[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-m-quitting-everything-and-selling-cola":3,"chapter-i-m-quitting-everything-and-selling-cola-i-m-quitting-everything-and-selling-cola-chapter-95":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","I’m Quitting Everything and Selling Cola",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},223521,492,"Chapter 95","i-m-quitting-everything-and-selling-cola-chapter-95",95,"\u003Cp>Chapter 95. The Rose's Invitation (2)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Right this way, please.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cutting straight across the vast garden that would surely take a full thirty minutes just to explore in its entirety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Led inside by the butler, the interior of the Rosemore estate was magnificent from the very lobby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My, my......\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A ceiling height so towering it made one wonder how on earth the chandeliers were ever cleaned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A floor laid with marble that could only be of the finest quality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tapestries on the walls recording the history of the Rosemore family were entirely removed from the latest fashions, and for that very reason looked like display cases showing off a long and venerable tradition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if to say,'Who dares presume to judge Rosemore?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where's my sister?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lady Clarisse is expected to return home late this afternoon. The young lady's room has been prepared exactly as it was, so that she may first recover from the journey.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Understood. I'll wait in my room.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A model of a well-trained butler, if ever there was one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old butler, who had answered Penelope with a manner that was deferential yet free of any servility, regarded Jurgen steadily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Might I ask the guest's name?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Jurgen — co-representative of Y&P. I brought him to introduce to my sister.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Very well. I shall send an attendant to the annex in the West Wing to have it prepared.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jurgen and Penelope waited in the reception room while their quarters were being readied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maids approached, offered black tea and light refreshments, and quietly withdrew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They too were well-trained maids.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not a word of personal conversation, not a flicker of expressed emotion — they simply carried out their roles in silence, as though they were instruments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Quite a magnificent house.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Isn't it? I used to play a lot of hide-and-seek here when I was young.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I imagine the seeker was at an absolute disadvantage.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That they were.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jurgen looked around and spoke in the vast reception room, where each word echoed back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Including the sofa they were currently seated on, every piece of furniture in the reception room felt as though it carried at least several decades of history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even from this much alone, the character of the Rosemore family could be read.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tradition and discipline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The concentration of rigid formality was no laughing matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By that measure, Penelope was an awakened young noblewoman of a calibre almost impossible to believe had come from a family like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, saying such a thing to her face would be rude, so he kept it to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let's set aside idle talk there...... Right then, let's do a mid-point review.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having taken a sip of black tea, Penelope opened her mouth with composure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"First of all, this is a tremendous opportunity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I expect so.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No — it's more than you understand. You probably only grasp half of half of what will happen if I regain the family's recognition. Let me explain how the family's business actually operates.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Please do.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jurgen himself was far more versed in high society than Penelope could imagine, but an explanation here was necessary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every family ran things differently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"First of all, Rosemore's business is divided into two branches. One is the Internal Business, and one is the External Business.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Penelope picked up the fountain pen from the reception room table and continued her explanation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Internal Business is what the family directly manages. Operations are naturally handled by family members, and the profits don't go to individual members — they flow into the 'family trust.' In return, dividends are distributed according to performance.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Essentially a directly-managed operation with incentives?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Something like that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jurgen nodded in full understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For example, 'Northgate,' which holds a monopoly on mining rights in the Labyrinth Demon Realm; 'Greenfield,' which manages the large northern farms; 'Silk Road,' which handles warehouse leasing and logistics distribution across the kingdom — these are the most representative examples of Internal Business.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Northgate, Greenfield, Silk Road.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The businesses themselves leaned heavily toward B2B and focused on infrastructure monopolies, so ordinary people might not recognise the names.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet every single one of them was a company of enormous scale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would be fair to say that every food item that made it onto a Britannia dinner table had passed through the hands of at least one of these three at some point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The hotel that Miss Penelope manages as well?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's right — The Richfield is also an Internal Business. In my case, the incentives I receive are barely enough to maintain a minimum standard of dignity, but. In any case, family members are basically each assigned an Internal Business. The specifics differ depending on whether they're a collateral or direct line, and how much recognition they've received from the family.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then the External Business would be something like Y&P Trading Company.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Exactly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The External Business, on the other hand, carried a slightly different nuance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The External Business is something a family member has built individually on their own — with no direct connection to the family. Even so, the family actively invests in External Businesses.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Venture investment, then.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"......!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If it succeeds, the feeling is that it gets absorbed into the Internal Business?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Penelope looked at Jurgen as though genuinely startled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was plain she hadn't expected him to cut straight to the heart of it in one go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Th, that's right. The External Business is like a scout ship for new ventures. Most of the current Internal Businesses have grown too large to attempt new things.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If an External Business failed, that was the individual family member's failure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rosemore would only lose a modest sum of investment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other hand, if it succeeded, a new business could be expanded in a stable, supported manner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Quite rational.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes — there's something for both sides to gain. Now imagine Y&P receiving full-scale investment from Rosemore in this kind of situation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Massive capital investment sufficient to establish hundreds of CCC Franchise branches and Bottling factories nationwide right away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Priority rights of use over the logistics infrastructure to back it all up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blanket access to the counsel of the capable lawyers and administrators belonging to the Rosemore family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A political and administrative umbrella under the banner of the family name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn't quite on the level of an Internal Business, but it would amount to a solid red carpet being laid out toward success.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One question arose, however.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmm, there's something I'm curious about...... who decides this 'recognition'?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Simple. You receive a silver ring.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A silver ring?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This gets complicated if I explain it in detail too...... Rosemore determines hierarchy through family heirlooms, you see. For example, when a family member comes of age, they receive a silver-crafted piece engraved with a rose motif. You can see this, can't you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Penelope pointed to her own earlobe as she spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the earring adorned with a rose decoration that she always wore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This one, honestly, everyone and their dog receives, so it doesn't carry much meaning. But once you earn the family's recognition, they give you a ring. At first, a silver ring engraved with the family crest; rise higher, and it becomes a gold ring; and at the very end, the heir's signet ring.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Penelope said this while sheepishly tucking away her long, slender fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come to think of it, he couldn't recall ever seeing her wear a ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To summarise:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In order to receive support for an External Business, a silver ring was required — and that was the family's formal 'recognition.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Feels rather like a pyramid scheme.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well — that was simply how thoroughly it operated on meritocracy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There is, however, one thing that gives me pause. If Rosemore were to try and absorb Y&P Trading Company into its Internal Business......\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Penelope shook her head firmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't worry. Y&P will remain an External Business to the end. All I need to do is pass on the earnings from my stake to the family trust. Everyone does it that way.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As their conversation was drawing to a close.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I shall escort you to the annex.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The butler had returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'll show him the way.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Young lady, we will——\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's fine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The butler hesitated, bowed his head, and stepped back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wouldn't it be better to rest?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There's nothing to do anyway, is there? I'll give you a tour of the house. It's not a place one gets to come to very often, is it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Penelope as usual, but Jurgen dimly sensed that she didn't want to be left alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fact that she didn't say so plainly was......\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simply a habit of someone who had spent half a lifetime concealing her vulnerabilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then I'll take you up on that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jurgen and Penelope walked along the corridor leading to the West Wing annex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Penelope pointed things out as they came into view, explaining them like a curator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That statue is Alexis Rosemore, the founder of our family. He wasn't quite on the level of Sir Hanbin, but he was an 11th Rank Alchemist, apparently.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"See that corner of the window frame over there? The material is slightly different, isn't it? My sister and I broke it while playing ball when we were children.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And over there in the North Wing, the family holds a gathering twice a year. Family members running the Internal Businesses come together to discuss key matters.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tromp, tromp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, a figure appeared from the far end of the corridor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An old man with silver-white hair swept back behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the solid build that showed even through his suit and the blazing intensity of his eyes made clear he was no ordinary figure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging by his even, powerful stride, he was military.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jurgen felt Penelope draw in a sharp breath and pull her shoulders inward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Great-Uncle Hector, it has been some time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Penelope — what brings you to the main house?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I received an invitation from my sister and have come to attend a dinner.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Clarisse did?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A gaze full of displeasure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then — addressing Penelope, a direct line of the main house, with'What brings you to the main house?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He might have been a fine soldier, but he was far from a fine great-uncle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time the knife-edged gaze turned toward Jurgen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hector, who had been scrutinising Jurgen intently as though examining a sword, brightened up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So you've finally found a way to shed that nuisance status of yours. Have you brought yourself a groom?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wh, what?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Penelope, who had shrunk in on herself, snapped her head up and her voice cracked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Paying it no mind whatsoever, Hector asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well-trained physique. Where are you from?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I come from a merchant background. As co-representative of Y&P Trading Company, I have been building the business together with Lady Penelope.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your family?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Th, that——\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was not speaking to you. Penelope.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Penelope, who had been trying to interject, closed her mouth again at the sharp rebuke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have no particular family to speak of.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Jurgen's declaration of commoner status, the whites of Hector's eyes filled with contempt and disappointment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I thought you might have grown up a little — yet it seems you're still off making a fool of yourself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Gr, Great-Uncle. I have risen to the 5th Rank as well, this time around. I am now a proper member of the family who——\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Silence!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The great shout cut off Penelope's protest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a lion's roar powerful enough to make the glass windows along the corridor tremble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It is the level any Rosemore of the direct line ought to have achieved as a matter of course. Your sister reached that ground at the age of ten — and now you have only just managed it, and you think you have something to boast about?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"......\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not only are you entangled with a commoner, you bring him to the main house! Are you intent on disgracing the family register to vent your spite? I shall have you put in a convent before I witness that spectacle. And you——!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hector, veins standing out in his neck, turned his head and fixed his glare on Jurgen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you are harbouring some foolish delusion, you would do well to fold it away neatly and let it remain a dream. You are a guest of the family for now, so I will let it pass at this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hector bore his killing glare into Jurgen a moment longer, then swept away down the far end of the corridor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the first time Jurgen had ever seen that bold, indomitable Penelope so utterly unable to move a muscle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The expression stained with humiliation and shame, as though stripped bare, was a first too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in no more than a few seconds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Penelope scoffed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Penelope......\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What an ugly sight to have shown you. Honestly — what an old fossil.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"......\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm fine. I'm used to it, besides. You got yelled at for no reason because of me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She did not cry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She laughed, pretending nothing was wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only — it was a smile so thoroughly bruised, like an apple battered all over, that it was difficult to even offer sympathy carelessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My great-uncle is ex-military and stubbornly set in his ways from the start. He's an old man who can't even understand why Rosemore came to be the Rosemore it is today.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"......\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Once I run the External Business and produce results, his attitude will change too. Well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two arrived at the annex without a word between them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then — rest up. See you again this evening.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don't mind staying here as well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mm.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Penelope shook her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I want to rest too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jurgen let out a heavy, troubled sigh as he watched Penelope leave as though fleeing.\u003C\u002Fp>",2297,"2026-05-29T14:34:06.509Z","2026-06-01T04:29:32.613Z",1,"novelbin.me","925136119486d046fc1071aba538903f7c52380143254db57460866d4bf9d18c","i-m-quitting-everything-and-selling-cola-chapter-96","i-m-quitting-everything-and-selling-cola-chapter-94",146,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-quitting-everything-and-selling-cola-cover.jpg"]