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Chapter 9
The Obsessive Male Leads Are a Problem
“Huh? W-What do you mean all of a sudden…?”
All of a sudden? Obsession always began suddenly.
There was no such thing as an obsessive male lead who politely announced in advance, “Starting on this date, I’ll become obsessed with you.”
After all, hadn’t Gabriel fallen in love with Julieta at first sight and begun his insane obsession the moment he met her?
Looking down at Gabriel, I curled one corner of my lips into a smile.
“If I say so, then that’s how it is. Just accept it.”
“B-But…”
Even Gabriel, of all people, didn’t seem to welcome such a sudden display of obsession.
Grabbing the sleeve of my dress, he desperately shook his head.
“T-This won’t do, My Lady! T-To appoint a personal priest, y-you have to follow the proper procedures!”
“…Proper procedures?”
“Yes. First, you need Father Antonio’s approval, and then you have to gather the opinions of the other priests…”
Father Antonio was a high-ranking priest who oversaw the ordinary clergy.
Without his approval, it was impossible to appoint a personal priest.
But…
“Ah. I’ll take care of that.”
It wasn’t a problem for me at all.
Didn’t I say earlier that beneath the temple was an underground vault overflowing with enough gold and treasures to last several lifetimes?
And whose pockets had all that wealth originally come from?
With confident steps, I headed toward the High Priest together with Gabriel.
Under the pretense of making a generous donation to the temple, I presented the High Priest with a hefty sum of cash.
After that, everything proceeded at lightning speed.
“Father Gabriel, from today onward, you have officially been appointed as Lady Ariadne Veloa’s personal priest.”
High Priest Helen smiled warmly at Gabriel.
Although she was over sixty years old, she looked no older than a woman in her early thirties.
Priests blessed with exceptionally strong divine power could even slow the aging of their bodies.
Of course, reaching such a level required extraordinary holy power.
Gabriel looked completely stunned.
His face turned pale as he cried out,
“W-Wait a moment, Your Eminence! According to the procedures, shouldn’t we first hear Father Antonio’s opinion, along with the opinions of the other priests…?”
His voice gradually grew weaker.
The kind expression on Helen’s face slowly cracked.
She was smiling…
But her eyes weren’t.
Just looking at her sent a chill down the spine.
“Father Gabriel.”
“Yes?”
“Procedures are certainly important… but isn’t there something even more important?”
“…Something more important?”
“Indeed.”
Helen gestured toward me with her eyes.
The daughter of House Veloa.
The chosen one who inherited the power of the Earth.
In modern terms, someone possessing wealth worth hundreds of billions.
A noble lady admired and envied by everyone.
It felt awkward saying it myself, but Ariadne was truly an extraordinary person.
If she had never become entangled with the heroine, she probably would have lived a brilliant and glorious life forever.
Gabriel glanced at me before slowly nodding.
Apparently, he had finally understood what Helen meant.
“Well then, if there are no further objections, shall we proceed with signing the personal priest contract?”
Helen pulled a thick stack of documents out of her desk drawer.
Naturally, it was the contract for appointing a personal priest.
The document contained all kinds of terms and conditions, but only one truly mattered.
For the next year, I would be free to summon my personal priest, Gabriel, whenever I pleased.
And that condition would prove incredibly useful for carrying out my own obsessive plans.
After carefully reading through the contract, I signed my name on the final page.
From this moment on…
Gabriel was destined to be relentlessly obsessed over by me for an entire year.
Hehe. Today’s objective is complete.
Just wait, Gabriel. The fun is only beginning.
Thus, my grand plan to reform all the obsessive male leads was progressing smoothly once again.
✦ ✦ ✦
Since I’d come all the way to the imperial capital, I couldn’t simply visit the temple and head straight home.
I stopped by the most famous dessert shop on Crystal Street, the capital’s luxury shopping district.
“Welcome, Lady Veloa. Please come this way.”
Thanks to the privileges of House Veloa, I entered without waiting in line.
I could feel the envious gazes of the noble ladies still queued up far beyond the neighboring stores.
Ahh… Being Lady Veloa is the best!
The taste of power was always exhilarating.
Chuckling to myself, I happily followed the employee.
They led me into a private room in the back.
The room was charmingly decorated to suit the tastes of noble young ladies.
“My Lady, what would you like to order?”
The attendant poured tea into my cup before asking politely.
If I remember correctly… everyone said this place’s cherry pie was amazing.
I couldn’t remember which timeline it had been, but I vaguely recalled Julieta mentioning it.
Finding cherry pie on the menu, I ordered immediately.
“I’ll have the cherry pie and some black tea.”
“Certainly, My Lady. Is there anything else you require?”
“Yes… I’d like to submit a request to Liberica.”
The employee’s eyes widened instantly.
That reaction was understandable.
“Liberica” was a secret known only to a tiny handful of customers.
In truth, this dessert shop served as the headquarters of the information guild Liberica.
More precisely, the guild’s base was hidden beneath the building.
The shop itself existed solely to receive clients.
Since Liberica’s customers were mostly high-ranking nobles, operating a luxurious dessert café suited their image perfectly.
Naturally, almost everyone believed this was simply a popular dessert shop.
Even I had thought so.
If I hadn’t read the original novel, I might never have learned the truth.
Well, however I found out, I’d be foolish not to make use of it.
In previous timelines, there had been no need to visit this guild.
This time was different.
If I wanted to become obsessed with the male leads before they became obsessed with Julieta, I needed accurate information.
An information guild was indispensable.
Staring directly at the employee, I waited.
“…Ah! My apologies, My Lady. I’ll make the arrangements immediately.”
Only then did the employee hurriedly leave the room.
While waiting, I absentmindedly gazed out the window.
The capital was bustling with life.
Groups of cheerful people laughed and chatted together as they walked through the streets.
It’s so peaceful…
Of course it was.
None of them knew the Empire was destined to fall.
Ignorance truly was bliss.
There was a time when I was just as carefree…
During my very first life, before I knew anything…
I had been happier than anyone.
Thinking back on those days, a bitter smile escaped my lips.
At that exact moment—
Bang!
The door suddenly swung open.
“Well, this is a surprise. I never imagined you’d come here personally.”
A man wearing a white half-mask strode confidently into the room.
Stopping before me, he smiled as though genuinely delighted.
…Who is this?
How rude.
I frowned.
Talking casually to someone you’d just met wasn’t exactly good manners.
The man, however, paid absolutely no attention to my displeasure.
Without even asking permission, he sat down across from me.
“So we’ve finally met, Lady Veloa.”
“This is our first meeting, isn’t it?”
He spoke with effortless familiarity.
…What’s with this guy?
I briefly debated whether to address him formally.
Then I decided to match his tone.
“Yeah. It’s our first meeting.”
“So who are you?”
Judging by the situation, he was obviously someone from Liberica.
Crossing my arms, I stared directly at him.
“I’m Liberica’s Guild Master.”
“You can just call me Master.”
“…Wait.”
“The Guild Master?”
What?
The Guild Master?
That was the last person I expected to appear.
After all, absolutely nothing was known about Liberica’s Guild Master.
He never appeared even once in the original novel.
According to the story, Liberica was the information guild most frequently used by the Northern Duke—the first male lead.
He paid enormous quantities of mana crystals in exchange for information about Julieta.
Yet even he had never met the Guild Master.
The novel even stated that no one knew the Guild Master’s name…
Or even whether the Guild Master was a man or a woman.
Someone who never revealed themselves even to the Northern Duke…
So why would they come to meet me?
What could Ariadne possibly have that interested someone like this?
A bad feeling crept over me.
Still, this was exactly when I needed to stay calm.
Maintaining a perfectly blank expression, I decided to test him.
“I never expected the Guild Master himself to appear.”
“I heard you’re an incredibly busy person.”
“Am I mistaken?”
The man answered without hesitation.
“Busy isn’t the right word.”
“I just don’t like dealing with people.”
“And I hate troublesome things.”
“I see.”
“So I guess I wasn’t troublesome today?”
“No.”
“Looking at a beautiful woman is always enjoyable.”
“…”
For a moment, I was left speechless.
That smooth-talking response rolled off his tongue far too naturally.
He’s definitely the type who makes countless women cry.
Even behind the mask, it was obvious he was extraordinarily handsome.
His breathtaking aura couldn’t be concealed.
If I had a weakness for handsome faces, I’d be in real danger.
Fortunately, after dealing with so many ridiculously attractive yet hopeless male leads, I had developed complete immunity.
Ignoring his flirtation, I got straight to the point.
“Anyway, I’m here because I have a request.”
“I’ll pay whatever your price is.”
“I’d appreciate it if you could investigate it as quickly as possible.”
The man lazily spun the teaspoon between his fingers.
I had no idea when he’d picked it up from in front of me.
“A request?”
“Unfortunately… that’s impossible.”
“…Why?”
“Because I didn’t come here today to accept requests.”
“What?”
…Then what exactly did you come here for?
