A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 86

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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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Chapter 86
7. Piyak Returns
The atmosphere at House Purbis was decidedly grim.
“What in the world is happening?!”
I had assumed that at least the warm stone trade would never be disrupted. After all, warm stones were absolutely essential to the Prelai Duchy. Yet not only had the trade been cut off, but suddenly tax evasion charges had surfaced as well.
“There’s nothing we can do. The matter has grown too large.”
Lord Rodrigo went to find Prince Hitten, but he simply shook his head quietly.
“This is beyond my ability to suppress.”
And so House Purbis found itself facing substantial fines.
Caught in this sudden financial crisis, Duke Purbis was forced to sell off not only various jewels but also territories. The situation was dire enough that he even decided to send Judith’s finest piano to the auction house. In the midst of all this, only Leon, the eldest son, had left home to try borrowing money from friends.
“We just need to endure.”
Duke Purbis muttered with reddened eyes.
“We are high nobility. If we endure, things will work out somehow.”
And it seemed there truly was no law against survival. After muddling through for several days, contact arrived from the Third Queen Dolores along with an invitation to the Kodiak Charity Society.
I’ll return the political funds that House Purbis has provided me thus far. I’ll wait for the right moment, and if a good investment opportunity arises later, I’ll put it to use.
House Purbis had been supplying Dolores with political funds for a long time. She was saying she would return what remained, so they should hold on.
In exchange, I’d like you to bring up one matter.
Duke Purbis read the letter excitedly.
I think I need to bring down the Empress. Enact a law stating that anyone caught smuggling military supplies abroad faces immediate imprisonment.
The Empress was also a foreigner, originally from the Sola Kingdom. Even twenty years ago, diplomatic relations had been complicated. Thus, the Emperor had unprecedentedly taken many wives from foreign nations due to diplomatic concerns.
Duke Purbis thought he understood Dolores’s scheme roughly. She intended to accuse the Empress of colluding with foreign powers and remove her.
The Empress’s homeland, the Sola Kingdom, was in difficult circumstances, and the Empress had been sending various goods there. If military supplies were mixed in with those shipments, no one would ever know. The Empress was not savvy to such schemes.
And the good news didn’t end there.
Your children must be in quite difficult circumstances. I’ll support them from the charity society.
Duke Purbis laughed with delight as he read the letter.
“You see? This is what it means to be high nobility. Proposals for cooperation come from somewhere or other!”
And he spoke while looking at Lord Rodrigo and Judith.
“The Third Queen says she will support your standing. Make sure to show yourselves well at the Kodiak Charity Society!”
And the letter did not end there.
However, I’ve heard that Lady Kiana Prelai has been quite disrespectful. I would appreciate it if your children could help set an example for that girl at the event.
Duke Purbis smiled wickedly as he spoke.
“It seems Lady Kiana has fallen out of favor with Empress Dolores.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because she ignored Prince Hitten’s opinion and played around with some commoner.”
At those words, Lord Rodrigo’s teeth ground together with a sharp sound. The memory of Kiana dancing with Sezare left him in a foul mood. He felt an odd sense of betrayal, recalling how she had followed only him since childhood.
When Melissa briefly returned from the convent, he went to the Prelai Manor to show off, but Kiana wasn’t even there. And strangely… when he spoke with Melissa, something felt different from before.
Above all, the lark summoned creature that always accompanied her was gone, making her seem utterly ordinary.
“Say, Princess? Where did Piyak go?”
“Oh, I sent her on an errand. She’ll be back soon.”
He didn’t know what errand she’d been sent on, but in any case, that small lark had subtly enhanced Melissa’s charm. And while he used to like Melissa because she was pretty and kind, now he was beginning to think she was that way with everyone…
So when Melissa said she would return to the Convent not long after arriving at Prelai Manor, I felt no particular regret.
‘As expected, blood runs true. Kiana is far superior. And seeing Kiana return, she’s more beautiful than I anticipated. In some ways, she seems even more captivating than Melissa….’
While Lord Rodrigo entertained such thoughts, Duke Purbis smiled with satisfaction as he read the contents of the subsequent letter.
“Ho, so the Empress is considering such a scheme….”
If things unfolded according to Dolores’s plan, it was clear that Kiana would suffer tremendous humiliation.
“Truly, I can hardly contain my anticipation.”
Judith and Lord Rodrigo also confirmed the contents and laughed with delight. Particularly Lord Rodrigo spoke with confident laughter.
“Kiana needs to experience what happens when she falls out of favor with the imperial family, and understand how meaningless it is to associate with that powerless commoner.”
* * *
The Crown Prince’s reply to my message—that I would give him an opportunity to deal with Ben, so he should wait for now—was simple.
‘He listens well to his benefactor’s words, yet conveniently ignores his benefactor’s orders?’
I ground my teeth inwardly. Perhaps noticing my aggressive tone, he had even added a cautious postscript.
I let out a hollow laugh—ha, really—and picked up my quill. If I wrote, ‘Actually, I’ve regressed, and you ignored my crisis in that past timeline,’ the Crown Prince would surely think me mad.
But if I didn’t say something, my frustration would eat me alive. So after a moment of deliberation, I decided to express myself as vaguely as possible to avoid misunderstanding.
“Here, take this letter.”
And Piyak, who had been reading the letter from atop my head, tilted his head in confusion.
【Is it really okay to write it like this? The other party seems very eager to maintain closeness.】
“I’m not.”
【Kiana, I can make this trip quickly and return, so I’ll go without complaint for now… but next time, I’d really like to rest. I won’t work! I’ll just watch from beside you!】
Piyak whined exactly as he always did, and I tapped his beak affectionately, indulging his adorable tantrum.
“Sure, complain all you want. Either way, that’s my decision to make, not yours.”
【….】
“You need to move frequently and often for your speed to increase, Piyak. It seems your power is returning now that you’ve come back to your true master.”
At my words, Piyak’s expression became slightly embarrassed.
After Melissa left like that, we deliberately acted exactly as we always had. It seemed that being overly sentimental with each other would only make things more awkward. Piyak didn’t bring up Melissa, and I likewise refrained from saying anything about feeling wronged.
Because we were both sorry to each other. I, as his master, was sorry for not bringing him back sooner by any means possible, and Piyak was sorry for having served another as master for so long. Of course, we both knew it wasn’t either of our faults, but….
‘The summoning still isn’t complete.’
The fact that I couldn’t receive memories from Piyak—that our consciousness wasn’t connected—it seemed the summoning itself hadn’t been properly established between us. Melissa had already summoned Piyak, and I couldn’t find any way to reverse that.
Grandfather had searched diligently in various places about this situation, but it didn’t seem to be yielding significant results. Joshua was also gathering information earnestly, but to no avail.
Still, there was at least one positive indicator: Piyak’s transportation speed had increased since coming to me.
When circumstances changed between me and my family, what I appreciated most was that they treated me exactly as before. Therefore, I treated Piyak exactly as I always had.
Whether he was truly my summon or not, whether the summoning was truly established or not—our relationship remained as it originally was.
“However… if Piyak truly is the Princess’s summon… the power that has been sealed all this time might be released all at once. Extremely, tremendously powerful.”
“When?”
“…Perhaps when the true summoning is established… I suspect. Beyond that, I’m uncertain.”
I deliberately didn’t tell Piyak what Kailon had said before. I didn’t want to burden him with the pressure of needing to achieve a true summoning.
It was fine if the true summoning never happened, and it was fine if there was no tremendous power. Piyak was my summon. Only then did I truly understand the meaning of what Grandfather had once told me.
“We are bound together by the ties of family, and that is all.”
Grandfather’s words—that it was the bonds we shared that mattered, and everything else was merely supplementary.
“You are my summon, and I am your master. So….”
So I smiled softly and spoke.
“Let’s do our best, Piyak.”
Just as I always had.
“Let’s put in effort equal to all the time we’ve wasted. Then we can grow.”
In the end, Piyak left with a grumble.

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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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