I Bought the Villains With Money - Chapter 25

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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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Episode 25
The test Rumdracks had proposed was bound to favor me.
First, I knew he would come. And I knew this house.
This house was known to be abandoned. I’d spent the past several days here, but not once had anyone knocked on the door until today.
So when Rumdracks arrived on the appointed day and knocked on a house known to be empty, it was far more likely to be deliberate than coincidence.
Second was the clothing.
The old man’s outfit—Rumdracks in disguise—was far too fine. This neighborhood sat two blocks from the bustling district, a place where the poor gathered.
In a kingdom where living quarters were strictly divided by wealth, one rarely saw anyone wearing such expensive attire.
That’s why I’d changed into a simple dress myself.
Yet the old man’s clothing was conspicuously luxurious, utterly out of place here.
Third was his eyes.
People say an elderly person’s eyes hold the wisdom of a lifetime—so their color runs deep and rich, or if you want to be uncharitable, murky. But this old man’s eyes brimmed with vitality and clarity.
And finally, he gave me a decisive clue.
His name.
The name he gave—Diana—was my own name, Diana, spelled backwards.
‘Rumdracks is skilled at Disguise.’
Adding the Finishing Touch to the information, I concluded the old man was Rumdracks.
“Some people can’t eat even when you spoon-feed them the answer.”
Rumdracks looked at me with admiration when he heard my explanation. I’d removed everything that could be removed, yet his face still bore deep wrinkles.
The lively voice and the weathered face created a jarring contrast.
“Are you planning to keep the disguise on?”
“No.”
“The bathroom is over there—!”
I thought the disguise was made with makeup, so I pointed him toward the bathroom. But suddenly Rumdracks seized his own face and tore at it.
“Aagh!”
Jennis let out a strange cry. In the next moment, the old man’s mask began peeling away from Rumdracks’s face.
Rumdracks’s face became two! The old man’s face in his hands, and his real face beneath.
I’d only known of masks you wear across the eyes and nose, but an adhesive mask that covers the entire face!
“That’s remarkable.”
In every way. The words of admiration tumbled out unbidden. His skill at crafting masks was astounding, and Rumdracks’s actual appearance was equally striking.
Bright silver hair, a strong nose, pale skin—a face that drew the eye.
“That face is your real one?”
“Yes, this is real. More importantly, I want to meet the person who commissioned my escape from Bolta Prison.”
Rumdracks glanced around, checking if anyone else was present besides me and Jennis. I snapped my fingers in front of him, drawing his full attention.
“That’s me.”
I pointed at myself with absolute clarity, leaving no room for Rumdracks to misunderstand. His brow furrowed then.
“You’re the one who broke me out of Bolta Prison?”
Disbelief flickered across his face.
He’d marveled at my wisdom throughout our conversation, yet he couldn’t imagine that I’d be the one to orchestrate his escape?
“Yes. I’m Diana Viola of the Irenborg Family, and I’m the one who freed you from Bolta Prison.”
“What? A child? A child barely reaching my waist?”
I let him ramble and produced the contract. I set it down with a sharp sound, and Rumdracks’s mutterings ceased.
“Whoa! That’s a Dragon’s Covenant!”
Rumdracks’s eyes went wide.
“You’ve never seen one before?”
“Never? Well, not never—but can I take a look at it?”
He’s a skilled liar, fussing over it like he’d never laid eyes on one.
“Go ahead. It’s not like it’ll wear out.”
Rumdracks pulled the covenant toward him as if handling a priceless treasure.
‘If we’re going purely by value, it really is a treasure.’
I let Rumdracks examine the Dragon’s Covenant thoroughly.
His eyes narrowed, and seeing the curiosity gleaming in his gaze, I knew I’d chosen the right object.
The Dragon’s Covenant.
A rare magical artifact created in ancient times, cursed with the Dragon’s Curse.
When a contract is made through the Dragon’s Covenant, the contractor cannot unilaterally break the agreement without consent. Nor can they violate the contract’s terms carelessly.
Should they try, the Dragon’s Curse causes the heart to wither and death follows.
The Dragon’s Covenant was so precious that its true value lay in its use by the royal family when they wished to bind exceptional talent to their service.
In truth, one couldn’t obtain it even with vast wealth. Only a handful of these ancient rare magical artifacts remained in existence.
That I’d managed to acquire a Dragon’s Covenant could only be called extraordinarily fortunate.
‘I never imagined it would be in Mother’s vault.’
How on earth did Mother acquire such a thing? And why on earth did she lock it away in a safe?
‘She could have given it to Father, or sold it.’
There was no way to know the reason, so I turned my attention to Rumdracks.
“You’re certain it’s real?”
“Does it look counterfeit to you? Shall I tear it?”
Rumdracks’s eyes bulged from their sockets. The moment he saw the Dragon’s Covenant, he was convinced of its authenticity.
Paper infused with magic emits a faint scent that shifts subtly with age.
Aged enchanted paper carries the smell of ancient trees glazed with dew in a dawning forest. Rumdracks must have caught that precise scent the instant I withdrew the covenant.
Still, the art of survival for a con man is to doubt until the very end, so he’d asked anyway.
“If you won’t believe me, I’ll tear it.”
Rumdracks’s eyes widened.
“No, stop that!”
Rumdracks waved his hand frantically.
There are two ways to verify the authenticity of a Dragon’s Covenant.
First, one party to the contract breaks the agreement unilaterally, and you watch whether the Dragon’s Curse triggers.
Second, you tear the covenant.
With a true Dragon’s Covenant, when you tear it, a phantom dragon appears and breathes flame.
Though it’s merely a phantom, it looks so real that those who witness it soil themselves in terror.
“Please, don’t.”
Rumdracks shook his head vigorously and placed the paper carefully back on the desk.
I’d gone too far and now he was backing away.
Rumdracks crossed his arms over his chest. Once he’d also crossed his legs, he asked,
“What kind of task are you trying to hire me for, that you’d use a Dragon’s Covenant?”
Rumdracks no longer questioned my identity. It was fortunate I didn’t have to prove myself further with tedious explanations.
“Become my person.”
“What? Ha ha, what did you say?”
Rumdracks burst into hollow laughter. Then he ruffled my hair and stood from his seat. He put the old man’s mask back on and picked up the wig he’d tossed aside.
I didn’t stop him, just watched. It was a reaction I’d anticipated to some degree.
Chodo, Cassion, Leberto—none of them had believed in me at first either.
I hadn’t expected Rumdracks to be any different.
“Kid. If you’d asked me to find someone trustworthy to be your guardian, I’d have helped you without any contract—your sincerity in getting me out moved me. But you want me to become your person? I don’t belong to anyone.”
Rumdracks seemed thoroughly versed in the affairs of the Irenborg Family. The way he mentioned a guardian the moment he heard my name told me so.
He was someone sharp to gossip and talented at constructing plausible hypotheses from it.
‘I want him even more now.’
I want Rumdracks.
I needed someone versed in the proper way, but sometimes I also needed someone willing to bend the rules. I would walk the straight path myself—what I desperately needed was someone to handle the unconventional moves in my stead.
‘Rumdracks is perfect.’
So I had to have him.
“I’ll take back what I said about becoming my person.”
Something flickered in Rumdracks’s eyes. He hadn’t expected me to let him go so easily. There was no way he didn’t know how much effort it had taken to extract him from Bolta Prison.
“You’re letting me go?”
Now that I was actually saying go, Rumdracks hesitated.
I knew he would.
I smiled and spoke.
“Yes. Go ahead. Just do one thing with me—I want to see the Kingdom’s Sacred Treasure.”
Rumdracks brushed his silver hair with the hand not holding the wig. It looked as though he were tidying his head to put the wig back on.
“You know what the Kingdom’s Sacred Treasure is, and you’re still saying this?”
“A tree.”
The reason I’d been confident in negotiating with Rumdracks was that I knew more than he might have expected.
Rumdracks’s hand froze in midair. As if time had stopped only for him, Jennis poured tea into my cup, and while I tasted it, he didn’t even blink.
“A tree, yes—that Sacred Treasure. More precisely, a sword in the shape of a tree.”
Rumdracks wiped his face repeatedly with a dry hand. The wig he’d been holding slipped from his fingers and fell at his feet.
“Who are you, really?”
Rumdracks’s gaze turned grave.
Had he finally decided to take me seriously? Or had I made an enemy of him?
“Well, someone who knows quite a lot of detail about the royal family? And someone who will grow quite close to them.”
Rumdracks’s lips twitched. The bait I’d cast had been taken. When a fish bites, you must pull hard to land the catch.
“If you continue to help me going forward, I’ll grant you the authority to move freely in and out of the Royal Palace.”
For Rumdracks, this was an enticing proposal.
For reasons unknown, he wanted the Sacred Treasure. To obtain it, he would have to visit the Royal Palace—and often.
For a con artist like Rumdracks to move freely through the Royal Palace, he would need to create a false identity and go through a series of steps to cultivate connections—tedious work that required many hands.
But if I married Cassion and guaranteed his false identity, he could slip in and out of the Royal Palace without a single suspicion.
He returned and settled into his chair.
“So what is this task you’re commissioning, client? Come now, let’s hear it. I trust the Dragon’s Covenant is payment enough.”
I set down my teacup. Jennis, sensing that an important conversation was about to begin, withdrew to the background.
“A chipped bowl. Hand over the Dragon’s Covenant.”
“Not a leak in sight.”
“I’m not a broken bowl.”
I snapped it out sharply, snatched the Dragon’s Covenant from Rumdracks’ hand, and pulled it away.
“What I need you to do is…….”
I explained calmly. Rumdracks listened without blinking an eye, his mouth falling gradually open before closing again.
“Buy me a bank? Why don’t you buy it yourself? If you can spring me from Bolta Prison, buying a bank should be nothing.”
I wish I could.
“I can’t afford to be exposed.”
I Bought the Villains with Money (serialization)
Author │ Lee In-hye
Publisher │ Kim Ju-hyung
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd. – Tiramisu
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyuk
Address │ 1101, 11F, Ace Techno Tower 8, 33-gil Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ http://blog.naver.com/jayplemedia1
ⓒ Lee In-hye 2021
※ This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder,
and the content may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and author.
Violation of this may result in criminal and civil legal liability.

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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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