Tari had actually kept her identity confidential, not even telling those at the Angus Commerce Guild. This surprised Liana.

This character didn’t seem to appear in the original story, but now that the protagonist had disappeared, Liana was in charge! She could do whatever she wanted.

Liana patted the spot beside her. “Come here.”

“Okay.” Tari got down from the chair opposite and hopped over to Liana’s side.

Liana reached out and pinched her cat ears. They were fluffy and felt comfortable to touch.

Now, Tari didn’t dare to talk back and could only sit in place, letting Liana pinch her ears.

As Liana pinched, she suddenly thought of something unpleasant. It seemed that some things she had done would come back to her through Minoga.

For instance, deliberately annoying Oliphia, being unreasonable, making Oliphia somewhat helpless but unable to do anything about it—this was exactly like this morning.

Or like now, pinching Tari’s cat ears, which was just like Minoga rubbing her little cheeks this morning!

No, no, this was just a coincidence. Liana reassured herself.

“Money isn’t important to me, and fame, as it seems now, isn’t very important either. But you’ve listened to me and kept my identity confidential. I’m satisfied,” Liana said. “Agreeing to cooperate with you isn’t impossible.”

“Really? Thank you, Princess Liana!” Tari’s small tail, which had been on the ground, now wagged happily.

“But I also have conditions.”

“What conditions?”

“How is Sephirena doing now?” This was Liana’s true purpose.

“Miss Sephirena?” Since Sephirena had been brought over by Tari, she naturally knew Sephirena’s current situation.

Tari thought for a moment. “Miss Sephirena is now living at the Angus Commerce Guild. Although some nobles are interested in Miss Sephirena, she has never met them and keeps herself locked in the forest, seeing no one.”

“Moreover, Miss Sephirena seems to be very mindful of Princess Liana. The last time I visited her, she also mentioned Princess Liana. I’m not quite sure what Miss Sephirena meant; her exact words were, ‘The red thread of fate will connect us together. No matter where you are, I will find you.'”

What? Don’t think about me this much! 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Liana had originally planned to visit her, but with Sephirena being so obsessed with her, Liana became a bit scared.

If she had known this would happen, she wouldn’t have spoken up. Who knew the protagonist would suddenly disappear?

Wasn’t this making her clean up this mess? Although it was caused by her, didn’t the missing protagonist bear some responsibility as well?

“Is that so?”

“Is Princess Liana very concerned about ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ Miss Sephirena?” Tari asked.

“Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t.” Liana knocked on Tari’s head. “So, she’s safe at the Angus Commerce Guild now, right?”

“Yes, she has rejected many people’s requests. She seems to be waiting for someone, and that person seems to be Princess Liana,” Tari said.

Liana twirled her long hair with her index finger. This was something she couldn’t avoid. “In some time, I’ll come to find you. Then, you can take me to see Sephirena.”

“Alright.” Tari was now afraid of Liana being even slightly unhappy. “Are there any other requests, Princess Liana?”

“Not for now.”

Seeing Tari breathe a sigh of relief, Liana rubbed her ears again. “Don’t be so tense. I’m not a bad person.”

“Princess Liana is certainly not a bad person.” Liana was the good person who had helped her keep her job!

“If you’re so short on money, why not come work at our Venus Commercial Guild? I’ll entrust all the cosmetics to you to handle. For the commission, I’ll only take the cost of raw materials.”

But relying on this alone wouldn’t be enough to attract Tari to come over. After all, the other party was the Angus Commerce Guild. Although the Venus Manor’s guild wasn’t small, the other party was more professional, and their reputation and fame were definitely not comparable to the Venus Commercial Guild.

She continuee, “Of course, our Venus Commercial Guild doesn’t just sell cosmetics. You can participate in other goods as well, but those are, after all, from the Venus Commercial Guild, so the profit will be distributed according to the original allocation. Moreover, although my reputation isn’t that good, it’s quite effective in Venus Territory. Additionally, I’m now very close to Princess Mephilia.”

Liana emphasized, “Working under me, you’d be allocated more resources, definitely more than what you can get now. With me backing you, others certainly wouldn’t dare to give you too much trouble.”

“Thank you, Princess Liana. It’s a very tempting offer, but I’m sorry, Princess Liana, I can’t accept your conditions.” Tari shook her head.

“Aren’t you short on money? With your abilities, you could earn more with me than at the Angus Commerce Guild, right?” Liana was confused.

Being short on money was one aspect, but there were other reasons why Tari stayed at the Angus Commerce Guild.

“Princess Liana is indeed very kind to me, but I have some special reasons why I can only remain at the Angus Commerce Guild.” Tari lowered her head. Liana’s offer was very favorable. If there weren’t other reasons, she would definitely accept Liana’s request.

“Is that so?” Liana didn’t intend to force anything, as her main task had already been completed. “Then that’s that.”

“Yes, thank you, Princess Liana.” Regarding the deal, Tari had finally resolved it, and Liana didn’t seem to have given her a hard time.

Liana waved her hand. It seemed she had a lot to consider next, not just how to face Sephirena, how to persuade her to return, and mainly not to kill herself.

Moreover, she was about to face another tricky matter: the issue with Countess Rose.

Just as she walked out of Tari’s residence, Countess Rose’s servant appeared before her. “Princess Liana, have you finished your business now?”