Isn’t Being A Wicked Woman Much Better? - Chapter 17

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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 17
“What? Intelligent?”
“She came to the shop and made a deliberate show of it—a message that I need to do my job properly. I’m certain of it.”
“Young master, why did you suddenly reach that conclusion?”
Isn’t that excessive self-consciousness?
Miguel swallowed the words that had risen to his throat.
“The fact that Deborah Simour, who always sent servants to fetch desserts, came to the shop herself means she had something to tell me. She was sending a signal because the commission wasn’t progressing smoothly.”
“Couldn’t she have simply had her mood spoiled by quarreling with the other young ladies and impulsively overturned things?”
Miguel immediately countered.
“From what I observed, she’s not the type to be swayed by emotion. She seemed intellectual and cynical.”
“If you examine Deborah Simour’s history and reputation, she’s clearly an impulsive person. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, isn’t there? People don’t change so easily either.”
“We’ll find out soon enough whose judgment is correct. And what she did to Cookie.”
Isidore gently soothed his disgruntled pet while his emerald eyes gleamed with intensity.
* * *
The incident of the pink diamond being auctioned off to Simour rather than Montes House became a topic of gossip in High Society for quite some time. It was, after all, a shocking result that no one had anticipated.
Most of the nobility, who had believed Duke Simour regarded Deborah Simour as a disgrace to the family and treated her coldly, were astounded.
The fact that he had so readily placed an astronomically priced jewel in her hands meant that Duke Simour retained some affection for his daughter. Since Deborah Simour had already been audacious, it was obvious she would become even more insufferable, so most reactions were negative.
Moreover, the nobles who had secretly hoped Philaf Montes would win the diamond auction made no effort to hide their disappointment and derision toward him.
“How could he miscalculate the auction price? He seemed so confident, yet his response was far too careless.”
“No matter how much of a Montes heir he is, before Duke Simour’s wealth and information network, he’s nothing but a lizard before a dragon.”
Philaf could hardly be unaware of such reactions in High Society.
Knowing that losing his temper would only make him look foolish, he had forced himself to appear composed, but as Miya’s birthday approached, the fury he had suppressed finally erupted like a volcano.
“You couldn’t even secure that pathetic pink jewel? You’ve made me a laughingstock, you worthless wretch!”
Philaf, his face flushed with rage, kicked the charred face of the man before him with brutal force. The burned servant collapsed, foaming at the mouth, but Philaf did not stop his assault.
The entire Empire had heard rumors that he coveted that jewel, and now he had failed to win it at auction. The more he thought about it, the more unbearable the humiliation became.
And the person who had become the jewel’s owner was none other than the woman he despised most—Deborah Simour.
“Useless thing!”
With gleaming eyes, Philaf reduced the servant to a corpse and emerged from the Underground Prison alongside a spirit blazing with crimson flames. The attendant waiting at the entrance hastily knelt and meticulously wiped clean Philaf’s boots with a handkerchief.
As if nothing had happened, Philaf smoothed his disheveled appearance and checked his pocket watch before asking the attendant.
“Has Miss Miya arrived at the Mansion?”
“Not yet.”
The attendant bowed his head apologetically.
“Why not?”
“She has many patients to tend to today, it seems.”
“What? She’s doing that even on her birthday?”
Philaf clicked his tongue, thinking it was so typical of Miya Binoshu.
She dispensed her holy power to commoners as though she were the incarnation of a saint. The people who had received treatment from her went about praising her as a divine light sent by the goddess.
‘Her unworldly nature is rather appealing, I suppose.’
With such a high concentration of holy power, she wouldn’t need to burden herself with such hardship. The fact that he couldn’t manipulate her with power or money was quite attractive to Philaf.
He was even willing to overlook her ignoring his summons.
* * *
“Philaf, thank you for the invitation.”
As the fine dinner prepared by the Mansion’s chef began to cool, Miya appeared and offered a respectful greeting.
She bore the unmistakable marks of having come straight from work. Her pink hair was disheveled, and a faint weariness clung to her features.
“I should be thanking you for accepting. Take it easy on your birthday. If you push yourself that hard, your body won’t hold up.”
At Philaf’s gentle words, Miya’s round eyes widened in surprise.
“Ah, so that’s why….”
“What’s so surprising?”
“To be honest, I completely forgot that today was my birthday.”
Miya fidgeted with her fingers, her lips curling sheepishly before she released them.
“I’ve never been good at keeping track of such things.”
“Has no one ever remembered it for you?”
Despite the rather blunt question, she showed no displeasure.
“This year, you remembered for me, Philaf. I’m so happy. It feels like receiving an unexpected gift.”
“You have a lovely way with words.”
Pleased by her response, Philaf offered a satisfied smile.
Just then, Miya’s stomach rumbled audibly. Seeing her reddened earlobes and flushed cheeks, Philaf laughed heartily.
“Let’s start with dinner then. You seem quite hungry.”
At Philaf’s gesture, steaming dishes were brought to the table. He gazed at Miya as she sipped her soup delicately, his expression tender, before he broached a new subject.
“Your Academy admission letter has been approved.”
Despite her late age and status as a member of a fallen house, Miya was able to transfer to the Academy thanks to the recommendation letter from Montes House.
“I’m truly grateful. Studying there has been my lifelong dream.”
Watching Miya offer her repeated thanks, Philaf puffed out his chest proudly.
“Surely you didn’t think that was all?”
He presented her with a diamond necklace, his manner boastful. Because the item he had coveted was snatched away by Duke Simour, he had been forced to hastily procure a diamond necklace crafted by the Capital’s most renowned artisan.
The moment Miya saw the large diamond, she immediately showed reluctance.
“Just writing the Academy recommendation letter was more than enough. A gift this extravagant is too much—I couldn’t possibly accept it.”
“Take it for the sake of my sincerity in procuring it. You said yourself you haven’t properly celebrated your birthday.”
“But something like this….”
“You saved my life, so let me repay you. Please, Miss Miya.”
“I’ve already received so much from you. Truly, it’s fine.”
Their back-and-forth continued at length, and for the sake of Miya’s meal, Philaf had no choice but to relent.
‘She really is impossible to persuade.’
While Philaf felt a quiet warmth at her pure-hearted nature, he could not entirely conceal his disappointment.
‘Curse it all. I should have secured that pink diamond instead. It would have suited Miss Miya far better than Deborah Simour.’
It was a pink gemstone the exact shade of Miya’s hair, and it would have been a perfect gift to present casually to someone so unfamiliar with trends that she didn’t even know pink diamonds existed.
When Miya eventually learned how extraordinarily expensive the jewel was, he could have witnessed her astonishment firsthand. But all his plans had been ruined because of Deborah Simour.
‘She really is an infuriating woman.’
Imagining Deborah Simour strutting through High Society with that cursed item in hand, his appetite vanished entirely.
* * *
After my meeting with Philaf, I returned to the dilapidated mansion situated on the outskirts of Yones District and settled onto the edge of my bed, gazing out through the window.
‘I’m exhausted.’
Each time the wind blew, the ill-fitting window frame rattled with a cacophony of sound. The garden beyond the glass resembled a desolate graveyard choked with weeds—a stark testament to the catastrophic decline of the Binoshu Family.
A servant entered, yet I kept my gaze fixed upon the world outside.
“What are you looking at, Miss?”
A middle-aged woman asked. She introduced herself as Madam Ophelia and told me to address her informally.
“That.”
I pointed with my finger at a single flower blooming untimely atop a withered branch in response to her question.
“Oh dear, it will freeze to death tonight.”
The woman murmured offhandedly before handing me a large jewelry box.
“A servant from Montes House just arrived and left your birthday gift with me.”
As I opened the jewelry box, she fastened an ornate necklace around my delicate neck—a magnificent diamond pendant suspended from a slender chain.
“How does it look?”
When I asked without enthusiasm, she clicked her tongue lightly. The exquisitely crafted diamond necklace looked painfully incongruous against my outdated, shabby dress.
Like that flower blooming brilliantly upon the withered branch.
“To wear a necklace like this, one would need a proper dress to complement it. Philaf Montes truly lacks the refinement the rumors suggest.”
The woman continued with a cold expression.
“Wearing something like this with such a tattered dress will only invite ridicule from the nobility.”
“….”
“Had it been that pink diamond instead, things might have been different….”
It would have suited my pink hair beautifully, even without an elaborate gown.
“High Society would have taken notice of you then. What a pity.”
She spoke coldly before leaving the room. I touched my soft pink hair with my fingertips, then reached toward the Academy admission certificate resting on my bedside table.
A faint glimmer of something indefinable flickered across my eyes before vanishing.

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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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