I Bought the Villains With Money - Chapter 78

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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 78.
“Diana!”
Casion fell to his knees before Diana. His eyes twisted with anguish.
“Your Highness, people are watching. Please, stand up.”
Guardian gripped Casion’s shoulder.
“Let go of me! I’ll find them. I swear I’ll find whoever did this damned thing!”
A roar erupted from his small frame, swallowing the Engagement Ceremony Venue whole.
It was a cry so venomous that even Dayson, who had been approaching Casion moments too late, flinched.
“Step aside, Casion. We must move the Lady Diana.”
Karman commanded, but Casion, consumed by rage, did not hear. His shoulders trembled violently as he gripped Diana’s hand.
“Father.”
All eyes around Diana shifted to Casion.
Not “Your Majesty”—but “Father.”
Karman tried to count when he’d last heard those words, then abandoned the thought. Now was the time to focus on the two children who had suffered such misfortune on what should have been a joyous day.
“Speak.”
“You must catch them.”
“Of course.”
“And punish them. Whoever it is, they must face justice.”
Karman nearly laughed aloud at Casion’s plea. An attempt on a royal’s life. On a day of celebration, no less.
With or without Casion’s request, Karman would not spare the criminal’s family either.
Karman assumed Casion was still disoriented from the shock, unable to grasp the situation clearly.
Otherwise, why would he demand they catch the criminal when one had already been captured? Why make such a meaningless request for proper punishment?
‘Wait. Could a mere Knight have planned regicide alone?’
Karman paused.
Then Casion released Diana’s hand and rose. He stared intently in one direction before speaking.
“Regicide is the gravest of crimes. The penalty is death, regardless of the criminal’s station. Do not forget that, Father.”
Karman turned his gaze to where Casion was looking. There stood Julia.
Karman’s brow narrowed.
Julia bit the inside of her mouth hard. She hadn’t expected things to spiral like this.
‘That stupid Knight switched the bombs!’
Julia had aimed for a minor disturbance. She’d hoped to spread rumors about Violeta, the former Queen.
The mere fact that something had gone wrong at the Prince’s Engagement Ceremony would draw public attention—and if it became entangled with scandal from Sereint, Casion’s maternal house, it would damage his reputation as well.
Julia had given the Knight both a message—an opportunity for revenge—and a bomb potent enough to cause substantial chaos.
‘He threw away my plans over a vendetta for something he doesn’t even know is true?’
The situation had spiraled far beyond her control.
“Your Majesty, this place is no longer safe. Shall we move you somewhere secure?”
Anderson stepped in protectively between Julia and the gathering crowd. His barrier shielded her from the stares that had been bearing down on her.
“His Majesty is here. I should remain as well.”
Julia rose slowly from her seat. Karman ordered Diana, who lay unconscious, to be moved to the nearest palace. A stretcher was brought in, and the area fell into turmoil for some time.
Casion returned to the palace with Diana.
Only then did Julia address Karman.
“Your Majesty, you must be quite shaken. Please return to the palace. I shall see to the venue.”
Karman stared at Julia intently. In that moment, she touched her forehead and swayed slightly. Anderson reached out and steadied her firmly.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty. I was merely startled. On such a joyous occasion, to have something so unseemly occur…”
Julia contorted her face and grasped Karman’s arm. She stroked it slowly, as if to comfort him.
“Enough, Queen. Say no more.”
Karman withdrew his arm from her hand, his tone cold.
“The worthier the cause, the more turbulent its path. The greater the achievement, the more opposition it faces.”
Julia’s lower lashes trembled. Yet she composed herself and answered calmly.
“You speak truly, Your Majesty. It seems the union of Lady Diana and Casion shall indeed bring great fortune to the realm.”
Karman let out a low laugh. Julia bowed her head. She would now step back and observe the situation unfold.
The Knight who had detonated the bomb against Casion had been dragged away to prison, but the chances of him naming Julia were zero. The order had passed through countless intermediaries before reaching him.
If anyone faced punishment, it would be the Ceremony Coordinator for negligent supervision.
“A pity to mar such a joyous day. Knight, see that everyone who attended the Engagement Ceremony returns safely to their residences.”
At first, Karman’s words seemed to show consideration for the assembled nobility. But his true meaning was clear: everyone present was to remain silent about what had happened at the Ceremony Venue.
This was to ensure the incident did not become a major scandal, so that Casion and Diana’s betrothal would not appear to be a great misfortune for the royal family.
As if that were not enough, Karman drove the point home with absolute certainty.
“The royal family shall personally oversee the investigation into this matter. Until conclusive results are obtained, all who were present here are to maintain silence. I command this in the name of Petrola.”
“We obey.”
The King had commanded in the name of Petrola. A command that could never be defied. All present fell to their knees and bowed their heads.
Only Julia and Guardian stood upright, turning Karman’s command over in their minds.
‘His Majesty has changed. We need to drive Casion out as soon as possible.’
Julia harbored sinister thoughts,
‘His Majesty has shifted. More nobles will be betting on Casion’s side.’
Guardian, meanwhile, conducted a clear analysis of the situation.
***
Several days had passed since the bomb incident at the Engagement Ceremony—an event without precedent in royal history.
For those days, the palace had been in chaos as though war had broken out.
Though a Silence Order had been issued, the retainers of Irenber somehow learned of it and sent letters of protest.
Karman could not simply ignore Irenber House’s objections.
Irenber’s demand was singular: a thorough investigation into those responsible.
[This is an incident of attempted regicide against the royal family. There must be a mastermind. Please clarify everything and secure the safety of Diana, the representative of Irenber House.]
Yet Karman could not reveal the mastermind. The only evidence that could have done so was the Knight, who had taken his own life.
Questions surrounded the Knight’s death, but his death was soon forgotten.
Only his guilt remained.
The guilty man was dead, and so the crime could not be prosecuted. In ordinary cases, this would be how matters stood.
Karman had the Knight’s entire family arrested and sentenced to Life Sentence.
Irenber House protested furiously that the punishment was too lenient, but there was nothing more Karman could do.
“Did you get what you wanted?”
Casion came to the Irenber Mansion. I pushed myself up on the bed and greeted him warmly.
“Your Highness, what brings you here?”
“I said I’d come.”
“There was no need. I’m just faking it.”
Casion caught sight of the Flowers and Gift Packages stacked on one side, and his expression darkened. Then he abruptly thrust a Small Box toward me.
“You’re not supposed to visit the sick empty-handed.”
“Wow, thank you. But I’m really not ill.”
The bomb’s blast on the day of the Engagement Ceremony had exceeded my expectations. The Magical Device inscribed with Shield Magic had functioned properly and protected me, but the unexpectedly powerful force had dealt my body a severe shock.
In the end, I collapsed that day.
Which meant I never saw Casion’s rage!
‘They said his presence was absolutely overwhelming.’
So Casion, who still appeared before me like a prickly cat, had been like a tiger—the king of beasts in the East—that day. The pity of missing that sight was all I could feel.
In any case, I collapsed that day, and because of it, Irenber fell into pandemonium. The ones who caused the uproar were Rumdracks and Cho, Jennis, and Matthew.
Despite Karman’s Silence Order, they immediately contacted the retainers of Irenber.
They inflated and exaggerated the situation. They described my collapse as if it were a fatal illness, and so Irenber descended into chaos.
It had been only months since I became Acting Head of House and the family returned to normal—now it seemed I would lose the representative again. The retainers’ anxiety and discontent reached the heavens.
Naturally, that anxiety and discontent fell upon Karman.
That’s how kings are, after all.
They bear all the resentment for things gone wrong.
Amid it all, I made careful note of who had sent letters of protest to Karman and who had not.
Those truly loyal to Irenber enough to defy the king, and those who were not.
The treatment of these two groups would naturally have to differ.
“Diana, you’re thinking about work again, aren’t you?”
“No, not at all.”
Casion clicked his tongue. Then he pulled a cookie from the Snack Basket beside him and held it out to me.
“You need to rest.”
“Your Highness, coming from someone with blue lips, I’m not sure you should be saying that. You pushed yourself through lessons again today? Guardian visited just the other day, and he was beside himself with worry—he said you were likely to fall ill following my example.”
Casion heaved a deep sigh.
“Guardian tends to exaggerate. I’m not sick and perfectly fine. And I manage my own Pace.”
Casion said this while picking up a Meringue Cookie. His appearance was so disheveled that his claim of being fine was utterly unconvincing.
‘He was fine right up until the day of the Engagement Ceremony.’
Had he pushed himself so hard in just a few days that his face was worn to half its usual self? I’d become Acting Head of House, and with this incident Julia would likely settle down—he could afford to take it easier.
Guardian’s words about Casion practicing and focusing as if being chased by someone came to mind, and the sweet cookie began to taste bitter.
Casion, who had eaten a couple of Meringue Cookies, rose from his seat.
“Your Highness, are you leaving already?”
“I have lessons this afternoon.”
“What? If you’re leaving so soon, why did you come?”
“Because you didn’t come to see me.”
His words sounded like he was saying we should see each other every day.
As I hesitated over how to respond, Casion hopped down from the large chair and departed.
“Diana, never protect me again. That’s a real order. And I like you better when you’re throwing yourself at me with all your might than when you’re lying in bed.”
Casion uttered something that could have been either a rebuke or a compliment, then rushed out the door.
I’d wanted to wrap up some Meringue Cookies for him.
Following his suggestion, tomorrow I’d have to pack some Meringue Cookies myself and bring them to the palace.
‘He’ll be worried about me.’
Even though I’d informed him via letter that I was fine, the fact that he came to see me anyway made me feel oddly apologetic.
Now that I thought about it, if I were Casion, I’d have had all sorts of concerns.
I’d collapsed right after shielding him, after all.
‘And I was slow to get in touch even after waking up.’
Truth be told, I didn’t wake from sleep for two days either. The shock of the explosion was one thing, but my body had been looking for any opportunity to rest under the weight of accumulated exhaustion.
As a result, Lebert made quite a fuss. And just like last time, I had to eat Cooker’s therapeutic diet for three days.
“At this rate, I’ll achieve immortality. Please, I’m begging you—I can’t eat any more of this.”
Only after I pleaded with the look of someone facing death did Cooker’s meals return to normal, and Lebert finally calmed down.
“At least I got proper rest out of it.”
Never mind that the Engagement Ceremony itself became a disaster.
“You’re talking like you got proper rest? You try that again and I’ll—!”
Sana came through the window. It was the first face I’d seen since I woke up.
“Aunt!”
Delighted, I threw my arms open wide, but Sana approached and struck my forearm sharply.
“Who do you take after? Your sister would never act so recklessly!”
Sana was furious—genuinely furious. I’d never seen her burn with anger like this, and I went slack-jawed.
“Well, I couldn’t have prepared in advance.”
“You found that Magical Bracelet and put it on, so you could’ve prepared in advance.”
Among various possibilities, I had considered an explosion, but I truly hadn’t expected it to actually happen.
“If you suspected something, you should have said so beforehand!”
If I’d warned everyone ahead of time that there was a risk of explosion, and then we’d turned the Engagement Ceremony Venue upside down only to find nothing, it would have been a catastrophe.
I had no choice but to throw myself into the trap Julia had laid.
Please understand my unfortunate situation.
“I’m sorry.”
But explaining things rationally to an angry person only fans the flames—it signals a desire to fight.
So I offered Sana my most pitiful expression and apologized.
“Julia’s behind this whole thing, isn’t she?”
Sana mussed up my hair vigorously before speaking. There was no point hiding it; I nodded in agreement.
“That’s what I suspect.”
“But there’s not a shred of evidence.”
Now I understood why Sana hadn’t come to see me for several days. She’d been searching for proof that Julia had orchestrated everything.
“There won’t be any. She’s not that sloppy.”
“So what do we do going forward?”
“What else? We have to be even more careful. Though I haven’t come away empty-handed either. Apparently, His Majesty Karman has rejected Julia’s requests for an audience multiple times now.”
“So I heard.”
I couldn’t determine what kind of relationship Karman and Julia had, or how Karman viewed her.
The only thing certain was that this incident had driven a wedge between them.
“Prince Casion really went after Julia after you collapsed. It was just with his eyes, but—”
Casion is someone destined for greatness.
‘He set a trap in the midst of shock and chaos. I’ll have to praise him when we meet again.’
That’s what I was thinking when—
Bang!
A sound as loud as an explosion echoed through the room.
“Are you trying to smash the door to pieces? Where have you been all this time? What took you so long, Rumdracks?”
Rumdracks kicked the door open and strode in. A stench of alcohol wafted from him.
“Ugh, the smell of booze.”
I pinched my nose and leaned back, but Rumdracks grabbed my arm and thrust his face close to mine. He wasn’t even wearing his usual makeup, and despite myself, I held my breath at the sight of his bare face.
“Rumdracks…….”
“I’m done. I’m quitting everything we’ve been doing together.”
Rumdracks dropped a bombshell of a statement.
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 | 11th Floor, Ace Techno Tower 8th Building, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong)
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ⓒ 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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