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Chapter : 68
“Miss, it’s Lena.”
“What is it?”
“You’ve received a letter from Young Master Hans.”
“Ah!”
It was the news she had been desperately waiting for.
If it was Hans, her older brother in charge of intelligence at the House of Marquess Nesselrode, then he could surely find out who had dared to spread rumors about his little sister.
“Give it to me!”
As soon as the maid entered the room, Vanessa snatched the letter from her hands and tore the envelope open with a letter opener.
And inside the envelope, written on a small postcard, was the name of the culprit she had so longed to uncover.
“What the hell is this?”
Vanessa genuinely doubted her eyes.
She had honestly assumed it was orchestrated by someone like Lady Müller or Lady Jaeger—those who had their own cliques in the social scene.
But the truth revealed was far from what she had expected.
“You’re telling me the one spreading false rumors about me was Adelheid Ulmer, that lowly, vulgar wench?”
It was so absurd that she could only laugh.
Since her debut in high society, no one had dared to touch her—backed as she was by the House of Nesselrode. No one would even think of crossing her.
And yet now, some nobody dared to stab her in the back?
Maybe it was ignorance born of a lack of education, but this was something she absolutely could not let go.
“Miss, are you all right? Should I bring you some water?”
“Get lost!”
Vanessa shrieked, her eyes blazing with rage as she glared at the maid, Lena.
“You…”
Lena shrank back in fear, but Vanessa, caught in the storm of her fury, didn’t even notice.
“Tell the coachman to prepare the carriage. We’re going to the back alley.”
“Pardon? M-Miss! If you go there personally, your brothers will definitely try to stop you!”
“Shut up!”
Crash—!
The vase Vanessa threw shattered at her feet, and Lena closed her mouth in terror.
“I’m going to kill her. I will…”
Until now, even when she disliked someone, the worst she had done was break their limbs and leave them disabled. She had never ordered someone to be killed.
But this was different. She was not only at risk of losing her shot at being Spring Queen, but also of being eliminated from the list of potential crown princesses.
At this point, there was no way to simply pretend nothing had happened.
‘She’s a lowborn anyway, right?’
Come to think of it, Adelheid Ulmer wasn’t even that hard of a target.
The Duke of Ulmer wouldn’t even bat an eye if one or even both of his adopted daughters died.
That greedy idiot only cared about money. Even if he found out that a daughter of the House of Nesselrode was behind it, he’d only think about extorting a settlement. Give him 100,000 dalings and he’d probably smile and thank her.
“Let’s go.”
Vanessa quickly threw on her clothes and kicked open the door with her foot as she stormed out.
Perhaps the air of danger around her was palpable, because the carriage driver was standing stiffly at the ready in front of the mansion.
“Where to, Miss?”
“The Assassins’ Guild.”
Stepping on Lena’s back to get into the carriage, Vanessa snapped sharply.
“Why aren’t we moving?”
“Y-Yes, ma’am!”
The sound of the whip cracking stirred Vanessa from her mental exhaustion.
‘Adelheid Ulmer, you will pay for this.’
Up until now, she’d hired mercenaries for breaking limbs. But taking a life—that called for professionals.
Vanessa curled her lips in a smile as she imagined Adelheid’s miserable death.
‘I heard the Guildmaster of that place is insanely skilled.’
Among the countless guilds scattered throughout the Bregenz Empire, the Assassins’ Guild held a monopoly.
That was thanks to the Guildmaster’s unmatched assassination skills—and their ability to perfectly conceal the identity of their clients.
Which meant that arrogant wench was as good as finished.
“……?”
But what greeted Vanessa as she stepped off the carriage with high hopes was an old, worn-out wooden signboard with a hastily scribbled closure notice.
Notice of Closure
We sincerely thank all our clients who have used the Assassins’ Guild over the years.
Due to unforeseen circumstances and financial difficulty, we have decided to close operations as of March this year.
We deeply appreciate your support and will contact loyal patrons should we reopen in the future.
—The Guildmaster
No matter how many times she reread it, the message stayed the same.
Finally accepting reality, Vanessa couldn’t hold back her scream.
“Damn it!!!! Where is that Guildmaster?! Where is he?!!!”
“Is someone talking about me?”
“No one’s talking about you! Now that you’ve finished washing the laundry, go hang it out already!”
“Ah, yes ma’am.”
The genius of assassination, the so-called God of Killing, known as the President of Assassins, Randolph—whom Vanessa was so desperately seeking in the back alleys—scratched his ear and then trotted off after the maids, carrying a laundry basket.
*
“Fufufu…”
Today again, the social gossip magazines were hard at work exposing Vanessa’s hidden misdeeds.
And all of it—every word—was part of my grand scheme using the Black Wild Dogs.
‘It did cost quite a bit, though.’
Spreading rumors was far more expensive than expected. It had taken a whopping 500,000 dalings.
Moreover, the system’s warning—“Be aware that manipulating information may come with a cost”—didn’t only mean financial cost.
[SYSTEM]
You have spread rumors about the true nature of ‘Vanessa Nesselrode’ and lowered her reputation!
Karma +50
I expected my karma might go up a little, but not by 50. That hurt more than I’d thought.
On top of that, Vanessa seemed to have figured out I was the culprit and started spreading rumors about me to the other noble ladies.
[SYSTEM]
Word is spreading in society that you are the mastermind behind the rumors about Vanessa Nesselrode and that you are a ruthless and merciless woman!
Infamy +5
Thanks to these kinds of pop-up windows that appeared now and then, there was no way I could be unaware.
Still, I didn’t mind. Things were going pretty well, all things considered.
Honestly, it was amazing.
From the day I hired Marco until now, apart from the karma increase messages, the system hadn’t interfered or thrown any curveballs.
Completing the social event attendance requirement—one of the quest’s clear conditions—was easy enough, and nothing strange had happened during the process.
At this rate, with the vote for the Spring Queen scheduled for tomorrow and Vanessa’s reputation in ruins, it was obvious she wouldn’t win.
Which meant, barring any unexpected problems, I’d successfully complete the Spring Queen quest.
‘And once I deliver the required amount of magic stones next week, my deal with the second prince will be smoothly wrapped up too.’
The only thing that worried me was that there wouldn’t be any more transactions with Adrian for a while.
I had already supplied a significant amount, and my plan was to avoid flooding one channel with too much product. So it was best to end it there.
Which meant I needed a new source of income. Hmm… should I finally start dealing with the Mage Tower?
Even though my pockets were full for now, I couldn’t afford to blow it all with nine months still left.
Especially since I still didn’t know what would happen if I failed to reach the “perfect ending.” I had to gather as many revenue streams as I could.
“Miss, should I turn off the lights?”
Sophie’s voice reminded me just how much time had passed while I was lost in thought.
“It’s already night, huh. Go ahead.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I set aside the gossip magazine I’d been holding and snuggled into bed.
“Good night, Miss.”
“Yeah. You sleep well, too.”
Sophie’s eyes widened at my reply.
Only then did I realize it wasn’t exactly something a villainess would say. But oh well—some days are just like that.
Click—
Once Sophie closed the door and left, I was alone in the big room.
Even the gentle moonlight was blocked by the curtains, making the room pitch dark and silent—no birds, no wind, nothing.
Perfect sleeping conditions, really.
“Hmmm.”
But no matter how hard I tried to empty my mind and close my eyes, I couldn’t fall asleep.
Tossing and turning for a while, I finally gave up and shot upright.
“What is this feeling of unease?”
