Countess Youngae’s Money-Sweeping Makeup Shop - Chapter 84

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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84

The reason is clear.

Though I wonder if a spirit really needs human goods.

Thinking that El must have her own plans, I took the glass bottle and left the shop.

What I need to do next is… hm?

While organizing my thoughts, I noticed Ricardo beside me, looking like he had dark clouds hanging over him.

His expression was the same as always, but his atmosphere was incredibly gloomy.

Is he sulking because I didn’t tell him I was suspecting dark magic?

After carefully gauging his mood, I smiled brightly and gently took hold of one of Ricardo’s hands.

“Ricardo, do you have some kind of worry?”

“…It’s not a worry.”

“Then what? You don’t look good~.”

“Until now, I’ve lived thinking I was quite a useful person. But there’s nothing I can actually do to help Sillia.”

“Hey, Ricardo helps me a lot too. When problems arise, covering for me is such important help!”

“All the dangerous work is done by Sillia!”

My heart dropped to the floor and came back up at his suddenly raised voice.

He seemed to not have intended to speak so loudly either, flinching before firmly grasping my hand and continuing to walk.

Ricardo’s lips trembled as he looked ahead with a lonely gaze and slowly let his voice flow.

“I just… I just wish you would go somewhere else and live happily and peacefully. It seems like everything in Sillia’s life got twisted because of me.”

“Even without Ricardo, these were hardships I would have had to face.”

“Sillia, do you know what I want to do right now?”

“What do you want to do?”

“I want to run away with you. I want to start over, start everything over somewhere beyond the Empire. I want to abandon this Empire that puts you in danger.”

It’s really an irresponsible method.

Running away.

But I would have had the same thoughts.

If Ricardo had to do something while taking risks.

Unlike his expression that showed no disturbance, Ricardo’s hand felt slightly damp with a faint trembling.

I looked up at Ricardo steadily, but Ricardo didn’t look at me. As if deliberately avoiding it.

Our steps stopped briefly on a quiet roadside.

And I fidgeted with my hands before changing from simply holding hands to interlocking our fingers.

“Ricardo.”

“…”

“Ricardo, won’t you look at me?”

His head slowly moved toward me.

When I finally met his golden eyes, I smiled brightly.

“I’m going to do it. Even if it’s dangerous.”

“…I know.”

“I’m also really scared and want to run away, you know? But running away in front of a diamond mine would be too wasteful! Don’t you think?”

“Sillia is more precious to me.”

“Pfft, what’s that supposed to mean. Anyway, there’s that reason too, and we need to put out the fire here so it doesn’t grow bigger. If dark magic swallows the Empire, it won’t end with just the Empire – it could devour the whole world, right?”

Ricardo looked down at our clasped hands.

Then he stroked the back of my hand with his thumb, about to continue speaking, but just nodded with a faint smile.

“Yes. Fires should be put out early.”

“Right? Then, Ricardo, please gather solid evidence about the Marquis. And the people involved if possible. We need to pull it out by the roots properly!”

“Understood.”

“When all our work is finished…”

When all our work is finished.

I closed my eyes and imagined the distant future.

A vague image of some future where I lived peacefully doing what I loved formed in my mind.

Even in that imagination, one thing was clearly visible.

Ricardo who would be by my side.

“Shall we go traveling together?”

***

Late at night, Juber faced the cold wind with the terrace door wide open.

As her black hair swayed, a sickeningly strong rose fragrance that could give one a headache lingered around her.

Her deep purple eyes that sparkled in the moonlight faced forward then moved to the side.

“Haha, Marquis~ I told you it’s cold at night.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I heard Ebennain Yeongae and my brother came to the shop today.”

“That’s right.”

Juber scratched her thumb nail with the tip of her index finger as if clawing at it.

Sillia, who escaped like a slippery eel, irritated Juber’s nerves.

If only Sillia’s shop disappeared, Juber would surely become the center of high society again.

Sillia had definitely been a quiet and foolish woman.

But at some point she started creeping up, and finally caused trouble at the tea party.

Then she instantly elevated the Crown Princess’s position, which had been invisible, and filled high society with talk of her shop.

Instead, Juber had become a pathetic woman who couldn’t even distinguish subordinates trying to poison her.

‘I should have made her drink the tea at the tea party.’

Grinding her teeth with a crack, she turned around and approached the desk.

And looked at the documents placed on top of it.

The Crown Princess was a clever woman.

Now that the Crown Prince was struggling, the Crown Princess held power second only to the Emperor and Empress.

Whether the story from the last tea party reached the Crown Princess’s ears, the royal family had come to investigate the Nekiard Marquis Estate.

Sillia Ebennain.

She was a woman who held all the good cards.

The eldest son of House of Jesuert, the Crown Princess, the only daughter of Marquis Shuser who owned a large trading company.

Tap tap, after drumming on the desk, she stared at Casual Jesuert standing in front of the desk.

But now it had become similar. No? It had become more advantageous.

She had most of the noble young ladies and the second son of House of Jesuert.

Casual, who was smiling with his golden eyes shining, was a double-edged sword.

Juber knew.

That he had an inferiority complex toward Ricardo.

He always had to be above Ricardo, but when his position started being threatened because of Sillia, that woman, he immediately came to find Juber.

He came to Juber with a proposal to open a makeup shop.

She knew that if she accepted this proposal, once it grew to a certain extent, Casual would definitely steal her shares and take over the business.

Even so, the reason Juber joined hands with him was…

‘We need to get rid of that bitch Sillia and return to the center. I want to step on my brother, and you want to step on Sillia, Marquis – aren’t we quite well-matched partners in that regard?’

She remembered Casual speaking with a bright smile.

But his sweet whispers were enough to sway Juber’s heart.

Right, anyway Juber just needed to become the center of high society.

She couldn’t give up the path she had walked, stepping on others to catch people’s attention.

‘If I just get rid of that bitch Sillia, everyone’s attention will be on me.’

On the desk was information about the acting guild that was still protecting Sillia’s shop’s sales.

[M.N. Guild]

She had never heard of a guild with such a name.

But that didn’t mean she could let her guard down.

There was a high probability that there was a big investor behind the secretly operating guild.

I can’t give her even a bit of sales.

Juber smiled crookedly while scratching her nails.

‘I should talk to this place too. To get them to move to our side.’

Juber looked straight ahead and nodded to the man in front of her.

“What do you have to say?”

“So cold~ Marquis, we need to prepare for something.”

“…Prepare?”

“It’s strange that those two came but left without getting makeup done right away. Even Ebennain Yeongae collapsed for a moment.”

Casual approached slowly with the sound of shoe heels and swept across the desk.

His steps stopped right next to Juber.

Then he lightly picked up a strand of Juber’s hair with his hand, gently pressed his lips against it, then let it drop.

“Wouldn’t it be troublesome if she has a constitution that’s immune to magic?”

Juber’s cold eyes looked at Casual, then returned to face forward while simultaneously swatting his hand away.

Black hair flowed down like a snake following the curve of the hand.

“Handle the paperwork yourself. Should I get a mage?”

“Rather than that, how about we think bigger?”

“Let me hear it.”

“Wouldn’t the safest method be to remove the dark magic? And if we just know how to hide it, we’ll be completely free from suspicion.”

“You want me to learn dark magic?”

“Yes. We happen to have an old dark mage and a teacher, so you’ll be able to learn quickly! Ah, before you say no, I hope you realize we’ve already crossed a river of no return.”

“If we’re going to do it, do it properly, is that it?”

“In direct terms, that’s how it would be.”

Juber stared at Casual’s back, then sat in the chair and began organizing documents.

As the silence continued, Juber let out a calm voice.

“I don’t want to die alone. Casual Youngsik should learn too. If possible, I’d like you to learn quickly and separate Ricardo Youngsik from that damn girl’s side.”

‘She’s planning to completely destroy Yeongae. How can she be so cruel.’

Casual, who had turned his head to stare at Juber, chuckled.

Soon he turned his body completely around and placed both hands on her shoulders.

“Shall we try it?”

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