Raising my Fiancè with Money - Chapter 64

Lilia Bloden’s Standards

Lilia and Stella looked at each other. In that brief moment, sparks erupted from their gaze. It was Stella who spoke first.

“Since we’re all here, shall we go to the garden?”

She had decided that she could not engage in a war of words here. Stella took a step, and the young nobles followed. Lilia spoke to Frances and Malek, who were standing in front of the carriage,

“I don’t know when I’ll finish, so wait in the carriage.”

“I’ll be waiting outside.”

Malek and Francesce stood still in their spots. Even if she couldn’t keep up, he was determined to wait here without relaxing. Lilia knew that both of them were stubborn, so she shrugged lightly and said,

“I’ll be back as early as I can.”

Leaving them behind, Lilia followed the young nobles. Stella, who was walking in the lead, looked back. It was as if she was making sure Lilia was following along. She wasn’t the type to take care of Lilia, so there must be something she really wants to show.

Stella, who was walking inside the garden, slowed down. And the admiration of the youngsters continued like a domino effect.*

(* a cumulative effect produced when one event initiates a succession of similar events)

“Wow…”

“Oh, my.

Everyone stopped walking and looked at the flower bed as if possessed. The scarlet-coloured flower garden seemed to have picked the prettiest color from the palette and dropped it. As the wind blew, the petals waved and a fragrant scent spread. When everyone looked ecstatic, Stella opened her mouth with a proud face,

“I fixed the garden before the seasons changed.”

“It’s so beautiful!”

“I’ve never seen this flower before. What’s its name?”

Everyone chatted and poured out compliments. Some of them asked questions with greedy eyes.

“I don’t know the name of the flower either. It’s a flower that I had a hard time getting.”

Those who asked Stella’s answer sighed with regret. If even she had found it hard, it would have been a flower that would be really hard to have.

Stella slowly turned her head and glanced at Lilia. The look of surprise was evident on Lilia’s face. Stella bit her lip as if she was going to burst into laughter without realizing it.

She just wanted to see that expression. Lilia Bloden, who always acted glamorous, was surprised. On purpose, she made it twice as wide as the flower garden she had seen at Bloden’s mansion, and it paid off.

“I think it’s still not enough, so I’m going to gradually increase the flower garden.”

Stella gave Lilia a glance. As Lilia was even more startled, Stella lifted her chin in satisfaction.

‘Are you going to add more here?’

Lilia was surprised in a different way. At first, seeing the size of the flower garden, she wondered why she bought so many seedlings. Somehow, even after inviting professors, there was money left over. And she was surprised to hear that….. Stella was going to expand her flower garden further

‘I should have told them to grow those flowers up quickly.’

Even Lilia— the supplier, lacked seedlings. She has to sell even the seedlings she was going to plant in Bloden’s mansion. She was thinking of selling as much as she could while she could.  Lilia’s sly smile was dazzling, but she quickly hid her expression.

As they walked through the flower garden, into her backyard, they saw a tea table. On the table covered with thin silk were a four-tiered dessert tray, a crystal vase with scarlet flowers, and a tea set.

Lilia admired it in her heart. It was very fancy but didn’t feel old-fashioned. It was thanks to her excellent color harmony and arrangement. She doesn’t like to praise Stella very much, but she couldn’t deny that she had a pretty good eye.

“Everyone, please take a seat.”

At Stella’s words, Lilia confirmed her place. Originally, the further your seat is from the seat of the host, the worse the relationship with the respective person. And Lilia’s name was positioned at the bottom of the table.

Lilia raised her eyebrows once, and she sat down before anyone else. Stella and the other ladies looked at Lilia with bewildered eyes. On the contrary, Lilia raised her head and looked at those who were staring at her. Stella narrowed her forehead when she realized what Lilia had done before she had a chance to sit down.

She thought Lilia, who was placed at the corner, would be humiliated or criticized. However, she didn’t know that Lilia would act as if she were in the top seat by sitting down first.

(T/N: the position of the seats will be explained at the end of chapter)

Stella sat down with a very uncomfortable face. As a result, it went as she wanted, but the process was not pleasant at all. Everyone sat down, and Stella waved the bell on the table. Then the employees waiting behind moved at once.

As Lilia watched the employees pour the tea into the cup, her cheeks stung at the swarming gazes. From those who looked explicitly to those who looked sideways, everyone was looking at Lilia.

‘Yes, look at me a lot.’

As they glanced over her head to toe, Lilia laughed to herself. Everything Lilia wore now was Bloden’s. So it doesn’t matter whether the way they look at her is favourable or hostile. If they looked at her with any type of interest, then they would end up paying attention to the items she was wearing.

‘Well, if they have taste, they’ll buy one or so. Because they have a lot of money.’

All of these people here were fashion-sensitive, rich guests. That’s why she purposely wore new products that have not been released yet. As some peered at the bracelet, Lilia deliberately swept her sleeves slightly up.

As the teacup was filled and the employees stepped back, the gazes toward Lilia scattered. Stella, the organizer of the meeting, spoke again.

“Shall we each briefly greet? Some people do not know each other.”

Starting with Stella, they revealed their names and families one by one. The daughter of a count who is said to be a genius in investment, the daughter of the trading king, and the great-grandson of big-time real estate, called the investment genius……. Everyone belonged to a family in the empire with money. Finally, Lilia’s turn came.

“I’m Lilia Bloden.”

At the brief introduction, the surroundings became quiet for a moment. People who were sitting around talked to each other with laughter.

“Bloden. It’s famous.”

“Is there anyone in the Empire who doesn’t know the Bloden family?”

The gentle way of speaking came with thorns. Lilia felt strange. There were many people who became friendly after hearing her name, but it’s been a long time since she’s seen this attitude. Is it because everyone is from a well-to-do family, so there is no need to flatter, or is it because they think of her as a competitor……Maybe it was both, she didn’t know.

At that time, Stella’s eyes met with a brown haired lady sitting on her right seat. It was a young Countess, who made a name with her investment.

“By the way, what is the lady up to these days?”

Lilia looked at the countess, who questioned her.

“All the people gathered here are people who are continuing their family business or are engaged in economic activities.”

She looked around lightly and continued.

“I’ve heard a lot that the Bloden family is great, but I don’t know much about the lady. What are you doing right now?”

Lilia felt troubled for a moment. She declared that she would inherit the family business, but nothing began in earnest yet. If it was an economic activity, all she had to offer was running a few shops and buildings. In addition, half of the shares in the gold vein was hers.

Sometimes she helped with her mother and father’s work, and there were several businesses that she had invested in before……. There were more things she did than she expected, but she was too lazy to say everything.

“I have a few small stores.”

At the brief answer, the Countess frowned slightly and lowered her eyebrows.

“I was looking forward to it, but I’m a little disappointed. I can’t believe all you do is get the benefits of your family.….”

She speculated that she would set up a store with her parents’ money and make money comfortably. Lilia looked at her silently. There was hatred and prejudice in those brown eyes. The Blodon family was great, but she seemed to think that Lilia was of little value.

“So do you make any profit from that?”

“It’s not that bad.”

“Even if there is a deficit, you have the background to make up for it, so be at ease.”

Even when she heard sarcastic words, Lilia still looked relaxed. At her leisurely appearance, the Countess narrowed her eyebrows. Then Lilia lifted the teacup and asked,

“What do you do for a living?”

She straightened her shoulders as if she had been waiting for her to ask.

“I’m investing.”

“Investing?”

“Lady may not know, but if you know the prospect, you can make huge profits from your investment.”

She gave a proud explanation, saying that she could make money alone without the help of her parents. Lilia took a sip of tea, listening to the boring story. The fragrant scent of flowers stayed at the tip of her nose.

‘This house makes flower tea well.’

I heard that she hit the jackpot with a flower tea with a name in the past………. Lilia felt like she knew Stella’s talent for the first time. When the boring story didn’t end, Lilia opened her mouth, putting down the teacup.

“I’ve invested myself, too.”

“Really? In small amounts?”

It was a small amount by Lilia standards. Lilia nodded, and the countess laughed.

“It’s hard to expect a big profit with a small amount.”

The Countess continued, shaking her head excitedly, saying no.

“I invested a lot this time, and I received a profit distribution in a year.”

She seemed proud of herself. She glanced at Lilia as if she wanted her to ask. Lilia asked the question without hesitation.

“How much did you earn?”

“Two million Kroel.”

Lilia sighed a little when she heard the amount. And she gave her comfort with all her heart.

“Oh no… It’ll be better next time.”

Lilia’s words made the surroundings quiet. Lilia blinked at the lady, whose expression quickly worsened.

‘Did I screw it up?’

***

Here I have used this image as a reference.

Now as you can see there are two chairs which are at the bottom and at the top, the position of the chairs can be reversed if you can change your pov, so both chairs can be ‘top’ and ‘bottom’; the time when the ‘position’ of the chair is decided only when the host sits on either side since they can sit on this as well as on that chair.

So Lilia, in order to change the pov of the nobles sat on her chair first, so naturally the pov shifted towards Lilia’s chair and unconsciously their brain registered Lilia’s chair as the ‘top’