I Bought the Villains With Money - Chapter 28

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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 28.
“What a waste—you should’ve given it to me instead of tearing it up!”
After returning to the Red Brick House, Rumdracks kept repeating the same complaint.
“Now that I think about it, that was mine!”
“Are you reconsidering taking the job? You said you’d give it to me once you accepted.”
“Yes, I’ll do it!”
“But I’m sorry—I’ve already lost one page. I’ll compensate you with something else.”
Rumdracks called me impulsive. It stung a little.
I’d been furious at the bank clerk for treating Fiona so dismissively. And yes, there was a part of me that wanted to make a point to all those people who’d watched and done nothing to help.
But I hadn’t acted on emotion alone.
‘Today’s incident will make the news.’
After causing this much of a stir, an article was inevitable.
‘Once His Highness sees that article, won’t he reconsider the special subsidy procedures?’
Even now, there were countless instances of people being unjustly discriminated against just like Fiona.
If I had the power, I would reform the system immediately. But unfortunately, I’m still a child. And I haven’t even become a Household Head yet.
‘Once I gain the standing of a Household Head, I can at least raise these issues in the Noble Council.’
All I could do now was stir up a commotion and drag this matter into the public eye.
‘It’s a shame about the Dragon’s Covenant, though.’
As I imagined what tomorrow would bring, Rumdracks’ walking stick lightly tapped my foot. When I looked up, his eyes had darkened, and he spoke.
“You don’t need to give me anything else.”
“What? You’re not taking the job?”
Had I really overstepped?
I needed to explain my thinking to Rumdracks in detail.
“Wait, hear me out before you decide.”
Rumdracks shook his head.
“No need to hear anything.”
“Rumdracks!”
He suddenly smiled. The wrinkles in his grandfather-mask deepened.
“Yes, I’ll do it. I’ll take half the price. If you’re happy with that.”
I’d finally won Rumdracks over. It was a lucky day.
***
Rumdracks got to work on acquiring the Phoenix Bank. In the meantime, the article broke, and public opinion toward the Phoenix Bank shifted completely in my favor.
But where there’s good fortune, there’s always misfortune to follow.
“The door’s been closed.”
The entrance I’d been using to come and go from the Third Prince’s Palace was blocked.
‘Julia.’
Julia must have hated that Casion and I were meeting. She’d want to stop it however she could, but since I wasn’t coming through official channels, she couldn’t block me with procedures or paperwork. So in the end, she’d searched the Royal Palace thoroughly.
“What do we do now?”
Jennis asked as she loaded the Food Basket back onto the carriage—the one I’d brought down for Casion.
A few days without me wouldn’t bring any serious trouble to Casion.
I’d been gradually stockpiling medicine and food in his chambers to make sure he had plenty on hand for emergencies like this.
‘But what if Julia searches even his chambers?’
The thought disturbed me, but I shook my head to dismiss it. Julia, for all her schemes, hadn’t openly harassed Casion because of her reputation.
Searching the Third Prince’s Palace thoroughly would require many people. If many people came forward to search it, it would be noticed.
‘She won’t do anything too obvious. So blocking the entrance must be all she’s done.’
“Let’s go home.”
I climbed into the carriage, passing Jennis’ hesitation. My gaze kept wanting to drift backward, but I held it firmly forward.
‘How petty of her.’
Resentment and anger toward Julia accumulated in my chest.
‘His Highness will be waiting.’
What if Casion waited and grew disappointed?
‘I hope His Highness checks the entrance.’
I should have told him it was a dog hole when he asked how I came and went. Saying it was secret, as if joking, had come back to haunt me.
A perceptive man like Casion would find it strange that I hadn’t come for so long, and he’d check the dog hole.
‘Spouses shouldn’t keep secrets from each other, after all.’
As I let my thoughts wander, I reached a conclusion that shocked me. Was I really thinking of us as if we were already married?
“Miss, are you warm? I’ll open the window.”
Jennis pointed out the flush creeping into my face.
Please, let me get away with this without comment.
I fanned myself with my hand and leaned closer to the window to catch more of the breeze.
And wiped the thought clean from my mind.
Shortly after, the carriage arrived at the Mansion.
Matthew looked startled to see me return so quickly. He said he’d hoped I would come back soon, then added urgently,
“The Vassal Council meeting has been arranged, miss.”
Right. It was hard to call it simply an unlucky day just because a dog hole got plugged.
In the end, what was coming had come.
I accepted the Letter that Matthew held out.
The name on the outer envelope was familiar. Junas, the Vassal Council representative.
Count Junas was the man entrusted with governing the broadest and most fertile lands of Irenber.
‘Which side was he on, exactly.’
Not that dividing into factions mattered much, but determining whether he favored Count Colcos or not was absolutely necessary.
No matter how hard I racked my brain, I had no clear memory of Count Junas.
‘If I can’t remember, that’s its own problem.’
I remembered everything about Count Colcos, and blood rushed backward through my veins every time I thought of him.
Managing that rage was my daily work. Sometimes I even wished I could forget.
‘My own memories slip away, yet Count Colcos stays sharp and clear. I should break the habit of relying on my own experience anyway.’
I needed to learn how to handle situations without information, and I could always ask Cho about things I didn’t know.
I opened the envelope with the Paper Knife Matthew had given me and checked the date of the Vassal Council meeting. The exact date wasn’t specified. It only said approximately when it would be held.
With vassals coming from all over the kingdom, coordinating schedules required considerable time.
‘There’s still some time before the Vassal Council meeting.’
The subject of the Vassal Council meeting was predictable.
‘They’ll just pressure me to appoint a guardian quickly.’
Count Colcos must have been making the rounds diligently.
I could guess his moves well enough, yet I’d left it alone because I calculated that persuading Casion would be faster.
And in the end, I succeeded.
‘Things are unfolding as expected, but I don’t like being notified of a Vassal Council meeting.’
Of course, I understood why the vassals were growing impatient. The subsidy payments from Irenber had been delayed, so they’d naturally grow anxious.
‘But they can live on provincial revenues alone. It’s not like Nobel, which is dirt poor.’
Missing Irenber’s subsidy for a year or two wouldn’t cause serious disruption to territorial management.
‘Count Colcos must be pulling strings behind the scenes.’
Both Count Colcos and the vassals who were swept along by his words irritated me.
“Should I not go?”
“You cannot do that, miss!”
I’d only been thinking it, but the words slipped out—and Matthew practically leaped from his seat at the sound of them.
“I’ll go. I was only speaking aloud.”
There were several ways to derail a meeting. I could simply not show up that day, or postpone the Household Head Council.
I could even punish Junas by taking issue with the procedure of unilaterally notifying the Household Head to attend.
But since I wasn’t currently the Household Head, that last option was impossible.
The most plausible way to postpone the meeting was the second option.
I had plenty of excuses. I could claim I was ill, or that I wasn’t emotionally ready to appoint a guardian yet.
As a child, they’d find it entirely reasonable.
But I changed my mind about postponing the Vassal Council meeting.
‘I can’t keep putting it off forever.’
I tapped the edge of the invitation against the desk. The steady sound sometimes helped me concentrate.
A riot would break out in the Nobel region soon. If I made an appropriate support decision for Nobel before that, I could prevent the uprising.
‘I’ll declare at the meeting that I’ve married Casion, and make sure no one can bring up the guardian question ever again. But first, there’s one mountain I need to climb.’
I rose from my seat and went to the window. Then I opened it wide.
The Household Head’s office window faced the Royal Palace as a symbol that Irenber and the Royal House were firmly connected.
So on a fine day like this, standing at the window and looking toward the Royal Palace, I could see the palace’s highest spire.
It seemed distant now, but it was something Casion and I would have one day. Before that, there was only one mountain to cross.
‘His Majesty Karman.’
I had to obtain Karman’s permission to marry.
***
“Your Highness.”
I’d finally met Casion.
After the dog hole was plugged, I’d exhausted every avenue trying to find a way to see him.
‘Cho practically devoted herself to this task.’
My private funds had been thoroughly drained.
Finding a route into the palace was difficult. Nearly every corner of the Royal Palace bore Julia’s influence.
Whatever orders she’d given, it was nearly impossible to bribe even a single knight.
That’s why I hid myself in the freight wagon. It was the easier route—the goods inspector was far more susceptible to bribery than the gate guards.
‘Did they let it through because I said it was something to smuggle into Julia’s Palace?’
“Welcome. Though your appearance is…….”
Jennis had piled straw thickly throughout the wagon for a smoother ride. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but stepping down told a different story. Bits of hay clung to my dress everywhere, and it took ages to brush them all away.
Even after I’d worked at them diligently, some still remained.
“Yes, Your Highness. My appearance is rather disheveled. On the other hand, your face looks much better.”
Casion nodded in agreement, waving his hand dismissively.
Lebert’s Pain Relief Medicine had worked remarkably well. The throbbing pain that used to plague his temples was gone, and it showed in how much more at ease he seemed.
But it was no fundamental cure.
Every night Casion’s fever rose and fell, and occasionally he coughed and spat blood.
Still, compared to the days when he’d lain in bed all day, his health had improved to a remarkable degree.
“It’s been ages. The Dog Hole was sealed off—how did you get in?”
“Pardon? You knew I was using the Dog Hole to come and go?”
This was unexpected.
“Flac told me.”
“You asked about me?”
Casion’s brows drew together.
“I thought Julia might have stopped you from coming.”
“So you were worried.”
“It’s not worry.”
“Then you wanted to see me.”
“As if. You’re the kind of wo——”
Casion caught himself mid-word, swallowing the rest. My face had drifted too close to his. A flush crept up his cheeks.
“Your Highness, your fever seems to be rising again.”
“It’s hot in here! That’s why—so back away!”
His voice rang out clearly enough that he didn’t seem to be in pain.
‘He really must be hot.’
I Bought the Villains with Money (Serial)
Author │ Lee In-hye
Publisher │ Kim Ju-hyung
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd. – Tiramisu
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyuk
Address │ 1101, 11F, 33-gil Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul. (Guro-dong, Ace Techno Tower 8th building, 11th floor)
Email │ [email protected]
Homepage │ http://blog.naver.com/jayplemedia1
© Lee In-hye 2021
※ This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder,
and the contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the publisher 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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