I'm Done Being Your Best Friend

***

In the end, it was just passing the first hurdle. For a moment, I was delighted by Logan’s acceptance of the partnership, but when I came back to the mansion, I encountered a big obstacle.

That evening, as soon as I met my father to talk about the business, immediate opposition flew my way.

“Absolutely not! Running a business?! Nonsense!”

“…”

I looked at my father in front of me. Stubborn as he was, my father was staring at me with his mouth tightly shut, face grim.

Somehow, the image of Duke Grint, who opposed Percy’s marriage, overlapped on my father’s face at the moment.

“Business?! Aren’t you only 18 years old?”

But my mind is 30 years old.

But it’s not like I could say that in front of my family. Instead, I tried to persuade my father as calmly as possible.

“I’m young does not mean that I can’t do business. Look at the other families. There are many cases where people in their teens already joining the field.”

“Is there a girl like you among them?”

“That’s…”

There were none.

The cases I mentioned were all about aristocratic young lords.

Though the proportion of starting a business during teens was increasing due to many young aristocrats entering commercial activities, none of them was women.

“How about me being the first?”

“What?”

“I don’t have to follow the precedence. Can’t I be the first one so that other ladies can follow my steps?”

And there was one more thing above all that I hadn’t said yet due to the strong disapproval, but they might change their mind once they knew this.

With that, I opened my mouth, expecting a positive response from my family.

“And I’m not the only one starting this business. The duke of Harrison has agreed to make a full investment.”

“What? Duke Harrison?”

My brother frowned, perhaps he had never thought I’d decide to do business with Logan. In contrast with him, my mother’s face brightened.

“Oh my! You’re doing business with the duke?”

Following that, my father asked me with suspicion.

“What kind of business are you doing that duke Harrison is supporting you?”

“It’s the fur of an animal called alpaca. It can be useful for making clothes. I came up with this, and when I spoke to the duke, he gave me a positive response.”

“…”

I answered confidently, but my father didn’t reply. It seemed to me that he was thinking about something, but his expression did not look too good. The longer my father stayed unresponsive, the more upset I was.

After a long silence, my father finally opened his mouth. But what came back was out of my expectation.

“After this, once you have more experience, you can try it then.”

“Father!”

I couldn’t see why my father objected to it. However, my brother seemed to think of father’s opinion as the natural.

“Why are you suddenly doing business anyway? That alpa-, what? I don’t know if that’s a good idea…”

“In the Empire, only a small amount of items of that source are included in the imperial family. Hence, the quality is guaranteed.”

“Still… I’m so anxious…”

My brother became concerned. He was a worried older brother. Once he started, endless worries ensued…

There was nothing I could do about that so I turned to Harper, my brother’s wife, who was watching the situation with an uneased expression next to him.

“Harper, what do you think? Please say something.”

“Well…I think Sienna’s words don’t sound all that bad…”

“Ahem!”

When my father cleared his throat, subtly implying that he was also listening, Harper glanced over at him briefly before mumbling with a timid voice.

“I think the Marquis is right…”

This couldn’t be, Harper gave up. I then looked at my mother, my last hope.

“Do you think so, too?”

“There’s no need for you to ask her that.”

The answer came from my father, as he shook his head disapprovingly.

“Regardless of the gains, this is strange. A girl like you running a business. Even if Albert were to start a business, he would have thought it through.” (t/n: Albert is her brother, I think)

At those words, I let out a sigh without realising.

“Business is for commoners. There is no need for aristocrats to engage in commercial activities.”

Our family was one of the rare ones that stood firmly with their beliefs while other households tried to get involved with commerce. They thought doing business would damage the dignity of the aristocracy.

But times had changed. Whether it was investing or running a business, the two dukes were already active in it.

“The ducal families are doing business though?”

“The duchy is the duchy, and Nelson is Nelson.”

The moment he finished speaking, my father’s mouth shut tight, his solemn expression indicating his firm will.

How should I convince my father now…?

***

A few days had passed since that day and I still had not heard the answer I wanted. The family’s opposition was beyond imagination.

“Urgh…”

It was frustrating. As I headed to Madame Swift’s salon in my carriage, I leaned against the carriage’s wall.

Seriously…nothing is going my way.

It’s not just my parents that were stubborn. I was opposed by the whole family.

And yet I thought it would work out if I brought up Logan.

My mother, who was the second most influential person, after my father, showed an ambiguous response, not clear whether she would take my side or not.

My mood didn’t improve much when I arrived at Viscountess Swift’s salon.

“Lady Nelson, you don’t look good today, what’s wrong?”

Perhaps noticed this, Chloe whispered next to me.

“It’s just…There’s something I want to do, but everyone in my family is against it”

“Something you want to do? What’s that? Could it be that you’re dating?”

“Lady Grint…!”

“Don’t hesitate to date.”

Chloe grinned. There was no one for me to date. I didn’t know why Chloe kept trying to hook me up with someone.

“I’d rather be worried about a relationship. My concern is more realistic. I’m going to start a business.”

“Business? By lady Nelson?”

“Yes. But my parents are so against it. They are skeptical about my ability…”

“Oh, I see.”

Chloe nodded, as if it was understandable. The gesture made me feel even more drained.

“But what kind of business is it?”

“It hasn’t been decided in detail yet, so I’ll let you know when it’s clear.”

“Oh, bummer.”

Chloe grumbled and I looked at her with a bitter smile. I wanted to let her know, but nothing had been properly decided yet, so I wanted to tell her when something more specific was settled.

“But lady Nelson, did you say you greeting to lady Moore?”

Daisy was also at today’s salon. Of course, I had greeted her. Didn’t everyone still think of us as best friends? Though, our relationship wasn’t what it used to be now. Daisy hadn’t spoken to me since I greeted her. Even then, she was smiling and talking to Viscountess Swift without glancing once at me.

“My father is always in a good mood these days. The family’s business is doing very well.”

“Is that so? It seems Count Moore won’t stop smiling anytime soon.”

“Even when it’s not necessarily about work, my family is always harmonious.”

Again with the self-praise. It was the middle of winter, so the fur and wool business was in full swing at the Moore County.

While their family’s situation was just getting better, I was stuck with opposition from my family.

I knew the future held a big opportunity, yet, how unfortunate would it be if I knew about it but couldn’t make use of it?

I needed power that would not fall behind Daisy. For that, I had to make something of my own.

So now I have to persuade my parents first, but what should I do…?

I fell into deep thought while listening to the sound of the piano playing in the salon.