The Villainess Hides Her Wealth - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

I went over the recipes in my mind.

‘Maybe a lavender toner or aloe lotion would be good…’

Though lavender was a fairly common plant, I wondered how I could grow aloe.

As long as I had confirmed that the power of the blessing of growth I possessed was working, it would be better for me to grow ingredients that were easy to obtain. There was no point in mentioning the aloe that was hard to find.

‘I need to soothe her acne-prone skin and control her sebum production. The scars also bother me. And for that, I can’t give up on the aloe after all.’

The calendula flower, an ingredient of the cosmetics that I gave to my mother last time, was easy to grow secretly in the garden of the duke’s castle, but… no matter how much I thought about it, aloe was difficult.

But that concern was easily resolved.

“You can grow the ingredients in the garden of the princess’ palace.”

Not many people came in and out of the princess’ palace, and it was good for me to come here on the pretext of seeing her.

“Thank you. If I use the blessing of growth, it won’t take long to grow them.”

Whenever I visited the princess’ palace to check the status of the crops and use my blessing, I would have tea with Princess Vivian. Then, I explained the ingredients for the cosmetics.

“Even so, it would be better than the bone dust of a monster, which has been said to be effective. Even if it doesn’t get fully better with the cosmetics I gave you, don’t ever apply such a thing.”

“I already know that such things are useless. I’ve tried everything.”

She must have tried everything she could. In that case, her skin would get even worse because she put strange things on her face…

Sighing deeply, Princess Vivian asked an unexpected question.

“But why can’t it be found out that Lady Primrose makes cosmetics?”

“Well, I don’t like rumors,” I replied calmly. “Although Your Highness gratefully trusted me, people say that I am a wicked villainess who torments my sister and wreaks havoc.”

I crossed my arms and tilted my head. Princess Vivian grumbled as if she didn’t like it.

“If I were a bad person, I would say that I am a good person. Aren’t you too unconfident?”

I remained silent for a moment, then spoke kindly.

“Well… In fact, it won’t be good if Your Highness is rumored to be hanging out with me, too. In fact, compared to my brother’s blessing of the sword, my blessing of growth was so weak that I felt ashamed…”

“Aah, don’t say that. The crops the Lady is growing contain your blessing. Since you used the blessing in the garden, they just grew incredibly well. There was something like a sacred aura hovering over them. It was amazing!”

With that said, Princess Vivian continued to speak enthusiastically, even using gestures.

“Honestly, isn’t it more helpful to others than being able to use a sword well?”

I acted evasive instead of responding to compliments, embarrassed.

“Well, I understand that Your Highness’ brother is a wizard, but he also knows how to use his sword well…”

“Ahem, although my brother is also a swordsman, he doesn’t look very cool.”

Just as our topic of conversation was about to switch to the crown prince,

“Oh no, I’m sorry that someone who isn’t very cool interrupted your conversation.”

The person I had been looking for before came waving his hand.

It was Crown Prince Enoch.

“What was that, Brother? Why did you come here without saying that you were coming?”

“I thought you wouldn’t come to the princess’ palace.”

I realized it after speaking.

I was so swept away by Princess Vivian’s tone that I too spoke comfortably.

However, Crown Prince Enoch himself didn’t seem to care that much.

Rather, he smiled gently and ignored our words.

“I thought Vivian and Lady Primrose would be a good match. Shall we say that it seemed that you would get along faster without me?”

“…”

“The two of you seem to be getting along, huh?”

Yes, that was true.

If Prince Enoch had been involved in our first meeting, it was likely that Princess Vivian and I would have left everything to him instead of talking to each other directly.

If that had been the case, we wouldn’t have had such a comfortable teatime together.

‘I thought he was simply busy, but surprisingly, he thought of everything…’

Unlike the honorifics that he kindly uses while smiling softly… As expected, he was also the crown prince of a country.

But apart from that, wasn’t Prince Enoch too inattentive of me?

‘Did I look too weak when we first met because I was being dragged by Sir Vieira? Does he think I can’t harm anyone… so he doesn’t seem to care if I’m in front of his sister?’

But still. I couldn’t believe he just took anyone to the sweet Princess Vivian. Isn’t he a little disqualified as an older brother…?

… Well, Princess Vivian was a good conversation partner, though.

“D-Does it look like we’re getting along?”

Princess Vivian, stuttering in amazement at the crown prince’s words, looked innocent.

‘I think I know what she’s thinking even if she’s wearing a veil…’

Hmm, both Her Highness, Princess Vivian, and His Highness, Crown Prince Enoch. I felt like they trust people too much.

***

However, as Yuria had thought, Crown Prince Enoch wasn’t such a good person to just put the two of them together.

After Yuria went back, he even spoke with Vivian.

“I’m surprised you’ve been talking to another lady for so long.”

“Lady Primrose… is different from the other Lady Primrose.”

Yuria and Lilika. Even though they were two different people, they still had the same title.

They were also sisters who belonged to the same family.

Although Vivian had a rather clumsy way of speaking, not making a distinction between the two, Crown Prince Enoch immediately understood and asked back.

“How is she different?”

“She doesn’t sympathize with me.”

Hearing that, Prince Enoch remembered an occasion when Princess Vivian had tea with Lilica.

And how after that day, she didn’t meet with anyone.

“But Lady Yuria Primrose had a businesslike attitude. She was dry and blunt. She didn’t even try to look good to me…”

Crown Prince Enoch recalled Yuria’s attitude of drawing the line while saying that she had to pay him back for helping her when he asked her to look after his sister.

It would be better if she used the fact that the crown prince had asked her to try to meet him again, or to try to make a profit.

“Yeah, didn’t she say it was funny to say that she felt sorry for you just because of your skin?”

“Yeah. She even kicked her chair and left, saying she couldn’t tolerate it anymore.”

“Even if you think about it now, it was remarkable.”

From that day on, there was a lot of talk about how Yuria was wicked and how dirty her personality was.

But Vivian seemed pleased with Yuria for saying that and leaving.

“Do you see the lady in a good light too because of that, Brother?”

“I never said in particular that I saw Lady Primrose in a good light.”

Vivian didn’t believe her brother’s words as he smiled leisurely and crossed his legs. It was because she had already heard what one of the knights had told her.

‘I heard he even stood in front of the other nobles and took Lady Primrose’s side. Did he say that he didn’t like it when people spoke ill of others for ridiculous reasons?’

However, since he had cracked down on it after Yuria had left, not even Yuria herself knew about it.

“If you had judged Lady Primrose to be a bad person… You wouldn’t have even brought her in front of me.”

With that said, Vivian smirked. The more she thought about it, the happier she was.

“Do you know what Lady Yuria Primrose said? She said not to trust her too much… She said I’m too naive and asked if I didn’t know that people call her a villainess…”

“Well, she also has a naive side herself.”

“Exactly.”

Crown Prince Enoch recalled Yuria talking to Vivian earlier.

She said it was no big deal when Vivian complimented her and shrugged with indifference, but, unlike her words, the tips of her ears were red. It seemed like she was trying to remain calm as the daughter of the duke, but it was a shyness she couldn’t hide.

‘I don’t think she’s immune to compliments…’

Her curly silver hair and always upright posture gave her a cold impression, apart from her beauty.

But in comparison, her heart seemed to be something else. The difference between the outside and the inside stimulated one’s curiosity, but was she aware of that?

“The truth is, isn’t Lady Yuria Primrose worried? Though it isn’t such a big deal that I asked her to make cosmetics for me.”

Rather, the way she first said that it might not be effective was a bit… Was completely different from the priest who had treated her in the past—though he didn’t really treat her—and asked for all kinds of things, acting boastful.

“You’re absolutely right.”

Enoch recalled Yuria in the boutique, pretending not to be surprised at all despite being threatened by Sir Vieira, but still trembling at the fingertips.

To be honest, he was in agreement.

“Anyway, Brother doesn’t think well of Lady Yuria at all, but! It just happened that you brought her to me. Is that it? Alright!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Vivian got up from her seat. Enoch was fidgeting as he gazed at her youthful appearance of turning her back right away, without giving him a chance to answer.

‘Did I show any favorability towards Lady Primrose?’

When Enoch was a boy, Yuria Primrose had created a calm ripple in his heart.

It was a vague feeling that remained as just a slight fondness because they had no contact after that.

Even if it had disappeared without even a trace, leaving only a fuzzy feeling, if someone asked Enoch Piaast what kind of person Yuria Primrose was, he would immediately reply.

She was his first love.