Chapter 156
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 156
“Ha. I fleeced them for a fortune today, too.”
I’m so satisfied I feel full without even eating—wait, no, I’m just plain stuffed!
With a proud expression, I set down a chicken drumstick that had been picked clean to the bone.
This was my bedroom.
And I had been eating here for the past three hours.
The table spread before me was lavish enough to feed three people, yet I had polished off every single dish entirely on my own.
Suddenly, the air before my eyes shimmered, and Kim Ddong-byul reappeared above my head.
“Hey. You’re actually pretty useful,” I said, my voice laced with genuine admiration, before slightly knitting my brows.
I immediately corrected myself.
“No, to be precise, the Benefit is useful. Not you.”
Ahem. I couldn’t have Kim Ddong-byul getting arrogant again.
This was the new Benefit I had obtained as a reward for ‘stepping less’ on Ferdinand’s feet.
The functionality of this Benefit was truly staggering.
“An unmanned reconnaissance drone... or should I call it a wiretap? No, maybe just a drone.”
Whatever it was, Kim Ddong-byul projected exactly what my target was doing at that moment. And in vivid, high-definition video, no less.
Thanks to this, I was able to uncover Empress Carmi’s plot.
It happened just a few days ago.
—Do you really think I can just stand by and watch that lowly Crown Prince return in such high spirits? It just so happens that the White Tulip Salon has become one of the most prominent salons among the nobility. It would be fitting for me to personally invite the Chief Designer in my name.
Actually, I had sent Kim Ddong-byul to the Empress just to test out the new Benefit.
I hadn’t expected to stumble upon her scheme so immediately.
—The White Tulip Salon is famous in the capital for its arrogance, so they surely won't accept my order easily. But the owner of the White Tulip Salon is that wench, Tulia Frezier, is she not?
—Yes, Your Majesty. That is correct.
—Good. That works out perfectly. While you’re at it, secretly spread rumors that the Grand Ducal House of Frezier is keeping the Crown Prince at arm's length.
—As you wish, Your Majesty.
My thought at the time was a genuine exclamation: An Empress is an Empress for a reason.
Aiming for two birds with one stone—or rather, one gift.
She would gain the reputation of a generous Empress who bestows such kindness upon a Crown Prince who isn't even her biological child, while simultaneously driving a subtle wedge between the Grand Ducal House and the Crown Prince.
‘Impressive, truly impressive.’
If I hadn't sent Kim Ddong-byul as a scout (though I’d actually thought of him as a toy), I would never have anticipated such a scheme from Empress Carmi.
It was right after that, just as I was about to head to the White Tulip Salon to prepare a countermeasure, that a strange sentence drifted into my ears.
—He has the pride of a Crown Prince, it seems, for he has harbored feelings for the Grand Duke’s legitimate granddaughter. How dare he.
“……?”
For a moment, I was utterly stunned.
The Crown Prince has feelings for who? Me?
He’s harboring feelings for me, not planning to bury me?
Empress Carmi’s words made absolutely no sense to me.
In Why Did That Lady Give the Handsome Man Milk Bread?, the easiest male lead to romance was Lisian. That was a given, since he was originally engaged to Corico.
Conversely, who was the most difficult male lead to romance?
It was the Crown Prince, Ferdinand.
His personality was naturally prickly, he was burdened with various constraints, and above all, no matter which route you took, it was impossible to prevent his engagement to Sophia Frezier.
‘It was an inevitable flow, even for me.’
Of course, Sophia Frezier was a one-dimensional villainess even worse than Tulia. She was a character who would openly mock the Crown Prince at the Academy, calling him a cripple or disabled, before disappearing without a trace.
‘Come to think of it...’
No matter which male lead Corico ended up with, there was never a case where Sophia Frezier and Ferdinand actually stayed together.
Not even once.
‘The Crown Prince is a character who always ends up with a single line saying he lived a lonely, solitary life if he didn't end up with Corico.’
And yet, he has feelings for me?
I briefly reflected on the Ferdinand I knew as a child.
To clear this damn Main Quest, I had met him when he was young.
But still.
‘That was it. And we danced once?’
That was literally it.
Though, I hadn't expected Ferdinand to let me dance while standing on top of his feet.
‘Maybe I should have checked his Favorability.’
Because of the one-week cooldown, I had become much more cautious about checking Favorability.
So, I hadn't impulsively checked it just because I met Ferdinand after a long time.
From my perspective, it was only natural.
All we did was reunite after years and share a single dance.
When on earth could there have been an event significant enough to make his emotions fluctuate like that?
‘Bullshit. There wasn't a single thing!’
Ferdinand wasn't such an easy target that he’d hit max affection just from meeting once as kids and sharing one dance as adults.
Even the "True Male Lead" Lisian, who had the lowest difficulty, wasn't that easy!
Carmi’s words, which I’d overheard through Kim Ddong-byul, kept looping in my head.
—He has the pride of a Crown Prince, it seems, for he has harbored feelings for the Grand Duke’s legitimate granddaughter. How dare he.
‘Whatever.’
No matter how much I thought about it alone, I wasn't going to reach a conclusion.
I decided that I would absolutely check his Favorability the next time I met the Crown Prince, and then I summoned her.
The person I absolutely needed to deliver a massive "screw you" to the Empress's plot, which I’d discovered through Kim Ddong-byul’s spying.
It was Charles, the Chief Designer of the White Tulip Salon.
I didn't even bother hiding my wicked smile as I looked at Charles and spoke.
“We can fleece them for a massive amount, right?”
Charles’s eyes widened slightly for a moment, but she soon replied with a smile similar to mine.
“Of course, Master Tulia.”
* * *
So, that was how things had unfolded.
‘If she says she’ll pay with treasures from the Empress’s palace warehouse, I’ll tell Charles to accept only the particularly precious items and demand the rest be converted into cash.’
Lulu-lala.
It’s Empress Carmi’s head that’ll be throbbing, not mine.
A short while later.
Charles came to see me early in the morning, looking like she had clearly stayed up all night.
“Master. A message came from the Empress’s palace asking us to wait a little while until they can secure the funds. What shall we do?”
“Did they say anything else?”
“They asked us to ensure that the request to ‘wait a few days’ doesn't leak out. With a side of half-threats, of course.”
“Well, she is royalty. I suppose she’s entitled to her pride.”
I laughed, twirling the ruby bracelet on my wrist.
“Let her have it. I should at least do that much for the Mother of the Empire, who must be burning with anxiety trying to scrape the money together right now.”
“Understood, Master Tulia. I will return immediately and get back to work.”
She was going back to work right away? Charles already had dark circles under her eyes.
“Aren't you tired? Take it easy.”
“How could I?”
The gaze Charles directed at me was brimming with loyalty.
“It’s thanks to you, Master, that I was able to safely reunite with Lady Adel... no, Head Maid Adel. I will never forget this grace, Master.”
I scratched my cheek, feeling unnecessarily bashful.
It was true.
Charles had originally been one of Adel’s people.
To be precise, she was the young Adel’s only sewing maid.
A young maid who was more of a companion, sewing dresses to size or making nightgowns.
But "sewing maid" was just a title.
The grandmother who had constantly tormented Adel was a terrible miser; she exploited young, homeless maids for cheap labor, making them do laundry endlessly in freezing water.
Even while doing grueling laundry all day, Charles had dreamed of opening a small dress shop when she grew up, and it was Adel who had always secretly helped her.
‘In the end, when the village where Adel and Luc lived became part of the Borderlands, many people died or fled.’
After succeeding in cultivating White Tulips, I had brought several types of dyes home.
One of them was a light pink color, exactly the same as Tulia’s hair. It was a color that had a strange silvery sheen, making it look as lovely as a pink carpet.
I had brought it thinking I might make a dress, but Adel wanted to make a nightgown out of it, so I agreed.
And that was when I heard about Charles’s existence.
So, when I sent people to find Charles and helped the two of them reunite, I felt proud too.
I might be Tulia, but I’m a villainess who knows how to repay a favor.
Gaining Charles as the Chief Designer of the White Tulip Salon as a result was an unexpected bonus.
A short while after Charles left.
After a moment of deliberation, I called for a maid.
“Go to the White Tulip Salon and give the Chief Designer my word. Tell her to include a few more bottles of olive-colored dye as a gift in the package being sent to His Highness the Crown Prince.”
* * *
The news that Empress Carmi had spent a staggering amount of money to gift the Crown Prince dyes from the White Tulip Salon took high society by storm.
People said Empress Carmi was truly magnanimous, that she had no interest in usurping the Crown Prince’s position, and that the rumors of her being cruel were, after all, just baseless gossip.
While such talk circulated rapidly...
Inside the Empress’s palace, Prince Dave and Empress Carmi were having a massive row, resulting in several expensive porcelain vases being shattered.
“Mother! Why are you spending such a fortune on that lowly cripple?! If you have so much money rotting away, give it to me instead! I should be using it to win over that wench Tulia Frezier so I can at least become the Grand Duke’s grandson-in-law! Honestly, Mother, you are so extravagant and short-sighted—how did you even manage to steal the Empress’s throne?!”
The servants lay prostrate, trembling in fear. Dave was huffing and puffing, screaming like a madman, when he suddenly stopped upon seeing the Empress’s face turn deathly pale.
Dave instinctively realized that he was standing behind him. Turning around while trembling, Dave gasped for breath.
“F-Father... Your Majesty...”
Slap!
In an instant, stars flashed before his eyes.