Rosemary de Lenoire

> Don't take it personally, ma chére. 'tis merely business.
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In the Forgotten Knight, a tavern where many an Ishgardian come seeking shelter from the cold, lies a particular corner table where the fireplace and lanterns do not cast their light. Decorated by no candle, but a single black rose in a small golden vase, this table is often occupied by a lone hyuran lady who seems to prefer her own company in the solemn silence. Permeating the air around her alongside the smoke from the cigarette she holds is an unpleasantly strong perfume, with the scent of roses, as she places down a card after another on the table in a game of solitaire. Clad in a long, black trench coat and leather gloves, she looks almost intimidatingly shady... if not for the gaudy amounts of jewelry and a tailored suit one might catch glimpses of underneath her attire.

Beneath the veil of smoke and shadow, her icy, blue eyes, as cold as Coerthan winters and as piercing as its sharp crags, observe anyone and everyone passing by, to the point not even the most inconspicuous gesture nor the briefest exchange of words go unnoticed by her. One cannot help but wonder who she is, and for what end she sits there... But it is said only Halone above knows that, and sure as Seven Hells, She isn't going to tell.

## Background

Born as the only child of House Lenoire, a lesser noble house in the Holy See of Ishgard, Rosemary's childhood wasn't unlike other highborn children. It consisted of little else than formal events one after another, studies at Saint Endalim's Scholasticate and preparations for the day the children would either begin their journey to knighthood or be wed to a suitor from another noble house. While privileged and luxurious, especially in comparison to their lowborn counterparts, it was also strict, for they had a great deal of expectations placed upon them, and even the youngest children of nobility had to stay on their best behaviour at all times, lest a scandal arise and compromise the standing of their House in the eyes of the Ishgardian Orthodox Church.

Several years after the fall of Dalamud and the resulting Seventh Umbral Calamity that turned the highlands of Coerthas into icy wastelands, Rosemary, by then a woman grown, had to leave her homeland behind and venture into lands unknown. She first arrived in Gridania, a foreign land where she quickly came to realise she was on her own, for her family name meant nothing there. Traveling around the three city-states of Eorzea, she ended up finding her calling in Ul'dah, the jewel of the desert, where her keen eye and experience with luxuries, valuable jewelry and antiquities allowed her an opportunity to establish herself as a trader of such goods.

Eventually, the news of the Dragonsong War ending reached Rosemary. At first, she couldn't believe it, and decided she would venture back to Ishgard to see for herself. What awaited her back in her homeland were nothing short of shocking; dark revelations regarding the history of the nation and a resulting political reform of the Holy See. With all these drastic ongoing changes, she seized an opportunity to instate herself as the Countess of House Lenoire, a title rightfully hers as she was the only remaining member of her house. Thus, Rosemary returned to her roots in Ishgardian nobility, and now had a newfound duty of serving her House, Halone and the Holy See once more.

However, by this time House Lenoire had nearly faded into obscurity. As the very first thing as its Countess, Rosemary would now have to find a way to restore her family name. As it was declared that the previously isolated nation of Ishgard would re-join the Eorzean Alliance and open its gates to foreigners, she got a brilliant idea. During her time trading in Ul'dah, she had established a fair share of connections in the mercantile city-state, whose luxury-loving nobility would no doubt be eager to get their hands on some high-quality Ishgardian wares that were still a rare sight outside the Holy See. Utilising this, she would establish House Lenoire as a pioneer of open trade between Ishgard and the other city-states.

For this end, Rosemary founded her first business, *Lenoire Trading Company*, which for a time was the name everyone interested in Ishgardian exports would speak of. Her well-timed enterprise had lead to her becoming both wealthy and well-known in the upper echelons of Ul'dah, and even the conservative nobility of Ishgard couldn't deny the success of her endeavours. While the novelty of such an endeavour faded in time as many more aspiring traders followed suit and saturated the market, Rosemary was far from finished. She knew it was the time to aim for even greater heights and higher profits.

With her newly acquired wealth, she founded *Lenoire Enterprises*, a company through which she began funding and investing in other businesses that she deemed profitable through her experience.
(work in progress)