I’m Quitting Everyth Chapter 125

Chapter 125. No Banquet is Complete Without a Young Lady (4)

Just as small fish gather at the bottom of a fish farm, shady proposals from businessn accumulate around any enterprise that slls of money.

"I'd like to make you an attractive offer……."

"It's a bit sensitive for others to hear——shall we move sowhere quieter?"

Even after Derek's audacious Tax Haven consulting pitch, quite a few people sought Penelope out in private. It was Jurgen who received them graciously.

What could have been dismissed with a single 'not interested,' he instead drew out with enthusiastic agreent, coaxing more and more out of them. He sent each one on their way only after hearing the full details of what they had to say.

"You're being a bit strange today."

Penelope looked at Jurgen with a puzzled expression.

"How so?"

"Weren't you always against this sort of thing?"

Of anything, taxes were the one thing Jurgen had insisted on paying with stubborn conviction.

He had been that thorough about keeping to principles in matters of business. For him, of all people, to take an interest in dipping a toe into grey areas—— It was rather unexpected to Penelope.

"Surely there's no harm in simply listening?"

"So you had no intention of accepting any of the proposals?"

Greed ruins businesses. There was no need to sprain an ankle trying to get ahead when things were already going well.

"I was just curious what kinds of workarounds were out there. It was quite illuminating."

"Right, then that's fine."

Penelope, who had been mildly worried, let out a breath of relief.

In any case, having been through one thing and another, it was sohow already seven in the evening. The North's sky, with its short days, was already subrged in deep navy darkness.

The grand ballroom of the mansion was blazing even brighter than midday, lit by thousands of candles and chandeliers. The dinner hour had arrived, ahead of the charity auction.

"Oh my, oh my! Lady Penelope, I wasn't able to greet you earlier. How dreadful of , I don't know what to say!"

"Please don't worry about it. At this scale, you must have a mountain of preparations as the host."

"Oh, the host is Father, not ——but what a charming thing to say. Ahahaha!!!"

Lady Vivian Ashford of the Ashford Marquis Family had taken a seat beside Penelope. Vivian was one of the three who had been quickest to partner in launching a CCC Franchise.

She had seen no small profit from it, extended the charity event invitation, even arranged for them to be seated at the sa table. She had also collaborated to allow this banquet to serve as a showcase for Y&P Trading Company.

"I never expected you to go this far for us. I'm truly grateful."

Penelope found herself slightly puzzled by such wholehearted trust, and said so. At that, Vivian smiled pleasantly.

"But of course. I'm investing in Y&P Trading Company's potential. I'm quite convinced the Food and Beverages industry will be divided into before and after Y&P. And staying close to that is bound to prove rather advantageous. Speaking of which……. I've heard quite a lot about you from Lady Penelope. Your na is Jurgen, is that right?"

Saying this, Vivian made a surprise turn to look toward Jurgen. Jurgen, who had not expected to suddenly be addressed, was caught off guard.

In social circles, Penelope was effectively handling all external affairs, and the prevailing assessnt of Jurgen among those circles amounted to little more than 'so who's he again?'

"That would be ."

Curiosity, along with anticipation, flickered in Vivian's eyes.

"I've heard you lead Y&P together with Lady Penelope. That you are a talent of remarkable ability across many fields."

"You flatter . I simply had the good fortune."

"There is no such thing as fortune in this world. That's sothing I firmly believe."

The look in her eyes as she regarded him was like soone gazing at a gift-wrapped box——precisely the sa as Baron Keystone's.

"If Lady Penelope would be so gracious as to allow it, I'd very much like to work with you as well——"

"Lady Vivian?"

A cool tone cut through imdiately. Penelope wore a pleasant smile, but her eyes were not smiling in the least. Yet far from wilting, Vivian only smiled all the more elegantly.

"Oh, please don't misunderstand, Penelope. I have no intention of poaching your talent. It's simply that Jurgen's abilities are a treasure of the North——it would be a sha to leave such a talent as a Commoner."

At a glance the two of them appeared to be on equal footing, but that was an illusion.

Penelope was a newcor who had only just begun receiving External Business support. Vivian was the legitimate heir of the Ashford Marquis Family and already the central pillar of a family business she was actively leading. In other words, she occupied the sa position as Clarisse.

And therefore.

"I was thinking our Ashford family might sponsor him and arrange for him to receive a Viscountcy."

This was a subtle display of power, and a temptation that said: 'I can give you what Penelope cannot.'

"How…… very generous of you."

"Isn't it?"

The end of Penelope's voice trembled ever so slightly. Serena's shoulders, afflicted as she was with PTSD from power struggles, also trembled involuntarily.

"However, a recomndation for a Viscountcy is sothing I have already pledged myself."

"Then how about a business proposition? Jurgen."

Vivian propped her chin in her hand and looked Jurgen directly in the eyes.

"I'd like Ashford to invest exclusively in the new product you'll be presenting. What do you think?"

The smile in her eyes and the playful curve at her lips conveyed the confidence of soone fully aware of how appealing they were to n. A fox's ga, in other words.

And asking Jurgen directly, bypassing Penelope entirely, was a blatant act of dismissal.

That said, Vivian's request was not wholly unreasonable. Proposing a collaboration or headhunting soone with the right ability was perfectly acceptable.

Even knowing that, Penelope found her feelings refusing to settle. She could not sit still.

Jurgen discussing business with soone other than Penelope? She could imagine it——not that she couldn't——but she did not want to.

"It's a proposal I make out of personal interest, and because I think highly of Jurgen. Please answer freely."

Nor could she brush aside a proposal from Vivian, one of their important business partners, as though mocking it. Then, a flash of inspiration struck Penelope.

"Lady Vivian. I'm so dreadfully sorry."

"Aren't you being just a little too possessive? Ahahaha! I'm not asking him to leave Y&P Trading Company."

Though she stopped short of clicking her tongue, Vivian's tone carried an unmistakable reprimand that said how rude.

"It's just that Jurgen is particularly good at making food that suits my palate……. I do worry he might fall short of Lady Vivian's expectations. That would be dreadful."

"Whatever do you an——?"

Vivian cut off mid-sentence and whipped her head around to look at Penelope.

"?????"

Then she looked back and forth between Jurgen and Penelope's faces. She wore the expression of soone who had seen a ghost.

"Ah, I…… ah. Ah ah ah. Yes, yes, I understand. Lady Penelope."

Reading between the lines was basic etiquette in social circles.

First, the term Penelope had used to refer to Jurgen——'him'——with that particular intimate inflection. Added to that: he was particularly good at making food that suited her palate. The nuance was understated, but it was more than enough to convey the aning.

It was genuinely shocking.

A re Commoner as Penelope's secret lover? But she was a Rosemore. The second daughter of Rosemore, who was very much on the rise. Could he perhaps be a noble's son kept hidden away? Or was Penelope simply a naive romantic?

Whatever the truth of it was——

"Jurgen? The proposal I just made——consider it as though it never happened…… Ahahaha! Ahahaha!"

Vivian swiftly put distance between herself and Jurgen.

The one thing that was absolutely forbidden among ladies, the most sacred of taboos, was—— Making a move on another woman's man.

Social circles were fundantally a passive battleground of Power Struggles, but laying hands on another woman's man was tantamount to declaring: 'It's you and

until one of us is left standing, no-holds-barred.'

As appealing as Jurgen was, he was not worth becoming Penelope's sworn enemy.

"Thank you for being so understanding."

"Oh, understanding is the least of it. Ahahaha……."

"……?"

Bewildered by the sudden reversal, Jurgen tilted his head.

"Oh my, has it gotten to this hour already?"

"Are you doing 'that'?"

"But of course, it's a promise. The Lady of Ashford always keeps her promises. Ahem."

Vivian cleared her throat and lifted her Champagne glass, tapping it lightly with a silver spoon. The surrounding lights dimd, and a spotlight burst on, illuminating Vivian.

This was the mont Jurgen had been most looking forward to.

"Distinguished guests of the North, honoured one and all! Might I have your attention for a mont?"

Vivian's clear, carrying voice——that of a 6th Rank Knight——instantly silenced the murmuring ballroom.

"We cannot let this beautiful evening be filled with nothing but dull business talk. A few weeks ago, I boasted to a number of you that I would be presenting a most novel and special dish at tonight's dinner. So of you may rember."

"I rember!"

A guest called out in response, drawing a gentle ripple of laughter.

"Thanks to my wonderful partner and friend, Lady Penelope Rosemore's Y&P Trading Company, I am at last able to keep that promise."

In ti with the spotlight swinging to illuminate her, Penelope rose and gave a courteous nod to the assembled guests. A wave of applause followed. In step with its rhythm, attendants carrying silver trays advanced in orderly formation and served the dishes to each table.

"The pride of the North in its pursuit of the finest cuisine——Y&P Trading Company's Seasoned Beef Ribs Full Spread!"

Fluffy white rice, steaming gently. Oi-sobagi——cucumber kimchi stuffed with garlic chives——prepared in place of pickles. A clear clam broth with a pleasant kick of Pepper. Egg custard stead to a beautifully puffed, soufflé-like shape.

And the long-awaited Seasoned Beef Ribs. Devised together with Brigitte, it was the finest Full Spread to appeal to Britannians unfamiliar with Korean cuisine.

At the sight of dishes they had never laid eyes on in their lives, reactions erupted all across the ballroom.

"Seasoned Ribs? Is it beef seasoned and grilled?"

"There's even a faint charcoal fragrance……. And that savoury sll too——this looks rather promising."

"Is this a cucumber? What's the filling inside?"

"Y&P Trading Company is the one with CCC, isn't it?"

This charity event dinner showcase had been Jurgen's idea, arranged by Penelope in collaboration with Vivian.

CCC had always pursued mass appeal——food that anyone could enjoy comfortably at any ti. With chicken and the other ingredients being inexpensive, hitting the right price point had not been difficult.

But Seasoned Beef Ribs carried a fundantally higher cost. The finest beef ribs were used, and Ganjang itself was a seasoning that demanded an enormous amount of labour.

And so from the outset, the target market was different.

Not an ordinary everyday al, but a special dining-out occasion for days you wanted to treat yourself. That was the positioning Y&P Trading Company had given to Seasoned Beef Ribs.

Now, then, the task was to persuade the potential custors. Britannia, with its thin culinary culture, was stingy about spending large sums on a al.

The distinguished guests gathered at this charity event were, each and every one, mbers of the upper echelons of society or prominent figures of note. The testimonies they would carry ho and share with acquaintances and those around them——

Would serve as the most effective advertisent possible to reach the very demographic that Seasoned Beef Ribs was targeting.

"Ohhh……! How can at taste like this?!"

"The beef lts on the tongue, it's so tender! And what on earth is this depth of flavour!"

"Gentlen, do try this egg dish as well! Savoury and soft, and yet……. My word……."

"Isn't this what the Eastern Continent folk eat as a staple? Place just one piece of at on top and it becos sothing fit for the heavens!"

"This cucumber is incredibly crisp! The side vegetables cut through the richness——you could just keep eating!"

"Y&P is sothing else, sothing else entirely. How they manage to produce such wondrous things ti and again……."

Nobles forgetting all decorum, clutching rib bones in bare hands and tearing at the at with abandon. Praise, praise, and endless praise ringing from every direction.

Jurgen closed his eyes and savoured it all.

He would collect feedback later and identify areas for improvent, of course——but for now, it was enough to simply take in the acclaim.

He truly understood it now.

At least in this North. The Culinary Revolution was no longer the daunting undertaking it had once been.