I Bought the Villains With Money - Chapter 46

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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 46
Ah, that story!
“I’ll tell you later.”
“Miss! You’ve got me all curious now.”
Jennis looked visibly disappointed, but I focused on eating my tart.
I hadn’t intended to keep quiet from the start. Initially, my hypothesis had seemed so plausible that I’d wanted to tell anyone who would listen.
But if my hypothesis proved correct, it would cause considerable upheaval, so I’d decided silence was wiser.
‘And I’m not even certain I’m right. A loose tongue now could only invite trouble.’
I apologized to Jennis and promised to tell her first once I was certain, then popped a slice of peach tart into my mouth.
“Mmm.”
The flavor was the kind that made your fists clench involuntarily and your body quiver. Absolutely exquisite.
The tart plate was soon bare.
“Would you like another?”
Jennis asked. I gazed at the dishes arranged on the tray. Cooker knew I loved desserts and prepared generous portions each morning.
But I never ate more than one. That way, the other servants could also taste Cooker’s creations.
“I’m full. But Jennis, has there been any word from the Royal Palace? About Casion?”
I’d heard he’d regained consciousness, but I’d been worried not knowing what had happened while I was bedridden. Jennis broke into a smile at my anxious question.
“Casion is doing well, it seems.”
Relief washed over me. I pressed my hand to my chest and rose from the chair.
“Jennis, have Robert come here. And get my things ready for an outing.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to rest another full day, miss?”
Jennis followed behind me, suggesting more rest, but my heart was racing.
A full day’s sleep had done wonders.
My mind felt sharp, my energy boundless.
My steps toward the washroom grew quicker.
***
“You called for me, miss?”
Robert arrived just as I finished dressing. I started to turn my head, but Jennis caught me.
“Finish with your hair first.”
“Robert, you heard. Sit down while I get my hair done.”
I confirmed in the mirror that Robert had obediently settled onto the sofa, then urged Jennis along.
Today’s style featured soft curls arranged loosely, with a pin tucked into the side to keep my hair from falling forward—a subtle accent.
After such sound sleep, even I could see my face looked radiant.
I checked my reflection, then took a seat across from Robert.
“Have you made the medicine for those symptoms I mentioned this morning?”
Asking him if he’d completed a job I’d assigned at breakfast made me feel like an oppressive employer.
But this was groundwork for helping him—criticism was not my intent.
“Not yet, miss. I’ve been unable to find the ingredient to address that floating, adrift sensation……”
Robert shrank back, as though he’d committed some crime.
“Robert, do you know of a plant called Pepprika?”
Robert’s eyes widened as he shook his head.
“Once, when I was at sea, I noticed the sailors’ mouths were quite dark. And they were chewing something all day long.”
As a child, I’d been curious about everything around me. I’d wondered what the sailors chewed constantly.
“It was a plant called Pepprika. When I asked why they chewed it all day, they said it made it easier to adapt to the ship.”
Robert tilted his head, not quite following my meaning.
“That floating, adrift feeling sailors get when they’ve spent long periods at sea and return to land—that’s what you’re trying to treat.”
“Ah!”
Robert’s face visibly brightened.
“Then I can make it using Pepprika!”
Now that I’d given him the primary ingredient, blending it and maximizing its effect would be Robert’s task.
“Robert, can you make that medicine in small doses, and in a form that keeps well?”
“Yes, I’ll try. Is it very urgent?”
Robert asked with determination flaring in his eyes.
“Can you have a test batch ready within a week?”
“I’ll do my best, miss.”
“If it works, we might need to produce it in large quantities within six months.”
“Large quantities? How much are we talking about?”
“Around five thousand doses.”
“Five thousand doses?”
Robert’s eyes went wide with shock. Jennis, stepping in for Robert who was too startled to speak, asked what on earth it could be for.
“Surely you don’t mean to drink all of this yourself, do you?”
I answered quickly, before Jennis could launch into one of her lectures on drug abuse.
“Of course not! I’m going to sell it.”
“To whom?”
Who else would I sell motion sickness medicine to? Sailors, naturally.
I grinned to myself as the thought took shape.
When naval battles break out, untrained civilians end up on ships too. It was obvious without a second thought that people unaccustomed to the sea would suffer from seasickness.
There were actually instances during past naval engagements where fighters grew so ill they never fired a shot—they simply turned the bow back to shore.
I’d devised a plan to showcase Robert’s new medicine to every nation participating in the coming naval battle, given its potency against nausea.
‘First I’ll distribute it for free, then later I’ll sell it at a price.’
I’d been wrestling with the ethics of profiting from war. War itself was built on human sacrifice, after all.
Though opportunities to profit from conflict were endless, I’d deliberately refrained from launching aggressive war-profiteering ventures.
‘I’d like my business to have no direct connection to people’s suffering.’
It might look like hypocrisy to some, but this was my bare minimum—my last line to keep myself intact.
Honestly, I even knew techniques that could dramatically extend the effective range of cannons.
‘If I sold weapon-making technology for profit… I’d make a fortune beyond imagination.’
But I’d never entertained the thought of selling lethal weapons for profit.
I was carefully considering how to use the naval battle strategically while protecting my conscience—how to leverage maritime hegemony negotiations without direct military involvement.
And today, I’d found the answer.
Robert’s new medicine would be welcomed with open arms by both nations waging the naval war.
‘It’ll sell like hotcakes even after the battle ends.’
The pepprika leaves they currently used instead weren’t practical; even when properly dried, they couldn’t be stored on a ship for more than a week.
Once a naval battle began, supply lines became difficult to maintain, and crews could find themselves drifting at sea for weeks at a time.
‘Getting pepprika leaves delivered on schedule becomes nearly impossible.’
But if I could formulate it as pills with extended shelf life…
‘Easier to store, can carry more of it. His Majesty will be absolutely stunned when he hears my proposal.’
Casion’s and my marriage approval couldn’t be far off. I was certain of it.
***
I placed an order with the steward for a bulk purchase of pepprika.
Money had already gone out in various directions, so I used funds from the Savings Guild I’d established previously.
The investment would multiply several times over within months and return to the guild members with no trouble.
After delegating the relevant work to Cho and Rumdracks, I visited the Mage Society.
‘My memory was right.’
In two weeks, the continent’s finest mages would gather at the Royal Palace’s chapter to commemorate the birthday of Grand Mage Magielake.
Since these were remarkably selfish mages, participation should normally have been dismally low—but this year’s event was different.
The chapter director of the Petror Chapter of the Mage Society had fled.
The Mage Society maintained its independence from politics by establishing chapters in each nation rather than forming intimate ties with any single kingdom, and this arrangement secured their protection.
The local chapters maintained friendly relations by cooperating with their host nations’ affairs.
In essence, a chapter director was the crucial liaison between the Mage Society and their nation.
It was such an important post that vacancies were normally filled immediately—but this time, the director had bolted before a successor could even be appointed.
The Mage Society went into crisis.
The underlying resentment about tying free-spirited mages to a single nation erupted at the slightest opportunity.
Beyond that, wearing the mantle of chapter director meant forsaking personal magical pursuits and losing any time for beloved research.
Despite its nominal nature, assuming an organizational role meant drowning in paperwork.
In any case, with the Petror chapter’s director fled, the position stood vacant, and Karman was deeply displeased.
The greater issue was the appointment itself. Even with substantial compensation promised, word had spread that it was so tedious people would abandon it—so who would step forward?
Even young mages were quietly backing away, which prompted the senior mages to call an emergency gathering.
That gathering would coincide with this year’s commemoration of Magielake’s birthday.
‘Dayson kept nagging me like crazy to go.’
At the time, I hadn’t cared much for magical matters, so I hadn’t understood his enthusiasm.
Still, of all things, my greatest regret—Dayson—might prove useful at a moment like this.
In two weeks, I planned to bring Casion to the Mage Society for the commemoration of Magielake’s birthday.
‘His Majesty seems like a mage.’
I had my reasons for thinking so.
First, Casion sent me a Magical Message just before I died.
Second, his physical condition defied ordinary medical explanation.
I’d once read a scholarly paper stating that illnesses caused by magic or Divine Power couldn’t be diagnosed or treated with conventional medicine.
‘Why am I only remembering this now?’
I flicked my small head with my finger, and Jennis’s eyes widened in surprise.
I offered an awkward smile and finished collecting my thoughts.
The final reason I began to suspect that Casion might be a mage.
The ceiling painting I saw just before I collapsed!
Like some heavenly revelation, I beheld a painted mage moments before darkness took me.
If the first two reasons were objective, the third was utterly subjective and impulsive.
Yet even impulse had its logic.
The Study’s ceiling painting is a crowd scene—dozens of figures rendered in paint, and there, small in the corner, a mage gazed down at me as though bearing down upon my very being.
I don’t believe in superstition, but I do believe in inspiration. Oracles exist in this world. Perhaps my desperate wish to heal Casion reached heaven itself.
Aside from everything else, the first two reasons alone were reason enough to investigate.
‘Whether Casion is a mage or not. And whether his illness has any connection to magic.’
“Miss, why did you visit the Mage Society?”
Jennis asked, having thrown open the window for ventilation.
I Bought the Villains with Money (Serialized)
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 8th, 33 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 contents 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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