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~Chapter 39~
For the two years she lived in the mansion, Camilla earned extra money by making medicine.
The Baron was generous to those he thought belonged to him.
All kinds of jewels, dresses, and valuables were given to Camilla.
‘If I need to run away, things like jewelry are better than cash.’
She checked the value of each item, thinking she could sell them later for money. Some of them were incredibly valuable.
She even secretly sold rare medicine recipes to the information guild without the Baron knowing.
‘The Baroness might have assets to run the household, but nothing compared to mine.’
But the mercenary boss just laughed at her. After she took the cloth from his mouth, the thug sneered.
“For a mercenary, trust is everything! You can’t buy me off!”
‘Huh?’
Camilla narrowed her eyes, surprised by his strange loyalty.
“Hahaha, you’re already known as the underworld’s mistress, someone who tried to kill her sister out of jealousy!”
“…And you’re working for someone like that?”
“Yep! We’re supposed to pretend until the Mowin knights come and arrest us, then we’ll escape!”
The boss nodded, sure the Mowin knights’ swords would avoid him.
‘We’ll see about that.’
It wasn’t the Mowin mansion’s basement as she’d thought, but Camilla had already made a deal with the Grand Duke.
“What if the Escalus knights come instead?”
“…What?”
At the mention of House Escalus, the city’s rulers, the thug’s face stiffened a little.
“Wake up. The Escalus Grand Duke’s Leonid Knights are already moving. If they reach here, it’ll be over in seconds.”
Camilla smiled with her eyes.
“Didn’t you hear? The social circles are full of rumors about me, the witch who charmed the Grand Duke’s heir.”
“I… I never heard that…”
“Do you really think the Leonid Knights would let you go? That woman just wants to use you as a scapegoat.”
At the name of the knights, the boss’s face turned uneasy.
“O-our Tiptoe Mercenaries aren’t afraid of those threats—!”
“Tiptoe Mercenaries?”
Camilla’s eyes widened. So that’s who they were.
The boss looked like he’d made a mistake.
The Tiptoe Mercenaries were a joke in the original novel, weak and clumsy, but Camilla remembered them for another reason.
‘They helped Nina escape in the middle of the novel.’
Even though they ended up dying, used by Baron Mowin as disposable tools.
There was another reason Camilla remembered them…
‘The necklace Carrie gave me.’
The pass given by the thug who bothered her younger sister was the Tiptoe Mercenaries’ token.
Camilla stood up, feeling for the pass around her neck and pulling it out.
“Huh…? How did you get that?! Only VIPs have it!”
“Was your favorite girl treated as a VIP? I got this as payment for curing Carrie’s little sister.”
The boss’s mouth dropped open.
“Carrie’s little sister? Then…”
“Her name was Emily.”
Camilla remembered Carrie telling her this many times. The boss reacted in surprise. Suddenly, he slammed his head to the ground.
“Thank you, thank you for saving Emily!”
“…What?”
“Back then, Emily nearly died from a fever… Thank you for saving her!”
‘What is with this reaction?’
Camilla looked awkward, but the boss, still tightly tied up, looked sincerely moved.
“Emily really almost died. Miss Carrie said it was all thanks to you. I didn’t know it was you!”
Camilla was even more confused by this sudden change.
‘I don’t think he’s dating her…’
Come to think of it, the boss once liked a girl who died, and helped Nina because she looked like that girl.
Emily was the perfect leverage for Camilla.
“Then, do you believe your employer really plans to betray you?”
“Of course! That woman seemed fishy from the start!”
Camilla smiled brightly.
“So, how about you help me and I’ll pay you? And you can get back at your employer.”
“For my savior, just the original price is enough. As the boss of the Tiptoe Mercenaries, I’ll follow your lead!”
He sounded much more trustworthy than someone who says, “I don’t want anything.”
Camilla gave her first order.
“Good. First, bring that woman here.”
‘No! That’s not true. My sister never said anything! I believe in my sister!’
The woman frowned as she looked down at Nina, who had cried herself to sleep, still insisting she believed her sister.
Nina was sleeping on a soft rug in the dark room. Her wrists were tied but cushioned with soft cloth.
“Tsk, the madam said if she saw a single scratch, I’d be dead. So I can’t even torture her.”
It was funny, since the Baroness had ordered her own daughter’s kidnapping, but the Baroness’s letter was very clear.
‘We have to run before the Grand Duke’s knights arrive.’
The foolish mercenaries would be good scapegoats. The woman started to pack her things to run.
Just then—
Thud! Thud!
Loud footsteps, then the door burst open. It was the mercenary boss, Howin.
The woman frowned.
“What, Howin? I told you to keep an eye on the girl—”
“You said you’d pretend to arrest us and then let us go, right?”
“Yeah. You know who’s backing me, right? The Baroness of Mowin herself.”
“What if the Escalus Leonid Knights come?”
The woman flinched but then shrugged.
“That would never happen. Someone that important wouldn’t get involved in something like this. Just watch the girl!”
Howin picked his ear.
“I might be dumb, but not as dumb as you think…”
With that, he picked up the woman like a sack. She screamed.
“Let me go! Put me down!”
“I’m not dumb enough to let you escape!”
It didn’t take long before the tied-up woman was brought before Camilla.
“Hello? Seeing you here really makes me feel like the boss of this place.”
Camilla sat proudly on a fancy chair, a rusty wing-shaped necklace shining around her neck.
‘How is she awake after taking the drug?!’
And she was bossing the thugs around.
“Are you from Ail?”
The woman flinched.
“I like Ail, too. I get important herbs from there.”
“What are you talking about?”
“How much did the Baroness promise you?”
“W-what?”
“Now that you’re caught, it’s over. If you want to stay alive, you should work for me.”
The thugs surrounded her as Camilla pressured her like a real boss.
“Whatever she promised you, I’ll pay you more. Join me instead.”
The woman gulped.
“Don’t be ridiculous! The Baroness of Mowin is behind me! Her family is powerful! If she gets you—”
Thud.
Suddenly, someone fell down in the back. The woman turned around, her face turning pale.
“Baroness Mowin? Our… mother told you to kidnap me and my sister?”
Nina covered her mouth with a trembling hand. The restraints on her wrists were gone.
