🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 06
The Villainess Opens a Department Store
Water surged up from the fountain and scattered like mist on the wind.
The man paid no mind as droplets soaked his thick, curly hair, staring blankly up at the sky.
The splashes left dark, round stains across his shabby clothes.
With his unkempt beard grown wild to match his messy hair, he would have looked exactly like a beggar if a chipped bowl had been placed in front of him.
But I knew who that man was.
Guillaume Hedeve.
A god of commerce who, with business instincts bordering on pure intuition, had grown a small trading company into a massive merchant guild dealing across the world.
And he was my father’s longtime friend.
But that wasn’t the only reason I remembered Mr. Hedeve.
In my previous life, he had been one of the benefactors who helped Antoine and me.
The merchant company that once seemed eternal would collapse around the time Antoine reached adulthood.
His only heir had caused a catastrophic scandal—using his father’s name to commit large-scale fraud.
In the end, Mr. Hedeve’s business barely survived, reduced to a shadow of its former glory.
And yet, even then, he never turned his back on us.
Why are you doing so much for us?
When I had finally asked him that, unable to hold back any longer, he had grinned and patted my head.
“Aren’t you Charles’s children? A friend’s children are no different from my own. I’ll help you as far as my strength allows.”
Then why does he look like that right now?
Had his business already failed once?
If so, this was my chance to repay him.
Stepfather, I’ll be filial this time.
Just as I was making that resolution, someone approached Mr. Hedeve before I could.
“Sir, what are you doing here?”
Aaaah! Antoine!
Didn’t we teach you not to approach strangers?!
Of course, Mr. Hedeve wasn’t a stranger—or a bad person—but still!
“Me? I’m sunbathing.”
“Sunbathing? But a sunflower is a flower. Are you a flower, mister?”
“I’m sorry. My little brother meant no offense, Mr. Hedeve.”
Screaming internally, I ran over and quickly pulled Antoine into my arms.
And then, in the next instant, I bit my tongue.
“How did you know I was Hedeve?”
Oh no. The first time I had met him in my previous life was years later.
If I hadn’t followed Antoine out today, we might not have crossed paths at all.
Anyway—that wasn’t the issue.
As I hesitated, Mr. Hedeve flashed a grin, revealing bright red gums.
In a world where dentistry was lacking, his perfect teeth were a rare sight.
Still, no matter how I looked at it, that smile resembled a bandit trampling flowers more than a flower itself.
“Um, I saw what you’re wearing.”
“My clothes? This rag?”
Desperately searching for a plausible excuse, my eyes landed on the brooch pinning his tattered scarf in place.
“Yes. More precisely, the brooch.”
“What’s wrong with this brooch?”
“That’s the brooch awarded only to distinguished merchants by the Merchant Union, isn’t it? My father has one too.”
Mr. Hedeve touched the large gemstone on the brooch.
“And… um. This may sound rude, but please forgive me. There’s a smell.”
“A smell?”
He raised his arm and sniffed.
Since earlier, Antoine had been wary of the unfamiliar scent, burying his nose against me.
The sharp aroma of spices pricked at my own nose as well.
But it’s hard to notice your own scent.
“Yes. The smell of the sea—and unfamiliar spices. A distinguished merchant carrying such scents, arriving here without any interference… Who else could that be but my father’s business partner, Guillaume Hedeve?”
“Hah!”
At my answer, he let out a short laugh and stroked his beard thoughtfully.
W-Was I wrong? Did I mistake him for someone else? But in the future, Mr. Hedeve didn’t have a beard!
“Well, let’s say you’re right. But what if I’m not Hedeve?”
“Then it would mean you defeated all the guards of this estate to get here. In that case, I would have to escort you to my father as well.”
If I cooperated as a hostage, perhaps my life would be spared.
I shrugged.
“Wahahaha!”
For some reason, that sent him into roaring laughter, bending at the waist.
W-Wait, isn’t he going to fall backwards—?
Huh?
Splash!
“Ugh—puhaha!”
“Oh my goodness! Are you alright? Antoine! Go call someone quickly!”
“What kind of fountain is this enormous…?!”
…Well, at least that should wash off some of the spice smell.
* * *
“Guillaume!”
Charles leapt to his feet, spreading his arms wide.
“I heard what happened. The children were rude.”
“Rude? Not at all. Thanks to them, I got the salt rinsed off my body for the first time in ages.”
“Let’s see—you’ve been salted, rinsed… Shall we hang you somewhere breezy to dry?”
“Oh? Should I add cured ham to my next shipment?”
Trading such silly jokes back and forth, Charles seated Guillaume Hedeve.
“She’s an interesting one.”
“Hm?”
“Your daughter. She recognized me at a glance.”
Even when speaking to a noble, Guillaume used informal speech without hesitation.
Charles accepted it as naturally as ever.
“Adelaide? Have they met before?”
“Only a couple of times when she was younger than your second child—and she was asleep. She probably doesn’t remember.”
“Hm… I see. What did she say?”
“She figured out I belonged to the Merchant Union from the brooch. Then she said I smelled.”
“Smelled?”
Charles’s brow furrowed immediately.
Guillaume quickly reassured him and calmly explained what had happened at the fountain.
“My daughter’s sharp. She takes after her mother. You can tell just by looking at her face.”
“That’s a relief to hear.”
“What?”
What’s wrong with my face?
Though he laughed it off as a joke, Charles’s eyes trembled slightly.
Adelaide had changed—more than could be explained by simple maturity. And her observational skills and insight were astonishing for her age.
Though he dismissed it as intelligence inherited from her parents, Charles couldn’t stop worrying about how much she seemed to have changed.
“Anyway, what did you call me here for today?”
“Look at you, changing the subject.”
Despite his exasperation, Charles got to the point.
“I’m thinking of buying my daughter a toy.”
“A toy? Are you joking? You called me here for something like that?”
“Well… I heard you’d returned home. I wanted to give her something truly special. Hmm?”
“Honestly. If I’d known you’d work me this hard, I would’ve refused that investment back then!”
“Who told you to take all the runaway teenager’s life savings without hesitation?”
As Charles snickered, Guillaume thumped his chest in mock regret.
Before they knew it, the two had returned to the days when one was a runaway young master and the other a penniless youth armed with nothing but passion.
