I’m Quitting Everything and Selling Cola Chapter 161

Chapter 161. Love and the Culinary Revolution (5)

"By far the finest establishnt I've visited recently, Countess."

"Might I reserve a table for next week in advance? I'd like to bring so acquaintances."

"Far beyond expectations — truly magnificent. I shall return."

Marianne smiled until her cheeks nearly cramped, seeing off each guest one by one.

A night of perfect, unqualified triumph. The hall stood empty, yet the warmth and praise left behind by the guests still seed to echo like a lingering resonance.

The greater the anxiety beforehand, the sweeter the elation.

"Truly — the best. Exhilarating."

Marianne closed her eyes and let the afterglow of success wash over her. How wonderful it would be if every night could be like tonight.

And yet Marianne knew full well that this was not the product of her own abilities. The one who had truly led The Golden rmaid to this triumph was, without question, that man.

Champagne glass raised to her lips, Marianne stared quietly across the hall toward Jurgen, who stood near the kitchen.

Jurgen had his shirtsleeves rolled up, directing the staff on sothing.

"Hmm."

Marianne had to admit it. She didn't know much about Penelope — but Jurgen of Y&P Trading Company. That man alone was extraordinarily capable. If she was being frank, he was arguably more capable than most of the noble sons she'd encountered throughout the Northern Social Circles.

'Capable, and wealthy to boot……'

And his manners were impeccable. Had he not cooked for her, and even helped the tense Marianne ease her nerves?

Enough so that one might reasonably consider a longer-term arrangent.

The only issue was……

'Hmm, I have a feeling he'll confess before long……'

Sothing like that?

Marianne, well-versed in the grammar of the Social Circles, was no stranger to the rhythm of these little love gas.

The reason Y&P Trading Company had supported The Golden rmaid to this extent was Jurgen's romantic interest. Having now seen results, Jurgen would surely move to close the distance.

Marianne began to fan herself with her folding fan, letting her imagination take flight.

"Accepting him outright would be rather inconvenient……"

Marianne was a Countess of the Blanchard Family, a distinguished and longstanding noble house of the North. Jurgen, by comparison, was……

However exceptional his abilities, he was nothing more than a rchant of Commoner Origins. Should a scandal break out even briefly, the standing of the family would diminish. And one would have to weather the gossip of the Social Circles.

But……

'Perhaps I might give him a chance?'

The dedication and effort he had shown were no small thing. To be coldly indifferent would hardly befit the noblesse oblige of a proper noble.

'A kept lover might not be so terrible.'

An official relationship was out of the question.

However, within the Social Circles there existed an open secret — the system of lovers and kept companions held discreetly at one's side.

Jurgen would receive the devoted patronage and affection of Marianne. Marianne would gain access to his remarkable competence.

A relationship where the family's dignity could be preserved, and that man's feelings could be graciously received. A reasonably sensible arrangent — a compromise that benefited both parties, surely?

In any case. After a great triumph, a proper celebration was only natural.

The cleanup finished. Two in the morning.

Jurgen, Penelope, Serena, Brigitte. And Marianne, Chef Gabriel, Bernard.

The key figures who had delivered today's great victory had gathered in one place.

"Co now, shall everyone raise their glasses? To the glorious victory of The Golden rmaid!"

Marianne, playing the perfect host, was the first to raise her glass high.

"To victory!"

The clear chi of glasses eting rang out, and toasts were exchanged all around.

"Thanks to all of your hard work, The Golden rmaid has been able to rise once again to the centre of the Northern Social Circles."

"Indeed! It is all thanks to every one of you!"

Marianne, her enthusiasm thoroughly restored, and Bernard beside her, flushed with colour. Bernard in particular smiled so broadly he might have been a man returning from the very edge of the abyss.

And truthfully — had this venture gone wrong, the Blanchard Count Family would not have escaped bankruptcy.

"Mm, mm! The Braised Ribs really are delicious!"

Heedless of the rest, Brigitte speared a remaining rib with her fork and popped it in her mouth, perfectly content. Chef Gabriel smiled warmly and reached over to tuck a napkin into place.

"Do eat slowly, Master. You'll get indigestion."

"M-Master?!"

"When faced with true skill, does age matter? I have learned a great deal."

The remarkable sight of the capital's finest chef treating Brigitte, young enough to be his daughter, with the utmost deference.

Gabriel was entirely sincere. The ti he had spent learning about fine dining from Brigitte's side had been the most precious ti of his entire life.

It was a celebration befitting a great success, and the mood was broadly lively and boisterous — but……

Penelope sat stone-faced, her gaze fixed steadily on a single point.

"Mr. Jurgen? Do eat up. You've worked so hard."

"My thanks."

She was watching Marianne personally slice the at and set it on Jurgen's plate.

"You were directing things in the kitchen right until closing — what were you doing?"

"I was observing the plates left behind after guests had finished their als."

"Empty plates? Why so?"

"By examining the sauces and food a guest has left, one can conduct a kind of self-directed feedback."

"My, my — I hadn't even considered that angle. Truly remarkable."

Marianne gazed at Jurgen with the warm, contented expression of one admiring a prize pig.

Watching the scene from beside her with a perfectly blank expression was Penelope — and,

"Um, Penelope. Perhaps, perhaps we should put the — the knife down……?"

"Why would I?"

"It's dangerous……"

"I'm only eating the at?"

— a thoroughly sweat-drenched Serena.

'No, no, no — Hanbin! Why on earth are you doing this?!'

The whole bit about Marianne being Penelope's formidable rival that she'd whispered to Penelope? Truthfully, it had all been a joke.

She couldn't help it. Every little poke at Penelope produced that delightfully panicked 'whatdoidowhatdoidowhatdoido!' reaction — how could she possibly resist?

But Serena was no fool. She didn't genuinely believe that Marianne and Jurgen would actually end up together. There had been far too many tender monts between Penelope and Jurgen over the course of everything that had passed.

The problem was……

"Oh, sauce got on you. Use my napkin."

"Thank you."

Marianne naturally handing over her napkin. And Jurgen receiving it as simple goodwill, chuckling warmly. The picture those two were painting right now was, to Penelope's eyes, just a little too convincing.

A future began to take vivid shape in Serena's mind.

'I can't go on like this! Y&P Trading Company is finished!'

An enraged Penelope hurling divorce papers across the room.

'Hm? Why, why are you doing this?'

A bewildered Jurgen who, though flustered, couldn't bring himself to say what the actual problem was — thereby doubling the trouble.

'Sister Serena…… Whatever do we do now? I really don't know……'

And Brigitte and Serena, left stranded in the wreckage of a broken ho, agonising over whether to go with Mum or with Dad.

That simply could not happen! Achieving the long-dread-of Viscountcy was all well and good — but Y&P had to remain strong for Serena's road to success to stay open, didn't it?

'That is not acceptable! It must be stopped at all costs!'

Serena steeled her resolve. This was a matter on which the very survival of the Y&P family depended.

***

The following morning.

A break room tucked in the corner of the Y&P Trading Company Cola Warehouse. An ordinarily deserted break room that rarely saw a soul — and yet a grim, resolute air hung over it now.

Lantern lit, three people seated around an upturned wooden crate serving as a table. Serena, Brigitte dragged along by Serena, and Aiden, summoned sowhat later.

"What's going on — a muster first thing in the morning?"

Aiden asked with a wide yawn.

"This is no ti to be yawning. Y&P Trading Company is facing the greatest crisis in its history."

"What's happened?"

"Mum and Dad are on the brink of divorce!"

"Hm? Serena's actual parents?"

"Oh, honestly, it's a taphor! Y&P Trading Company!"

Serena beat her chest in exasperation.

"Yesterday at the after-party, right — Countess Blanchard was absolutely throwing herself at Mr. Jurgen…… and Mr. Jurgen didn't cut it off!"

Brigitte and Aiden looked at each other. Their expressions said everything: So what are we supposed to do about it?

But from Serena's perspective, things looked very different.

First, there was the matter of original sin — she was the one who had planted seeds of doubt in Penelope's mind.

If things were to reach the absolute worst outco from here? Countess Blanchard keeps throwing herself at him → the relationship between the two deteriorates → Jurgen and Penelope's catastrophic end → Y Trading Company and P Trading Company, the Y&P Trading Company shattered in two.

"The biggest problem is still Mr. Jurgen. She's practically wagging her tail right in his face, and he just goes, 'Ha ha, let's get along well as business partners' — can you believe it? At this rate, Penelope might explode and storm off yelling 'I'm done with this!' — or she might just blow up The Golden rmaid out of spite. Either way, Y&P collapses entirely!"

Serena explained it all with colourful impressions of everyone involved.

"If Y&P goes under, what about ? What about my kitchen? I won't be able to make delicious food anymore?"

"That might actually happen! This is a matter on which the peace of all of us depends!"

Brigitte, who had been listening from the side, was already growing agitated.

"That's why I called this eting. We need a plan — one that will overco this crisis and bind those two closer together once more."

"Why not just tell the boss directly?"

"That's…… not so easy……"

That prospect was a little too frightening for Serena, who took a step back from it.

"A plan, then."

Aiden stroked his chin and turned serious. The eyes of a forr Secret Burial Unit operative sharpened with a keen gleam.

"Honestly, Hanbin is hopeless when it cos to romance. Soone needs to give him a push from the side."

"Right? I knew you'd understand, Aiden."

"I've been a master at this sort of thing, you know."

"……"

"……"

"No, I'm being serious."

Serena and Brigitte sent Aiden a deeply sceptical look. Aiden pressed on resolutely, paying the looks no mind.

"The way I see it, Penelope is a problem too. She's not exactly the affectionate type, is she?"

"Hmm…… should we nudge Penelope from behind instead?"

"Now you're talking."

Aiden raised a single finger with great solemnity.

"Have either of you heard of the Suspension Bridge Effect? It's a psychological term — when your heart races in a tense situation, the brain mistakes it for love."

"Wow, really?!"

"Kidnap the boss and Penelope and lock them up alone together in a small, dark storage room. Just the two of them. Then we stage a mock attack — threaten them a bit — and they'll have no choice but to lean on each other, and before you know it, sparks fly, yes?"

Serena stared at Aiden with a blank expression.

"It sounds like it could work…… but can we actually kidnap — Hanbin? Penelope is an incredibly powerful Alchemist too."

"Ah."

Aiden had simply wanted to explain a theory he knew in the most dashing way possible. Which had resulted in a plan entirely devoid of any practical reality.

"That was a joke."

Aiden rubbed his nose sheepishly.

"Honestly, sothing a bit less fantastical, please."

"Agreed — cri is off the table. Cri."

The three of them huddled together, whispering and scheming.

"What if we just get them absolutely hamred? In wine, there is truth."

"That sounds incredibly middle-aged and is not in the least bit romantic."

"Hmm…… then what about sending just the two of them off on a holiday sowhere far away?!"

"It'll practically be the New Year soon — a holiday? They'd absolutely refuse."

This wouldn't work; that wouldn't work either. No flash of inspiration ca, and the three of them clutched their heads and groaned.