DVDD 08

Chapter 08

The next day, Elle woke up feeling refreshed after a deep sleep, in a surprisingly good mood.
Although being hit squarely in the face by the rising sun as she woke was a bit annoying.

“Soft Tofu!”
Today, Elle got up on her own before Soft Tofu could even wake her.
“Woof woof!”
Elle hugged Soft Tofu, who ran at her wagging his tail wildly, and gave him a few kisses. Then, she made a resolution she hadn’t managed to make yesterday.

“Lari.”
“Oh my, Elle, you’re already awake?”
“Yeah, I thought about it, and I’ve decided not to be mean anymore.”
“Huh?”

Severe physical training was still too much, but light exercise was good for mental health, so she decided to do a little bit at a time and just live as best she could.
Maybe things would work out somehow.

After all, even if she wasn’t the protagonist’s couple, Laela’s notorious reputation was terrible, and it was well known even in the Renne Empire. Pretending to reform herself seemed like too much effort.
Was feeling lazy about everything just a symptom of depression? She couldn’t tell, but she had already done things to Kopari, and doing a few more misdeeds here wouldn’t hurt her image any further.

The Duke of Landmiken had surely arranged his daughter’s marriage abroad knowing her fully, so now getting angry over family reputation would be unreasonable.

“Until the day comes when Kopari is defeated and the peace of the Lily Palace is restored…”
“Ah…! That startled me! Suddenly deciding to be mean…”
“The prince might never see me anyway. As long as Kopari is gone, my world is mine.”
“Woof woof!”

Soft Tofu barked as if agreeing (from Elle’s omniscient perspective).
Elle smiled, gently brushing Soft Tofu’s fur.

“It seems Elle has become much brighter since Soft Tofu arrived.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes! It’s wonderful!”
“Thank you for saying that.”

Seeing Lari so genuinely happy for her warmed a corner of Elle’s heart.

Elle had dawdled in her bedroom all morning, then after lunch and a walk with Soft Tofu, she finally decided to organize some accounting books and went to her office.
She opened one of the piles of ledgers stacked to the ceiling. They were filled with records, apparently kept quite diligently.

But as soon as Elle opened one, she tilted her head in confusion.
Looking at the dates, this did seem to be a recent ledger.

“Lari, what have I been eating lately?”
“Mostly soup and salad. Occasionally fruit tea or small snacks.”
“Then why is the food budget so high?”

Anyone looking at it might think she was eating meat three times a day.

Moreover, it said she had received 300,000 gold for “maintenance of dignity,” which she had never actually received.
What the heck kind of maintenance of dignity costs that much? And she hadn’t even seen a single gold!

“Have you ever received maintenance of dignity?”
“…No. In fact, I barely managed to request meals for you, Elle.”
“What? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“You didn’t eat much, and I was worried you’d be upset…”

Huh. That meant false records had been kept. She had suspected corruption, but this was blatant.

As she almost crushed the ledger in her hands, she noticed something black flash past the crack of the office door.
Before she could think if she had left it open, Soft Tofu also saw it and barked loudly, chasing the shadow.

Rushing after Soft Tofu, Elle opened the door and saw a maid sprawled disgracefully on the floor.
Soft Tofu had a tight grip on the maid’s skirt, and she struggled to pull it free, but to no avail.

Elle crossed her arms and looked down at the maid.

“Did Kopari send you?”

The maid was unfamiliar, so the answer was obvious.

“Oh, I’m Lena. I usually clean this central palace.”
“Lena? Oh, you came to clean?”
“Yes… y-yes…!”
“Of course, Kopari must have ordered you, right?”
“…No, I came on my own.”
“Fine.”

Elle’s notorious reputation seemed to intimidate her; she flinched at every word, as if Elle was tormenting her even without doing anything.

Elle took a step closer, and the maid hesitated and stepped back.
“I’ll take care of the cleaning myself, so don’t even come near.”
“B-but!”
“But? Are you talking back?”
“….”
“Go tell Kopari not to pull any foolish tricks.”
“….”
“You won’t go?”

Elle smiled gently, but perhaps that was even scarier. The maid ran off without looking back.

Watching the maid disappear into the distance, Elle laughed softly at Soft Tofu sitting proudly next to her, tail wagging and eyes sparkling.
“You did well, Soft Tofu.”

Lari took a snack from her pocket.
Since Soft Tofu never touched the treats she made specially for him, she had boiled some chicken breasts separately.

Knowing that human food isn’t good for dogs, Elle shredded the chicken for him, petted him, and even gave him a kiss.
Smooch
“Oh, so pretty~”

Though Soft Tofu didn’t seem to like kisses very much, stiffening whenever she tried.

As Elle petted him, her expression suddenly hardened.
Earlier, the maid claimed she had come just to clean, but she had clearly been snooping in the office.
Kopari must have sent her to spy. Which meant there was something to hide. After all, the ledgers were clearly nonsense.

Soft Tofu had completely disappeared.
Though she normally disappeared at night, he would always come in the morning like an alarm to wake Elle.

But today, he didn’t come.
Was he sleeping in late somewhere?

Lari looked worried too.
“Could it be Kopari’s doing?”
“If that’s the case, what should we do?!”

Elle recalled Soft Tofu’s fierce expression when he bit Kopari’s face yesterday.
Even the palace’s ruler wouldn’t dare confront her, but a dog was another story.

She learned that in this world, unlike in Korea where dogs are beloved pets, dogs were largely useless livestock.
They couldn’t be ridden like horses or used in farming like cows. Brave hunting dogs had some use, but big dogs like Soft Tofu, who couldn’t hunt, were often put down.

Elle felt a pang of sadness, realizing Soft Tofu had probably had a hard life.
The servant who had bravely taken him in had been very kind. Usually, dogs weren’t cared for at all.

Elle firmly resolved: this wasn’t the time to be lazy. If anything happened to Soft Tofu…

“Elle, what should we do?”
Lari’s voice quivered with worry.

Elle’s expression hardened as she focused on finding Kopari.
Since he had moved the palace yesterday, the servants and maids who followed him must be where he was.

“Lari, do you know where the prince can be found?”
“…Actually, no one knows. Even the head of the servants wouldn’t know.”
“Why?”

Kopari had been so triumphant because the prince wasn’t around. The cleanest solution would be to meet the prince and take over all authority.

“After the nurse was falsely accused and expelled from the palace, no one cared… that’s what I heard.”
“Nurse?”
“Yes… The nurse who cared for the prince before he was cursed. She was the only one with him… but Kopari drove her away. People don’t really talk about it.”
“And the emperor?”
“He doesn’t care about the second prince.”

No wonder the palace the prince stayed in was a mess.

Frowning, Elle realized just how terrible a place she had married into.
She had known he was a monster, so good treatment was unlikely—but this was worse than expected.

“If I drive Kopari away, the emperor won’t care either?”
“…Probably not. He won’t even step this way…”
“That’s outrageous.”

What kind of prince could be so neglected that even the emperor doesn’t come?
She recalled that the prince only became human at night.

“Then we need to find him.”
“What?”
“If he had died, someone would have found his body. Have you heard anything?”
“…No.”
“Then he must be somewhere in this palace.”

Elle’s eyes gleamed—she would search for her husband, whom she hadn’t cared about, though Soft Tofu was the priority for now.

Kopari had settled in a small palace next to Elle’s former quarters, but even the slightly larger neighboring palace was undergoing thorough cleaning.
He seemed to have chosen it as a temporary residence, sitting elegantly while sipping tea and smiling.

Elle’s urge to grab him by the collar burned, but she restrained herself.
If she made a mistake, something might really happen to Soft Tofu.

“What’s going on?”

If she mentioned Soft Tofu outright, Kopari would certainly be pleased.

Hah. In other novels, even the villainess has at least a male lead or someone powerful saying, ‘Look, I’ve reformed!’ Here, she was basically defenseless.