I Bought the Villains With Money - Chapter 47

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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 47.
I considered telling Jeniss what I was thinking, but held back.
Because I couldn’t rule out the possibility that my hypothesis might be wrong.
‘If I were the former Queen Violeta, I would have verified it by now.’
Perhaps Cassion wasn’t a Mage at all, and his illness had nothing to do with magic.
‘But there are such things as possibilities. And the result might change depending on who investigates.’
Just as a diagnosis and treatment vary by physician, so might the findings vary by Mage.
I decided to place my hope in that.
‘Let me at least try to meet him.’
I resolved to attempt it, but a problem remained.
‘How do I get Cassion out of the palace?’
Though Julia was currently lying low, surveillance over Cassion would only have grown tighter.
If she learned he’d gone out, there was no telling what she might do to him.
Having lost the Phoenix Bank, her resentment would be burning at its peak.
“Is there no way to bring a Mage into the palace?”
I pondered briefly, but found nothing. There was no choice—I had to bring Cassion out.
“What do I do… Ah! Dayson!”
My deliberation was short. I found the answer quickly.
‘If I use Dayson, it will work!’
“Jeniss! Where’s the writing paper?”
I began drafting a letter to Dayson at once.
***
The carriage carrying Dayson passed through a long corridor and traversed the Rose Garden before stopping in front of a marble building tinted crimson by the setting sun.
Anderson stood at the palace entrance to greet Dayson’s arrival.
“Your Highness, welcome.”
As Dayson descended, Anderson offered his greeting.
Dayson jumped down from the carriage, slightly tense about what business had brought him here.
“It’s been a while. How is Mother’s mood?”
Assessing her state before meeting Julia was essential.
Julia was extraordinarily moody. Depending on her disposition, she would throw tantrums even before the First Prince himself.
So whenever Dayson heard that Julia was in a foul mood, he wouldn’t set foot near Brighting Palace.
“All is well, Your Highness.”
At Anderson’s reply, Dayson released a quiet sigh of relief.
As they crossed the garden, Julia came into view, standing beneath a parasol held by an attendant, admiring the flowers.
“Mother!”
Dayson called out cheerfully, raising his voice as he approached. Julia turned.
Silver hair spilled naturally from her upswept locks, fluttering in the breeze. The line from her exposed neck and shoulders was straight and graceful.
Julia wore a crimson dress adorned with gleaming, elaborate jewels.
She displayed a brilliance so dazzling one could hardly believe she had borne a fifteen-year-old son.
Seeing Dayson bounding toward her with such vigor that his frame swayed, Julia’s brow furrowed.
“Maintain proper composure wherever you are.”
As Dayson arrived before her, Julia rebuked him curtly. Dayson’s breath came in ragged gasps; he immediately caught himself and straightened his posture.
“Prepare refreshments for us.”
While Dayson corrected his bearing, Julia issued the command to her attendants.
As the attendants produced chairs, Julia and Dayson took their seats.
“Mother, have you heard? The finest Mages from across the continent are coming to Broom!”
Broom is the capital of Petrola.
“I have heard, Your Highness. The position of Magic Association branch director in Petrola is vacant, I understand.”
“Ah, is that so?”
Dayson popped a cookie offered by an attendant into his mouth and replied without much interest.
Julia’s brow creased.
Julia had heard that Dayson was interested in the Magic Association’s event, and assumed he was concerned with the selection of the branch director.
But her expectation had been entirely off the mark. Dayson simply wanted to attend the Magic Association gathering because he found Mages fascinating.
Julia felt her frustration mounting as she observed Dayson—who seemed to have no real ambitions—when it would have served her well to have him win over the Mages to her side.
“Mother, I heard that this Magic Association event is open to ordinary people as well. May I attend?”
Julia’s eyes flickered.
Julia was deeply displeased that Dayson, a royal, would demean himself by calling ordinary people.
“Ordinary people, Your Highness? Mages are merely technicians. Can they be compared to royalty? Do not lower yourself anywhere.”
At her biting tone and sharp gaze, Dayson set down the cookie he’d been holding.
“Yes, Mother.”
And with that, she shifted her tone entirely, answering with deliberate gravity.
‘Thank goodness Dayson has at least some sense.’
To survive in the royal palace, one needed discernment. Julia didn’t simply scold Dayson because he possessed that bare minimum—the ability to read a room.
“Mother, may I go?”
Dayson pressed for an answer, his impatience evident.
“Do you have an invitation?”
“Wouldn’t His Majesty have received one?”
Julia grasped Dayson’s true purpose. He hadn’t come asking whether he could attend the mages’ event.
He’d already made up his mind to go and had come to ask Julia to obtain an invitation from Karman on his behalf.
Building connections with mages and cultivating relationships was a worthwhile endeavor.
Dayson’s motivation was mere curiosity, but it was curiosity channeled in a constructive direction, so Julia readily agreed to help.
“I’ll make the request of His Majesty.”
“Thank you so much!”
Julia watched her son beam with joy, a quiet smile playing at her lips.
Though he was shedding his childhood and growing closer to adulthood, in her eyes he remained an endearing boy.
“Mother, there’s one more thing I’d like to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
Dayson fidgeted with the tablecloth, gauging Julia’s reaction. After a moment, he spoke with careful deliberation.
“May I take Cassion with me?”
Julia’s expression froze in an instant.
“Cassion?”
“Yes. I arranged to meet Lady Diana at the Magic Association event. But she mentioned she’d be bringing her cousin. Wouldn’t it look better if I brought Cassion as well?”
With the mention of Cassion came Diana—and Julia’s mind grew tangled.
‘What is that girl scheming?’
Since Dayson’s birthday celebration, Julia had come to accept that Diana was no ordinary child.
The girl had begun approaching Dayson.
At the birthday dinner, she’d barely spared him a glance. There was clearly an agenda at work here.
“Mother?”
When Julia didn’t answer, lost in thought, Dayson called to her anxiously.
Her son, who rarely asked for favors, had come with a request—and Diana was somehow entangled in it.
Julia wrestled with how to handle this.
First, she needed to understand what lay in her son’s heart.
“Lady Diana is charming, isn’t she?”
“Yes, very much so. She carries herself with grace and seems quite intelligent. Do you feel the same way, Mother?”
At Julia’s subtle probe, praise for Diana spilled readily from Dayson’s lips.
‘Tch. The boy’s utterly smitten with her face.’
Julia clicked her tongue inwardly. Even as she searched for a way to keep Diana away from her son, a clever thought struck her.
‘If I secure Irenber, does it matter who holds the title?’
She’d poured effort into positioning Count Kolkos as regent to obtain Irenber.
But there was an easier path.
‘If I marry Dayson to Diana, the legitimate heir, Irenber naturally becomes mine. Though controlling her won’t be simple.’
But she was still a child. Once married, if she proved disobedient, Julia could always lock her away in some forgotten corner of a castle.
‘I should keep this possibility open.’
A contemptible smile curled at the corners of Julia’s mouth.
“Very well. Go out with Cassion, Your Highness. Though I’m not certain he’ll be able to attend. His health has been uncertain.”
“Don’t worry about that, Mother! If he says he’s ill, I’ll just have him sit in the carriage.”
Dayson spoke with evident delight.
Julia had never been pleased with her son’s tender heart, but this remark landed exactly as she wished.
***
The evening before Magirlake’s Birthday, the street surrounding the Magic Association building had been completely sealed off.
A massive dome had been erected around the Magic Association building. Because of its pitch-black hue, it looked from a distance as though a colossal hole had opened in space.
People gathered at the edges of the space, where not a single ray of light or whisper of sound escaped.
Inside the dark veil, a festival celebrating Magirlake’s Birthday was in full swing.
“Food just floats in the air, and a violin plays all by itself!”
“I wanna go in so bad!”
Children whined to enter while their parents struggled to pacify them.
They watched for any gap through which they might slip in alongside those bearing invitations.
Unaware that without the Magical Sigil a mage would inscribe on the back of their hand, they’d simply be repelled.
I closed the carriage window after observing the commotion outside.
“I can’t wait, Diana!”
Bella, sitting across from me, clapped her hands in excitement. The flush on her cheeks and the smile flooding her face made something twist in my chest.
‘It’s probably not just the festival—she’s looking forward to the princes coming.’
“Yeah, it should be fun.”
I replied flatly, studying her face.
“Why? Do I look strange today?”
She caught my stare and asked hesitantly.
“Strange? No. You look beautiful.”
In truth, Bella looked like an enormous gift box today.
She had always enjoyed dressing up, but knowing the princes were coming, she’d overdone it considerably.
Ribbons scattered everywhere, a dress drowning in frills, a yellow bonnet—and what was that palm-sized bag doing there?
It looked like it couldn’t even hold anything worth buying.
‘How much money did she bring?’
Even if there was anything inside, it probably held no more than five gold coins.
‘What could she possibly buy with that little? Well, maybe she won’t need to spend anything anyway.’
All food and attractions at Magirlake’s Birthday festival were free.
The attendees were Mages from the Magic Association, so there was no need to collect payment, and the handful of special guests were people who needed to maintain cordial relationships with the Mages—it would be awkward to charge them.
They did sell Magical Tools for money, though, and every single one was expensive.
Any way you looked at it, the bag was useless.
Bella chattered away happily, her words flowing past my ears as I gazed out the window.
‘When will Cassion arrive? I want to check on him soon.’
I had no interest in the festival itself. The only thing I cared about was whether Cassion’s illness had anything to do with magic.
‘Well, there is one other thing I’m looking forward to.’
How beautiful Cassion would look today.
‘The outfit I sent him better suit him well.’
A few days ago, I’d sent Cassion clothes and jewelry as gifts to wear to the festival.
According to Flak, Cassion gasped the moment he opened the box.
‘He wouldn’t skip wearing it, would he? I really think it’s going to suit him perfectly.’
A shirt with a wide lace collar and ruffles at the cuffs, a vest with gold-thread embroidery following its lines, and a cloak with gold inlays on the shoulder boards that matched the exact shade of Cassion’s eyes!
‘A craftsman made it with careful, painstaking effort.’
The moment I spotted the outfit in a shop window, I knew it was meant for Cassion.
I went straight in, replaced all the ruby buttons with gold, changed the white embroidery to gold, and signed the contract immediately.
The seamstress said there wasn’t enough time for design changes, so I doubled the payment to get the work done on schedule.
Jeniss shook her head and said it was excessive, but I wanted Cassion—being ill—to shine even brighter.
‘It’ll definitely suit him.’
Lost in anticipation, I gazed out the window and spotted the royal carriage. Everyone on the street stepped back in unison.
“Diana! The princes are here!”
Bella threw open the door and ran outside.
I Bought the Villains with Money (Serialized)
Written by Lee In-hye
Published by Kim Ju-hyung
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ⓒ Lee In-hye 2021
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder,
and no part of its contents may 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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