A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 178

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Side Story 17
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A few days later.
“Phew… It’s finally over.”
Dark circles shadowed Joshua’s and Seliet’s eyes. Both had spent nearly sleepless nights working for days on end.
And so the Countess of Eclaire’s closest associates quietly fell one by one. Of course, they’d received assistance from Lorelai. Each time a scoop broke, they naturally disposed of another piece of the puzzle.
“I can’t keep this secret from Kiana.”
Joshua rubbed his tired eyes as he spoke.
“I absolutely have to make sure she knows I went this far for her.”
“No!”
Seliet shook her head in alarm.
“Please don’t tell Lady Kiana!”
“No. I hate quietly handling things behind the scenes and feeling satisfied about it. She needs to know exactly how much effort I put in for her.”
Joshua was surprisingly firm. And he added with a hint of cunning.
“Well, if you tell me what the Second Imperial Consort’s secret is, I suppose I could make that kind of deal.”
Honestly, he was far too curious. A secret of the Imperial Palace that no one knew—and given his naturally inquisitive nature, it was impossible not to be tempted.
“…That won’t work. Absolutely not.”
But Seliet immediately shook her head. Then she took a deep breath and spoke with determination.
“Instead, I’ll keep your secret too!”
“My secret?”
“That you’re the editor-in-chief of Lorelai!”
Silence fell for a moment.
Lea, who had been dozing with her head resting on Joshua’s shoulder, suddenly jolted awake and perked up. Seliet lifted her chin and spoke confidently.
“Surely you didn’t think I wouldn’t figure that out during the days I spent working alongside you?”
“…No, well, that is… how did you… ah, no. You don’t need to explain how you found out.”
Joshua pressed his forehead and let out a heavy sigh. Considering Seliet’s methods, they would undoubtedly be tediously persistent, and he didn’t particularly want to hear about it.
Besides, working together for this long was itself a gamble from Joshua’s perspective. Seliet had urged him on so insistently, and it was for Kiana’s sake, so he had no choice. But he never expected to be exposed this quickly…
“In any case, please don’t tell Lady Kiana. Absolutely not.”
Seliet made her request with wide eyes, then added in a soothing tone.
“And honestly, even though we moved so quickly, wasn’t it fun? I don’t think of it as hardship.”
‘I suppose so… There was certainly more information to uncover working together than alone…’
Joshua glanced at her. That terrifying persistence… it was the most important quality for someone who dealt in information. And now this formidable figure from the intelligence world was sitting right before him.
‘For now, she’s only this capable because she’s only recently emerged into the world… But if she truly takes action in the long term, Lorelai will inevitably fall behind.’
As befitted the leader of an organization, Joshua’s judgment was swift.
‘And if I can’t win, I need to be on the same side. If I make an enemy of this woman, things will truly spiral out of control.’
So Joshua nodded with an awkward smile.
“Well, yes. That’s how I felt too. It wasn’t hardship. Haha. I, I’ll keep the secret.”
Of course, Joshua was a shallow man through and through, and he had no intention whatsoever of keeping his word to Seliet.
* * *
Joshua visited Prelai Manor after several days. His father greeted him with a welcoming wave of his hand.
“Oh, Joshua! It’s been ages! Why do you look so worn out? No, never mind. I won’t ask.”
Joshua used to frequent Prelai Manor so often that even a few days felt like an eternity since his last visit. So it was that the three of us—Joshua, Father, and I—finally gathered for tea time. It had actually been days since I’d last had tea with Father.
That’s because I’d been busy with my own research lately, and Father had been holed up in his study, absorbed in reading.
“Joshua, I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was mediocre at first, but the more time passes, the more I want to read the next volumes.”
The book Father had received from Joshua was “The Princess’s Secret Visit.” It seemed Father and Joshua had developed yet another shared hobby. Father mentioned he had a new recommendation and briefly excused himself to the study. In his absence, Joshua turned to me with a somewhat boastful air and asked.
“Kiana, do you know why I’ve been so busy lately?”
“I have no idea. I’m not interested in what you do.”
Ignoring my indifferent response, Joshua continued with his story anyway.
“I’ve been cutting off all of the Countess of Eclaire’s close associates.”
“Why would you remove the associates of a perfectly respectable person?”
“Apparently, she’s been using her leverage over the Second Imperial Consort from behind the scenes, trying to position you as the next Empress. So I’ve been working myself ragged for the past few days to handle it.”
“Is that so?”
I casually cut off Joshua’s explanation while feeding a piece of cake to Piyak.
“That was pointless effort.”
“…What did you just say?”
Joshua’s mouth fell open in utter bewilderment. I shrugged and replied.
“The Second Imperial Consort no longer has any weaknesses. I’ve already resolved them for her.”
I’d been busy with that very matter these past few days myself.
“So to summarize, the issue is that due to anxiety about potentially starving during an unexpected war, there’s a compulsion to hoard large quantities of food, correct?”
“…Yes, that’s right. She wants to store food that would last not just a month or two, but for an extremely long period. Since the food spoils, there’s considerable waste. I believe she needs more psychological treatment…”
“That hasn’t worked, you say? Let’s try a different approach. Actually, I have a good method.”
When I was at the Academy, I once received a similar request from the Kingdom of Sete. They wanted to know if there was a way to store food without worry for a long march.
We conducted extensive research for an enormous fee, but the Riloni Principality suppressed our findings. Their reasoning was that if the Kingdom of Sete solved their food supply problem and could overcome distance, they might launch an attack on the Riloni Principality.
‘Regardless, what matters is that I know the method.’
I recalled that memory and promised the Second Imperial Consort that she wouldn’t have to worry about food for years to come.
“This is called canning. You remove the air from this container, seal it, then apply heating and cooling appropriate to the food—and it will keep for years without concern.”
If we filled that secret food storage with canned goods, she truly would never have to worry about starving to death.
“When an irrational belief becomes problematic, you simply solve it. Then she can live well without even having to change that belief.”
The Second Imperial Consort didn’t believe me at first, but after days passed and the food inside the cans remained unchanged, she gradually found peace. Since the food in the cans didn’t spoil easily, she no longer needed to check every half day. In other words, she wouldn’t revert to her former self as a maid every half day out of anxiety.
“Thank you, Princess. Thank you so much.”
The Second Imperial Consort grasped my hand and smiled brightly.
“Actually… I’m truly not a maid anymore but an Empress. Yet whenever memories of that war surface, that frightened young woman from those days comes alive within me. I knew it could harm many people someday, and… I even considered taking my own life before the symptoms worsened. I’m truly grateful this worked out.”
She’d even contemplated suicide—it seemed she’d carried quite a burden alone. She added with a sorrowful expression.
“Since I came from a maid’s background, I thought you might look down on me for my lowly origins. But I’m grateful you stepped forward for me like this.”
“We’re family now, aren’t we? So why would a maid’s background even matter? That’s beside the point.”
In any case, that problem was resolved just like that. Whatever the Countess of Eclaire might attempt, she’d have no leverage left to exploit.
Joshua trembled.
“…What? So… everything we did… was all meaningless suffering?”
“We?”
I paused mid-sip of tea and tilted my head quizzically.
“Besides you, there’s someone else who joined in?”
“…Princess Seliet said that since Kiana doesn’t know the future, we should handle everything properly on our own….”
“Ah.”
I shrugged my shoulders humbly in response to Joshua’s indignant remark.
“Even without knowing the future, I can solve any problem more easily than others. I have magical engineering, after all.”
“….”
“Still, I’m grateful. It was wasted effort, but it wasn’t entirely meaningless. Either way, it feels good to see those who tried to touch me fall apart.”
Joshua’s irritation immediately melted away at my words of gratitude. And he promptly sought credit once more.
“Right. I really poured all my energy into crushing those people, you know?”
“I doubt it.”
I furrowed my brow, unable to accept that claim.
“Due to basic thermal energy loss, you couldn’t have poured everything out even if you tried.”
“…I wish magical engineering would just disappear.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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