I Bought the Villains With Money - Chapter 90

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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 90.
‘If Julia planned it, she landed a solid blow.’
After Anderson disappeared, Julia had confined herself to Braiting Palace for a month. During that time, there were no signs of her scheming anything.
But today the play changed.
‘I thought she’d lost all her drive once Anderson vanished, yet here she is, orchestrating from the shadows.’
As Diana berated herself, something warm and soft settled around her neck—the fur scarf Casion had brought.
February nights were still bitter, even with spring just around the corner.
Casion cleared the snow piled on the balcony chair and seated Diana there.
“I like the quiet. A quiet birthday party suits me fine.”
He meant it as comfort for Diana’s fractured nerves.
“Your Highness, that wasn’t the original script of the play.”
Diana spoke as though making excuses, and Casion laughed.
“I know.”
The original play had carried the message that Casion was born abundantly blessed with his parents’ love.
It was meant to suggest that even after Violeta left the palace, the affection between Karman and Violeta remained unchanged—that Casion could only be Karman’s cherished son.
She’d wanted to show that his very birth was a blessing, that Casion deserved to be loved.
Instead, it had twisted into Violeta cursing Karman.
If word of today’s play spread, Violeta’s reputation would crumble.
And there would inevitably be factions trying to drive a wedge between Casion and Karman.
Diana’s expression grew darker by the moment. Watching her, Casion sighed and began gathering snow in his hands.
His fingers grew numb from the cold, but he bore it. After crouching and shaping for some time, Casion rose. In his hands lay a birthday cake sculpted from snow.
As he set the completed Snow Cake before Diana, she lifted her head. The tangled thoughts that had filled her eyes vanished.
“Let’s finish the birthday celebration that we couldn’t—just you and me. I only need your wishes for me.”
“…….”
“I mean it. You alone are enough for me, Diana. The play didn’t go as planned, but I’m happy just knowing you tried your best for me.”
Whether from cold or something else, Casion sniffled. Diana instinctively moved to unwrap her scarf and give it to him, but he stopped her.
“The truth is, birthdays don’t mean much to me. Because—”
He cleared his throat. His gaze dropped.
Words seemed caught in his throat; he opened and closed his mouth several times while Diana watched in silence.
“Since I met you, Diana, every day has felt like a birthday to me.”
Casion lifted his head. His golden eyes held steady on Diana’s face without wavering.
His voice trembled faintly, and the gravity in his gaze made Diana’s mouth fall open.
His sincerity reached her completely.
“The birthday… it seems it’s not Your Highness, but me.”
The play had fallen to ruin, and Julia had dealt her a serious defeat, but Diana had received a great gift.
Diana felt tears welling up and, to lighten the moment, slipped the ring from her finger and placed it atop the Snow Cake, speaking playfully.
“Light the candle, Your Highness.”
“One, two, three—and we blow. I’ll make a wish. You make one too.”
Casion played along with Diana’s jest. Together, they blew gently at the candle.
‘May His Highness’s illness be cured soon.’
‘May Diana become the perfect head of House Irenberg.’
The wishes each made for the other would remain a secret forever.
***
When Julia returned to Braiting Palace, a long-awaited letter was waiting for her.
It was from Erinhunt. Along with advice on how Julia should move forward, the letter contained a bond.
When deposited with a bank, the bond from the Brave Kingdom could be converted into a substantial sum of money.
It was the third bond she’d received. Knowing that all of this was debt, Julia had no choice but to extend her hand to her own mother.
With that money, Julia had tightened her grip on nobles whose loyalties had wavered, planted useful people in Casion’s circle, and hired sharp-eyed operatives to monitor Diana’s movements.
For quite some time, she’d been quietly reconstructing her power base.
In Julia’s assessment, Casion was not a threat worth worrying over. Without Diana, Casion would clearly revert to his former helpless state.
‘He’s clever enough, and has the merit of being a mage, but that’s all there is to it.’
A boy without backing could only accomplish so much.
Besides, even Guardian, who used to teach him magic, had returned to the Magic Tower.
So the only person Julia needed to concern herself with was Diana alone.
How to make Diana stumble—Julia had thought long and hard about this.
Diana still had no political faction of her own.
It would be too obvious to use Julia’s existing political power to oppose Diana. So she’d found another approach.
The critical issue was that Karman was quite fond of Diana.
‘Ah, so that’s it. If he’s fond of her, I just need to make him disappointed in her. His Majesty’s tastes are fickle, after all.’
Julia waited for Diana to make a mistake. But the news she’d been expecting never came. Then she would simply create one.
It was no difficult feat for Julia, who possessed wealth, influence, and connections in abundance.
And that easy task had unfolded today. Julia recalled Diana’s face, drained of color as the narrative shifted.
Julia let out a pleased laugh.
“Things seem to be progressing well, Your Majesty?”
Visek, who had meticulously assisted from the start of the plan through its execution, posed the question delicately.
He was Julia’s newly hired aide since Anderson’s disappearance.
Visek’s appearance bore a striking resemblance to Anderson’s. Yet unlike Anderson, he made no attempt to conceal his baseness, and he relished the exercise of power.
But in his cleverness, he matched Anderson perfectly. And in his understanding of Julia’s true intentions, he was equally sharp.
“Of course. Visek, we must open champagne tonight. Before that, I’ll need to hire a few loose-tongued individuals.”
Julia opened a drawer and withdrew four or five small pouches heavy with gold coins.
Visek accepted the pouches and turned to Julia with a question.
“What rumors shall I spread?”
Julia offered a meaningful smile and whispered the details into Visek’s ear.
***
“What is the meaning of this!”
Karman flew into a rage upon seeing the newspaper that Kal had brought that morning. Kal merely gazed down at the front page of the newspaper Karman had hurled to the floor, saying nothing.
Karman gripped the desk, breathing heavily. His gaze fell upon the newspaper’s front page, then away again.
On the front page was an illustration of Casion brandishing a sword. And at the tip of that blade was a lion—the symbol of Karman.
Beneath the image lay a detailed account of Casion’s birthday celebration from the previous day.
Casion’s birthday celebration, the theatrical performance, the tragedy, and the final monologue.
That final monologue was printed in especially heavy typeface.
The article’s implication was singular.
‘When Casion comes of age, he will rise against Karman.’
Karman’s fury was absolute. Yet it did not stem from agreement with the newspaper’s insinuation that Casion might one day rebel against him.
His rage had another source—one that, unfortunately, had redirected his wrath toward Diana.
“Is this the work of the princess Diana?”
Karman had lost all reason.
There was no other way he could have come to suspect Diana as the source of such vicious rumors.
“No, Your Majesty.”
Kal responded, but Karman was in no state to hear him. Kal sensed that matters were unfolding in a troubling direction. At the same time, he felt a deep frustration.
The Diana that Kal had observed possessed a nimbleness of mind unusual for her years, yet she was not one to plot rebellion.
One who understands calculation does not plan rebellion. There is far more to lose than to gain.
Even if she harbored such intentions, she would never expose them so openly and carelessly.
This was plainly a trap—set to entangle Diana in difficulty.
“Her approach to Casion was suspicious from the start. She must have thought him easy to manipulate, being young and sickly.”
Yet Karman had surrendered to passion, and had no interest in perceiving the situation clearly.
Kal watched Karman leap to wild conclusions with pitying eyes. He knew of no method to restrain the king in his current state.
Because Karman was one who maintained such strict self-discipline, once that control shattered, stopping him was nearly impossible.
Still, there remained one thing Kal could do.
“All of you, leave.”
He sent the servants out,
“Your Majesty, the Queen Violeta loved you with a true heart.”
and shared with him stories of Violeta.
“She never once spoke to me in reproach of you. Always she worried for your sake, and prayed that you would become a wise and virtuous ruler. So, Your Majesty, please—recover your reason.”
Karman’s reverse scale, his deepest vulnerability: Violeta.
Kal had witnessed the love between Karman and Violeta since his youth.
They had loved with a devotion that befell few in centuries.
A single mistake on Karman’s part had driven them both toward ruin, yet in consequence, Karman had endured long suffering.
He lived even now beneath the weight of guilt toward Violeta.
Karman had refused all food and drink when Violeta died. Kal knew the depth and intensity of his love.
Having spent years concealing that love, Kal could not fail to recognize it.
What ignited Karman’s fury now was not the fact that Casion supposedly plotted rebellion—it was the theatrical portrayal that had cast Violeta as a villainess.
Violeta was Karman’s reverse scale.
Who dared lay a hand upon her?
Kal prayed this matter would be resolved swiftly. Simultaneously, he watched anxiously to ensure that Karman did not injure himself amid the shattering porcelain.
How long time had passed in this manner, Kal could not say.
Karman, who had been raging wildly, suddenly collapsed onto the sofa.
He rested his head against the back of the cushion, his gaze fixed upward at the ceiling. His chest rose and fell in great, labored breaths.
Kal exhaled with relief, his eyes moving between the ransacked office and Karman.
Fortunately, Karman had not been harmed.
Ten pieces of porcelain shattered, and a plaster bust lay in ruins, but none of it mattered.
The only thing the sword needed to protect was Karman.
“Sword.”
The voice that returned, calm and lucid, was a relief to hear. The sword drew closer to Karman.
“Bring me the newspaper again.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The sword sorted through the scattered mess of papers and documents on the floor, retrieving the newspaper.
I Bought Out the Villains with Money (Serialized)
Author │ Lee In-hye
Publisher │ Kim Joo-hyung
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd. – Tiramisu
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyuk
Address │ Room 1101, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Ace Techno Tower 8th Building, 11th Floor, Guro-dong)
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 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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