The Villainess Who Accidentally Stole Their Hearts - Chapter 11
Chapter 6.1
They were completely unreadable characters.
Who could it possibly be?
‘…Did I meet someone else?’
Even though I tried recalling everything that happened from the moment I arrived at the party until I got home, no one came to mind.
“Um, Lady, are you alright?”
Emma approached me with an awkward expression on her face.
“Your shoe’s heel broke. What should I do? I didn’t even notice when I gave it to you…”
“It’s fine. Because of that, my brother and I grew closer.”
Emma’s face went pale.
She must’ve realized the reason I ended up in Akain’s arms was because of the shoes she gave me. Now that it was confirmed, she must be worried.
She was likely trying to use this little trick to win Mikarin’s favor.
“Thanks to you. Thank you, Emma.”
Emma’s expression quickly shifted to a smug one after I said that.
She was mistaken. It seemed that she thought I trusted her so much that I wouldn’t even suspect her, even after she gave me broken shoes.
“I don’t think I can manage without you, Emma. What am I going to do when you get married?”
“Oh, my lady, even if I get married, I’ll still be right by your side.”
‘Right, she’s already married but still here with me.’
I asked, pretending to be nonchalant.
“You’re not already discussing marriage with your lover, are you?”
“Hehe, he keeps bringing up our future together.”
“….”
‘So, it’s true she has a lover.’
I thought maybe I was remembering wrong, but it seemed even she was caught up in this cheating mess as well.
‘Could it be that the world is so full of infidelity that the gods sent me back in time to fix it?’
Emma, basking in my praise, spoke with a triumphant expression.
“I know just how to capture a man’s heart! Maybe you should learn from me?”
I neither wanted to know nor learn anything about how to have an affair. People who engage in affairs truly have no sense of shame. I half-tuned out Emma as she launched into her combo of ‘boasting about herself + bragging about her lover’ and discreetly called the detective agency.
‘Can I see Emma’s 〈 Profile 〉 again?’
— Gender: Female
— Age: 27
— Birthplace: Elwood
— Workplace: Grand Duchy of Delosif
— Position: Senior Maid
— Current Residence: Delosif Grand Ducal Residence
— Family Relations: Valik (Husband)
— Personal Relations: Mikarin (Master), Nikaearsha (Employer), Leonard (Lover)…
Oh, it’s showing up again.
‘And… it even shows 〈 Personal Relationship 〉?’
Personal relationships were a newly added category after the upgrade. It wasn’t there before.
‘And I can check it without using any ♥?’
That’s pretty good, isn’t it?
I had already done all the investigating back then, but it just couldn’t be displayed. Now, thanks to the upgrade, I could finally see it. Whatever the reason, this was definitely a good thing for me.
‘Mikarin is listed as her master, and I’m just the employer.’
Even though it was something I already knew, seeing it written out like that felt oddly deflating.
‘Enjoying spending my money, aren’t you?’
In the meanwhile, Emma was still going on about her lover.
“My lover is so handsome, tall, and has such a nice voice. Not only that, but he’s really capable as well! I just got a gift recently, and the price…”
I was only half-listening to her rambling when something made me stop.
Wait.
‘Leonard?’
Even though Emma constantly bragged about her lover whenever she had the chance, she never once mentioned his name. In addition, I hadn’t been curious enough to ask, so I let it slide.
‘This man was Emma’s lover?’
Leonard Fabian.
The owner of the Fabian Merchant Guild.
The Fabian Merchant Guild had been expanding at an impressive rate and would eventually become one of the Empire’s ‘Big Three Merchant Guilds.’ For a newcomer to rise to that level, they’d need to be incredibly skilled. And Leonard was beyond skilled—he was a remarkably talented businessman.
‘He managed to solve the biggest headache for the Grand Duchy of Delosif.’
Now that I think about it, it was around this time.
This was when Mikarin, who brought Leonard, started being called the 〈 Treasure of Delosif. 〉
̊ · : * ✧ * : · ̊
At the Grand Duchy of Delosif.
The atmosphere in the office of Young Lord Zerno was tense.
“If things continue like this, the Vess Dam won’t hold.”
“We’ve got maybe a month or two. After that, it’s hard to guarantee when it will collapse.”
“Have you calculated the potential damage in case of a collapse?”
At Zerno’s question, Viscount Barento manipulated the magical device, and the 3D map floating in the air was further enlarged.
“There’s too much water stored in the Vess Dam. In no time, three villages will be underwater, and below that…”
The simulation played out on the map. Water poured from the collapsed dam, rushing through a narrow canyon and flooding the plains.
“…Even the plains will be affected.”
“Hoo. If that fertile land suffers flood damage, it will impact the entire territory.”
“We must secure 〈 Akitane 〉 as quickly as possible.”
Akitane.
It was a material essential for stabilizing the dam.
The issue with the Akitane at the Vess Dam was discovered about a week ago. Given the severity of the situation, Young Lord Zerno had gone to inspect it personally. That was why he wasn’t at home when Nikaearsha’s manifestation failed, but there was nothing he could do.
“What’s the Riesel Merchant Guild saying?”
Naturally, major resources like Akitane were subject to trade restrictions.
The only two authorized by the imperial family to handle Akitane were the Riesel Merchant Guild and the Periwel Merchant Guild.
“The Riesel Guild is still spouting nonsense about being out of stock.”
Zerno’s lips twisted into a crooked smile.
“There’s no way the Marquis of Riesel would miss a chance to screw over Delosif.”
“Still, this is going too far. Petty disputes are one thing, but…”
“This could escalate and cause a complete rift between our families. I doubt the Marquis actually wants that.”
At first, they thought the guild was just stalling to drive up the price. However, the fact that they were still holding out was definitely strange.
“It’s the imperial family.”
Zerno’s voice fell heavily.
“They’re waiting for me to go and ask them to mediate.”
“Could it be that the imperial family made a secret deal with Marquis Riesel to put Delosif in their debt…?!”
“Exactly. It works out perfectly for Riesel.”
They would be able to collect payment from both the imperial family and Delosif.
“What about the Periwel Merchant Guild?”
“No matter what terms we offer, they won’t budge. They probably don’t want to get involved when the imperial family is already meddling.”
“A wise choice.”
It would be foolish to chase short-term profits and defy the imperial family’s will.
“But it’s frustrating for us.”
With those words, silence fell over the room.
Tuk, thud.
The sound of Zerno drumming his fingers on the armrest echoed through the vast office. After a long pause, he finally parted his lips.
“…I’ll have to go to the palace.”
“B-But, the imperial family will surely bring up the matter of your marriage…”
“My marriage isn’t something to be thrown into negotiations over the price of Akitane.”
After all, it was the marriage of the future Grand Duke of Delosif. Such an obvious scheme wouldn’t dictate that.
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