Chapter 277
Chapter 277
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Plan Advances
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Probably about a week had passed?
My plan was progressing far better than I had anticipated.
I could feel it every time I secretly wandered around the territory lately, overhearing the worried mutterings of various people.
Personally, just a little more... and it should be done.
"The lord of the Rose Family hasn't said a word about anything, and I'm not even sure if he cares about the territory's situation at all."
"Exactly. Even I think he's not taking any action whatsoever."
"See?"
If even we outsiders from another region could see that, how much more must the people making their livelihoods here think the same?
It was truly astonishing in every way.
Well, ultimately, it was good news for us.
Anyway, the plan was going exceptionally well.
I'd done an excellent job with what Lady Millisita had asked of me, but more importantly, conversations related to that were popping up everywhere lately.
The territory's atmosphere had never been great to begin with, which played an even bigger role.
From the guest building among those on the hilltop, you could see the territory below especially clearly.
"You don't see any knights patrolling around, do you?"
"...Yes."
"It's a miracle no serious crimes have happened yet. That's how bad it is."
"You're the same age as me."
It really was fortunate.
In a territory managed this poorly by its lord.
A place where even if murders or kidnappings occurred, the knights had no intention of resolving them.
For it to remain this peaceful.
"Is it because the people are so kind?"
At least in the Rose Territory, while wandering incognito, I hadn't encountered a single bad person.
Maybe the residents' temperament was just inherently mild.
Well...
"Eventually, group psychology will make them waver."
Even if most of the group is peaceful and gentle, it's still a group.
The slightest crack from within would shake it greatly.
"Young Lady."
"Yes?"
"What exactly do you plan to do in the end? Are you scheming some kind of rebellion within the territory?"
"I'm just going to take it over naturally."
"...Pardon?"
I'd told Alexandra, and the Rose people as well.
Well, I hadn't explained it properly to the Rose folks.
"Fundamentally, the territory itself still has value, but the lord managing it is too incompetent. In that situation, if someone far more capable and close to the lord steps in to save the failing territory... there's no issue, right? Especially if it's the lord's family."
"Is that how it works...?"
"Yeah, well... It's not exactly pleasant, but I'm very close to the Rose Family, aren't I? My mother came from the Roses?"
"That's true."
"And I have the talent and the looks. Perfect, right?"
"Indeed."
"As long as the Roses give their permission, me taking over here wouldn't be a problem at all. Imperial law even allows it to some extent."
I'd already looked it all up, so I knew.
In a situation like this, not checking the law would be the height of stupidity.
It would be the most annoying thing if I fully took over only for some sudden legal issue to arise later.
"I just need to make it so the Roses have no choice but to abandon this place."
"Is that possible?"
"It's already underway, isn't it? Trust in the Rose Family within the territory has plummeted lately, hasn't it? It was already lacking before."
"...Ah."
Well, it might need one more big push.
But things were going really well as it was.
I was satisfied enough and just waiting.
Lately, some Rose Family members had been coming around, complaining about how long I planned to stay.
But I could ignore that.
This side held all the cards anyway.
The territory's owner was clearly the Roses, but the owner wasn't acting like one?
"Fufu..."
Just enjoying the slow downfall of the Roses while spending cozy time with Lize was enough.
Truth be told, I'd been exhausted preparing and executing the plan until a few days ago.
Now I finally had some time to rest, even if briefly?
Better to enjoy it.
*
If I had my way, I'd just overwhelm them with knights.
But that approach would only cause problems later.
So today, too.
"Why don't you sell me the position of Family Head and leave the territory now, Big Aunt?"
"There's no reason for us to leave the territory. Why would we accept such a demand from you?"
"Hmm... Is that so? Right now, I could buy it for 5,000 gold."
"Do you think a count family is worth that little?"
"Well... If it were the old count family, absolutely not. It would take dozens of times 5,000 at least."
Realistically, 5,000 gold was nowhere near enough no matter how you sliced it.
Not even some tiny baronial family in the boonies... smaller than the Niesistas.
But.
"That's about what the Roses are worth now, right? No businesses or anything bringing in money—just scraping by overcharging the territory's people. And they even secretly sold off that precious heirloom granted to the count families by the founding emperor on the black market."
"You, how did you..."
"The black market isn't exclusive to the Rose Family, obviously? Thousands of imperial citizens use it daily. Of course I'd know."
Well, I'd just heard about it.
I hadn't actually seen them sell the heirloom myself.
They hadn't even sold it with any explanation that it was an heirloom.
But thanks to insiders and my solid connections with the Information Guild, it was easy to find out.
"The Emperor and the imperial family are probably aware of these stories too. They just lack hard evidence to act directly."
"......"
Christina fell silent.
It was a delightful sight.
Seeing the woman who used to torment Rozalin gradually lose her spirit in this situation brought more satisfaction than I'd imagined.
Well, it wasn't sexually arousing like when I teased Ashley or Ivana.
Just pure vindication?
"How about it? 5,000 gold—not tempting yet? I could even throw in that little villa in the eastern region."
I wasn't using it anyway and barely maintained it.
Once I took over the Rose Territory, I wouldn't need villas elsewhere.
"...Shut up."
"Fufu."
I knew it would be like that.
Nobles usually held their heads high even in situations like this.
From my lowly origins, it just seemed downright stupid?
But it made me happy, as it let me guide them further down the wrong path.
"Then I won't bring up this offer again?"
"Shut up."
I really had no intention of mentioning it again.
5,000 gold wasn't a huge sum for me, but it was way too precious to give to these bastards.
Better to use it to commission custom carriages for Ivana and the Rosaki sisters.
So it was truly fortunate.
"Shall we end today's conversation here? If we continue, Big Aunt might collapse from apoplexy."
With that, I left.
She muttered something behind me.
But I wasn't interested.
No desire to stay longer either.
"Mother~"
"Oh, Camellia. No issues?"
"Of course not? If they were capable of that, the road there would have been properly fixed by now."
"Hehe, true enough."
After finishing my talk with the likes of Christina, I hurried back to the guest building and threw myself into Rozalin's arms as she lounged comfortably on the bed.
Being in the same space as that mood-ruining bitch had been grating.
Separate from the fun of teasing her, I really had no desire to converse.
How dare she torment our Rozalin.
Even torturing her with magic... I'd still feel it wasn't enough.
"......"
"Camellia?"
"Ah, yes?"
"What are you thinking about so intently? Does Mommy's embrace feel that good?"
"Fufufu... Yes, so good it stopped my brain for a moment."
Well, our Rozalin wasn't that extreme.
I was just considering torture as an option.
If I wanted, I could challenge them to a duel here or declare war and crush them completely.
But I was holding back for Rozalin's sake in various ways.
"I love you, Mother."
"Yes, I love you too, my daughter."
"Haa... This feels amazing. As expected, Mother's embrace is the best among all women."
"Is that so? If you say it that strongly, Camellia... I'm happy."
This was true.
I had other lovers besides Rozalin, but her embrace felt the best.
Size-wise, Karen, Ivana, and Ashley had large breasts too...
Was it because she's my mother?
Her embrace was truly warm, soft... just incredibly good.
The sweet rose scent unique to her body, too.
"...I love you, for real."
"Yes, I love you too... really, truly. My daughter."
"...Shall we kiss? It feels like we haven't kissed much since coming here."
I suddenly got a bit aroused.
Of course, Rozalin might resist anything lewd in broad daylight.
So I settled for just kissing.
We could get really wild with Rozalin after fully devouring the Roses.
"...Yes."
...For now, kissing it was.
It was a shame, but Rozalin's kisses were sweet too.
Not as much as when she melted into me during sex, though.