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Chapter 9
“What is this?! Who dares bring me a dress like this?!”
Smack!
A flashy red dress was thrown onto the floor.
The jewels attached to it scattered everywhere with a clattering sound.
“I hate the color. It’s so tacky! Use your eyes if you have them!”
The maids lined up in front of me blinked in confusion.
And understandably so. This dress was the newest product from the most famous salon in the capital, packed with every trendy fashion item imaginable.
Even so, I kicked the discarded dress with my foot in front of them.
“When did I ever say I’d wear something this cheap-looking? Hmph, Madame Clara must be past her prime. Bring me something else immediately!”
“M-My lady, we’ll prepare another dress for you right away, so please calm down.”
…Huh?
Just as I was preparing for my next act of villainy, I narrowed my eyes at the unusual reaction.
Normally, by this point, the youngest maid would already be trembling, and some senior maid would come rushing out to bow her head and beg for forgiveness.
Feeling something strange, I glanced around.
“Aw, but this dress suits the young lady perfectly. What a waste.”
“Well, if she says she doesn’t like it, we can’t help it.”
What’s with them? Why is everyone acting so normal?
Tilting my head, I loaded up another furious tone.
“Fine. I heard dresses from Brunhilde Salon are popular these days. Bring me the same dress Her Highness the Princess wore at the last banquet!”
“E-Excuse me? For Brunhilde Salon, you’d have to wait at least a week—”
“Who do you think I am?! Use the Rosental name and get it!”
“Yes, yes… We’ll bring it immediately, my lady. In the meantime, please have some cookies.”
“We also brought your favorite tea, my lady.”
…?
What is this, some kind of prank show?
No matter how unreasonable my demands were, their responses remained oddly warm and calm…
It felt like they were dealing with a spoiled little sister throwing a tantrum.
Ding!
[You have acquired the title <Crispy Outside, Soft Inside Young Lady>.]
[Reputation +50 / Loyalty +20]
“…?”
What kind of nonsense is this?
I froze at the status window appearing one after another.
Ding!
[You have acquired the title .]
[Reputation +50 / Loyalty +20]
Ding!
[You have acquired the title .]
[Reputation +50 / Loyalty +20]
W-What is this?
At that moment, I heard the maids whispering among themselves.
“See? She gets angry, but she never actually hurts us. Even when she throws things, she never throws them at us.”
“You’re right! Looking at her closely, she’s just like my bratty little brother, hehe.”
“So she was actually a huge tsundere all along… You heard she paid for Sir Maren’s younger sibling’s academy tuition, right?”
“Of course. Jini cried her eyes out and swore she’d devote her whole life to serving the young lady.”
‘This isn’t what’s supposed to happen…!’
And they were saying this where I could clearly hear them— not gossiping, exactly, but… complimenting me behind my back?
Anyway, that’s not the important part!
“H-How dare you! Are you mocking me?!”
But instead of shrinking back, they tried to soothe me like a child.
“Oh my, young lady. What about this dress? I think it would suit you beautifully.”
“W-What?”
“You’re so beautiful that anything would look lovely on you, my lady.”
“And if you wear jewels that match this dress, you’ll shine even brighter!”
“That’s right. Your hair is already so gorgeous, and with this ornament added, you’ll look like a goddess descending from the heavens!”
“……”
Damn it, I can’t tell whether this feels good or annoying.
N-No, wait… Is this actually a good thing?
“Hoho, you’re so beautiful! Shall we prepare some other options too, my lady?”
“I think blue would look amazing on you too!”
As I failed to respond and only opened and closed my mouth, they got even more excited and started chattering among themselves.
I stared at them quietly before lowering my head.
Being treated like a child was really starting to annoy this villainess…
“…Out.”
“Yes?”
“Get out… all of you, get out! I said get out!”
Ding!
[You have acquired the title .]
[Reputation +20 / Loyalty +10]
“Huff… huff…”
After driving all the maids out, I collapsed into a chair, gasping.
Why… why does my loyalty increase when I act like a villain? Why?!
[Additional effects are granted upon obtaining titles.]
That’s not what I’m asking!
Anyway, I relaxed and let the tension drain from my body.
More importantly, it was about time something got caught on the fishing line.
After all, I’d already thrown out bait to make sure Jonas would take it.
The problem was that catching only Jonas wouldn’t solve this situation.
The biggest issue was not knowing how many spies had infiltrated the ducal house.
So the very first thing I did was leak new information to Duke Rosental.
My own actions were restricted, but using someone else’s hands was simple enough.
First, I forged documents.
‘The chief supervisor at Conrad Mine was named F. Genald, right?’
I created documents identical to the ones I had stolen from Jonas’s desk. I needed to keep the originals hidden to avoid suspicion.
Then I sealed the copied documents in an envelope, making them appear as if they had genuinely come from Conrad Mine, and placed them on the duke’s office desk.
Once he saw them, the duke would definitely think something was off.
Whether he believed the documents were forged or simply mistaken, Duke Rosental would almost certainly postpone the transfer date of Conrad Mine.
That was just the kind of person he was.
And then, three days later—
“What?”
“Sir Maren is apparently leaving for Lorelai on a business trip today,” said Jini as she brushed my hair. “I heard his younger sibling’s academy is there too.”
I froze.
Lorelai. The name sounded familiar.
‘That’s where Conrad Mine is located…’
Wait, then did they form some kind of special inspection team?
After seeing the forged documents I planted, they must’ve decided to investigate directly.
Things are going this smoothly?!
“Sir Maren said his younger sibling also really admires you, Lady—”
“Ahh! How are you brushing my hair?! Are you trying to rip it all out?!”
I snapped and snatched the brush from her hand, throwing it away as if my hair had actually been yanked out.
But Jini simply picked it up like she was used to this sort of thing.
“My, my, young lady. If you keep throwing things around like this, we’ll run out of them eventually.”
She sounded completely unconcerned.
These girls seriously don’t even see me as a villainess anymore— …No, that’s not the issue right now.
If a special inspection team really had been assembled, then Jonas must already be growing anxious.
Which meant this was my chance.
First, I needed to see the duke.
I immediately got up and hurried out, only to collide with an unexpected person in front of the duke’s office.
“O-Older brother?”
A man who looked so identical to Duke Rosental in his younger years that it felt uncanny.
Killian Rosental. Evelyn’s older brother.
“You caused another incident again, Evelyn.”
His eyes were full of irritation.
But why was Killian here already?
After inheriting the title of young duke, he had gone down to manage the territory personally.
Originally, he wasn’t supposed to return to the capital for several more months.
Why had the timeline changed?
…Because of me?
“Brother, you came back already?”
“Yes. I had business with Father regarding the mine problem… Hm. More importantly, I heard you broke off your engagement with the Crown Prince?”
Ah. So it really was because of me.
“That’s wonderful news, isn’t it? Thanks to you, Father and I now have twice as much work to deal with. Should I thank you?”
As he looked down at me, there was faint contempt in his eyes.
He absolutely hated me and saw me as nothing but a nuisance dragging the family down.
And honestly, he wasn’t wrong.
Because this was Evelyn.
“A broken engagement? That was merely a temporary whim of His Highness. If Father used a little influence, he’d be back in my hands, so I don’t understand why everyone keeps stopping me.”
Killian stared at me silently for a moment.
Then he slowly lowered his eyelids and let out a long sigh.
“If that’s truly how you feel, then I have nothing more to say.”
“……”
“But at least don’t say such things in front of me.”
I snorted and turned my head away.
After another long sigh, Killian spoke again.
“Still, what business do you have with Father? It’s unusual for you to come all the way to his office.”
“If I came to see Father, obviously I have something to say to him.”
“……”
Serves you right, you stiff old man.
Teasing this overly serious Killian was surprisingly easy.
Leaving him standing there looking for words, I entered the office first.
“Father!”
“…Evelyn.”
The duke, who had been pressing his temples with a frown, looked up.
Ignoring his expression, I ran over with a bright smile.
Slamming both hands onto the desk he was working at, I immediately declared:
“I want the Blue Diamond!”
“…What?”
Plan Two.
Operation: Giant Bait!
